Two Sides of The Moon - Chapter 4: Chapter 4

-Oliver-
I had been relieved when I heard Jack finally agreed to leave that cold little cave of his, but I was even more relieved to see that he was finally healing. The process would be slow and difficult, but he was healing. His spirit was growing. He was becoming stronger. He was still carrying a lot of hate and fear inside him, but it was clear he was willing to let go of those emotions. He wasn't harboring them like his father still did.
"To think he nearly died a week ago," I murmured, and turned to look at my left.
My guardian knew I was talking to him, so his spirit appeared right next to me.
'Honestly? I was sure he wouldn't make it,' Cedric replied.
"He was so weak..." I muttered, thinking about the tiny, purple ball his spirit had become in the hands of Henry. "I wish I'd spent more time tearing Henry apart..."
'...Is that you or the Echo talking?'
I took a deep breath.
"I'm fine," I said, giving him a smile. "But wouldn't you feel the same in my shoes? You were in Jack's body. You know how much he has suffered."
'I do, yes. In fact, I wish it was I who destroyed him,' Cedric spoke. 'But I'm still terrified of that thing you have.'
"Trust me: I want it out, but as long as our enemy is after it, I have to keep it. I need its power in order to protect it."
'It shouldn't be your job...' he muttered.
"This is where my path led me," I said quietly. "I will protect it. Hades believes I can control it."
'Unless it turns you mad.'
"Well, yeah, there's that..." I chuckled awkwardly. "So far, everything is fine. All I can do is to be careful."
'And I'll be keeping a close eye on you,' he said.
"Thanks," I chuckled, but my amusement faded away. "I'm still so sorry I kept you locked for all those years."
'Don't be,' he said sternly. 'I was asleep most of the time anyway. I'm a spirit, I will never run out of time, if that's what you're worried about.'
"I was more horrified of the thought of keeping my own friend a prisoner," I said quietly.
'Don't be. I was there that night. I saw what you saw. I could feel what you felt. People have turned mad from less. You saw them in their true, horrible form. It's almost a miracle that you pulled through.'
"I guess..." I sighed, trying really hard to not look back at that night when I saw shadows for the first time. I shivered when the image of their maggot-filled faces flashed before my eyes. "I believe it was a good thing I wiped it all out of my memory. With Jaden and Natalie and you and everyone else by my side it's been easier to understand it all."
'And now those monsters are afraid of you,' he chuckled.
I laughed too and looked up at the cloudy sky. I knew I was being watched. That feeling had not left me ever since the battle ended. The rest of Hades' Echoes were still out there, and their owners wanted mine too. But I was not an easy target anymore, and... I liked that feeling.
"Do you hear that?" I asked, when something in the distance gained my attention.
'I do, yes,' Cedric nodded.
"Should we pretend we didn't hear that?" I asked with a smirk.
'It's your call,' he replied, and vanished, but I could still hear his voice. 'Good luck."
"Thanks," I chuckled, when the noises in the forest grew closer. I couldn't actually physically hear the noises, but I could feel them. Their spirits were loud, after all.
When I could physically hear them, it would've been too late for me. I heard the first crack of a branch a second before something big and white dashed towards me from behind the trees, changing her course barely in time to avoid crashing straight into me. I just laughed when Tilly was joined by Jaden and Arch, the massive boys.
"I swear, I can literally see you growing," I chuckled, scratching Jaden's neck that reached way above my waist already. "You guys are like ponies with fangs."
Jaden snorted as he sat down, looking pleased with my attention while Tilly started nibbling on his butt and tail. Jaden' growled a few times, even snapped his teeth at her, but she wasn't stopping teasing him.
I just rolled my eyes in amusement when the two of them started to fight and turned my attention to Arch, who just stood quietly right next to me, looking hopeful.
"He's better already. The infestation is getting smaller each time I treat him. It won't take long until it's completely gone," I told him reassuringly.
He tilted his head and let out a small whine.
"I'm sorry, he still needs time," I replied apologetically. "But I'm sure he will want to talk to you once he's ready."
He looked so sad... Even Tilly and Jaden stopped fighting so they could hear what I said.
"But at least he now has a roof over his head. He is slowly warming up to us," I told them. "Come – let's go for a walk before I..."
Before I had to leave...
I didn't need to finish that sentence. The mood was already down as was started walking.
But not all of them followed me. I stopped to find Arch, who had his back turned on us. He was looking towards where I had come from. Towards Jack. I knew what he was thinking. He could easily follow my trail and find Jack. He needed to talk to Jack. He wanted to understand.
