David walked ahead of five wolves and two squirrels. He had to take the lead; anything else would have been unacceptable. Even though Kiam was dead, the remnants of his dark magic may linger. Sometimes, it took days for tricks and traps to fade or minions to regain their minds. Due diligence demanded he protect them on their way out. They did not run away the second he killed the bear, so that was a good sign they still wanted his protection.

  He kept his eyes, ears, and nose open, sensitive to any danger. Doing this for so many years, it was an effortless process. Around his ankles walked a trio of wolves. They were impossible to ignore and he felt them staring at him. One of them, the boy, walked in front of him, looked up at him, then returned to his side. Curious, but not afraid. If they were afraid, he would know.

  “Thanks for saving us.” The young girl with white fur and gray paws said. “I’m Claudia.”

  “And I’m Janet.” Said the other girl.

  “Xavier. And yeah, thanks. You smashed Kiam’s face in good!” The excitable pup did another lap around him. The healing potion gave him a lot of energy, so it was just as well they were walking home. David briefly wondered if he gave a small child too much, but doubted Nathan would have given him anything harmful. Healing people was not in David’s skillset, so any means provided him had to be fairly idiot proof. He was better at remembering names, which he would do easily, even with triplets. They all smelled different, so it was easy to tell them apart.

  “So who’re you?” Claudia asked.

  “David.” He replied.

  “Hi David!” Xavier barked. “So what are you? Are you a monster thing like Kiam too, but a nice one?”

  “Xavier, don’t call people monsters!” Marcus called after his child.

  Xavier’s ears folded back. “Sorry, David.” David did not feel offended. He understood what it was like to have a limited vocabulary. He was more pleasantly surprised by the fact that Xavier called him nice, even if he knew it was not true.

  “Not like Kiam. Hunt them.” David stated.

  “You’re a monster hunter?” Xavier wagged his tail, terribly excited by this. David nodded once. “Cooooooool.”

  “Why?” Janet asked.

  “Punish evil. Protect the innocent.” David’s standard response.

  “Are you from a comic book?” Xavier asked. David shook his head.

  “Where are you from?” Claudia asked.

  That was a hard one to explain. If you gave David several hours, he would not be able to think of an answer. He went silent for some time as he tried to think of how to give her information in a way a child could understand.

  Children never tolerated protracted silence. “Do you even know?” She asked again.

  “…..not near here.” He finally answered.

  “Then how did you find us?” Claudia again.

  “Knew his face. Tracked him.” This was an easier answer than explaining it in detail.

  “How?” Claudia flicked an ear.

  “Smell him.” David tracked him by scent, that was easy to say. It made him thankful his nose was so strong, even if it was a mixed blessing at times.

  “He smelled really bad.” Xavier offered. “Like, everything in his house smelled weird and he made this big statue out of dead animals and plants and bones and stuff. It smelled even worse. And his breath was like moldy fruit and feet and stuff.”

  “What statue?” Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow. He never saw the effigy. David found that to be a good thing. Pagan idols were never pleasant.

  “That was in another part of the forest.” Cecilia answered with a shudder.

  “Kiam prayed to it, I think……It was really gross.” Janet chimed in.

  Out of the corner of his eye, David saw the fur on Marcus’s neck rise. “This just keeps getting worse…Have to have a long talk about this at home.” He mumbled, but David heard him anyway.

  “Did he make you do that too?” Marcus asked.

  “He tried, but we wouldn’t do it!” Xavier nodded. “He tried to make us eat a person and we said ‘no’.”

  “He tried to make us do a lot of stuff.” Claudia said. “He even wanted us to call him dad. But we wouldn’t. We knew you’d come and get us.”

  “He could never replace you and mom.” Janet agreed.

  Marcus was smiling, but David did not have to look to know that. Good fathers were easy to see, even for David. He knew the wolf cared for his children the moment he met him.

  “I’m proud of you all. It took a lot of courage to stand up to someone like that.” Marcus replied.

  “You raised us up in the way we should go.” Claudia partially quoted scripture. She got the gist. That had to make Marcus beam even more.

  The group was quiet for a time. It made the walk pass easier. David did not mind conversation, but he liked it best when it happened around him rather than involving him. That could not last forever. Eventually, another curious child had another curious question.

  “Why don’t you smell?” Xavier asked.

  “He does, sort of…..” Claudia answered for him. “He smells a little like Kiam, but not much.”

  “Could not clean off all the blood.” David would have to wash his hands later. He never could get all the blood out from under his fingernails after a good fight. Not without water. The residue of it was on one of his sickles too. It annoyed him, the tainted remnants of evil clinging to his person, but that was one of the costs of purging evil.

