by Brian Olsen
“Exactly!” He leans forward and taps my head. “If you can feel that they’re real, then they’re not just stories somebody told you. So how do you know you’re not taking pieces of the king back with you when you wake up? Because that’s gotta be what she wants. Right? To turn you into him? Why else make you remember?”
“I don’t know. Miller didn’t want me to remember like this. He was afraid I’d be disgusted, that it would make me fight harder against the Common King.”
“And is it?”
“Yes!” God, I want to touch him so badly. I want to collapse into him. “Whatever she’s doing, it’s not working. I’m seeing him do horrible things, Zane. Horrible. I’ll never be that. Never.”
“I wonder if Miller thought that about himself, when he started to get his memories back.”
I flinch, and the cold expression Zane’s giving me softens a little.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m scared for you. Miller was a good person, and look what happened to him. I don’t want that to happen to you.”
“It won’t.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“I can. Getting my memories back isn’t the same for me as it is for everyone else.”
“Why not?”
I shift on the bed, leaning against the headboard next to him. I open my mouth to tell him, but nothing comes out.
“What?” Zane asks.
“I…I have to tell you something else.”
“Okay.”
“I haven’t told anybody this.”
He shifts his pillow behind his lower back. “I’m listening.”
I open my mouth, intending to tell him all about the floating room. It’ll be the first time I even say those words out loud. I want to do this. I have to do this.
I don’t.
“It’s…” I grope for words I can say. “It’s hard.”
“The truth is hard.”
“No, not like that.”
My heart pounds from fear. I hate the idea of talking about this.
I’m being dumb. Just say it. ‘Floating room.’ ‘Barren plain.’ Any of it. Just spit it out.
I can’t.
Oh.
“I think it’s magically hard to say. Like there’s a spell on me to keep me from talking about it.”
Zane sits forward, knocking his pillow over. “A spell? From who?”
I try to answer, but I can’t force the words out. I collapse against the headboard with a groan of frustration. “I didn’t even know there was a spell. I haven’t tried to talk about this with anyone until now.”
Zane rubs my thigh. “Remember when Alisa used her magic to make me tell the truth?”
I nod.
“I could fight it because I knew what was happening. You know what’s happening now. So fight it.”
Sounds so easy.
I control my breathing. Start small.
“There’s a…” I swallow. Get it out. “A room.”
“A room?”
I nod. “In…” It’s like my throat is closing up. I swallow again and force myself to say, “In my head.” I take another breath. The feeling that this is something I should never, ever talk about, ever, is fading. I speak slowly and measuredly. “I think this room is part of the Moment. An extra precaution they took when they wrote their spell. I see a floating room in my head sometimes. And the Common King is inside it. His memories, his personality, everything. And as long as he stays inside it, I can’t become him.”
He’s quiet for a long moment. Finally, he asks, “This isn’t something the Nightmare Queen is making you see?”
I shake my head. “I’ve been seeing it since the Moment, before her. And not always when I’m asleep. I can go there anytime.”
He takes his hand off my leg and turns away from me. After another endless moment, he says, “Does this room have anything to do with how much better you’ve gotten with your magic? Why you’re improving so much faster than me and Alisa?”
I swallow hard. Every instinct is telling me to keep my mouth shut, but I’m done with lying to the people I…to the people in my life. “Yes. There’s a staircase leading up to the room. Whenever I climb a step, I get more powerful.”
“And you’ve been doing that? Climbing the steps?”
“Yes.”
“Shit, Chris. Shit.”
“I know.”
He turns on me and yells, “Do you?”
“Shh!” I shoot a glance at the door. “Don’t let my dad hear you!”
“Maybe he should!” He’s still mad, but he lowers his voice. “Maybe he could talk sense into you! Why would you do that? Obviously getting closer to the jail in your mind where a horrible monster is locked up is, like, bad, right? I mean, is that obvious to you? Because it’s pretty damn obvious to me!”
“Yes!”
“So why? You just want to be powerful?”