"He's trying to protect himself," I said quietly. "He can't let you come close to him. His spirits are so unbelievably fragile. One wrong word, one wrong expression from you, and they will break again, and he knows that."
Arch glanced at me over his shoulder. I could feel his pain...
"He just needs some time, that's all. He needs time to heal, and he needs to get rid of the infestation first. Henry left behind horrible nightmares that haunt him even when he's awake. Those nightmares, that infestation, is the reason why he believes you would only hurt him."
I wasn't sure if he was still willing to let go of his plan to go see Jack against his will, so I carefully made my way to him and placed my hand on his neck.
"He needs you to be patient," I murmured.
It took him a moment, but finally, he let out a heavy sigh and slowly turned around. I could feel his sorrow in my own soul, and I wished I could do more, but time was what Jack really needed the most. Jack was a fighter, I knew he was, but after what he'd been through... He needed a lot of time to recover from the horrors he'd been forced to face.
There was no way of getting the mood back up after that. We walked quietly through the forest, making a big circle around the town since that was as far as we were let to go. Every time our path started taking us too far, a group of Rayleigh's scouts blocked our way. They were keeping a close eye on us, and even when I couldn't see them, I could feel them close by. Them and the dozens of spirits Natalie had asked to follow me.
If that wasn't enough, Jaden walked so close to me that it was hard to stay up on my feet. I tripped a few times in the snow, and every time I tried to push him away, he gave me a hurt look.
"You're making me fall face first in the snow if you don't give me a little more room," I chuckled at him on the third time.
He snorted at me. It was definitely a no. I somehow managed to stay up on my feet the rest of the way anyway.
When the town appeared in front of us, I slowed down without even realizing it. I had to leave soon... I had mixed feelings about it. I did want some time and space to think. I wanted to take a step back and look at my life without disturbances. I understood Jack perfectly, to be honest. Peace and quiet was exactly what I wanted at that moment.
And then there was Jaden... I looked down at him and ran my fingers through his soft fur. No matter what my life had become now, it was Jaden who had changed it the most. My relationship with him. I liked him, of course, and I wanted to spend time with him, but I was still confused. He'd been right next to me this entire time. The past couple of weeks. I knew a lot about him already, but a month ago, I knew him only as a troublemaker. A month ago, he was a stranger to me.
I definitely had things to sort out, and I couldn't do that here, no matter how sad I was about leaving.
But when we reached Jaden's house, and I saw Natalie's car parked in front of it, I suddenly wasn't sure if I wanted to go.
Suddenly, I wasn't surrounded by wolves anymore. All three of them changed back to their human forms, but none of them said a word, just watched the car in silence. None of them liked the idea of me leaving, although they all understood I needed it. Which, of course, didn't help them at all.
"We will see on Monday again," I said quietly.
"How the hell are we supposed to get back to normal after this?" Tilly asked with an annoyed tone.
"School is pointless at this point. It's for humans anyway – we don't need it," Jaden concurred.
"School is important because there's life after this whole thing has been sorted out," I reminded them. "All we need to do is to find the Echoes."
They all snorted at me. Even Arch.
"Be like that then," I chuckled. "I could use some normal life activities right now."
I could see Jaden peering at me, his arms crossed over his chest. I could feel his doubts and fears. No matter how many times I had tried to convince him that I wouldn't trade this life for anything, he still feared that I didn't want this. Or him.
Natalie stepped out of the house before any of us could say another word. She smiled brightly and waved at me as she walked towards us.
"I'm sorry I have to take you back," she told me once she got close enough. "You know you'd rather stay here."
"No, he doesn't," Jaden muttered.
I placed my hand on his arm. "You know that's not true. I just want a small breather, that's all."
"We should get going," Arch said quietly, nudging Tilly's arm before turning towards me again. "We'll see you at school. Don't get yourself in trouble."
"I won't," I smiled at him.
"I'll kick your ass if you do," Tilly said, and hugged me tightly. "I don't like this..."
"I know," I muttered back, and she let go of me. "I'll bring you chocolate to school."
Her expression brightened up right away. "Can't wait."
I laughed lightly and watched them two start walking away. Then, I turned my attention back to Jaden.
"What if you get in trouble, huh?" he asked.
"To be fair, it has to be one massive trouble if I can't handle it myself," I smirked at him.
"Don't jinx it. And you shouldn't use that power at all," he frowned at me.
