Stronger Together chapter 179

After our little heart to heart my master kicked me out. He insisted  he needed to concentrate on his forging. He had me send the girls out  two at a time to be measured and then started up the forge to begin  work. I asked about watching but he told me being introduced to certain  concepts too early might confuse me and mess up my foundations. He'd  seen many apprentice smiths end up ruining their budding style by  incorrectly trying to repeat advanced techniques that looked simple.

Since  the twins and Chastel had been dealt with, I decided to call a meeting  about possibly getting the Alphas back from the island. Fenrir was  interested in training Connor, but he had no beef with our local  werewolf pack. It made sense to leave Tera and Connor there for now.  Fenrir didn't seem the type to dodge a fight to go grab them, but at the  same time if we lost our battle Demonreach might be able to contain him  if he showed up on the island to chase them down.

Andi  was, of course, the most excited at the prospect "That's amazing! Billy  and Georgia must be going crazy out there, and they're the calmest of  the whole gang. I'm just glad Tera is there with them. She always had a  special bond with us because she taught us our magic, I'm sure they got  some great training done. I'm just glad they're both in school full  time. You can take time off classes, but most jobs would fire you." A  concerned look suddenly crossed her face "Since they're coming back I  dont-"

Raven  cut her off. "You stay as long as you like Andi. We love having you  here, and we have more than enough room. Just because the Alphas will be  back in town doesn't mean you aren't still welcome here. Not to mention  you can even invite them over if you'd like. This is your home for as  long as you want it to be, and I know everyone else feels the same." We  all nodded confidently happy to have Andi with us.

Andi's  eyes started to tear up a bit "You guys. Thank you so much." The  gratitude on her face was so intense it was almost heartbreaking "I  don't know what I would have done this last month or two without all of  you. Raven and Cam, you guys talked me through some of the worst  experiences of my life. Barb and Morgan, you two have been a constant  source of support. Inari, Yang, Cinder, Sam, you've made me feel nothing  but welcome since I got here, and when I was in danger you guys moved  heaven and earth to find me. Almost literally."

Morgan  hurled herself at the pretty redheaded werewolf "Of course silly.  You're our friend. We know you'd do the same for us." Despite her  platonic words I noticed her eyes pale a little bit as she inhaled  deeply while hugging Andi. She seemed to notice being noticed and  flushed, pulling back with a cheery smile. "You can always count on us  to be here for you. Isn't that right everyone?" The universal murmur of  agreement set off a wave of group hugs that even I got sucked into.

It  was nice to feel that kind of warmth and connection with everyone. Even  the girls I wasn't dating had been here so long we'd become pretty damn  close and they would definitely go to bat for me. It was the same on my  side, I would absolutely kick someone's ass for trying to put their  hands on one of my girls, girlfriend or roommate. I didn't say that out  loud because the term sounded a little possessive but deep down I knew  it was still accurate. These were my girls, the closest thing I had to  family in this world.

Luckily  we owned a boat still, so were easily able to make the trip whenever we  wanted. We drove together to the lake, Andi coming with us, and I  briefly remembered that she had no idea what she was walking into. I  turned to the redhead in the back seat (I'd gotten shotgun because I  called it fastest, thank you lightning aspect) just to warn her. "So  Andi, just to let you know, the place we're going isn't...really very  pleasant. But it's friendly to us so despite how terrible it feels there  you don't need to worry."

We  were in the Suburban, which Kara borrowed from Charity so we could all  drive together, and Harry was in the third seat back. I'd insisted he  come because it was Raven's first visit to the island and I was a bit  worried about Demonreach deciding she was an enemy because of her  lineage. My brow creased in worry "Speaking of which though, are you  sure you can handle this Rae? The native emotional ambiance is awful and  you'll be getting it from all of us too. That's a lot of shit piled on  one person."

She  sighed "I won't say I'm not nervous about it, but that's why Kara and  Cinder are coming. We talked about it while you were getting Harry and  between the two of them they should be able to manage me well enough to  get me off the island and prevent me from going haywire. I'll step onto  the beach and try to get accustomed and if it's too much we'll get me  out of there. I'm much more stable than I've ever been however and my  kurkor practice has strengthened my demonic blood. I get my empathy from  my mothers side so that actually helps."

I  was glad they'd made some preparations. Kara, Cinder, Harry, Raven,  Andi, and I were the only ones going on this little excursion. Yang had  wanted to check in on Bea and we felt like bringing the vampires was a  needless risk on top of Raven's first trip out there. In the books Lara  hadn't seemed affected, but exposing psychic vampires to insanity  inducting emotional miasma long term just seemed like a poor life  decision.

