Page 3 of Fight

Warmth fills me at his words, and I guess I can understand why he didn’t tell me in the beginning. It wasn’t really until I came back from break after I escaped the guys and then had the Ravens and my captors come after me again that I really started to let my true skills make an appearance. In reality, despite everything that has happened, that wasn’t that long ago at all.

“I had no intention of you knowing about your connection to this place, not until I had made it safe again, well as safe as this place ever gets,” Demelza adds.

“Okay, I understand why Gerald had to keep his connection to me a secret, but why did you fake your own death?” I ask.

Demelza looks slightly ashamed as she replies, “That was a fuck up on my part. As I said before, I thought that by dying, my enemies would just give up. That was incredibly naïve of me, and if I were thinking about it properly, then I would never have thought it would work. However, I had gotten news from one of my contacts that Silas was destroying this town and our legacy. I finally felt ready to come back after the death of Alastair. I felt that it was time to take the town back, for my son, for my friends who all disappeared after we left but who we can assume Silas killed, and for the future heirs.”

Her gaze moves away from me to the others.

“Okay, so why did Gerald suddenly disappear? I mean, the town is clearly still not safe. Some of the parents are gone, but not all of them, and someone is killing them, which is an entirely different, but no less alarming, issue,” I pause, my eyes widening as I realise something, “wait, are you the one who is killing them?”

Demelza’s smile becomes deadly, “I only needed to kill Silas and then plant some information, overheard conversations, that sort of thing in the other houses for the others to find. They did the rest for me, killed each other off.”

“That’s diabolical,” I grin; I can’t help it. It sounds like something I would do, the least amount of mess and effort and the maximum result.

“Thank you,” she replies, looking proud.

“Well, at least that’s something that we don’t have to deal with,” Rome says from behind me.

Demelza’s eyes move to Rome, “I would apologise for killing your father, but from what I have gathered, he deserved it simply for what he put you through; they all did.”

Rome nods as he confirms, “There’s no need for an apology. But do you have any idea what happened to my mother? Has she really disappeared, or is she dead?”

Demelza frowns, “She disappeared, and since she wasn’t the driving force behind everything that was happening in the town and all the evil that has happened here, I let her go. I know where she is, and if you ever want that information, I can give it to you.” She tells him and then looks at the twins, “Your mom went with her.”

“Our mom?” Mason asks, looking slightly shocked.

“Yes, I obviously watched them for a while before executing my plan. Neither of your fathers were exactly pleasant to either of the women, and they obviously saw the opportunity to escape and took it. Neither one of them was born into this life; they just caught the attention of the wrong people.”

Rome nods, “I would still suggest watching the town limits for them, just in case they do decide to try something, although it seems unlikely, and I think I speak for both myself and the twins when I say that we’re fine not knowing where they are. I just wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t be a threat.”

The twins both nod in agreement, and it's obvious to see that none of them care to know where their mothers are, just so long as they stay away and don’t cause trouble.

Demelza nods, looking proud, “I agree. Your Grandfather would’ve been proud to see the kind of man that you’ve turned into.”

I share a look with the guys. She deserves to know. They both do. It’s evident from their reaction to Demlza’s words that they both miss their friends and are still saddened by their supposed deaths.

I should’ve told her when she first mentioned it, I have a feeling that as soon as she does know, this conversation is going to be over, but I have all of my most important questions answered for now, and I have a name for my father, there is just one more question that I’d like to ask before I fill them in.

“My father is dead then?” I ask before wincing slightly. I really could’ve worded that a little bit more sensitively.

Sadness clouds both of their features as Gerald replies, “Yes, we exhausted all avenues of search, and we had access to things that we shouldn’t have had and money to back it up. We couldn’t find him, and if we can’t find him, that means he’s dead.”

I nod. Strangely, I feel more sadness having it confirmed that he’s dead than I did when it came to my mother, even though I always thought he was dead. “Will you tell me about him? Do you have any more photographs of him? I’ve only seen the ones from when he was young with you and the painting of all the heirs from that generation.”

Demelza’s eyes fill with happiness as she smiles, “Yes, of course, I can tell you about him any time you want, ask me anything, and I’ll do my best to tell you.” Her smile falls, “Unfortunately, I can’t show you any more photos. Those are the only ones we have. There was a fire in the house that we moved to as soon as we left here, and it burned to the ground, taking everything with it. I brought all of my photos of him from here because I never intended to come back here, and I couldn’t bear to leave without them. If I hadn’t done that, they wouldn’t have been lost in the blaze. I’m so sorry.”

Sadness pricks my heart, but I smile gently as I reply, “I’m sorry that you lost your son and your photographs of him. That must have been so hard.”

Her eyes fill with unshed tears as Gerald wraps an arm around her, “Thank you.”

I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for them, they are clearly still affected by everything that happened, which is understandable, and I don’t think that it’s ever something that you’d get over. I know if I were in a similar situation, I wouldn’t.

Chapter Two

“We do have something to tell you,” I add, changing the subject because I’m sensing that, like me, she doesn’t do well with emotions.

“Oh?” she asks curiously, the sadness retreating from her features as she looks at us curiously.

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