by Brandon Mull
“A wild horse came and killed them all,” Cole said.
Joe and Mira exchanged a look.
“Six Enforcers?” Joe verified.
“And two of their mounts,” Hunter said.
“A horse did that?” Mira asked. “Working alone?”
“It came galloping out of the night,” Cole said. “It went on a rampage and then ran off.”
“My best guess is an echo controlled the animal,” Hunter said. “Maybe the echo that bargained with Cole.”
“That would be one powerful echo,” Mira said.
“It’s a guess,” Cole said. “All we know for sure is it happened. We hadn’t seen the horse before, and we haven’t seen it since.”
“Somebody is on our side,” Mira said. “Cole’s echo gave us a key tip. The warning got us out of there.”
Cole slid his hand into the pocket with the ringer. “It sure seemed like the echo meant to help, whether or not he controlled the horse.”
“So will you go?” Mira asked. “Into the Cave of Memory, I mean?”
“If that’s what you want,” Cole said, not overly excited at a chance to let everyone down. “Are there any secrets that could help get Destiny to trust me?”
Mira beckoned Cole close with her finger. He drew near, pulling his horse as well, until Hunter relieved him of the reins.
Mira whispered, “Tell her about speaking to our mother and knowing that she marks us with stars. Only the most trusted people know about that. Tell her the haystacks have fallen down. That’s the master code phrase for identifying a messenger from Mother. Also tell her I’m with you. Mention that I needed to avoid making an imprint. But tell about the time she wet the bed and I threw her underthings and sheets out the window to help her hide it. That didn’t work, by the way. She was four, I was six. Remind her of the time her tooth fell out, and she lost it and was sad because she couldn’t put it under the pillow for the Toothmonger. I found a little pebble that looked almost like a tooth on the white gravel path in the East Garden. I told her the Toothmonger would accept it. She used it and still got some ringers the next morning.”
“Our Toothmonger is called the Tooth Fairy,” Cole explained quietly.
“Ours is a hairy demon,” Mira whispered. “Yours sounds nicer.”
“Ours brings money too,” Cole explained. “Same result. Any other secrets or memories?”
“Tessa liked when I sang to her,” Mira said, her voice catching. “She was my only little sister. The one I cared for. She could be freaky. She would sometimes say things that sounded way too adult. Or even beyond adult. Mysterious prophesies wrapped up in riddles. She was kind of like a perceptive, but more than that. She said things that she had no business knowing. But then a lot of the time she was just a small girl. My little sister. I sang songs about talking flowers. She loved flowers.” A tear slid down Mira’s cheek.
“I’ll find her,” Cole assured her.
“Please,” Mira said, nodding and then wiping her eyes. “I don’t know if I can handle losing her.” She squeezed her eyes shut, but more tears spilled out.
Cole hugged her. “It’s okay. Her imprint is just the start. We’ll find her.”
As Mira clung to him, Cole felt his resolve strengthening. Mira had been through a lot. Her little sister obviously held a special place in her heart. There were a lot of things Cole hoped to accomplish, including finding Jenna and getting home, but right now this was the most urgent problem. They had helped two of the other sisters. He wouldn’t blow it with this one.
“Stop traumatizing Mira,” Hunter scolded.
Cole realized that Hunter and Joe couldn’t hear their whispered conversation. “She’s telling me about Destiny,” Cole explained. “I have a way with the ladies.”
Mira pushed Cole away and wiped her eyes again. “I’m sorry,” she said, glancing at Cole and the others. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“Don’t apologize,” Joe said. “You’re under so much stress.”
Mira shook her head. “I can’t afford to crack up. Weakness doesn’t help anybody.”
“You’re tired,” Joe consoled. “We’ve been riding hard.”
“There is plenty more travel ahead of us,” Mira said, looking more or less composed again. “I’m not comfortable sitting still. It’s early. Maybe Cole and I can go ahead to the cave? Then Joe and Hunter can catch up after Dalton and Jace get here.”
