by S. M. Savoy
“We’ll go spar in a bit,” he promised.
Marcus nodded as Charlie clasped Oz’s hand a moment, feeling the pulse in his wrist.
On the next Spell-Steal cooldown he stole Soothe from Brenda and cast it on himself.
Rage still surged through him. He wanted to hit something, to hit until his fists were bloody, to stomp on his enemies’ dead bodies and hear their bones break. He wanted them to suffer, to scream in agony and fear, to beg for help, for pity, for mercy, for death. He shook with rage. Finally, he went to the rail and screamed his berserk cry.
A far-off echo of the raid screamed it back. The raid circled them, keeping watch, making sure they were safe.
But there was no safety anywhere for them. All their security and precautions had been gotten through like smoke because Sara had trusted. God, please don’t let her remember, he begged as he fell to his knees. She wouldn’t be able to bear that Oz had suffered because she’d let her father into her office and left him unattended.
“Please God, don’t let her remember that.” Charlie knelt on the deck of his boat begging God aloud. “Please, God, don’t let Oz remember a thing of his captivity, not one thing, please.”
He screamed his battle cry again. From across the water the raid echoed him. Mike, Marcus, and Rick echoed him from below deck. Charlie clenched his hands into fists to stop them from trembling and went to check on his warriors.
- 23 -
The Gift of Forgetfulness
“Well?” he asked anxiously three days later as he pushed into his cabin.
Sara still slept peaceful. No sign of the biopsy Liz had just preformed remained. Even her hair had been freshly washed. She wore one of his t-shirts and he could almost fool himself into believing everything would be okay now.
“It looks good, Charlie. Regeneration is almost complete. I have no idea if their memories will return or not…” Liz trailed off and took his hand.
“When?”
“One more night. Let them wake in the morning.”
“What will I say to her?”
“Truth is always best.”
He released Liz’s hand to sit beside Sara and stroke her bright hair. Not one scar remained. She was as perfect as Joy.
“Joy doesn’t remember her death,” he said thoughtfully.
“They were never dead. The injuries— the circumstance aren’t the same.”
“No, I meant, the magic can make you forget.” He waved his hand through the blue cloud that still covered Sara. “The magic can make us perceive things that aren’t there and hide things that are.”
“I agree magic could make someone forget, but we have no way to ask it.”
“It understands pain and it hates it.”
“I don’t like the sound of that…”
Charlie flashed her what he intended to be a reassuring smile.
She sighed hard and sat beside him to take his hand again.
He said, “The magic is perfectly happy now. It doesn’t even mind our worry; it wants us to worry over her.” A gust of magic billowed past Charlie to settle atop of Sara.
Small flecks broke off, darting for the door but they became too insubstantial for him to see within seconds.
Magic wound through the lower deck of the Rheal Lucky, lingering on all the casters before returning to Oz and Sara.
“I can’t imagine... It won’t understand…” She cleared her throat and started again. “Even if you could forget her, would you truly want to lose those memories?”
Charlie smiled crookedly. “That isn’t what I meant either. But, no, I’d never willingly give up one second of my time with her.” He leaned down to kiss Sara’s brow. “She isn’t strong enough.” He shook his head. “No, not strong, she’s plenty strong. Not callous enough…” he shook his head again, unable to articulate what he meant. “Her mental pain will terrify the magic. I’m going to ask it to make her forget and not just for my sake, for its.”
“You could destroy all of her memories completely.
“I know.
“It might not work, or it might but not as you intend. She could forget her time with you and remember the time with him.”
“I know, Liz!” he snapped and took a deep trembling breath. “I can’t say I’m okay with that but it’s better than her remembering the fear of captivity.
“You’ll remember…”
“It makes me furious. Not a mental pain that the magic minds,” he said wryly.
Liz winced.
“Gather the others and have Marcus bring Oz. It’s going to be a long day.”
* * *
Charlie sat cross-legged on the deck, lifting his face to the sun and called his magic out, trying to teach it to erase a memory.