The  trip to Demonreach was relatively normal as these things went, it was  around late August now so it wasn't too cold, but the water tended to  exude a bit of chill of it's own so it wasn't sweltering not to mention  as we got closer to Demonreach there was a sort of metaphysical frost in  the air that I jokingly remarked to Harry we should market as air  conditioner. My mentor smiled at the comment, but his heart wasn't in  it. I knew coming to Demonreach weighed on him, especially given the  stark contrast between the place and the warmth of his home with his  girlfriend and new baby.

I  stepped up next to him as the island loomed in our sights, further than  it appeared because of the constant changes of direction needed to  dodge the reefs and rocks beneath the waves. I cleared my throat to get  his attention"Hey boss you ok? I just realized we haven't been in touch  in weeks and even before that I kind of took for granted you were good.  All this crazy must be more terrifying for you than anyone. With Maggie  here and with the city being in danger. It's cool if you don't want to  talk, but just remember we aren't just apprentices, we're friends. We  can handle ourselves well enough for you to feel ok sharing if you need  to."

Harry's  laugh was halfway between relieved and self mocking. "I shouldn't need  to lean on you all. I'm the boss, I'm supposed to protect all of you,  but I've been so thoroughly outstripped in the power department that I  can't keep any of you safe. I watch you run off to fight insane  werewolves and serial killers that I couldn't touch with a ten foot pole  and all I can do is teach you a few minor spells. The least I can do is  not add to your worries with my insecurities. You guys deserve better  than that."

I  blanched. Jesus, how had I missed that? How had Raven? But looking  back, Raven didn't have so much time around Harry in crisis situations.  He tended to spend most of his time with Yang and Barb and I. I tried to  keep my tone level despite how weirdly pissed off I was at his idiocy.  "That's bullshit man, and you know it. What would you say if one of us  said some shit like that? You're our teacher and our friend. You have  our backs even in crazy situations you have no part of and you gave us  the tools we needed to get as strong as we are today." The mere idea of  him questioning how much help he had been to us was insane.

He  opened his mouth to respond, a doubtful look on his face but I cut him  off. "No, shut up. It's my turn to talk." His expression shifted to one  of surprise but I ignored him and continued "I have seen you mouth off  to faerie queens and demon lords. I've watched you tell literal servants  of the gods to fuck off. You more than anyone know that power isn't  everything. With all the shit you've faced that was stronger than you  and survived, how can you possibly question if you have more to teach  us? Life isn't math Harry, you don't subtract your enemies power from  yours and see if there's anything left. You know better than that."

My  voice was raw as I kept talking, exposing a bit of my own insecurities  from when I'd first gotten here "I get how much it sucks being the low  man of the power scale. When the girls and I landed here I was always  the weakling, I was the anchor dragging everyone down. You're one of the  strongest wizards in the world, imagine being an eighteen year old kid  with no powers at all watching these amazing beautiful girls who care  about you run into crazy situations and being able to do nothing. I've  been that guy Harry, and that's not you. You're forgetting your role.  You're a wizard, the wise man. Punching shit isn't your job."

He  chuckled at that. "I guess I hadn't though of it like that. I'm so used  to being the thug who gets things done in the magic world. I guess  being the wise old mentor isn't so bad though. Especially with students  like the three of you. The things you all have accomplished in the year  and a half or so you've been here have been awe inspiring. I'm proud to  be part of that, don't ever think I'm not. But you're right, I'm so  stuck on the mental image of myself as the maverick loner wizard I was  missing all the good things in my life. Things I owe to you and the  girls. Don't think I've forgotten."

I  flushed a bit at that. Despite all my powers Harry was still my hero. I  grew up reading those books, and Harry hadn't disappointed when I met  him in person. He was every bit as larger than life (no pun intended) in  reality as he was on paper. Maybe more so. "Anything you owe us we owe  you twice over. We'd be nowhere without your teaching. Or possibly just  dead. But we don't have to count favors between us. And you don't need  to hold back when you're feeling pressured. We're family. I've always  said, family means never having to say thank you. But it also means  saying "you're welcome" in a sarcastic voice when someone doesn't."

Harry  burst out laughing at that, which had kind of been my intent. Though  that actually had been a philosophy I'd espoused for my whole life back  on earth. He clapped me on the shoulder as he steered the boat past the  last few submerged rocks and pulled us up to the dock Tera had made.  "Well said, kid. I guess having family is something I'm not really used  to, but I'll try to share a bit more of how I'm feeling. You're right,  you guys can handle it."