Chapter 5
If Issac was right, and there was no reason to think he wasn’t, there’d be no talking Thaddeus out of his plan. Little by little he’d changed, becoming more like her father than before. Once he’d been someone she liked, although she’d never say love, their marriage comfortable.
Three children later his focus was on power, and immortality. Marion breathed in deeply. He believed it was for the family, the same way her father had, but those words were lies they told themselves. In reality they cared most about what they could get out of the ritual.
For one to become immortal a sacrifice was required. At least that was the conclusion her father came to. Before he could commit to the ritual he’d died, fortunately for everyone, but the person he was closest to was Thaddeus. Everything was passed down to him.
If Thaddeus truly envisioned more than one of them becoming immortal it would take multiple sacrifices, and the kind of magic no one should use. The Fitzgeralds were in danger, because they were the easy targets, no connections in the local area to protect them from Thaddeus.
Helping the new arrivals was the priority, one way or another. If Victor truly was willing to give Thaddeus a chance to show another side to himself all their lives were going to change… especially as the ritual hadn’t been tested. Anything could go wrong with dark magics.
“Marion, we need to talk.” Thaddeus looked at her, and there was no doubt he knew she knew, his decision to talk to Issac one he likely regretted. “How much do you know?”
“Enough. Father never had a chance to go through with the ritual.”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“For us. This is a chance to make it possible for our family to live forever, and I can’t walk away from it.”
“Using the Fitzgeralds.”
“Victor made the decision to move here, thinking his new magic meant something, and I’ve come to see it does.”
“Thaddeus…”
“You have to listen to me. I know you think you’re right, but you aren’t. What your father gave us was a gift. Until recently I didn’t truly see it as it was, and now I finally see what we have to do.”
Words so similar to her father’s. He’d dabbled in dark magic.
“Tell me what you’ve been doing, Thaddeus.”
If Marion looked closely it was possible to see the strands of darkness, so easy for her to miss. Very few could truly see magic.
“Learning. Titus was the one who saw it first, the missing link, and I know this is how it’s meant to be.”
“What did Titus see?”
Of the three of her children he was the one Marion worried about most, so much like her father. He wanted power no matter what the cost.
“How we could use those books to lead the way to becoming the most important magical family, in control forever.”
“What if that’s not what the rest of us want, Thaddeus? Did you even let yourself think about that possibility?”
“Marion…”
“You need to listen to me. Doing this is going to change everything for all of us, and you can’t make the decision alone.”
“The decision’s made.”
“You’re just expecting us to go along with it.”
“This is for you. Marion, I know you weren’t close to your father.” For good reason. After the darkness took him he was never going to be the same again. “When he died I made a promise to him – I’d love you the way you should be.”
“How Father thought I should be loved and the way I want to be loved aren’t the same.” She rested her head on her hand. “I know you think you’re doing the right thing.”
“You can’t walk away from this.”
No, she couldn’t, because she had to look after her children. Even Titus.
“I’ll do what I believe is best.” Marion didn’t look at her husband. “You don’t need to worry I won’t be here for the ritual.”
First she had to talk to Anne, because it was possible she might be able to get through to Titus, but if not… there were always options.
“I need you, Marion. You’re the one with the strongest connection to this magic.”
Thaddeus knew very little about her past, or the choices she’d made. He thought he did, but most was still kept hidden, and that was for the best.
“No, I’m not. I think Titus is now.”
Unfortunately, considering the choices she knew her son would make.
“He might be, but you’re the reason I learnt about all of this. Do you remember the day we met?”
It was impossible to forget, leading her down a path she hoped would make her life better, obviously a mistake.
“Thaddeus…”
“For me it was love at first sight.”
Maybe he was even being honest, but it hadn’t been love at first sight for her. There might never had been any love there.
“I know.”
She’d seen a target, the way she was taught to, a Lockwood they’d be able to use.
“If you’re going to do this, to use the Fitzgeralds, you need to understand how badly this might work out.”
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Nothing to worry about? Have you completely lost all sense?”
“Everything will go exactly as planned.”
So similar to before.
“You don’t understand.” How could he? It wasn’t as though she’d shared anything with him. “This kind of magic…”
“Is perfectly safe as long as you’re careful. Your father knew it, I know it, and Titus knows it. We have it all planned out.”
“All planned out? With Titus?”
There was no way of knowing what Titus might actually have planned.
“All I need is for you to be there on the full moon. It will be us, Emory and his family, and the Fitzgeralds.”
Did Emory know he’d likely also be sacrificed, for the greater good? He wasn’t strong enough.
“I’ll be there.” Marion pressed her face into her hands, knowing there was nothing to change Thaddeus’ mind. He was too far gone. “You need to talk to Anne about this.”
“Better for her not to know.”
“Thaddeus…”
“I mean it, Marion. We both know how she’s going to react.”
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