by RJ Crayton
“You really think Pylum is right, that Zygam will attack the temple in ten days?”
“Nine days,” I corrected. He looked at me pensively. “Last night, he said it was ten days. That means we’re own a day. And why wouldn’t Pylum be right about it? He saw disaster with me going to find my aunt, and that came to pass. He also saw Akilah at the market trying to take Nigel. We just barely got to him in time.”
Jasper breathed out, then took my hand in his. “Listen, I can help you, if you need it,” he said. “If you’d asked me to go to the temple with you last night, I would have helped you.”
I looked into his cobalt eyes and realized what he was saying was true. I was glad I hadn’t asked him. “If you’d gone, he just would have done whatever he did to Akilah to you,” I said, squeezing his hand. “I’m glad you’re here and you’re safe.”
He grimaced at that, and I’m not entirely sure why. Did he want me to want him stuck in Zygam’s clutches? Another person Zygam could attempt to lure me back to his clutches with. “Listen,” he said. “I should go and talk to Master Pylum. He’s probably irritated that he can’t reach me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, that he can’t reach you?
He looked around the room, inclined his head slightly toward the wall. “Light rooms are for meditation and peaceful reflection. Once the door is shut, no one can reach your mind who isn’t inside the room with you. If he was calling to me in my mind, it stops at the door. People come here for complete restoration, and you can’t do that if the outside world intrudes.”
That made sense. I nodded and released his hand. “Yes, you should go. Do you mind if I walk with you part of the way? I had a question for you.”
He smiled big at that. “Sure.”
We stood and left the room. The moment we were outside the door, Jasper grabbed his head, as if in pain. He staggered and leaned on the wall.
I put a hand on his arm. “Are you alright?”
He nodded, but closed his eyes. After a moment, he spoke. “I should have told Master Pylum I was going into a light room. He was trying to broadcast to me telepathically and he’d gotten very loud, as I hadn’t answered.”
Jasper cleared his throat, and we began walking again. “Is Pylum a good telepath?”
Jasper nodded vigorously. “Yes,” he said. “Though I imagine he’s very good at most things. Anyone with the gift of an oracle would be good with telepathy, glyphs, every form of magic. I mean, when you dip into the Seas of Time, you are getting access to the mistakes of the past, so you can see clearer in the future. You would have a better sense of what will work and what won’t, not just in life, but in magic. He is excellent at telepathy. I doubt anyone but your mother would’ve been better.”
I stared up at him. “How do you know that?”
He shrugged. “It’s just what I remember my parents saying.” He chuckled. “I suppose perhaps they were gossipy in their own home. I just assumed that’s what all couples do at dinner. Discuss the goings on in their lives. But since you’ve returned, I’ve looked at some of my mother’s memories, and she made the occasional off-hand comment about your mother. She admired her skill and fortitude, especially the way she persevered after your father’s death.”
Hmm. My mother admired. It was nice to hear such things. But I didn’t remember my mother. I needed to fix that. I needed to see Auntie. If she was doing better now, I’d ask her to unlock my mind.
We’d arrived in one of the main rooms here at the temple. From here, we could go anywhere. I turned to Jasper. “I need to see my aunt,” I said.
“Alright, then,” he said, but he paused. “You said you wanted to ask me something, though.”
Oh, I’d almost forgotten. “Yeah,” I said, smacking my forehead. “I got distracted. I wanted to know why some of the pictures on the wall move.”
“The paintings in the hallways?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Usually they move because something about it speaks to you, personally. You make a connection with it.”
That wasn’t what I expected. “Me personally?”
He nodded. “The temple wants to open to each mage, to let them find what brings meaning to them, to help them find their light.”
Nigel and I had watched the painting together. “So, would two people see the same painting move?”
He hedged. “Possibly. If they were both connected to it. Or if the two people had a close bond, the bond might allow the non-intended to see what the intended saw.” He watched me carefully. “Did a painting move for you today?”
I nodded, then reconsidered and shook my head. “It moved for Nigel, but I saw it too.”
He frowned. “That’s odd,” he said.
“Yeah, seems to be.” I didn’t want to puzzle over it more, though. “Um, I shouldn’t keep you from Pylum. And I need to see my aunt.”
“Alright,” he said softly, his face still pensive. “Does that mean you won’t be at the rest of classes today?”
I hadn’t really even thought about classes. Pylum had pulled me away from the temple to rescue Nigel without mention of them, so it seemed reasonable that I would be excused from them for the rest of today. “I don’t think so.” He looked disappointed at that, so I added. “I’ll see you and Nigel at dinner, though.”
That didn’t seem to improve his mood, but he said, “Sure.” I turned to head to the healing room.
Chapter 7 - A Bag of Crystals
When I arrived in the healing room, I walked straight to where the curtain separator for my aunt stood. I peeled back the curtain to find Auntie lying there, resting. She looked better than before. More color had returned to her. We smiled at each other.
“Kady,” she said, her voice soft, but clear. “I’m glad you’ve come back.”
