Memory Walker

by Carly Marino

  I was not weak.

  I inhaled and my panic dissolved. Nothing could hurt me. I thought about Cole and Lyra. I thought about Aunt Karen, Wynter, and Ethan. Venomous rage built from the depths of my soul. I hated Resparés.

  They’d pay for what they did to my family.

  Focusing on his hands, I gritted my teeth and growled. The platinum-blond a-hole shrieked, his eyes bugging out of their sockets.

  I glared. “Go to hell!”

  Jonathan exploded, his ash scattering in all directions. I collapsed. Power jolted through me, warmth spread to my limbs, and a mixture of pain and pleasure massaged my muscles. The aches and burns in my body diminished as my cuts and bruises healed.

  I laughed—a crazy cackle that surprised me. My skin tingled. I wanted to rub my hands on a rough surface to feel every sensation. I wiped them on my pant legs instead.

  Nora and Logan faded in beside me.

  “That was badass.” Logan glanced at Cole. “Shit.”

  Specks of light danced in my eyes from the dizziness clouding my head. From my fear. Cole had a laceration above his eye, puffiness masking half of his handsome face. He favored his left arm and hobbled. The essence he’d taken from me was wearing off, and I didn’t know how much more of a beating he could take. I’d rather spend the rest of my life running from Larc than live without Cole for one more day.

  “We have to help him,” I said, strained.

  “Already on it.” Logan raced toward them but skidded to a halt.

  Larc knocked Cole to the ground, and Cole landed hard on his back. My heart jolted. My hands clamped over my mouth. I screamed, the sound echoing in my ears.

  Cole struggled to stand, his knees gave out, and he collapsed.

  Larc hooked an elbow around Cole’s neck. “Don’t come any closer.” Yellow light glowed inside the veins in Larc’s forearm.

  Cole winced but didn’t react.

  “Stop. No.” I surged to my feet and sprinted, but Logan caught me around the waist, again.

  Resparés stormed in from behind Larc and flanked him, their hands lit.

  Larc tightened his grip, gagging Cole. “Bring back the girl, and I’ll let him go.”

  “Logan, get her out. I’ll catch up,” Cole choked out.

  “No.” I struggled, helpless and fighting to stay with Cole.

  Jonathan’s power hit me, blurring my vision, scorching inside my chest. Orange fire and yellow light swirled and teetered before me. The power. I had so much strength. Yet, the currents overwhelmed me. My human essence sustained me, but it also inhibited me. Draining another being made me weaker.

  I thrashed, firing aimless kicks and punches.

  Logan tugged. “Thea, stop it. We have to move.”

  Nora went to snatch my arm.

  Crying, I swatted her away. “Let me go. Please.”

  They dragged me to the broken doorway. I clawed for anything I could get my hands on to stop them from taking me.

  Larc’s electric-blue eyes glared at me through the billows of smoke. Eyes that had haunted me for years. “This isn’t over. I’m going to take Cole from you. Erase every memory he’s ever known, and then turn him against you. He will hunt you until you are dead. The choice is yours, Lyra.”

  Cole’s good eye widened, and I went limp. He now knew I was Lyra, understood our connection, and why his heart had drawn him to me. At that moment, I wished I could read his mind. Did he wonder if I’d kept this from him? His lashes cast down, making me think he did.

  “Please, Logan,” I whispered. “Let me save him.”

  “I can’t.”

  Larc sneered, and Cole called out, screams of agony I’d never heard before. I collapsed as the influx of Jonathan’s essence took over.

  Logan ran with me in his arms. Everything silenced expect for Cole’s cries for help. They dug holes in my chest as Resparés blocked our escape. I clutched my ears, but his shrieks wouldn’t stop.

  They amplified, reverberating in my head, haunting me.

  I sobbed. Please, stop.

  The terrible noise pierced my ears as Logan and Nora employed their light at the basement door and lugged me outside. Gut-wrenching sounds followed us to Nora’s car. Each holler sliced gashes in my heart. Logan helped me into the back seat.

  Beside me, Ethan still breathed softly. I pressed my palms to the window. The cool glass did nothing to wake me or silence Cole’s agony in my head.

  The car rolled forward, jolting me from my seat, reminding me of what I had left behind. No. We couldn’t. It didn’t matter what happened to me. I had to go back and save him. His father would not delete me from his life.

  I beat on the window. “Logan, stop! We have to go back.”

  He ignored me and pressed harder on the pedal.

  I yanked on the handle and the door whipped open. The car screeched to a halt, slamming it shut again and flinging me forward. I knocked against the driver’s seat.

  “Thea, what the hell?” Logan yelled.

  I pushed from the car and ran back toward the building.

  My heart raced. He’ll be okay. He’s alive. I can save—

  Yellow light sparked from a shadowy figure. The silhouette aimed the sphere and discharged. I froze.

  Logan appeared, shielding me from the blast.

