Remember the Knight

by Thomas, Carrie Lynn

  “Go for it, I’ll take care of the funeral.” My head hurts more and I massage my forehead with my fingers. “I’m not exactly sure I can help you. I looked for a year and couldn’t find a single freaking ring. Not to mention the Nexus is missing and our dad is dead and hell if I can find Vin or anyone else. All I’ve encountered is humans. Lots and lots of humans. Too many humans, which is why I came back here because there are a lot fewer humans in Star Harbor.”

  “Well, aren’t you a downer.” He shakes his head. “Giving up when we haven’t even started.” He leans across the table. “Maybe some pizza would help?” I raise an eyebrow and open my mouth, but he cuts me off. “Yeah, yeah. Talk first, food later. You asked why I’m here and I told you, I need your help. We need to find the rings and destroy the Nexus.”

  “And I told you I found noth—”

  “Yes, you did.” He lifts the corner of his mouth. “I said I need your help to find them. Not that I need you to find them. Now, about that pizza?”

  I groan and close my eyes, hoping he’ll disappear. I open them. Nope. Again, how am I related to him? I throw my hands up. “Seriously? You haven’t actually answered anything. You need my help, but I’m not really clear on how or why.”

  “Does your mom know who I am?” He taps his fingers on the table again, leaning back in the chair.

  I blink. Where had that question come from? “What?”

  “Your mom,” he repeats. “Does she know me? Does she remember who I am from that night on the beach? Does she remember me?” He leans forward again, emphasizing the last question. He’s close enough that I could reach out and slap him. I bite my tongue again. It might be bleeding.

  “Yeah,” I say. “Why?”

  “Just curious. What did you tell her?”

  “That you’re my brother and that you rescued me after my father was killed.” I massage my fingers into my temples. My head is really hurting.

  “Aww.” He meets my eyes and I can’t tell if he’s being real or not. “That’s sweet. My little brother.”

  “Not that sweet. She’s not too crazy about the way you left me.”

  “What exactly did you tell her?” Zane’s eyes narrow.

  “Nothing—I don’t know. You’re really giving me a headache. This conversation is meaningless.”

  “Maybe the pizza—?”

  “Will you stop with the pizza?” I slam my fist on the table. “Your questions and riddles are really pissing me off.”

  “Fine,” he sighs. “I just want to know if she hates me or not. I could really use a good night’s sleep and this cabin isn’t cutting it.”

  “That’s what this is all about. You need a couch to sleep on and that’s why you need help.” I slide the chair back, ready to stand. He can sleep on the beach for all I care.

  “Well, I’d prefer a real bed—” He stops when he sees my glare. “Actually, it’s more than just a place to sleep. I really do need your help, Adam.”

  I pause and cross my arms.

  He sighs and looks down. “I need your help to find the Nexus.” He looks back up, his eyes dark and intense. “There’s things I know, things that…” He trails off and looks back down again.

  “Things that what?”

  “Things, there’s just things.” He looks to the corner of the cabin. “When I used the Nexus to go back in time, I really thought I would die. I thought I was dying. But then I woke up last week in a hospital in Arizona. Apparently, I had been in a coma for two years. Someone found me in the airport parking garage unconscious and with barely a heartbeat.”

  “You’ve been in a coma for two years?”

  “Yes,” he says, and runs his fingers through his hair. “And before you ask, no, I don’t know where the Nexus is. I don’t even know if there is a Nexus anymore.”

  “Then why do you need my help to destroy it? If it doesn’t even exist, it’s not dangerous anymore. I looked for a year and found nothing. Maybe it’s stuck in that other lifetime—the one that existed before you changed everything. That—” I stop and close my eyes as the anger rolls through me like a gust of wind. When I open them, Zane is studying me curiously?

  “What is with you?” he asks. “You are a mess, little brother. You used to be the sweet sensitive guy—now you’re like—”

  “Some worn out piece of crap,” I finish.

  His eyes scan my face carefully. “Exactly what happened to you in Roswell?” he asks.

