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The rain was so strange. The fear of boiling rain had almost killed them, as they hesitated for a few precious moments on the way through the door. Yet the rain did not boil—in fact, it was cold. They had walked right through it, and they had come out the other side, no worse for their troubles. A little wet, but…
No. No, Hunter could not lie to himself. They were worse. They were all so much worse for everything that happened. As he stood at the window of Luz’s living room, trying to focus on the weirdness of the cold rain, Hunter knew that everything had changed.
But then, it already had, hadn’t it?
Everything had changed the day he went into Belos’s mind. Everything had fallen to pieces around him. His world shattered. That was how he thought of it, like everything he cared about had disappeared.
But now… now it really had. Only now was Hunter able to truly appreciate all he lost, as he suspected he may never see it again.
He sighed, his breath fogging the glass. He was being selfish. He looked away from the window. The house was strange in how not strange it was. This was Luz’s house, this was a whole other world. And yeah, there were a lot of things that Hunter didn’t understand—like that box-shaped crystal ball that Willow and Gus were watching. But largely, Hunter just thought it looked like a normal family house.
Not that the family who lived there were present at the moment. Luz and Amity had gone into the other room with Luz’s mother—Hunter hadn’t caught her name. And since the demon that lived with them had wandered off, it was just Hunter, Willow, and Gus in the living room.
Willow and Gus… They had lost so much more than he had. Amity as well. They’d all lost their world, yes, but the others had lost also loving families. Friends. Homes.
Hunter had thought he’d had some of that, at least a little bit. But it was fake. A lie constructed by Belos to keep him in check. Nothing more. Just like the lie that the Titan had big plans for him, there was nothing to those ideas.
Just like Hunter himself.
He leaned his head against the glass, feeling the cold from the bizarre rain. At least the house was warm, but Hunter’s clothes were soaked, and he shivered a little. He didn’t say anything, though. What place did he have to complain? He’d lost less than the others, and anyway, he was lucky they even accepted him. He wasn’t even half a witch, that had been a lie too. He wasn’t like them. Not to mention all the times he’d tried to capture, hurt, and trick them…
As he struggled to think of what to say—assuming he had any right to say anything, which he didn’t—he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw a smiling face, albeit a very strange one.
“A little birdie told me you might be cold.” Although her form was almost monstrous, the girl’s voice was soft. She held out a change of clothes. Black pajama pants with pink kittens and a fuzzy sweater covered in weird pictures.
“Thanks.” Hunter took the clothes, although he did so with a pang of guilt. “Do the others have something dry?”
“They will in a second.” The demon gestured over towards a small pile of clothes, which Flapjack was sitting atop. He flew over to Hunter once he was noticed. “But someone wouldn’t leave me alone about you.”
Hunter held out a hand, which Flapjack landed on. “You can understand him?”
“Well, no. But he was being pretty obvious. He really cares about you.”
“Yeah.” Hunter stroked the palisman. “I guess he does. Thanks, uhm…”
“Vee,” the demon said. “You can get changed in that room, I’ll go get these to the others.”
“Right. Thanks, Vee.”
While Flapjack flew off to where the other palisman had congregated, Hunter did as Vee instructed. The other room turned out to be a bathroom. It was dark and he didn’t know how to work their weird flameless lanterns, so he left the door cracked as he took off his wet clothes.
As he did, he noticed a mirror. Looking at his reflection obscured by shadows, he could barely recognize it. In many ways, his Golden Guard mask had always felt more like his real face. But then, nothing on him was ever real, was it? He stared at that strange face anyway, letting his mind wander as he did.
Could I have stopped this? If I had paid more attention, if I had acted sooner, could I have done something?
“You have to flip that little switch on the wall,” Gus’s voice said through the doorway.
“Huh?” Hunter looked around at the wall. There did seem to be a switch of some sort, so he moved it from down to up, and the lantern turned on. “Oh, uh, thanks.”
“No problem.”
“How’d you know about that?” Even though he could see now, Hunter didn’t bother to close the door. It was just Gus, after all; it wasn’t like one of the girls was present.