  The reality of Kiam actually being dead made the children very quiet for several seconds. Marcus mentioned it before, but it did not sink in until that moment. Talking about the blood could do that.

  “I need a bath too. I haven’t had one in over a week.” Janet stated.

  “Yeah, I know. You’re stinky, stinky sister!” Xavier replied with a goofy grin.

  “Hey! You smell worse than any of us!” Claudia chimed in.

  They went right back to being kids. Good. Let them play argue. They could do it safely with David watching them.

  Five wolves and two squirrels arrived safely at home. They practically rushed inside, but still invited David in. After shedding a few tears and hugging each other, Diane ushered the kids upstairs to get cleaned up. The family would have a long conversation ahead of them in the following days, but that was their business. David did what he could to bring the family back together; the only thing he could.

  Not to say they were not grateful. Before they were spirited away by their mother, the triplets rushed him. The first one to hug his legs was Janet, which surprised him. A sensitive girl, Kiam’s cruelties had to have affected her the most. Her siblings joined in.

  “Thank you, Mr. David.” They all said not quite in perfect unison, but scattered enough it felt perfectly organic. Hugs always made him nervous, but this was fine. Enjoy the gratitude, hero. Every once in a while, you get lucky and everyone lives. Everyone is whole. Push the lingering specter of those the bear killed before out of your head, the ones before you found him. Hopefully, this appeased their cries for justice.

  The squirrels and Marcus were left with David and he invited him to sit with them for a moment. Unusual, not being asked to leave. They retired to the living room and he had a seat where he sat during their first meeting, again taking the time to remove his backpack and set it next to him.

  “I can’t thank you enough for what you did.” Marcus began. “Putting your life on the line like that…did you know he was that dangerous?”

  David nodded.

  “I didn’t think people like you existed. I was nearly at the end of my rope after dealing with the police. They weren’t as helpful as you’d think.”

  “Evil is beyond them. Cannot help.” David replied.

  “Heh…kind of seems that way sometimes.” Ronald chuckled. “Remember the fake cops, dad?”

  Marcus flicked an ear. He tilted his muzzle away for a moment, embarrassed. Probably a story to that, but David was not curious enough to ask.

  “Anyway, thanks. Anything you want, I’ll be happy to provide it for you.”

  “Do not do this for money.” David only accepted rewards when a bounty was specifically offered.

  “It’s okay, dad’s not poor. We do all right.” Ronald thought he was being helpful.

  David shook his head. It was not right to extort money from a family that went through so much. Not heroic. Unless Marcus wanted to give him something very specific, then no.

  “I can draw you a picture. I might have one you’d like.” Before anyone could say anything to her, Cecilia ran from the room. Well, one less person to talk to. Ronald shrugged and Marcus watched her go.

  “In any event, we’re very thankful. You brought my family back together. God bless you for all you’ve done.” Marcus smiled.

  “God truly does watch over all of us.” Ronald echoed.

  They were taking this strangely well. It made David curious bordering on suspicious. Normally, he would not do this, but he had to ask a question. “You will be okay?”

  “We’ll be fine….eventually.” Marcus looked slightly pained, but the smile did not falter. “No matter what happens, no matter how the world tries to hurt us, we have our salvation. Our eternal destiny is secure and nothing worldly can change that. God will protect us.”

  A momentary sense of discomfort hit David. He shifted in his seat. Something about that statement annoyed him. He knew this was a religious household. They had crosses posted on the walls, like Nathan had in his places of worship. As religions went, David saw it as benign, possibly even good. Generally, the people who followed that way of life tried to do good. Those who genuinely held to what was in their Bible were almost always the good guys. However, that was all it was, a guide to living. Evil did not care.

  “He sent you to us, after all.” Marcus continued. “I truly believe this. It shows that nothing happens outside of God’s control and evil is powerless against God.”

  Anger tinged the edges of David’s mind. He heard this as weakness. Normally, it would not bother him, but Marcus seemed like a decent man. What he spoke sounded as though he was being flippant with his family’s safety. Time for words.

  “Your God saw Kiam and what he did. Either too weak to stop him or does not care about evil. Weak or powerless or false, cannot help you. I saved your family, not your God.” David intoned.

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  Marcus was momentarily taken aback. The gray man’s words ignited a gut reaction in him and his flesh wanted to snap back in fury and unleash burning invective against David for his blasphemy. However, the Holy Spirit in him had a more excellent idea.

  “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;”

  Marcus considered David in this light. He was not his enemy, but a lost soul who needed truth...as well as a major shift in perspective. He had no idea what the man had been through, but suspected it was a lot. These were words he needed to hear. From Marcus, they flowed naturally because they were coming from the core of his being.

