| |
I didn't welcome being back in the woods so soon after meeting Azolata's brother. Artie didn't seem nearly as concerned, so I swallowed past my fear and followed him in. His pace was much faster this time.
"What's going on? Where are we going?" I asked.
"Lou. He's in a little bit of trouble."
I looked back at the Ortega house and briefly wondered if I should go back for another gun. Maybe a machete. We had a silver dagger that was blessed under the light of a full moon and washed with holy water. That might be handy too.
"Shouldn't someone be with us? Like, your brother with the scary teeth and claws?" I asked.
"It's not that kind of trouble," Artie said and jumped over a fallen log. He paused to let me catch up. "I know we told you about what it was like when Lou first got all his powers. But one of the parts that I skipped over was how it affected him."
"This sounds fantastic," I said but kept my eyes on the ground. My ankle didn't hurt anymore, but I did not want a replay of that night either.
"Lou is like a cup with a small hole on the bottom and a stream of water pouring in. The water is his magic. Sometimes the water comes in faster than he can get rid of it. Then he overflows."
"But with magic?" I prompted.
"Exactly. And when that happens, he has to let it go someplace. You don't want water all over your bedroom floor, right? So you go to a better place. You go to a place that has a sink, or a tub, where all that water can overflow, but it won't make a mess or destroy anything or drown anyone or destroy a town."
Jesus.
"Explosions are not... abnormal for him, but he hasn't had to do this in quite some time. We just need to check on him, make sure he's okay, and if he has made a mess, then we need to help him clean it up," Artie said. He paused and took a deep breath. Both of us were almost running by now.
"He has the other Sentinel with him though, right? Does she know what to do?" I asked when we started running again.
"I'm not sure. It seems logical, but a lot of things seem logical to me that aren't to others. Darla is smart, though. I think she knows what to do."
After that, we stopped talking. Artie ran and I followed him. I was glad for the cooler temperatures, otherwise we both would have been a sweaty mess.
About 10 minutes later, we skidded to a stop. In front of us, Darla was sitting with her back against a tree and Lou was curled up in the fetal position in front of her.
"He hasn't woke up yet," Darla said.
"I'm not surprised. This one was the worst one yet," Artie said and approached Lou cautiously.
I thought it was best if I stayed where I was. I could feel the residue of magic in the air. It felt like static electricity but thicker. It tasted like there was rain coming, but the skies were clear.
"Is he okay?" I whispered.
Artie put his hand to lose forehead and held still for a moment. "He's alive."
"You did say he faints a lot," I pointed out.
Artie nodded but didn't say anything.
"Does this happen a lot?" Darla asked. Her hands twitched at her side and she stood up. She began pacing across the small clearing that we found ourselves in. As she did, she ran her hands over her shorn head. "Because if it does, if he has this much power and it's overflowing like this, he could really hurt someone."
Artie looked over at her and there was a flash of anger in his eyes. Then he tamped it down and took a deep breath. "I know that. I have been here every other time. Why do you think that we are bringing him into the pack? Once he is with us, the magic will even out and settle."
"Yeah, but you're just guessing. Once in a thousand years, right? You can't know what he is capable of. What if, when he is in the pack, it's more magic than any of you can handle? Then you all will be tethered to him and it won't be just him on the ground. He could take all of you out and think of what could happen if it's in the middle of a fight," Darla said.
"He wouldn't," Artie said.
"You don't know that," Darla said and spun around to face him. "You might be powerful too, but you can't predict the future. You can't know what he's going to do."
"I do know what he's going to do. He's the one to usher in the next generation and I'm the one that's supposed to teach him. I know him and I know that he'll do great things. Of course, right now, he has to learn control. Didn't we all have to learn how to control ourselves, Darla?"
Darla flinched away from him as if he had actually struck her. I knew that Artie could be cruel and from the look on Darla's face, whatever he was referring to, hit a nerve.
"I never had the power that he does."
"Then what do you suggest we do? Is there something else that you think will help him? Because we've tried it all. I am helping him as much as I can. Azolata has tattooed him. What else is there that we can do?" Artie demanded.
I looked between them, my eyes bouncing back and forth like I was watching a tennis match. I realized that Artie was just as stressed out as Celia was and it was taking a toll on him.
"I don't know. Maybe he shouldn't be around people until he's finally in your pack," Darla said.
"Fantastic idea. A magic user who is sensitive to emotions being alienated by his friends, family, and town. While we are at it, why don't we just give him a nuclear warhead?" Artie said, exasperated.
"Artie," I muttered.
He looked over at me and met my eyes. He deflated a little bit.
"I'm sure that Darla doesn't mean that we should kick him out. I'm sure she's concerned about everything that is going on right now. She doesn't know Lou like you do," I said.
Artie nodded and looked down at Lou. "He's important to me."
I didn't know what to say to that and from the look on Darla's face, she didn't know either.
I went over to him and crouched next to him. "I know he is. And we'll take care of him. But we also have to think about everyone else's well-being. What can we do? How can I help?"
Artie studied Lou's face for a long moment. He was thinking about all of the options that we had available to us and I knew that he would come up with a solution. After a few moments, Darla came and crouched on the other side of Lou.
"I have an idea," she said.
Artie and I looked up.
"It's temporary, but it might help."
"What is it?" We both asked.