Chapter 14
Philip drifted in and out of consciousness, his face, and head ached so much that he found solace in a dreamless sleep. As instructed by Camila, everyone in the house was going to take turns to watch over him as he slept on the couch - his horns were not as long as they were before so now, he finally could lay there if he curled up, a pillow under his head now - before they had to wake him up every three hours. They were told by Camila they had to wake the man up just to make sure his concussion wasn't getting worse.
Camila took the first two shifts, setting up thicker curtains to block out the rising sun later and placing curtains by the entrance of the living room to keep the room dark for Philip. She had even thrown a recently washed blanket over him.
When she woke him up twice during her shift, he was too exhausted to say much. Despite offering him water, he simply turned his back to her, struggling as he moved as his head slightly spun for a few seconds before he settled back down. Camila stayed awake for the six hours, and she was okay with that knowing there was too much on her mind to fall asleep.
She was worried about the people that had attacked Philip since they could use magic and advanced technology. Her thoughts immediately went to the government after Gus had described to her what he had seen in Philip's memories. She wondered if the government found out about Philip after the police were attacked a week ago, the scene possibly captured by dash cams. If the government was behind attacking Philip, then they were for sure hunting him down which meant the kids were in huge trouble. Camila's concern grew for the safety of the children since some of them were present during the fight against Philip, so their faces may have been captured as well. She couldn't bear the thought of letting the kids out of her sight now, or let Luz and Vee go to school, especially if the government could match Vee's face to Luz's. Then again, keeping them from school might raise red flags as well.
She threw her face in her hands, trying to stay calm and hoped she will have a better sense on what to do the following day once she had enough sleep. She was glad they finally reached the weekend so she could stay at home with the kids; gives them enough time to plan things.
Camila was also worried how Philip was going to react with them once he felt better. She was probably being naïve, but she didn't think he would try to hurt any of the children in her house even though he knew about the oath being a fluke. Since he was great at ignoring his feelings relating to the terrible things that had happened to him in a way, she didn't think he would hold the kids' actions towards him in the basement against them that much. He most likely will act like nothing happened. And even if he did want to hold the kids accountable for messing up, he had no right to demand anything from them since he has done far worse to them in the past.
After her shift, Camila let Hunter and Willow take over. They sat together, watching videos to distract themselves, but Hunter's mind was elsewhere. He couldn't stop thinking about the man in the room and the bodies that were removed from the forest.
Hunter continued to feel guilty for assuming Belos had killed innocent people. And he hated himself for looking away when Belos was asking for basically his help back at the basement, to believe him. But at the same time… Hunter was asking himself why would he feel bad if Belos did worse things to him in the past. Philip didn't care for his feelings and wanted him dead.
'Because you do care for him,' he told himself mentally. 'That's why you wanted him back in the house even if he wasn't going to apologize to you. You also wanted to work on a puzzle together as if you're family…'
Hunter shook his head with frustration, trying his best not to dwell now on how still wants to be in Belos' good side and instead tried to focus on the potential dangers that were now lurking outside for them. After all, he was raised as a soldier, so he was accustomed to being vigilant for problems. Now, looking for Titan's blood was going to be difficult if there was someone outside looking for Belos.
He wondered if maybe… someone knew Belos was in the house… and if they did, then was it a matter of time others came attacking them?
"I don't think we're safe here," Hunter whispered to Willow, who met his gaze with concern.
"Yeah. Amity said the same thing earlier," Willow replied. "But where else can we go? We also have to find Titan's blood here because I don't think there might be any outside of Gravesfield."
Hunter sighed, the weight of their situation heavy on his shoulders. "I hate saying this, but if there is no Titan's blood outside of Gravesfield, then we may have to wait to get back to the Boiling Isles till it's safe to return here."
Willow's heart sank at the thought of being separated from her dads for even longer. Not knowing if her dads were alive or safe was eating her up, but she forced a smile for Hunter's sake, to mask her feelings from him.
"Yeah, that makes sense," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
Hunter nodded, but avoided looking back at Belos, who continued to sleep soundly on the couch.
