Chapter 28 #2
“Come on, Austin. Snap out of it.”
A little bit of life returned to his face, and his ears fell to the sides of his head. His irises remained baby blue as tears soaked his fur.
“Austin?”
He remained silent, but he stared at Adam like a terrified dog backed into a cage.
“What’s wrong with him?” Adam asked. He tried to reach for Austin’s hand, but the werewolf cowered away.
“Do you remember what happened?” I asked, noticing the dog tags now around Adam’s neck. “Why do you have those?”
“That’s what she told me to do.” Adam looked down at his chest. “She said that when I turned, I could do what you did if I put them around my neck while I was on top of him. That was when everything got fuzzy.”
“What are they, exactly?” Willa asked. “They must hold a lot of significance if the coven could use them for control.”
“They belonged to his pack he lost in the military,” I said, watching as Adam’s expression turned to horror.
He quickly unlatched the chain and fastened it around non-responsive Austin’s neck.
“I didn’t know,” he said. “He never told me that. He just said they made him look tough.”
“This sets us back considerably,” Willa said. “You did something you shouldn’t have, Adam. This ability would never come naturally to you.”
“No,” Adam cried out. “I didn’t want this.”
Willa slid her finger under the chain Austin wore. “This represented something close to his broken heart, and you took that from him.” She looked back at the remorseful werewolf. “You may not have realized it at the time, but this may have damaged him more than we know.”
“Can it be undone?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Willa responded. “This is a fusion of witchcraft and the vironoct. Adam should have never been able to use it, but when the coven took control of his body, they tapped into the power all werewolves possess.” She shook her head.
“They would have never been able to do this if Adam hadn’t been willing. ”
“So, it’s my fault,” Adam said, wrapping his arms around Austin who stood straight, still staring at nothing while tears fell from his eyes. “I’m sorry. Please come back.”
He didn’t respond. He didn’t even look at the smaller werewolf.
“We should get him home,” I said, both sad and furious, but this was just as much my fault as it was Adam’s. I should have taken his anger more seriously, but I’d mostly ignored him, thinking it would all go away when he transformed.
“I’ll need to discuss this with Darius. He may be able to fix what was broken, or perhaps even your friend Darryl.
” She held her finger to her lips. “But let’s keep what I did here between us.
I don’t want him knowing the risk I took to bring you back to safety, and I may have locked them both in the building. ”
“Why would you do that?” I asked.
“They would have gone into the woods after you, and I would rather risk myself than the town. If something happened to Darius, I could not continue living. He is not only my love—he is my lifeforce.”
“He’s gonna be pissed,” I said, as Adam led his catatonic kuu mate by the hand toward the town without looking back. “I don’t know what we’re gonna do. He was so close to being okay, but now—”
“We’ll have somethin’ good to eat, and we’ll sleep on it,” Roscoe said.
“I don’t think anyone’s gonna be hungry after this.”
Roscoe slid his arm around me. “I’ll make somethin’ anyway.”
“Aw come on,” Adam shouted from his bedroom, startling Roscoe and me awake. “It’s everywhere.”
I jumped out of bed, Roscoe following. When I burst through the door into their room, the strong smell of urine hit me.
“What happened?” I asked while Adam grabbed an armful of towels from their closet. Austin was sitting up, but like last night, was unresponsive.
“He wet the bed.” Adam stood over the werewolf and snapped his fingers. “Get up, I need to get the sheets.”
Like a marionette, the blond werewolf turned and lifted himself from the damp mattress.
Roscoe hummed contemplatively as he scratched his head. “He’s still doin’ what he’s told, but ain’t doin’ nothing else. You probably gotta tell him when to go to the bathroom now.”
“Are you kidding me?” Adam asked, ripping the sheets off the bed. “How am I going to know that? He’s not saying anything.”
Roscoe shrugged. “Dunno, but you better figure it out before he takes a big steamy shit on the floor.”
Adam’s eyes widened. “Austin, go to the toilet and do your business.”
The huge werewolf cocked his head.
“Uh, I think you need to be more specific,” I said, pulling Roscoe out the door. “Make sure he’s actually on the toilet, please. I’d rather not have any surprises like that.”
Adam sighed, grabbed Austin’s hand, and led him toward the bathroom; Roscoe and I walked outside to the chairs around the pit. Darryl was already out there, stoking the fire.
“Darryl?” I asked, but he didn’t turn toward me.
“Why are you two up?” he asked, his tone licking at my ears like the angry flames he stoked.
“Austin pissed all over Adam’s bed,” Roscoe said. He normally would have laughed at such a silly statement, but not this time. The werewolf plopped down on one of the larger plastic chairs and leaned his head back, looking up at the sky. “He ain’t gonna be able to do anything anymore without Adam.”
