Chapter 20 - Joshua
Joshua stumbled through his front door, his muscles aching with the strain of the day.
His wounds were hastily bandaged, but he could still smell the scent of blood in the air.
He needed to shower, clean the grime of the day off him, but the effort was just too much.
Movement caught the corner of his eye, and he whirled, snarling as he prepared for attack.
Nothing was there.
“Joshua?” his mother called. She left the kitchen and blanched.
“I’m fine,” he said, head drooping with fatigue. “Honest.”
“You, young man, are going to set your pants on fire with those lies,” Susan answered, her voice clipped.
His father appeared behind him and looked just as shocked. Joshua’s shoulders slumped as he made his way toward them, shaking his head to clear it. It only caused a new throbbing to echo up from the base of his spine.
“The doctor checked me out. I’m not as badly injured as some of the others,” Joshua said.
His head snapped around as he saw shadows moving in the corner of his eye, but again, there was nothing.
Fatigue hallucinations. They were within the protective bounds of the town, and his house had protection over it as well. There were no demons here.
His parents made him drink some soup broth as they helped him clean up and redid his bandages.
By the time they were done, his head was nodding against his chest. His wolf was already laid out from how exhausted he was, and it was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open.
They helped him up to his room, where he collapsed into his bed.
“We can stay the night in case you need anything,” Susan said, stroking the hair from his face.
Joshua shook his head. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
Neither of them spoke again, or maybe he just fell asleep too quickly.
His dreams were shifting and uncertain. He found himself standing on the edge of a ravine, darkness creeping in around him.
Then, suddenly, he was running through the forest after something.
First, it was a demon; then it was Kira running straight for it.
Each dream jerked him back awake, making him aware of his surroundings just long enough for him to know it wasn’t real before he sank back into it.
Voice murmured around him. The word ‘curse’ echoed again and again. Joshua groaned as the fuzzy, half-forgotten faces of his first parents appeared in a mist. They were smiling, the way you do in pictures.
“Watch out!” he tried to tell them, but they didn’t hear him.
“There’s dark energy lingering around him,” said a voice somewhere behind him. “It’s almost like he’s been poisoned.”
A phantom warmth brushed over his arm. It made him realize just how cold he really was, and he shivered, curling in on himself to preserve what little warmth he had.
The sensation spread over his back and shoulders.
It was as though fingers were lightly playing against his skin, touch seeping warmth into him.
It wasn’t real. He knew it wasn’t; it was the same half-dreamt hallucinations that kept crowding his mind.
But the scent that wafted into his nostrils felt so much more real.
Kira. The thought of her nearby chased away the nightmares.
He breathed more easily, the cold fading to the background as the warmth spread over him.
Blindly, he reached out. He grasped her arm, feeling more solid under his grasp than it had any right to be. The heaviness was returning, and he drew her close to him, touching his lips to her temple.
“Stay with me,” he whispered. His voice cracked, rough.
It was only then that he realized he wasn’t dreaming. His eyes cracked open, and he saw her face, peering close to his. A resinous smell mingled with her scent, and Joshua frowned. There were other voices, seeming to be muffled, like whoever was speaking had decided to hide under the bed.
“Is he awake?”
“More awake,” Kira said. He couldn’t quite keep up with the movement of her lips. It made his world tilt, and he felt as though his brain was twisting in his skull. A thudding bumped into his chest, and he groaned, closing his eyes again.
There was too much happening. And he was so tired…
Kira started to move out of his arms, and he whimpered, holding her tighter. She was like water, drifting out of his grasp.
“I’m still here,” her voice said, but it came from so far away. How could she be here?
The warmth came back, tracing along his back.
Some of the fog dissipated from his mind, and when he opened his eyes, he saw his parents nearby.
The resinous scent was stronger now. Something lay over his back, and he twisted slightly.
Kira knelt on the bed beside him, her gaze focused as she spread something over his skin.
“Wh-what are you doing?” he asked. His teeth clipped together, and he realized he was shivering.
“Shhh, baby.” His mother shifted closer, stroking his hair the way she did when he had nightmares as a child. “You were hurt worse than the doctor realized. Kira is using a potion to help you heal.”
Joshua nodded and let his eyes shut again.
Everything felt more present now, but he was still utterly exhausted.
Kira’s hands were firm and steady on him, spreading the warm mixture over his body, then covering it to let it soak in.
He didn’t feel like he was especially in pain, but he could still feel something working inside of him.
Like sunlight under his skin, warming him from the inside out.
Though he wasn’t convinced that was the potion.
That was Kira, being so close to him, her touch grounding him.
Joshua started to drift off again, his body sinking into a more relaxed state. He roused himself, lifting his head. “Are any of the other special ops showing similar symptoms?” he spoke slowly, attempting to enunciate each word.
“No. We reported to Rafael when we realized something was wrong with you,” his father said, his voice rumbling with emotion. “He has them all under observation for the same signs, but so far it seems like you’re the only one to react this way.”
