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“But most of all, I’d like to make sure you never hurt anyone again!”
Hunter hurled the vial of Titan’s Blood as far as he could into the slick green water. Instantly his eyes burned as Belos seared his way through Hunter’s brain. He didn’t even bother trying to suffocate Hunter in his mindscape. Hunter watched through his own eyes as Belos plunged them into the depths. He struggled, but Belos’ desperation was stronger. The green rot surged through Hunter’s stomach, invading his lungs, stretching out his arms. He was burning even as ice-cold water invaded his nose and mouth. With every ounce of his willpower, he forced his lungs not to breathe.
Belos grabbed the vial, and only then did he realize what Hunter had done. His voice howled so loud in his mind that Hunter’s skull rattled, but black fog was already filling his vision. Belos turned them towards the surface. They were sinking. The burning in Hunter’s eyes began to fade. Moonlight shone down through the murky waters, catching the last drops of neon blood still on Hunter’s claws.
Hunter jerked awake with a gasp, sucking air as if he was still drowning. His heart – galderstone, whatever – felt like it was trying to beat its way out of his chest. He sat up and pressed both hands to his sternum as hard as he could. He didn’t recognize where he was. Was it dark or light? He thought he was inside somewhere, but he couldn’t be sure, couldn’t defend himself like this either. Where was everyone else? Why couldn’t he breathe?
A shadow moved in front of him. Hunter wanted to jerk back, but he was wheezing so badly he could barely move. Then noise – the shadow was talking.
“…with me, alright? In, then…and again. In…”
Raine. It was Raine. The moonlight caught the rims of his glasses. Hunter stared at them until the rest of his face came into focus, then the room beyond it. The Owl House. Luz’ old room.
“Keep breathing, Hunter. Match my breathing. In…”
The moonlight hurt his eyes. He squinted, but he made a conscious effort to breathe in. It didn’t feel like anything was happening, but he wasn’t passing out. He followed Raine’s breathing for several minutes before the ex-coven head finally sat back.
“Um,” Hunter croaked.
Raine looked almost sheepish. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude, but I was awake anyway, and it sounded like you could use some help.”
Hunter blinked at him slowly, bent forward with his elbows resting on his knees. He was exhausted, but… “Did anyone else wake up?”
“Oh – no, I don’t think so. Luz, Camila, Eda, and King are asleep downstairs, practically dead to the world. You weren’t being loud, either. I just have an ear for odd noises.”
“Odd noises,” Hunter repeated flatly. He looked pointedly at the window, where Luz’ owl-demon-thing was currently sleepwalking across the lawn.
Raine winced. “I’ve been trying to tune it out. Its voice takes some getting used to.” He made to stand up, then froze partway with a grimace.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine. Just a little joint pain.”
“From…being a puppet?” Hunter asked, confused. No one else had mentioned anything like that.
“No, this was from Belos. He sort of…” Raine tapped his cheek. Hunter had noticed the pale tear-track marks earlier, but hadn’t really had time to ask about them. “Got under my skin, so to speak.”
“Wait, what? What?”
Raine jumped. “Erm –”
“Are you saying he possessed you, too?”
“ ‘Too’? Is that where your extra scars came from?”
Hunter realized he was holding Raine’s sleeve, and his own arms were still exposed in his stupid wolf shirt. He let go and hunched over, folding them against his chest. “I didn’t…sorry. I don’t know why I grabbed you.”
“Is that what your nightmare was about?”
Hunter nodded.
“Mine, too,” Raine sighed. “I’ve taken three showers and practically ground Darius’ pumice stone to a sliver, but I still don’t feel clean. Even using the soap felt…uncomfortably slimy. Still, would a shower help? Maybe just a hot bath, no soap?”
“I don’t want to be under water,” Hunter muttered.
There was a brief pause. “I really don’t like the way you phrased that,” Raine said finally.
Hunter wanted to laugh. He put his head on his knees instead.
“Well…let me know if you need anything.” Cloth rustled as Raine made to stand again.
Hunter’s head jerked up. “Wait. Could – could you stay? I’m not used to waking up alone anymore.”
Raine paused, frowned, then opened his mouth like he was about to ask a question. Then his expression changed. “Your palisman. That’s right, Darius mentioned you had one.”
