Chapter 19
Hunter and Willow walked through the forest as the sun continued to hover up in the sky.
Occasionally, Hunter would pause, stoop down to examine the ground, or take in their surroundings before continuing their trek. Flapjack perched silently on his left shoulder, the boy's numerous yawns and tired eye-rubs filled the bird with concern but would say nothing about it. On the other hand, Willow's hand found a gentle resting place on the boy's opposite shoulder.
When Hunter turned to her, perplexed, she gave him a soft smile. "Perhaps we should rest," she suggested, gesturing towards a nearby tree.
Although Hunter was inclined to object, Flapjack took the initiative and flew to the tree that Willow had indicated. "Come on," Willow encouraged, and soon they were both settled against the red maple tree's trunk.
Hunter didn't realize he had dozed off until a gust of wind jolted him awake, wrapping his arms around himself. He whipped his head around to realize that the sun was waning, and Willow was watching him with amusement, but with a hint of concern.
"Good evening, sleepy head," she teased.
"I'm sorry," Hunter muttered, brushing his eyes that still felt too heavy to keep open. "I didn't mean to sleep." He attempted to get back on his feet, but Willow held onto his arm, preventing him from standing.
"Hunter," she addressed him in a firm tone. "You've been searching for Belos for over a week, barely sleeping. You won't find him if you're exhausted, especially if you haven't noticed you've been leading us in circles earlier."
Hunter's brows furrowed and Flapjack chirped in agreement as he rested on one of his knees, confirming that they had indeed been retracing their steps.
Hunter sighed and leaned back against the tree, tapping the back of his head against its rough bark. "Damn it," he murmured, mostly to himself, as he couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness settle over him. For the past nine days, he had been leaving the house to search around the forest for his uncle, Belos. Even with the help of his friends Gus and Willow, they hadn't been able to find a single trace of him. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
"I can't just sit here and…" he brought his knees against his chest before wrapping his arms around his legs. "What if something bad happened to him?" he pressed his forehead against his knees, his voice growing heavy with worry. "What if those people took him away or…"
Though, Hunter had a strong sense that Belos was still safe somewhere. The man was powerful and wouldn't be taken down by anyone that easily, but the boy still couldn't help but worry a bit.
Flapjack nuzzled his head against Hunter's, his eye filled with concern.
Hunter managed a small, humorless laugh. "Sorry, I know you don't care about Belos, and you probably want him dead," he paused. "And I can't blame you for it, but…"
"Hunter, you don't have to apologize for what you feel," Willow said, keeping a comforting hand on his arm. "We may not understand your situation to a certain extent, but we're here for you. We're not judging you for caring about him. Even though he doesn't deserve you losing sleep over him, and especially doesn't deserve your love."
"You know… there were times that he made me think he cared about me…" Hunter admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "Especially when I was younger… and honestly, maybe he just pretended to so he could manipulate me."
Willow wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to comfort him, make him feel better by saying that maybe Belos did care for him, but… she believed Belos in fact did only try to play with the boy's feelings by acting like a caring guardian.
After all, Belos did need some sort of loyal minion by his side to do his bidding.
"When I was nine years old, Belos gave me my first staff," Hunter began as he slowly sat up. "I remember how excited I was, even though he didn't seem happy. He told me with the staff he made, I could use magic."
Willow listened as Hunter recounted the memory, his eyes fixed on the darkening sky.
"But… then I was kind of sad when I held it in my hands the first time around and my uncle asked me what was wrong." Hunter remembered the way Belos raised an eyebrow when he noticed Hunter's huge grin had slowly dropped. "I asked him if I was cheating by using the staff cause everyone else didn't need one to use magic."
Willow imagined Belos just rolling his eyes and probably lectured Hunter for wasting his time by asking such questions, but Hunter had a soft smile on his face instead of the usual pained one when he brought Belos up.
"What did he say?" Willow asked, curiously.
Hunter smiled more. "He didn't say anything for a moment, and just observed me," he responded, recalling how Belos kneeled to meet me at eye level. His blue eyes didn't hold any coldness to it like it sometimes did, they seemed calm. "But then, he told me, that using the staff isn't such a simple task, and it's not like a palisman's staff. Instead of a palisman helping me to wield magic, I have only myself to figure it out and it's going to take a lot of time to learn how to use it properly. He told me it took him a while to use it without blowing things up. He assured me that using the staff wasn't cheating since I had to put tons of mental effort into mastering it."
Willow was surprised that Belos took the time to, in his own way, to soothe Hunter with his concern of taking the easy way of using magic.
"Then I tried using the staff, and I blew up the door to the room," Hunter chuckled, causing Willow to blink. "But Belos just looked at me with a smile and said, see? I told you it's not a simple task."
Willow let go of his arm, but got scooted closer to him, as she took in every word of his.
