Chapter 644: Mom's Freedom
I'm not sure what I expected to happen. Nothing, maybe. But certainly not the pulse of power that rippled out from Mom in a sonic blast, rocking through me as I held onto her for balance and she to me.
Her transformation happened almost instantaneously, though I had time to watch her shift in the heartbeats between. How her skin faded to a more normal hue, deep wrinkles plumping and vanishing as her youthful appearance returned. The way the silver traces in her hair flashed before darkening back to black. But it was her eyes, the deep blue of them, once tormented and full of rage that changed the most.
Mom's hands squeezed my shoulders as the last of the power wave left her, those beautiful eyes welling with tears. One hand lifted to her throat, to the pentagram necklace, before touching my cheek so gently I barely felt the pressure of her skin.
"Syd?"
I sobbed once, flooded with relief, almost knocking me over as I reached for her, pulling her against me. My mom. My mom was back and that was all that mattered.
She wept with me as we clung to each other like little girls who'd seen the Boogeyman, the scent of her lilac perfume once almost rancid now pure and clean again. Filling me with a sense of absolute peace and so much joy I wanted to jump up and down and clap my hands.
And hug her forever.
Mom finally released me, face now as flawless as I remembered, so young again I almost did a double take, wondering if I'd somehow found a mirror, we looked so much alike. I kissed her cheek, laughing as I cried, unable to speak just yet, but knowing from the touch of her power she was clean and whole and herself again.
She led me to the bed, sat next to me, hands shaking so much I clutched them between mine to steady us both.
"Syd," Mom whispered. "Oh, Syd." She touched the necklace again, fingers gripping it so tightly they turned white. "What have I done?"
"Nothing," I said, a little surprised by the snarl in my tone. "Not you, Mom."
She shook her head, brows coming together, eyes haunted as she drew a panicked breath. "I fought so hard." Mom gasped for air, chest hitching. "Syd, I fought and I fought, but I couldn't break free. I knew what was happening, but there was nothing..." she choked off, hugged me again. "I almost destroyed us all."
"Not you," I repeated. "The Brotherhood."
She sat back, hand finally dropping the pentagram to her chest where it glowed softly with blue power. Her power. And mine as a shimmer of iridescence raced over it. "How did you know?"
"Sorcerers use the inherent magic in objects to gain power." I'd done so myself just recently. To save Gram. "They must have stolen your pentagram. Remember Margaret's ring?" The leader of the European Council admitted the Brotherhood tainted her through the ring she'd worn. "Mom, I should have known, but the Council power wouldn't let me look closely." It hovered inside her now, calm and relaxed, a tame lion ready to pounce. "They must have used your pentagram to control you and, through you, the Council's magic."
Mom shuddered before rising to pace. "I've failed," she said.
I couldn't have her crumble on me now. "Mom." She turned to face me. So beautiful I smiled, beamed. I had my mom back, damn it. How awesome was that? "Listen to me. The Brotherhood is insidious." Had proved it so many times I could hardly count. "The most important thing is you're free. And so is the Council power."
It made so much sense to me now, Mom's mood swings, the way she seemed to struggle against her own will. Not the Council magic, but the Brotherhood's manipulation.
"They will know by now you're free," I said. "We have to put up safeguards to make sure you stay that way."
Mom sat with me again, hands holding mine, face composed, though a deep hurt still shone in her eyes. "The Council," she said. "They will all need to be tested." Her innate sense of responsibility kicked in, visible in the set of her shoulders, the determination on her face. "And dealt with if they are also under control." She shook her head, dark hair swinging. "How could I have let this happen?"
Wow, that sounded familiar.
"They tried to break you by inches," I said. Knew it was true. Recalled Mom's slow deterioration up to this point. "You wouldn't have felt it at first, since their power is empty to you. Bits and pieces, influencing you on choices you normally wouldn't have made." Now I knew it, I could feel it, see it in everything she did, right from my first day at Harvard. "I'm as much to blame as you are. More. I have sorcery. I should have recognized their influence for what it is and acted a long time ago. But I thought it was the Council power controlling you and knew you'd never give it up."
Mom nodded, lips thinned in anxiety. "You're right," she said. "Syd, I was so close to breaking."
I squeezed her hands. "But you didn't." I laughed again. "I bet they didn't factor in just how freaking strong you are, Mom." Her blue eyes glistened with more tears, but she listened. "I'd love to know how many sorcerers you broke before they managed to make you do anything."
Her mouth turned up into a little smile. "I hope it hurt," she said.
That was my mom, all right.
Mom's little moment of vengeance died when she gasped and paled. "We have to get you out of here."
Oh, now she remembered I was in prison.
"I don't know how." She might as well have the truth. "Mom-"
She shushed me immediately. "I'm here to take your statement," she said. "Since you are unwilling to give it, I have no choice but to leave."
Rules. Laws. Okay then.
"Mom," I said, feeling my own desperation rise, though not for me. "Gram?"
She hesitated. But when she answered, it wasn't with bad news, just uncertain.
"I don't know," she said, grief coming back. "I think I sent the Kennecott twins to her." I liked them both, trusted them, knew Lula and Phon would take as good of care with Gram as they had with Liam when Ameline stole his Sidhe soul. Mom swept to her feet, pulling me up with her. "I'm going to go home and check on her now." She hesitated before hugging me again. But this time without fear, no longer shaking. When she leaned back and met my eyes, a powerful Council Leader looked back.
"We'll find a way to free you," she said, "if it's my last act as leader of the High Council."
She reached around her neck for the chain to my necklace, but I shook my head with a grin.
"I'm good," I said. "You need it more than I do."
Mom kissed my cheek gently before embracing me with her magic as she strode out the door, calling for Pender.
***
