by T. A. Foster
Dare was nearby talking to a girl. I didn’t know whom. And I didn’t know where in the hell I was. But she was here. She was all right.
“But, you won’t take all his memories, will you?” Dare sounded nervous. I assumed they were talking about me.
“No. If you want me to select just the ones from the healing, I can. It can be a little tricky, but I should be able to separate those out.”
“I don’t want him to lose his memories. But he can’t know a bunch of witches just saved his life.”
I froze. I started to remember. We had been on my couch when I passed out from the pain. Dare promised she knew someone who could help me, but I blacked out. There was a flash of a memory. In it, I saw Dare stroking my forehead, her hands cool against my skin.
I tugged on the restraints.
“He’s going to wake up soon. I’ll get started on it, and then we’ll finish when we get him back to his house.” I didn’t know who the girl was, but I wasn’t about to let her start anything. No one was erasing my memory.
“But it won’t hurt him?” Dare asked.
“No, he won’t feel a thing. He won’t even know. It’s my specialty. Please trust me.”
I assessed the binds holding me to the bed. There wasn’t enough space for me to create any type of leverage. My head sank on the pillow.
Dare walked in the room. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
“Where in the hell am I? Why am I tied up?”
She reached across my chest and flicked a lever, releasing my wrist. “It was the only way we could work on your leg. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to scare you.”
I looked down at my leg while she freed my ankle. There was a heavier strap keeping my feet from moving.
I pushed up until I was sitting. “What is going on? Where are we?”
“Your leg was infected. It started to spread all over your body. I brought you here where we could remove the source of the infection. The restraints were for your protection. I’m sorry we had to use them.”
“But it was healing. It wasn’t infected. It was feeling much better.”
She rested a hand on my wrist. “It wasn’t a regular infection, Zac. That jaguar that attacked you poisoned your leg.”
“Poisoned? That is crazy.”
My leg didn’t hurt anymore and there was only a faint scar where the gash had been. It had been better, but it wasn’t this far along in the healing process. How had it already become a scar?
“It does sound crazy, but it was going to kill you. I did what I had to do to save you.”
“Then why am I here and not in a hospital?” I looked around the stone walls. I didn’t know Sullen’s Grove even had caves.
“Because there isn’t a doctor who could fix this. We needed a healer. A very special healer.”
“In a cave?” Nothing made sense. There was a good chance I had hit my head on the coffee table when I fell off the couch.
“I brought them here to help you. I didn’t know what else to do.” She wouldn’t look at me. I tilted her chin upward.
“How long have I been here?”
“Two days.”
“I’ve lost two days?” I scratched the back of my neck.
It still felt like Tuesday night, as if we had just been on my couch wrapped up in each other. I couldn’t remember anything else.
“Work. Do they know?”
“Yes. I spoke to Lacey and told her you had come down with something. She seemed to believe me.”
I didn’t know what to think. “You called Lacey?” My mind was working sluggishly.
She nodded. “Everything is fine with your job. Don’t worry.”
“Dare, just tell me what’s going on.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter.”
“What doesn’t matter? Tell me something. Anything.” The lowlight flickered in her eyes. I wanted to see the green flecks, but it was too dark. I needed something familiar from her. Something that resembled the girl I had been falling for.
“I’m sorry about all of this.” Her fingers trailed over my chest, landing over my heart. It was as if she was trying to absorb the beat through her palm. “Your leg was poisoned because of me.”
“What?” I tried to think how she could have anything to do with that jaguar I had met in the woods.
“I have a—let’s call him a stalker. And right now, he’s trying to destroy my life. He hurt you, infected you with a cut so that you would die. He was trying to prove a point with me.” She spoke quietly. “And I realized when you started to feel the pain that it wasn’t from a human infection. It was magic tearing through you.”
“Magic?”
She nodded. “Yes, dark magic. It needed three days to make its way through your body before it would start to kill you.”
I covered her hand with mine, pressing it against my skin. I could feel my heart throb under her palm. “And how did you know it was magic?”
“Let’s just leave it at I’ve had my fair share of magical encounters living in this town. I knew what it was. You didn’t have much time.”
“All right. I’ll accept that for a second, but tell me how you removed it. I seem fine now.”
I could move every part of my body without searing pain. The scar was the only remnant of the jaguar attack. I actually felt energized.
“Witches.”
“Witches?”
“Yes. One of them is a healer. The other two were able to help in other ways. They have seen this type of injury before, so they knew how to help you. They stripped the magic from your body. You’re going to be fine.” She smiled lightly.
“Fine? Huh. How did they do it?”
“I don’t think you need the details.”
I pulled one of the restraints and held it up to her face. “I just woke up tied to a bed, and you don’t think I deserve to know how I was healed for two days?”
“Zac, I can’t explain how all the magic works. But I was here the entire time. I sat with you. I gave you water. I talked to you. You weren’t alone. I never left you. I swear.”
I thought about the flashes of memory coming to me. They were all Dare.