"And after that, I practiced and practiced for hours every day," Hunter said. "Trying to prove to him and to myself that I can become a proper witch. Become the next golden guard, especially since the coven heads would look down at me as some weak 'prince'," he grumbled at the countless of times that certain coven heads just dismissed him, though he couldn't help but not hold much of a grudge against a certain coven head since he had treated him with affection after standing up to him. Hunter hoped Darius was okay at the Boiling Isles… He hoped to one day show Darius how much he has improved with his sewing, "I guess after I started to focus so much to become amazing at using magic, Belos and I rarely interacted till I became the golden guard, but by then… he was different…" he said, his voice trailing off. "And I can't help but wonder that maybe he didn't want me to learn magic. Maybe that's why he didn't seem so happy when I asked him when I could use a staff like he did, and why we drifted apart when I started practicing magic."
"It's not your fault he treated you differently," Willow pointed out.
"I know it's not," Hunter said. "But it's just… Luz says he's a monster, and she said he doesn't care for anyone other than himself, but… I feel like he did care about me before… well before I got into magic…" he mumbled. "Sometimes I wish I didn't care about magic so my uncle would still care for me, but then again… a huge part of me loves making spells."
"You know, Hunter, you have many people who love you. You don't need Belos to care for you." Willow said quietly, making him turn to her with confusion. "Gus, Vee, Luz, Amity, Camila, Flapjack, they all care deeply about you. I especially care about you," she smiled at him, and Hunter stared at her before he felt a bit warm when he just realized how close they were sitting side by side. He quickly glanced away, pressing his legs against his chest, while his heart was now beating faster than usual.
Hunter's heart swelled as he took in her words. He knew his friends back at Luz's house did care for him. They showed him kindness and loyalty he had never experienced before. They spent time with him, talked to him with the same respect he gave to them, and would worry about his wellbeing so much that they would defend him against Belos if they had to in order to protect him. Even now he couldn't believe Camila had slapped Belos that one day for his sake…
And then he just recalled that Camila wanted to talk to him after he had done his run to find Belos that day.
He wondered what she wanted to tell him.
He sensed Willow's eyes were on him, which made him feel nervous again.
"Thank you, Willow, I… I also care about you," he let out quietly, though he couldn't make eye contact with her since he was blushing again and didn't want her to see it.
Willow felt a warm flutter in her chest to hear Hunter's confession, and she couldn't help but smile.
The girl was worried for Hunter, especially how much he spent caring about others, especially for Belos, over himself. He truly was such a caring boy. She didn't want anyone to take advantage of his selflessness.
"I also wish I was as strong as you," the boy muttered, making Willow blink with confusion. Hunter noticed her expression. "You don't let terrible things get to you, like, well… like me," the boy said. "I know you're worried about your dads, but I wish I could stay calm and collected like you more."
Willow didn't say anything to his words this time, feeling an ache in her chest when she thought about her dads.
She quickly shoved her sadness to the side and offered Hunter a soft smile, as she didn't want him to worry about her since he was already dealing with so much himself.
Before the sun rested for the day, the two returned to Luz's home. Camila asked Hunter if she could talk to him privately down in the basement, which he agreed, and soon both were sitting on the couch. The boy had noticed she had a binder of some sort on her lap.
She asked him how the search went, and Hunter somberly told her, just like the other days, he found no trace of his uncle.
Camila assured him that he probably was fine, but soon after, both sat there in the room in silence for a while. Hunter was petting Flapjack's head softly before Camila opened the binder to reveal photos of Hunter and his friends on the pages.
Hunter blinked in confusion. "Why do you have our pictures in that binder?" he asked her.
"It's a photo album," she explained to him. "It's a way for people to preserve our most cherished memories."
"I don't get it," Hunter said. "What's the point of preserving pictures?"
Camila smiled at him before she explained, "Well, it's a way for us to relive those moments we enjoyed so much and also it's fun to share them with others."
Hunter stared at her before looking down at one of the pictures that had him and all his friends trying to fit all in on the couch. They were all squeezed together on a couch, making silly faces. The memory brought a smile to his face.
"The only picture of me back in the Boiling Isles, other than the one Willow took of us in our first derby game, was taken to recruit others into Belos' coven…" he admitted. "I mean, I looked cool, especially since I had the mask on. They put the posters up across the towns on the island.
Camila's heart ached for Hunter. Belos honestly didn't take a picture of the boy even when he was younger?
Hunter flipped the pages and found one of just Camila, Vee, and Luz, all three wearing the same pajama outfits that Vee had asked Camila to buy for them once to match, since they were family.
The boy's eyes glazed over for a moment.
Family…
"Hunter," Camila said softly. "Do you… have anyone to come back to in the Boiling Isles?" she was hesitant to ask.
Hunter's confusion was evident. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, do you have anyone to look after you?" she clarified. "Like a guardian."
At first, Darius came into the boy's mind as someone that he may be able to stay with, but… Hunter didn't really know the man as much as he wanted to. And the rest of the adults in the coven didn't really care about him. At least, that's what Hunter thought. Those who 'respected' him were due to duty since he was 'related' to Belos.
