Unraveled Homecoming

by J. L. Shelton

  The hurt written all over Mattie’s face had her great-grandmother swiftly coming to her side, putting what was supposed to be a comforting hand on her shoulder. It didn’t make Mattie feel a damn bit better. She shrugged the woman off, wishing to hell she didn’t have to be here. Agnes shook her head dejectedly at Mattie’s rebuff.

  “I know this is hard, girl,” the old seamstress said in a quiet voice. “But you need the truth before I go jumping around in that head of yours. It’s better to get all this in the open now.”

  “What? That my mother was a freak?”

  “No, child,” said Belladonna sadly. “That in many ways she was more powerful than she should have been, and sometimes did things without the proper training.”

  “She never listened to us,” mumbled Agnes angrily.

  This was Annabelle Hawksthorne they were talking about! The one who had sung songs and read fantastical tales to her child. This was the woman who had given the last ounce of her life for her daughter. This was the one whose death had changed the course of Mattie’s destiny in so many ways. The mother Mattie had missed every damn day of her life!

  “Why in the hell is it necessary to tell me all this!?” Mattie screamed, standing up and pounding a fist on the table.

  Belladonna and Agnes exchanged a look, making Mattie want to break something. The Eldest nodded her head, and the seamstress folded her hands in front of her. “Being pissed is understandable,” Agnes said frankly. “But it should not be at us.”

  “And why the hell not?”

  “Because there can be only one reason those blocks on your powers are still so strong,” she said with quiet rage. “During her final breaths, your mother managed to lock a piece of herself inside your head!”

  Disbelief would be an understatement. “That’s not possible!”

  “Mattie, that’s the only explanation for so many of them to remain in place after all you’ve gone through,” insisted Belladonna, her expression full of grief. “She must be maintaining them.”

  “And the blocks have fallen a little at a time as you push through the limits of your powers, no?” added Agnes, a little too knowingly.

  “No!” Mattie shouted as Fire and Ice stirred within her bones. “Not the first time!”

  “What happened that time then?” asked Belladonna, sincerely curious.

  It was in trying to form the words that Mattie’s rage turned into ice-cold fear! What had happened? She had seen her mother as if in a dream, an impassable gulf between the two of them. They had been so close yet so far apart. The Darkness had tried to once again consume Mattie that day at the Watchtower, and her mother had come to remind her how they had defeated it before. And less than a month later, it seemed as if something inside Mattie had broken like an over-taunt string on a bow. Agony was an understatement to the way she felt that first night she had begun to see the essence of magic.

  Mattie’s entire being roiled at the truth that could not be denied. It wasn’t too much longer before she was out the front door and bent over at the waist, throwing up what little remained in her stomach. Why had her mother done this to her!? And what in the hell did this mean about who she eventually became?

  Tears of rage and hurt fell to the ground, and Mattie’s knees soon followed after. She doubled over and began to keen until there was barely any sanity or breath left in her. This was a violation of the highest order, and it had come from the one she had loved the most!

  And it was ripping her heart out of her chest!

  Chapter 29

  The heart-wrenching grief and mind-numbing rage cut through Garin’s skull like a knife! He fell to one knee, barely registering his own physical pain when he smacked down hard onto the living room floor. “Mattie,” he choked out while tears filled his eyes as his head bowed low from the weight of his wife’s intense emotions.

  A second later he could think clearly again, the bond cut off from the other end. Though not as overpowering, the faint glimmer of angry sorrow remaining in the background still racked his soul. He lifted his tear-streaked face and found his father-in-law crouching down in front of him, worry etched deeply into the man’s features.

  “Are you okay, lad?”

  Of course he wasn’t! He had never felt such utter heartbreak like that in all his life! Not even the shocking revelation about Mikhail being her brother had caused his wife this much pain!

  Garin shook his head as he unsteadily got to his feet. “Mattie needs me.”