  “Bloody hell,” Nora shouted from the car. “Get your arses back in the damn car.”

  Another glowing orb hovered mid-air.

  Logan sent a ribbon of light at the figure, propelling the figure backward. Then he tugged me up. “We’ll find him. I promise.”

  I collapsed into his arms. Later. How could I wait any longer knowing Larc could’ve stolen him from me? Cole and I had come so far. We’d just found each other.

  Logan helped me into the back seat, and the car sped away from the man I loved.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Nora and Logan argued about Ethan and why we’d brought him along. I let their voices muddle together. Larc and Rayna had taken my soulmate from me. They stole my family, murdered my aunt, and forced my best friend to flee. I prayed Wynter had found a safe place to hide. She must be terrified.

  I glided my fingers down the early-morning fog sticking to the car window. And for what? Some stupid formula. I balled my hand into a fist. I hated my parents. I hated Mnemosyne. They did this to me. Now I had nothing left. I was alone.

  Logan glanced at the rearview mirror, meeting mine. “I’m sorry we couldn’t go back. Larc’s threats. He’s a hella powerful mem. He could’ve—”

  “Don’t say it,” I snapped, a break in my voice. “Cole would never turn against us.” Against me.

  A hand touched my leg, and Nora peered at me, her eyes apologizing for what had happened. “What do you want us to do now?”

  I slumped, my stomach twisting in knots. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Larc has the memcap. All he has to do is open it, and we’re all dead.”

  “I don’t understand. Memcap? A memcap has nothing inside of it.” Street lights flickered through the car windows and lit Nora’s confused expression. The purplish tint had already faded, almost erasing the last few hours we’d fought for our lives. In this world, erasing our pasts was so easy.

  I flicked my gaze to Logan. “Nothing inside of it? But I thought…”

  Logan’s shoulder lifted. “I figured you knew it was a key. Memories are usually stored in trinkets that can be passed off as something else.”

  The formula wasn’t in the memcap. That meant Larc didn’t have it, and we still had a chance. “Trinket” was so vague. It could be anything. What trinket did I possess? I didn’t have much from my previous life, except the photo and memcap.

  “What would it be? A statue or something?”

  Nora rubbed her shoulder. “Usually, it’s something that can be closed. A locket or a box of sorts.”

  Lockets. I didn’t have a locket, and the only box I had was an old wind-up jewelry box with a dancing ballerina inside. It wasn’t locked though. Come on. Think.r />
  I scavenged my mind, digging for Rayna’s memory.

  What had she said about Cole having it and not me? Having what? What did he have? What was so special—

  My painting. I settled in my seat, hand on my heart. I’d painted a jewelry box. Lyra had handed Cole the same one in my memory.

  I swallowed. I’d known this whole time.

  Cole would’ve hidden the jewelry box somewhere nearby. His love for Lyra ran too deep to separate him from her gift. Could it be in his car? All he had in there was a crystal hanging from his rearview. My breath hitched. I had the same crystal—the one he’d given Lyra in my memory. Things pieced together. I’d had clues staring me right in the face.

  Think. Where is the jewelry box? In his bedroom? I retraced my steps. Shelves, photos, autographed football—my eyes widened. “Logan, how fast can you get us to Nora’s house?”

  “What? Why?”

  “I need to go there.”

  “Are you sure? I mean they might look for us there.”

  “I don’t have a choice. Larc has the key. I can’t let them get the other piece. If it’s too risky for you—”

  Logan whipped the car around and slammed on the gas pedal. “I told you. Risky is what I live for.”

  ****

  After Nora had unlocked the front door, I dashed through the house toward Cole’s bedroom. She and Logan stayed behind in case anyone came looking for us. My stomach clenched. I hoped that wouldn’t happen. I didn’t have the energy to face another battle.

  The pounding of my heart flooded my ears as I charged down the stairs to the shelf next to Cole’s bed and shoved the signed football to the side. Still tucked in the corner was Lyra’s jewelry box, and with trembling hands, I removed it.

  It was mine, but I still didn’t remember it.

  The circular silver container was no bigger than my palm. Intricate swirls were carved into the curved edges and the star on the lid glinted in the light. Amazing something this tiny could cause so much damage to the people I loved. I shook my head and lowered onto his mattress. I should’ve gotten out of Cole’s room as fast as I could, but I needed a minute to process.

  Exhaustion weighed on my eyelids and grief did the same to my heart. Everything hadn’t sunken in yet. It just seemed … surreal. Like a nightmare or a borrowed memory.

  I set the trinket beside me and lifted the photo of Cole and Logan off the ground. Cole’s eyes sparkled with his genuine smile. I touched his face with my fingers. If only things could be different. I sighed before setting the frame on the bed.

  I retrieved the box, and the metal chilled in my hand. Vapor moistened the outside. Peculiar. I tilted it. “Where would I put the memcap?”