As their time watching Belos drew to a close, Willow reached out to poke him, but Hunter stopped her with a gentle grip on her arm and a shake of his head. He whispered to her that Gus wanted to wake him while he and Amity took over the shift, so Willow went with Hunter to find their friends. In no time, Amity and Gus approached him. Amity used the end of an umbrella to poke him awake.
Philip groggily opened his eyes, letting out a low growl of frustration from the constant sleep disturbance, though this time he was more alert than before, despite the buzzing in his head. The right arm had grown up to his wrist now.
He slowly turned on his back, eyes side glaring at Amity and Gus, who were standing a few feet away from him. The sight of them reminded him of what happened in the basement, which made him look up at the ceiling, ignoring the urge to disappear into the shadows; he wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he felt so humiliated about how the kids had tricked him, almost 'sealed' him up and how they had witnessed him look so pathetic begging them to listen to him. He also hated himself for allowed Camila to bathe him as if he was some weak infant. He couldn't believe he had also let his emotions get the best of him at that time too.
'You're weak…'
That he was. He had always lacked the strength that the Minister had.
He tried to shove all the emotions back into his mind, but it was harder to do this time around as he still felt… exhausted.
"Sorry to wake you up again, but it's been three hours, so yeah, had to wake you up," Gus said, trying to make conversation. "How are you feeling?"
Philip continued staring at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head. He tried not to think about certain things that were plaguing his mind relating to what Luz had said about the people he had killed in the past in Gravesfield and tried to hold himself back from wanting to ask Gus a certain question now that he was in his presence.
"We're sorry for, well, what happened at the basement," Amity said, which made Philip's eyebrows furrowed from confusion at the apology.
A second witch, apologizing to him, and sounded sincere…
He clenched his teeth hard as he did his best to not look at her and not think about the apology much while the question, he had for Gus, was clawing at him again.
But, he gave up fighting the urge as his mind was too weak to deny the answers he was seeking.
"I wish to speak to Gus alone," Philip said in a rough voice. His eyes squinted as pain shoot through his face when he spoke.
Gus blinked with confusion as Amity frowned.
"Nope, not going to let that happen," she said, crossing her arms on her chest.
"Wait, Amity," Gus said. "Just give us fifteen. I'll be fine," he assured her with a smile.
Amity frowned. She wanted to stand her ground, but the way the boy's eyes looked at her pleadingly made her sigh in defeat.
"I'm giving you guys ten minutes, and not more. Everyone will freak if they find out I let you by yourself with him," she said before she disappeared into the kitchen, pulling a curtain closed behind her.
Gus perched himself on the edge of the coffee table, hands pressing on his knees as he eyed Philip before he looked down before sighing.
"I didn't mean to look at the other memories," he mumbled, his voice laced with guilt. He thought Philip was furious, that more of his memories were seen instead of just the one with the humans using magic. The new ones Gus had witnessed were disturbing like the others, but this time it didn't make him scared of Philip like the first ones he had seen, and instead it made him feel worse for him.
One of the memories, the boy couldn't help but wonder if the man that was choking Philip as a kid was his dad…
The boy wanted to ask Philip about that memory but was pretty sure Philip would probably slash his face off if he tried.
"Why… did you do it…?" Philip continued to avoid eye contact with the boy as he asked his question.
Gus looked up with hesitation.
"I mean… I still don't have full control over this power of mine to look at people's memories," Gus tried to explain.
"I don't mean that," Philip said with annoyance before his blue eyes bore into the boy. Even though they looked duller, they still looked fierce. When all Gus did was stare with confusion, Philip forced the nagging question out of his mouth. "Why did you help me…?" Philip did his best to keep his voice low and dangerous, to hide the frustration that was growing in him at the fact a witch had helped him. "You could have just let them do what they were going to do."
Gus furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would I do that?" he asked.
"You guys don't need me anymore," Philip admitted begrudgingly.