"No…" the boy responded quietly before he quickly added. "But that's okay. I can take care of myself." he straightened up with a proud grin. "I wasn't one of the top of the coven for no reason." Of course, as he said that, he ignored the memories of how he had struggled to feed himself and find a place to sleep after he had run away from the emperor's coven.
"Mijo, you're still a kid," Camila spoke softly, her eyes filled with concern. Imagining Hunter alone without a home was like Luz being out in the streets by herself. Teenagers still needed someone to look after them, as they were still growing physically, mentally, and emotionally. Life can be cruel, especially to younger people who were not fully ready to face it by themselves. "You can't be out there on your own."
Hunter waved his hand dismissively. "It's honestly not a big deal," Hunter said, hoping to ease her worries.
Camila hesitated for a moment before finally asking him what she had been wanting to ask for the past week. "Well… I was bringing it up because, well, you know how I took Vee in as my daughter and now she's part of my family?" she asked with a gentle smile, making Hunter stare at her, and slowly nodded. "Pues… I was wondering since you have no one back in the Boiling Isles…" Hunter, at first, felt warmth in his chest, as he felt he knew where the conversation was going, but then he felt dread when Camila continued. "If… you would like to be part of my -"
Hunter jumped up to his feet, and clutched Flapjack to his chest so he wouldn't fall.
"I totally forgot to check that old house today," Hunter stammered loudly, his voice shaking with nervous energy as he pulled away from the couch.
At first, the boy was confused about what Camila was trying to say, but immediately the boy panicked when the realization dawned on him that she was close to asking him.
"Sorry Camila, I really have to finish my usual rounds, just in case Belos is there," the boy insisted before he rushed upstairs, leaving her alone in the room.
Camila sighed to herself, the boy had been clearly spooked from her question. She couldn't help but wonder if he knew what she was going to ask of him. Though, now she asked herself if he didn't want to be part of her family. Did he run away because he didn't want to hurt her feelings if he said no?
She couldn't help but feel that maybe he believed he couldn't be part of anyone's family because he had to stay loyal to Philip, which added more fuel to her as to why the man shouldn't come back to the house.
Of course, there was still some hesitation in her heart not to abandon the man, but… the kids came first… and she had to stand firm with keeping them safe, even if it meant Philip's life was in danger.
She had hoped that she wouldn't see the man ever again, making her life easier, but later in the middle of the night, as she slept peacefully, her eyes shot open when she heard a pounding at the door downstairs.
No…
Her heart raced as she pulled herself out of the bed and took a peek through the curtains to look down through the window and saw the familiar green horns sticking out of one that was standing outside of the house, in front of the back door.
Why did it have to be now…?
She mentally wasn't ready to see him again. She wasn't ready to make the decision she had kept telling herself to make the past few days, but she found herself rushing out of her room and made her way downstairs.
Camila stopped in front of the door for a moment, telling herself she had to do what was best for the kids. Especially for Hunter, who really needs more time away from his presence so he could heal from all the manipulation and abuse he had endured by Philip. So, Hunter could know exactly what he truly needed in life and not feel guilty or fear for leaving behind his abuser…
So, after a moment to gather her thoughts, she took a deep breath and slowly opened the door.
The terms for the eternal oath were as follows: Philip could only stay in the house until the portal to the Boiling Isles was complete. He would help in its creation and will not cause any physical harm on Luz, Amity, Vee, Hunter, Willow, Gus, Camila, and none of the palisman. Once finished, he must return to the Boiling Isles, tell them how the Collector was sealed, and he will allow them to seal him in the same manner. If they could not replicate the sealing spell, then he would let them imprison him in any way they wanted forever.
Everyone would be lying if they didn't think it was suspicious that Philip agreed to such terms since it was in their favor.
The witches had made their palisman, who seemed so hesitant, turn into staves, before they poised to strike if Belos made any move to harm Amity as she went over to him with a hand stretched out, ready to cast the spell, doing her best to ignore a foul smell emitting from the man. She noticed that she didn't feel the hatred that once vibrated from him like the first time they had done the 'eternal' oath. He didn't wear the disdain look when he extended his monstrous hand before she hesitantly took it. He didn't meet her gaze as he kept his glowing blue eyes, which she noticed were slightly dull, downcast, as she cast the spell.
To her, in a way, he looked so resigned…
He let his hand drop to his side once she released it and she couldn't help but feel in the pit of her stomach something was extremely wrong, even though they were all safe from him now.
Amity may not feel the hostility from him, but she sensed something dark and dangerous from him still.
She tried not to think too much about it for the rest of the night as she was doing her best to focus on Luz who didn't want them to do the eternal oath to begin with, since she thought he was planning something terrible by staying at the house. After a while of calming her down, Amity, Vee, and Willow took Luz back to their room. They told her they should talk about the situation after they had some good night's rest and had a clear mind.
Hunter and Gus were the last ones in the hallway with Camila and Philip. Both couldn't comprehend why Philip would have agreed to such terms, and better yet, propose to them such things.
"Well… I guess the living room is still open for you," Camila broke the silence. Philip said nothing, and simply gave her a curt nod before trudging past them and just made a direct line to the living room.