It was the curse. Witch hunter and witch. Was it coming to fruition? His birth parents had already suffered the curse’s wrath. Maybe this was his time. The demons returning, the magic he interacted with—it all ignited the curse that was destined to doom him.
The chill started to steal back into his skin.
Kira adjusted her position, moving to smear the potion against his neck and shoulders. “I keep sensing these surges of dark energy. It’s like whatever the demon did is fighting back.”
“You think the demon did this?” Joshua asked darkly. Didn’t she see that it was the curse?
“Of course. It feels like demonic energy. I guess it’s decided that since it can’t come after me within the protections of the town, it would go after you instead.” There was an emotion layered in her voice, something Joshua was too tired to parse out.
He closed his eyes. “Stay with me,” he whispered.
“I will,” she promised.
“How long?”
Kira didn’t answer. But she didn’t have to.
She was still applying the potion on him, her hands moving rhymical over his body.
She was here right now, and that was all that really mattered.
His muscles slackened as drowsiness overtook him.
The last thing he heard was Kira whispering his name as he sank into a dreamless sleep, warm and comfortable at last.
***
Kira stood on the brink of a cliff. She faced away from him, her arms stretched to either side.
Darkness wrapped around her ankles and wrists, yanking her back and forth.
A deep chanting filled the air. Joshua tried to run to her, tried to push through the darkness, but it closed in tight around him.
A howl ripped from his chest. She was in danger, but he couldn’t reach her!
Cold seeped into his skin as he pushed himself harder. It felt as though he was dragging himself through the ocean, only there was nothing for him to push against, no water to swim through. Tendrils wrapped around Kira’s neck, choking off her screams.
He jerked awake, a muffled cry in his throat.
His heart raced as he pushed himself up.
Sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a warm, orange glow over the room.
The bed beside him was empty, though Kira’s scent lingered heavily in the air.
When he touched the indent on the pillow where her head had been, he felt the warmth she left behind.
The deep exhaustion from the previous night had dissipated. He still ached, but it was the ache of overdoing it, not the feeling that he could collapse at any moment.
He pushed himself out of bed, checking quickly to make sure he was decent. The dream lingered in his mind, making his wolf pace restlessly. Kira was still in danger. Where had she gone? If she left the town limits, the demon would attack her again.
Or the curse will.
The thought curled sickeningly around his stomach. He hurried to the hallway, casting a glance at the bathroom. The door was open, so she wasn’t there. Her scent remained strong, and he followed it down the hallway.
Once he got downstairs, the faint clatter of dishes and the smell of sizzling bacon drew him toward the kitchen.
He held his breath as he pushed open the door, half expecting to see his mother.
Instead, it was Kira. Relief washed through him, and he sagged against the door.
His eyes drifted shut, and he sent a prayer to the Moon Goddess to thank her for Kira’s safety.
The awful foreboding that something terrible was going to happen didn’t leave.
He clutched the doorframe, breathing heavily as he traced Kira’s movements.
The sleeves of her sweater were pushed to her elbow, her hair captured in a ponytail as she worked at the stove.
It was a calm scene, but his eyes kept sweeping the room, moving to every corner as he searched for danger.
Kira turned slightly. “Oh. You shouldn’t be up.”
Joshua stepped into the kitchen. She didn’t sound afraid; she was only concerned for him. “I feel much better than I did yesterday.”
“You still shouldn’t be up. Sit down while I finish making breakfast,” she ordered, pointing a wooden spoon at the table.
He obeyed her, resting his arms on the table.
The kitchen was bright and utterly normal.
There didn’t seem to be anything to be worried about.
Even those dark images from his nightmare were starting to fade away.
With such a domestic, normal scene before him, he had a hard time believing that there could be any sort of prophecy in his demon-addled sleep.
“You stayed last night,” he said uncertainly.
Kira stiffened slightly but nodded. “I did. I wanted to keep an eye on you while you recovered. But as soon as I’m satisfied that the demon didn’t leave anything lingering on you, I’m going to go back home.”
It made his chest hurt, but Joshua nodded. Not enough time had gone by. He hadn’t proven himself yet. “Thank you for coming.”
“Don’t be too thankful. When they heard I wasn’t staying, Mark and Susan went back to their place to pack to stay a few days,” she warned him, though a smile tugged her lips. “So before you thank you, you’ll have to decide whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
“Spending time with my parents is a good thing,” Joshua assured her. “Even if it’s not necessary for them to live here.”
Kira shook her head. “I agreed with them. You shouldn’t be left alone just yet. Last night… I’d never seen anything like it.”
She shuddered, and Joshua’s heart sank. Right.
The dark energy. Maybe a demon. Or maybe it was the curse.
Maybe it would be better if he were alone, so that when the curse got him, he’d be the only one harmed.
He closed his eyes and rested his head on the table.
Too much to think about. Right now, he just wanted the peace of Kira in his home, looking like she belonged there.
That isn’t enough, he thought, and an ache spilled through him. Demons or curse, it didn’t matter. He wanted her to know how he felt. He wanted… Fuck, he wanted everything.