She continued. “The poison attached itself to your essence. We fed you an elixir that sort of loosened it enough so the witches could separate it and draw it from your body. That’s why we needed the restraints. It was painful. It looked excruciating.” She wiped at her eyes. “Most people wouldn’t have survived it, but you did. You’re strong Zac. Incredibly strong.”
I reached for her hand. “I remember you were here. I know you sat with me.” It was still fuzzy, and they all felt like dreams but they were memories. My memories of the poison being ripped from my body.
“I promise I won’t let you get hurt again.”
“How can you promise something like that?” I wanted answers. I needed to sew together the scraps of information to make something solid out of this.
She lowered her eyes.
“Hey, look at me.” I took her face between my hands. I didn’t want her to cry. “I’m not going to pretend this isn’t insane. But, it’s not your fault. If you hadn’t been there, I would be dead. So, thank you for saving me.”
“But you wouldn’t have been in danger if it wasn’t for me.” I saw the tear sliding along her cheek. “You almost died, Zac.”
“But I didn’t.” My pulse thumped. “I want to help you. Something bad is obviously happening in your life. Stalker, witches, whatever. I don’t care. I want to protect you, not the other way around.” I brushed the warm tear from her face.
“You don’t understand.” She shook her head.
“Then tell me. Make me understand. Give me a chance.” I could feel her pulling back, retreating from our connection. I needed to draw her in again. “Whatever happened to me tonight…I mean two nights ago has changed things between us.”
“What do you mean?”
“You stayed with me. You brought me here. You saved my life. I don’t take that lightly.”<
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“You don’t owe me anything,” she added.
“I was already falling for you. You know that, right?”
“Maybe.”
“I was. I still am.” Maybe it was my near brush with death, but I wanted her to know I felt something for her. I’d been trying to tell her for the past week. “And I was trying to show you that the other night. I want to be with you.”
“It’s too complicated.” She shook her head.
“Whatever is happening in your life, I can help you. Let me help you. Let’s uncomplicate it.”
She closed her eyes and laid her head on my shoulder. I wrapped her in my arms and pulled her against me. I felt strong, stronger than I had before the attack. I didn’t know what was after her, but I wasn’t going to let her get hurt. I could shield her from the darkness following her. I had faced my share.
“I wish this could happen,” she whispered.
“It can. Obviously, we have a lot to talk about, but I’m not going anywhere. A little magic isn’t going to scare me away.”
“It should.”
“It won’t.” There was no way I would leave her now.
Someone cleared his throat in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Dare sat up and scooted off the bed. “Ian, yeah I was just filling Zac in on his condition.”
“Detective Grace?” I recognized the man as one of the officers who had stopped by after the attack during the festival.
“Glad you’re feeling better. You scared the hell out of Dare.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry if I scared everyone. I didn’t know. Are you one of the people I should thank?”
“You could say that. We didn’t know if you would make it through it, but you did. Dare, Holly’s ready if you are.”
She turned toward me. “I’ll be right back. Ok?”
“Ok.” I watched her walk out of the room with him. I didn’t know if this was the part where I should run like hell or wait for the girl.
The girl. It would always be wait for the girl.
Holly was standing in the den with Vix and Maya. They watched me enter, Ian following closely. She and Ian were cousins, although they looked nothing alike. Holly had shoulder-length brunette curls that bobbed when she talked quickly. He told me we would need her help if we were going to save Zac. It wasn’t until now that I realized exactly what they wanted me to approve.
“Ok, just tell me what parts of his memory you want me to erase.” Holly broke the silence. “I can take care of it and then we can all get some sleep. It’s been a long couple of days.”
“I think I’ve changed my mind.” I blurted it out before really thinking through all the consequences.
“What?” Vix snapped.
“I don’t like using magic on top of magic. I appreciate everything you’ve done to save him. I do, but I don’t want to steal his memories. I can’t put him through more of this.”
“He knows who I am.” Ian faced me. “I can’t trust him with that kind of secret. The Eraser Spell was part of our agreement.”
“He’s not going to tell anyone,” I defended Zac.
“You don’t know that. Humans talk when they’re cornered. They aren’t part of our world, or yours. I need my identity to be concealed.”
I interrupted. “But he’s strong. You’ve seen that. You can trust him. He’s been through too much. Don’t do this.”
“I’m sorry, Dare, but Holly has to do some part of the Eraser Spell. The rest is up to you, but my identity isn’t negotiable. It’s the reason she’s here.”
Vix and Maya watched us.
Ian had saved Zac. His mother was a retired healer. Violet Grace knew how to combine herbs and magic to cure almost any type of magical or human illness. When I called Ian to tell him Zac had collapsed and described his injuries, he told me something similar had happened to his sister last year. His mom had an antidote. All I had to do was move Zac somewhere Case couldn’t interrupt the healing process.
We needed two days to let the antidote bind to the dark magic. Once they said we had a small chance of extracting the spell, Ian and Holly performed a Ripping Spell, seizing the poison from Zac’s body. I sat on the bed, helpless to relieve his pain, watching as the magic worked its way through him.