“Be sure to tell Jace that Mira chose me for cave duty,” Cole said. “So he’ll get why we didn’t wait.”
“Better yet,” Joe said to Mira, “Hunter and Cole can visit the cave while you and I keep watch for the others. Maybe you can sneak in some rest.”
“But I should be there,” Mira said.
“Sitting outside a cave alone?” Joe asked. “Not on my watch. You’re too valuable.”
Mira stared at him.
“What?” Joe finally asked.
“I’m trying to decide whether you mean valuable or incompetent,” Mira said.
“The revolution depends on you girls,” Joe said. “The Unseen tasked me with keeping you safe. I’m doing my best.”
Mira gave a single nod. “Cole? Hunter? You up for it?”
“It would be a shame to waste the day,” Hunter said.
Cole mustered his most confident tone. “Let’s go caving.”
* * *
The nondescript cave opening looked like a little cleft in the rocks that probably went back no more than fifteen feet. Given the reputation of the Cave of Memory, Cole had pictured something more grand—yawning darkness fanged with stalactites.
“Think that’s it?” Cole asked.
“Joe pointed out the trail and told us to go left at the fork,” Hunter said. “Looks like the trail ends here.”
The leather saddle shifted slightly and creaked as Cole dismounted. The ride from Rincomere had only taken a couple of hours. Staring at the unassuming gap in the mountainside, Cole patted his horse.
A sound from a stand of trees off to one side made Cole turn abruptly. He could make out a vague shape in the trees.
Nudging his horse to a trot, Hunter rode that way. “It’s a horse,” he soon called. “Wait. Two horses. I don’t see riders. They must be in the cave.”
“Enforcers?” Cole asked.
“Doesn’t look like their kind of mounts,” Hunter replied, turning his horse to ride back to Cole.
“Great,” Cole said. “I’ll have actual people to worry about in there as well.”
“It’s a little surprising,” Hunter said, swinging down from his horse.
“Why? Don’t lots of people know about the cave?”
“Sure, but they stay away because of the curse.”
Cole stared at his brother. “Now I hear about a curse?”
Hunter shrugged. “You already know the basics. Whoever goes in leaves an imprint. Think about the downside. People can figure out you went there. By speaking with your imprint, strangers can find out about you and potentially use the info against you. And bad people have gone inside. You can meet some serious evil in the Cave of Memory. Most people in Necronum have decided the place is bad luck.”
“But nobody can touch me,” Cole checked.
“Not physically,” Hunter said. “You won’t get punched or stabbed, unless real people do it. But bad imprints could mess with your head. Watch out.”
Cole took a deep breath. Except for meeting live people inside, Cole had thought through these dangers. “I might as well get going.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Hunter said.
Shielding his eyes, Cole glanced toward the sun. It wasn’t high enough to be noon yet.
Leaving his horse with Hunter, Cole walked to the gap in the rocks. Cool air wafted out. He had to crouch a little to proceed. The way curved, narrowing somewhat, and looked like it probably stopped just out of sight. But as he crept forward, the opposite happened. The tunnel widened, opening into a vast chamber, the air cool enough that Cole wished he ha
d a jacket. Cole could see where four different tunnels branched out from the large chamber, each lit by a different color—red, blue, green, and purple.
A woman stood on the near side of the chamber. She was heavyset and in her fifties, with short black hair and a long brown fur coat. She held up a hand. “Halt. Do you know where you are?”
“The Cave of Memory,” Cole said, holding still.
The woman gave a nod. “All who enter leave behind a permanent impression of themselves. If you come any farther, you will do the same when you leave.”
“I know,” Cole said.
“Proceed if you wish,” the woman said. “You’ve been warned.”
Cole walked over to her. “Who are you?”
She ducked her head and held up both hands. “Not your business. I came here by accident. So I warn people who enter. I spare the unwary from surprises.”
