Page 9 of Forever Frenzy
Seth held his hands up. “No way.”
“What would help you most?” Saul asked him.
Seth pinched his lips together. “I don’t feel like it’s right to even ask you this,” he said, a tear sliding down his cheek. “I don’t want to lose either of you. If he goes to the Underworld, I’ll lose him, but if he lives, he can help me. I already feel like my powers are spiraling out of control.”
The wooden table began to rattle with his tension, lifting several inches off the ground with each jerk.
“Calm down, Seth,” I tried to soothe.
He cried harder, and the table’s trembling worsened. I thought the wood would splinter in two.
“I want to talk to him,” Saul said so quietly, my heart broke. “I want to talk to Tageset.”
Before I left with him, Seth took my head in his hands. “I can ease the pain, I just can’t make the tumor go away. Can I help?”
“Of course,” I said. I didn’t tell him that the tingling in my brain was a familiar feeling and that I was sure he’d been helping me for a while. The boy had a heart of gold. I couldn’t imagine what he was going through, being able to see what was happening and powerless to stop it, despite having so much power at his fingertips.
Seth was quiet on the way to The Sand. The pathway beneath our feet was worn to the dirt, only specks of ice and snow lingering along the way. Our steps fell in unison, his gait matching mine the way it had since he’d grown as tall as me. When he was a boy, he had to run to keep up. I thought one day I would struggle to do the same, but now I knew I wouldn’t live long enough. A tear trickled down my face. I swiped it away before he could see it. What if I didn’t get to The Sand in time? What if I had hours, not weeks? More tears fell, a torrent I couldn’t stop.
“It’s going to be okay, Dad,” Seth said confidently.
“Everything’s going to change. How is that okay?”
“You once told me that if life throws something in your way, you deal with it as best you can. Well, this is us doing just that. Most people don’t have this option, even though it’s not ideal. But it’s something.” Seth flexed his fingers.
We stepped into the clearing, where the forest was silent except for our breaths. Eerily so.
“Ready?” he asked.
I looked at my son and nodded once.
As he lowered his head and began chanting in Egyptian, theair became viscous. It crackled with electricity, and when a bright light split the darkness, Seth pulled me into it.
The Sand was exactly as I remembered. Warm, hot, and dry, a constant breeze flowing over the dunes, carving intricate patterns into them. Thankful that my headache was gone, I looked around for Tage; however, the only thing I saw was sand and palms. “Where’s Tage?”
Seth blew out a breath and muttered something under his breath. Tage suddenly appeared on the nearest dune and began walking down the side closest to us, skirt flapping in the breeze. This Tage wore no arrogant smirk.
“Saul,” he greeted cordially.
I crossed my arms. “Tage.”
Seth stood to the side as we faced one another, a tense silence filling the air. I turned to my son. “I want you to wait for me in the clearing.”
Seth opened his mouth to protest, but when he saw the look in my eyes, he knew I meant business. He looked to Tage, who nodded slightly. To hell with that. He wasmyson – he didn’t need Tage’s permission to leave.
In a flash, Seth was gone and my head began to pound again. Was it because Seth wasn’t present? Was that why he’d been so adamant about working with me in the city lately?
“I want you to stay away from my son and wife,” I spat.
“He ismyson,” Tage said, crossing his arms, a dark look shadowing his face.
I shook my head. “I’ve raised him and he’s mine.”
“I’ve been a constant in his life, Saul. Just because I haven’t been able to leave this place, doesn’t mean our relationship is any less real than the one you and he share.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but a shaft of intense pain sliced through my head. “Why am I hurting like this here?”
He stepped away. “I would have to bind you here in order to stop it. I can call for Seth, though. He can ease it.”