“He told you?”
“After the Day of Unity. We didn’t really have a lot of time to chat when we were fleeing the collector, but there was a day or so where we hid in the old castle right under the Archives. We found Belos’ portal and realized that’s where you had gone. The way he talked about you, I’m actually surprised you’re staying here tonight instead of his vacation home.”
“The Collector turned it into a giant carrousel. When he changed it back, he left all the snorses, and they sort of wrecked half the building. Darius said he’d have a room ready for me tomorrow.”
Raine grinned, settling back down. “I wonder what Eber will do with all the snorses. Become their leader? Train them to be lapdogs?”
Hunter shrugged, the corners of his mouth twitching. “What do you want to bet that they’ll rebuild the house with a stable?”
“I won’t take that bet. Darius let Eber get away with anything. Do you remember fighting Terra for that goreberry pie last year? Eber tried to join in and got bloodberry juice all over Darius’ cape. I’d never seen Darius so mad!”
Hunter winced. “Or Belos,” he said quietly. He didn’t remember what Terra’s punishment was, but he’d left the throne room limping badly that night. It had been right before a planned raid for covenless witches off the coast, and the salt spray had rendered the salve on his legs utterly useless. Not to mention how badly the salt had stung.
Raine was looking at him steadily. Hunter stared sullenly back. It felt weird talking to Raine without his mask. They had a history, but…distantly. Raine only knew him as the Golden Guard. Hunter only knew him as a coven head. It felt weird to think about their roles in retrospect. Back then he’d been Raine’s superior, but now…he didn’t know what to think. It was felt like trying to understand the Nocedas all over again. Trying to figure out the dynamics. Trying to learn where he fit.
“Why did Belos possess you?” he asked quietly.
Raine grimaced. “He needed a body. It’s hard to remember, but he could’ve picked someone who wasn’t a puppet…Odalia, maybe? I think he thought someone who was already a puppet wouldn’t be able to fight back. And I couldn’t, at first.”
“At first?”
Raine nodded. “I’m not sure if it was the same for everyone, but as a puppet, it felt like I was at the bottom of a dark well. There was no light, no sound. It was like I’d been buried alive. I couldn’t even hear my own voice. But after a while, I heard other voices from people around me. Eda’s was the first voice I recognized. It turned out she’d been visiting me where the Collector stored us coven heads. I used her voice to start chipping away at the puppet spell.
“Ironically, I think Belos possessing me was actually what helped me finally break the spell. He was putting too much strain on my body. The puppet spell worked a bit like a preservation spell, but when Belos started, er…rotting me…I wasn’t identifiable as myself anymore. The spell couldn’t recognize me, and I broke it. It took several more hours for me to break Belos’ hold, though, and by then, well…” Raine tapped his face again. “This was the least of it. I’ve got some nasty scars across my back and shoulders, too.”
Hunter shuddered. “I feel like he’s still under my skin. I know it’s just the scars. I’ve been trying not to scratch, but…”
“Do you want some ointment? Lilith gave me a tub before she left to check on her father.”
“Oh. Uh, sure.”
“I’ll be right back.” He smiled and shifted. Hunter leaned forward without thinking about it. He took Raine’s hand and helped pushed him to his feet. Raine gave a small chuckle. “Now you’re just making me feel old. Next thing you know I’ll ruffle your hair.”
“Sorry, that’s a Darius-only privilege.”
Hunter leaned back against the pillows, trying to repeat Raine’s slow breathes. Luz was in the next room. Hooty was standing guard, sort of. At least no Loyalists would try anything if they saw him noodling around. And…
He pressed a hand to his chest. He wasn’t alone.
It occurred to him that Raine didn’t have a palisman, either. He’d been one of the few, like Lilith, who’d managed to keep theirs even while working for the Emperor. But Eda had mentioned something about it getting destroyed fighting Belos. He and Raine sort of had a lot in common.
“I’m back,” Raine said, rounding the corner. “I don’t know if you want me to help you apply it. I don’t mind.”
Hunter shrugged and took the jar. “I can do it. But, uh, if you wanted to stay, I wouldn’t mind.”
“Sure.” Raine smiled and pulled over a chair from across the room. “I’ll stay as long as you need.”