  I sink back into the chair. “I really don’t want to talk about it. Just tell me why you’re here, Zane. Let’s get off this merry-go-round of yours. If you need me to find the Nexus and rings, yet you’re not even sure they exist, why are you here?”

  “I’m not sure,” he says. “But I had some strange dreams in my coma that make me believe it is here. And that I need to find it. Soon.”

  “Dreams? You’re going off dreams from a coma?”

  He wrinkles his brow. “Yes. I’m not sure it was a coma. Hell, I’m not sure anything is real anymore. But if the dreams are wrong…” He looks just past me as if he’s seeing a ghost in the corner of the cabin. His eyes drift back to me and his smirk returns. “I’m hungry. Can we get something to eat?”

  “Just tell me what dreams and then I promise we can go eat. I have plans with my mom, so I’ll have to come up with an excuse. Like I said, I don’t think she’ll be too thrilled to know you’re here…wait,” I pause. “Why did you ask me if she remembered you?”

  He opens his mouth like he’s about to ask for food again, but then he sighs and closes it. “I guess I was just trying to figure out where everyone’s memories stop and begin. She saw me before I went back in time, yet remembers me. I’m still attempting to understand everything that’s different. You remember, I remember. How many humans remember? I don’t know. Time travel is confusing,” he says. “How one little change could change so much. I guess I didn’t think beyond that moment of saving you.”

  “Saving Sage?” I correct him. He lifts an eyebrow. “That moment you saved Sage.”

  “I didn’t do it to save Sage, Adam. I did it to save you. Can we eat yet?” he asks. Uh, he can be so frustrating.

  “You’ll get your food when you tell me about the dreams,” I say sternly.

  “You’ll hear about my dreams when I get my food.” He smiles and crosses his arms.

  “I’m done here.” I rise. “I have a pizza date with my mom and since this conversation isn’t going anywhere, I’m done. If you were serious, you wouldn’t be playing these ridiculous games of yours. Go back to wherever you came from and leave me alone.”

  Zane stands up and grips my shoulder, his eyes flashing. “Adam, it’s not a game. I do need your help. Sage needs your help. They’re still out there. Vin’s still out there. And despite what I said, I’m positive the Nexus is still out there. And until we destroy the Nexus, we’re in major danger. I really need your help.”

  “Yeah, whatever.” I shake his hand off and take a step toward the door.

  Zane pounds his fist on the table. “I don’t know what your problem is with me. I’m not here to use you. I’m your big—”

  I turn around. “Stop with the brother crap. You’re not my brother. Or bro. Or whatever you want to call me. You—you—”

  “I what?”

  You abandoned me when I was five. You abandoned me with our father, alone. And again in Star Harbor, and again on the beach. And you’re going to do it now. Where had that thought come from? I keep it to myself. “My mom’s waiting.” I turn back to the door and reach for the handle.

  “Wait,” he says, grabbing my arm again.

  I shake him off. “Will you stop that before I punch you in the face?”

  Zane’s face tightens. “You sure have changed. I never thought sweet and kind Adam would have such a temper. It’s like you’re turning into that old boyfriend of Sage’s mom.”

  I close my eyes and take a deep breath willing the calming air in my lungs to spread through me. He’s right. I am
turning into someone I don’t like. I clench my fists. “You have sixty seconds.”

  Zane smiles. “I’ll talk fast. Well, when I was in this supposed ‘coma’, I learned a thing or two. About the Nexus and the rings. It was like Benji was whispering in my ear giving me all the answers. I know what I need to do. What we need to do.”

  “What?” I glance at my watch.

  “We need to track down the rings and the Nexus. And destroy them. Before Vin finds them. He’s got bad plans, Adam. Really bad plans. And if he gets control of the Nexus, there won’t be anything left of North America—including Sage.”

  “So, you’ve already said. But how does he plan to even use the Nexus? Only you and I can control it and I’m not planning to destroy the world any time soon, so that leaves you.”

  “I think something happened in Roswell—” I wince. “Sorry.” Zane pauses before continuing. “Something happened there. Something not good. We need to find it and we need to find it fast.”

