Sixty-six

" Wouldn't your sister have at least a vague knowledge of how to wrangle your powers under control?" It's a rhetorical question. She did and she didn't. Cramming the power of seven different people into one vessel can't possibly have a positive outcome. So Mason was her solution.

" Our mother died. I'm assuming that she was at the end of her cycle, and awoke twenty-one years ago. Right around the time I made an appearance," He nods. I like his methodical thinking, but we need to work faster than this.

" What was the medication for?" I've been meaning to ask Dr Button about those because the ones he prescribed had a similar effect on me than the ones Anika gave me.

" I'm assuming they were meant to inhibit my powers. According to her journals, they were getting out of control. And I'm inclined to believe she was telling the truth, since after she died I stopped taking them. Fast forward a few days later I was trapped in a hellish place without any idea of what was happening to me," He nods at that and proceeds to the next point. Although, I don't think the medication I was taking plays a pivotal point in this story. It would be nice to know what was the active ingredient that made them so effective.

" Right so whatever those pills contained have been designed for you to use, and only you. If you ask me I think your Dr Button might have some answers for you," He clicks his tongue. I'd like to say that I've been a tad busy, but that would be a lie. It would have taken me a trip to the hospital or his clinic and a few hours of my day. I just didn't think that a physician would have a part in this. There is only one way to find out.

" Left here," He directs me when we reach a fork in the road and I follow his directions, remaining southbound.

" Anika has spent a considerable amount of time visiting Gallassos and the library there. I think she is the one who took Timeea's sister. It makes sense. Their ability to influence nature makes me think that their bodies function as channelling tools. A medium between the mystical and nature. Hence why she needed Mason's mother. She might've tried to use her as a means to help you expunge the excess of power you absorbed. I guess it failed so she resorted to other means," No need to spell it out, I already know what he is implying and I can't help the bitter taste that coats my mouth at the thought of Anika doing unspeakable things to that girl while she was pregnant with Mason. I know she did.

Capturer. Jailer. Torturer. Executioner.

I'd wage all the money that she has left me that Anika has been the one to drive the knife through that poor girl's heart. Tears flood my eyes, blurring my vision, and I'm forced to coast on the side of the road to a full stop.

" Fuck," I say under my breath, staunching the tears that fall down my cheeks with the sleeves of my shirt.

I'm mildly surprised that Mason hasn't driven a knife through my heart. Surely he must've thought of it. It must've occurred to him, after dealing with Micah that Anika wasn't exactly an innocent bystander in this whole story.

And then later on Hector intervened by rescuing Mason, only to use him as a lab rat.

And I can't believe he felt guilty and thought he owed them something. He didn't owe them anything. They caused him a world of pain and I can't help but think that they deserved to die.

Gerald grabs my wrist and gives it a comforting squeeze, " We will get there," He gives me a small smile when I turn to look at him through the haze of tears.

Dropping my head on the steering wheel I take a few calming breaths, to reign in my rampant emotions so I can get back on the road.

" Everyone has secrets. Some are darker than others, but we all have our skeletons in the closet," He says quietly and stretches in his seat. We've been sitting in the same position for hours and I feel the need to stretch my legs and breathe in some fresh air.

Before I change my mind, I open the car door slide outside, and look out over the field, breathing in the the fresh breeze sweeping over the land.

I heat the car door open, and I see Gerald round the front of the car and settle on the other side of the opened door.

" You said that the book you stole from Gallasos contained some information on your kind. What did it say about you?" When I told the story I didn't get into great detail. I stuck with what I thought was relevant information.

" We are all females," He laughs at that. It's empty, lacking any humour, and I realise that this man is even more cynical than I am.

" Nature loves balance," He begins through laughter," Supernatural or not. All living breathing things come in pairs. I seriously doubt that your kind is exclusively female. That is not the natural order of things. Someone is a big fat liar, and I have a feeling that it is your defunct mother," He tacks on. It's a valid theory. Can't outright dismiss it, so I follow his line of thinking and explore a little more.

" What's your best guess?" I dare to pose the question while he tucks his hands in his pockets and shrinks a little trying to ward off the chill.

" Generally speaking, when something like this occurs it can be one of two cases. They either hunted you down to the point of extinction or your mother has done it herself. She has killed your sisters without too much thought, it points to the culprit. If it were me, I'd do it to gain a monopoly and eliminate the competition. You said that you have some control over the other daiō, then that would mean that the more of you out there, the more power to be shared amongst you. Nobody likes to share power. People fear drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes when it comes to addiction but there is nothing more addictive than power," Julian turns to his side, and props a hip against the car, " Whatever it is you're right in the middle of it," He adds and I gathered as much.