Chapter 66: Those People
It was after dark before my mother made it home. As soon as her lights brightened the side of the house I bounded to the door and wrenched it open. She didn't look surprised by the sudden greeting, but I didn't get a chance to say anything to her because Meira squealed and came running.
I slung her up into my arms and hugged her, noticing how big she was getting. And heavy.
"Syd!" She kissed me soundly on the cheek. "We had such a great day! I wish you'd come with us."
I glanced at my mother who simply met my gaze with a level look before gliding past me into the kitchen.
I set Meira down and followed her inside, trying to suppress my frustration for my sister's sake.
"What were you two up to?" If Mom wasn't willing to tell me, Meira certainly was.
"We went to see a bunch of the family," she said, toying with her hair. "Everyone had cookies. Everyone." She giggled and I understood her good mood. Chocolate. She was a hopeless addict. Like Gram. It made Meira super happy, but without the dark edge it gave our grandmother.
"Wish I was there too," I said. And that chocolate had the same affect on me. No such luck. I could have used a little right about then.
"Why don't you go wash up for bed," Mom said to my sister. "I'll be up in a minute."
Meira made a face resembling rebellion before shrugging and hopping down. She gave me a hard squeeze.
"Love you, Syd."
"Love you too, Meems."
I watched her bounce her way out of the kitchen and sighed. I was never so young. And certainly never light-hearted, even as a child. I envied her.
I waited for Mom to speak first, but she just stood there and stared back at me so I caved and jumped in.
"What happened? Why did you take Meira today? Any news about the creature?" I knew I was babbling about the same amount as Alison did in the car, but this was the first chance I had to talk to anyone about the truth of what was going on and it all just came flooding out.
Mom actually smiled. And stepped forward, her arms going around me. I hugged her back, breathing in the familiar scent of lilacs and absorbing the warmth of her while my demon purred happily.
When she pulled back, she took my hand and guided me to the table. I sat with her, her long, slender fingers never letting me go.
"Question one," she said, "nothing happened. Question two, I could have left your sister with someone but I wanted her company today. Question three, no news. We're still investigating."
Wow. That was easy. My turn.
"There's some stuff you need to know," I said. She nodded.
"I understood that from your message. Tell me."
I dumped the Suzanne incident on her and her perfect arched eyebrows rose.
"That can't be," she said. "Syd, I cleared her myself." She looked like she wanted to get up and leave, but I held her back.
"There's more." It was actually gratifying to have her pay attention to what I said. Very gratifying. Like she was treating me as if I was... her equal.
Oh dear.
Next, I told her about the missing people and my suspicions. She nodded through the whole thing.
"This is very troubling," she said. Her eyes filled with love. "I'm so proud of you. Thank you, Syd. This is important." Again she was about to pull away when I stopped her one last time.
"One more thing." I slid the pamphlets across the table and stopped them in front of her. "We had a visitor."
She glanced down at the neatly folded page. And exploded.
I've never seen my mother so mad in my whole life. Not even during some of our nuclear battles. I thought she was scary then. No freaking way. All of a sudden she was a hissing, spitting bundle of pure fury. She formed a fizzing, hissing ball of light, which wrapped around the pages in a rush of air and they imploded with a bang. Good thing she wrapped a bubble of shield around them first or I had a feeling we'd both be sitting in the driveway with the kitchen in shreds.
Her eyes flashed with so much rage I cringed and tried to pull my hand free from hers, but she refused to let go. Her grip was so strong I worried about my fingers and future circulation to them. Not to mention getting their use back.
"Where did you get those?" Who was this violent, irrational creature? My mother was the epitome of calm and clarity, rarely losing it even when we fought and even then only enough to ruffle herself. It was like a demon, a mythical one, took up instantaneous residence inside her.
"I told you," I stammered the words out of shock, "we had a visitor. Twice, actually."
"Who?" The word spat out like a curse.
"He said his name is Demitrius Strong."
Mom pulled me toward her so our faces were only inches apart.
"You listen to me, Sydlynn Thaddea Hayle," she said, voice so low and full of acid I could hardly bear it, "those people," she stressed the word like she wasn't sure they deserved the name, "are the most evil you will ever meet. Ever." A fraction of her rage diminished. Thankfully. Another heartbeat of that rage and I'd have dissolved into a blubbering heap. "Did he tell you he would free you? Make you normal?" She didn't wait for my answer. "He lies. They all lie. They will turn you against the family until you destroy us all and then sacrifice you in the name of purity." Mom sat back, releasing my hand so suddenly I rocked away from her from the loss of pressure.
"Mom, I would never..." Would I? Of course not. "That's why I told you about him."
She pulled herself together enough to nod. The chill went out of her but I could feel her anger still simmering underneath the surface, waiting for a chance to act. I sort of felt sorry for Demitrius at that moment. If she ever caught him, I had a feeling he wouldn't be around for long.
"Thank you for letting me know," she said, voice stiff and harsh. "I'll warn the family to guard their children. These parasites show up from time to time."
"How do they know about us?" I wasn't sure she was in the mood for questions, but thought I'd give it a go.
"They see themselves as purifiers," she said. "Like we are some scourge or plague to be wiped out. You know witches have been persecuted through the ages, Syd. His kind are the ones who burn us at the stake."
I shuddered. We were taught as children the history of witches and the horrible things normals would do to us if they ever found out what we really were. If she was right, and I had no reason to doubt her, it made Demitrius and the Chosen of the Light the most dangerous normals around.
I watched Mom steady herself, deep breaths lifting her chest several times until she calmed. Still, she wasn't quite her old self and I knew the appearance of the cult shook her badly.
"Just what we need," I said. "Another problem."
That made her lips twitch. She smiled. And laughed. And, at last, my mother was back.
She stood up and drew me up with her, hugging me hard. Her soft lips met my cheek and she cupped my face in her hands.
"I love you, Sydlynn," she said. "I trust your judgment. Thank you for telling me everything."
"You're welcome," I said. "Promise me you'll do the same."
She sighed and kissed me again. "I promise."
She left the kitchen but a part of her remained with me, enough I felt her climb the stairs and go to Meira's door. I only hesitated a moment before following her.
I don't think I'd ever get too old to hear one of Mom's bedtime stories.
***
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