“Saw it in a human video once. Luz used to show me them, back when we first met.”
As Hunter pulled on the sweater, he found it itchy. He ignored that. “How long have you all known each other?”
“Only a few months, but it feels like so much longer.” Gus paused a moment, then added, “Well, I’ve known Willow for years. And I’d seen Amity around school, but uh, she wasn’t as nice to us back then.”
Although they were clearly Luz’s, Hunter pulled on the pajama pants. He hoped no one would tease him about the cats, which were far from his first choice. Not like we don’t all have bigger problems.
He emerged from the bathroom. Gus was waiting, holding onto his change of clothes. He’d similarly got stuck with girls’ pajama pants and a weird-looking sweater. Hunter didn’t comment. Instead, he looked around and saw Vee had replaced Willow at the crystal box while Willow herself was nowhere to be seen. “So, uh, the captain… how’s she handling things?”
“Willow? She’s… I mean, how are any of us taking it?”
“Yeah…” Hunter stepped aside so Gus could get into the bathroom. He likewise didn’t close the door all the way, so Hunter stood outside with his back to it.
“But you know, she’s tough. And she has us. We’ll help each other through it.”
Us. Did he mean to include Hunter in that? No, that couldn’t be right. Luz, Gus, Amity, that was the ‘us’. Her friends not someone like Hunter, who had only recently been their enemy. There was no ‘us’ that included him.
Not that Hunter could say that. Not to Gus, who had so many more problems. He decided to focus on those instead. “So, uh… what about you?”
“Oh, I love it here!” Gus’s voice was bright and gave Hunter a chance to breathe a sigh of relief. “There’s so much human stuff, and it’s… it’s…”
Oh no. No no no no no, Gus could not freak out now! Hunter looked around frantically, but Willow still wasn’t around. Hunter would have to do, somehow. He swallowed a lump in his throat and tried his best to sound confident. “Hey, uh… breathe, you know? Like you showed me.”
The sound of slow, deliberate breaths came from the bathroom. Hunter waited a few agonizing seconds while Gus focused on his breathing.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
When Gus spoke again, his voice was calm. “Thanks. See, we’ll look out for each other.”
Hunter let out a breath of his own. If that hadn’t worked, there’d been no plan B. Hunter wasn’t like them, he didn’t understand all this stuff about friendship and support. No one had ever shown him how to do that.
The only thing he was good for with this group was that he could handle himself in a fight. But that was before, when they were on the Boiling Isles. He couldn’t do magic there, but with Flapjack’s help, he had some powers.
Now? Now that was a liability. In a world where the only people who could use magic were sitting in this house, Hunter couldn’t very well rely on that. And what little power he had would pale in comparison to the real witches.
Unaware of Hunter’s thoughts, Gus stepped out of the bathroom with a small smile. “Thanks again.”
Hunter blinked. “For reminding you to breathe?”
“For grounding me.”
That only confused him more. “But you’re not in trouble…?”
Gus laughed. “No, it’s… man, the Emperor’s Coven sure did a number on you! You grounded me in the moment, I meant.”
“Oh. Right.” Hunter was wary of letting talk go to the Emperor’s Coven. If that happened, then they might talk about other things. Instead, he looked for a new topic. He found one on their sweaters. “So, uh, what are these pictures?”
“They’re for a human holiday. Uhm, I think it was called Chris Mess? Something like that.”
“Huh.”
“These ones are mistletoe.” Gus pointed to the flowers on his shirt. “Humans are supposed to kiss when they’re around this, or something.”
“Kiss? Humans are so weird.”
Gus laughed. “I know, right?” He pointed at something on Hunter’s shirt, which were like fuzzy demons with Belos antlers. “And those are rain dears. They’re called that because they come out in the rain.”
“And they’re… dears?”
Gus shrugged. “I guess humans think really highly of them?”
Hunter stared at the picture. He didn’t like those horns at all… “Can we… switch?”