“You’re an imprint,” Cole said.
“You’ve already come too far,” she said. “You’ll leave one too.”
“Do you mind it here?” Cole wondered.
The woman folded her arms and looked a little puzzled. “Honestly? I got more than I bargained for when I came in. But I can’t say I’m suffering.”
“Don’t you get bored?” Cole asked.
She scrunched her eyebrows. “Funny—I can’t recall. I guess that means I don’t. I remember coming here with my husband and exploring for a good while. Once we went to exit the cave, it gets fuzzy.” She looked around, peering toward the colored passages. “My husband isn’t with me. I suppose he wandered off. Not sure how long ago. He always had wanderlust. It was why we stumbled across the cave in the first place.”
“How long ago?”
She looked perplexed. “Feels like it’s been a while. Maybe not? Time gets funny in here. We learned that we had found the Cave of Memory from some of the imprints while we were still tangible. It was strange to meet the imprints. Watch out. Some aren’t all there, if you take my meaning.” She pointed a finger at the side of her head and twirled it in little circles.
“Do you miss your husband?” Cole wondered.
She peered around the area again. “I expect I will if he doesn’t turn up soon.”
“Do many people come into the cave?” Cole tried.
She stared upward in thought. “Hard to say. Not since I’ve been here at any rate.”
“Are there two other people in here right now?” Cole asked.
“That doesn’t ring true,” she said.
“There were two horses outside,” Cole explained.
She shrugged. “Could be I missed them. Doesn’t seem likely, though. Looking back, it gets muddy since I exited the cave.”
Cole remembered Sando explaining that the imprints didn’t learn anything new after they were made. How long had this imprint been here? Years, maybe. Or days. Or centuries. If she couldn’t remember, it all might feel the same to her.
Cole gestured toward the colorfully glowing passages. “I didn’t think of bringing a light.”
“You’ll find enough in the cave,” she said. “There are some dark places, to be sure, but never for too long. At least in my experience. This is an enchanted place. Strong weaving. Dates back to near the founding of the Outskirts, so I’m told.”
“What if I’m looking for somebody?” Cole asked.
“Could take some time,” she said. “The cave goes and goes.”
“Any tips to keep me from getting lost?” Cole asked. “Do the colors help?”
“We never made complete sense of the colors,” the woman said. “We got ourselves good and lost, but an imprint gave us the tip that heading down would generally lead us farther in while trending up would lead us out. Not always true in a cave. But true in this one. It’s how we found our way back to the entrance.”
“Thanks for the tip,” Cole said. He felt like he should get moving. “You stay here all the time?”
The woman shrugged. “It’s good to have a purpose.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Cole said. He glanced over at the colored tunnels. “Any thoughts which I should try first?”
“Far as I could tell, they all lead somewhere.”
Cole headed for the passage with the red glow, since the color made it seem warmer. After walking out of sight from the woman, he paused. How long before she would forget meeting him?
He counted to ten in his head, then returned to her.
“What have we here?” she asked, sizing him up. “An imprint, I take it?”
“I’m a person,” Cole said. “I just came in. We spoke a short time ago.”
The woman broke eye contact and stared at the cave floor. “Did we?” she asked with an embarrassed smile. “Funny how the mind works in here.” She gazed at him suspiciously. “I don’t recall you.”
“It’s okay,” Cole said, backing away. “I have one of those faces. Very, um, forgettable.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you pulling my leg? Did we really speak?”
“Sorry,” Cole said, not wanting to upset her. “Maybe I’m mistaken.”
“Some of you are devils,” she replied huffily. “Not fair to play with a person’s mind. Not when they’re alone in a cave.”
“Again, sorry,” Cole said, returning to the red tunnel and passing out of view. The ground sloped slightly down ahead of him.
Cole took comfort that the woman wouldn’t be confused for long. She would forget him all over again. He tried to imagine how it would feel to forget everything after it happened. Life would be disorienting. Then again, having no sense for how long he had been there would be merciful if he was stuck in a cave forever.
