Chapter 256: Dad's Downfall
Dad passed out again shortly thereafter, forcing Mom to use her magic to carry him up to her bedroom. Erica hovered nearby, as if unsure whether to leave or stay and I didn't have the will to tell her either way.
We all gathered in Mom's room. No matter how long Dad lived with us, I always thought of it as hers. The black satin comforter, the scent of lilacs permeating everything, the subtle touches all came together, alerting anyone who crossed the threshold a woman lived here, a woman of power.
Dad looked reduced, tucked into the dark bedclothes, his skin pale and almost translucent, deep circles under his eyes. I stayed near the foot of the bed, trying not to hover, holding my hands tightly together to keep myself from wringing them. My anxiety was still building. As much as Mom cleared Dad and ensured he'd survive, her intent to use what now resided in Sassy to restore him and return him home meant attracting Celeste's attention. Besides, hadn't Dad just tried literally everything, including blood magic, to open the veil between planes and go home?
He woke again as we all stood there, silent, no one willing to speak, as though talking would shatter some truce we held together. I felt Galleytrot press against my right side, saw the flutter of striped fabric on my left and knew Sassafras stood close as well. I wanted to reach out to him, to tell him this wasn't his fault, but I couldn't seem to make my hands come apart.
Dad met Mom's eyes and smiled. "I'm sorry to bring so much trouble down on our family."
Mom stroked his forehead, sinking to the bed, leaning forward to kiss him. "You've done nothing of the sort," she said. "Everything that's happened has been for a reason. You, my love, are trapped here with us because of my failing, not yours."
He looked away for a moment, throat and jaw working as if holding off tears. He spotted Sassafras, smiled, raised one hand only to have it thump, powerless, back to the comforter.
Sass waved back. "Hi, Harry," he said. "Sorry about this."
"You were trying to help, I know that much." Dad sighed. "If you hadn't been there... Sassafras, my boy, you saved my life. I'm sure of it."
I glanced at my cat, now a teenager, watched him flush.
"Harry," Mom said, voice near a wail as she finally crumbled, "why? Why did you do it?"
Dad was silent for a long time, eyes closed, so long I thought he'd fallen back to sleep. When his eyes snapped open again, they were angry, but not at any of us.
"Odette," he whispered, the name a curse. I knew how he felt. I thought of the old Dumont leader in the same way and swore at her often. I was about to have another reason to pile on top of my existing tower of hurts to hate her ugly guts. "She told me, being a demon, it was likely I couldn't cross over because I wasn't using the right kind of power source. That if I wanted it to work, I needed blood magic to do it."
As much as I despised the woman, what she'd said did make an odd kind of sense. "Dad," I said, "she's right, isn't she?" I wanted to smack myself in the forehead. "Demons use blood magic all the time."
He nodded slowly. "We do," he said. Paused. "They do." Dad turned back to Mom. "Traditionally, we were worshipped with blood."
She tried a smile, but it was so frail and fragile I knew it could collapse at any moment. "Oh Harry," Mom said.
"I know." His hands fisted around the comforter. "You don't have to say it. I never should have listened. And I resisted a long time, Miriam. But when Syd was at risk, the Gate, and I was powerless... I've spent the entire winter trying, trying so hard. I just couldn't take it anymore."
Mom bent and rested her cheek on his shoulder while he struggled with his emotions. "I'm so sorry, Harry," she said.
"No," he slid one arm around her, some of his strength clearly returning, "I'm sorry. I've put you and the family in a terrible position." As he continued to speak, I felt someone slide up to me, slip under my arm. I held Meira against me as she shrank from Sassafras, clinging to me. Dad met my eyes. "Girls," he said, "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. For not being the father you needed, for being so very selfish."
We both croaked out a denial, but he had already turned to Mom. "I'm leaving, Miriam," he said. "You and the family are better off without me."
Mom clung to him. "You're not going anywhere," she said.
I reached out to him, to show him how much I agreed, my power sliding over him. How easily I forgot he was empty.
Erica left us as Meira and I moved to the opposite side of the bed from Mom. My sister climbed up next to Dad, hugging him while I just sat and held his hand. I felt Galleytrot leave, heard his soft moan and chuff. I glanced up as he went, my eyes catching Sassy's.
He stood there, watching us for a long time before he too turned, shoulders slumped, and left.
***
