CHAPTER 25: THROUGH DARKNESS AND FLAME

Calcifer had heard very few stories of Serena Maguire. In fact, he couldn't remember any moment when either sister spoke of their mother in a positive manner. They mostly revealed faint memories of their childhood and most often shared the pains of watching her walk away from their family nearly twenty years ago. From what he did know, it wasn't a surprise that she married a wizard.

What did surprise him, however, was Lona's intensive knowledge of this.

Calcifer rubbed his exhaustive eyes with both hands, his mind torn between such overwhelming news and trying to remember that last restful night he slept. "You've been in contact with your mother?"

If only Gwenda were here, how would she respond? How would she react? He imagined rage and anger to no end, even more so than her reaction toward him only just a day prior. What he did hurt her - that was his own burden and Calcifer claimed all ownership - but hearing this would devastate her beyond repair.

Lona stood with her shoulders straight and her posture stoic and solid. She exuded confidence, though for whatever reason was beyond anyone. It was unlike her to keep such secrecy, let alone from her very own sister. Most often, Lona was as upfront as a person could be.

This news, however, was a mockery of such candor.

Lona admitted all that she buried inside. Not only was she in contact with Serena, but quite often with Ben Sullivan as well. She had heard vague tales from Kenta over the years of a peculiar yet marvelous wizard, but it wasn't until their meeting did she realize he had been the wizard their mother adored. Ben was as in love with Serena as she was with him - no magical manipulation as had been rumored.

Serena contemplated attending her daughter's wedding - both of her daughters - yet she was too frightened to even approach either gathering. She feared the unknown, especially after decades of separation and a world of pain to go around. She couldn't fathom the heartbreak with which she left her daughters, though that only made her wish to see them more.

She was too late to decide on Lona and Kenta's marriage. However, Ben decided to go in her place and recount what he witnessed at Gwenda and Calcifer's. He never intended for anyone to notice his attendance, but Kenta unwillingly foiled that plan.

Serena had frequently visited their home. Kenta and Lona even allowed her to meet her grandchildren. Though they never admitted her identity to the kids, they had planned to once Gwenda was aware of the truth.

Five years later, Calcifer knew Gwenda was still stuck in the darkness of her sister's lies.

Now she spoke with such honesty. Now Lona shared every juicy detail that she held deep inside. Calcifer scratched his head with the buds of his nails, yet as dull as they were those nails dug into his scalp like he was ready to rip it off. No one else seemed as fazed.

"That must have been torture to hold onto this for so long." Sophie said, holding her free hand in a warm comfort. While Howl was busy wrapping his brain around this connection and possible advantage, Calcifer was not about to let his sister-in-law get off so easily.

She didn't deserve a pass for sympathy.

"After everything you said to us about hiding secrets," Calcifer seethed, "You are one huge hypocrite."

Lona gritted her teeth and held Sora closer. "Yes, I lied. But what would telling you about my mother have done? Why share something that had nothing to do with the situation until I realized it might actually help us save our family?"

"You had five years to say something!" Calcifer shouted. "Five years you held onto your little, twisted secret. How dare you hold this truth from Gwenda. I don't care one way or the other that you talk to your mother, but for crying out loud maybe tell her other daughter about it."

Calcifer avoided controversy as often as humanly - or demonly - possible. However, Gwenda grounded him to the human world. Her family issues became his once he owned the name Maguire. There was no avoiding this strife.

"As if Gwenda would actually be in the same room as her!" Lona retaliated. "You know exactly how she feels about our mother, and time has done nothing but make Gwenda hate her even more. Serena wanted to be the one to tell her, and I respected that. I kept this from my sister knowing that the right time would come for both of them."

Calcifer was not so convinced. "You are a meddling coward. You won't be able to handle it when Gwenda finds out how long you've held this secret from her."

"Gwenda's the one who can't handle it right now." Lona quivered, clinging to her words as if they were a thin thread hanging from a cliff. "I will take whatever punishment comes my way, but I stand by my decision to keep both of them happy."