  “There’s another option, David. God is gracious, not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance. God saw everything Kiam did, even down to his thoughts. He could’ve cast him to hell faster than the blink of an eye, but didn’t. He also watched as he hurt our children, true, but I didn’t doubt for a moment that God cared about them. Want to know why God isn’t punishing the wicked? He wants to save them just as much as you want to save innocent children. Kiam was evil, but he was also a victim, a victim of being trapped in a body of sin. God wanted to save Kiam; He let him keep living because there was still a chance Kiam could’ve repented and trusted in Christ to save him from hell. God’s plan right now is to save sinners, which include me, you, and every person in existence, even little children. God could rid the world of evil right now, but I don’t think you’d want that. You must’ve killed more villains than I can count, but you’re not free of sin either. When God said, "Thou shalt not kill," that included taking vengeance in your own hands. Vengeance belongs to God. If God punished all sin right now, you would be included. If that happened…who would save you?”

  Most would have hesitated to lecture someone capable of not only shrugging off the bite of an eleven foot tall demon bear, but killing that same bear with a farming sickle. Marcus was not afraid. Holy boldness meant reaching out when situations are uncomfortable, even towards those who were dangerous. David may have been borderline hostile to God, but he was still one of His children in need of salvation. He awaited his answer.

  That might have been the longest speech David ever listened to from someone who was not his adoptive family or Nathan. Few people attempted to throw so many words at him. Fewer still words that involved such weighty topics. Stranger still was it seemed to come not from a place of judgement for his actions, not entirely. Notes of compassion were held within them. As dense in matters of emotion as he was, he could still pick them up.

  His speech carried weight. Words normally mattered little to David, but Marcus’ made him think about things he would rather not. If his God was willing to purge the world of evil, and David was caught up in it, that would be all right by him. A world devoid of evil was not a world that needed him, so he would be able to rest. He was about to tell Marcus that would be acceptable.

  Then he remembered the dreams about the lake of fire. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that his God, the God that laid out rules of justice and supposedly sacrificed himself for others, also rained fire and brimstone down on two wicked cities. That was one of David’s favorite stories from the Bible. He did not want to be judged with the guilty. Not an eternity with them.

  Marcus made a very compelling argument. It made sense to him, but it was a lot to think about. He had seen so much evil, so much pain, and so many victims he could not believe anyone could let it go. No, justice had to be done. But, was justice applied equally? Something else to think about.

  And repentance? It never happened. Once evil, always evil. Time and again, his adoptive father told him this. Time and again, he saw it in those wicked people who devour the innocent. Saw it in their eyes. Heard it in the disingenuousness of their pleas. Evil people did not change. No matter what Marcus thought. No matter what his adoptive mother thought. Letting one go was unconscionable. Once was too often. Not again. There was no repentance. Idealism was believing there was. David did not.

  And Marcus? He was not weak, not like David thought. His strength was not in body, but in will. He would die for his family. The ideals he held were objectively good, even though David had no standards to base them on except what he had been taught by the people who loved him and what effects it had in the world. David could not accept that the words in a book could make an evil person good. The followers of the Bible, however, could keep people from becoming evil. Marcus was a good man.

  He was also waiting for David to speak. He could not answer his question, but he could talk to him.

  “Have seen so much evil. More and worse than you know.” His voice was starting to hurt. Too much talking. It always made his throat feel tight. Pain did not bother him, but it made talking harder.

  “We’ve seen stuff too!” Ronald interjected.

  “We have.” Marcus agreed. “And you didn’t answer my question. That’s fine. I can see I’ve given you a lot to think about. The only thing to know is there’s no moral law without a moral lawgiver, and everyone is judged by it in the end. The only thing that matters is if you have Jesus as your savior and believe on His resurrection to pay for your sin debt. Otherwise, you’re under the law.”

  David believed in moral laws. These were instilled in him by his adoptive father from the moment he realized his purpose in life. They provided guardrails for society. They existed regardless of what anyone thought. Their source was irrelevant to David. While he could not imagine a lawgiver, pragmatism showed him that these laws were in place for a reason. It was good enough for him. It had to be. Someone watching over them, a God like Marcus described, was a beautiful concept. David’s reality was much harsher. The faces of evil ones and their victims formed in David’s memory. With so much evil in the world, he could not believe.

  “No….cannot believe. More evil than you can imagine.” He stared in Marcus’s eyes so he would know he was serious and meant no ill will. It normally made people uncomfortable, but it was the only way David knew how to convey his most serious thoughts. Eye contact. To his credit, the wolf did not even flinch. “Wish what you said was true. You will protect your family.”