Cole glanced back. Should he be marking his way? Should he have brought more provisions than a water flask? Maybe some rope. He might not need food if he was quick. If his mission took too long, he could always go back and resupply. And if the woman’s trick to find the entrance failed, he could probably get directions from imprints. Determined to find Destiny sooner rather than later, Cole quickened his pace.
CHAPTER
7
MEMORIES
Cole considered some of the benefits of the imprints making no new memories. For one thing, it meant that his conversations would be forgotten. His inquiries would leave no tracks, and if an interaction went badly, he could go away, come back, and have another try.
That meant he was free to ask for help from any imprints he met. None of them would remember any tips they shared. Only the imprint Cole left behind would know about the imprints he met and the conversations they had. Knowing a version of himself would remain behind, Cole resolved that once he became that imprint, he would keep silent to anyone who tried to pry any information from him. When the time came, he would find a secluded corner of the cave and slip into blissful forgetfulness.
Many of the people who entered the Cave of Memory with important information would probably do likewise. They would want to limit the interactions their imprints had with others. He would have to check all the nooks and crannies and follow tunnels to the end.
One big problem was the other live people.
There were almost certainly at least two other humans in the cave. Maybe more—not everyone had to arrive on horseback.
If not for the other people, Cole realized he could shamelessly roam the cave calling out to Destiny. The imprints who heard him would forget before long, and any who might help him would be drawn to him. It could really speed up the search.
Of course, if she was trying to hide, calling to Destiny might drive her away. He had a feeling that whatever tactics he tried, finding her was going to be a chore.
The cavern widened into a long chamber with several branching passages, each lit by a different color, this time orange, green, yellow, white, and blue. The chamber itself was illuminated by the light spilling from the various tunnels. At the far end of the chamber, a man sat on a rock. His black hair was slicked back, forming a slight widow’s peak, and a dark, narrow beard followed the lines o
f his jaw and surrounded his mouth. He had rings on his fingers and elaborate clothes covered by a rich cape. Cole thought he looked like a professional hypnotist.
“Welcome,” the man said, as if he owned the place, his voice a resonant baritone.
“Hi,” Cole replied.
“You have come seeking my knowledge,” the man declared.
“I don’t think so,” Cole said, drawing closer.
“You know who I am.”
“No.”
The man’s small smile hinted that he doubted Cole but also suggested he was willing to play along. “Then allow me to introduce myself. I am Harvan Kane.”
He seemed to be waiting for a reaction.
“I’m Cole.”
Harvan gave Cole a shrewd look accompanied by a slow nod. “This is not our first conversation.”
“It is,” Cole said.
“Then why didn’t you shake my hand to check if I’m an imprint?”
“I didn’t want to be impolite.”
“Nice save,” Harvan said, extending a hand.
Cole waved his hand through Harvan’s. He felt nothing.
Harvan flashed a wide grin. “I know how this works, Cole. You can talk to me, then walk away and return with a new tactic. I can’t form new memories. At least not beyond a single conversation. You’ve failed with me before. Probably a lot. This time you’re playing the role of the one person in Necronum who doesn’t know my name.”
“I’ve really never heard of you,” Cole assured him.
“Let me save you some time. There are obvious things I must keep hidden, but I am willing to reveal some mysteries.” He looked around the stony chamber. “You may have noticed I’m not exactly hiding.”
“True.” Now that they were talking, Harvan seemed less like a professional hypnotist and more like a guy on an infomercial who was trying to appear successful. “I kind of need to keep moving.”
Harvan considered him carefully. “You’re good. Who sent you?”
“Nobody.”
Harvan laughed knowingly. “Nice try. I find that highly improbable. Why would a child come to the Cave of Memory on his own? However . . . those who are after what I know would absolutely hire a kid to deceive me. They would stop at nothing.”