Chapter 107 - The Limits of Magic

  We stopped outside the inner door, the sounds from beyond making everyone tense. Deep, guttural growling echoed through the small space, punctuated by the scrape of claws on stone. Something heavy slammed against the door from the other side, making it shudder in its frame.

  I moved to the barred window and peered through.

  The cell beyond was maybe fifteen feet square, with walls made from heavy stone blocks and no windows. They’d picked their holding cell well. I could easily imagine that room holding the werewolf pretty much indefinitely, especially with the two sets of locked doors.

  Inside, Toothless paced back and forth in the cramped space. His brown fur was matted with dried blood and sweat. The chains that should have been holding him hung loose, broken free from the bolts which had held them pinned to the walls. Deep gouges marked the stone where he'd clearly been testing the walls for weaknesses.

  As I watched, he stopped pacing and turned toward the door. Those yellow eyes locked onto mine through the bars, and his lips pulled back in a snarl that showed his regenerated teeth—not as large as they'd been before I'd shattered them, but growing back fast.

  "He's free of his restraints," I said quietly, stepping back from the window. “The only thing holding him in is the door."

  "Then we need to be very careful how we do this," Alex said.

  "Agreed." I turned to face Marion and Alex. “We need to keep Marion safe, so I’m going in alone."

  "Cameron—" Marion started to protest.

  "No, listen. I've already fought this thing. I knocked it out cold once, and I can do it again if I have to. More importantly, his bite couldn't get through my Natural Armor even when he really tried." I gestured at my leg where Toothless had clamped down earlier. "Marion, you're the key to all of this. If you get bitten, we lose our only person who can cure the infection. You can't be risked."

  Alex nodded slowly. "He's right. Marion, you need to stay out here until Cameron has the werewolf secured."

  "But if something goes wrong—"

  "Then I'll handle it," I said. “Which will be easier if I don’t have to worry about other people getting injured in the process.”

  Marion didn't seem happy about it, but she nodded. "All right. But be careful."

  "Here's what we'll do," Alex said, moving to the door. "I'll open it. Cameron, you go in fast and get the werewolf under control. As soon as you're clear of the doorway, I slam it shut behind you. Once you have the creature secured, you signal us and we'll come in."

  "Simple plan. I like it." I cracked my knuckles and positioned myself in front of the door. "Ready when you are."

  Alex gripped the door handle. Ruiz and Dara stood ready behind him, weapons drawn in case anything went wrong. Reynolds and her guards were still outside the other door, creating a second line of defense.

  "On three," Alex said. "One... two... three!"

  He yanked the door open.

  The werewolf exploded toward the opening, a blur of fur and fangs moving with terrifying speed. It was going for Marion. I saw its eyes lock onto her, saw the hunger there. But I was ready for that. I cast Gust of Wind.

  The spell blasted from my outstretched hand like a pocket hurricane. It caught Toothless in mid-leap and sent him flying backward through the air. He crashed into the far wall of the cell with a bone-jarring impact and slid to the floor, dazed.

  I didn't hesitate. I lunged through the doorway into the cell. Behind me, I heard the door slam shut with a heavy clang, the lock clicking into place. It was just me and the werewolf, locked together in a stone box.

  Toothless shook his head, recovering from the impact faster than I would have liked. He scrambled to his feet, claws scraping on stone, and let out a roar that rattled my teeth. He was cornered now, trapped in here with me, and he clearly didn't like it.

  "Easy," I said, keeping my voice calm and steady. "I don't want to hurt you any more than I already have. We want to help you, not harm you.”

  The werewolf's response was to charge.

  He was fast, but I was faster. I sidestepped his lunge and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck as he passed, using his own momentum to redirect him into the wall. He smacked into the stone blocks with a sharp crack. It wasn’t hard enough to seriously injure him, but it sure did get his attention!

  Toothless bounced off the wall and spun to face me, snarling. We circled each other, both of us looking for an opening. He feinted left, then right, testing my reactions. I stayed centered, ready to move in any direction.

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  He lunged again, claws extended. I caught his arm and twisted, flipping him right over my hip. He hit the ground hard but rolled immediately, coming back to his feet with impressive agility.

  This went on for maybe two minutes. He attacked. I defended and counter-attacked, hitting just hard enough to remind him who was stronger. I didn't want to beat him senseless if I could avoid it. He wasn’t at fault for all this, not really. He was a victim, someone I was there to help. I wanted to do as little harm as I could.

  Finally, after I'd thrown him into the wall for the third time, something changed. Toothless didn't immediately spring back up. Instead, he stayed on the ground, his breathing heavy. He looked up at me with those yellow eyes, and I saw something new in them: fear.

  He remembered me from the infirmary. He knew how easily I'd handled him and the others. He’d found out the hard way again that I was stronger, faster, more powerful than he. And now he was trapped in here with me, with no hope of escape and no backup coming.

  Slowly, deliberately, Toothless lowered his head. His ears flattened against his skull. His tail, which had been raised aggressively, dropped low. It was a submissive posture, like a dog showing that it knew who the leader was.

