The Daughter of Lilith | A Story of Love and Power in the Shadows

Part 4

Leo found Leanne was standing by the window, watching the entire interaction. Her shoulders were taunt, and her forehead was creased. 

His mother didn't move from the last time he saw her. Leo watched him stand over and and gaze at her. The minister looked at her in pity and concern. 

"How long has she been ill?" The minister asked. 

Leo shifted, looking around, but his father hadn't followed them. "Nearly a month." 

"Did you get a physician?" 

Leo frowned and shook his head. "No." 

He half expected Gilroy to ask why. But the minister nodded as if he understood, and grabbed his mother's hand. He brought out the Holy Book and said, "Let us pray. Dear Lord in heaven..." 

Leo clasped his hands and bowed his head in respect, but didn't take his eyes off the minister. Gilroy recited a few prayers of healing then prayed over the house and their family. Leanne joined them for brief minute, then with a sour expression, escaped as soon as he was done. 

"She will be fine," Gilroy responded after the prayers. "I heard the Lord clearly." 

Leo's eyebrows shot up. If he didn't know better he would've scoffed. He didn't hear anything. How did God speak to the minister? 

As if he heard his disbelief the minister answered, "The Lord speaks to the heart. Not the ears, son. Just listen." 

Leanne met them and offered Gilroy some left over supper, but the minister denied the offer. "I must not," he responded. Leo offered curt pleasantries before he left. 

"I hope to see you next week," he said to Leo, shaking his hand. Leo exchanged looks with Leanne. It didn't sound like a question. Leo assured they would and he left shortly after. 

Leo found Leanne sitting next to their mother. She was stroking her hand gingerly, where the minister had grabbed. 

"Do you believe him? Will she be well again?" Leanne asked. Silence held over the two siblings. Leanne's shoulders slumped and Leo's heart broke, unable to tell her the truth. 

"I don't know," Leo finally said, turning away from them.

Cormac didn't return until after dark. A thin layer of sweat covered his body as he entered his home. From the entrance, he heard the even breathing of his two children and the raspy breath of his wife. 

His heart broke at the sound of her uneven breathing. He entered their room, and stood over his wife. He kneeled beside her and pressed his forehead to hers. 

This was all his fault. 

Cormac met Margery when he immigrated to England. His mother was Irish with bright red hair and his father was English with his dark hair. He was lucky enough he inherited his father's appearance. 

Growing up, he lived in a small shack where he spent his time farming and raising animals.

He was awestruck by her. By the time she hit marriageable age she was beautiful. She had an angelic face, and bright eyes. Upon meeting her, he knew she was the one for him. Without her, he would never be able to quench his thirst. But with her, he was full.

They made a handsome couple. He was five years older than Margery, and from the first encounter they knew they wanted to be together. However, he asked for her hand in marriage when they found out they were pregnant with their first child. The news sent a terrible shock to both their families and they were forced to married the next few weeks.

Despite the accident, they were happily married in his parent's old cottage. 

But fate never sided with Cormac. Before long she miscarried, and believed it a curse from God. They miscarried three more times. 

She settled into a depression. She refused to eat or sleep. But when she became pregnant with Leo, her life turned upside down. Cormac thought everything was turning upside down. Then Margery's parents died, where she settled in her moods again.

Cormac thought a change in place was in order, so they left and moved to Oakhaven. She was never happy here, he knew. The years of hard labor and the birth of their two children put a toll on her. 

First she lost her beauty then her spirit. Soon after, her life tumbled into a dark abyss. He tried to save her, but he couldn't. 

A tear fell down his cheek. He was so full with her, but she was empty with him. And for that he would never forgive himself for. 

He couldn't sleep with her. He couldn't allow himself to. Cormac grabbed a small blanket and went to his shed to sleep for the night, like he'd done every night since she fell ill. 

He lit his lantern and searched under his pallet looking for his rosary. Growing up, his Irish mother was a devout catholic, however his father was protestant. There had been several arguments sprout over which denomination to follow. But the arguments ceased when violence spread across England against catholics. 

Now, Cormac clung to his mother's denomination- feeling closer to the Lord in doing so. But he kept it to himself. He knew if his children would follow him, they all would pay for it in due time. 

So, he let Margery take them to the town church every Sunday. But when she was ill, he couldn't bring himself to step foot in that church. Especially the community church members would betray him in a second. 

His search became franic when he wasn't able to locate the rosary. He silently cursed, and tore the pallet apart, then searched under the benches then on his tool table. 

It was gone. 

Finally, Cormac sat down and tucked his head between his legs. Panic filled his chest. If anyone found it in his things, their family would pay for his actions. 

He thought about his brother and his wife who had also followed his mother's religion. His brother had been arrested and hanged for a crime he didn't commit and the wife had died in a cell before her sentencing.

He thought about the minister when he came. Maybe him? No, he didn't come to the shed. Leo? he believed his son would follow talk to him about it. Leanne? 

He didn't know. And that's what scared him. If he was questioned about it... 

Cormac would tell the truth. But in doing so, he'd have to protect his family at all costs. All before the truth was found out and something terrible happened to him or his family. 

With that resolution in mind, his panic melted into determination as a plan formed in his mind.