“Uh, sure, I guess.” Although he looked perplexed, Gus still pulled off his shirt, so Hunter did the same. He went to hand it to Gus, who gasped. “Hunter, you…”
Hunter took Gus’s Chris Mess sweater quickly and pulled it on. He knew what Gus had noticed—his torso was covered in scars. “Yeah yeah, well, being the Golden Guard wasn’t always easy, you know…”
“Right… Do you want to talk about—”
“We should check on the others.”
“Oh, hello, boys.” They turned to see Willow standing in the hallway. “Glad you two are in something warm too.”
“Yeah!” Hunter smiled too broadly, hoping Willow hadn’t seen anything. He hadn’t thought anything of his scars, but then Gus’s reaction… well, he just didn’t want Willow to see that side of him more than she already had. “And you too!”
Willow giggled. “I like the kittens.”
Hunter blushed. “I think I’ll go check on Vee!”
Gus and Willow both laughed, spurring Hunter on as he qyuickly crossed the living room. He took a seat on the floor in front of the crystal box.
Vee was still there, and she smiled at him. “Feel better?”
“Huh?”
“The clothes.”
“Oh, yeah. Yes, thank you. Again.”
Vee nodded. “And… it’s good that you’re giving them something to laugh about. I know they need it now. I’m sure you do too.”
“I… I’m fine, I didn’t…” Hunter shook his head. “Hey, uhm, aren’t you a basilisk?”
Vee’s smile fell away. “Yes, but I promise I’m one of the good guys!”
Hunter smirked. “Hey, don’t worry about that. I’ve got no room to judge.” He looked back to where Gus and Willow were still talking. “It’s just… you live with Luz and her mom right? They don’t care?”
“I, uhm, I only met Luz once. She didn’t care about that, though. And Camila, she’s been so good to me. I’m so lucky I found them.”
There was such a light to her voice. It was nice to hear; they could all use a little more light after the day’s events.
“You respect her a lot. Camila, was it?”
“Of course I do. She took me in. Witches and demons from my own world wouldn’t do that. But Camila, she didn’t even care. I… I never thought anyone would be okay with someone like me. Never thought anyone could ever want me around, you know?”
Before Hunter could agree, Vee just laughed. “Sorry, I’m just rambling now.”
“No, I… I get it.” Hunter looked at the crystal box, which was showing two men drinking and singing loudly. He didn’t pay it much attention.
“You do?” Vee cocked her head to the side. “You have so many friends, though.”
“I mean! Well, I know about basilisks, and I don’t care either! But I know what it must have been like. For you.”
Vee looked like she might question Hunter’s horrible lying, but she didn’t. Instead, she smiled and turned towards the box. “Thanks, uhm, what was your name again?”
“I…” Hunter stopped short of answering. He was Hunter. That was his name, and it didn’t have to mean anything. But… He thought of who gave him that name, and what it meant.
I’m a grimwalker. I walk among witches, but I am not one of them. I’m a hunter, a creature created to help Belos kill them all.
“Have you ever felt like… maybe your name isn’t really right for you?”
Vee laughed. “Well, yeah. I mean… I was actually just called Number Five. I didn’t really like that, though. I like being Vee better, it makes me feel much more like me.”
“Oh, yeah…” Hunter looked at Vee as she watched the crystal box, remembering what he had learned of basilisks. They had been extinct, but then Belos had them brought back. He had no doubt wanted them for their ability to steal magic, but that wasn’t what interested him.
“So, like, were you… I don’t know, created in a lab or something?”
Vee pulled back. “What?”
“Hunter!” Willow’s voice rang out, causing Hunter to wince. He hadn’t even known she was listening. “I know you aren’t the best at this stuff, but you can’t just ask someone something like that!”
Stupid! No one would want to talk about that! “Sorry, I’m… kinda not used to having friends…”
“It’s… okay,” Vee said, but she gave Hunter a wary look.
“I… I’ll go and—”
“Is everything okay out here?” Luz’s mom—Camila—said as she walked into the room. Luz and Amity followed behind her, and everyone’s eyes were on Hunter and Vee.
