Liam was running through the woods again. The familiar scene didn’t startle him this time. Arthur’s voice rang out in his head, If you have more of those dreams, pay attention, they can teach you things. Liam did his best to sync himself with the body he was in. The way she ran through the woods, agile and swift, he was in Cheryl’s body again, and this was the day of her death. He didn’t want to experience death for the second time this week but there was a lot he could learn from the things that happened on this day. 

As she expertly navigated the forest, Liam focused his attention on her magic. The first time he was here, everything was so shocking he couldn’t feel anything else. Now, he was able to feel her power surging through her body. Every movement was controlled precisely, the perfect amount of energy being used. Enough to quicken her movements but not so much that it was over flowing. Even though her mind was a mess, she was able to keep her magic in check. 

When they arrived back at the house, Liam paid close attention to the location of the sigil as she reinforced it, inspecting the markings. He felt the swell and release of power into the marking. This time, he noticed that she felt much weaker after the reinforcement. Did she put all of the power she had left into that? No wonder she lost that fight. She feels incredibly weak compared to when she was running through the woods. 

Back inside the house, he braced himself to see his mother bawling. It was harder to watch now that he knew it was her. She was incredibly small and frail looking. Her honey soaked eyes looked at them with so much fear. He could feel her emotions coming in and out of control. She was doing her best to keep herself hidden but this situation was just too unbearable. His heart broke for them as he witnessed the mother and daughter interaction all over again. The pain his grandmother felt when this was the last time she would ever see her daughter, knowingly walking to her death. The sorrow in his mother’s eyes as she suspected that she was soon to be an orphan. 

If he could cry right now, he would. He wanted nothing more than to sob and keep them together just a little bit longer. But,before he knew it, Cheryl was on her way to stare death in the face. He knew that this fight was important. He paid close attention to the faces of the four men and the feeling throughout her body as she fought them. Even though she poured most of herself into that shield, she still had so much power left. She was fighting with everything that remained, pulling every last bit out of her soul to protect her daughter. 

He could feel the power come forth from his center and shoot out of his hand at an incredible speed, searing hot as it made its way through his body. Although she was emotional, the energy in her body was still as stone, only moving when called forth. This is what she meant when she said that it could be the difference between life and death. Even though she has little power left, it’s so compacted and controlled. If she hadn’t put all of herself into that sigil, she really might have been able to take on all four of these guys at once. 

Liam woke up abruptly, moments before he had to go through her death a second time. I’m so glad I didn’t have to feel that again, he thought to himself. He looked up at the light on the ceiling, it was still on. Cool, I didn’t lose control in my sleep either. Although, I’m covered in sweat. I need to take a shower…

He swung his feet off the bed and collected a change of clothes from the dresser. He grabbed some black jeans and a black baggy shirt. He liked this shirt because it had holes in the sleeves for his thumbs. That and it was one of his favorite metal bands. As he walked down the hallway, he could hear the sounds of a gameshow coming from the living room. He smiled to himself, At least that didn’t change. I don’t think I could handle a silent house. 

Liam flipped on the lights as he entered the bathroom. He set his clothes down on the lid of the toilet before turning on the water, testing the temperature with his hand to make sure it was just right. As he undressed, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. That’s weird, he thought as he braced himself on the sink, looking at his eyes close in the mirror. 

His golden eyes were now a light brown. Instead of swirling gold ink, he had thin golden lines along the contours of his iris. Whoa, they look normal. That’s insane. Come to think of it, I feel pretty calm. 

Liam could feel a slight hum and flow beneath his skin, nothing like the roaring rivers he felt earlier. He focused on bringing the current up in strength and speed until he could see the color return to his eyes. Once his eyes came back to normal, he brought his strength back down again, his eyes returning to the light brown he had before. That’s pretty cool! I can’t believe I figured that out already! Thanks grandma. I don’t think I would be learning this quickly without you showing me things. 

Liam stepped into the shower, feeling the sweat and grime melt away in the hot water. This week felt like a month had gone by. If someone were to have told him two weeks ago that this would be his life, he would have laughed in their face. Magic and all that nonsense were the stuff of fairytales that humans made up for a good bedtime story. Now that he was living it, who knows what else could be out there. He could feel his horizon expanding at a defining pace but so was his ability to adapt. He felt oddly okay, considering the insane changes he was going through. 

Liam sat on the floor of the tub, resting his head on his arms that wrapped around his knees, letting the water rain down on his back and neck. I could go back to sleep at this rate, this is the most relaxed I’ve felt all week. Well, besides when I was reading at Arhur’s house. Suddenly, part of Liam decided that it didn’t want to sleep any longer.

Oh, what the fuck, Liam lambasted himself. He reached forward and turned the water all the way to cold. Oh my god, I can’t believe myself. Maybe I’m a little too relaxed. Liam faced the cold water until he calmed down then turned the water off all together. He got out, dried himself off and quickly got dressed, checking his eyes in the mirror another time before heading to the living room.

“Good morning sleepy head,” Heather teased as Liam sat down on the couch beside her. “Looks like you had a good sleep. You seem to have your magic under control already. I’m not sure how you’re learning this fast but I’m not complaining. The sooner we can get out of here, the better.” She studied him once over before continuing, “I made you some food, it’s in the fridge. You were sleeping so soundly when I came in that I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Thank you. I had that same dream again actually. This time, I think I learned a lot.” He paused for a moment, looking down at his hands while he picked at his nails. “You know,” he said quietly, “your mother, she really loved you a lot.”

Heather sat there, dumbfounded. She wasn’t expecting him to drop a bomb on her right after he woke up. It had been three-hundred years already. She had long suppressed the pain and feelings from that time, hardly able to remember what her mother looked like. Those few simple words from her own son were all it took to bring a flood of memories back. She saw her mother’s bright smile. The way she patiently taught her. When she failed time and time again, her mother never got frustrated with her, always encouraging her to try again. She could even recall the way she smelled like gingerbread cookies. She could feel her heart breaking and healing all at the same time. She looked into her son’s eyes, wondering what she did to deserve such an amazing kid. He didn’t deserve to be treated like he was. She really felt like the scum of the earth. 

“I’m sorry Liam. I’m so, so sorry.” She cried as she repeated herself over and over again. She never wanted to yell at him again. She would spend the rest of her life trying to make up for her own actions, she had to. He needed her now, more than ever. If she didn’t get her shit together, he could die, and there would be no one to blame but herself. Damn the grimoire, she couldn’t care less. If anything happened to Liam, there would be no point in living anymore. The world could go to shit for all she cared. 

“Mom, it’s okay. I mean yeah, you were pretty shitty, but I know you love me. You aren’t very good at showing it but I couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to raise yourself like you did. You may not have been the perfect mother but you never kicked me out. You never gave up. I know now that your entire life has revolved around me since I was born. I’m thankful for that. Can we just move forward and figure this out together okay? I love you.”

Heather stared blankly at her son, tears streaming from her eyes. “Seriously, how did I get such a good son? I’m so lucky.”

Liam laughed, “ I really don’t think I’m all that great, but I’m glad you think so.” He hugged his mother around the shoulder before standing up. “I’m starving, you said you put the food in the fridge?”

Happy that he changed the subject, she replied, “yeah, there’s a plate with some foil on it. Take it off before you put it in the microwave.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Heather smiled at the atmosphere returning to a somewhat normal feeling. She was going to do better. She had to become the person her son deserved. “ When you’re done eating, we need to get ready to go. Grab the essentials but keep it light. We don’t want to draw attention.”