“No!” I have to take a breath to get my own volume under control. “No. At first I didn’t know what is in the room, just that it scared me. I’d climb a step without meaning to, whenever I did new magic. Or whenever I was stressed or upset, like after my mom changed. And then I put it together. Climbing a step strengthened my connection to the Logos. So when I needed more magic fast, like when we needed to get to London, I would climb a step on my own. Not often! Just when we needed it.”
“We didn’t need to get to London,” he says. “Not at a price like that.”
“We did! The fairies—”
“You didn’t know the fairies were dying when you did it. As far as you knew, they could have waited.”
I slump back against the wall. He’s right. I wanted to climb more steps. To get stronger.
I still do.
“I have it under control. He’s locked away. I’m still me.” I don’t sound convincing. Not even to myself. Was I still me when I threatened Mrs. Wollard?
“No more steps,” Zane says. “Not for any reason. Promise.”
I don’t say anything.
He grabs my hand. His eyes are piercing, but he doesn’t look angry. He looks scared.
“Chris, promise!”
“I promise!”
“No matter what. Even if somebody’s in danger.”
I nod. “I promise.”
He sits back against the headboard. We both stare at the opposite wall. But he doesn’t let go of my hand.
“I’m sorry,” I say again.
“I get it, I guess. I wish you had trusted me enough to tell me.”
“The spell—”
“You didn’t know about the spell until you tried to tell me.”
“Yeah.” I squeeze his hand. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugs. “Sure.”
“I am.”
“Okay.”
“Are we all right?”
He doesn’t answer.
“Zane.”
“Yeah.” He lifts my hand and kisses it quickly. “Yeah. We’re all right.”
His uncertain tone doesn’t reassure me much, but it’s probably more than I deserve.
Feet pound up the stairs outside my door. “Chris!” It’s Nate. “Chris!”
I jump up and unlock the door. Nate barrels into the room.
“Whoa!” Zane grabs the sheet and pulls it over him. “Naked guys here!”
I pick up my boxers from the floor and pull them on. “Nothing he hasn’t seen.”
“What the hell?” Nate looks at both of us in disbelief. “Did you both turn off your phones?”
I pick up my jeans and take my phone out of my pocket. Dead. “Shoot. I forgot to charge it.”
Zane leans over his side of the bed and grabs his. “Mine was on ‘do not disturb.’” He holds it up. “Nate texted. Says it’s urgent.”
“Oh, brilliant.” Nate throws his arms up. “Maybe while we’re under threat of death from two different factions of wizards we could work a little harder to keep the lines of communication open?”
“Not so loud. My dad doesn’t know
Zane’s here.”
Nate raises an eyebrow. “Oh, Eric’s not cool with the naked gay teen cuddle party under his roof? What a surprise. Anyway, he’s not here. Your door was unlocked so I let myself in.”
“Not here?” I pull my jeans on and hurry down the stairs. “Dad?”
“Dude.” Nate hurries after me. “I told you, he’s not here.”
I run through the living room, passing Tannyl and Jasmine on the couch, then into the kitchen and through the laundry room. I open the door to the garage. His car is there.
“Oh.” Nate’s behind me. “That’s weird.”
“Here. Chris, here.”
At Zane’s call, we walk back into the kitchen. He, Tannyl and Jasmine are by the table, and Zane’s holding a note. I grab it from him.
“Went out with your mom,” I read aloud. “Didn’t want to wake you. Back soon.”
Zane puts his arm around me. “That might not be bad, right? Maybe it’s good. If she wants to see him, then part of her must still love him.”
“Maybe,” I say. “Yeah. Maybe.”
“Or, maybe not.” Nate rests his hands on the back of a chair. “Miller made a move. I mean, somebody made a move, and it’s probably Miller.”
“What do you mean?”
Nate looks at Jasmine. “Go on, Jaz.”
It’s only now that I see that Jasmine’s eyes are puffy. She’s hugging her pink elephant backpack tightly to her chest.
“I’m so sorry, Chris,” she says. “I got home and fell asleep and when I woke up it was empty.”