"But what happened wasn't really your fault," Gus replied. "Look, man, I know you hate witches and you've done terrible things to my kind which, honestly isn't cool at all, but…. locking you up like that at that moment wasn't right. Especially if some of us weren't completely sure what had happened back in the forest."
Philip growled with annoyance. So, the boy was going to act like he was good? Well, Philip was ready to tear that act apart as he forced himself to sit up to face the boy. "You guys lied to me about the oath," he accused.
"Well, you weren't really going to help us make the portal unless we made you, and we were also making sure we felt safe around you," Gus defended. "Don't forget you were going to kill us back at the cave before the Collector stopped you."
Philip's expression hardened, hating that the boy was right, but still. "Well, now that I know there is no oath, what makes you think you're safe from me now? Once I grow stronger, I can destroy you all and take your palisman. Then I'll find the Titan's blood and go back to the Boiling Isles and finally complete my mission."
Gus watched in silence as Philip's voice sounded frustrated. The man was clearly agitated, but Gus couldn't understand why. Shouldn't Philip be relieved that he was no longer bound by the oath? And the boy couldn't help but notice he didn't feel that scared of him as well.
"None of you stand a chance against me once I'm fully healed," Philip continued. "You know that, right?"
Gus recalled how much he and his friends struggled during their fight against Philip at the Titan's skull and how they basically lost. "Yeah… we know," the boy admitted quietly.
The boy's response made Philip's eyes blaze with frustration as he glared at the boy now, who met him with a calm glance. Philip wanted nothing more than to shake the boy violently and demand an explanation for why he had helped him. The boy gained nothing to keep him here in the house with them. No one in the house gained anything by keeping him free.
"I just know is in that moment… it was the right thing to do," Gus said.
"You're a fool," Philip hissed.
"Man, I don't understand you…" the boy muttered. "You asked me for your help, so I helped. Shouldn't you be happy now that you have the upper hand?"
"I have nothing holding me back from snapping your neck now," Philip snarled, ignoring the boy's question.
Despite Philip's threatening words, Gus stood his ground and met his gaze without fear.
"Why did you save me?" Philip demanded.
Gus held his stare, his eyes unblinking before he repeated himself. "Because it was the right thing to do."
Philip's eyes flashed blue as he grabbed Gus by the shirt and pulled him close. "You're a witch," he spat at him, the curse slightly trembling as if it wanted to expand on his face. "You're incapable of doing the right thing!"
Gus grabbed Philip's wrist, holding it firmly in place, but didn't struggle as he tried not to look into the dark bruises around Philip's face or the dark circles that were more prominent under his eyes. Amity rushed into the room, creating a protective barrier of purple ooze around her arms.
"Let him go," Amity said, annoyed, as she had been standing right on the other side of the curtain, listening in their conversation, ready to step in case things got ugly.
"I'm alright, Amity," Gus said calmly, never breaking eye contact with Philip, who was glaring at the boy with undisguised hatred.
Amity looked at him as if he was crazy. "That doesn't look like it's okay," she waved her arms in Philip's direction.
"He's not going to hurt me," Gus said, his voice unwavering.
'Kill him…'
Philip's hand trembled with rage. He imagined himself bashing the boy's head against the coffee table, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It felt wrong somehow. He pushed the boy away from him, not too harshly, but enough to make him stumble and fall on the coffee table with a thud. Philip laid back on the couch and turned his back to the boy, not even bothering with the blanket that just laid there on the ground. He desperately wanted to leave the house, but the possibility that there were other witch hunters outside for him was an enormous risk. So, instead, he stayed there and tried to fall back to sleep and ignore what just happened in the room, even though the pain in his head was worse for getting himself worked up.
After Gus assured Amity that he was fine, she hesitated and went back to the kitchen.
"Is that why you're mad at me?" Gus dared to ask. "Because I did something good?"
The air around them grew tense as Philip's hand twitched, his fingers itching to tear the couch apart, but he fought the urge and instead hissed through his gritted teeth. "No one in the Boiling Isles does anything without wanting something in return."