  "That's right," I said softly. "I don't want to fight you. But I will, if I have to."

  Toothless whined. It was a pitiful sound, like a frightened dog whining for help. He slowly rolled onto his back, exposing his belly. I didn’t own a dog, but my parents had while I was growing up. From what I remembered, that was pretty much the ultimate sign of submission in canine body language.

  I watched him carefully, not entirely convinced this wasn't a trick. But he stayed there, motionless except for his rapid breathing, his eyes averted from mine. The aggressive, desperate creature trying to claw my face off moments ago had transformed into something meek and frightened.

  Moving slowly, I approached the chains, still hanging from his limbs. They were heavy things, designed to hold much more than a normal human. The bolts attaching them to the walls had been ripped out, but the chains themselves were intact. I grabbed one as I moved toward Toothless.

  He tensed as I approached, but didn't move from his submissive position. I knelt beside him and carefully wrapped the chains around his legs, securing them as best I could without the wall anchors. It wasn't perfect, but it would slow him down if he decided to fight again. Through it all, Toothless just lay there, docile. He even lifted his legs slightly to make it easier for me to secure the chains, shivering every time my hands touched his fur.

  Once I had him bound, I moved behind him and wrapped my arms around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides. He could have struggled, could have tried to bite or claw me. Instead, he just sagged in my grip, all the fight gone out of him.

  "Okay," I called toward the door. "I've got him secured. You can come in."

  I heard the lock click, then the door opened slowly. Alex entered first, one hand already glowing with the purple light of a ready Lightning Bolt. Marion followed close behind, looking nervous but determined. Ruiz and Dara came in last, positioning themselves near the door in case of trouble.

  "You really do have a way with animals," Alex said drily, taking in the scene.

  "Yeah, well, turns out beating the crap out of something is a pretty effective negotiation tactic," I replied. "Marion, he's as calm as he's going to get. If you're going to try the Cleanse, now's the time.

  I tightened my hold on Toothless as Marion approached. The werewolf's muscles tensed and a low growl rumbled in his chest, but I squeezed harder and he subsided. His eyes tracked Marion as she stepped closer in front of him, but he didn't try to attack.

  "It's okay," Marion said softly, extending her hands toward him. "I'm going to try to help you."

  The white light of her Cleanse spell built around her fingers. It grew brighter as she concentrated, expanding to encompass Toothless's head, then his shoulders, his entire body. The light was so intense I had to squint against it.

  Toothless whimpered and tried to pull away, but I held him firm. The light washed over both of us, warm and tingling against my skin. I could feel Marion pouring everything she had into the spell, pushing it as hard as she could, trying to force it to work. For a moment, I thought I saw something change…

  Then Marion gasped and stumbled backward. The light flickered and died.

  "Marion!" Alex was at her side instantly, catching her before she could fall. "What's wrong?"

  "It's not working," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I can feel the curse, just like with the others. But it's deeper now. His transformation is complete. It's not just magic anymore, it's become part of his biology. My Cleanse isn't strong enough to undo it."

  "Are you sure?" I asked, though I could already see the answer in her exhausted expression.

  "I tried everything," Marion said. "I pushed the spell as hard as I could. But it's not enough. Maybe the spell’s rank is too low, or maybe it's just the wrong type of magic for undoing a complete transformation. I don't know. But it's not working."

  She looked at Toothless, and I saw tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I wanted to help you, but I can't. I don't know how."

  Toothless stared back at her, those yellow eyes unreadable. Did he understand? Was there still a human consciousness in there somewhere, trapped behind the monster's instincts? Or was the man he'd been already gone, lost forever to the curse?

  "We need to get her out of here," Alex said to me. "She's completely drained. Another minute and she's going to collapse."

  I nodded. "Go. I'll follow right behind you.”

  Alex helped Marion toward the door. She was leaning heavily on him, barely able to walk, so he just scooped her up into his arms and carried her instead, in spite of her weak protests. Ruiz and Dara moved to support him, and together they got her out into the corridor. I stayed where I was, holding Toothless, until I heard them reach the outer door. Only then did I slowly release my grip on the werewolf and stand up.

  Toothless rolled back onto his feet and retreated to the far corner of the cell. He huddled there, watching me with those yellow eyes. He looked smaller now, less threatening. He looked less like a monster out of nightmare now, and more like a scared, trapped creature who didn't understand what had happened to him.

  "I'm sorry too," I said quietly. "We'll figure something out. I’ll keep working to find a way to cure you. There has to be a way."

  He just whined softly in response.

  I backed toward the door, not taking my eyes off him. When I reached it, I slipped through and Alex immediately slammed it shut behind me, turning the lock. Through the barred window, I saw Toothless still huddled in his corner. He wasn't trying to break out anymore, wasn't throwing himself at the walls or door. He just sat there, looking lost and defeated.

  "Come on," Alex said, guiding me away. “There’s nothing more we can do here tonight."