I shake my head. “What was empty, Jaz?”
“My backpack!”
“Okay…”
“It’s where she put the book, Chris,” Nate explains. “Creatures of Myth and Legend.”
Jasmine sobs. “She stole it, Chris! She came into my house and stole it! The Nightmare Queen has the book!”
Twenty-six
I teleport Alisa and myself back to my yard. She lets go of my arm and we hurry towards the front porch.
“I’m going to be in so much trouble.” She catches a few flying loose braids in her hands, gripping them worriedly. “I’m already grounded forever for not coming home last night. If they find out I snuck out again…”
I hold the door open for her. “Want me to take you back?”
She drops her hair and gives me the side-eye. “You think I’m letting you slackers handle this mess without me? You’ll get distracted by something shiny and forget all about it.”
“That’s true.”
I close the door behind us and we join Nate, Tannyl and Jasmine in the living room. The TV’s sound is off but it’s tuned to the news. Tannyl has earbuds in and is watching something on Nate’s phone.
Jasmine bolts up off the coach, smacking her shins against the coffee table. “Ow! I’m so sorry, Alisa!” She limps over to us. “Ow! You trusted me with the book and I let it get stolen in, like, five minutes! Ow!”
Alisa hugs her. “It’s not your fault, Jaz. Miller can get in and out of our houses without us ever knowing.”
“Yeah, babe.” Nate gently pulls Jasmine back down to the couch and wraps his arms around her. “Liefer, too. He could have popped into your room while you were asleep and taken it.” He scowls. “Couple of dirty old men.”
“Where’s Zane?” I ask.
He calls out from the kitchen, “In here. Be right in.”
I glance at the TV. CNN is showing some story about the president. “Are we famous yet?”
Nate shakes his head. “We’re all over YouTube but I haven’t seen anything on the news. Not since that first BBC story.”
“That’s so crazy!” Jasmine says. “They have proof that magic exists! Flying and walls of fire and people turning into wolves!” She nestles deeper into Nate’s arms. “Why isn’t it everywhere?”
Nate squeezes her. “The Moment again, babe. Making everybody forget it, or ignore it. Like with the mall.” Jasmine squirms, and she and Nate shift positions, so that she’s holding him. Nate continues, “I get that mass amnesia is good for us. But I hate it. It’s not right, messing with people’s heads like that.”
“No, it’s not.” I drop down into an easy chair. “Still, I can’t help but be a little glad. I’m not in a hurry to be famous.”
Alisa grabs the remote. “I’ll switch to local news. If somebody figures out who we are, maybe it’ll show up there. If we’re lucky it’ll just be a story about unidentified kids pulling off a big hoax abroad.”
Nate pokes an oblivious Tannyl. “Any updates, man? Find anything interesting?”
Tannyl looks up from the screen. “Aye!” He takes out the earbuds and laughs. “Look, Nate! This elephant and this dog are the best of friends! Their story is both humorous and heartwarming!”
Nate slaps his hand to his forehead. “Dude.” He shifts out of Jasmine’s embrace. “Anything about us, I mean. Are people sharing the videos from the bridge? Does anybody know who we are yet?”
“Ah. I do not know.” He gingerly touches the display with one finger. “Your lesson on using this device was brief and I do not know how to change the image. I have simply been watching the movies it presents to me, and hoping one would be relevant.” He squints at the screen. “Up next. This kitten opens a box and what she finds there will make your heart soar.” He looks back up at us. “I know this is not relevant to our situation, but I am curious as to what the kitten will find.”
Jasmine sniffs back a tear. “I’m a little curious, too.”
Nate sits up and takes the phone from Tannyl. “Yeah, sorry, babe. We should probably put a hold on the cute animal videos for a while.”
She pouts.
He sighs. “Fine. One video.”
Alisa raises an eyebrow. “Really? Now?”
He puts his arm around his girlfriend. “She won’t be able to focus until she’s cheered up, and nothing will do that quicker than a cute cat video.”
