The Last Harmon [Complete]

Chapter 27

I stay with Curtis until nightfall. I watched him read book after book, absorbing the information with smiles or scowls. I was too scared to leave the library; I was afraid of facing anyone that I could potentially hurt. Nothing has happened since he came close to me and even though that might mean the delusions have stopped, I didn't want to risk it. Now I must leave.

"It's almost eleven," Curtis says quietly. "Your curfew. You better go before Sam comes looking for you."

"Right." I stand from the armchair I've been resting in for the last few hours. "But what if-"

"They've stopped," he says. "You would have had one by now if not."

"Right," I repeat, walking towards the door. I turn around at the last moment. "Thank you, Curtis. For what you did."

He smiles at me over his large book. "Thank you for not telling Sam about the amulet."

"No problem. Your secret's safe with me."

"Good night, Theresa."

"Good night," I say.

I open the door and leave the library. It's dark and it's quiet. As I duck under the archway to enter the recovery chamber, I'm hit with the familiar aroma of boiled vegetables and roast chicken. Peculiar, because that's what my mother. . . my mother. . . used to. . .

"Where is she?"

"She's upstairs."

The room is brighter, livelier, filled with dimming light from a nearby window. I stand in the kitchen of my home, my hand reaching out for the edge of the door to keep from falling. My mother stands at the stove, stirring her vegetables, as a man I do not recognize leans backwards against the counter adjacent to her. He is handsome with silver hair, dark stubble and a towering build that's almost intimidating. He wears a black shirt with dark jeans, and hides a chain buried beneath his collar.

"We can't keep doing this," he says. "It isn't fair."

"It wouldn't be fair if everyone found out and you and I were killed either. At least this way we still get to be in her life," my mother says. "The Slayers are unpredictable. They'll kill her without a second thought."

Are they talking about me? It's unclear. Why would the Slayers kill me?

"So would Vienna," he says. "But yet you parade her in front of her."

My mother shrugs. "The witch in her is more dominant."

"You and I both know she is more than just a witch," he hisses. "If Vienna or Amara discover what she is then she will never be safe. Not with me and not with you. But if I talk to the next Malachi, explain to him about what Theresa's power is, maybe-"

"The next Malachi is a child himself. He's already been brainwashed to hate witches just like the rest of them. They'd never protect her. We're on our own."

"Then we give her away to a mortal family to raise. As Theresa's parents, we're responsible for her safety, even if it breaks us."

They are talking about me. My lips tremble as I realise who the man is. Who he was. I stagger out the word "Dad" and I grip the doorway a little tighter.

My mother's fist bangs against the counter. I gasp.

"It is the only choice we have," he says.

"No," my mother hisses. "They will find her. She is safest with me; I am her mother and I will protect her. She cannot be separated from her magic or her coven, like myself, her loyalties must be with them."