Two Sides of The Moon - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

-Oliver-
I sat silently in my seat next to a long table in a backroom of the Great Hall, holding a cup of hot chocolate in my hands. Well, it wasn't that hot anymore. I kept forgetting I had it because of the million things going through my head.
It was hard to wind down after the enemy attacked our lands.
A moment later, a very low sound filled the air somewhere far away. I could only describe it as the lowest sound of a bass, something I was barely able to hear but definitely could feel, and it slowly rose higher, becoming clearer to the ear, then faded completely. My entire body was in goosebumps.
I wasn't the only one who heard it. I saw bewildered looks all around me.
"The wards came back up, that's all," I informed the rest, and they relaxed.
None of us liked how easily our enemy had destroyed them. Everything that had transpired only a few hours ago had brought our already low morale crashing down. The enemy could defeat us easily, but for now, he was only toying with us. Like we were his toys. What could we do when he decided he'd had enough with us?
'You think too highly of him.'
I couldn't help the gasp from escaping my lips at the sound of Cameron's voice. I had not forgotten he was now with me, but still, he managed to spook me.
"What do you mean?" I asked, and all eyes in the room were on me.
He didn't reply to me right away. I could feel the torment his soul was in. The corruption was fighting hard to gain control over him. I pressed my hand on my chest, feeling helpless as I watched him struggle. Cedric was there, too, whispering good things in his ear.
And so was Hades' Echo, and the dark side of it was helping Cameron's corruption. It was gaining power from it.
He will tear your soul apart...
Maybe, but that was a risk I was willing to take.
Cameron heard that thought.
'He's... not greater,' he finally muttered. 'All he has... is his many toys...'
"Greater?" I repeated with a frown, but Cameron didn't need words to describe what he meant. I could feel what he meant.
"So he's just another god," I muttered. "With toys."
"Is he talking about our enemy?" Aurora asked, stepping closer to me.
I nodded. "He's like the other gods, but he has gathered a massive arsenal of artifacts."
"An arsenal we can't encounter," Aurora muttered. "But I do admit, it eases my mind knowing he's nothing we haven't encountered before. He only has better weapons."
'He needs your power,' Cameron added. 'His plans depend on it.'
"And he needs me in particular," I told Aurora. "The Echo I have."
'No... Not the Echo alone,' Cameron murmured. 'Only few can wield it.'
And again, the corruption started pushing him back. The evil in him was radiating hate, affecting even me. I tried to hold on to the good things in my life, especially Jaden, who was sitting right next to me. I took his hand and held it tight, focusing on his thoughts and emotions. It helped me, and I hoped it helped Cameron, too.
"We need to find a way to get rid of Cameron's corruption. It's just as bad as the enemy said it is," I said.
A door opened on our left, and Rayleigh stepped in. With his Betas. Ryder was still pale and looked weak, but he was recovering. He stopped when he saw me, then walked up to me. Cameron tried to retreat further into my soul when Ryder stared down at me.
"How are you holding up?" he asked quietly.
"We'll get through this," I said as a reply.
"Can he hear me?" Ryder asked, and I nodded. "Cameron? As you can probably see, I wasn't lying. And I want to thank you for not harming my mate. I know there's still good in you."
Cameron didn't like his words, but it had a lot to do with how horrified he was by his own actions.
'I... I'm sorry...' he finally whispered, and I forwarded his words to Ryder.
"Everything you've done here was out of your control," Ryder said gently. "We will help you get your own life back."
I was grateful for his words. They gave Cameron a little bit of strength. And hope.
"Any news from Arlona?" I asked. "We need to figure out how to purify his soul."
"They'll join us soon," Rayleigh promised. "Is everyone all right?"
We all nodded, though the lack of actual words made it clear we were not all right.
"It's just... The sense of security went flying out the window the second he destroyed the wards," I spoke on behalf of all of us.
"If we even had any sense of security..." Tilly muttered.
Rayleigh let out a deep sigh. "I know..."
'He really has managed to get inside your heads, hasn't he?' Cameron snorted, and I turned my attention to him.
"What do you mean?" I asked, and he let out a weary sigh and left my body.
Cedric appeared next to him, looking worried when Cameron stopped in the middle of the room, his dark figure looking like it was in flames as he glared at us all.
'Why are you so afraid of him?' he asked.
"Because we don't know what he's capable of," I replied.
