Chapter 14 #3
She snorts with derision, then her perfectly pink jailbait lips curl into a smile, amused at some private joke in her head. “Very well. I can still help you. But since I am not quite as noble as my darling son, you’ll forgive me if I demand a little something in return.”
And that right there would be the sound of the other shoe dropping.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing huge. Just an answer to a single question. You ask the Avatar, and then tell me what he says.”
I glance up at Collin, who looks wary, but isn’t shaking his head this time.
“And if I decide not to give you that answer?” I ask.
“Then I’ll decide not to give you mine.” There’s a glimmer in her eye.
“But I promise you that I actually do know how to get you what you want here. And, if you have any doubts about what I’m asking for, I’m sure the Avatar will be able to assure you that you’d be getting the better part of the exchange. ”
She’s guaranteed up to something. But that doesn’t mean she won’t help. History shows that she does seem to want me to stay alive, if only so she can keep torturing me over breakfast food. And I’m pretty sure I know her tics well enough to tell if she’s lying.
Collin shrugs. It’s up to me, apparently.
“All right, Mom. Shoot.”
She gazes at where I’ve been looking at Collin’s face to address him directly.
She’s off by an inch or two, so I know she can’t see him, but still, her near-accuracy is eerie.
“Avatar, I used to own a very special tiara with blue and white gems. I want you to tell me who has that now, and where they are keeping it.”
Huh. Okay. This is the first I’ve ever heard about any tiara.
For all I know, it’s as powerful an artifact as the watch.
But all she wants to know is where it is.
She’s not even asking how to get it. I raise my eyebrows at Collin, leaving it up to him whether he thinks he should share the information.
He’s clearly not happy, but he says, “Your mother’s tiara is in the possession of the aswang, Maharlika. When she is not wearing it, she keeps it in a silver box under the mattress of her human servant, Ligaya.”
I repeat his response and my mother nods, very pleased.
“That’s a good answer, Avatar. Thank you.
” She returns her gaze to me. “And now, before I give my own answer, I have one more question, but this one’s for you, my son.
When you made your pact with the elf, what exactly did he ask you to get him? ”
“The watch. He said it would be in that house on Lake Street.”
“And you’re sure he never once mentioned the Avatar of Knowledge.”
My eyes widen, realizing. “No. He didn’t. He didn’t want me to know what it was.” I lean in, suddenly energized. “So, you’re saying if I get the spirit free, then I can just give him the watch, and we’re done?”
“Yes, baby boy. If you do exactly what you seem hell-bent on doing anyway, you can just hand over the empty cage, and the elf will have no more claim on you.”
I look up at Collin for confirmation. He’s nodding, as impressed with her as I am. “I, eh, can’t ask questions about my freedom, so it didn’t cross my mind to even think about that possibility. But she’s not wrong.”
I turn back to my mother. “Right. Okay. But I don’t actually know how to do that, Mom. You promised me a real answer that would get me out from under the Obligation.”
“I did,” she says. “And I pay my debts. Those markings on the outside of the watch are Celtic, which means it was created with druidic magic—and I just so happen to know that the most powerful druid in North America lives right here in the Bay Area, and she owes me a favor. Several favors, actually. If anyone can tell you how to free your spirit, it will be her.” She glides over to a small pad of paper and pen next to the SubZero refrigerator and begins writing.
“This is her address. I will let her know to expect you shortly.”
Mom hands me the paper, and Collin glances over my shoulder at it. Flicking his eyes to the right and away, he says, “It’s sound. There is a druid of some renown who lives at that address in Antioch. And, for what it’s worth… she’s dead right about the kind of magic that’s trapped me.”
So Mom just gave me a legitimate, solid lead.
It’s not even 8:00 a.m. yet and with BART, I should be able to get there and back before I’m supposed to meet Rafa.
It will mean getting zero sleep, but if it can help me learn how to free both Collin from the watch and me of my Obligation, then I’m down for it.
“You’re actually helping me,” I say, fixing her with what I hope is a piercing look. “Why?”
She glares back, aggrieved, and repeats a familiar refrain. “Darling, I know you have willfully chosen not to believe it, but everything I’ve done for the last twenty-two years, I’ve done for you!”
God. It’s the same old bullshit, and I’m just so sick of it. I shake my head, unable to hide my disappointment. I cross my arms and let us sit in silence for two full beats, just staring at each other.
She looks away first. Then her face softens, suddenly tired. It makes her look older somehow. “I might not have put it in words, Alvin… but you are my son, and I do love you.” She purses her lips, meets my eyes, and her voice falls to a whisper, edged with sadness. “Very much.”
I suck in a breath, truly surprised. She’s never said anything like that to me before. What I would have done to have heard that growing up! Of course, I don’t dare trust it now, but there’s still part of me that wants to. And she has to know that.
I scan her face for the usual signs of deception, but bizarrely, she actually looks sincere. Like it pains her to admit it. And out of all the terrible and scary things that woman has said to me over the years, nothing has made her feel more dangerous.