“I just… said something dumb,” Hunter admitted. He stood and bowed to Vee, ignoring Flapjack as the palisman landed on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, please forgive me.”
“We’re okay, Camila,” Vee said.
“Well, I think everyone’s had a long night,” Camila said. “We don’t have enough beds for everyone, but I do have some extra pillows and blankets.”
“Uhm…” Luz said. “Maybe we can all sleep in my room? Well, mine and Vee’s, I guess.”
“All of you?” Camila said. “Uhm, maybe the boys should sleep out here…”
Luz looked like she might protest, but Amity took hold of her hand and spoke first. “Maybe we should all sleep out here. There’s more room, and it’ll be easier to keep track of us.”
Truthfully, Hunter liked Camila’s idea better. But he didn’t feel like it was his place to comment, so he kept his mouth shut.
Vee didn’t seem to have that problem, however. “Uhm, I could stay out here with them and make sure everyone behaves, Camila.”
She took a deep breath and smiled. “You’re right. We should sleep out here. All of us. I’ll get changed and meet you back here.”
Camila glanced at Amity and walked away, muttering something about how maybe boys weren’t the problem anymore.
For his part, Hunter stood off to the side as Luz and Amity joined the others. “So, we told my mom. About everything.”
Everyone bowed their heads, and Hunter took a small step away. Flapjack nudged him, so he stroked the bird.
It was Gus who broke their silence. “So… what’s everything, exactly? I mean, I was there, but…”
“It was a lot,” Willow agreed. Hunter risked a look at her and saw only pain. “And it happened so fast.”
Luz attempted a smile, but it was clearly forced. “Right, well—”
Amity put her hands on Luz’s shoulders. “This has been a lot for all of us, and I don’t think going through things twice in one night is good for Luz. The short version is… we’re stuck here.”
“Stuck here for now,” Luz said, casting a meaningful look at Amity. “We will get back. Eda, King, everyone… They still need us.”
Amity and Luz both leaned in, resting their heads on one another’s for a moment. They had to all be thinking the same thing. There was no guarantee they’d ever get back, and no amount of Luz’s foolish optimism could fix this.
Since they were all thinking the same thing, there was no need to say it. Eventually, Willow pointed out that Luz and Amity should get changed too, which they agreed with.
As the two of them went off to find dry clothes, Hunter wondered if he should take over on filling in what he knew. If it was too much for Luz, this was the perfect time.
But, as always, he wasn’t sure it was his place. He wasn’t like them. Wasn’t really one of them. It was probably better to just wait until Luz was ready to talk about it.
So they all stood around awkwardly. Hunter busied himself with stroking Flapjack, and he wasn’t the only one. Willow and Gus both found comfort in their own palismen, a small comfort in a strange world.
At least they weren’t waiting too long. Camila soon came back with blankets and pillows just like she said she would, and Luz and Amity weren’t far behind. Although the two of them had been speaking for a long time, Camila and Luz hugged each other tightly and solemnly.
No one broke the silence this time, though. The night had been a strange one, even after arriving at Luz’s house. Sure, they’d joked and even laughed a little, but even Hunter could tell that their hearts weren’t in it. It was like Vee had said; they’d just needed a reason to smile, if only for a while.
They still needed a reason to smile. Hunter’s mind raced and he tried to think of what to say. But there was nothing. He grasped at things he liked—studying wild magic, playing flyer derby, reading about history… None of it mattered, not in the face of what they went through. He couldn’t bring up that stuff, not now.
Everyone else must have felt the same way, as it wasn’t long before everyone collected their palismen and found places to lie down. Camila took the couch, leaving the teens scattered about on the floor. Luz positioned herself near her mom, who let her hand dangle off so she could cup it around her daughter’s. Luz’s other hand was intertwined with Amity’s, who leaned against Luz.
As expected, Willow and Gus took a spot near one another. They’d been friends the longest, Hunter was pretty sure. A little surprisingly, Vee stayed near the two of them.
