Chapter 27
Killian
I don’t like this one bit,” Mrs. Southwick announced. She stood in the main room of her house with her arms crossed and her lips pursed in a straight line.
Elyse and Sera had returned the day before, Zubir’s presence among them notably lacking.
Elyse hadn’t said a word to the group about it.
She’d only shook her head when they’d asked if he would be joining them.
Her expression had spoken the frustration she wouldn’t voice—frustration not with the odd little hermit, but with herself for failing to recruit his help.
She still hadn’t told them why Zubir would be so helpful to them, though Manny had asked a dozen times. Killian was curious, of course, but he respected Elyse’s choice to protect her friend’s secret. It was time to move forward with their plans, though, even without Zubir.
Killian slung his travel sack over his shoulder and gave his mother a stern look. “I love you, and your dissonance is noted. But it doesn’t change anything.”
“It’s not so bad, Mrs. S,” Manny chimed in.
He stood beside Sera, who sat atop a chest filled with books on demons.
Next to her was another chest filled with weapons, and next to that was a third chest stuffed with potion ingredients.
Each of them had packed another rucksack with whatever they might need for the next few weeks.
“I don’t like it,” Mrs. Southwick repeated, shaking her head.
“You’ll be back in Sevhella in five minutes, Mum,” Killian sighed.
“Yes, that’s the part that’s disconcerting,” she quipped back. “Across the continent and back in five minutes?” She muttered something under her breath that sounded like a prayer.
Killian bit his tongue and turned to assess the others. “Is this everything?” he asked, nodding toward their haul.
“Should be,” Elyse said at the same time Manny answered, “That’s all of it.”
Sera said nothing as she idly flipped a vial of blue potion between her fingers.
Killian would have thought she’d be more excited.
The Sammerhan Games were being held in Otsuk this year, the kingdom where Sera’s parents resided.
The Tan’s estate was less than an hour away from Quinar, the city where the tournament would take place, so they would be staying with her parents for the weeks leading up to the Games.
Elyse strode to Sera and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you ready to see your family?” she asked, excitement tinging her voice.
Sera looked up, her vacant eyes shifting into understanding. A tentative smile blossomed across her lips before spreading into a genuine grin, and she nodded and stood.
They formed a chain, holding on to each other’s wrists while Killian, Manny, and Elyse each grasped the handle of one of the chests as well. Mrs. Southwick gripped Killian’s bicep so hard, he figured he’d have a bruise tomorrow, but he didn’t protest.
“It’s like jumping into a lake,” Killian assured her. “It’s nothing.”
Mrs. Southwick was too busy hyperventilating to heed his consolation.
“Okay then,” Sera said. With a wistful look at the potion, she flung it to the floor.
Reality evaded Killian as the room vanished. Darkness and nothingness pressed in around him, squeezing and pulling until it ceased altogether.
No sooner had his feet landed back on solid ground than something whacked him across the shoulder.
“Like jumping in a lake!” His mother’s voice was shrill in his ear. He clutched the spot where she’d smacked him and prepared for another hit, but his mother was doubled over with her hands on her knees, panting hard.
“Sorry, Mum,” he mumbled as he placed a hand on her back. “I couldn’t exactly tell you that it’s like—”
“Like being shoved into a casket that’s three sizes too small?” she snapped at him.
“Yeah, that,” he answered with a grimace.
“Welcome!” called a tittering female voice. Heels clacked against the tile floor as a tall woman with short black hair gracefully hurried toward them. She had the same narrow eyes and heart-shaped face as Sera.
“Mamay!” Sera squealed and bounded toward her mother. She closed her eyes as they embraced one another.
“It’s so good to see you,” the woman sang as she pulled back to take her daughter in. She held Sera’s arms and gave her a loving yet assessing look, the kind only a mother could pull off. Then her gaze landed on Mrs. Southwick, who was now fanning herself with her hand.
Sera’s mother frowned. “Oh, no. Doesn’t take well to transportation?”
“First time,” Killian answered with a wince.
Sera’s mother turned toward a servant who stood at the edge of the room. “Bring her a lemon water, please,” she said in a soft but commanding voice. The servant nodded and exited down the hall.
