Chapter 284: Limits
The boys retreated first and I went with them. I knew I should be there, that Dad could pass at any time, but I chose to walk them out instead.
We paused in the kitchen, Galleytrot with us, all awkward in the quiet of the house.
"Syd," Liam reached for me even as Quaid scowled at him, "I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do."
I hugged him, Quaid be damned. "Thank you," I whispered in his ear. "Your just being here is enough."
"Demon magic is beyond my abilities." Galleytrot sighed. "I hate having limits."
I laughed and hugged the big dog, his soft fur against my cheek. "Me too."
His dark eyes met mine. "Some of us don't have limits."
"Apparently I do, after all." I sighed and scratched his ears as I thought about my dad. "I'm going to need your help holding Mom together when this is over."
He nodded slowly. "Anything, Syd."
I straightened, eyes locking on Quaid. I could feel him clearly again, now he was a Hayle witch, the pressure of his power held back from me. There was a wariness in his eyes, a lack of trust I hadn't seen for a long time.
"You're back with us now," I said, reaching for his hand. "You don't have to worry anymore."
And just like that, as our power touched and combined, the warm caramel yumminess of him coming in contact with my own magic reconnected our bond in a surge of energy making me gasp. The darkness in Quaid's eyes lifted in the same instant and I found myself crushed against his chest as he whispered my name in my ear.
I'm not sure how long I would have stayed in his embrace, audience or not. I wasn't about to find out. A distraction jerked me away from him, in the form of a surge of power coming from the basement. It attracted my immediate attention because the source was demon. Quaid, Liam and Galleytrot in tow, I pulled the door open and went downstairs.
I found the single bulb burning and a surprise standing under it. The power surge I'd felt was from Sassy. He stood there in the light, Dad's new statue at his side, front and center in the middle of the pentagram. He must have used what little magic he still had in reserve to pull the metal effigy out of the darkness.
Sassy looked up and met my eyes, his full of sadness.
"You asked me what I did to deserve banishment." He turned away again, looking up at Dad's steel face. "On Demonicon, power duels happen all the time with the understanding the winner keeps a portion of the loser's magic. That's how we progress from plane level to level."
I eased down the last step, the boys behind me, feeling a hum of power through my sock feet as I touched concrete. Demon power. What was he up to? I thought he was drained, too weak to do much of anything.
If that wasn't the case, why did he hide it from me?
"I was a selfish kid, Syd." Sassy said. "I used to torture you for being that way, but only because I knew selfish when I saw it." He shook his head, one hand coming to rest on Dad's shoulder, as if for support. "I didn't care about anyone. I know now I misjudged my parents. They did the only thing they could do when I..." he drew a breath, "when I almost killed that boy."
I shuddered. Sassy?
"I was making a name for myself, climbing levels faster than anyone." He barked a laugh, tossing his head back. "No one could beat me, Syd. No one. It was a game, don't you see? It's not like I had to fight. My parents were already Fourth Planers. But I chose to give up my ranking, to start from scratch, just so I could fight."
"So you had a temper." I shrugged, trying to feel my way past the wards he'd raised, but my demon was still in pain and could barely focus. "Same here."
Sassy stilled, whole body frozen as if he were the statue. "He beat me." His dark hair fell forward again, shading his face, hiding his expression. "This snot-nosed kid from a lower plane. Beat me fair and square. I was furious." He was moving again suddenly, circling Dad's effigy as if he were a cat again, a very agitated cat. "I couldn't take it. So I attacked him from behind and stripped his power to nothing."
Oh, that had to be bad. "Sass-"
"The penalty is death for what I'd done." Sassy stopped circling, one hand in his pocket. "Mom and Dad, they convinced the Rulers to let me take banishment instead. I blamed them, when they didn't fix it. Thought they would fix it. Was sure of it. Thing is, they did. The best they could." His eyes met mine, a great and aching sadness taking him over. "I didn't know love, Syd. Or kindness, not really. Because I wouldn't let it in. Not until Thaddea Hayle found me, a wretched, sulking mess, my cat body dying in a London back alley over a hundred and fifty years ago. It took me a long time not to blame my parents anymore. In fact, it took me until pretty much just now." His laugh was choked, bitter, but not turned outward this time. Internalized.
"We all make mistakes, my friend." Galleytrot chuffed softly. "I was an evil man before the Sidhe turned me into a hound. They made a good soul of me. Eventually."
Sassy drew a deep breath. "I regret what I did," he whispered. "But not the life I've lived here, with you. I may have acted otherwise, but I've learned so much from the Hayle witches. Patience, strength, courage. But mostly love." He smiled at me then. "I do love you, Syd."
I had a sudden surge of fear as power poured into the demon shield he'd raised. Why did it sound like he was saying goodbye?
When he pulled the crystal out of his pocket, I scrambled in my own for the familiar feel of it.
"Sorry, Syd," he said. "I need to do this. Don't you see? It's the only way I can finally forgive myself."
"Sassy, you can't." Liam's face shone with tears. Did he know something I didn't? From the look on his face he'd managed to finish reading the demon book.
"Liam?" I looked back and forth between them as Sassy turned toward the statue, crystal in his hand. "Tell me."
"Syd, you have to stop him." Liam lurched forward, but the demon shield held him back. "The book he was reading. It wasn't just about demon sacrifice. It was about human as well."
Sacrifice? My heart clenched as I drove my power into the shield. My demon lashed out, still in pain, but ignoring it as best we both could. It seemed everything I threw at it was simply absorbed.
"Don't bother, Syd." Sassy gestured with the crystal. "You're keyed to this, remember? And I'm using it to power the wards. You're just making them stronger." Something silver flashed in his hand as he turned toward me at last.
The knife. The same damned knife Dad used. No.
No.
"I've known for a while," Sassy said softly, almost apologetically, "what I had to do. To save Harry. I just didn't have the courage." He lifted the knife in front of him, the blade flashing in the light. "You were right, when you said a sacrifice had to be made. But not you, Syd. I'm the only one for the job."
I lunged at him, using family magic, Sidhe, throwing everything I had at him. Galleytrot did to, Quaid beside me, Liam pouring green fire over the shields. But I'd given too much, the crystal was full of my power, and we just couldn't break through.
"I love you, Syd." Sassy saluted me. "Don't ever forget that."
I was screaming, one long, endless note of loss and grief as my friend lifted the knife and plunged it into his own chest.
***