“Forget,” he whispered and imagined Sara waking and crying. He remembered the pain she’d felt when kissing Mike in their magic and imposed Oz’s face on him.
“Pain,” he chanted while remembering her terror and the magic agreed it was pain. “Joy, think of the gunshot that killed you and the fading into the dark and your happiness to awake to Drew.
He rose to crouch before Brenda and take her hands.
“I know the lightning hurts and I’m sorry to ask this…”
“I’ll do anything I can. I love them too.”
“I know you do,” he whispered and hugged her tightly.
She was as sickened and worried as he.
“Stasia?”
“I’m trying,” she said absently.
She sat on the deck with her eyes closed, focusing on changing what her See the Future spell showed her.
Charlie left her to commune with her magic.
“It won’t work,” Rick whispered.
“I’m not trying to change the past or the future, just communicate. Rogues see clear visions. And it has to be the magic showing them so it must see them too.”
“That’s a big leap,” Rick said.
“It’s all I’ve got.”
Rick shook his head. “No. You’ve got her back and she’s safe. It will be hard, but she is safe and that’s what counts.
“I can’t let her remember how terrified she was.”
Rick paled and waved him away, going to Stasia, saying over his shoulder, “You’re right. They should never remember. Stasia, picture casting the spell and what we want her to forget fading to black.”
Stasia shuddered and opened her eyes, ducking her head from Charlie’s gaze, half turning away, her dark hair falling forward to hide her expression. But he knew it mirrored his own. The horror of it left his stomach twisting and a cold sweat on his brow.
Rick continued, “Let it feel how much you don’t want to see it.” His voice broke and he cleared his throat. “I want to unsee it too,” he whispered and kissed Stasia’s brow.
“See what?’ Charlie asked.
“I’ll never tell you,” Rick said so firmly that Charlie believed him, but he knew. She’d known what they’d do to her. He scrambled to the side where he vomited until dry heaves wracked him.
Joy moaned softly and the magic around her pulsed.
“Forget,” she whispered, begging the universe.
Charlie collapsed to cry, huddled against the rail, then angrily wiped the tears from his face and crawled to Joy. His magic hummed beneath his skin. It was trying to understand, and his self-pity wasn’t helping.
The hum grew and faded as the magic twined about them.
“I think it’s learning,” Stasia said hopefully as she jumped to her feet to pace. “That’s twice now it saw what I wanted instead of showing me the Rheal Lucky. She glanced at her HUD. Three minutes and I’ll try again. Joy, you try too. Give us all the magic.”
Brenda laid her hand against the metal mast pole and the cloud around her grew deeper. She strode into the swirling cloud to place her hands on the rail and the cloud doubled in size. She walked the ship, stopping to touch the metal fittings, drawing out the magic
that Sara had placed there in her fight for dominance.
Sparks grew and bloomed into skeins of lightning that flickered between them with painful zaps. The whirling magic gained speed until a vortex strong enough to lift their hair encircled them and the lightning manifested, slamming into Sara then leaping to Brenda.
Stasia grasped Brenda’s hand, “Now, Joy!”
The two rogues cast See-the-Future. The lightning flared brighter.
“Forget!” Charlie pleaded as he fell to his knees beside Sara. He cried out, giddy with excitement as the lightning leapt to Oz.
“Forget,” they chanted and lifted their clasped hands to the sky.
“Everyone, picture them slumping in that park and waking here!” Charlie yelled, imagining it as hard as he could.
Heat radiated from the lightning and the pulsing picked up in speed. It dissipated with a blinding flash and soundless explosion that knocked them over.
Charlie rose on his hands and knees to examine Sara and Oz, then sat shakily to cradle his throbbing head.
“Thank you,” he said sincerely.
“Let’s make them more comfortable,” Hawk said and went below to get an air mattress.
* * *
Liz and Gina brought them food that no one ate. The sun had set, and the stars lit the deck with a silvery glow. The sun would return in a few more hours and Sara and Oz would wake. The Scouts remained on deck.
