Seph's head pounded, as the letdown from the fear and adrenaline from the past few days kicked in. And the lump he'd gotten from Warren Barber, the creep. Barber's death, for all it had been horrible and distasteful had settled Maddie.
Maddie. Madison Moss. The girl who'd had him at turns since the day he's met her. Now, a dragon. The dragon. The one who held the source of the power of all the Weirstones. Even though it unsettled him, especially since she couldn't yet control her powers, it somehow made sense, felt right, deep in his bones. She had always been special with her chocolate-caramel-butter hair and sparkling eyes full of fiery determination. It made sense to Seph that Madison's magical being matched the characteristics she'd always had—especially her pride, her wisdom, and her keen eye for the beautiful.
Seph supposed you could say he was smitten.
Mercedes had already put Madison, Grace and JR to bed. The children had been exhausted and traumatized, and the socerer-healer had given them some of the sleeping tonic she kept for emergencies. Mercedes offered the same to Madison, but Madison needed to call Carlene first. Apparently, though, at some point between getting on the phone with Carlene and the off the phone with Carlene, Maddie had fallen fast asleep on the big armchair in Seph's front room. Maddie's chest rose and fell gently with the soft sounds of an exhausted sleep. Seph guessed she had been through it with during her time on Booker Mountain. Warren Barber alone proved that. Maddie had returned to him, yes, but there were deep purple smudges around her eyes, and her face was pinched with a worry that hadn't been on her face while she was living in Trinity. Still, Seph looked at her and felt like the bottom dropped out of his stomach. He was crazy about her, he realized. She was stunning, and not just for the way she looked, but for the way she thought. Her eyes lit up with joy when she found something especially beautiful that she wanted to paint, or when a painting came out just the way she wanted to. She had such a generous heart, but wouldn't hesitate to tell someone off if she thought they were being arrogant or unkind. Not that Seph had any personal experience with that. Clearly.
Seph sighed, as his headache continued to build and pound at his brain. He picked his way back through the rubble of town to the house he shared with his parents. After Seph and Mercedes has managed to put Madison to bed, they had gone back to spell Jack and send him to be and to check on Ellen. They had tried to send Jack to bed before, but Jack had refused to leave her side, even when she was clearly out of danger. They had returned to find Jack snoring next to Ellen. Mercedes had chuckled.
"Well, Seph, I know some people find your company offensive, but truly, you aren't that boring."
Seph chuckled quietly, and together they had managed to pull Jack into the other bed next to Ellen.
Truthfully, it wasn't surprising that Jack crashed so hard so quickly. Jack and Ellen had both been pulling terrible hours, hardly sleeping at all. The only person whose hours had been worse were Seph's. But Seph had been doping to keep himself upright. Seph didn't really think he counted.
Seph had offered to let Mercedes sleep first, as she had expended so much energy in healing Ellen. Madison had pulled Ellen back from the brink, but there had still been much for Mercedes to do for Ellen.
Mercedes had offered Seph token resistance, but he nudged her to bed, pointing out that when Ellen woke, she would need Mercedes at full strength to help her (and keep her in bed). Seph pointed out that he could sleep afterwards.
Besides, Seph needed time to process. So much of his time on flame had been fuzzy, blurry, like trying to look at something through an unfocused camera lens. He needed some time to put his memories in place before he could sleep.
Some six hours later, Mercedes had woken to start preparing brews for Ellen, so she would have something for the pain when she woke. Seph offered to stay and help, but Mercedes waved him off with strict instructions for him to go sleep. Seph was sure Mercedes hadn't gotten enough sleep, but she wouldn't hear it from Seph unless he got some much needed sleep first. Truth be told, Seph supposed she was right. The pulsing migraine behind his eyes that had been plaguing him for the past hour and a half certainly indicated that his body was effectively over his bullshit and was ordering him to get some rest or else. Besides, anyone who looked at him would agree. His skin was waxy, like crayons that had been left in a hot car just a smidge too long. There were rings under his eyes, and his bones looked vaguely like they were poking out of his face. Aftereffects of not taking time to sleep or eat and taking flame instead of sustenance.
Seph sighed again as he walked up the wooden steps to the porch of his house. Linda had bought this house when she had brought him from the Havens when he was still hurting and spewing magic all over the place. Since learning how to control his power and learning of his parentage, he had enjoyed Trinity and loved this house—especially spending time in it with Linda and Hastings. It was wonderful*, after spending so much of his lift thinking that he was an orphan—all alone in the world—to have two parents who loved him and enjoyed spending time with him, even if they were both intense. In their absence, and in his fear that something had gone horribly wrong during their trip to England to try to secure the hoard, the house had reverted. Rather than being a refuge, it became a reminder of what he was most afraid of. He loathed returning to it now, though knowing Maddie and the kids were in the house mollified him a bit. Before going to lay down for the sleep Seph knew he so desperately needed, he peeked in the guest bedroom to check on Maddie and the kids. Even though the house had several guest bedrooms, Seph had decided to put Maddie and the kids into one bed, piling them together like puppies. He guessed that after their ordeal, they would want to wake up together—or at the very least, not alone.
