Chapter 31: Too Late

Lilly sat in her cage looking up at the hole in the cave ceiling. Every night that passed by she'd see the moon getting fuller, and with each night she conversed with Arthur inside her head. He was still on the hunt looking for her, but Lilly was starting to think he would not find her in time. What would happen when she became a werewolf? Would she blindly follow Carman against her will? Would she merely become a beast with no thoughts? She shuddered to think of it. Lilly stared up at the night sky and stared at the moon. It wasn't quite full, but she could feel the pull of the beast inside.

"I feel it too," Adair said in Lilly's head.

"What will happen to you when I change?" Lilly thought with a question.

"I don't know, but don't worry. Arthur and my mother will find us."

Lilly chuckled bitterly. "It's been six days. The moon is almost full. If they were goin' to find us, they would have by now."

"Don't give up, Lilly."

"Lillian Rose," Willow said.

Lilly jolted when her name was said and she glared at Willow. "What?"

Willow passed a bowl of food through an opening underneath the cage. Lilly grabbed it and started eating hungrily. Willow crouched down near the cage and looked at Lilly. "It's good that yer eating."

"Shut up," Lilly said with a mouth full of food.

"No need to be rude."

"I was kidnapped. I have every right to be rude."

Willow laughed. "Yer funny."

Lilly kept eating as Willow walked away. Adair laughed inside Lilly's mind. "I love how sassy you are."

Lilly made a soft smirk. "Thanks."

After finishing her food, Lilly placed the bowl on the floor. She wiped her mouth and looked up at the almost full moon. "Lilly," Arthur said in her head. "How you holdin' up?"

"What do you think?"

"Aww, don't sound so down, sweetheart."

Lilly blinked. "Have you found me?"

"Yes, but we can't get to you yet."

"I don't understand."

"There's a barrier surrounding the cave you're in," The Morrigan said. "I'm trying to get it to come down but it's powered by strong magic. Carman's magic. She has grown so powerful."

Lilly sighed and held her head. "How long until you can get it down?"

"I don't know."

Lilly chuckled bitterly. "Great."

Just then, Carman entered and squatted down near Lilly. "Look at you. All caged up, little pup. Such a shame," Carman mocked with a smile.

Lilly glared at Carman through the bars. "I'm not a little pup."

"But you will be my little pup soon."

It was late into the next day and The Morrigan was still working on the magical barrier leading into the cave. Arthur watched as light flowed from her hands to the cave entrance where the threshold was. "You sure they ain't gonna know we're here?" he asked The Morrigan before taking a sip of coffee.

"I can't say for certain but I do have my own magic in place for such a precaution," The Morrigan replied.

"You've been at this all night and all day, aren't you tired?"

"No." Arthur took another sip of his coffee as he looked around the mountainside. They'd tracked Dothur down in the Lake District, a mountain range in Northern England. It had taken many days to get there but the wolves had not let Arthur down in tracking the scent of Dothur and Lilly. "This will take a while longer, Arthur. You might as well rest up for a fight."

Arthur sighed and finished his coffee, then he sat down and rested his back against a boulder. "How fares the fight in Tír na nÓg?"

"We are holding back the enemy forces pretty well. So much so that I can be here to help you get Lilly back."

Arthur nodded and crossed his arms over his chest after lowering his hat over his face. "Well I certainly appreciate the help."

"Have you regained all your memories yet?"

"No."

"Hmm. Strange. You should have by now."

"I have plenty enough."

"Do you remember your childhood?"

Arthur chuckled. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Tell me about it. I'm curious."

Arthur tipped his hat back up and smiled at The Morrigan. "Is this so we can pass the time?" he asked.

"Yes, but also because I'm curious."

"Well, there ain't much to say. My mother died when I was very young, and I watched my daddy die...and it weren't soon enough for that, he was such a no good bastard."

The Morrigan eyed him curiously with her blue eyes. "And Dutch and Hosea? How did you meet them?"

