mum continued to hold Matthias suspended, along with the witch, she walked slowly over to me. This was so she could stand in front of me in a protective way.
“Stay behind me, Faith,” my mum warned in that demonic voice that I had never heard before this day.
“I'm going to get you out of here,” she said, but even I could hear the strain in her voice as if this power of hers would only last so long. Of course, what we really needed was a portal, but it was clear neither of us had the power to create one of those.
However, in the end, none of it mattered, because it turned out that history wasn't the only thing that was coming to bite Lucius in the ass, it was also going to come round and bite my mother too. I knew this the moment the witch started to whisper, despite still held paralysed against the stone by my mother’s power. As the moment she did, was when my mum’s power started to fade. Both Matthias and the witch were released and fell to the ground, but this was along with my mother who landed on her knees and started holding her head as if in agonising pain.
“Mum! Stop it! What are you doing to her!” I shouted in panic, feeling helpless as I could do nothing to help her other than take her in my arms and hold her to me, as she started to shake uncontrollably.
“Stop it! Stop it, now!” Neither of them listened as Matthias got back to his feet and brushed himself down as if nothing had happened. Then he walked closer to us both and told me,
“Why would I stop it? When I had this all put in place 30 years ago.”
“What?!” I hissed, shaking my head, trying to understand.
“I knew one day I would need to control her.” Again, I started shaking my head as if trying to make sense of what he was telling me.
“What… what do you mean?” I whispered, now with every single shred of attitude gone from me and only panic taking its place.
“Your foolish lover believes that all I've been trying to do is get to you both all this time, when in reality, it was never just about the two of you.” At this he paused to look down at my mother, still cradled in my arms and shaking, holding her head, and muttering about letting go of something.
“What are you saying?!” I snapped.
“I only ever wanted a few things in life, things that would aid me in my quest for revenge and my ambition for more… for the things that were taken from me! You think this plan started with you? Don’t be so foolish, the box was something you were always meant to find. You have all been puppets in a very elaborate game, and one that brings us all to this point… where I fucking want you to be! And now there is only one piece missing… but first, I will kill your mother if you do not give me what I want,” he said, gripping my arm and dragging me away from her, before clasping a hand around my throat forcing me to look up at him.
“You can't kill her!” I cried out.
“Oh, but I think you'll find that we can. You see, Dalene over there visited your mother once. Years ago, she put herself in a cell deep under Afterlife. But of course, you know of it… your father’s prison, of course.” As soon as he said this, I was assaulted with the memory of the vision I had seen. Of my mother when she was only human and had not long before met my father. She had found her way down into the prison trying to help a girl she thought trapped.
It had been Dalene.
“She fooled your mother into believing that she needed her help… ah, but I see you've already seen this story before, I can see it in those pretty wet eyes of yours. What you may not know is there, in that very moment, she whispered a spell, one easily cast on her mortal soul. One that would stick there and stay there forever, even long after her transformation into what she is now,” he told me, making me cast my eyes down at my mother who was suffering and shaking on the floor. I felt the tears slip down my cheeks at how powerless I felt in trying