The lair was the only place I could guarantee a full two days to perform the counter spell. We had never brought anyone to the lair. Especially not a guy. Case knew all our homes. I was out of options. Now there were two witches down here with us. I didn’t have the luxury of zapping the location from their memories. We were all making sacrifices.
“All right. You can erase the memory of him seeing Ian in the lair,” I stated.
“And that’s it? You sure? It’s a whole lot easier to get all the memories out at once, especially as recent as these are instead of trying to retrieve them later if you change your mind.” For a bubbly person, Holly was persistent and serious.
“Are you sure?” Vix asked.
I glared at her. “I’m certain.”
“All right.” She backed down.
Holly smiled. “I’ll be right back. If all I need to do is erase his memory of seeing Ian here, I can be done in five minutes.”
Ian’s face was still concerned. She patted him on the back. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this. Why don’t you get out of here?”
“All right. Before you go, why not cloak the entrance to the cave for them?” Ian asked.
“Sure. I can do that.” Holly’s perky tone returned.
“Thank you again, Ian.” I walked with him through the tunnel. We stopped in front of the exit.
“Sorry if I got heated back there, but it’s dangerous for humans to know our identity. I’m guessing it is for you too.”
“It is. But he’s different.” I didn’t know Ian well. I knew he helped people. I knew he had a witch family with an array of talents at his disposal. I didn’t know if he had ever fallen in love.
“My best friend is a Guardian. He’s not around right now, or I would have him protect your friend. He’s going to need something. He’s not safe. You’re going to need to figure something out.”
I didn’t want to believe what he said was true. Case had proven his point. It should be enough.
“I’ll watch him. I’m sort of a guardian too.” I don’t know what the Guardian in the witch community did, but I felt certain my type of protection was what Zac needed.
“Call me if you need something else.” He turned toward the bushes.
“I hope the Nox can repay you.”
“I hope we don’t need you to.” He smiled.
“True.”
He ducked under a low branch and disappeared into the woods. By the time I walked through the tunnel, Holly was coming out of my room.
“It’s all done.” She smiled. “And by the way, he is cute.”
“Thanks. Can I talk to him?”
“Yeah, I think he’s completely healed and he won’t even remember Ian and I were here. What you tell him about the cave and everything else is up to you.”
“He doesn’t know who I am.” I eyed her. “He’s never going to know who I am.”
I jerked when she pulled me into the next room. It was darker than the hallway.
“Look. I know we don’t really know each other, but girl to girl, I feel like I need to tell you this. I’ve dated humans. Somebody’s heart is going to be broken. If you want to keep the magic in your life and keep it a secret, it’s not going to work. It never does.”
“It has to. He can’t know who I am.”
“Have you thought about breaking things off?”
I knew it was too late for that. I shook my head.
“While I’m here, I could just suck you right out of his bright blue eyes and he’d never know. It’s an option.”
“No. I don’t like that option.”
She smiled. “He would be hard to walk away from. I can see that. Maybe we could get drinks one night and swap boyfriend stories. You might change you
r mind.”
I didn’t have friends outside of the Nox. “Sure. But I have a lot going on right now. You know, fated betrothals to battle.”
“Right. That sounds nasty. Who makes up this freakin’ council?” she asked.
“I don’t know. They’re next on my list, once I get the other girls back.”
“My cousin wants me to cloak the entrance for you. I’ll do it on my way out. It can’t keep anyone out, but if you don’t know where this place is, you won’t be able to see it. Anything else?”
I had never depended on other people like this. We were independent. Case had stolen some of that from us.
“Actually, there is one more thing.”
“Ok.”
“The past two days I have been completely focused on Zac’s healing, but now that he’s out of the woods, I was wondering if you could take a look at my friend, Abi. She’s here in the lair.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“I think it’s some sort of magic the Tribe used on her. She was kidnapped at the same time as Tegan. When we got her back, it was as if she didn’t know who we are. She still doesn’t. She has no memories of being a she-panther. Since you’re an Eraser, I thought you might be able to help.”
She smiled, her eyes warm and soft. “Of course. Where is she?”
I led her along the cave tunnel to the room Abi used to share with Tegan. Maya was sitting on the floor, cramming for a chemistry final, and Abi was on the bed, flipping through a magazine.
I pointed to her. “Abi, have you met Holly yet?”
Her eyes drifted toward us.
“Hi.”
Holly smiled and sat on the bed next to her. “Hi. Is that the latest Vogue? I love Vogue.”
Abi nodded. “It is. I like the pictures.”
Holly looked over her shoulder at me. I wanted to tell her Abi wasn’t a simpleton. She was a journalist for the school paper. She was a go-getter with a gentle spirit, and a heart that always sought the truth, but all of that seemed to be hidden somewhere.
I nodded. “You can talk to her. Anything. I want her to get better.”
“Do you think I could have a few minutes alone with her?” Holly asked.
I motioned to Maya. “Yes. Absolutely.”