'He is hiding behind his toys, using cheap tricks and fear to control you," Cameron spoke in an angry tone. 'Stop letting him.'
"It's easier said than done," Rayleigh said. "He could easily attack us today. He broke through our wards like they were made of paper."
'And what else was he able to do?' Cameron asked.
Rayleigh frowned at him. No one replied to him.
'Nothing,' Cameron answered his own question.
"He possessed some of our people. Those of us who didn't yet have a talisman with them," Aurora said.
"But only those who didn't have the talisman," Rayleigh said, and turned to his Betas. "Speed up the process. I want every single pack member and resident in town to have one."
'Average shadows can't possess protected people,' Cameron said. 'He only has a handful of stronger shadows. But in the end, they're all shadows. I see you already have the Spirit Bow. You have gods and strong witches and Spirit Walkers on your side. And you have Arlona, the peacekeepers who know almost just as much about the artifacts as their makers do. You are not weak, so stop being so pathetic.'
We all could see a sudden shift in his presence. His anger was quickly leaking over, alarming us all.
'So pathetic...! I should've... killed you all...!' he growled as he collapsed to the ground, holding his head.
It was happening fast. I hurried up to my feet while the rest of us were backing away, looking wary. I kneeled next to Cameron, turning into a spirit.
'You have to fight it,' I muttered, bringing my hand closer to him. 'You can fight it.'
'Fuck you! Fuck all of you...!'
Cedric joined us, and while he whispered soothing, loving things to him, I focused on the corruption in him. I didn't want to do anything big or hasty in case I'd only make things worse, so I slowly tried to shine my powers at the corruption, hoping to push it back.
'Cam? You can fight it,' Cedric said quietly. 'I know you can. You're such a great man. You're stronger than the evil that's trying to hurt you.'
'Fuck you, Starling... You... You're the worst of them,' Cameron said in such a hateful voice it caused a massive wound in Cedric's spirit.
'You don't mean that,' I said when Cedric wasn't able to speak. 'It's the corruption that has been lying to you for all these years.'
Cameron didn't respond. I assumed he was fighting so hard against the corruption that he was unable to reply to me. I kept trying to push the darkness back, but it was holding on strong. It was way stronger than Jack's infestation.
'Remember that night when you first called me Starling?' Cedric asked. 'I do. It's still one of the best memories I have.'
'Starling...'
'You made me so happy...' Cedric continued in a whisper. 'I still love you.'
'Come, Cameron. You should rest now,' I told him, and turned back to human. "You've been through so much horror."
Little by little, Cameron was able to clear his mind, at least enough so he could take his place in my spirit. But when he vanished inside me, his hate nearly knocked me back. I'd never feel such rage before. And yet, he was still able to control it at least a little. Cedric followed him, but I needed a moment to calm myself down to prevent my own corruption from taking over. I was scared to admit that if Jaden hadn't been with me, there was a chance I'd failed.
This was going to be a rough one for both of us.
"Is everything all right now?" Rayleigh asked after I finally got back up on my feet.
"He's containing it for now," I said. "He has a point. We can't let fear control us. We can fight back. We just have to figure out how."
"And we will help with that, as promised," Aadhil spoke after appearing in the room. "First things first. I believe this belongs to you."
He gave a small box to Jaden, who frowned at it before opening it. There was a small marble in the box. A godly marble.
"Howl," I said and sighed in relief. "You got your voice back."
Jaden couldn't have been happier about it. He picked up the marble, and it immediately vanished in him. A light glow emanated from him for a brief second as we all watched him closely.
"Well?" I said.
Jaden seemed hesitant to speak, and I knew he was worried he'd make a fool out of himself if his voice still didn't work, but then he took a deep breath.
"Fuck this shit," he said loud and clear.
I laughed lightly and hugged him. "He speaks!"
"Unfortunately," Rayleigh said but he, too, was smiling.
"We were able to retrieve several artifacts from Cameron," Aadhil said. "The Helm of Hades being one of them."
"What are the rest of them?" Rayleigh asked.
"We're not quite sure what they do yet. He had three more items," Aadhil said, peering at me. "We're going through the catalog as we speak, but if Cameron would like to help us, we'd be very grateful."
"He's... Unavailable at the moment," I said.
I could feel him drifting to sleep in my spirit, with Cedric by his side to keep him calm.
"I understand," Aadhil said. "The catalog isn't big, so we should have the answers by the end of the day."
"How many artifacts are there?" Rayleigh asked.