  When Lord Gregory reached out and put a restraining hand on his shoulder, a menacing growl left Garin’s lips. The older man’s eyes narrowed and his face grew stern. “Snarl at me all you want, lad, but you can’t interfere with what she has to go through.”

  “The hell I can’t!” Garin shouted as he knocked his father-in-law’s hand away. Power whispered at the back of his mind, and he knew he needed to get out of there.

  Turning to escape through the back door, he was met with a rather muscular obstacle in the form of Tobias. The mage had been finishing the preparations for their midday meal, but he was now standing firm and completely blocking the exit. The dark tattoos seemed to make the man’s arms even larger when he crossed them.

  “You knew that she could feel a full range of rough emotions,” said Tobias firmly. “Disturbing them in the middle of any Soul Walking could kill them both!”

  They were right. Garin knew it. But he couldn’t just stand on the sidelines when his wife was in such agony! He clenched his hands into fists and released a threatening growl.

  And that was when the groaning rumble beneath the house began.

  Shit! thought Garin, belatedly realizing he had accidentally unleashed the power that had been building in strength!

  Outside, three youths started shouting in surprise. The horses joined them with their whinnies of terror. That alone told Garin that the magical tremor was reaching far beyond his location. Inside, things were beginning to fall off the shelves. Crashing noises were heard all around as the more breakable items shattered when they hit the floor. His father-in-law grunted while trying to find enough footing to reach the kitchen counter.

  Tobias, on the other hand, had no problem crossing over to Garin’s location. The mage’s approach was firm and steady, as if his legs were made from the earth itself. Once there, two firm hands were on the upper portions of Garin’s arms. The hearty squeeze from the mage made him look straight into Tobias’ eyes, a celadon light glowing deep within them.

  “Rein it back in,” the mage calmly ordered.

  Garin nodded and tried. But the power seemed to keep slipping through his fingers like grains of sand. Thankfully, the tremors weren’t getting worse—but they weren’t stopping either!

  “Magic is like water, lad,” explained Tobias, keeping his voice level. “It ebbs and flows like a pool inside of you, and losing control is akin to opening a flood gate. Somehow you must find a way to funnel it back to the source within.”

  Closing his eyes and taking a breath, he began the attempt again. Mattie had told him that magic was like mud, so Tobias’ description wasn’t too hard for him to grasp. Garin could almost see the angry swirling ball of energy within himself. From there, he found the rushing emerald flow that was leaking out of him.

  Now, how in the hell was he supposed to not only stop up the power but bring it back into himself as well?

  Come on, he thought angrily to himself. Somehow you’ve done this many times before, and all when you were barely awake!

  On a hunch, he started to gather it back to him as he would an unruly pile of paperwork instead of trying to pull on it like the reins of a bucking horse. Similar to the way rocks could redirect water, he managed to encourage the flow to bend around and rush towards him. Took some time, but finally the renegade magic found itself contained once again with the rest.

  “Well done, lad.”

  Between Tobias’ quiet praise and the fact the earth had stilled, Garin slowly opened his eyes. Then they widened when he
saw the swath of destruction that little quake had created! All the cupboards had swung open, littering the kitchen completely with their contents. The platter of meat and bread was precariously perched at the edge of a counter, somehow managing to survive by a thread. Various pieces of furniture had fallen over, including a bookcase in the living room. It was going to take at least the rest of the day to clean up the mess, and that was just what could be seen in his immediate vicinity.

  His glance fell on his father-in-law who had recovered enough to rescue the food from potential disaster. He hoped the sincerity was crystal clear when he said, “I am so sorry, sir.”

  Lord Gregory sighed in frustration and shook his head. “For all our sakes, I’m just going to chalk it up to you caring a great deal for my daughter.”

  “At least lunch survived,” chuckled Tobias as he began to head for a closet, presumably in search of the broom. “And Orla has done far worse damage than knock things over when she was younger.”