  “But how?”

  “Benji came to me in those dreams. He gave me a little help.” Zane smiles, lifting a brow and crossing his arms. He knows he’s winning.

  And he will. He will win. Because her face is flashing through my mind, and as much as I try to resist, I can’t—I won’t—risk her getting hurt. Even if Zane is wrong and this is some big ploy or game. I can’t take that chance.

  “Now about eating?” Zane asks, patting his stomach.

  “Your sixty seconds is up.” I step through the door and slam it behind me.

  Chapter Six

  Sage

  Sleep escapes me. The pain in Hunter’s eyes mixes with the expectation in my parents. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, playing the images over and over in my head. Did I make a mistake? Should I have said yes to Hunter?

  My eyelids finally grow heavy, and I turn to my side, letting my mind drift...

  “Sage, hurry up,” he calls. I turn to meet his face. The blue eyes, the black hair, the tiny dimple that dances across his cheek. The sun is bright, and the lake wind blows pieces of hair across my face. “Sage,” he calls again. My feet move, striding toward him. My speed increases to a jog and then a run as I chase him down the beach. “Come on.” He glances behind him and he keeps running. He reaches a pile of rocks and a moment later, I’m there with him. Bending over, catching my breath. He smiles and then he’s climbing the rock. At the top, he holds out his hand for me. I go to reach for it…

  Sunlight splits the curtains and I sit up in bed. Great. I want to go back to the dream. I fall back onto my pillows and close my eyes. I’m on the beach. I’m on the beach. I’m on the beach. Nope, I am not on the beach. I sit back up again, rubbing my eyes. They’re puffy from the buckets of tears I cried last night. I must look like a mess. I’m pulling on my pajama pants when my mom’s footsteps fall outside the door, and a moment later she’s cracking it open.

  “You’re awake. Are you okay, honey?” Her voice is gentle, soothing. The concern flooding her eyes, and the dark circles beneath them tell me she stayed up late last night. All because of me.

  I should tell her I’m okay, but I can’t. I’m drowning in emotion and I can’t find the words, so I just shake my head.

  She crosses the room and sits down on my bed, pulling me to her. Her hand gently strokes my head and I fall into her, feeling the comfort and safety of her arms. Tears begin to dampen my cheeks and she pulls me back to see my face. Running a finger along my cheek to catch a tear, she whispers, “I’m worried about you.”

  “I’m okay.” I wipe my face with the back of my pajama sleeve. “Really. I’m okay. I just feel bad for Hunter, that’s all. I didn’t mean to hurt him. He’s been like my best friend for so long…”

  “I know,” Mom says. “And I’m sure once Hunter has time to process it all, he’ll see that too.” She pulls me into her arms again. “Oh sweetie, Hunter will be okay. I promise. There’s a girl out there for him and there’s a guy out there for you.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Those blue eyes flash through my mind. He’s always been at the periphery of my life. I can go months without thinking about him. Months where I don’t analyze every dream. But every so often, I’ll pass someone—on campus, at the airport—and there’s something familiar. Like the way they walk or the hair or just something that makes me think it might be him. And I’ll turn around…expectant, hopeful. And it’s not him. It’s never him. He’s like something you can’t touch, only see. It’s like he’s behind the protective glass at a museum. I can’t understand who he is or why I keep dreaming of him or why my heart nearly explodes when I think of him.

  It’s been growing more than ever over the last few years. Not only the dreams, but the feelings that go with it. So much so, I often thought about telling somebody about the dreams. My friends, my parents, Hunter. They’ll think I’m crazy, though. Won’t they? But after last night, I don’t know how to hold it in. I can’t understand this feeling of why I can’t say yes to Hunter, but I’m pretty sure it’s got something to do with the boy with blue eyes.

  My mom studies me with concern. “You look lost in a dream,” she says. “Are you sure everything is okay?”

  “Yeah,” I smile shakily. “I’m fine.”