They were all fast asleep still, though whether it was thanks to Mercedes's potion, or the sheer trauma of their ordeal was unclear. Seph sighed in relief at Maddie's continued presence and how relaxed her face looked in sleep.
Seph closed the door back, content to let them sleep and wandered to his room. He hesitated for a moment at Lee & Linda's room, wanting to go in for a moment, if only to feel close to his parents after such a long day, but instead turning for his room, knowing it would only make him sadder and knowing how much he needed the sleep.
He slowly walked into his navy and green room and headed straight for his bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
When Seph woke up again, his mouth tasted like a squirrel had crawled in and died in it, and his bones felt vaguely like jello. Mushy and not meant to be moved. Seph stretched, his less weary body celebrating the much-needed sleep. As he slowly became more aware, he realized he smelled food from downstairs. Bacon. And onions. And coffee. Happily sliding out of bed, he followed his nose downstairs to the source of the smells.
Seph followed his nose down to the kitchen, reveling in the proper functioning of his body for the first time in weeks. He stepped into the kitchen to see Maddie cooking breakfast with the kids sitting at the marbled peninsula. Maddie looked up at the soft pad of Seph's footsteps, and smiled. Even though she still looked weary, she seemed less tired.
"Hello, witch boy," she said, eyes crinkling at the old nickname.
"Hi," smiled Seph shyly. Maddie seemed more open than she had since the horrifying incident at Two Sisters. Seph wasn't sure if it was the dragon settling in her, or if it was no longer having the emptiness of being an elicitor, but something had definitely shifted with Maddie.
"Seph!" cried an excited voice from the peninsula. "Maddie said that there is a creek out back! Can we go play in it?" JR asked excitedly.
"Excuse my manners," Seph replied with mock seriousness. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Seph McCauley," he said, extending his hand towards the seven-year old, grinning.
"JR!" said the boy excitedly. "Creek?"
"As long as Maddie says it's okay, I'll take you down there later myself," he said, slyly winking at JR and eyes silently seeking Maddie's approval. Maddie just smiled at him, and Seph turned back towards Grace.
Seph's face smoothed out, and Seph approximated a southern accent. "And what's your name, fine lady?" Seph queried, as if he were a country farmer meeting a towns girl for the first time.
She lifted her chin, and replied "Grace," extending her little ten year old hand to shake hands with Seph like a young queen. And in some ways, Seph realized, she was. With Madison's new status as dragon, she was unofficial Queen of the Weirguilds (no one ever bothered to crown a dragon though—why would they when their hides contained the wealth of nations). So if young Grace was Maddie's sister and an elicitor, ergo, Grace might be heir to Maddie's powers. The implications of that train of thought were too deep and far-reaching, so he should off his musings, and reached down to pull up Grace's hand and kiss it, like the nobility of old.
"Pleasure to meet you, milady," Seph said, grinning and still imitating that southern accent.
Grace's young and composed face began to slip helplessly into a little smile.
Seph looked at Madison, but Maddie just shook her head. Trust Seph to take all of two minutes to charm the kids more than Brice Roper ever did. He already had them wrapped around his finger the same way he had her wrapped around his.
"Well," she began, "if I'm not careful, you're going to charm my siblings so much that they won't ever want to come back with me to Booker Mountain." She plonked down a plate full of omelets with onion, cheese and tomato with hashbrowns, bacon and coffee.
"There's somebody waiting for you on the back porch," she said, turning back to refill JR's orange juice. Surprised, Seph turned to the back porch and stepped through the door, carrying his breakfast with him.
Seph opened the screen door, focusing on his food and looked up to see his parents, Linda Downey & Leander Hastings waiting on him, clearly mid-pace.
Seph's face broke into a smile of relief. "Linda! Hastings! You're alright!" He quickly put down his plate to hug Linda, reaching her quickly.
"Oh, Seph," she said, wrapping him in her small arms. He let the hug linger, savoring in the smell of her jasmine perfume and the overwhelming sense of safety and well-being that washed over him with her return. She ran her fingers through his dark, curly hair for a few moments, and they savored the return.
They finally broke the hug, and Seph turned to Hastings. Seph was about to start explaining events, but before he could begin, Hastings swept him up in a bear hug. Seph returned the hug, hiding his surprise. Hastings wasn't usually the hugging type. Hastings's fatherly affection typically manifested in grueling training sessions. Seph knew it was because Hastings had lost so much over the course of his lifetime, and besides, Seph always wanted to learn.
Seph finally retreated from both of them, and looked at them, noticing the weariness they held tight in their shoulders. While Seph was examining his parents, Linda and Hastings were making their own observations, and they didn't like what they saw. Seph's face was waxy, and even with twelve hours of sleep, the dark smudges remained under his eyes like ink stains. He hadn't regained any of the weight he lost in the fall. If anything he had lost more weight. The dark, curly hair that marked him so clearly as Hasting's son was overgrown and disheveled, and weariness showed in every line of Seph's body. And those signs remained even after Seph was entirely freed from the flame he'd been taking.