  Marcus, completely unphased, nodded. “It is true. God’s existence is not dependent on what you believe. Remember, you can always repent and turn to Him. Just don’t wait too long.” He looked at his son. “As for my family, I’ll always protect them. Scripture says I should be willing to die for them. I would face a hundred Kiams if it came to that.”

  Marcus’s God was not for the weak. David never considered He could be a source of strength. It certainly explained why Nathan fought with so much zeal. Maybe the Bible was not such a crutch for the powerless after all? More to think about.

  Thinking about it made the corners of David’s mouth move upwards. A smile. A faint one, but still a smile. “Hnh….” He was amused. “If you could fight, would have killed Kiam.”

  Marcus’s eyes widened. Surprise, then the realization that this was high praise from a nomadic warrior type. He laughed.

  Ronald looked at his father, confused. “Dad, what’s so funny? He said you can’t fight.”

  “Not what he meant.” Marcus addressed his son before turning back to David. A lupine grin on his face, he continued. “It’s not a sin to defend oneself or one’s family. We would have done all right if he wasn’t a wizard.” He walked up to David. “If you’re offering to teach me Kung Fu or something, I think I’ll pass. I don’t want to spar with a giant.”

  David was momentarily confused. Marcus wanted to learn how to fight? Could he be taught? How would David do that? He could give combat tips to Nathan every so often, but Nathan already knew how to fight and was sturdy enough that David was not afraid of him getting hurt. A normalish sentient wolf was a lot squishier than a warrior mage with dragon’s blood.

  Wait….no, that was not it. Smile was not the same. Was this one of those moments of levity that people talked about? It took David multiple seconds to realize he was joking. What do you say when this happens? Think, hero, think.

  “…..Cannot. Hm. Kung Fu is….good?” It was the best he could do. Four eyes with the blankest stares possible looked at him.

  Marcus let out a chuckle for politeness’s sake. “Yeah. Just as well.”

  “So, what’re you going to do now?” Ronald asked.

  David realized he overstayed his welcome. Too much time talking, something he never did. He had to move on and there was still much to do. He stood up and reached for his backpack. The least he could do was answer the question.

  “Move on. More to do.” He stated as he slung his backpack on his shoulders.

  “Wait.” Marcus said. “Not going to say goodbye?”

  “Goodbye.” David replied and turned. Marcus moved surprisingly quickly to block his path.

  “At least let me get the family so you can say goodbye to them. We owe you so much, we’d like to see you off properly.”

  David thought of the effigy and the cabin. They were still there. Kiam may have been dead, but….

  He shook his head. It could wait. Just this once, let them be grateful. A hero should be able to accept gratitude.

  “……fine.” He stood still. Marcus nodded, then fetched his family.

  Maybe not entirely still. The entire group moved to the foyer. David stood before the front door, looking at five gathered wolves and two squirrels. Time for goodbyes. David never cared much for saying them. Better to just leave. After the talk Marcus gave him, they deserved to see him off.

  “Thank you so much for bringing my kids back to me.” Diane stated and hugged David’s legs. Briefly. She then held up a shopping bag to him. It was full of packaged snack items, mostly salmon jerky. “Something for your trip back home. You look like a carnivore, so lots of meat. I hope you like fish. It isn’t much, but it’ll travel better than if I cooked you something.” It was past dinner time anyway.

  David took the item and unslung his backpack. As he opened it to put it inside, the triplets moved up and hugged his legs again.

  “Thanks, David!” Xavier said. “You smashed that dumb bear good!” His fur was still slightly damp from his bath. Kids never fully dried off.

  “Yeah, thank you! Just like a knight from a storybook! Just no armor.” Claudia stated. David never needed armor. His body was tough enough.

  “Thank you.” Janet said simply. David admired her being the quiet type. A rare thing for kids.

  They walked back to cluster around their mother. Ronald walked up next. No hug from him. He offered a paw up to him.

  “Thanks for the help. It would’ve sucked pretty bad if that freak hurt my brother and sisters. Glad you hurt him worse.” He smiled.

  David reached down to offer a finger. Ronald’s paw was so comically smaller than his hand he did not dare try to shake it. Ronald more high fived his fingertip than anything else. Good enough.

  “Sorry I don’t have anything to give you. Broke college student…..uh.” He looked around, the light of recognition hit him, and he darted off. He was back after several seconds with a paper rectangle. “Here’s a coupon for two for one fish nodules at Friendly Fred’s.”

  Some sort of fast food establishment? Probably. The picture of the food looked like what one would expect. David took the coupon and put it in a pocket. More cheap food was always helpful.