  That didn’t help Garin feel any less horrified by what had happened. He began helping by righting the chairs about the table, and Tobias was soon back with a dustpan and broom. Lord Gregory was heading for the bookcase when the back door swung open. Three youths were standing there, their faces gaping with surprise.

  “What in the hell happened?” asked Emory finally. “We felt that earthquake all the way to the stables!”

  “I happened,” admitted Garin sheepishly.

  “That’s what I thought,” groused Selina before turning around. “Come on, guys. There’s clean up out here that needs done before nightfall.”

  “What about food?” demanded Dougal.

  “Grab some and bring it with you!” snarked Selina.

  “I’d listen to what she says,” said Tobias as he grabbed the platter off the counter and offered its contents to the boys.

  Both Emory and Dougal took a good portion of meat and bread before running off to follow the girl. Since shades didn’t need to eat, Garin assumed his brother was taking the food to Selina. Dougal, however, quickly made his into a sandwich mid-flight, biting down on the makeshift meal before they were even past the back patio.

  Garin waited for them to be gone before he used his fists for support when he leaned against the table. This upheaval and the ensuing aftermath was a nightmare come true! Though grateful that Tobias had been here to help him regain control, Garin couldn’t help but hate himself that he had caused this at all.

  Unfortunately, his burden of guilt was about to grow ten times heavier.

  The front door was now the one to be suddenly swung open, and a wizened old man stormed in and began looking wildly about. “Is everyone okay in here?” he asked with fervent concern. “Because I think those tremors rumbled through the entirety of Crosshawk!”

  ***

  Garin took a deep breath, trying to remain as calm as possible while Leto explained his reasons for believing the quake had extended far beyond the Hawksthorne Estate. “I was in the middle of inspecting the cave when I was knocked off balance by the earth itself! Crawling towards the entrance, I transformed into an eagle and flew straight here. The rumblings could be heard for miles as rocks and trees shook where they stood.”

  “Damn,” murmured Lord Gregory with a furrowed brow. It took only a second for him to head straight for the back door. “Tobias, keep an eye on things here. I need to go out and check on my people.”

  The flinch couldn’t be helped when his father-in-law slammed the door shut as he exited, heading for the stables. “I should go with him.”

  “No, lad,” said Tobias sternly. “Not until we are sure that this slip in your control won’t happen again.”

  Leto raised an eyebrow and glared. “What caused it this time?”

  “This time?” growled Tobias. “This has happened before?”

  Thinking the anger was aimed at him, Garin sighed. “I had a few problems on the journey here.”

  The War Mage looked like he was ready to explode, his many tattoos beginning to glow a deep red. He marched forward with equally blazing eyes. But his momentum surprisingly didn’t bring him to Garin’s side but into Leto’s face!

  A sizzling noise was heard when Tobias poked a finger hard against the Draconian’s chest. “Weeks on the road, and you never bothered to explain the basics to someone carrying that much power!? That’s not just a little oversight but a grave dereliction of your duties, sir! This is on your head if anyone has gotten hurt!”

  “I did with him what I have always done with difficult students,” growled the Draconian as he inspected the burnt hole in his robes.

  Leto apparently wasn’t going to get off that easy because Tobias bellowed, “But did any of them have little to no experience with magic like he does? Damn it, man! Every student is different, and these two most of all!”

  The ancient being narrowed his eyes. “What is it about this place that makes everyone disrespect their elders in such a fashion?”

  Tobias barked out a derisive laugh. “Have you even read the histories you were a part of? Or bothered to realize that every brother walked away with a different story so none are sure about what had actually happened that day? Anyone with half a brain has learned not to take a damn thing in this world at face value, especially when it comes from you!”

  Leto growled. “Even after I had done so much for you.”

  “Maybe because of it,” countered Tobias. “An enemy helping an enemy? That doesn’t happen often in this world without some sticky strings attached.”