I leaned in and hugged her, and she hugged me back. I wondered a bit if this is how Jasper felt when he saw me. Glad that I looked fine, but worried that something beneath was wrong, that somehow things would suddenly and irrevocably go bad again. I released her and said, “You look much better. Did Master Yaritza give you more ...” I searched for a word, but I wasn’t sure what to call it. Healing magic? Medicine? I settled on “treatment?”
She nodded. “A salve for my throat,” she said.
“You don’t have to talk,” I told her, as I took a seat beside her. “Not if it hurts.”
She shook her head. “My throat feels much better now. The salve has done me wonders. And so has being rescued. It started the healing process, and that was thanks to you.”
“And Akilah,” I added, still feeling bitter that the one person who’d believed in me, who’d helped me without question, was now under Zygam’s control.
She frowned. “I’m sorry about your friend.”
I forced a smile, realizing I was not helping my aunt. “I’m sorry I brought her. I shouldn’t have.”
“Pylum will help us rescue her.”
If only it were that easy. I was torn about Akilah. Part of me was angry that she’d turned evil under Zygam’s spell. But part of me worried for her. “Akilah doesn’t want to be rescued.”
“I didn’t want to be rescued,” she said. “But I was mistaken. I believe your friend will have a similar experience.”
I stared at her. “What do you mean you didn’t want to be rescued?”
She looked at me and shrugged. “I mean, I didn’t want to put anyone in danger, thinking it was best if I was left where I was. But I think that’s the despair of the moon temple. It seeps in the longer you stay there. Here in the light, I can see clearly how good it is to be free. I can remember the good things better.”
I took her hand in mine. “I’m glad you’re here, Auntie,” I said. “I have missed you so much. It was scary being without you when that’s all I’ve ever known.”
She reached up and stroked my hair. “Yes, but you are brave and strong and you have done well, even without me.”
“But I didn’t want to do well witho
ut you,” I said. “I wanted to do well with you.”
She smiled. “I missed you, too,” she admitted, a blush crossing her cheeks. “You’ve been my entire world for so long.” She breathed out and looked toward the window, where late afternoon sun was filtering in. “But that isn’t always how it was.”
I stared, not sure what she was getting at.
“There was a time before, when you and I were simply aunt and niece, a time when I wasn’t your only protector. A time before I locked your mind.”
I bit my lip, as I examined the sadness about her. A touch of guilt hit me as it was clear this subject pained her. I wanted my mind and memories back, but I didn’t want the anguish it seemed to be causing in her. Still, I couldn’t help asking, in my softest, kindest voice. “Why did you lock my mind, Auntie?”
“To keep you safe. I didn’t want your magic to lead Zygam to us.”
“That makes sense,” I said. “You locked my mind and my magic.”
She gave a regretful glance at me. “The suppression of your magic was supposed to stop once we were separated. But Zygam figured out how to keep your magic at bay.”
“How?”
“The magic he coated me in projected parts of my essence, so it wouldn’t seem like I was near you. That way, he could keep the suppression working, temporarily.”
That sort of made sense. “It also blocked my memories.”
“No your memories were always locked separately. You didn’t need them if we were separated. You needed only your magic to protect yourself.”
I shook my head. That wasn’t true. “I needed to understand what was happening around me, Auntie. I still need to know what exactly is happening.”
“You want me to unlock your mind.”
I looked her in the eye and nodded.
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
Instinct pulled my hand from hers, and I stood. “Why not?”
“Because of what happened to your friend.”
“Akilah?”
“Yes.”
“What does she have to do with anything?” I asked, still feeling bitterness that she’d refused my request.
“You saw what happened to her when her memories were unlocked.”
I nodded, thinking back to Akilah’s abrupt change, her unwavering allegiance to him. “That couldn’t have just been because he unlocked her memories,” I insisted. “He had to have done something more to her.”
She stared at me a moment as if debating whether to contradict me, and finally breathed out. “Regardless of what went on between the two of them, I do know that unlocked memories returning can cause significant shifts in people. While there is an initial flood of a few memories, the bulk return over time. However, what does come back immediately are the feelings associated with those memories. And not just in normal doses, but in exponential doses because they’ve been cooped up and hidden. Initially, your mind is flooded with those feelings most closely associated with the most powerful memories.”
I didn’t care. “So what? So I’ll be overcome with feelings. I want my memories back.”
“You’ll get them, but first I want you to watch something.”
“Why? Why can’t I have the memories? What feelings are you worried about?”
“Your feelings for Zygam. You loved him, Kadirah. You adored him. He was your favorite, above everyone else.”
I stepped back. “So what? He’s not my favorite now. I could never forgive him for what he’s done.”
Her mattress was at an angle so she could partially sit up and auntie tried to sit up further, but it must have been painful, for she released a low groan.
I rushed back to her and said, “Don’t upset yourself. You have to rest.”
“I will rest,” she said. “But first I want to give you these.” I looked up to see a bag float from the corner of her cordoned off area over to us. It was a round velvety bag closed with a drawstring. The pouch was the size of a small purse.
“What is this?”
“They’re memory crystals from your mother.”
My eyes widened in shock. “Where did you get these?”