Hunter had the urge to run after him, but the man's sickly state made him hesitate. Did no one notice how the dark circles hung worse than ever before under Belos' eyes as if he hadn't slept for so long? The man's appearance was more haggard than ever based on his greasy unkempt hair, the growing facial hair looked so uneven, the clothes he wore had stains on them, and he even smelled bad when he walked past them…
Hunter couldn't shake his worry but felt letting him rest was the best decision he could make at that moment, so, he returned to his room, with Gus following suit, and eventually everyone in the house were either in a peaceful or restless sleep.
Philip lay curled up on the ground, a thin blanket draped over his body as he slept the rest of the night and for the majority of Monday. Despite his efforts to rouse himself, his heavy-lidded eyes kept slipping shut, and he would sink back into a deep sleep.
He didn't mean to stay asleep for that long, but he was exhausted, and he couldn't resist the soothing comfort of rest. The heavy weight of fatigue lay heavy on his chest, and the hours would drift along as he slept on.
He was just so tired…
Amity walked past the living room with a bowl of chips during the afternoon. Of course, not without taking a sneak peek of Philip still out cold. Even while he slept, he looked drained.
"I feel like something happened to Philip," Amity said once she was back in the girls' bedroom. She passed Willow the bowl of chips so it could be set between her and Luz, while the two sat on Luz's bed. Luz was caressing her palisman egg silently.
"Is he still asleep?" Willow asked Amity.
"Yeah, which is why I think something happened," Amity responded. "I'm not sure what, but he doesn't seem injured. So why would he be sleeping so much?"
"Maybe he couldn't sleep well out in the cold," Vee suggested from her perch on the bunk bed, while looking at her phone screen.
"Well, he is very old," Willow added. "You know how much old people sleep."
"I don't know…" Amity murmured, unable to shake off the discomfort she had after casting the eternal oath spell. She walked over to one of the cupboards in the room and pulled it open to reveal Ghost and Clover hiding beneath some of Luz's clothing. When she pulled one of the garments up, she was met with wide eyes staring up at her.
"Hey, it's okay," she reassured them. "He can't harm you."
The palisman looked at one another before backing away deeper into the cabinet, saying nothing to her, leaving Amity confused. She decided not to push the two and shut the cabinet.
"They've been acting so weird since Belos came back into the house," Willow noted, which puzzled them all. The last time Belos was in the house, they had hidden the palisman, who acted like everything was fine and wanted to sneak out a lot in the open, but now… even with the eternal oath in place, the palisman seemed terrified.
"Belos is up to something…" Luz muttered, holding her palisman egg closer to her belly. "The palisman wouldn't react like that if nothing was wrong."
"But what can Philip do to us with the eternal oath in place?" Amity asked her girlfriend.
"Everything about this confuses me," Willow said. "He even agreed to let himself seal away. Like, what's up with that?"
"Maybe we should have Gus look into his mind and see if he's planning anything…" Luz grumbled, feeling anxiety grip her heart, wanting to go downstairs and confront Belos. Force him to tell her what his intentions were, but of course she would be a fool if she thought he would admit to be planning anything.
"I mean… it is an option," Amity said.
"Unless Belos doesn't let us," Willow pointed out.
Luz sighed with annoyance before lying on her bed, keeping both hands on her palisman egg as she closed her eyes.
"Is anyone else in the living room with Belos?" she asked.
"Nope," Amity replied. "Hunter and Gus, I think, are still in the basement. Your mom hasn't returned yet from work."
Luz said nothing, relieved the boys weren't near Belos. But she couldn't help but worry that they didn't do a great job at adding more conditions into the eternal oath to insure they weren't going to be betrayed by Belos. She did her best not to worry and tried to think what she could to have some control over the situation more. She had to think of something to make sure no one in the house would try to 'befriend' him like last time or feel bad for him.
While Luz's mind was racing, Vee was texting Masha with a smile.
Masha: You know, sometimes I wonder if deep inside, Philip knows he's been wrong the whole time. Or probably he doesn't since he does seem to view himself as some sort of hero
Masha: If he truly thinks he's right then… how does one make someone like that realize they've been wrong the whole time? He would probably continue to be in denial forever since no one likes to be wrong… You know, many people usually continue to do terrible things, even though they know they are wrong since admitting they had fucked up is scary or humiliating to them
Masha: I suppose I'm not surprised. People can sometimes be so prideful or are just scaredy cats
Vee: Yeah… I think Belos would be too prideful to admit he was wrong.
Vee: Talking about Belos, he's back at the house.
Masha: O.O!
Vee: Lol.
Masha: He came back just now?!
Vee: Nope. He came back like in the middle of the night.
Masha: I wonder where he was the whole time… Hunter couldn't find any traces of him last time I talked to him
Vee: Yeah, idk.
Vee: But honestly, he looked terrible. He looked like he barely slept, which would explain why he's been sleeping since he arrived.
Masha: Hmm… I wonder if this whole time he was just wandering around. Last time we saw him, he did look like he was in shock
Vee: Maybe.
