“To the river where you were born,” he said simply. “Could you call your mother here? I want to take her with me.”
Without hesitation, I released the lockdown I had on my mother’s soul, and relief hit me as her thoughts flooded into my mind again.Two steps right. Two steps left. Four flour cups. Two raw eggs.
Was she baking? There was no reason for her to be baking, considering the platter made the food in Topia. Maybe she was remembering a recipe or something … not that I’d ever seen her cook.
“Donald!” I called out loud while also mentally contacting her. “Can you come to me?”
There was a pop and she appeared right before us, her blank face staring at me. “Yes, Sacred One?”
It took her about half a click to turn to him, even though Jakan—who was behind her—didn’t move or make a noise. Somehow, she knew he was there. He took a step forward, and her face crumpled. I’d never seen her look like that before, not even when she was more alive than now.
“Ja-akan,” she stuttered, and for a moment she sounded like her old self. The way she did sometimes in my head.
Then the brief emotion that had filled her face disappeared, and she shook her head, turning back to me. “What did you need, Sacred One?”
I tried to clear my throat, taking more than one attempt to get my words out. “I—I need you to go with Jakan and help him in whatever way he requires.”
I had to trust that my father wouldn’t overstep with Donald, that until I figured out how to return her free will to her, he would treat her with respect. I knew he loved her. They were soul-bonded, and I completely believed that she would be safe with him.
Donald nodded, and a spark lit her eyes again as she turned to Jakan. “Ready to serve you, Sacred One.”
I thought I caught a shimmery reflectiveness in his eyes, but when he shifted his face toward me a click later, there was no evidence of it. “We’ll need to time it exactly right,” he said in a husky voice. He then handed Coen a note. “This is the coordinated time. Do you have a timepiece?”
Coen nodded and tucked the paper into his pocket. “Yes, I will make sure we stay on schedule.”
Jakan nodded. “Okay, I will leave now. I need time to examine my location. Stay alert at all times. There will be some sort of energy catchment you’ll have to destroy. Do not underestimate the power holding these catchments. Staviti has had them running for hundreds of life-cycles.”
I almost wanted to stop them from leaving, because for the first time in my life, it felt like I had parents. One a creation god that I knew nothing about, and the other … a server who was almost completely brainwashed, which was still an actual improvement on my previous situation.
But we had to defeat Staviti, and the only way to do that was to weaken him. So … I had no choice but to let them go.
I hugged Donald. I don’t know why I did it because I’d rarely ever hugged her, even as a small child. When I released her, she blinked at me. “Did you stop me from falling, Sacred One? Or was there a creeper on my back?”
I laughed. “It was a hug, Donald. A goodbye hug.”
She blinked even more rapidly, tilting her head to the side, the waxiness of her face prominent. “Should I always hug you goodbye? Should I be hugging everyone goodbye?”
She started to move toward Rome, but he placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. “Willa hugs you because she loves you,” he told her. “You don’t hug anyone else.”
I wanted to rub my hand over my forehead to ease the tension headache plaguing me—sometimes dealing with my mother was harder than herding a bunch of mudhogs. I focussed on Jakan. “Keep her safe,” I told him.
He nodded. “You stay safe too. Staviti will come for us the moment his power is cut off. Be prepared.”
Jakan then reached out for Donald, and just when he was about to disappear, I shouted. “Wait!”
He paused, and I hurried the few steps to throw my arms around him. I’d never hugged my father before, and this might be the only chance I ever got. We had no idea what would happen next. “I’m really glad we met,” I said as I pulled back, sniffling.
His eyes scorched into me, the bluest of blues. “Stay safe,” he commanded again, and while it looked like he wanted to say more, he just reached for Donald’s hand, and then they both disappeared into a pocket.
I stared after him.
“Come on, Will, we need to get to our location.” Coen’s words brought my focus back.
“Where are your parents?” I asked, realising that I’d called for them, but they hadn’t appeared yet.
“I saw Father go past while we were … on the ground,” Yael told me. “He made his way to Terrance’s house. Mother must be meeting him later.”
Adeline was still a mystery to me. Where she disappeared to … what she did with her spare time. But I was sure Abil wouldn’t be calmly strolling here if something serious was going on with her, so she must be fine.
