Chapter 135 - The Next Right Thing

It wasn’t that simple, of course. First we had to care for all the former werewolves. Most of them were wounded, but thanks to how many of us had Heal spells now, that was the simplest of their problems to resolve. The trauma of being changed into a monster would take them much longer to manage, if they ever did. Most of them didn’t remember much of the time. Just snippets of memory, like flashes of a dream. But even that was enough to leave mental scars that even my untrained eyes could see.

We did our best for them. We healed their wounds, gave them blankets and clothing scavenged from the surrounding homes, and reminded them they were safe and with friends.

The decision was made to move south with them all right away. We stopped by MIT on the way to downtown Boston and met with Neal, who was more than happy to take on the werewolf victims.

“We’ve got the facilities here to care for them,” Neal said after he’d taken Maggie and I aside. “Among other things, we’ve got a few licensed therapists here, from the before-Event time, I mean. Those people look like they’ve had a rough go of it. Best if we can get them some help sooner rather than later, I figure.”

“That’s a smart call,” Maggie said. “The help ASAP, especially. If you’re willing to step in like that, we’d appreciate it. Alex’s place focused more on fighting than fixing.”

“We like to think we’re a bit of a mix of both. And we’re more than happy to help, especially after everything Castle has done for our people when he didn’t have to. We’d have been in trouble without some of those food drops you’ve made,” Neal replied. “Speaking of which, I have something of a repayment here for you.”

“I don’t need anything,” I tried to protest. “I help because I can.”

“With great power, yadda yadda. I get it,” Neal said, beckoning to someone off to the side, a young man who came rushing forward carrying shoulder bag. Whatever was in the bag, it had to be heavy. Neal took the bag from the younger man with a grunt. He held it out to me. “Use it in good health.”

I took the bag from him, curious about what it might be. It was sort of heavy. Before the Event I’d have struggled to haul this around, but at my Strength level that was irrelevant. I opened the bag and peered inside. It was filled with what looked like tiny metal rings, all shining silver. I turned my gaze back up to Neal, a quizzical look on my face.

“We noticed your clothes are in tatters just about every time you come through here,” Neal said.

“He’s right,” Maggie pointed out. “After the dungeon and then the fight with Cerberus, you’re barely decent.”

I blushed furiously. “Yeah, it’s been a problem.”

“We’ve got some very good crafters here, Cam. Take it out,” Neal said. I did as he asked, dragging what looked like a shirt and pants made from incredibly small loops of steel. “This stuff is the finest armor anyone here can make. It’s a prototype. We don’t know when we’ll be able to make more, because it used up some resources we just can’t replace. But it’s not made of steel, not really. It’s some new magical tier five metal, so it won’t break easily, and they enchanted it with a self-repairing ability. So long as it isn’t completely shattered or melted, it ought to repair itself from most damage in a matter of minutes to hours.”

“Holy shit! That’s amazing,” I said, turning the garments around in my hands. I slipped the shirt on. “It fits perfectly. How’d they manage that?”

“My people are very good at what they do,” Neal replied, grinning ear to ear.

“I love it,” I said. “But I’ll need to repay you for it somehow. Seriously, this has to be worth a fortune.”

“So is your help,” Neal replied. “Everyone in the MIT settlement owes you our lives at least once. Probably two or three times at this point, for most of us.”

“Take the gift,” Maggie advised.

I took her advice and accepted the gift with as much grace as I could. The shirt and pants weren’t really mail armor like you’d have seen in medieval Europe. The rings were way too tiny. This was intricate work that felt almost like cloth made of metal. Between the durability and the repair feature, I was in love. No more burning through a set of clothes every day or two!

We left all the werewolf victims from Harvard or the surrounding area at MIT, taking only the few of Alex’s people who’d been transformed back home with the rest of their fighting force. Everyone agreed that they’d heal faster among family and friends, rather than as guests in a stranger’s place.

Alex wasn’t at the City Hall building when we got there, which left his people’s morale in the gutter once the story got around. With one of their two leaders dead and the other vanished, off somewhere on his own, they were left rudderless in a moment when what they needed was strong leadership.

Maggie and I stepped in to fill the void as best we could. It turned out Maggie was even better suited to that than I was. Although she hadn’t ever lived in the building, Maggie was known to most of the former police who made up most of Alex’s people, thanks to her Languages ability. She’d been a key player in making allies out of the Peristera pigeon people. On top of that, she’d taken charge of Alex’s most elite warriors while he was out of commission. They were more than willing to keep listening to her now.