  “Good.” She sighs. “Because there’s something I need to tell you.” She frowns and looks down at my comforter, picking at the threads.

  “This doesn’t sound good.”

  “Well, I guess we thought you would tell Hunter yes.” She holds up her hands. “And I’m not saying we’re disappointed you turned him down, please don’t think that. But…well I guess with you two being together for so long, that marriage was the next natural step. So, we sort of planned a dinner with your grandparents…and, well, Hunter and his parents.”

  “It’s—”

  “I don’t know if they’ll come. And if you want me to cancel…”

  “No, no. It’s okay. Really. Don’t cancel on my account. It will be good to see Grandma and Grandpa. And are you sure you’re not disappointed?” I bite my lower lip.

  “No.” Mom pulls me yet again into a hug. “Of course not. There’s nothing more in the world that I want than for you and Stella to be happy. You know that, right? You are my girls.”

  I smile weakly. “Of course.”

  “I love you two more than anything—I’m so lucky to have you. And your dad. I can’t imagine not having you three. I think I’d fall apart.” An image flashes through my mind. My mom, lying on a floor with a bruise growing on her eyes, her lip swelling, blood smeared across her chin. I shudder at the icy feeling washing over my skin and shake my head. The image fades, replaced by Mom—in her fuzzy robe with her hair pulled back and a warm grin stretched across her face. Her eyes sparkle when she smiles. Like sunshine. I look like her, sort of. I have her hair and chin, but my nose and eyes are definitely from my dad.

  I let out a breath, still slightly shaky from the earlier image. “That’s sweet of you to say, Mom. But I think you’d be just fine without us.”

  She shakes her head. “You give me too much credit, Sage. Now get up. Your dad’s making his infamous pancakes.” She pats the bed. “I know how much you miss them up there.”

  “Definitely,” I say. “Besides, I promised to take Stella out today. Not a lot of time for that before Grandma and Grandpa come.”

  “She’ll understand if you’re not up to it. And if she doesn’t, I’ll make sure she understands.” She squeezes my arm.

  “No, really. I’m not backing out of my promise.” I lick my lips. “Letting Stella down would be thousands of times worse than saying no to Hunter. I need this.

  She brushes her hands across her thighs and stands up, “You’re a great sister. Don’t ever let Stella tell you different.”

  “She wouldn’t dare,” I giggle. “Who else would take her out shopping?” Mom gives me a sly smile and turns to leave. “Mom,” I whisper just as she reaches for the door handle. “Can I ask you something?”

  “
Anything.” She drops her hand and turns around. “What is it sweetie?”

  I bite my lip as I try to arrange the words in my head. How do I explain the dreams? “Have you ever had weird dreams? Like about someone you don’t know but you feel like you should know? Like somebody you love more than anything?”

  “Hmmm,” Mom says. “Maybe your dream is trying to tell you something. Like it’s connected to the reasons why you turned Hunter down. That you’re still looking for more...maybe someone else.”

  “But have you had dreams like that?”

  “Oh honey, I have all sorts of weird dreams. I dreamt about your father dying once in a plane crash. It freaked me out to no end. I hate it when he flies, but you know that. It’s just your mind trying to tell you something or your brain trying to sort things out.” She laughs. “Sometimes I dream about the craziest things—like Stella riding unicorns or you disappearing in a bright light. They’re just dreams. Not real.”

  “But if it happens all the time? Like before I even met Hunter.”

  “Well, what do you dream of?”

  I hesitate and look down, playing with my fingers. Can I really tell her about the dreams? I open my mouth, the words coming out so softly they’re almost a whisper. “There’s this boy. And there’s this beach. And I swear I’ve never seen him before—or the beach. But they’re always the same…” I shake my head. “When I wake up, I feel so sad. So lost.”

  “I don’t know.” She bites her lip. “It’s probably just your brain telling you something. Maybe the boy means you’re still looking for your person and the beach is telling you you’re still looking for your home. Of course, I hope this is always your home…” She smiles sadly. “But I know you’re a grownup now and you need to be wherever you’re happiest.”