Vee proceeded to tell Masha about the eternal oath that Philip had requested in order to stay at her house, which gave them all a peace in mind that they would be safe from him.
Masha: Okay… THAT's weird…
Vee: Yeah.
Vee: All of us think that, too.
Vee: Luz thinks he's planning something.
Masha: I have so many theories myself… Anyways, please do stay safe
Vee: I will : ).
Masha: Sigh…. I wish I wasn't in school right now : c
Vee: I wish I was in school :'(.
Masha: Hehehe, I know you do ;3
Masha: I also wished you were here :c…
Vee couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach at the two last emojis Masha sent to her.
She smiled while Masha began to tell her how their day was going at school.
Hunter struggled to focus on the Cosmic Frontier episode that Gus had inserted into the DVD player, but his frustration got the better of him, and let out an exasperated sigh.
"I don't get it," he said finally, causing Gus to look at him with concern. Hunter got up from the couch and started pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair. He was relieved that his uncle was safe and back at the house, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was amiss. "Why would Belos ask for those conditions? Why would he even suggest we seal him away?" Hunter shook his head in disbelief. "There's something off about this, Gus. I can feel it in my gut." He turned to his friend with a serious look. "Belos wouldn't offer such conditions unless he wants us to lower our guard."
"I don't know, man," Gus replied, rubbing the back of his head as he recalled Philip's tired appearance. He recalled how Philip avoided their gaze after the eternal oath spell was cast. "I agree. It is weird that he asked for the eternal oath with those terms." Gus tapped his fingers on his knee for a moment, thinking things through. "And it is worrying me that Emmiline and Flapjack are still hiding under the couch."
"I tried asking Flapjack why he's so scared, but he seems too shaken up to tell me anything," Hunter said, falling back onto the couch, scrubbing his face with his hands.
Gus observed his friend, who was clearly in turmoil, struggling with his emotions. Instead of Hunter feeling happy and at ease that Philip was back, the boy seemed to be going through anxiety still, but now possibly from guilt for having the man back under their roof.
"Last week, when we were voting at the dining table," Hunter began quietly, as he leaned back on the couch, looking at Gus. "You asked Luz what if Belos can change. Do you… think… he can?" His voice sounded hopeful, which made Gus's heart drop.
"Maybe…?" Gus muttered quietly. Hunter sighed, taking the boy's response as he wasn't sure what to believe which made Gus continue with a decisive tone. "I think anyone can change, but it depends on them if they want to."
"I don't think Belos wants to change, to tell you the truth," Hunter mumbled. "Just like Luz said, he had 400 years to change, but he didn't." The boy turned to Gus with a grim look. "When Luz and I were inside of his head, months ago, I asked him what he did to the other grimwalkers, and he just brushed off my question as something so insignificant. As if… he didn't care what I found out. He says he loved his brother, but I think he's lying… I think he hated him… that's why the collector told Belos he had fun destroying his clones…"
"I don't really know how Philip felt about his brother's clones, but I do think he was telling us the truth the other day when he said he loved his brother," Gus said. Hunter gave him a look of uncertainty. "Remember when we were fighting Philip back in the Titan's skull?" he asked and continued when Hunter gave him a nod. "I used one of my spells on him, the one that makes people remember the worst experiences in their lives."
"Where you can also see them as well, right?" Hunter asked.
"Yeah."
"So… what did you see?" Hunter kind of assumed one of Belos' worst experiences is stuck in the Boiling Isles and not able to complete his mission faster than he had hoped.
"I saw his brother introducing him to someone," Gus said as he couldn't tell who the person in the red robe was in Philip's memories. "I saw his… brother's motionless body lying in front of him… and I think… the first attempt of him making a grimwalker."
Hunter said nothing, processing everything Gus was saying.
"If one of the worst memories is his brother lying dead, then I think it proves that he did love his brother," Gus said. "Just like… Philip thought the Boiling Isles was a terrible, evil place, yet he found the courage to go after Caleb, to 'save' him. If he didn't love his brother, he probably would have stayed in Gravesfield."
The revelation brought Hunter some hope that there was a chance Belos could change, but then he was confused as to why Belos' first attempt of making a grimwalker would be traumatizing.
"I think I'm going to check up on him," Gus said, getting up from the couch. He had been worried about the man since he left the house, especially after the break down he had in front of them while he argued with Luz.
Philip had said so many disturbing things that evening…
Hunter looked at him with wide eyes.
"You don't have to come with me," Gus assured his friend, imagining Hunter was too nervous to be around Philip since the last time they actually interacted - while Philip wasn't in a state of shock - ended horribly for Hunter. "I'll be okay. Got that eternal oath keeping me safe after all," the boy said with amusement.
Hunter frowned and looked down at his lap, wanting to go along with the younger boy, but couldn't gather the courage to do so. He convinced himself that he shouldn't bother Belos yet and it was better that Gus talked to the man, though… Hunter couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy that Belos did seem to tolerate Gus more than him….
