As a pack (minus Ryder, who was presumably still sweet-talking Eric, and Halia, who was presumably still watching Victoria), we decided who should go ahead to Hopecliffe with Killian while he was unconscious.
Ember was to teleport Killian and Al there, whereas Thea would run there in hellhound form, finding sanctuary from prying eyes by becoming one with the shadows. Maia too, with her added strength as a skinwalker, was to run there as well. We figured that Ember, Thea and Maia, being the strongest of us all, would be best to keep an eye on Killian. Al was to get in touch with her pixie troupe and then find a suitable cave to hide Killian in.
"What did I miss?" Ryder sauntered into the clearing with a smug grin on his face as we were getting ready to split. His smirk turned into a scowl of mock annoyance. "Wow, thanks for waiting for me before taking him down."
"You had Eric to distract." Thea patted him on the shoulder condescendingly.
"Yeah... What's happening now then?" He asked.
"Ember, Al, Thea and Maia are going ahead to Hopecliffe with Killian," I explained. "And the rest of us are going back to Wednesday's to gather a few things before we catch the bus over there."
"Got it." Ryder nodded, then hesitated – rocking backwards and forwards on his heels. "If you're planning on getting to Hopecliffe before Killian wakes up, you better get going."
Ember squeezed my forearm. "He's right."
"We'll be on the next bus out of Lake Oldoy, I promise," I told her sincerely. "Will you be okay?"
"I'll be okay," she replied with a slight smile and wrapped her arms around me tightly.
"See you soon," I said as she walked away from me.
Once Al had hugged Wednesday, Ember grabbed onto her friend's wrist and knelt down to grasp Killian's shoulder. And in one swirl of fire, the three of them disappeared from sight – hurtling through oblivion across to Hopecliffe.
Thea shifted into her full supernatural form; a great black dog with tendrils fire encompassing it.
<Later, bro.> She eyed me and then sprinted off through the woods, gathering enough speed before she became a black and red blur.
<Be careful.> I reminded her mentally.
<Always am.>
Without a word, Maia crouched down on all fours and let out a fierce growl before chasing Thea through the woods.
And then it was just me, Ryder, Wednesday, Abi and Zack standing amongst the trees. The clearing had disappeared and we were in the thick of the Lake Oldoy woods once again. Yet I was glad the dryads had helped out – we wouldn't have stood a chance against Killian if the dryads hadn't used roots to bind him to the floor.
But we'd had that chance, and we'd used it to our advantage.
~
It was with subdued hearts that we walked back to Wednesday's house. We'd completed the very first step in getting Kaden back; we'd taken Killian down and we sort of knew how to detain him too. Yet while we were still in Lake Oldoy, there was nothing we could do to help.
Though once we got to Wednesday's, I was able to keep my mind busy by packing things up.
"Just get what we need," I told them as we got inside.
"Good thing Zack and I didn't unpack." Abi forced a smile.
"Are you okay about having to move again so quickly?" I asked her in concern. "I know you and Zack only just got here..."
"But we have to help Kaden," Abi finished for me with a gentle smile – a genuine smile, this time. "We know, Theo. We came over here to help you, and if that means helping your possessed friend, then we'll do it."
"Thanks." I smiled back and then hesitated. "I know you never doubt your feelings, but is there any chance your prediction could be wrong?"
She pressed her lips together firmly and her eyebrows tightened in a frown. "I don't think so, Theo. I've never predicted death and been wrong about it... I'm sorry."
"Um, Theo?" Wednesday called down the stairs to me.
"Yeah? What's up?" I went to the bottom stairs to look up at her.
"I just ran the plan past Halia... And she asked what we're going to do with Victoria?"
Shit; I completely forgot about Victoria.
"Could we just let her loose and leave her to fend for herself?" I really didn't need to deal with a headache like Victoria right then, and letting her go seemed like the best option for making her not my problem anymore.