  The Draconian didn’t answer, but instead took a step back and appeared to be evaluating the mage. “You are Asger’s child,” he said with a smile.

  “And you are either an idiot or a madman,” grumbled the mage.

  “Perhaps I’m both,” answered Leto with amusement in his voice.

  “It doesn’t matter,” said Garin wearily. Between the sledgehammer that had been his wife’s distress and his own power show, he felt like sleeping for a week. “I just know that I learned more about how my magic behaves in one minute than I had in all those weeks by your side. Did you assume that I could see it like Mattie does?”

  Leto’s face fell. “No, I assumed the way you displayed your powers in the dungeon meant you had a handle on them.”

  Garin swiftly shook his head. “Why in the hell won’t you pay attention and truly listen to me about what happened? I’ve told you from the start that I had help that day!”

  And it had been a one-time offer from those who lived within the Dragon’s Heart. A chill ran down Garin’s spine as the unwanted memories flashed through his mind. What those gigantic dragons had done to him still haunted his nightmares. The reasons they gave him for the importance of such a horrific task. Entrusting him with the one thing he could never, ever tell Mattie. Leaving him with a severe admonition rumbling in the back of his brain:

  A price MUST be paid, Child of the Stone!

  “Did you hear us, lad?”

  Confused by Tobias’ question, Garin turned his head to see the mage staring at him with a furrowed brow. Leto too had an expression of concern etched on his face. It quickly became apparent that the very thought of the Dragon’s Heart had occupied his full attention, causing the world to disappear and move on without him.

  But before Garin could apologize, Selina violently threw open the back door and shouted one sentence that made him forget all else:

  “Hey! Has anyone seen Bran?”

  Chapter 30

  The ground lightly but steadily trembling beneath her knees shook Mattie out of the tortured hell caused by her grief. She lifted her head and found Firestorm’s nose right in front of her. The mare let out a quiet snort of disquiet, so the woman reached out and stroked her reassuringly. Once she had enough of the attention, Firestorm raised her head and turned her gaze towards the direction of the estate, her tail swishing in slight agitation.

  Mattie felt wretched once she realized the connection hadn’t been blocked quickly enough to save G
arin from receiving the initial brunt of her emotions. Damn it! The earth unnaturally moving was proof enough of that!

  As soon as the ground stilled, Mattie was on her feet. Temptation to just jump onto Firestorm’s back and leave this place was great. In fact, the woman had approached the horse’s left side with every intention of going through with that idea when a tentative spark of concern entered her mind. Isabelle was worried, probably due to her mother’s emotional state.

  Resting a gentle hand on Firestorm’s side, Mattie remembered that this wasn’t just about her anymore. No matter how torn up she felt, her daughter needed her to face this and deal with it. And after Garin’s obvious reaction to her grief, her husband needed her to go through with this as well.

  Firestorm turned her head towards Mattie and started to rub her nose gently against the woman’s face. After taking the time to reassure the life within her, Mattie’s hand rubbed the chestnut for the same reason. Then she took a deep breath and headed back to the house, praying she could handle whatever was to come.

  ***

  Pointing at the cane and hoping to learn something about her gift, Mattie said to Agnes, “My sword, Crepus, shows up with me sometimes.”

  The old woman just grunted agreeably. The two of them were walking through a hazy variation of the estate’s obstacle course, a green forest surrounding them. Mattie had to admit that she hadn’t been certain where Agnes’ ability to Soul Walk would land them in her brain. There were far worse things than her childhood home inside this place. Luckily, opening her mind’s defenses had been the hardest part of the whole process thus far.

  The moment Mattie had re-entered her great-grandmother’s home, she had told both women that they needed to get this over and done with. They nodded their understanding, no surprise at the demand. Belladonna had sat Mattie down across from Agnes, who gently took one of the younger woman’s hands. All she had said was a gentle, “Let me in.”, and the second Mattie’s guard dropped had the duo strolling along together within this mindscape.