“A question. What do you want out of all of this?” he asked, a mask of sadness to his voice.
“To make sure people like you can never hurt people like me again.”
“That simple is it?” Tomin stepped towards me, loosing a long breath out of his nose. “Because you’ve had the opportunity to lift my curse when Bahmet possessed you, and you refused. I could’ve been dead now, my life completed. Butyoudecided to keep me cursed…youdecided to keep me alive. Rather self-sabotaging if you ask me.”
“I would never give you what you want. Not then, not now.”
“Not even to save witch-kind that you’ve suddenly becomesoinvested in?”
I nodded, jaw muscles tight with tension. “You don’t deserve the peace you seek. Killing you would turn you into a martyr that would inspire more twisted men and women to follow in yourfootsteps. Killing you would not put an end to the hate, but spark the kindling into an inferno.”
Tomin’s softer expression cracked. As I had guessed, it was all a show. “Well done, my son. I guess you aren’t as stupid as I had you down for.”
“Thanks. As you said, we share blood after all,” I replied, turning on my heel and facing the towering pyres that had killed so many, like Eleanor Letcombe. A woman whose name turned my father into something uncontrolled and emotional—two words that had never described him until now.
“And Bahmet, what of the demon?” Tomin continued. “I trust you want to win this again, to actually make something of yourself with the power that Bahmet can bestow you. First time was a waste, second will be a…”
I glanced over my shoulder, bubbling with unspoken thoughts. “This is the first time in my life that you have showed an ounce of interest in my wants and wishes. Why start now?”
“Because my time is limited.”
I laughed at that. “You actually think you’ll get what you want out of this, don’t you?”
Tomin lifted his hands up to his sides. I first thought it was in some shrugged gesture, until I realised he was pointing to a strange mound of earth that was placed perfectly between two opposing gravestones. “Yes, my son. I do believe I will.”
The universe shifted on its axis.
Tomin dropped suddenly to his knees atop the mound of dirt, a broken sob cracking out from the deepest and darkest part of his soul. Then, with the fever of a man possessed, he started to dig. Hands clawing at the upturned soil that made up the unmarked grave.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
He ignored me.
Mud churned up, spraying behind my dad. The more he dug into the earth, the deeper his sobs became. They reached a crescendo when he finally found what he was looking for, buried in the ground.
Tomin rocked back on his heels, fascinated by the soil-caked object in his hands. His sobs became laughter as he turned around, dirt spread across his cheeks where he’d dried his own tears, and showed me what he’d found.
“Thisis our way out,” Tomin said, holding up a small box of matches. “Do you see what we need to do? Do you understand what Bahmet is making us do to survive another trial?”
I looked between my grief-stricken father and the box of matches in his hands. Confusion riled through me, as did the disgust at seeing honest emotion like sadness on the face of a man who was made up of stone and hate. “I see a pathetic excuse of a man covered in dirt.”
“Show some respect, Arwyn. We are in the presence of the dead,” Tomin whispered, gazing back to the unmarked grave. “There was no body to properly bury her. Just the ash collected up. I remember it clear as day. The townsfolk were frightened… worried thatherashes carried curses, hexes and sickness. I did them a service and gathered it up with my bare hands, found a place in our back garden, and laid her to rest. Of course, if I’d known what she’d done to me at the time, I would never have shown the bitch such respect…”
It was like he was speaking in riddles, his words making little sense without context.
“Who are you talking about?” I asked, stepping cautiously towards him.
“The witch who cursed me. The woman I loved enough to save her from the clutches of evil. My everything, my damnation. My regret.”
“Who!” I was out of patience, feeling like I was getting blood from a stone.
My dad turned to face me again, clutching the box of matches to his chest like it was a child he had so much love for. It was certainly more kindness than he’d ever shown me. “Haven’t you worked it out yet?”
Apparently my silence was enough of an answer.
“The witch who cursed me,” Tomin said, “the first and last woman I loved until I met your mother.”
I held my breath as the curtain to my dad’s greatest secret was drawn back.