"I mean... She's hardly going to tell anyone anything, is she? No one other than this pack would know that my dad kidnapped and mutilated her, then held her for weeks in the attic," Wednesday replied with a shrug, and I could see that she too was more than ready to be rid of Victoria.
"Fine, we'll let her go once we leave." I decided, then walked upstairs to go pack mine and Ember's things.
It was a good thing I didn't unpack much more than grabbing a new t-shirt and new underwear every couple of days. Ember's bag, a large rucksack, was mostly packed too – meaning I didn't have much to pack other than throwing a few things in and zipping them.
"Wednesday, are you getting the spell books you need?" I shouted down to her, as she'd run downstairs.
"I'm on it!" She called back.
"Ryder, can you check when the next bus leaves Lake Oldoy?"
"Sure thing!"
"Zack, can you get some food from the pantry?"
"Got it!"
"Abi, can you help Halia downstairs?"
"Okay, Mr Alpha," Abi mocked as she walked past me. "Thanks for sticking me on nanny duty."
"Next bus leaves in 15 minutes!" Ryder shouted up before I could respond to Abi.
"We better get moving then!" I called out to everyone – easily taking charge of our need to get to Hopecliffe as soon as possible.
Bags in hand, I raced downstairs and looked around at Wednesday, Zack and Ryder gathering their things up.
"Let's take this nice and slow, okay, Halia?" Abi was taking hold of Halia's arm and helping her downstairs gently.
"I am not an invalid, thank you very much," Halia spat back coldly, yet let herself be helped all the same.
It didn't take long before the remainder of my pack was ready to go. There was a range of bags slung across shoulders: from duffel bags to rucksacks, to thick messenger bags for Wednesday's precious spell books and vials of herbs. Zack had packed a duffel bag full of tinned food and dried goods, so I knew we'd be able to eat once we got to Hopecliffe
"We good to go yet?" Ryder asked exasperatedly, clearly anxious to get to Hopecliffe.
"Victoria?" Abi questioned and pointed upstairs with a shrug while holding onto Halia.
"On it," I responded while bounding upstairs, taking the steps two at a time – then quickly getting up into the attic.
Victoria glared at me.
"We're letting you go," I told her, much to her surprise. Striding over to her, I started undoing the silver chains, ignoring how they stung my fingers. While pulling out the IV drip, I seethed at her, "You're a pain in the ass and we don't need to babysit you anymore. If you know what's good for you, you'll get out of Lake Oldoy and you won't ever come back. Got it?"
A warning growl sounded from me and Victoria nodded seriously. She stood shakily to her feet, but I wasn't going to stick around and watch her learn to walk again, so I left her to it. If we had any luck at all, she'd end up breaking her neck while trying to get downstairs.
"Now we're ready to go," I announced as I jogged downstairs. "Let's get on that bus."
Only Wednesday looked back at her home after she'd locked the front door – the rest of us were already half-running down the street to the nearest bus stop.
"C'mon, Wednesday!" Zack called to her before I could open my mouth; my pack are already looking out for one another.
"Coming!" She yelled back and caught up with us, messenger bags banging against her legs.
As it turned out, we had a couple of minutes to spare before the bus showed up, so we perched on the grimy ledge and waited. We didn't talk – it didn't seem like there was much to talk about. All we could do was wait until our bus showed up.
I kept my thoughts clear of all worries concerning Killian. Instead, I stared mindlessly at the steady flow of traffic in front of me.
"Here it comes," Wednesday predicted, right before our bus – number 44 – rounded the corner and started down the street towards us.
Then the witch got to her feet and stuck her arm out into the road, flagging down the bus. The panel on the front of the bus switched from LAKE OLDOY to HOPECLIFFE. We were in luck; that bus was heading straight to our destination on, with no detours whatsoever.
"Shit!" I realised as we sat down on the bus after having paid the fare.
"What is it?" Abi snapped, turning to me quickly.
"What's wrong?" Ryder asked – and I looked round to see my pack staring at me in worry.