Jasmine nods. “It’s true. Oh, Tannyl, look! She’s sniffing the box!”
While Jasmine and Tannyl huddle over Nate’s phone, I grab my own, which I left charging on the coffee table. No messages.
“Hey dad just checking in. Everything ok with mom?” I type. I wait a moment, but there’s no indication it’s seen, and no response bubble.
Jasmine and Tannyl laugh. Alisa takes the phone from Jasmine and hands it back to Nate.
“Okay,” Alisa says. “The box had another cat in it, for anyone who was dying from the suspense. Now can we figure out if we need to worry about Miller, or Liefer, or both?”
“I don’t think it was Liefer who stole the book,” I say. “If he found out Lily took it for us, he’d assume either you or I had it. He wouldn’t go to Jasmine first.”
“But that’s true of Miller, too, right?” Alisa taps her fingers on the mantel under the TV while she thinks. “How would either one even know we have it in the first place? You can’t see the book in any of the videos from the mall, and it was in Jasmine’s backpack the whole time we were on the bridge.”
“Liefer could have figured it out,” Nate suggests. “He must have wondered how the lightning bird got out if the book was locked up. He’s a dick, but he’s not dumb.”
“Or if it was Miller, the Nightmare Queen might have told him,” I say. “If she can get in our heads, she could know everything we know.”
“Can she do that?” Alisa asks. “We’ve seen her give people nightmares, and make nightmares come to life, but not read minds.”
“During the last days of the war,” Tannyl says, “the Common King anticipated our side’s strategies, no matter how tightly guarded our intelligence was. This access to our secrets coincided with the first nightmare attacks on our leadership. We suspected the Nightmare Queen could gather knowledge from our minds as we slept.” His shoulders droop. “From then on, the battles continued, but the war was already lost.”
“She can read our minds?” Nate says. “How the hell do we fight that?”
“Again, our knowledge of her powers is mostly speculation,” the elf answers. “But I do not believe she reads thoughts. Our waking minds are secure. But when you sleep, she can cause you to dream of your worries or your fears, and then witness and learn from those nightmares.”
Jasmine gasps. “I dreamed about where the book was! Keeping it safe was a big responsibility and I totally had an anxiety dream about it! In the dream I kept checking my backpack to make sure it was still there. She saw that?” She leans against Nate, then says softly, “She was in my dreams?”
Nate takes her hands in his, but doesn’t say anything.
Zane finally comes in from the kitchen, carrying a big tray. “Snacks.” He puts it down on the coffee table, then sits on the arm of my chair.
I look at the tiny pillows of crusty goodness on the tray. “Pizza rolls? You made pizza rolls? Now?”
“Yeah, now.” He smacks my shoulder. “We gotta eat. Whenever something bad happens, my mom makes food. I guess I got the same instinct.”
“Good instinct.” Nate grabs a couple of rolls. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast at the hotel.”
Jasmine shakes off her unease and forces a smile. “Did you get in trouble for being out all night, babe?”
He shakes his head. “Mom was mad, but it was the first time she ever yelled my full boy name at me without thinking about it or having to correct herself.”
“Oh, wow!” I say. “That’s awesome.”
He nods. “Yeah, she even got my middle name right. I cut her rant off to point that out and we had a happy-cry mother-son moment.” He sighs. “Then I ruined it by lying to her. I told her we spent the night at your place. She was too proud of herself to go back to yelling.”
Tannyl picks up a pizza roll. “Mrs. Montgomery said she was not angry with me, but merely disappointed. Strangely, that made me feel all the worse.” He takes a tentative bite of the roll, then smiles. “Ah! Delicious!”
Nate laughs. “Mom and Dad are still confused about who exactly you are and why you’re sleeping on my floor, but they’re too polite to pry.” He scarfs down another roll. “Okay, so, if the Nightmare Queen knows everything I’m worrying about, we’re screwed, because I’m worried about everything. Did anybody else have any unwanted naptime visits? Chris, anything since the bridge?”