No one wants to leave them or maybe my joy in their company is keeping them with me, he thought ruefully.
Stasia dozed in Rick’s arms, and Lee slept with her head in Marcus’s lap. Charlie wasn’t sure if Brenda slept or not. She hadn’t moved in a few hours, but he knew Mike was awake. The warriors anger felt like sunshine on his face, and he peered over his shoulder to see if Hawk and Todd had managed to get any sleep.
Both rangers reclined on chaise lounges behind Sara and Oz. Liz had brought potted ferns and palms with her and they now encircled them.
Tank picked his head up. His blue eyes glowed slightly as he scanned the deck before lowering his head to his paws again. Charlie rose to ruffle his ears.
“He’s happy,” Hawk whispered. “He senses the tension, but he isn’t alarmed. He missed them.” Hawk’s voice broke and he stopped talking to wipe his eyes.
“Oz—”
Oz stirred and Hawk jumped to his feet to lean over him.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Liz poked her head from the hatch. “He’s waking. My monitor just beeped. Keep nice and calm and remember we might be scary to them. Give them a few minutes before throwing the truth at them.”
“Our truth,” Charlie said gruffly.
Liz nodded and squatted to lay her hand on Oz’s cheek.
Oz moaned softly and rolled to his side. He pushed himself up, shaking his head and lifting a hand to push his hair back.
“Jesus, what the hell… Sara,” he gasped and reached for her.
Charlie inhaled sharply, and Oz swung his gaze to him.
“What happened? I feel like shit. Is Sara okay?”
“You know who I am?” Hope made the words tremble, and Oz cocked an eyebrow.
“Are you okay? You don’t look so good, Chief.” He reached to his wrist and frowned.
Stasia laughed and slapped her hands to her mouth.
“What the hell is wrong with you guys and where’s my—” Oz’s eyes narrowed and he glared down at Sara. “Goddamned Tomas. We were in the park. That man he met…” Oz’s brow furrowed, and Charlie held his breath. He could feel the sudden tension in the air as Oz pondered.
“They drugged us?”
“Yes.”
“And took us?”
“Yes, but we got you back.” The satisfaction he felt from saying that built and he triumphantly screamed his attack cry, shocking all of them and himself. Magic billowed about them in a sudden storm, bring their feelings of joyous relief with it.
“Get a grip,” Oz said, and Charlie burst into tears.
He hugged Oz tightly while Oz awkwardly patted his back.
“You’re freaking me out, here,” Oz whispered.
“I know. I’m so sorry.” And he was sorry, but he couldn’t make himself release him.
Stasia sobbed once and hugged him too. Hawk was already patting his back Charlie realized, and he laughed through his tears.
“Took a while to find us, huh?” Oz said and he pushed Charlie away to hug Stasia and clasp Hawk’s hand. “Thanks.” He frowned and released Stasia to lean over Sara. “How long?”
The murmurs behind them died and Charlie sat back on his heels.
“How long?” Oz asked insistently.
“She’ll wake soon,” Liz murmured.
“How long, Liz?” Oz asked.
“Ninety-eight days, sixteen hours and twelve minutes,” Hawk said.
Oz turned to him as Liz said, “No, leave her alone, Charlie. You’ll scare her to death if she doesn’t know you…”
Charlie reluctantly sat back on his heels, letting his reaching hands fall to his side.
“Doesn’t know you? Were we dead?” Oz asked, and Charlie shuddered from the strength of Oz’s fear.
“No!” he said emphatically. “You’re perfectly fine!”
Stasia was crying hard now, sobbing on Oz’s shoulder.
“I’m okay,” Oz said as he hugged her.
Charlie closed his eyes, not wanting to see the fear on Oz’s face, but he felt it. He wasn’t okay.
“He’ll need a minute,” Liz said reassuringly, and Charlie turned to her. She was frowning at her HUD. Everyone was just as anxious as he.
“We all need a minute,” he said and took deep, slow breaths trying to calm himself.