“I want to know exactly what happened last night,” Darryl demanded as I sat.
“Adam lured Austin into the woods before he turned, and then he did some kind of vironoct ritual on him. Now Austin’s broken,” I said, tossing a piece of wood into the fire. “After all that progress, it’s all fucked now.”
Darryl let out a sigh. “I should have forced you all to stay. If I’d have known what kind of town Norwich was—”
“It’s a great town,” Roscoe interrupted. “Full of good people, and Willa ain’t a normal witch. This is just as much my fault, but bein’ out here was the best thing for us.”
“Tell that to Austin,” Darryl snapped. We all sat quietly as he calmed down. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I think I’m taking my own guilt out on you both.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I kinda always wished something bad would happen to Austin, but knowing what I know now… and with what just happened—”
“Well, thankfully wishes don’t come true,” I said, cutting him off. “What happened was a consequence of neglect, not wishful thinking. We can each blame ourselves, but what’s done is done. Austin’s gone.”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Darryl said. “It’s the vironoct, not some kind of curse. There’s always a way to undo it.”
“So, you know how?” I asked.
“No. I never wanted to follow in the footsteps of the elders. If there’s a way, Darius would probably know.”
“That’s what Willa said.” I rubbed the crust out of the corner of my left eye. Neither Roscoe nor I had gotten a decent night’s sleep. “If he can’t fix him, we’ll have to find an elder that can.”
“I got an idea,” Roscoe said. “We still got them herbs. If Mosavi can’t get through to him, I bet the ferals can.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” Darryl said. “After what happened last night, you want to take the chance of going back into the woods?”
“You got a better idea?” Roscoe replied, unusually calm given how on edge Darryl was. “Cause if not, them ferals probably have more answers than anyone here. Hell, they live out there with the witches, and they’re just fine. You think we should go to the A-W-O-O?”
Darryl sighed. “I’d rather us not get involved with them.”
“Ya almost make it seem like they’re some kinda werewolf mafia,” Roscoe said jokingly, but Darryl didn’t even crack a smile. “They, uh, ain’t the mafia, right?”
The larger werewolf shrugged.
“Shit!” Adam shouted from inside the house. We all turned in unison.
“I hope he didn’t mean that literally,” I muttered, prodding Roscoe. “Go see what’s wrong.”
“I ain’t goin’ in there.”
“I’ll check on them,” Darryl said, standing and stretching his arms. “Cody, can you put on some coffee?”
“I was just thinking that.”
We all sat around the table, everyone eating in silence except for Austin, who continued staring at Adam.
“Please stop looking at me like that and eat your food,” Adam said, exhausted, but Austin didn’t respond. “Eat, damn it!”
“Tell him what to eat first,” I said, pointing to Austin’s plate. “You have to be specific.”
“Eat your eggs,” Adam said. Austin picked up his fork and began eating. “I can’t keep doing this. I’m going to go insane.”
“You have to,” Darryl muttered. “He’s solely dependent on you now. Stupid actions have consequences, Adam.”
“I feel awful enough as it is. You don’t have to keep reminding me.” Adam took a bite of bacon, noticing Austin staring at him again. He had already finished off his eggs but hadn’t touched anything else. “Eat your bacon next.”
The werewolf did as he was told.
“Willa texted that Mosavi will be here before noon,” I said.
“I hope he can fix him.” Adam grabbed a biscuit from Austin’s plate and held it up. “Eat.”
“Has he had anything to drink?” I asked, noticing there wasn’t a glass of water in front of him.
“Damn it,” Adam said, running to the kitchen.
“He’s kinda like a pet now,” Roscoe said, scratching a rigid Austin behind the ears.
“Yeah. A pet rock that pisses everywhere,” Adam said, walking back into the dining room with a tall glass. He handed it to Austin. “Drink your water.”
He grabbed the glass and began lapping at it.
“I need to head back home tomorrow,” Darryl said, pushing his empty plate away. “There’re only three lifeguards, and I don’t want to overwork the others. I wish I could stay longer.”
“You gotta do what you gotta do,” Roscoe said. “It was nice havin’ you here, though. Like old times.”
“I don’t remember you trying to kill me with a bogus hangover remedy in the old times,” Darryl said, taking a drink.
“It wasn’t bogus!”
Darryl’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t respond.
“Maybe I went a little overboard with the horseradish.” Roscoe looked down. “Sorry.”
“At least the reason was noble.” Darryl smiled. “I’d have never believed it twenty years ago.”
Roscoe let out a belch that rattled the walls.