Ryan was at the edge of the woods, not even hiding from me. He looked like shit, and guilt filled his eyes, and I had a feeling that he was the one that killed my dad for whatever reason.
I shook my head when he opened his mouth to say something, and he closed it. I kept silent and walked over to him, not ready to speak.
He closed his mouth and nodded but took my hand when I offered it to him. He walked beside me, trying to come up with something but failing. Finally, he sighed and cleared his throat. "I'm ssssssorry," he whispered. "I-"
"Let's get into the building before you tell me what had happened," I said, interrupting him. I glanced at him, my heart heavy. "I won't hurt you if that's what you're worried about."
Ryan half smirked and shrugged. "I know," he replied. "You care about SSSSSShuman, which isssssss why you won't kill me."
I nodded and licked my lips. A question entered my mind, and I prayed that they, whoever else that was on my side, was safe. I also needed to figure out what had happened to his "master," considering I had removed him from his host.
"We'll talk about what happened to him after we enter the dojo," Ryan said, and I had a feeling he knew where my question was going to go. "That issss what I wanted to disssssscusss with you."
I nodded and stayed silent, relieved.
Ryan didn't say another word while we walked the rest of the way to the dojo. He watched me open the door and walked in, and I followed him down to the basement. "Issss your Masssster living here?" he asked. "I don't want to sssssstartle him."
"He isn't here," I said. "He decided to live near my house so that he can keep an eye on me."
Ryan nodded and took a seat. He moved a hand through his hair and watched me sit down. "Ssssso," he said. He cleared his throat and licked his lips. "I want to sssssay that I had killed your father."
I leaned back in my seat and made sure that my face was blank. I stayed silent, waiting for him to elaborate, wondering if he would tell me what had happened.
He sighed and moved a hand through his hair. "He knew," he said and looked at me. "He knew that I wassss helping you."
My eyes grew wide, and I sat up, straighter in my seat. My heart pounded in my chest, and a thought occurred to me about Shuman.
"SSSSSSSShuman issssss ssssssafe. He only had ssssssssussssssspicionsssss about me," Ryan said.
"Did he see the mark?"
"He sssssssenssssssed it." He rubbed his hand, and I had a feeling that the Master knew about the cream and me using it on him.
"He sensed the Wister magic; didn't he?" I asked, and Ryan nodded. "Did he force you to do it?"
"He did," Ryan confirmed. He sighed and moved a hand through his hair. "When you did that... ssssspell, it sssssssstopped it." He went silent and didn't look at me.
"But you had to do it anyway."
He nodded. "Your father wasssssss the one that had initiated it. He knew ssssssomehow that I had to kill him. I didn't want to know how much damage it would cossssssst you." He looked up, his eyes filled with grief and sadness before he looked down. "I didn't know how fassssssst you'd bounce back from thisssssss."
I shrugged and grimaced. "I don't even think I am back 110% yet," I said, my voice cracking. I cleared my throat. "However, I know that I will be fine."
Ryan nodded and cleared his throat. "I am ssssssorry, Martha," he said and looked at me. "For everything."
I shook my head. "Don't be," I said. I moved a hand through my hair and sighed. "At least you are alive, ya?" I asked, and he hesitated but nodded. "I still have connections with Snakestons, even if they aren't part of the three main ones that I serve." I smirked tiredly at him.
Ryan rolled his eyes, and a small smile appeared on his face. "Yessss," he mused. "It meansssss that you won't become a ssssssnake."
"But I still have training to complete," I said and leaned back in my seat. "However, I think this time it will help me defeat him once and for all."
"What do you have to do?" Ryan asked.
I shrugged. "Don't know," I replied. I rubbed my hand over my bracelet, knowing that the first thing I had to do was fill them up. "But, I am going to find out and do it."
Ryan nodded. "With your permisssssssion, I would like to help out on your quesssssst any way possssible."
Relief filled my body, and I nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
***
I looked through Marcus's journal around ten in the morning the next day, chewing on a pencil. My eyes skimmed through his writings, wondering if there was anything that I missed, wondering if anything in this journal would help me complete the rest of my training.
I sighed and moved a hand through my hair, letting the pencil drop onto my lap. "Gods, this is hard," I grumbled and closed the book again. "What else do I need to learn? What do the gems mean?"
I looked at my bracelet and moved a finger across one of the gems, letting my mind wander. I knew that the book had some importance to it, and I had a feeling I could use the journal to help me with my quest.
But what could it mean?
I sighed and moved a hand through my hair, thinking of the ones that I needed to learn.
Knowledge...
Would me writing down my past help? Could it show me something that I didn't know something that was hidden?
Like Ava said, there had been some weird occurrences that happened while I was growing up.
Could they be linked to me being the Almair and True One? Could they help me with something that no one else could help?
I sighed and brushed my hand over the cover before I closed my eyes.
Taking a deep breath, I focused on going to Hermes, something I hadn't done since I found out that I was of Wister blood.
I didn't know much, but I knew that he would help me find the answers to my questions, especially about this.
He was my only hope.