"Nothing's wrong... Ah, I just forgot to find my dad before we left," I admitted as the bus pulled away and we began heading to Hopecliffe once again.
After his mini breakdown at the hands of Killian, I'd meant to track down my dad and see if he was alright. Yet I'd gotten caught up in getting to Hopecliffe as soon as possible; which, admittedly, was the right call even if it made me feel like the worst son ever.
Sliding my phone out of my pocket, I found my dad's number and called it, holding my phone to my ear. It seemed to ring for ages before he finally picked up.
"Theo?" His voice was groggy.
"Dad... I'm sorry for not coming to see you after... After what happened in the woods." I bit my lip and looked away from the others – they did not need to see their Alpha breaking down. "We've figured out where to hold Killian, we're on our way to Hopecliffe now. I should've talked to you before we left, but..."
"But you had to get over there as soon as possible so you could help get your friend Kaden back," he finished for me. "I get it, Theo. I'm not mad. If anything, I'm ashamed that I can't be there with you."
"You could catch a later bus and meet us over there," I suggested in a heartbeat.
Dad sighed heavily down the phone, sounding ten years older as he replied, "I'm not sure if I can handle any reminders of yours and Thea's mom. As long as Killian can tempt vulnerable, hurting people like me, I'm a liability to you and your pack."
"You could still help us," I rushed, feeling my dad slipping away from me once again. "You could still come to Hopecliffe. I'm going to need your help, Dad – especially with Maia."
"Maia has control, Theo," he reassured me – his voice now steady and certain. "I watched her toil for it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for what felt like a long time. Time moves differently in that reservation we were in; the pack of skinwalkers were able to stretch a few months into what felt like a few years. Trust me, she'll be able to reign in the skinwalker spirit if she needs to."
"But what about Thea? What about me?" It was becoming harder and harder for me to keep the tears out of my voice.
"I'm not leaving either of you again," he insisted, but I cut him off before he could continue.
"No, but you're quitting on us," I snapped harshly, unfairly. I knew that my dad wasn't being weak, he was just vulnerable. I softened my tone as I told him, "I'm sorry, Dad."
"I'm sorry, too, Theo," he replied. "Good luck."
"Thank you," I forced myself to say and then hung up on him.
Before I could wallow in desolation for too long, Ryder sat down next to me. "Need some help distracting yourself?"
"Sure." I shrugged, but half-turned to face him all the same.
"I was thinking, where are the pack going to settle down?" He asked, green eyes wide and expectant. "You know, mark out a territory."
I was well aware that as an Alpha responsible for a pack – and a large one, at that – I'd have to stake my claim on an area of land at some point. It was an essential element of being a werewolf. Yet I wavered.
"Would we need to?" I questioned Ryder, feeling as if he was my second-in-command, my chief advisory Beta – or something like that.
"Jason made the old pack stay in Montana once there were a good number of us, he wanted to create a new home for us all," Ryder explained. "I reckon the fact we got moved about so much – and the fact you left to come here – kinda helped destroy our old pack. We lost Coloma, which held us together when times were tough... We lost part of identity once we didn't have a true territory to roam and to protect."
"Do you reckon we could stay in the UK?" I thought aloud before I'd even fully processed the thought internally. "I mean, it's safer for a supernatural pack; hunters would struggle to get guns, unlike in the US..."
"I'm game," Ryder's reply was simple, and yet it gave me a boost of confidence.
"I'd have to clear it with the whole pack," I added, "But it seems better than going back to the States."
"Theo, even if some of us decide to go back to America, I'd gladly stay by your side – wherever you go," he told me sincerely.
"Thanks, man," I smiled at him – grateful that he'd chosen to stick with me all this time.
~
We had to lug our bags up the hill out of Hopecliffe once we arrived. The bus driver, even though there was a bus stop close by the old cream house, had refused to drive us up there. He was superstitious, he'd explained to me with wide eyes, and he'd heard from his cousin – who lived up on that part of the hill – had seen the black dog, an omen of death, arrive there a few hours ago.
