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He moved to Byron. “This is my son.”
Oh.
“Who is it?” Byron asked, apparently confused by my staring.
“Your dad,” I said. “Jakob, right?”
He froze.
“Opa’s here?” Amelia said, her eyes immediately filling with tears. “Tell him I’m sorry I wasn’t more…” She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“He said he owed you all.” I looked at the spirit who nodded.
“I felt the danger, but it’s been so confusing. Time passes, and I don’t know where I am. Sometimes I forgetwhoI am,” he said. “But that wolf gave me something to focus on, tethered me to consciousness. I’d been trying to reach them all for a while, but they didn’t hear me. I failed them in life and death. Then you came, and I knew you were the key. I felt the space around you, saw an opportunity. At Halloween, I had the greatest chance of communicating, but it didn’t work properly. You were closed off, and I… got lost somehow.”
I repeated everything he was saying. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know. I still don’t really know what I am, what I can do.”
“Neither do I,” he said. “But I was drawn to you. There’s enough death in you to make you a bridge. You live, but death marks you. You were my only hope. I had to be noticed.”
I didn’t repeat most of that. “So you never possessed Dominic then.”
“I wouldn’t want to be in that creature’s body,” he said with distaste. “I only tried to warn my family. I didn’t do enough.”
“You did,” I said. “You helped us figure it out. We caught him.”
“I… don’t know how to get back. To move on.”
I looked at Amelia. “He’s not sure how to move on from here.”
“Opa, it’s time,” she said. “Your job is done. We’re okay now. You taught us, and we learned. I’ll try to help you now, but you have to want to move on.”
His forehead creased. “I don’t want to leave them.”
“I think it’s time,” I said.
“Your wife is waiting,” Byron said huskily. “Go to her. We’ll see you again.”
An odd chill formed in my chest. Perdita’s hand jerked in mine. Dorian gripped me a little tighter. I let go of Perdita and held out my hand to the spirit.
“It’s growing stronger around you,” Jakob said. “Death.”
“Take it then,” I said, wincing from the strain of holding on to that feeling and still staying awake. It was sleepwalking while awake, but worse because I was holding death in my hand. Jakob’s form sort of slithered around my arm, passed through me, and then disappeared. I let out a gasp, but he was gone. It was over. The air smelled like flowers, for some reason.
“He’s gone,” I said. “Do you smell that?”
“Violets,” Nathan said gruffly. Perdita moved to hug him.
“Mémère,” Amelia said, holding her fist to her chest. She reached out and held Byron’s hand. “Opa’s at peace now.”
“What happened to him?” I asked. “He seemed… regretful.”
Amelia shook her head. “The way my grandfather died… the months before his death… he was a changed man. It’s a relief to know he’s found some kind of peace.”
“He just wanted to protect you all,” I said. “And punish Dominic.”
Byron rose to his feet. “That’s next on the agenda.”
The others all left the room. I helped Amelia clean up, forcing myself past the weakness, that ice-cold place inside my chest.
