Chapter 28
Tuesday Night, January 11th
Jason couldn’t believe they had been able to avoid another battle. But as they had waited for some kind of final confrontation, a horrific scream had suddenly torn through the night. The sound was so horrible that they fell upon the ground, covering their ears and trying in vain to keep the noise out. Finally, the scream had ceased, and then the darkness had receded. When it had finally disappeared, the demon-man and his two companions were gone. Jason, Tina and Dinah had stared in shock at the empty clearing for a moment, continuing to hold each other’s hands, waiting for something else to happen. And then the sound of Larry’s labored breathing reminded them that they weren’t all out of danger yet.
“Larry,” Dinah breathed as the three of them kneeled next to the unconscious man.
The wolves moved out of the way, but continued to stand nearby, watching the human members of their pack intently. Larry was struggling for breath, and his face was red-splotched. Dinah tried to revive him, but he didn’t respond to her voice or the feel of her hand rubbing his.
“Can you heal him?” Dinah implored as she looked up at Jason. “Use your magic, I mean?”
Jason opened his mouth, but didn’t speak at first, only shaking his head in answer. “I wouldn’t know what to do,” he finally said. “I’d be just as likely to kill him as save him.”
Jason tried to reach out to the voices he had heard earlier in his mind, hoping that they could teach him how to use his power to heal. They had shown him how to use the power they gave him to battle the demon-man and his companions. But they had grown silent. And Jason could feel that the power they had given him had been temporary. He no longer felt the rush of magic flowing through him as he had during the battle.
“Where’s Harper?” Tina asked as she looked around the clearing. “He’d know what to do.”
“I haven’t seen him since before the darkness came,” Dinah answered as she raised Larry’s hand to her lips and kissed it. “Come on, Larry,” she said as she looked down at his unconscious face. “Wake up, please.” But he didn’t respond, didn’t even squeeze her hand back.
“He looks worse,” Tina said softly and looked like she immediately regretted saying it as Dinah looked up at her with a hurt look in her eyes. “Sorry,” she added weakly. “What should we do?”
Dinah shook her head silently, but was interrupted by barking. She turned her head and saw Cody running up to them. The wolves stood up and moved over to greet him, and he seemed to inspect each of them before healing any wounds they had by licking their coats. Dinah wondered if Cody’s healing ability could work on Larry, though she would have had no idea how to ask him. But she didn’t have to.
Harper and Vaughan came running into the clearing, heading straight for the spot where Dinah kneeled over Larry. Her other three siblings and father followed shortly after, Cole still in his wolf form. She noticed that Aidan wasn’t with them, but didn’t ask about her. She was too frightened by Larry’s condition to think of anything else.
Harper kneeled next to Larry and placed his hand on the man’s chest. Dinah saw a brief glow emanate from her uncle before he removed his hand and shook his head. “This is beyond my ability to heal,” he said out loud, though to no one in particular. “His heart isn’t injured – that I could heal. His heart is dying.”
Jerry reached Larry and kneeled next to him, his breath steaming in the air as he tried to catch his breath after running through the woods. “There’s gotta be something you can do, Harper,” he said as tears filled his eyes. He hated the look on his partner’s face. He looked old…and frail. “What if you did the same thing that you did to save Vaughan and Tina? Use our life energy like you did last time.”
Harper shook his head, and Jerry saw the tears in his brother-in-law’s eyes. It hurt Harper to say what he said next, “I wish I could, brother. But I have no idea how to heal such damage. This is many years of damage to his heart, not merely a physical injury or even a possession. I’ve dealt with both of those before. Healing something like this…I might kill him by accident.”
Dinah felt helpless as her uncle expressed the same limitation to his magical powers as Jason had just moments before. She didn’t understand what use there was in having magical powers if you couldn’t use them to save the people you loved. The moment of helpless silence was suddenly broken by the unlikeliest of sources.
“I can try,” Billie said softly. “I mean…I think I can help Larry.”
Jerry looked over at his youngest daughter in surprise. “Do you really think you can?” he asked as he stood up and then moved over to where Billie stood. The hope in his voice was obvious as he kneeled down to look into her eyes.
Dinah looked at her father and then the others who had returned with him in confusion. She didn’t understand how Billie would be able to do something where Harper and Jason could not. She thought of the darkness that had suddenly covered the clearing, and then disappeared just as suddenly. She wondered what had happened in the woods, and whether Billie had played some role in it, though she thought it unlikely.
“I’ll try, Daddy,” Billie answered as she kneeled next to Larry on the opposite side of Dinah. “Louis, can you come sit by me?”