"I'll be right back," Gus said with a smile to his friend before he made his way upstairs and then was in the living room. He approached Philip, who was still fast asleep, but his face looked pinched as if in pain – Gus covered his nose from how badly Philip smelled.
Gus looked up at the clock that was hanging above the entranceway to the kitchen. It was almost 4 pm. He walked over to where Philip was lying, considering poking him with one of the umbrellas from the hallway, but then Philip's eyes snapped open, glowing an intense blue.
Gus stumbled backward, his heart racing, and for a second he thought there was where he was going to meet his end.
He regretted right away coming alone and wished he had his palisman or any of his friends with him. He didn't realize he was breathing fast until he found himself backed against the wall where the TV used to be, his arms raised to shield his head.
Gradually, his thoughts began to coalesce, and he lowered his arms to find Philip sitting up, his face lacking any sort of facial expression and his eyes glowing a bright blue as he stared directly at Gus.
Gus swallowed hard, trying to steady his racing heart. He felt that Philip wasn't fully present since the man didn't seem to blink as they stared at one another for a long moment.
"Philip…?" Gus let out softly, which seemed to do the trick as the man winced, shutting his eyes, and grabbing his head for a moment.
Philip's head ached so badly that it felt like his skull was being crushed from the inside out, and in some way, the pain was also in his arms. But the pain in his was so intense that he struggled to even make sense of things. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, he felt a strange sensation was pulling him at the edges of his mind, preventing him from forming a coherent thought.
It was then he felt fear grip his entire being, his breathing becoming fast and ragged as he fought back at what was taking a hold of him, robbing him of his ability to think clearly. It was as if a thick fog had settled over his thoughts, obscuring everything, leaving him lost and confused in darkness, devoid of any light.
"Philip, can you hear me?" Philip heard a familiar voice and from that, the pain began to lessen.
Philip slowly opened his eyes, Gus noticing how unfocused and distant Philip's eyes were, but the glow wasn't so intense this time around.
"Remember, to take deep long breaths," the boy said. The familiar directions brought awareness on the man after he focused on the boy's voice, doing what he was told.
Philip's brows furrowed as his senses slowly returned to him, realizing where he was and who was in front of him. He tried to speak, but his tongue felt heavy, his throat tight.
Gus continued to watch Philip come back to himself, his eyes completely losing the eerie glow now.
"Are you okay?" Gus asked, his voice soft and gentle, no longer backed up against the wall, but instead on his feet, on the other side of the small table in the living room.
Philip didn't respond. He closed his eyes and pressed his palm against his forehead, taking deep breaths to regain full control of his mind. The curse had unexpectedly flared up while he was asleep, and he couldn't fathom why. From the few times he had lost control, anger seemed to trigger the curse, so he wasn't sure why it would act out while he was asleep with no dreams to provoke it.
He lowered his hand and looked up at Gus, still feeling utterly exhausted, but noticed how Gus was gazing at him with concern.
It was strange… Philip felt… grateful that Gus was there in the room with him, but at the same time, the boy's expression made the man feel ashamed as well.
'You don't deserve his sympathy,' the dark voice hissed, making Philip look away, brows furrowed in anger at himself for making a child, like Gus, worry over him.
He didn't deserve sympathy.
Gus took the man's frustration directed to him for being in the man's presence.
"Sorry," Gus said, making Philip clench his teeth hard. "I wanted to check up on you, since you didn't look so good last night."
The man kept looking away from him and an awkward silence settled into the room.
Gus thought that maybe he shouldn't bother Philip just yet. Maybe he was being too pushy… He considered retreating to the basement when he heard the front door of the house open.
"Ya llegue!" The boy heard Camila call out and in no time, she walked into the living room and frowned to find Gus there.
Again… she shouldn't be surprised, yet… she was.
"Welcome back, Camila," Gus said, sheepishly.
"Thank you, mijo," Camila acknowledged him with a sigh, unable to be annoyed at the boy. She finally turned to Philip who looked frustrated, and still worn out. His blue eyes weren't glowing anymore, but the horns were sticking out of his head and the green substance was still covering half of his face and his feet and arms. She had hoped he looked more human after he had a good rest.
Her nose kind of scrunched up when she walked closer to the two as she could smell the terrible stench in the room, indicating to her he hadn't showered yet.
"Alright, Philip, it's time for you to take a shower," she said. "So, let's get you upstairs, and I'll get you some clean clothes from my room."
For a moment, Camila thought the man didn't hear what she said - he mentally asked himself what the point was of being clean… he didn't feel like washing himself - but then he got up to his feet, but very slowly she noticed, as if something was weighing him down.
He followed her upstairs. He ignored the girls stepping out of the bedroom, especially Luz who was glaring at him.
"What's going on?" the girl demanded, clearly unhappy about Philip near her mother.
"Everything is fine, mija," Camila assured her. "I'm just having Philip take a shower."
Without waiting for Camila, Philip passed by the girls and entered the bathroom.
Camila leaned towards the girls and whispered with amusement. "He was really sticking up in the living room."