They’d landed in what appeared to be a large foyer with a set of grand double doors to their backs. The high-ceilinged room was wide but crowded with six people and all their luggage. It felt even tighter as a shorter, stocky man in a tailored suit made his way into the space.
“My little iris!” the man cried as he opened his arms wide. Sera rushed in to fill the space, letting him squeeze her tight.
Something in Killian’s chest tightened to see Sera reunited with her family—something like joy and contentment tainted by envy.
The servant returned with the lemon water and wended her way through people and trunks to hand it to Mrs. Southwick.
“Thank you, honey,” his mother said as she took the glass.
“Papa. Mamay,” Sera started. She was now grinning, and some of that cheer she’d been missing was back in her eyes. “I want you to meet Manny.”
Manny leapt forward and extended his hand in greeting, which Sera’s father shook with vitality.
“We’re pleased to meet you, son,” her father greeted him, a genuine smile on his face. His black hair was pulled back and tied with a leather band at the nape of his neck.”
“Likewise,” Manny said, then quickly added, “Consul Tan.”
Sera’s father chucked. “Please, call me Kal.”
“Yes sir—Kal,” Manny amended.
Sera’s mother stepped in to give Manny a hug. “And you can call me Dah,” she introduced herself. She turned to face the others. “You must be Elyse and Killian.” She smiled broadly at them, her eyes crinkling into tiny lines. “And Killian’s mother, I presume.”
They exchanged pleasantries along with handshakes and hugs, all while trying not to trip over the trunks still scattered across the floor.
“We’ll take care of your things,” Kal assured them. “Supper is almost ready if you’ll follow me to the dining room.”
“We have plenty of food if you’d like to join us,” Dah offered Mrs. Southwick as the others followed Kal down the hallway.
Mrs. Southwick smiled, shaking her head. “That’s very kind of you, but I ought to get back before I lose my nerve. I only came here so I would be able to transport here again, if needed.” To herself, she muttered, “Gods, I hope it’s not needed.”
Killian tried not to smirk. “I’ll see you back, Mum,” he said, taking her by the hand. “I’ll be back soon, Dah. Thank you for your hospitality.”
Dah nodded and disappeared down the hallway.
Killian peered down at his mother. “Ready?”
“No,” she grumbled.
“Good,” Killian said, and threw a transportation potion down at the floor without any warning.
A split second later, his mother was screaming at him. “Don’t do that!” she hollered as she clasped a hand to her chest. “Killian, you are the devil’s child.”
Killian gave a hearty laugh. They’d landed outside the palace gates, and two guards bearing halberds stared at them with inquisitive expressions.
“No, Mum, I’m your child,” he pointed out.
Mrs. Southwick only glared at him as she continued to pant.
“Hey, did you notice that—” Killian began.
“That Manny and Kal share the same height, build, and hairstyle?” his mother finished for him. Still breathing hard, she smirked up at him. “Yes, I noticed.”
Killian’s heart might have exploded right there. He would never understand how his mother always seemed to read his mind, to say all the right things, but he would appreciate it to his last breath.
“Take care of yourself,” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“Me?” she asked with some incredulity. “I’m not the one going off to fight a demon-man.”
“Seriously. Don’t go outside the palace walls, and keep your wits about you.” Killian pulled a few vials of transportation potion from his pocket and slid them into his mother’s hands. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “You just worry about getting back to me in one piece. No more bargains with Death.”
“Yes, Mum,” Killian promised, and pulled her in for a hug.
“I love you, Killy Bean,” his mother murmured against his chest.
“I love you, too.”
They embraced for a long moment, both reluctant to let go. Finally, his mother patted him on the back and said, “Go back and enjoy that dinner.”
Killian didn’t know why his eyes were welling as he pulled away. He would see his mother again, he was sure. So why was it so difficult to leave her?
“Elyse needs you more than I do right now,” she urged him.
Killian nodded and took a deep breath. His mother was right. She would be fine. “I’ll see you soon enough,” he said as he pulled out one last transportation vial.
Before he disappeared into a wave of blue smoke, he heard his mother greeting the guards by name and promising to save them a plate of dinner for after their shift.