Joy laughed shakily and knelt beside him, taking his hand and placing their clasped hands on Oz’s knee. She laughed and released him to hug Oz.
“I’m so happy to see you!”
Charlie laughed too, feeling her happiness and peals of semi-hysterical laughter rang over the decks as the Scouts enthusiastically hugged Oz, welcoming him back.
Charlie eased aside to let them pass, crouching beside Sara, being as careful of the others to keep his magic from touching her. He knew he should sit back, that looming over her as she woke could be frightening but he couldn’t pull himself away. A glance at his HUD confirmed she could wake any time. Normal sleep rhythms had replaced the slower rhythms of a drugged sleep and the Scouts were making enough noise to wake the dead.
His flippant thought made him cringe, his internal spike of worry transmitting through the magic and dampening their joy.
Sara woke suddenly with a scream that shocked him. She thrashed free from the covers, panting hard and lifting a trembling hand to her head, and Charlie sobbed with relief. He’d felt her fear and confusion to wake on the deck of the ship.
“Charlie,” she said and reached for him. Her fear spiked when he began to cry, and he grabbed her so roughly she squawked.
“You’re okay,” he said, laughing and crying as he kissed her.
She wasn’t okay, he was scaring her, or maybe it was the wildness of the magic that swooped about them or the crying Scouts. He didn’t know what she was scared and worried about, but he felt her as clearly as he ever had, and she knew him. Her love was a tonic, and he wanted to bask in it. He didn’t care if it was for him or Oz or sunny days or the damned dogs. She felt love and that was enough. He grabbed Oz from Stasia and hugged him too, crushing them both to his chest. Charlie knew his hysterical response to their awakening was causing them distress, but he couldn’t help it. He needed to touch them both and to have them touch him.
When Sara kissed his neck, he burst into tears again. Oz clutched in one arm, Sara the other, he rocked them both, hiding his face in Sara’s hair. Stasia and Hawk crowded around, patting their backs and rubbing their hair. Joy moved up, then Marcus, then Mike and Lee and Todd until they were all touching.
“So, we died then
...” Oz said in a small voice.
“We aren’t talking about it.” Charlie shook his head and tightened his grip. “You aren’t thinking about it or dwelling on it.” He took a deep breath, debating a minute over what to say. He couldn’t bear the thought of her mourning her dead father. She needed to know he was a bad man. “Sara, your father is dead. He was responsible for taking you. But you’re both safe now.”
He pressed his lips to her pulse that thudded in her neck. Shocked and bewildered, she clung to him.
“My father?” she asked breathlessly.
“Yes, I’m sorry, but he was a bad man, a crazy man. It hurts, I know, and I’m so sorry.” Charlie hugged her tighter as her distress mounted.
“He was truly crazy, Sara,” Liz said unexpectedly. “He was ill, brain lesions, nothing that happened was your fault or responsibility.”
“The fact that you’re saying that means I did something to cause this,” Sara said in a sad, scared voice.
Charlie released Oz to frame Sara’s face in his hands. “No, you did what any of us would do. You met your father for lunch. What he did was his choice, crazy or not. You’re not him, and you won’t become like him.”
“How long were we missing?”
Hawk told her and she turned white.
“We’ve been dead for months?” Sara’s voice rose shrilly.
“No, you’ve been sedated for months.” Charlie winced; his lie was apparent to everyone.
Oz jumped to his feet and began to pace. Sara was thinking hard, the familiar feel of her concentration was comforting but it worried him also. He prayed she wouldn’t remember.
Oz squatted in front of Charlie. “No, we haven’t been. We’d be weak and ill even with heals, and we aren’t. I can feel the lie, and I know you mean well, but tell us the truth.”
“No.” Charlie pressed his lips together. “I’ll never do that, and you’ll never ask again.”
Oz jerked back, his face paling as Charlie attempted to use his commanding voice on him purposefully.
Charlie said, “We just found you and brought you back here and healed you. Those missing months are missing to spare us all pain. Everyone suffered with your loss. The magic needs to forget and so do we.”