“All right, Mom. Shoot.”
She gazes at where I’ve been looking at Collin’sface to address him directly. She’s off by an inch or two, so I know she can’t see him, but still, her near-accuracy is eerie. “Avatar, I used to own averyspecial tiara with blue and white gems. I want you to tell me who has that now, and where they are keeping it.”
Huh. Okay. This is the first I’ve ever heard about any tiara. For all I know, it’s as powerful an artifact as the watch. But all she wants to know is where it is. She’s not even asking how to get it. I raise my eyebrows at Collin, leaving it up to him whether he thinks he should share the information.
He’s clearly not happy, but he says, “Your mother’s tiara is in the possession of the aswang, Maharlika. When she is not wearing it, she keeps it in a silver box under the mattress of her human servant, Ligaya.”
I repeat his response and my mother nods, very pleased. “That’s a good answer, Avatar. Thank you.” She returns her gaze to me. “And now, before I give my own answer, I have one more question, but this one’s for you, my son. When you made your pact with the elf, whatexactlydid he ask you to get him?”
“The watch. He said it would be in that house on Lake Street.”
“And you’re sure he neveroncementioned the Avatar of Knowledge.”
My eyes widen, realizing. “No. He didn’t. He didn’t want me to know what it was.” I lean in, suddenly energized. “So, you’re saying if I get the spirit free, then I can just give him the watch, and we’re done?”
“Yes, baby boy. If you do exactly what you seem hell-bent on doing anyway, you can just hand over the empty cage, and the elf will have no more claim on you.”
I look up at Collin for confirmation. He’s nodding, as impressed with her as I am. “I, eh, can’t ask questions about my freedom, so it didn’t cross my mind to even think about that possibility. But she’s not wrong.”
I turn back to my mother. “Right. Okay. But I don’t actually know how to do that, Mom. You promised me a real answer that would get me out from under the Obligation.”
“I did,” she says. “And I pay my debts. Those markings on the outside of the watch are Celtic, which means it was created with druidic magic—and I just so happen to know that the most powerful druid in North America lives right here in the Bay Area, and she owes me a favor. Several favors, actually. If anyone can tell you how to free your spirit, it will be her.” She glides over to a small pad of paper and pen next to the SubZero refrigerator and begins writing. “This is her address. I will let her know to expect you shortly.”
Mom hands me the paper, and Collin glances over my shoulder at it. Flicking his eyes to the right and away, he says, “It’s sound. There is a druid of some renown who lives at that address in Antioch. And, for what it’s worth… she’s dead right about the kind of magic that’s trapped me.”
So Mom just gave me a legitimate, solid lead. It’s not even 8:00 a.m. yet and with BART, I should be able to get there and back before I’m supposed to meet Rafa. It will mean getting zero sleep, but if it can help me learn how tofree both Collin from the watch and me of my Obligation, then I’m down for it.
“You’re actually helping me,” I say, fixing her with what I hope is a piercing look. “Why?”
She glares back, aggrieved, and repeats a familiar refrain. “Darling, I know you have willfully chosen not to believe it, buteverythingI’ve done for the last twenty-two years, I’ve done for you!”
God. It’s the same old bullshit, and I’m just so sick of it. I shake my head, unable to hide my disappointment. I cross my arms and let us sit in silence for two full beats, just staring at each other.
She looks away first. Then her face softens, suddenly tired. It makes her look older somehow. “I might not have put it in words, Alvin… but you are my son, and Idolove you.” She purses her lips, meets my eyes, and her voice falls to a whisper, edged with sadness. “Verymuch.”
I suck in a breath, truly surprised. She’s never said anything like that to me before. What I would have done to have heard that growing up! Of course, I don’t dare trust it now, but there’s still part of me thatwantsto. And she has to know that.
I scan her face for the usual signs of deception, but bizarrely, she actually looks sincere. Like it pains her to admit it. And out of all the terrible and scary things that woman has said to me over the years, nothing has made her feel more dangerous.
15
I havea lot to think about on the way to the BART train.
In the last twenty-four hours, I’ve been assaulted and blackmailed by elven nobility. Promised to rescue a schoolgirl from vampires. Committed multiple crimes. Was saved twice by a ferocious Monster Hunter (who actually hit on me!). Got my hands on what is apparently one of the most powerful artifacts in existence. Had sex for the very first time (which turned out to be completely imaginary!). And now I’m off to meet a powerful druid to learn how to destroy the artifact’s enchantment and free the spirit trapped inside.
For someone who, for over two decades, has been literally the most boring person on the planet, it’s a lot to take in.
But am I thinking about any of that right now? No. Because I’m thinking about my mother. Which is just how she likes it.
Typical.
I take a seat on the BART train heading toward the druid’s house in Antioch and realize this is the first moment I’ve had to actuallybreathe. The Obligation is still squeezing my insides with its scalding fingers every chance it gets, but I can’t tell you how good it feels to just sit quietly for a few minutes.
Collin is perched next to me on the barely padded plastic double bench. He’s been silent since we left Mom’s penthouse. And it’s not like he said a lot while we were there, either. Even though I know he’s not human, now I’m afraid I’ve screwed up somehow with him. (Not that I have any idea how!) We have the front car all to ourselves, so I can talk to him in my normal voice without coming off like a lunatic to strangers.
“So… my mother didn’t seem surprised that I had the watch or that I was able to steal it…” I begin.
“No,” he says. “She did not.”