"Yeah… I'm not surprised," Amity said, recalling how bad he smelled when she had to stand close to him the night before to do the spell on them.
Camila saw her daughter still glaring daggers at Philip who had his back to her as he stood in the middle of the bathroom.
She wanted to tell her something, but she wasn't sure what exactly. She was afraid that Luz would again get so worked up with Philip in the house.
But, a knowing smile from Amity and Willow eased her concerns, especially when both grabbed Luz's arms and kind of pulled her back into the room before they closed the door.
Camila felt a deep sense of gratitude towards the other girls for watching over Luz. She desperately needed their assistance now that Philip was back. After making her way to the bedroom, she collected a towel and a change of clothes that she had purchased for Philip over a week ago. Placing the items on the sink, she closed the door without exchanging a word with him.
Camila felt a strange awkwardness around Philip, possibly due to her initial refusal to allow him back into the house before he proposed the eternal oath. Although she felt guilty for denying him entry at first, she remained steadfast in her decision to keep the children safe from him.
Though…
She sighed as she couldn't ignore the strong sense of worry that she had for him too.
Life could never be so simple…
As she heard the sound of water running, Camila walked away from the bathroom door and began to plan what to make for dinner.
Philip undressed himself and stepped into the bathtub, closing his eyes as the hot water enveloped him. He sighed in relief as his muscles relaxed for the time being. He massaged his scalp with shampoo, feeling the itchiness disappear. After scrubbing his body with soap, he stood still, longing to stay under the hot water for hours. Maybe even sleep there.
'You have a mission to accomplish,' the dark voice hissed.
He turned off the water and began to dry his hair with the towel before running it over the rest of himself, ignoring the curse that was half way to wrapping around his whole body.
He put on the sweatpants and t-shirt Camila had left for him on the sink, then wiped the steam off the mirror, to stare at his reflection with exhaustion, taking in his haggard-looking face. The dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced than ever before, even though he has been sleeping so much. He ran a hand over his stubble, feeling more than an inch of growth that had accumulated since he last shaved, adding to the beaten look.
As he gazed at his reflection, a wave of contempt washed over him, but not for his appearance. Well... the horns protruding from his head and the green substance coating the left side of his face did represent a constant reminder of the terrible deeds he had committed.
The curse covering his trembling hands, were a physical reminder of what he was….
Tears welled up in his eyes, but he wiped them away with his arm.
'Stop wasting time and complete the mission.'
Philip took in slow deep breaths, stripping himself from the self-pity that dared to consume him as he glared at his reflection with a growing contempt.
"Pathetic…" he let out to himself with a rough voice, having the urge to just grow claws and shred his face apart.
Without wasting any more time, he made his way out of the bathroom and was back in the living room. The blue blanket he had been sleeping on was gone, but another one, with cat looking images, was folded on the couch. He also noticed something else was folded next to it.
His brother's coat…
Camila entered the room, intending to reassure him that she had taken care of his coat in his absence, but then she noticed his hair.
"Wasn't there a brush in the bathroom?" she asked.
Philip didn't recall seeing a brush in the bathroom, nor did he care to search for one. Managing his hair would take too much time since it was a tangled mess for the past week. He didn't want to deal with it…
"It looks pretty bad," Camila commented, taking note of the unruliness of his hair. "When was the last time you brushed it?"
There was no response from the man.
Part of her wanted to leave him alone and go back to the kitchen, as he seemed to be giving her the cold shoulder, which she did not appreciate, especially by how he avoided eye contact with her.
Well, maybe he had a good reason to ignore her since she didn't let him into the house without the oath made, but still…
Or maybe he still felt awkward around her too from the time she washed him…
Either way, the thought of leaving him be with his neglected hair like that seemed so wrong for her, since he always seemed to have his hair taken care of and tied in a low ponytail. He didn't have to say anything about it, but she had seen he took pride in it, more than other people she had encountered.
Even she was kind of jealous how much volume and softness his long hair had.
"I can help you detangle your hair if you need it," she said, offering him a smile as she recalled the times her husband would help her daughter when she was so little when she used to have long hair. Luz didn't let her brush her hair since supposedly she yanked down too much, which was unfortunate since Camila loved brushing long hair. "Let me go get the brush," she added, but Philip moved first, but not towards the stairs. Instead, he walked into the kitchen.
Puzzled, she followed him, as he had no business in the kitchen.
Philip went straight to the knife block on the counter and grabbed one of the knives. He then took a handful of his hair, causing Camila's eyes to widen in horror.
Adrenaline surged through her as she saw what he was about to do.
"Stop!" she shouted, and oh she thanked God or whatever deity that made the man halt his movements, if they had some power over him that is. He had thrust the knife, but stopped before the blade came into contact with a single strand of his hair. "What are you doing?!" She rushed over to him, but didn't reach for the knife, slightly afraid the man would plunge it into her even though the oath prevented him from doing it. "Philip, drop the knife, right now," she instructed sternly, through her heart racing.