We held an assembly in Alex’s large hall to fill them in on everything that had happened. Nobody was thrilled to hear that Alex had gone off to be by himself, but they understood why. They’d seen Alex and Marion together, seen how much they cared for one another, so they had an inkling of the pain Alex had to be feeling. He’d probably be back soon.

In the meantime, we had people to take care of. Only four of Alex’s people had been bitten, transformed, and lived long enough to return to human form after I ended the curse. The entire community rallied around them, working to give them support and care.

It was late afternoon before Maggie and I had some time to ourselves. I knew I had to depart soon. I’d made a promise to meet Cerberus, and I couldn’t let him down.

I was wearing the new outfit MIT’s people had made for me. It shimmered in the flickering light as Maggie and I chatted quietly, watching the candles burn down on the table in front of us.

“I need to get going,” I said. “There’s still things I need to get done today.”

“With everything else going nuts, I never had a chance to ask you what happened with Cerberus. Did you manage to Cleanse him? Or did you have to kill him to break the curse?” Maggie asked.

It was just the two of us. We were alone for the first time since we’d flown to the fight. I could spill the truth to her, if I wanted, but I hesitated.

“I Cleansed him,” I said at last.

Maggie’s eyes widened a bit, and a thin smile lit up her face. “I had a feeling. What happened?”

“He was just a dog, Maggie. A golden retriever. The curse infected him first, turned him into a monster, and then he spread it to others. He was trying to help people by making them strong enough to survive. He wasn’t trying to hurt people. Once he changed back, well…”

“Did he survive?”

I nodded, lowering my voice. “He did. He’s waiting for me now. I need to get him somewhere safe, somewhere he won’t be hunted or hurt. That’s why I need to go.”

“I understand. Go. Get it done, then come back to us. We’re going to need you more than ever in the months to come, I think,” Maggie replied.

I heaved a sigh of relief. I’d been so worried she would judge me for letting the dog live…! “Thanks. For understanding.”

“What, you thought I wouldn’t?” she asked, mock offended.

I chuckled. “I hoped you would. I was scared you might not.”

We sat there, staring at each other for a moment longer than was really comfortable. I broke the gaze, turning my head away as I stood.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I said.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Then, I was off. A quick walk brought me outside. From there, I activated my Flight, soaring north and east toward the shore. By that time I figured Cerberus must have long since made it to a destination. We hadn’t set a specific spot to meet. I’d just told him to go east toward the ocean and wait for me there, because I wasn’t sure how to describe a landmark to a dog.

I just had to hope he’d done as he said, and that he would still be there, waiting for me.

I slowed my Flight as I drew close to the ocean’s edge, then followed it north, watching below me for any signs of movement. I saw plenty. There were little groups of goblins wandering about, Peristera out hunting who waved as I went by, a pack of ratkin scavenging the ruins, and even a few bands of humans who stopped and pointed as I flew past them.

But no sign of Cerberus. I started to worry that I’d missed him, or that he’d lied and decided not to meet me, after all. What was I supposed to do, if he had? I’d need to find him, somehow. By letting him live, I’d taken responsibility for anything he did in the future, for good or ill.

A sharp bark sounded through the gradually darkening evening air.

I turned instantly and angled toward the sound. There he was! I’d recognize that shaggy golden pelt anywhere. I landed about a dozen feet away, far enough to not startle or scare him. We’d fought against each other enough times that I didn’t want to make him think I was coming in for another attack.

Cerberus had his head tucked into his shoulders a little, and his eyes were very wide. But his tail wagged back and forth a little, like he was scared, but hopeful.

You came. I worry you no come, he thought at me.

“I promised I would. I always try to keep my promises.”

Now what do?

“Now we begin figuring out what the rest of your life looks like. Together,” I said. “I have a good idea where we can go next. Remember that island I mentioned? The one controlled by goblins?”

Yes. Cerberus remembers.

“I think we’ll go there, clear them out, and make that our home. How does that sound?”

His tail slashed back and forth far more rapidly, and his head came up, his eyes bright and proud. Cerberus help.

“I’d like that,” I replied. “I hope we can become good friends.”

Even as I said that, I knew it was going to eventually cause me problems. Maggie had the compassion and intelligence to forgive Cerberus for what he’d done. Like me, she understood it wasn’t the dog’s fault. Not everyone would be able to do that. If word got out… Well, it might be tough.

But in that moment, it didn’t matter. It was the right thing to do.

And that's a wrap! This is the end of book 2. Next up, we're going to do a brief digression into a science fiction book I need to get finished. Then, we'll return to Castle's tale and begin book three of his trilogy in early January. Stay tuned! :)