14-year-old Arthur Morgan, in a red shirt, black pants, black shoes, and his father's hat, was running down the street away from people he'd just stolen from. He ducked into an alleyway and hid underneath a wagon with his stolen goods. A few apples and some bread. The victims of the robbery ran past the alley and Arthur sighed in relief before biting into one of the apples. He crawled out from underneath the wagon and put the items in his side pouch, save for the apple he'd already taken a bite out of. He walked out of the alley in the direction away from the men he'd stolen from and took another bite of the apple. He turned a corner and walked into one of the big orphaned kids, Bruce. He was a big bully that always pestered Arthur.

"Watch where you're goin', Morgan!" he snapped. Arthur rolled his eyes and walked away from him, but then his shirt collar was pulled and he was dragged into another alley way. "Hey! Apologize right now!"

Arthur grabbed Bruce's hand and twisted it off. "Get off me!" Arthur yelled.

Bruce went to punch Arthur but Arthur dodged and hit Bruce in the face. Bruce staggered but didn't fall. He tackled Arthur to the ground and started punching him. Arthur grabbed Bruce by the throat and started choking him.

"What's goin' on here?" a man yelled. Bruce got up and ran away. Arthur got to his feet and went to run but the man grabbed his arm. "Woa, slow down kid. You okay?"

Arthur turned and hit the man hard in the face. "Get your paws off me!"

The man laughed. He was a dark haired looking gentlemen. He rubbed his jaw, still laughing. "My god, kid, you got one hell of a right hook!"

Arthur got into a boxing stance. "Don't touch me again, god dammit!"

The man held up a hand. "Easy, kid, I ain't gonna hurt ya."

Another man appeared behind the dark haired one. "Damn, Dutch, you okay?"

"Sure, Hosea," Dutch said with a chuckle. "I was only makin' sure you were okay, kid."

"I ain't no kid!" Arthur shouted. "Now back off!"

The Morrigan chuckled when Arthur finished his story. "Have you always been a fighter, Arthur?"

"I think so," Arthur answered.

The Morrigan pouted as she went back to her work. "We'll, you'll know soon for sure once you get all your memories back. Do you remember how you and Lilly met?"

"Hmm," Arthur said with a sigh. "Somewhat. Wait a minute..." Arthur looked at her. "You were there, weren't you? You were the little girl who told me where she and those bastards Steven and Travis were going."

The Morrigan smiled brightly. "Yes, that was me."

Arthur stood up. "How long have you been around Lilly, anyway?"

"All her life. She is the reincarnation of my daughter, after all."

"So were you there when she was born?"

"Yes. I disguised myself as a mouse."

Arthur cackled. "How clever of you."

"Yes. She and I used to play at the fairy mound all the time."

"Did you ever tell her who she really was?"

"Oh, she already knew. But then her father was forced to have her bound and all her memories of me and Adair forgotten and replaced."

"When did that happen?"

"When she was five, a few months before her family fled. And, well, the binding didn't work as well as it should have so only a small bit of Adair was banished to the oak tree." The Morrigan smirked at the thought. "Mortals and their silly rituals." The barrier suddenly came down and The Morrigan clapped her hands. "There! Now come on before it comes back up!"

Arthur, Brian and James ran into the cave entrance after The Morrigan.

4 days later...

Patrick was with Dutch, Hosea, Aoífe and Arthur Jr. in Dutch's hotel room when Arthur Sr. walked in. He had a beard and he looked worn out. Everyone smiled at him.

"Daddy!" the twins screeched as they ran to him. He went to his knees and hugged them both. Patrick smiled, but then the happiness faded when he saw the look on Arthur's face. Something was wrong.

"Arthur? What's wrong?" Patrick asked him.

Arthur wiped a tear away and looked at the babies with a sad smile. "Let's not talk about it now, Patrick. Not in front of the babies."

Dutch stood up. "Arthur, what happened? Is Lilly okay?"

Arthur got up with both the babies in his arms. "Not in front of my children, okay?"