"I know, I know," I said, but feeling a bit annoyed.
"We are doing everything we can to keep him safe," Natalie told him.
"Like last time?" he asked.
"Don't do that. She did everything she could," I scolded him, but he didn't seem convinced.
"And this time there's five of us doing everything we can," Natalie told Jaden with a gentle smile. "Besides, we are not as alone as we thought."
"What?" Both Jaden and I asked at the same time.
Natalie turned her back on us, looking into the distance. "We can sense someone in the town. Someone powerful, and the bad guys don't like him."
"Uhm... What?" Jaden's frown grew deeper.
She turned to give us a smile. "While we were fighting here, that someone was helping us in the town. I don't know who he is exactly, but after the battle here ended, he let us know he's in town."
"What do you mean, he let you know?"
"His spirit is like a beacon, but he can hide himself well. He's not letting us get too close, but he wanted us to know he is here, watching us. Helping us."
"Are you sure he's here to help?" Jaden asked.
"Definitely."
"I can't sense anything," I said.
"He's gone into hiding again," Natalie explained. "If you pay attention though, you might catch him – I've spotted him three times now."
I couldn't help but notice how excited she seemed when she spoke.
"What is he?" I asked in amusement.
"Oh, I don't know..." she muttered and peered over her shoulder again. "But a spirit like that..."
"You're not going to tell us?" I guessed.
"Well, I don't want to jinx it," she told me, suddenly looking like a schoolgirl. "All I'm saying that if he is what we think he is, we're in for an extremely rare treat."
"Fine, keep your secrets," I chuckled. "But I will find out who he is."
"No one ever tells us anything," Jaden grumbled.
"We must respect his wish to stay unknown. I doubt anyone else knows about him. He only revealed himself to us spirit walkers, and I'm guessing he didn't have any other choice. We can sense his spirit miles away, you see," Natalie spoke respectfully.
'A spirit like a beacon, huh?' Cedric suddenly spoke in my head.
'Do you know what she's talking about?' I asked him.
'Not really, no. I'm surprisingly bad at this spirit stuff since I've been asleep most of my death.'
'I'm still so sorry about that...'
'Forget about it. I'm curious to see if I can spot this mysterious beacon.'
'Me too.'
"I'm sorry, but we should get going," Natalie said with an apologetic smile on her face. "It's getting late..."
Jaden's mood dropped even more, if it was even possible. I turned to look at him, trying to find the words to say, but there were none. This wasn't a goodbye, I was just going back home for the weekend, but it still felt like a goodbye.
"We will see each other soon," I told him.
"Sure," he mumbled, nearly breaking my heart because of how sad he was.
I placed my hand on his cheek and waited until he looked at me. "This won't last forever."
"It'll last a few years," he replied.
"I'm pretty sure this is how teenagers are dating. Seeing at school, hanging out afterwards and going home before curfew, right?" I tried to joke, but it didn't have an effect.
"I like it better our way. The werewolf way," he muttered. "But I get it... You have to do what you have to do."
"I'm sorry..." I whispered – there was nothing else I could say.
"Don't be. It's not your fault," he said sternly, regaining some of his composure. "We'll see at school and we can go for walks and you can stay with us over the weekends."
"Yes," I smiled at him, and got up on my toes to peck his lips. "I should go grab my stuff..."
"I'll help..." he sighed.
Too soon, my bag was tucked in the trunk of the car, and we were standing right next to it. I got up on my toes again to hug him, and felt happy shivers run through my body when Jaden wrapped his arms tightly around me. He wasn't going to let go anytime soon. I didn't need to feel his spirits to know that.
I didn't mind... I was suddenly feeling reluctant to leave.
But I had to.
I gave him a short kiss before pulling back. I could feel how tempted he was to make me stay, but he finally let go of me. I smiled at him and touched his cheek. His skin felt cold under my fingers.
"We'll see at school," I repeated.
"Yeah," he said with a nod. "Just... Promise you'll take care of yourself and you won't use that power."
"I'll try to," I said.
He sighed and shook his head in defeat. "At least you're strong enough to fight back if something happens..."
"I'll be careful," I promised.
"Good."
After a short moment, I took a step back. Then another. I waved at him when I sat down next to Natalie, and watched him through the window.
"You two are breaking my heart," Natalie said quietly, starting the car.
"It's not the end of the world," I mumbled. "I'll see him soon."
That thought didn't give me any comfort, especially when the car started moving, and soon, I couldn't see Jaden anymore.