"A little over a thousand."
"And how many of those do you have?"
"A little over two hundred."
"I don't like the sound of that," Rayleigh muttered.
"Most of them are with the gods that created them. Some are with the champions. The rest have been lost since the Old World ended," Aadhil said.
"Meaning the enemy could have them," I said. "According to Cameron, he has several artifacts in his possession."
"That is what we're assuming, yes. We've asked the gods to let us know which items are still safe, so we can narrow down the list of possible artifacts our enemy could have – and how to fight against them."
"A smart move," Rayleigh said. "And now I must ask you to fulfill your promise to train us. Our people need to learn how to fight before the enemy strikes again."
"Of course," Aadhil said. "We shall discuss that tomorrow morning."
"What about Cameron?" I asked. "He's in desperate need of help."
Aadhil took a moment to come up with an answer. "We do have a binding box that may be strong enough to hold him, but I see it would only do more harm. There are no known artifacts that can purify a soul, but we are searching for other ways. In the meantime, I advise you to use your own powers to help him."
'You should lock me up...' Cameron whispered.
'That won't help you,' I told him. 'You just have to trust yourself – and us. We are not letting the corruption take you. Like Ryder said, we will help you to get your life back.'
He didn't reply to me, but I could feel my words were easing his pain a little.
"We will speak tomorrow," Rayleigh said to Aadhil, and turned to the rest of us. "You should go with Aurora. She'll watch over you. I will visit you as soon as I can."
With that, Aurora ushered us out of the Hall. Jaden walked right next to me and took my hand in his after we stepped outside.
"You got your voice back," I said with a smile.
"I don't really care about my voice. I got the Howl back. Now I can heal people again," he said.
"And now they can't steal it so easily, with you three being nearly invincible," I said. "I have to admit, knowing that does make me feel better. Safer."
"Agreed," Aurora said, glancing at us five. "And if the peacekeepers will now start training you... It makes me feel better."
That topic was very cheerful as we tried to guess what kind of training the peacekeepers had in mind. But after a while, I noticed Jack peering at me.
"What's up?" I asked him when our eyes met.
"Do you think he can be saved?" he asked quietly.
"I'm sure we can. We just need to find out how," I said.
Jack nodded slowly, then turned his attention to Aurora's home when it came to our view. "It's crazy what grief can do to a person..."
I nodded slowly, focusing on the two spirits sleeping in mine.
"It's still so heartbreaking to think about," Tilly muttered, and we all agreed.
"It makes me mad that someone used his grief against him," Arch said. "How sick can people be?"
"Very sick," I muttered.
We entered Tilly's home, and Aurora started making us something to eat. I hadn't even realized how exhausted I was until I sat down on the couch and couldn't even think about getting up. Jaden sat next to me, and I used him as my pillow and my blanket when I curled into a tiny ball under his arm.
There was a small moment of peaceful silence, but then my mate opened his mouth.
"So that's why Ryder was so pissed when Ezra was away," he said and chuckled. "He wasn't getting laid."
I had to laugh at his words. "I'm so happy you got your voice back," I said and hugged him.
"Honestly?" Tilly spoke with a smirk, "I really missed the things that come out of your mouth."
"What?" Jaden asked with a frown.
"We definitely need a little humor in this world," Arch agreed.
"I didn't even say anything stupid this time!" Jaden said with a snort. "I'm just surprised that they are mates, that's all."
"Yeah, they really kept that under wraps," Arch agreed. "I had no idea."
"Only a few of us knew," Aurora explained. "When we were still forming our pack, they feared their relationship could affect people's opinion about Rayleigh in a bad way. Rayleigh told them he didn't care, but the protectors of our pack refused to come out as gay."
"Why would anyone care?" Jaden snorted. "Hell, their next Alpha has a male mate, so fuck them."
"It was different back then," Aurora said quietly. "This was twenty years ago, and Rayleigh was struggling to keep his position as the Alpha with all the new people coming in every week. We obviously would've supported them, but it was their decision in the end."
"Well they don't have to hide it anymore," Jaden said.
"And I'm happy I got to see that day," Aurora said with a soft smile on her lips. "They deserve it."
Just like Cameron deserved another chance with Cedric. I turned my attention to them, but they were still asleep. Cameron seemed calmer now. The corruption was still strong, but I could've sworn it had backed off a little.
We would find a way to help him, and together, we'd make this world a better place, and free from corruption.