Hosea frowned as Arthur went to leave with the children. "Wait a minute, Arthur. The kids are due for their nap. Should we put them down here?"

Arthur shook his head as another tear fell down. "No. No, I got it."

Patrick walked over and grabbed Arthur's shoulder. "Arthur, talk to us. Let us help you with the kids, then tell us what happened, okay?"

Arthur nodded and sniffled. He walked to Dutch's sitting room where the cribs were set up and he rocked his children to sleep with a song before putting them down. As soon as Arthur exited the room and shut the door, he fell to his knees and gripped his hair with a load groan. The three concerned men quickly walked over to him.

"Arthur, where's Lilly?"

Arthur got up and wiped his eyes. "They turned her into a god damn werewolf!"

Patrick, Hosea and Dutch all let out gasps. "What?" Patrick said.

"She's a werewolf and now she follows Dothur and Willow and Carman."

Patrick lowered his head and stared at the ground with clenched fists. "How did they convince her to switch sides?"

"It's not about convincin', it's magic that's cloudin' her mind. And even if we manage to break that magic, she might stay in wolf form forever." Arthur collapsed into a chair and clasped his fists together, pressing his mouth to them angrily.

"...So there's a chance to get her to come back to our side?"

"Yes, but...she disappeared. We lost the trail and I have no idea where she is. I don't know where my wife is." Arthur's eyes filled with tears. "Why do we keep losin' each other?"

Patrick looked at Dutch and Hosea who seemed very worried about their adoptive son. Patrick went to Arthur's side and put a hand on his shoulder. "We will get her back, Arthur. We'll get her back and we'll figure out how to fix this."

Patrick went and grabbed his black coat. "Where are you going?" Hosea asked.

"To find Mr. Bradley. He's a Freemason. They might have information on werewolves, so maybe I can get them to find something. Arthur, do not give up on her, you hear me?"

Arthur leaned back in his chair. "I'll try not to."

For days, between meeting with Mr. Bradley and taking care of the twins, all four men dove through every book the Freemasons had about werewolves. They didn't find much to help them in their cause, especially with trying to cure one of being a werewolf. They also had a hard time finding how to get a werewolf to be like their human self, mentality wise. Arthur spent a lot of time drinking bourbon while reading, and he was letting his beard grow out. God, it was so frustrating trying to find a way to help Lilly. The Morrigan told him that since Lilly had escaped them that night, she'd be easier to keep an eye on. How The Morrigan was going to do that, Arthur couldn't say. Arthur turned the page and kept reading. His eyes were losing focus and he decided to light a cigarette. He wiped his bloodshot eyes almost aggressively as he smoked. Patrick looked at him with concern.

"Arthur, maybe you should take a break," Patrick said.

Arthur drew a puff from his cigarette. "Nope, I'm good."

"Are you sure, son?" Dutch asked. "You look like shit."

"I said I'm good," Arthur snarled.

Dutch put his hands up as a sign of backing off. Hosea jumped up. "Hey, I think I found something!"

Arthur looked up at Hosea. "What's that?"

Hosea held his book up and started reading outloud. "One way to possibly reverse lycanthropy, though it has not really been tested, is for the afflicted to eat the heart of the werewolf that bit him or her."

All the men made "ew" noises. "Well, she's supposed to kill Dothur anyway," Arthur said, taking another drag from his cigarette.

"Okay, but how do we get her to go against Dothur? Isn't she on their side now?"

"I have a plan for that," The Morrigan said.

All the men jolted at her voice and looked behind them at her. "Jesus, Morrigan, you really need to stop sneakin' up on us like that," Arthur rasped.

The Morrigan chuckled and sat down at the table. "Anyway, I have been doing some digging in my realm and I've found some interesting tidbits on how to lift the magic from Lilly's mind."

"Digging in your realm?"

"Yes. We have a very extensive library."

Arthur blinked a few times. "The land of the dead has a library?"

The Morrigan sighed. "It's not just a land of the dead, ya silly man."

Dutch chuckled deeply. "Okay, tell us what you found out."