Gus frowned at the man. "What about Hunter?" he asked. "He used to do things for you without really wanting something in return…"
"Hunter was built by my two hands to do what he's told," Philip sneered. "So, of course, he listened to me without wanting anything back at first. But doesn't matter now, just like the rest of the other clones, he has grown defective."
Gus shook his head in disbelief. "Hunter is not some mindless machine," the boy said. "Yes, you made him, but he's a person with feelings and a conscience. And honestly, I don't get you, man. You dismiss Hunter as nothing but a brainless thing when he follows your orders or worries for your well-being. Yet, if he disobeys you and acts like a real person, you just want to get rid of him?"
Philip remained silent, refusing to acknowledge Gus's words, but the boy pressed on. "But of course, you don't believe me, since you don't believe any witch is capable of doing good or being honest," the boy said, slightly irritated, but then he tried to imagine if Luz didn't meet Eda when she first arrived in the Boiling Isles. He wondered how she would have been treated by the rest of the witches and demons before she met him and Willow. Honestly, the boy could see the witches and demons would have probably taken advantage of Luz's curiosity and optimism. He wondered how things were in the past when Philip first walked among the witches and demons. "Has… any other witch… ever did anything good when you arrived at the Boiling Isles…?"
Philip glared at the couch, his left hand gripping his right arm before digging his fingers into his flesh.
"Well, I guess I don't blame you for thinking that everyone in the Boiling Isles is selfish," the boy sighed, hating to admit it. "After all, witches there aren't exactly known for their kindness. Majority of them are more concerned with their own interests and desires and they'll do whatever it takes to get what they want."
He paused, his mind wandering back to the time he had a hard time himself with his own people. "I know what's it's like to be used and taken advantage of by others," the boy said. "For a while, people made me think I was worthless and that no one wanted to be my friend unless they found some use of me. Like, other kids used to act like my 'friend' so they could get good grades in projects or have me do their homework since I was the smart kid. Yet… I was probably the dumbest one for falling for their lies," the boy sighed before his face brightened as he remembered how Willow had come into his life. "But then Willow reached out when I needed help," he said with a smile. "I didn't trust her at first, but she pushed herself into my life. She saw me for who I really was, and she didn't use me or make fun of me. She helped me when I needed it most, and we became good friends."
The boy leaned back on the table, lost in thought. "If it weren't for Willow, I might have given up on trusting people altogether. But now I know that there are good witches and demons out there."
Good witches…
Philip didn't meet any good witches when he arrived in the Boiling Isles. They all were liars, though, he was silent as a forgotten memory creeped into his mind.
Philip had been staying at the Boiling Isles for five months now. As he trudged through the darkened streets of the Boiling Isles, Philip felt the weight of his exhaustion and hunger bearing down on him like a heavy cloak. His once-clean clothes were now stained and torn, and his beard and moustache had grown a few inches.
As he passed by one of the many homes that dotted the town, a young witch caught his eye. She was sweeping the front stoop, her broom swishing back and forth in a rhythmic pattern. As Philip walked past, he felt her gaze settle on him, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding.
"Hey, are you okay?" she called out, her voice tinged with concern.
At first, Philip didn't react. His shoulders tensed, his mind flashing back to all the times he had been tricked and humiliated by witches and demons before.
He had stopped walking before his cold eyes looked over his shoulder, glaring at her with such detest and hostility that it made her take a step back, her eyes widened from what Philip saw was fear before he turned away from her and just continued walking, reminding himself he would never ever fall for a witch's lies again.
"So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that we aren't all terrible. People in the Boiling Isles are improving, just like humans on Earth are slowly becoming open minded and caring as well," Gus said, pulling Philip from his memory of a person who had seemed to have wanting to reach out to him like Willow did with Gus, but unlike Willow, the witch had been too scared from his hostility to push further. "I'm serious, Philip. I understand why you don't trust us, since, well, I was mistreated by others as well. But it doesn't give you the right to be such a jerk to those who aren't trying to harm you in any way. Hunter honestly does care for you and you should get to know him, give him a chance."
Philip tried not to imagine the magenta eyes that would look up to him with what looked like adoration in the past.