I'd told him it was probably just a runaway Irish wolfhound, or something of the sort, and ushered my pack quickly out of the bus before he noticed anything untoward about any of us. The driver had made a claw with three fingers over his heart and pushed it towards me – warding off the evil eye.
It made me feel incredibly guilty for bringing Killian, such a dark and destructive spirit, into the quiet village of Hopecliffe – all because there was a handy cave system below the moorland.
When we got to the cream house, it was exactly how we'd left it. Except that the door now had a lock on.
I knocked on the wood quickly, glancing around to see that a light fog was creeping in from the sea and rolling over the cliff faces.
"Theo!" Ember exclaimed as she opened the door and pulled me into a hug.
"Hey, Em," I replied and breathed in her comforting scent. It hadn't been that long since I'd seen her, yet worry had made me feel like we'd spent weeks apart.
"Okay, lovebirds, break it up." Abi rolled her eyes at us.
We piled into the kitchen, and Zack set to unpacking the tinned and dried food onto the kitchen worktop.
"Have you got him locked away somewhere safe?" I whirled on Ember.
"We're working on it... Al's meeting with her troupe, and Thea and Maia are watching Killian down in the caves," she explained to us all. "We need Wednesday to do some spell work to properly hold him."
"I'm on it." Wednesday nodded, her face drawn in seriously. She laid her books down on the kitchen side and tied her hair back. "Just let me figure out what I need... And then I'll need to go down there."
"I think we all need to go down there," I announced. I was about to explain my reasoning, but everyone was already nodding – as Alpha, I realised, I didn't necessarily have to explain anything to my pack.
"Ditch your bags. Let's go now," Em insisted, taking hold of my hand and pulling me aside from the others – into the hallway.
"What's up?" I asked, staring down into her gorgeous face.
"Killian regained consciousness faster than we expected. He woke up midst-teleportation," she explained in a hushed voice, her dark blue eyes focused imploringly on mine. "Theo, I saw Kaden for a moment – then he became Killian again."
"Did Kaden speak to you?" Disbelief didn't even cross my mind; it seemed like anything was possible with a dark spirit possessing one of my friends.
"Not exactly... But I know from the look in his eyes that we have to help him – and soon." She swallowed and lowered her voice even further. "I think Kaden's dying, Theo. Killian's consuming his soul."
"Then we should get down to the mines and trap him there as quickly as we can," I told her reassuringly.
I wrapped my arms around her and held her close to me. Though nothing I could say or do would truly comfort her until we freed Kaden.
"Let's get going, everyone," I told them and opened the front door.
Everyone trudged out of the house and we followed Ember down a lush, green valley. She explained that Al had shown her the way before she'd disappeared to track down her pixie troupe.
"Are you sure there are caves along here?" Zack asked incredulously, peering around at the densely vegetated hillsides surrounding the valley.
"Yep," she affirmed. "They're just well hidden."
She abruptly stopped and reached into the wall of greenery beside us, pulling aside a curtain of ivy and bindweed to reveal a gaping hole in the hillside. A dark chasm greeted us as we looked in.
"Woah," Ryder murmured, sending an echo bouncing around the cave.
"Ryder?" Thea's voice called back, though we couldn't see her. "Theo?"
"We're all here, Thea," I shouted down to her, causing my twin sister's name to repeat over and over again until it faded to a whisper.
"Get down here quick!" She yelled up. "Bring Wednesday with you! We really need her spells..."
"On our way!" I began feeling a heightened necessity to get moving – one which had dissipated in the weird atmosphere of the green valley.
"Anyone got a torch?" Abi shivered as she stared down into the black void.
In response, Ember grabbed a handful of broken branches and set the tips alight with a handful of flames. She then passed them out to each of us.
I smirked at her.
"What?" She frowned back, though a smile was playing on her lips.
"Nothing." I grinned and kissed her cheek quickly.