Surprising, but not unwelcome. That meant that Hunter was free to pick a spot further away from the others. Flapjack pulled his hair in the direction of Willow, but Hunter didn’t yield. His only reply was to turn to the palisman and whisper, “I know she’s the captain, but not right now.”
“No need to be a stranger,” Willow said to Hunter when she noticed him swatting away the bird. “Come lie down with us.”
“I’m, uh…” Hunter looked at her, but his eyes darted towards Amity and Luz. Their hands, fingers laced together. It seemed… nice.
But he could feel his face heating up, and he knew it would only get worse if he was closer. Besides, this was his place. She was just being polite, they would be better sticking to themselves.
“I think Hunter maybe just needs a little space,” Gus said. “We all need different things.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want.” Willow smiled at Hunter. “Good night, Hunter.”
“Yeah,” Hunter said. Even though he was relieved that Gus had saved him, he still felt strange. Almost disappointed… His voice sounded distant, even to himself. “Good night.”
Hunter settled into the spot he had lain out for himself, focusing on the sounds around him. There was a clock in the house that ticked steadily and rhythmically.
It was a good sound. A methodical one. Hunter imagined that along with the consistent patter of rain against the windows, it would easily lull him to sleep.
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
It did not lull him to sleep. Not tonight. Not after everything. The house was dead quiet as the others slept, but Hunter? No, he remained awake with his thoughts.
Not like them.
Can’t be one of them.
Tick.
Not even half a witch.
Not a witch at all.
Tock.
I was their enemy.
I helped Belos do everything he did.
Tick.
Horrible.
Despicable.
Tock.
Monster.
Grimwalker.
Hunter squeezed his eyes shut extra tight for a moment before finally opening them. The others were quiet, and he wondered how long it had been. Judging that they were probably asleep, he sat up as quietly as he could.
He took a look around. No motion; just as he thought, the others were sleeping. He was glad, they needed their rest. And anyway, it meant he would be left alone as he stood up and walked away from them.
First he paused at the window he’d stood beside earlier, intending to watch the rain some more. But he didn’t want to be in sight of the others, so he continued on. He went to the room where Luz had spoke with her mom earlier, which turned out to be a kitchen.
It was so strange. Everything here was. But this place… among the dozens of things Hunter didn’t recognize, there were things he did. Things like photographs. Memories of Luz growing up, of Camila as a happy mother, and a couple of a man who must’ve been her dad.
Luz was so loved, that was easy to see. He didn’t know much about Camila, didn’t know anything about her dad, though Hunter suspected he was no longer around. Really, when it came down to it, Hunter barely knew who Luz was, really. Didn’t know any of them.
And yet, he wasn’t surprised to hear soft footsteps behind him. Likely Luz had tried not to alert anyone as she came to check on him, but he had been the Golden Guard. Sneaking up on him would not be easy.
He sighed and turned to see Luz, but instead he found Willow. His eyes went a little wide at the sight of her. She was wearing an oversized shirt that went down to her knees. He’d been so caught up in feeling awkward all night that he hadn’t really noticed what she’d changed into.
It was so dumb. They were normal pajamas. He knew women in the guard, he knew what kind of pajamas they wore. But seeing Willow in them, Hunter’s face heated up again.
He quickly turned away. He hated that feeling. And Willow seemed to make it happen all the time. What was that all about? What was he supposed to do about that?
He didn’t know what he was supposed to do, but what he did do was scowl and keep his back to Willow.
“Can’t sleep?” she asked softly.
“I… I guess not.”
“It has been a lot,” Willow said. She walked closer, but instead of standing next to him, she leaned against the countertop. “My whole body just wants to sleep, but when I close my eyes, I just see everyone we left behind.”
Forgetting to feel awkward, Hunter turned to face Willow. She was looking at the ground. She needed someone to comfort her, Hunter knew that. She needed someone like Luz, or Gus, or… just anyone who wasn’t him.
“Do, uh, you wanna do the breathing thing?”
