Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON TWO (Ongoing)

Part 2.12

My father taps his pen against the desk. "It was that ornament causing the fires?"

"Yes," I say. "It's infused with ice magic, so it drew heat towards it. That's why the fires looked so animated. They were heading towards the shard."

My father rubs sleep from his eyes. "I see. This is all settled then? No more ghost business?"

"It's not like Emmeline is going to apologise," I retort. "And it's not like you'll make her."

I can't read my father's expression. I'm not going to let him slither out from under my gaze though. He might not insist that Emmeline apologise, but I'll sure as hell make sure he knows what I think about that.

He breaks my gaze and sighs. "Lily," he says. "You deserve an apology from your stepmother. But she did not do it out of spite. She's always felt guilty about marrying me. Your mother's death shattered her too. They were friends, after all."

She couldn't stand the guilt, so she made it my fault. That's what he's saying. That deep inside, Emmeline thought my mother's ghost was here to haunt her.

"Where did you get that shard?" I ask my father.

"It was a gift. A rather ugly thing, I thought, so I put it in the basement. Adriel always was a strange one, but I didn't want to offend him by getting rid of it."

I start. "Big Boss gave you the shard?"

"Yes, at the memorial. He approached me to talk. It was a bit of an awkward affair, but he gave me the gift, and it was more progress than we'd made in years."

I make sure my gaze never leaves my father's face. "Why did you two fight?"

"It was nothing, Lily. Just a misunderstanding."

A misunderstanding. It looks like I've misunderstood many things in my life. I can't trust anyone.

"All you need to do is give me the one answer," I say, acid lacing my words. "I'm not asking you to love me. I'm not asking you to spend time with me, or be respectful to my mother's memory. All I'm asking for is the truth."

My father jerks back like I've slapped him. He blinks, then is silent for a moment. He reaches for the bottom drawer of the desk, and brings out a framed portrait. From the honey-blonde hair and pink cheeks, I can tell it's my mother. He traces the outline of her face, sadness softening his eyes. He smiles gently, then finally looks up to me.

"Your mother was so much better at expressing her feelings than I was," he admits. "It came so easily to her. I never knew what to say to people. It was easier for me to hide away in my office with my papers. I know I wasn't the best father to you, Lily, but it wasn't because I didn't love you. Throwing myself into my work was how I got through the grief. And I know you think my marrying Emmeline meant I wasn't loyal to your mother, but that was far from the truth. Emmeline was grieving her too, and she understood. I needed a friend. But I chose your mother all those years ago, and I would always choose her. Emmeline knew that." He puts the frame down, and the hint of a smile plays on his lips. "My parenting inadequacies did not go unnoticed. That was where Adriel came in."

I look at him, confused. "What does Big Boss have to do with any of that?"

"Adriel wanted to adopt you."

I almost tumble off my chair. "What?!"

"After your mother died. He and his wife were childless, and he must have thought they could offer you a better life than I could. When he suggested it, I took it as him saying I was a bad father. I was offended."

It takes a while for this to sink in. Big Boss wanted to adopt me when I was little. Big Boss gave my father a broken shard of the Orb of Ariadne. Who was this man?