Calcifer could not empathize with the loss of a parent. He had none of his own to recount, so the emotions were a dissonance. Even still, he knew the loss of trust and the immense torture of pain. Before his own sleep issues, Gwenda was the one fighting battles in her sleep. Gwenda was the one struggling to put her head on the pillow for fear of what her own mind would conjure without her control. He could not tally how many times she woke up in tears from the nightmares.

Whether it was that evil witch or that evil sorceress or her evil mother - Gwenda feared them all.

Calcifer closed his eyes, exhaling a boiling stream of steam from his nostrils. "Gwenda has been suffering for nearly twenty years of her life. If you think she was happy, you obviously know nothing about your own sister."

Sleep. Calcifer's weary eyes fluttered like butterflies hatching from their cocoons. The brimming daylight irritated his insomnia to no end and he wished to banish the light from the room. He needed darkness in order to rest; he needed the comfort of his home in order to sleep.

He needed Gwenda by his side to calm his rising temper.

Howl attempted a resolution. "It seems like there were wrongs on both ends. We've all done a lot of things lately that we regret, but all this arguing is only going to lead to more anger and no solution. We need to find Ben, and quickly."

Calcifer pressed deeply and firmly into the dark shadows that encircled his eyes, moving his fingers back to his hair to pull sharply at his locks as they glowed a ferocious flame. Though he couldn't see the fierce nature of his own self, those in the room witnessed his immediate change.

Howl and Lona took a step back while Sophie stepped toward him. "Calcifer, you're firing up."

"It's lies on one side and lies on the other." He growled, low and cruel as a tiger approaching its prey. "All you humans ever do is cover up your mistakes and cower in the shadows. I gave up my eternity to be one of you, and it's only given me the worst qualities a human could possibly possess. So yes, of course I'm fired up!"

"No, I mean you're becoming fire again." She gently touched his skin, her fingers shivering at the warmth it exuded. Not nearly as burning as a flame, but with each passing moment the old fire demon's skin grew hotter and molten like the flames that formerly encompassed his soul.

Instantly, his dark skin cracked, revealing orange flames buried deep within.

Trust. Family. Honesty. To hell with these. There was a reason demons didn't trust so easily, as it only made them look like fools and get taken advantage of by petty humans and conniving magicians. He trusted one person and signed a life contract. He trusted another and gained freedom, but love only brought him back to servitude.

He finally trusted whom he believed to be the last, and now he couldn't even save Gwenda from the devastation that would eventually consume her, as the flames were now doing to him.

Lona covered her baby daughter as those flames burst out in a sporadic rage. Calcifer bellowed an echoing scream that vibrated the space entirely, letting his emotions explode like a wildfire out of control. Rifts began splitting within the glass windows to the outside as his fury was nearing a savage detonation.

Sophie guided Lona carefully outside, their motherly instincts rising as their children were left helpless should the extremities inside implode. Howl remained, both terrified of his friend and amazed at his power. The heat inside of Calcifer increased tenfold, melting the paint off the walls and sparking flickers of flames throughout the Pendragon house. He could very easily burn it all down.

Howl was filled to the brim with fear. Yet even more so than that, he felt unwavering remorse. Everyone lied; even before these crazy turn of events, even before Calcifer became human, everyone had a knack for lying no matter the devastating consequences. And they all knew them well - those consequences forced themselves upon their lives countless times.

He nearly lost Sophie to a string of lies - he wasn't about to lose his best friend.

Howl extended his arms like he was holding an enormous, invisible bubble. He whispered a chant to contain the fire and smoke that encircled Calcifer. The old demon's eyes burned a vengeful desire, yet he was oblivious to Howl's manipulation of his power. This advantage allowed him to contain the flames and force them back within Calcifer.

Between the deafening whirlwind and the archaic spellcasting, Howl faintly heard a glimpse of his dear friend's words: I wish the stars would just take me already.

Howl chanted and chanted. He didn't stop until the cracks in Calcifer's skin absorbed the flames and the smoke dissolved into thin air. His next spell needed to be quick or the rage inside his friend could reignite all over again.

No, not a spell - it was far beyond that point. He needed a curse. A sleeping curse. Had this one not procured devastating effects to the victim, Howl might have considered aiding Calcifer with it sooner. Yet it was their only choice, and he prayed his friend would revive himself at the right time.

Until then, Howl put his friend to eternal sleep.