Willow shook her head slowly. “It’s not going to help. Not with this.”
Her voice was so sad, and Hunter wanted to make it better. He wasn’t even entirely sure why.
But he couldn’t. He didn’t know how to. So he did nothing.
They were quiet for a moment, but Hunter still found he was glad she was there. Somehow, even just having her near him made things a little better.
But Willow didn’t seem to feel the same. She brushed her hair aside and spoke politely, though there may have been something Hunter couldn’t place in her voice as well. “You, uhm, probably still want to be alone. I should…”
She didn’t say what she should do. Instead, she shook her head and began walking away, arms folded and head down. Hunter wanted to reach out for her, but he couldn’t do that. He didn’t understand why, but he knew he couldn’t.
But what could he do? Nothing in guard training had prepared him for this. And yet…
And yet he had to do something. “Who, uhm…” Hunter wasn’t even sure why he was saying these words, but he knew they had to be the wrong ones even as they left his mouth. “Who do you see? When you close your eyes?”
Willow stopped and looked back at him. “My dads. I… I don’t know if they’re even…”
“They’re okay,” Hunter said without thinking. “They are. I… Okay, I really don’t know that, but I, uhm…”
Willow walked over and stood next to Hunter. He felt his heart beating faster, but he didn’t turn away this time. “I hope you’re right.”
Hunter nodded. “I… guess everyone’s feeling that way, huh? Luz isn’t even from the Boiling Isles, but she has people back there who she’s worried about.”
“What about you?”
“I’m…” I’m not like you. I’m not even a witch.
All those thoughts stopped in an instant as Willow placed an arm around Hunter’s back. He stood up straighter at the touch, but he didn’t dislike it. “You have us now. And we’re glad to have you.”
It took a moment for Hunter’s mind to come back to him, but when it did, all he could think of was how wrong this was. “You… you shouldn’t be. I’m not… I wasn’t…”
Willow shook her head. “We don’t care about what you were. We care about what you are, and what you are is our friend.”
It wasn’t that simple. “Yeah, but—”
“No buts.” Willow smiled a little. “Captain’s orders.”
And… Hunter smiled a little too. It wasn’t that simple. Not really. But maybe… maybe it was okay if this wasn’t simple. “Yes, ma’am.”
Willow looked away for a moment, then looked back. “We’re… I’m glad you’re with us.”
“You… are?”
“Yeah.” Willow smirked and looked away. “I know I was skeptical of you at first, but you’ve been a big help.”
“Oh, right.” Hunter laughed a little. “Having the former Golden Guard on your side—”
“Mm mm.” Willow stepped in front of Hunter and took hold of his hand. “Not the Golden Guard. Hunter. That’s all.”
Hunter wished he could stop blushing so much. He could feel it spread all the way to his ears, and he couldn’t hold Willow’s eye contact. What was she doing? Why was she so close to him? Why did it matter so much to Hunter that she was?
“Just Hunter,” he repeated. “I don’t know that there’s a lot to be said about ‘just Hunter’.”
“Well, I think there is.” Willow looked up into Hunter’s eyes, and to his amazement, Hunter saw she was blushing too. Just a little, but she seemed to be entirely comfortable with it. “I do want to get to know you a lot better, but I already know you’re really special. Just by being you.”
Just by being Hunter? Or… just by being… “I, uhm… Do you think…”
Willow waited for a moment, then prompted him when he stopped speaking. “What’s up, Hunter?”
“That.” Hunter swallowed. “Uh, that name, I mean. Hunter. I… I don’t think I like it anymore.”
“Oh, really?”
Hunter took a deep breath. And then he took another. It didn’t really help, but he pushed himself to keep talking anyway. “Belos… he named me that. I think it means I’m supposed to hunt witches.”
“Oh…” Willow looked down at Hunter’s hand. “I, uhm, I saw the scars. Did he make you fight a lot?”