Louis nodded before moving over to sit next to his sister, watching as she placed both of her hands over his heart. He didn’t know why she wanted him next to her, but he didn’t ask. He guessed it was because she was nervous and wanted to have someone near her as she tried whatever she could to help the man who was like a second father to the Ambrose children.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Louis said so softly that he hoped no one but his sister could hear him. But she didn’t answer. She just stared intently at her hands, and when Louis looked down, he saw that they were glowing faintly. He saw Dinah’s eyes widen in surprise as she saw Billie’s entire body begin to glow, but she didn’t say anything, not wanting to disrupt whatever it was that Billie was doing. After a few moments, Billie blinked and then looked over at Louis.
“His heart’s so weak,” Billie whispered to Louis, her eyes huge. “I don’t have enough magic left, and I’m scared to take it from any of you.” She was quiet for a moment before she added in a whisper so soft that he almost didn’t hear her. “I don’t know what to do, Louis. He’s dying!”
Louis looked back at his sister in silence, trying to think of a response that wouldn’t convey his shock at what she was saying. He could tell that she was devastated by what she had said to him, and he didn’t want to break her already fragile hold on her composure. He remembered what Uncle Harper had told all of them about the power of the Solas. He knew that Billie’s power came from the life forces of the living things around her…their energy. But if she was unwilling to take that energy from them, she wouldn’t have the power to save Larry. And then it hit him.
“I have an idea,” he whispered to his sister. “I don’t know if it will work…but it’s worth a try.”
Billie nodded silently and she pursed her lips in determination as she returned her attention to Larry’s nearly motionless form. Louis watched as her hands began to glow again and as Billie looked over at him he nodded. Louis reached out for the magic, willing it to come to him. And it did. It responded instantly and filled his body with the wonderful surging feeling that made him never want to release it. For a moment, he became lost in the feeling, letting it course through him, removing any exhaustion that Billie’s earlier use of her magic had left. His awareness slipped away as the magic filled him. But then he heard Larry struggle for breath again, and remembered why he was holding the magic. He wasn’t even sure if his plan would work, since Billie’s magic relied on the life energy of others, and he had no idea what kind of energy his magic was. But he had to try. He couldn’t bear the thought of Larry not being in his life, and was willing to try anything to prevent his death.
Louis reach
ed over and took hold of Billie’s arm, willing the magic to pass into her. She nearly jerked her hand back and looked over at him in surprise. Louis knew that she had felt…something. “Sorry, I should have told you what I was doing,” he told her.
“What was that?” Billie asked suspiciously.
“It’s my magic,” he answered. “And if you felt it, you might be able to use it.”
Billie was quiet for a second and then a huge grin split her face as she realized what her brother meant. She returned her attention to Larry, and Louis took hold of her arm again. He willed the magic to flow into his sister and this time, she allowed the magic to flow through her arms and into Larry. Louis saw his magic change as it passed through Billie, turning into a hybrid of the two types of magic. Louis hadn’t been able to see Billie’s magic before, but he was able to see this. His magic was a glittering stream of blue and Billie’s a stream of bright white. The two intertwined, and he saw the joined power move through Larry’s body as Billie guided it, focusing around the older man’s dying heart. At first, Louis saw that Larry’s heart was beating erratically, but as the magic worked its way around and through it, its beat became steady and strong, growing stronger by the second. But the more magic Louis channeled through his sister, the more tired he became. Suddenly, he grew dizzy and felt like he was going to fall over. He reached out to steady himself, leaning on one hand in the snow while the other continued to grasp Billie’s arm. Billie looked over at him in surprise and then concern before releasing the magic. He immediately felt better and the dizzy sensation disappeared completely as his connection to the magic was lost.
After a moment, Louis glanced up and saw that everyone had crowded around Larry, each of them staring down with nearly identical looks of suspense on their faces. Even Cody had poked his head between two sets of legs and was watching Larry’s face intently. Larry’s breathing had steadied and he was now taking in air in slow, deep breaths before exhaling plumes of steam into the cold winter air. The color of his face had returned to normal, but he still hadn’t woken.
Louis saw his father kneel down next to Dinah and watched him gently lift Larry’s head and put his own folded overcoat underneath it, giving it up in spite of the cold. A single tear fell down his cheek as he watched his partner’s face expectantly. “Wake up, Larry,” he said softly with a small catch in his voice.
But Larry wouldn’t wake up. Louis began to worry that something had happened to him that they hadn’t been able to heal. He had seen television shows about people whose brains had been damaged and weren’t able to wake up. He knew the word for it and hated the sound of it – coma. It reminded him of people standing around a hospital bed, waiting for their loved one to open their eyes and speak while numerous tubes and needles ran into them. He knew that in many cases, the loved one never woke up. He prayed silently that this hadn’t been the case with Larry.
