Chapter 536: A Word Of Precaution
It was a lot darker in the hallway than it was in my bedroom. The hanging bulb on the ceiling had long fizzled out, and so stubbed toes tend to be a common hazard.
Lucky for me though, I got two pairs of eyes here to keep a watch out for my every step.
Sammy’s room was total silence walking past, and there was the same pitch-black everywhere under the slit of her door.
For a moment, I thought that there was no other waking soul in the house apart from the both of us. It only took till reaching the foot of the stairs before I had to perish the thought.
“My, I really should have seen this coming from you, shouldn’t I?” By the luminous orange glow of candlelight, a familiar wry smile was illuminated. “Perhaps I should have asked your sister to tie you down on your bed too... maybe then you’d finally get the message.”
It was like it never even happened. The shadow she cast behind her – standing straight and tall. The healthy glow of her skin, the luster in her eyes. Like two days ago was merely a distant nightmare... and if it weren’t for my aching bones and lack of breath, I could almost believe it so.
“You must have made a pretty convincing argument if you manage to rope Adalia into helping,” She continued on, her whispers somehow emphasizing her already playful tone. “Out for a midnight snack? I was pretty sure I made your dinner enough to fill you and then some. Ah well, if you give me a few minutes, I can be right up with seconds.”
.....
“No, it’s fine, I’m... I...” I panted, looking at her in the flicker of light, at the very peak of health. “I’m now, you were just as weak and feeble as I was back then. How come you’re better already, and I’m not?”
Mom smiled, and giggled, giving the impression that the answer was just that simple.
“Well, it’s simply because you aren’t me, dear,” She replied, resuming her climb up the rest of the steps, before coming onto equal footing with my eyes. “And really, why would you ever want to be me anyway, right?”
Candle in one hand, a glass of water in the other, all signs seem to point she was promptly going back to bed soon.
“So?” She peered at me closer. “Care to explain yourself?”
“Down...stairs...” Adalia, beside me, beat me to an answer. “He wants to... see him... for a while...”
“Ahh...” Mom’s eyes dawned with instant comprehension. “Eager to look over at your job well done? I get it, you did good, more than I could ever anticipate... and really, I’m very proud of you dear, so, so proud. And so is your father, trust me. He’s practically muttering your praises in his sleep.”
Somehow, with that look he gave me last, I really doubt that statement.
“Well, don’t let me keep you,” She began to shuffle away. “Have a good night, and hopefully, if you do know better, a good rest too, hm?”
Watching the gleam of candlelight gradually fade and dim as it followed her deeper into the darkness was... kind of a struggle.
I had to resist the urge to stop her in her tracks and go off on an entire tirade full of question marks, so many unknowns I’m dying for answers – but right now, they weren’t a priority right now.
Later, tomorrow... there’s always tomorrow.
I turned myself back to the dark descent, placed a firm grip onto the wooden railing, and lifted a foot forward.
“Oh, I almost forgot.”
The orange glow then stayed stagnant painting the walls of the hall, and there her smile was present in the middle of it all.
“Quella, Deimos, Rinna, Irae, Johnt, and Fel,” Mom spoke, her voice almost tumultuous in the deathly quiet. “Remember those names, at least two out of six, try your best not to forget them either if you could.”
Even as she said it, whatever the hell she just spouted had already flew out the other ear, and silently, I valiantly tried to pull them back in, as I slowly asked, “Are those names important?”
What followed was a silent stare, and in that silence, I could hear the answer to my question.
“Those are the names I gave to your half-siblings, I never told you, did I?” She said, maintaining a casual air. “As for whether they’re important... well, I dearly hope they won’t ever be at all.”
The way she said it, I could feel the unease stirring violently inside me. The dark, dreary ambiance certainty didn’t help matters.
“Adalia hid your activities, you masked your magic with that prayer, you chose to extract the parasite the safest, hazardous way you knew how...” I swallowed back down a swelling lump in my throat. “You took every precaution there was...”
Mom shook her head, movement that was greatly exaggerated by her shadow on both walls.
“I told you, didn’t I?” She said. “The only true precaution is for me to never have done anything at all.”
“They’re that powerful?” I raised my brows. “More than you?
I already knew the answer to that. She’s told me before, way back when in a conversation I’d never in my life forget. But now I was hoping I misremembered, that she’d say something completely different from before.
But she didn’t.
“Individually, no they aren’t. But as one, well,” She paused. “I rather it not be put to the test, frankly.”
I narrowed my lips. “So they’re really coming here, then?”
“Coming...” Mom mused, widening her smile. “Hm, most probably not. As you said, the precautions I took... it should be more than enough to not be worried about the prospect. It’s a vast void of nothingness where they linger, I wouldn’t be too concerned.”
My God. The way she was building it up, you’d think the world was about to end any moment now or something. Seriously, I could feel the adrenaline pumping.
“Then what is... why are you telling me this for? So freaky...” I said, blowing out a deep breath of tension. “You trying to scare me into not doing something like this again?”
“Of course not, dear. I just thought I should mention it, that’s all,” Mom said, before turning away again, whisking away the light and her smile. “Call it a precaution.”
Yeah, she’s just scaring me, alright. Old guerilla parenting tactic, I’m all too familiar with it.
But she didn’t have to worry.
Something like this, if it does happen again, I’ll be sure to resolve it with my own two hands.
Without pleading, without bargaining.
After all, can’t always rely on your parents to do everything for you. That’s what I thought when I first left for the city, and when it came to magic, I hold the same sentiment.
Big scary world out there, magic or no magic. Gotta be able to stand on my own two feet, so that when the next time does come... I wouldn’t feel that guilt of not having done enough at all, that I haven’t been proven enough.
And as a result, there wouldn’t be a next time at all.
“Oh, Harry’s still awake downstairs by the way,” came a final echo from deep down the hall, speaking out once more before being stifled by a resounding slam. “I guess he wishes to thank his hero personally.”
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