"I know it's hard to let people in. Heck, when Willow was befriending me, the voices in my head were telling me not to trust her."
Philip's heart had skipped a beat. "Voices…?" he asked, with a bit of hesitation to ask. His mind had gone blank for a moment too.
Gus rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah… I had voices in my head that wouldn't leave me alone. Well, it's my own voice I guess in a way. I mean, there are still times I still hear them, trying to make me feel awful or reminding me not to trust anyone."
Philip felt a lump in his throat as Gus continued to describe his experience, which was utterly similar to what he would hear himself.
"But Willow taught me how to shut them out," Gus said.
Philip was stunned as he had never met anyone who admitted to hearing… voices in their heads. For a long time, he thought he was the only one… Thinking he was cursed. He remembered when the voices were that bad at first, barely audible whispers when he was a child, but they grew louder and darker as he got older, especially when he was failing on his mission.
"She told me to take few deep breaths and focus on that." Philip heard the boy explain.
"What if that doesn't work…?" Philip was hesitant to ask, which caught the boy off guard to hear the confusion coming from the man.
"I guess, it can be hard at times, but it eventually works."
Philip clenched his teeth in frustration. "What if it never works for… others?" he let out.
Gus stared at Philip, slowly realizing what he meant.
So… Philip also heard voices.
"What… do the voices say to you?" the boy asked, quietly.
'You really… asking for that wretched creature's help again…?' the voice hissed, which made Philip clutch his shirt before he shut his eyes, feeling shame and disgust at himself for seeking the boy's advice.
Gus waited for Philip's response, but as the main remained unresponsive, a sense of worry washed over the boy.
"Philip?" he tried again, but to no avail. The silence only made Gus more uneasy, especially since Philip seemed to have been asking how to stop the voices since the breathing technique didn't help him…
The boy decided not to push the man further and ask him another time about the voices, especially since Camila had warned them to let him rest, since his head injury was going to continue giving him some issues for a bit.
"You should get some rest now," he gently suggested. "But if you ever want to talk about the voices, I'm all ears. I won't judge. And if you want me to show you the internet later, I can do that too when you feel better."
As Gus spoke, Amity emerged from the kitchen and joined them in the living room, taking a seat in the same corner where Willow and Hunter had sat earlier. She and Gus huddled around the laptop and watched some shows in low tones for a while until Amity leaned in to speak softly to Gus.
As Gus searched for a new video to watch, Amity broke the silence.
"Whoever attacked him, they weren't alone," she said. "If they can use magic, then do you think we're in danger?" she turned to Gus.
"I told Camila what I saw in Philip's head, described to her the humans and how they used magic and some advanced weapons. She said she wasn't sure who they might me, but since they can use magic and were going at Philip, well, it might now be good news for us," the boy said.
"And the way their bodies were just removed after we left with Philip, seems like they know what they're doing," Amity added.
Philip laid there, eyeing the fabric of the couch as he listened to the children's conversation.
So… the bodies after they left were removed from the scene. He guessed that whoever attacked him belonged to a bigger group and were possibly well trained on witch/demon hunting and most likely they were still looking for him…
The room was filled with silence for a moment, with a light music video playing before Amity spoke up again.
"He has a point, you know," she said, her voice barely audible, but Philip could hear her well. "If he fully recovers, he could kill us."
Gus paused, considering his words. "But he won't," he replied, his voice confident.
Amity raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"
Gus turned to face her. "Philip was one of the most powerful beings in the Boiling Isles," he said. "He could have killed Luz and Eda at any time after she helped him find the Collector, but he didn't. He didn't even try killing Lilith later."
"Well, he announced to the public he was letting them free."
"But he could have still killed them without anyone noticing," Gus said calmly. "Especially since Eda and Lilith were so weakened by their own curses, they wouldn't have been able to defend themselves against him."
"I mean, he was still going to kill everyone in the end so, why does it matter if he didn't do it earlier than later?"
Gus shrugged. "I don't know… but I think it might mean something… Don't you think?"