Sticking close together, we descended into the cave and followed Ember through the tight corridors towards the cavern where Thea, Maia and Killian were. All the while, Wednesday muttered incantations in Latin; Abi, having studied Latin at high school, quickly picked up on what the witch was saying and joined in, reinforcing the strength of the spell.
The cavern was the size of a basketball court, though the stalactite-speckled ceiling was high up above us. We must've been much deeper underground than I'd originally thought.
In the middle of the cave, Killian was bound at his wrists and ankles by the same roots that had tied him to the ground in the clearing in Lake Oldoy. He writhed, trying to escape his bindings, but Maia and Thea took turns pouncing on him any time he moved more than an inch.
Upon seeing Killian, Wednesday and Abi's incantations grew louder until those roots sprouted more roots and wound themselves tightly around Killian's body – completely immobilising him apart from his head. Then, gathering a bunch of sheep bones out of her bag, which she must've picked up in the valley, Wednesday drew closer to Killian. While murmuring what sounded a hell of a lot like the Lord's Prayer, the witch placed the bones around Killian in a wide circle.
"Ember, would you mind?" Wednesday turned to her best friend with her hazel eyes expectant.
Wednesday must've mentally told Ember what she had to do, as she stepped forwards and set the bones on fire. The flames burned brightly and rose a few feet in the air before dying away to a few ashes.
"It's done," Wednesday proclaimed and stepped away from our prisoner. "He won't be able to leave the circle. Now I need to go secure the perimeter with charms. Abi, Maia, would you please join me?"
Without complaint, Abi and Maia went with Wednesday to the recesses of the cave to perform more cloaking spells. As it turned out, Maia had learnt Latin too.
Halia dropped to her knees before Killian and let out a broken sob. I realised that she hadn't seen him this way; she hadn't seen Kaden as Killian for a long while. We'd been protecting her from it, thinking it would be best for her, and now that she'd seen him, she anguished.
"What has he done to you, my love?" She murmured and reached her hand out towards Killian.
Instinctively, Ember, Thea, Ryder, Zack and I all stepped forwards. Yet I raised my hand to stop them from pulling the naiad away.
What if Halia can make Kaden appear?
I glanced across at Ember, knowing that if I were to be possessed, only she would be able to bring me back to myself.
We watched intently as Killian's black, soulless eyes melted away as Halia's hand entered the protected bone circle. She raised her hand to peel away the tape silencing him and as her pale, trembling fingers grazed his skin, the boy's eyes cleared and resumed their natural colour. The natural light brown shade of Kaden's eyes returned and the sickly pallor of his skin warmed slightly.
Everyone stopped to turn and watch the two of them. Wednesday, seeing Kaden had returned, for the time being, flicked her wrist and loosed his arms from their restraints – freeing his hands.
"Kaden?" Halia's voice was scarcely above a whisper, yet in the silence of the cave, her single word was audible.
"Halia..." Kaden's throat was hoarse with emotion, though all of us knew that, at that moment, it truly was Kaden speaking.
He raised his hands up to hold Halia's and pressed his lips to her knuckles.
I felt my heart beat slowly in my chest. Ember was now standing beside me, holding onto my hand desperately – I could tell she was thinking the same as me; what if it was Ember and Theo in that situation, and not Kaden and Halia?
"Kaden," she pleaded, "Tell us; how can we help free you?"
He shook his head sadly – then a jolt of agony shot through his body, causing him to cry out and shake his head viciously. "No, not so soon!" He exclaimed before his voice deepened; "Not long now until I'll own this useless body."
"Kaden," Halia repeated and stroked his face softly. "We will help you."
"Quick!" He yelled out, gasping in pain. "No time! He's coming!"
Reluctance drenching her features, Halia pulled her hands away from him and backed away from the bone circle as Kaden's eyes morphed back into black, remorseless pits.
Killian opened his mouth, though he was silent as Wednesday flicked her wrist again to gag him and bind his arms once again.
As cynical as it was, I could only hope that what we just witnessed wouldn't become the last glimpse anyone would ever see of Kaden Bowers.