“Your mother gave them to me the night Zygam tracked us down. The night he killed her. I was to show them to you when you were older.”
I looked at the pouch, which had landed in her lap. “And you’ve had them with you the whole time?”
Auntie shook her head. “No,” she said. “When Pylum told me Halcyon would be safe, I gave him the pouch and asked him to hold it for me. I told him he could give it to you if I died, but otherwise, just to keep it safe for me.”
I felt a wave of anger. “So, he’s had this the entire time I’ve been here at the temple?”
“He probably thought they were mine, my memories. He was doing what I asked, holding them for me. I wasn’t dead, so he was right not to give them to you. Don’t be angry at him.”
It was too late for that. I’d been angry with Pylum for many things already. This was simply another to add to the list. “You’re saying I can have them now?”
“Yes, I want you to watch them.”
“What’s on them?”
“Memories of you, of your father, of Zygam.”
I bit down on my lower lip. I hadn’t expected that. Perhaps I should have, but I thought of my mother’s memories as about her and me, but Zygam and my father would have to be included. I sighed and looked at the pouch. “After I watch these, you’ll unlock my memory?”
She nodded. I picked up the pouch. “I’ll be back later,” I said as I turned and left.
Chapter 8 - A Revelation
I had the bag of memories with me, and I was holding them tight in my hands as I left the healing room. Only, as I stepped into the hallway of the temple, a stark realization hit me: I had no way to play these memories. I didn’t have a memory orb. The two times I’d viewed memories, they’d either been on Pylum’s orb or Jasper’s. I sighed. I supposed I could go to Pylum and see if he had an orb I could borrow.
But part of me was reluctant to see Pylum in light of everything that had happened. Yes, he’d helped us save Nigel. But he’d done something to Akilah. Auntie thought unlocking Akilah’s mind had caused the radical change. If that was the case, what exactly had Pylum hidden inside her? And what was hiding inside my mind? Auntie seemed to think there were strong feelings of love and warmth for Zygam? Still, I didn’t see how that could be.
But Akilah had changed so radically, so quickly, it worried me that I could be in store for the same thing.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and startled. I turned, prepared to be irritated at whomever it was, but tempered myself when I saw Jasper. “You alright?” he asked, his eyes focused in on me, concern pouring from him. “You walked right past me, even though I called your name.”
I breathed out, and forced a smile “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t hear. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Hey,” I heard, and looked over to notice Nigel was standing there, too.
My smile widened at that. I was very glad to see him. He looked well, not too anxious, given the circumstances. That was good. “You’re getting used to things?” I asked Nigel.
He nodded. “Yeah. It’s not bad.”
“I hope you decide to stay,” I told him. “I think you’ll like it here.”
I looked back to Jasper, who, I realized, still rested a hand on my shoulder very gently. To Nigel I said, “He’s a good roomie so far?”
Nigel shrugged.
“I’ve been showing him around, introducing him to people.”
That was wonderful. “Thank you, Jasper,” I said, meaning it. Then I remembered my crystals. “Hey, can you do me a favor?”
“Anything,” Jasper said.
“Can I borrow your memory orb? I need to look at some things.”
He released me and looked down at the bag in my hand. He studied the cloth for a moment and then nodded. “Sure. When did you need it?”
I looked up at t
he clock on the wall. This was the middle of the afternoon break between classes. Jasper and Nigel just had five minutes, but it might be enough time for him to get it for me. “Would now be bad?”
Jasper laughed and shook his head. “Now is fine,” he said. “Can you walk Nigel to Master Shanzu’s room, and I’ll meet you both there in five minutes?”
I nodded, and he walked briskly away.
I turned to Nigel, inclined my head to the right, and said, “This way.’
He followed along and then I heard in my head. He likes you. Do you like him, too?
Of course I like him, I responded. He’s very nice. He’s one of the few friends I have, here.
Nigel’s chuckle came across in my mind. Not like that. He likes you, like boys his age like girls your age. Do you feel the same?
I stopped walking and looked at Nigel. I hadn’t expected that. I hadn’t really considered how I felt about Jasper, in that sense. I just knew he was my friend.
“I guess you must,” Nigel said aloud.
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Because you kicked me out of your mind the second I asked. Didn’t want me rummaging around to find my own answers.” He smiled mischievously, as if it were funny. But it wasn’t.
“Nigel, I didn’t realize I kicked you out,” I said in a whisper. “But if I’d known you planned to look for answers yourself, I would have. Here at the temple, we’re not allowed to invade other’s minds. I mean, we can speak to them telepathically, but not search their thoughts without their permission.”
He shrugged, as if it was not a big deal.
But given Jasper’s reaction the time I’d accidentally perused one of his memories without permission, I didn’t want Nigel to overstep. I didn’t want him to make the same mistake I had with Jasper and have him react in a way that caused Nigel to want to leave. “Especially with Jasper,” I said. “Don’t invade his mind. No more than what you’ve already done.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t gone in his mind,” he said. “It’s kind of obvious. He gives off the vibe. Surely you feel it when he’s near you?”