Oh, Titan, why had she seen that? “I, er, I thought you were…”
“I know you don’t want to worry us.” Willow let go of Hunter’s hand to take hold of his shoulder instead. She smiled that smile that made Hunter’s heart race. “We’re here for you though. All of us are. And even if you don’t want to talk about it to the others, you can talk about it with me.”
Truthfully, there was no one Hunter wanted to talk about that with less. But somehow, he got the impression that was because there was no one who needed to know more. He steeled himself, and he answered.
“Uhm, yeah. Belos made me fight a lot. I didn’t really think anything of it. It was my duty, I was the Golden Guard, and the Titan had big plans for me. That’s what he always said. The Titan had big plans for me…”
“And those plans were…”
“He didn’t say.” Hunter looked away. “But… I know anyway. Only, they weren’t the Titan’s plans, they were his. Belos wanted me to hunt witches, he even named me for it.”
“That must have been hard.”
Hunter almost closed his eyes, almost looked away. He didn’t, though. He kept his eyes focused on Willow. He needed to tell her this, he needed her to see that he wasn’t someone to get close to. “That’s the worst thing. I used to love it. He would have me fight wild witches. I would help capture them, steal their palismen, and… and I never even stopped to think about what would happen to them. He said they were reformed, but… Now I don’t know.”
“You wanted to believe him. A lot of people did, people who had less reason than you.”
“That’s not an excuse! I—” Hunter gritted his teeth, realizing if he wasn’t quiet, he would wake up the others. “I’m a monster, Willow…”
“Oh, Hunter, no…” Willow put her arms around Hunter and pulled him closer to her. He wasn’t dumb, he knew what a hug was. Only… no one had ever given him one. Not like this. He’d been in a group hug on a few very rare occasions, but this?
He put his arms around Willow as well, returning the hug. She was so soft and warm.
A moment later, Willow pulled herself away. “Listen to me. You are not a monster. You made mistakes. You believed someone who you shouldn’t have. But you’re not that person anymore. Now you’re our friend. You’re just… you’re just you.”
“Just me,” Hunter repeated.
“I wish I could tell you that you won’t have to fight anymore.” Willow looked off to the side. “But if we get back to the Boiling Isles…”
“That’s okay.” Hunter grinned, happy the conversation was getting back to something he could handle. “ When we get back, I can fight. That’s something I’m good at. Better than all this emotional stuff.”
Willow placed her hand on his torso, just below his left shoulder. “I don’t know, I think you’re pretty good at that too.”
Even earlier in the night, Hunter would have hated for Willow to touch him there. She must have gotten a good look at him after all, as that was where his biggest scar was. But now, after that talk, somehow it felt okay if she saw his scars.
All he thought of at that moment, as he stood so close to Willow, was that she smelled like cinnamon. He had never noticed that before, but now, it was all that mattered.
That, and the fact that humans were supposed to kiss when mistletoe was around…
Hunter blinked and reminded himself neither of them were humans. “Caleb.”
“Caleb?” Willow smiled and took a step away. “Your flyer derby name?”
“It’s… I mean… I picked it myself, so…”
“I think it’s a great name. Is that what you want us to call you?”
For a second, he hesitated. It was dumb, he already had a name. But when he thought about being Hunter… “Uhm, if… if that’s okay?”
“Of course it is.” Willow smiled brightly, and for half a second, Hu— Caleb forgot everything else. “To tell you the truth, I never stopped thinking of you as Caleb, anyway.”
Hunter laughed a little. “Really?”
“You did make a pretty interesting first impression.”
Caleb scratched at the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
Willow punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Well then, Caleb, think we should try to get some more sleep?”
“Oh, uh, I guess so.” Even though he was blushing, Caleb couldn’t help but smile. Willow had that effect on him, too.
Willow led the way as they returned to the others. Caleb’s mind raced with the conversation that had just happened. Somehow it didn’t even seem real.
Stepping back into the living room, they found the space Willow had left had been claimed. Vee and Gus had both shifted a little, scooting closer to Luz and Amity. There hardly seemed to be a place for Willow, but she still lay in between Gus and Amity. Amity shifted in her sleep, resting a leg on top of Willow, who didn’t seem to mind at all.