  Cecilia was next. She held up a small canvas. Well, small to him. It was about the size of her entire body.

  “Thank you, David. I want you to have this watercolor I did of the forest. It’ll remind you of us, and how much we appreciate you.”

  She looked so sincere. David was almost afraid to take the picture. It was offered to him directly, so it was good manners to take it. A gift like that looked fragile and he did not want it broken in a fight. He might have to put it in a hard case inside of his backpack. He carefully took it and noted the trees. He did not know art, but it looked like it was supposed to. To him, that made it a good painting. He gently placed it in a leather-lined tin box inside of his backpack where he kept a few loose coins from different lands in Nathan’s world.

  Marcus approached him. He held up a stack of bills. “And I want to thank you too. Thank you for bringing my family back together. Should be enough to get you a fancy pair of hiking boots. Your shoes look like they’ve seen a thousand miles of bad road.”

  David glanced down at his cheap sneakers. They were getting to the point where he could step on a dime and tell if it was heads or tails. Not to mention the holes. Time for new shoes. He took the money and pocketed it.

  “…..” What to say now? They were all looking at him. A happy family, all together again. They had what they wanted and would move on. New memories formed as those of Kiam faded into the past. Good. People like Kiam should be relegated to the realm of painful, forgotten memories.

  It reminded David of what he had once, before he left to fulfil his purpose. His adoptive parents and his sister. They were better to him than he deserved. He only missed them when he saw what he was missing. Perhaps it was time to visit his sister again?

  His parents he could not visit. His adoptive father insisted it was too dangerous for a superhero to be around his family. Evil might use them against him. His sister did not feel that way, at least.

  “Thank you. Goodbye.” Was all he could think to say to them. Before more words could be exchanged, opened the door and walked into the night. A nice family, but a reminder of something he would never have. Let them live their lives. The Avery family watched him go a few steps before they lost track of him. As was his way, his body seemed to vanish into the shadows.

  Marcus watched the man leave. Unnerving how he melted so readily into the darkness. Just like that, he was gone. It was almost like he was never there. Everything that happened seemed like a bad dream. One that lasted a week.

  A look back at his family reminded him of what he got back. Everyone was okay and their worries were over, if only for a moment. God is good all the time.

  Diane ushered their kids back toward the kitchen. They were starving. Even though it was past their bedtime, she could not let them go to bed hungry. The only person left was Ronald.

  “That was a really good sermon, dad.” The squirrel commented. “I guess some people are too broken to listen.”

  Marcus looked to his son and shook his head. “He’s in a bad way, but no one is ever too broken to be beyond help. I think….we helped him as much as he helped us.” Marcus thought back to the look in the gray man’s eyes. He listened. “The seed’s planted. Someone else can water. God will provide the increase.”

  Ronald rubbed his paws together. “Uh…oh yeah…forgot about that.”

  “You’re just hungry.” The wolf tousled his son’s headfur. He was never too old for that. Ronald grunted and squirmed away.

  “I’m a grown man!” He protested.

  “Oh, then you won’t want your mother to cook for you?” Marcus replied.

  Ronald, remembering the horrors of college cafeteria food, shook his head. “Never said that!”

  Marcus nodded. They would join the rest of the family. Before they even reached the kitchen, they smelled something good enough to satisfied the strongest of appetites.

  David looked up at the effigy of the idol Kiam crafted. If this was the image of the demon he called a goddess, he had poor taste. Molded as it was, it could give children nightmares. It reeked of death and corruption. It was no small wonder the children feared him. All children instinctively knew to fear demons. It was a pity that they sometimes grew out of this. David may not have believed in a loving God, but experience told him creatures that called themselves demons were very real. Nearly always, they were real enough to bleed when cut.

  This idol was dying, if not dead. Without Kiam’s influence, it had no anchor in this world. It either moved on or died with him. The effigy was rotting away, the plants sustaining it all dead.

  That did not mean it was harmless. Others might find it. Take up where Kiam left off. David would destroy it. Drawing his sickles, he chopped at the base until it fell. He smashed the bones, tore the limbs, and scattered the parts until it was not recognizable. When Nathan came to get him, he would bring him here to consecrate what was left. For some reason, most demons reacted with terror when he prayed. Then burn the cabin so no trace of it remained. David did not mess with fire, but his partner was more than happy to torch an evil being’s dwelling.

  As for Kiam? David took his head. Chopped it off and put it in a plastic bag to hang from his backpack. The bounty hunters would want proof of his demise. It would put whoever ordered the bounty at ease. He may have new boots on his feet, but a hero could always accept an offered reward for killing a villain.