We'll have to keep a close eye on him in the next few weeks, thought Linda. He needs time to rest, heal and recover, even if that isn't what he would prefer.
Seph's curious eyes found his parents, and he asked, "what happened to you all? I thought you were dead!"
"We were delayed," Hastings replied, looking embarrassed, regretful, and—was that shame on Hasting's face?
"We had to wait for D'Orsay to slip out and make deals with the Roses before we could capture the Ghyll," Linda filled in.
"By the time we realized what was happening in Trinity, it was far too late for us to reach you in time. And even if we could, we wouldn't have been able to break through the Weirwall they erected," continued Hastings.
"All the same, we booked the first flight we could back to Ohio, but by the time we got here, everything was over and everyone was asleep," Linda finished ruefully.
"Which reminds me," Hastings remarked, "Mercedes and Jack told us about you doping." Seph froze, eyes widening in fear. He had hoped that in all the excitement, the flame debacle could be swept under the rug. Trust Jack and Mercedes to rat him out.
"Once we finish our reunions, Hastings and I are going to have a long talk with you about that," she said, eyes sparking and face hardening in anger.
Seph gulped. Linda rarely exerted her parental authority over him, but Seph was certain that Linda & Hastings both would have a number of things to say to him.
"Oh, shoot," Seph exclaimed, glancing at a clock and realizing how long he had slept. "Did someone relieve Mercedes? I should've woken up ages ago to spell her!"
"Relax, Seph" Hastings laid a calming hand on Seph's shoulder. "We spelled Mercedes and took over watching over Ellen as soon as we got in. Mercedes rose from the dead long before you did though. She's looking after Ellen now."
Seph's face shifted into panic again. "How is Ellen? Is she going to be okay?" His face contorted with fear for the answer but needing to hear it just the same.
"She's going to be just fine," Linda answered gently. "She's going to have a long road to recovery,* but she'll be alright. She's already cursing at Mercedes for not letting her out of bed."
"And Mercedes is already cursing at Jack for not getting out from underfoot," Hasting quipped quietly with the barest hint of a grin.
Seph chuckled quietly thinking that sounded about right.
"I'm glad you all made it back alright," Seph said, silently adding "I've lost too many people recently already," thinking of Jason and swallowing a lump in his throat.
A moment of silence passed while Linda and Hastings considered Seph. Then Hastings asked, "will you tell us what happened to you?"
Something about Hastings's tone of voice made Seph look up. Hastings's eyes always burned with intensity, but his gaze was particularly feverish, enough so to unsettle Seph for a moment.
Seph cleared his throat,"sure."
He told them of Madison's departure (though they knew parts of that already), and Leesha's arrival. He related Jason's first return to Trinity, and how Jason then left to go after Madison. He covered the erection of the Weirwall, his use of flame (this he only acknowledged with the most passing of comments, hoping to spare his parents the details), the meeting with D'Osay, Longbranch, & Wylie. Jason's second return, and second departure, Madison's return, the major battle, Maddie's conversion to dragon lady, and their escapade to rescue the kids and Warren Barber's subsequent demise.
Linda and Hastings sat back in shock when he finished, silently digesting the flood of information Seph dumped on them. The silence stretched long, and Seph grew uncomfortable, waiting for one of the adults to say something.
Hastings finally spoke, breaking the silence. "Seph," he hesitated, choosing his words, "I'm sorry. I left you here with inadequate resources for an impossible task. You acquitted yourself admirably, but you shouldn't have needed to."
"I'm sorry too, Seph," Linda said quietly, face pinched in an expression Seph couldn't decipher. She softly put her hand on Seph's shoulder. "We got greedy. We were so hungry to capture the hoard that we neglected far greater treasures—you, Ellen, Jack, Jason." Her eyes filled with tears on the last one. "You all are the future, our legacy. If we don't have people to carry on our work, then ultimately, it will mean nothing. You are the ones who can enact lasting change. No hoard is wåorth gambling your lives as we did." Her face looked pale, and more pinched than before. Seph now realized it was the guilt she was carrying. She wore it like it was her favorite wintertime scarf, except if that scarf was heinously ugly. Like if it were neon pink with NEW YORK CITY written all over it.
Seph paused for a moment, considering all he had heard. A part of him that he didn't like to acknowledge celebrated that Linda and Hastings weren't mad at him.*
"Mom." Seph grabbed Linda's arm to get her attention. That did the trick. He never called her mom. He caught her eyes. "It's okay." He put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay."
Linda's guilty face cracked, relenting into a self-deprecating smile, "I guess we're still working on the parenting thing."
Seph smiled back at her, grateful for the peace between them.
"Which reminds me," Hastings said, eyebrows drawing together like thunderclouds on the horizon of the sea, "what the hell were you were thinking taking flame?"