“Wake up, Larry,” Jerry said louder as he gently shook Larry’s shoulder.
But he still didn’t respond. Tina sobbed once before seeming to catch herself. She put her arms around Jason and buried her face in his jacket. As Louis looked around, he could see that everyone around him had the same frightened look on their faces. None of them wanted to say it, but he knew he wasn’t the only one who was thinking that Larry might not wake up. They were all starting to lose hope.
“Wake up, Larry!” Jerry said forcefully, shaking Larry’s shoulder roughly. When he still didn’t respond, Jerry grabbed his partner’s shoulder again. “WAKE UP, LARRY!” he screamed as tears rolled down his cheeks.
Louis hated to see his father cry, especially since it so rarely happened. The only other time Louis could remember seeing his father cry like he was at that moment was when his mother had died. His father had cried like a child that day, and it had made Louis feel frightened and helpless to do anything about it. And now, he felt the same way.
“What the hell is all the yelling about?” a weak voice said suddenly, breaking the silence that had descended on the group. Everyone looked down in surprise to see Larry looking around him with heavy eyes. He managed to impart some irritability into his voice as he added, “I’ve been running around the damn forest like some kind of three hundred pound Boy Scout for the past two days and finally have a chance to lie down and rest. The very least you can do is let me sleep in peace, Sid!”
Jerry looked at Larry in shock for a moment before he laughed through his tears and then leaned in and hugged his partner. When he pulled away, he smiled down at him as he said, “I don’t know who you think you’re kidding,” he said as he shook his head. “You haven’t been three hundred pounds since you were in the fourth grade.”
The laughter that erupted from everyone was heartfelt and genuine, if perhaps a little harder than normal as a night full of tension was suddenly released. And the tension that remained after the laughter was completely released as everyone began hugging each other, cherishing the comfort and warmth the contact brought. Each of them said silent prayers of thanks that they had made it through the night while mourning the ones who hadn’t.
After Larry had recovered enough to move him to one of the cars, Harper, Jerry, Billie and Vaughan hiked back to the clearing where the cave had been while the others stayed behind to warm themselves. Nothing was said as they walked through the woods. Nothing needed to be said. Each of them replayed the past two days in their heads, thinking of all that had happened. They had faced something terrible that had tried to tear them apart as a family, but had managed to survive it by facing it together. But there had been a heavy price for their victory. James McCallister, Aidan and several of the wolves had given their lives to save the Ambrose family, and each of them felt some of the survivor’s guilt that often came from such sacrifices. And each of them wondered if they had truly defeated the demons. Dinah had told them of the disappearance of Anna and the two others with her, which made it likely that they would face the demons and their allies again.
Billie thought of Tim Matheson, and the pain that had been inflicted upon him for so many years by the demons. And with the simple determination of a six-year old, the thought strengthened her resolve to do everything she could to stop the demons from ever hurting someone like that again.
When Vaughan thought of Tim, his mind dwelled on the image of his sword pushing through the man’s body, the look of fear on his face before he died, and the bright red of his blood on Vaughan’s sword. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to push the image of Tim laying on the ground, covered in blood and staring up in fear. He told himself that he hadn’t known Tim’s story - that he had been trying to protect his sister. But somehow it didn’t seem to matter.
They entered the clearing and saw that the bodies of Aidan and Tim Matheson were undisturbed, lying exactly where they had left them. Without saying a word to each other, they watched as Harper used his magic to clear the snow at the base of one of the larger trees at the edge of the clearing. It was the largest of the trees that hadn’t been disturbed by the madness caused by the cave and seemed to represent strength and defiance of the harm caused by the darkness. He used his magic a second time to dig a large hole in the frozen ground and then carefully lifted Tim’s body and placed it inside. He moved to dig a second, smaller hole for Aidan, but Billie stopped him.
“Bury them together, Uncle Harper,” she said quietly. “Please.”
Harper looked at her in surprise and then kneeled down as he asked, “Are you sure, Billie?”
Billie nodded as she looked over at the peaceful face of Tim Matheson. “I don’t want him to be alone anymore.”
Harper didn’t say anything in response, just nodded once. He picked Aidan up and gently laid her in Tim’s arms and then stood back as the group looked on in silence for a moment. Jerry reached down and picked his daughter up and she rested her head against his chest as Harper used his magic again to cover the grave. When he had finished, Billie rai
sed her hand and it quickly glowed in response. As the others watched in amazement, grass grew quickly on the bare earth of the grave, followed quickly by a bed of wildflowers. Billie lowered her hand again and then leaned her head against her father and quickly fell asleep. She slept the entire way as the others walked back to the car in silence.