Willow smiled and patted the very small space next to her. Caleb felt himself heating up, and thought that there was no way he could sleep there. And yet…
His body moved, but he could hardly believe he was doing it. He got his pillow, but left the blanket. There’d be no room for another. He stepped over Gus as best he could and slid in the space Willow made for him by scooting until she was pressed against Amity completely.
All his thoughts were of Willow, and of how soft she was in their hug, and how they’d be pressing against each other all night long. Part of him wanted to run away, part of him couldn’t think of anything better.
Then very suddenly, Caleb was reminded that they were not the only ones pressed close together, as Gus leaned against him. He nearly bolted upright, but something in the look Willow was giving him stopped him. She mouthed the word one word, ‘Please,’ and that was all it took to chase the thought of getting up out of Caleb’s mind.
Then something even worse happened. Willow turned onto her side, facing Caleb, and took hold of his arm. While Gus had been a natural movement of someone sleeping restlessly and looking for a friend, Willow’s was deliberate. Caleb could barely breathe, and yet, it got worse.
Willow moved her hands down Caleb’s arm, stopping at his palm. She traced her fingers across it, touching his skin so softly, then entwined one of her own hands with his. Caleb was almost positive the others would be able to hear his heart beating in the stillness.
“Good night, Caleb,” Willow said, her voice practically a whisper.
“G-good night.” Caleb worked his mouth to try and relieve some of the dryness, but it was no use. And between Willow and Gus, he was completely trapped.
And, really? He wouldn’t change it for the world. He had noticed how soft Willow was earlier, but with her hand in his, he could also feel a coarseness. Her hands were calloused from the work she did, or from the fights she’d been in herself. They were still soft, but like Willow herself, there was so much more there.
Somehow, that made Caleb feel better. There were so many sides to Willow, and Caleb wanted to know all of them. He closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of cinnamon, and realized there was more. She smelled of cinnamon, yes. But she also smelled faintly of dirt, likely from her plant magic earlier in the day. She smelled of sweat, as he knew all of them must.
It was more comforting, if less intoxicating. She smelled like Willow, and that thought brought a feeling with it. it was a feeling he had never felt before. Somehow, he felt safe. Not because she could handle herself in a fight, though he knew she could, but safe in a different way.
It wasn’t even just Willow. He could still feel Gus pressed against him, and he knew the others were there too. He couldn’t see them in the dark, but he could feel them. And he felt…
He felt safe. For what he realized was the first time in his life, Caleb felt safe. Like he could simply be, he didn’t have to be the Golden Guard, he didn’t even have to be Hunter, or Caleb really. He could simply be, and that was okay.
He took a deep breath and spoke quietly, unaware of which of them might be listening in, but deciding it was okay no matter who heard him. “I’m a grimwalker,” he announced to the room. “I was made, not born. Made to hunt witches for Belos. I’m… I’m not actually a witch at all, just a fake one.”
When no one answered him, Caleb looked over to Willow. She was already asleep. She looked so peaceful, and for once, Caleb could look at her without blushing.
Then he felt something against his stomach and he once again had to resist the urge to jump up. He looked and was momentarily confused by what seemed to be a fish, only to realize it was Vee’s tail.
“We can tell her tomorrow,” she said softly, her words causing Gus to shift. He rested his arms on Vee’s tail, holding it like a stuffed palisman.
Caleb nodded, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He knew the others were all dreaming about what they’d lost. They’d be bad dreams, and it was only a matter of time until someone woke up with a nightmare. When they did, they would have friends around to help them.
And as for Caleb? He didn’t have to dream at all. He had so much more than he could have dreamed, right here with him. He had friends, he had Willow—and he wasn’t entirely sure how she was different from his other friends, but he knew enough to know she was—and he had a place he belonged.
I am a grimwalker. And I will walk among the witches, or the humans, or wherever else my friends go. But I’m a hunter no longer. I’m me, and that’s all I have to be.