Philip dropped the knife, letting it fall to the floor by his feet.
Camila kicked it away from them, letting it slide across the kitchen floor and to make her relax, she pulled the block of knives away from him and set them on the dinner table.
She placed a hand on her chest, trying to calm her heart that was still pounding. She then turned to face Philip who was just standing there, his blue eyes finally making contact with her, but they were empty and lifeless, even though they still held the same coldness he would have at times.
Her mind was racing with so many questions.
What… just happened? Did he seriously not want to deal with his hair anymore? Did he really intend to hack it all off now? Growing hair that long and maintaining it nice like he did took a lot of effort. The idea of running a blade through his long locks seemed drastic to her. To just want to cut it off suddenly didn't make sense to her.
There was something seriously wrong here.
Even though she barely knew him, she had a strong sense he wouldn't really want to get rid of his hair.
"What were you thinking?" she decided to ask, still reeling from the shock of what she had just witnessed. She needed to know what was going on inside his head to make him do something so extreme.
Philip simply continued to stare at her, his eyes narrowing before averting his gaze. "I need… the laptop Gus uses and the list of portal materials I made for you," he finally spoke since the night before, his voice rough.
"What?" Camila let out, not following him from the sudden change of topic.
Why would he want the laptop for?
"Have you guys figured out which materials will be used as substitutes for the portal?" he asked, his tone betraying a hint of impatience.
Camila recalled the children complaining about their inability to find suitable alternatives for the materials required for the portal a few days ago. She remembered suggesting the kids to take a break and since then, she had left the list and instructions on top of the refrigerator.
As she was about to retrieve the papers, the sight of Philip's tangled hair reminded her of what he had almost done. He was an expert at changing the topic and just avoiding her questions.
She thought about making him answer her on why he was going to cut off his hair, but the dark circles in his eyes made her think that maybe telling him to first get some rest was a better idea. He still looked drained.
Maybe she would tell him that after dinner, when she and the children had finished eating, she would give him the items he needed, and of course, she would instead talk to him as her instincts were telling her to do so.
However…
"We'll give you the laptop and the papers, but only if you work on that puzzle you were supposed to do with Hunter," Luz declared, striding into the kitchen with a cold stare fixed on Philip.
Camila stared at her daughter, caught off guard from her daughter's sudden appearance and the words that came out of her mouth. After all, Luz had initially been against the idea of Hunter working with Philip on the puzzle.
And the thought of Hunter being near Philip, after she decided the other day that the boy should have more distance from him, made her nervous.
But if Hunter was okay with working on the puzzle with Philip, then she couldn't do much about it without hurting the boy's feelings. And of course that was if the man agreed to do what Luz said which she doubt he would.
Meanwhile, Philip's heart sank. The mention of the puzzle and how he was supposed to work on it with Hunter brought back a wave of guilt that suffocated him.
Philip's frustration was evident as a frown creased his features, but towards himself as he didn't want the boy near someone like him. Not after everything he has done to him.
He felt an urge to walk out of the house and search the forest for Titan's blood, but then the memory of Hunter's heartbroken face resurfaced in his mind. He couldn't forget how he had cruelly told Hunter that he had no use for him and even suggested that he take his own life.
'Coward…' the dark voice echoed in his head, fueling the self-loathing that throbbed in his chest.
"My mom said you couldn't come back till you apologized to him, right?" Luz challenged as Philip's jaw clenched. "Well, I'm making sure you are held accountable for your actions. And I'm not taking a 'no' for an answer."
"He's only wallowing in self-pity. If he truly regretted his actions, he would try to make amends or at least face those whom he has wronged instead of hiding away." Philip remembered Sister's Margaret's honest words.
'It's the least you can do, for everything you have done to him. You monster…'
Philip's hands turned into shaking fists as he struggled to control the emotions that plagued him. He knew he had to face Hunter sooner or later, especially if he wanted to right the wrongs that he had done, but the thought of being near the boy filled him with dread. Especially as he felt all he would bring to Hunter was pain…
But, after a moment of silence, he made his decision.
"Fine." Philip forced the words out through his gritted teeth, making Camila shocked that he agreed.
Luz smirked in response, a sight that was rare to see for her mother to see.
Camila mentally took note that she had to observe her daughter more and Philip, just in case.
"After dinner though," Camila interjected quickly, trying to make sense of Philip's actions right now. First, he was close to cutting off his hair and now he was agreeing to doing the puzzle with Hunter after he had shown to hate the idea of it before. What was going on…? "I'm almost finished making the beef casserole. Mija, could you please get the others to come downstairs to help me set up the table?" she asked, doing her best to look calm.
Luz didn't bother looking at her mom, her eyes locked on Philip, as she nodded.
Philip seemed to be glaring at her, but there was something strange about it. It didn't look like his anger was directed at her, even though he was looking right at her.
No matter, Luz left the kitchen and went upstairs to fetch the girls from her room so they could help her mom. She mentally patted herself in the back, pleased that the first step of her new plan was set in motion now that Philip agreed to work on the puzzle with Hunter…