Chapter 20
Make it up. Dante studied himself. In order to learn what happened he needed to See specific points in time, something he would have been able to do had he grown up in Glimmerbrook, but he hadn’t. Instead they lived in Brindleton Bay, somewhere with no magic at all. He’d never even know it existed.
Then it changed his life for good. His father probably wouldn’t have even believed it was possible to have magic. If they’d learnt about Dante’s power… at least he’d have had his mother. She’d have accepted him for who she was, but his father… maybe he’d have opened his mind for his son.
Guide the dreams. See what he needed to See, rather than let them guide him, the way they had before. Unless he wasn’t capable, and it was only Anne he could See, due to the bond between them, but he couldn’t let those thoughts get the better of him. He would See his family, to learn more.
Changing into his nightwear, Dante lay on the bed, thinking about his mother. They’d been close. Surely, if she knew, she’d have told him, but maybe she had her reasons. He closed his eyes. Beside him the candles burned. Although he thought about blowing them out he might need the light.
Drifting off, still focused on his mother, images came to mind, much less clear than they were with Anne. It was obviously her, though, and his grandfather.
“I’m sorry, Isabelle.”
“You knew this day was going to come eventually.” Her voice was tense. “Why did you do it?”
“To protect him.”
“Protect him?”
“Without magic Matthew is safe. I don’t even know if they’re still looking, but I never planned on having a child to begin with, and when I realised… the decision I made was for the best, even though I did know the time would come when someone else would need to take over.”
“You didn’t think that far ahead.”
“I couldn’t. After what happened to Father… he tried to live a normal life. Then they found him, something he hoped would never happen, and it was luck we managed to get away.”
“Tell me as much as you know.”
“Honestly, it’s not much. Father was a Seer.”
“Seers can’t See Seers.”
“Yet somehow they still found us.”
“Who was your father, Thomas?”
A long silence followed her question. Did he even know?
“Mateo Diaz.”
“Mateo’s father?”
“Gabriel Diaz, and his mother was Cordelia Lockwood.”
“Being able to live long enough to have a child was a gift.”
“Father said the same thing, as he helped me climb out the window with my sister. He told me to live, to not let what happened affect my life, but that was impossible. Alexandra, on the other hand, did what Father would have wanted, telling me he gifted us our lives. We had to make the most of it.”
“Where is Alexandra now?”
“I don’t know. Last time I saw her she was newly married, telling me I’d made a huge mistake when it came to Matthew. She was probably right. From some of the things she said I think she was the one who could See. That bypassed me, and Matthew.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Isabelle Marlowe, before you became a Fitzgerald.”
“How much do you know about Glimmerbrook?”
“Very little. Father barely ever talked about it, although he did mention the Lockwoods a few times. Titus more than any of the others.”
“One of the most dangerous people to cross. Why did Gabriel leave?”
“Father once talked about a ritual.”
“An understandable choice, if a foolish one. The Marlowes originally called Glimmerbrook home too, until we couldn’t – Jacob thought it was the safest option to leave, because staying would have affected time in so many different ways.”
“Please help me.”
“Matthew…”
“Father’s stories were fiction, Isabelle. Magic isn’t real. There’s no reason for you to keep bringing this up. I am fine.”
“Yes, you are for now, but in time…”
“Do we really need to keep having this conversation?”
“Until you agree to me doing what needs to be done.”
“The answer is no. You aren’t going to change my mind. I don’t even understand why you believe Father’s stories about magic. We’re too old for that.”
“Magic is real, Matthew.”
“Show me.”
“Not until you agree. There is a reason I’m pushing this, and we have to get it sorted before anyone finds us.”
“Who will find us?”
“People you don’t ever want to meet.”
Titus, at the time, was already leader of the Council, and definitely not someone they’d have wanted to find them.
“Had I know this was how our marriage would work out I wouldn’t have agreed to it.”
“I thought you loved me.”
“Loved, yes. Love? I don’t know. With how things are… look, I need to stop talking about this. Father made you promise, I understand, but magic isn’t real. There’s no need for you to protect me from my own power. Everything will be fine.”
“See it as a way to honour Thomas. It’s what he wanted.”
“No.” The anger was something Dante saw in those later months, his father always calm before, but in that moment it swirled around the room, the first sign of what was to come. “Stop pushing, Isabelle.”
“This is for our children as much as it is for you.”
“You want to tell them magic is real too?”
If the timing was right it was a couple of days later Dante first dreamed of Anne. The anger was something they’d learnt to deal with as best they could, even though it hadn’t been easy. Without knowing it was impossible to see it as the sign it was. Unlike Dante his mother knew, and tried to help.
“Your tears aren’t going to change anything. Father’s ‘ritual’ goes against everything I believe. There’s no reason to make that decision, even to ‘honour’ him, when I’m not even certain there’s anything to honour. Until those final months he hadn’t even been part of my life. Why should I care?”
“Matthew, please. If not for your father then do it for me, and for our children, because I don’t want to lose you.”
“Keep bringing this up, and you will lose me. This is not something I want to talk about every day for the rest of our lives, Isabelle. Next time you say anything about the ritual…”
Shoulders shaking, she nodded, Dante wishing he’d known at the time, he imagined giving his mother the hug she obviously needed.
“Fine.”
Neither of them moved, and Dante had a feeling his father was looking at something other than his mother. Were his powers already affected him? It seemed likely.
The next part might have been a memory, of the last time Dante saw his mother. She stood in front of him, eyes on his, and he’d seen the worry even then. Back then he hadn’t understood it, but as they studied each other he knew better why she made the choices she did.
“Can you take Jessica to town?”
“For her birthday.”
“Yes, for her birthday.”
“Mother…”
“Please, Dante. I know the last few weeks have been complicated. This is what she needs right now.”
“What about you?”
Silence followed the question. His mother breathed in deeply. Knowing she was a Marlowe changed the way he saw her.
“Don’t worry about me right now. Jessica first. You know how badly she’s been affected by the way your father’s been acting recently. I thought he’d be better on her birthday, but he wasn’t, and that… you’re the next best thing. With how busy you’ve been I know she’d appreciate some time.”
“I don’t want to leave you alone with Father.”
“At some point you’re going to have to.” His mother smiled. “You can’t put your life on hold to be here all the time.”
“For a couple more weeks I can, Mother. He’s so different.”
“Your grandfather’s death affected him more than he wants to admit.”
“Father was yelling at you.”
“Yes, I know, but I’m not going to hold that against him. Take your sister to town. Buy her a nice dress. I want the two of you to spend some time together away from all of this. Please. She needs you.”
What would have happened if Dante said no? If they’d been there?
“Mother…”
“Please.”
Slowly, Dante nodded. “When I come home I want to know everything. This is more than grief, and I need you to be honest with me.”
“I promise everything will become clear to you when you return.”
Her meaning was so entirely different to the one Dante imagined.