Amity turned to look at Philip, who they believed was asleep again. She leaned against the wall, crossing her legs.
"Is it weird that I also don't feel like he's going to hurt us?" she asked the boy, who blinked at her. He was surprised she was feeling the same way as him. "I also think it's weird how the curse seemed to pull away for the most part. I wonder why that happened…"
"Yeah, that is weird," Gus agreed, though he had a theory of why the curse acts out or hides away.
"He obviously hates us, and he almost killed everyone in the Boiling Isles, yet, Willow and I, we aren't afraid of him killing us while we sleep. Though I am still hesitant to really make him mad."
"Yeah, he does have some anger issues," he said with amusement, making Amity chuckle. "But in all honesty, I feel we should be fine," he said, eyeing back at Philip. "Cause… I think deep inside… he may not actually like killing others."
Amity raised an eyebrow at the boy.
"Okay, now I feel you're making things up."
"I'm serious," Gus said. "Yes, he killed all those clones, but that's cause he thinks they are like mindless machines in a way. And yes, he has killed others as well, but…" the boy sighed as he tapped the back of his head against the wall where he was leaning on, as one memory in his head was in his mind, one that he had seen in just a flash and felt Philip's emotions.
"Hang the witch, hang the witch!" there was a chant of people from town as a four year old Philip was following his father and Caleb as they were walking past a crowd of people where a young woman had a noose around her neck, high on a platform. In one moment she was in tears and in another she was just hanging there, eyes greyed out, face pale as a ghost.
Little Philip was staring at the body with wide eyes, completely frozen at the way the lifeless body just hang there. He could not process what had occurred before his dad yanked him away harshly by his arm to keep moving. Then the scene had moved to Caleb hugging little Philip, who was crying on his chest, clearly traumatized from the entire ordeal.
"It's okay Philip," Caleb comforted him soothingly. "That woman, she was an evil witch," he said. "So, don't cry anymore. You're okay."
"It's just complicated…" Gus sighed as he stopped thinking about the memory when Philip was so scared to see death in front of his eyes.
Now the boy was wondering what they were going to do with Philip once they could return to the Boiling Isles. Would they still seal him up for everything he has done? Should they let the people in the Boiling Isles to decide his fate?
Then again, letting people from the Boiling Isles to decide on a punishment was probably not the best idea. He couldn't help but remember how the people in Gravesfield acted when they thought a person had caused terrible deeds with magic. Now, if someone did do something terrible the public may want more than a simple death… and since Philip seem to be basically immortal, the boy was too afraid to imagine what people in the Boiling Isles was capable of doing with someone like him.
Gus felt he was out of his element to think of what they could do with Philip as a punishment, especially since he kept wanting to prove to Philip the people from the Boiling Isles weren't all bad and that he should give them a chance…
The boy sighed.
Why did life had to be so complicated?
While the two settled back into silence, Philip didn't know what to think about what they had said. They really thought he would not hurt them?
He felt he should be glad they trusted him so he could easily betray them later, but it was strange… as he thought about Gus at the moment.
At first, he couldn't stand the boy, especially since he had intruded on his memories and because he was a witch, but now… that hatred he felt towards other witches wasn't so strong towards Gus.
'That's because he's brainwashing you…' the dark voice hissed before what Gus said rang in his head about the voices in his own head.
"Reminding me not to trust anyone."
'You're a fool to listen to him,' the dark voice insisted.
'Trying to make me feel awful.'
Philip shut his eyes hard, trying to stop the voices and memories in his head and he couldn't help but slowly trace his face with his fingers as he also wondered, just like the kids, why the curse had pulled away a lot, since… he hadn't had any palisman in a while…
He let his arm drop to his side before curling up more, his mind getting dragged to sleep again as the weight of exhaustion was too much to ignore.
He just hoped he wasn't so tired soon so he could plan his next steps relating to his situation and his mission.
The rest of the story is in archive of our own under the name Nisroc Chico : ), incase anyone wants to read the rest. I will be posting up the rest of the story, but in a timely manner for peeps who don't have access to archive of our own.
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