  On the back, similar to my wind-up jewelry box, was a small circular hole. I held the trinket close to look inside. If only I could open the lid without the key. Lyra probably knew how. Didn’t matter if I regained my memories or not. I needed the memcap.

  I traced the white jeweled star that decorated the lid with my thumb, and light glinted on a mirror in the center. I peered at my bloodshot eye.

  I really need some sleep.

  A bright blue light projected from the star, and I jerked my head back. The box hummed and vibrated before it jumped from my hand and landed on the carpet. I bent to grab it, but a beam shot from the top. Colorful pixels danced and spiraled until a person formed before me.

  I scrambled onto Cole’s bed and clutched a pillow as if that would protect me. A tall, lean man in jeans and a puffy jacket studied me. I recognized him from Mnemosyne’s memory and the picture I kept in my dresser drawer. Sandy-brown hair swept to the side, a warm smile, and golden-honey eyes. I’d stared at his face a hundred times over the years, memorized every wrinkle, the slight bend in his nose, and angular curve of his jaw.

  “Dad?” I asked.

  His smile broadened. “You know who I am?” His synthesized voice echoed and the digital image distorted, then steadied.

  “From a photo. Aren’t you…” I darted my gaze around the room.

  He laughed, the sound comforting and tender. “Dead? No. I’ve been in hiding. After we”—he rolled his fingers along his square jawline—“did what we did, I couldn’t risk being close to you. I wanted to. You have no idea how hard it was to leave you behind.”

  I eyed him. “Why come to me now?”

  Our gazes met. “The box must’ve scanned your irises—the only part of Lyra remaining. Have you heard the saying, eyes are the window to the soul?”

  I nodded in response.

  “That saying is very true.” He withdrew a necklace from beneath his shirt collar. A memcap, identical to mine, dangled at the end. “I’m so glad you kept the box hidden all these years.”

  Tears stung my eyes. I wanted to jump to my feet, scream, and yell. I’d lost everyone I loved. Instead of lashing out, I buried my hurt and anger. I wanted answers. “Where did you get that?”

  “Get what?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “That memcap? Where did you get it?”

  He studied the charm. “We both have one. All three of us did. Boxes to match too. We could talk to one another and store our secrets inside.”

  “These are like cell phones?” I stood up. “Larc killed people I loved for this stupid thing. Aunt Karen died. I lost Cole.” I swayed, my world crumbling. More lies. More betrayal. When would it end?

  “Cole? He found you? I should have known this would happen eventually.”

  “What are you talking about?” I snapped.

  “Every time we ran, even after I’d erased us from his memory, Cole still found us. We knew his father was searching for the formula. We had no choice. With Mnemosyne unable to sustain you much longer, we had to take a chance and use the formula on you.”

  By coming to Seaside, Cole had led Larc right to me. Cole didn’t know he was doing it or that I was the girl his father was searching for. Our connection caused all of this. If he’d never found me, I’d still have Aunt Karen, Wynter would be safe in her bed, and I wouldn’t have to drag Ethan into my world. But I also wouldn’t have discovered my soulmate or the truth about my family.

  “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. Larc erased me from Cole’s memory, and he has the memcap. I lost.” The thought of never seeing Cole again made breathing almost impossible. I blinked the water in my eyes, and my anger rose to the surface. “Cole’s gone forever because of some empty box.” My heart twisted and squeezed.

  I lost him.

  “The box isn’t empty, and Cole’s memories aren’t lost. Janica and I feared if the insertion didn’t take, your memories would be gone forever. After everything, we couldn’t lose you. We tested theory after theory and finally came close—close enough that if I had my research I can finish.”

  Joy bubbled inside me. “I can get him back?”

  He smiled. “My notes are locked in your memory box. We’ll need my mother’s help and the memcap, but I think it can be done.”

  “What about a memory block? I think Rayna put one on my friend.”

  “That too.”

  I rested my hand over my heart. “So it really isn’t just a phone?”

  My father’s eyes crinkled like I’d always envisioned they would. “No, not just a phone. All of our research and Lyra’s memories are stored inside.”

  “Lyra’s memories?” I touched my lips. “My memories.” The box contained my past. It contained everything. “How? The box was with Cole.”

  “She gave the box to him the day she became Thea Scott. Her memories were already stored inside and the moment the memcap left the keyhole…” His voice wavered, and he rubbed a tear from his cheek, breaking my heart. He missed her. “Lyra was gone.”

  I wanted to sit, but my knees wouldn’t bend. “Cole met me as … me? Lyra erased him? Why?”

  “She sent him away to protect him, the formula, and our kind. But he came back to Seaside. Three years, and he still came back.”

  He found me, again. Hope ignited in my s
oul, and I steadied myself on the shelf. “So the formula and my memories are in the jewelry box.”

  “Putting the Original Memory in that box was too dangerous. If the two pieces were ever stolen…” He raked his hand through his hair. “Thea, you’ve had the formula this entire time.”

  “I—I don’t understand.” I rubbed my wrist, searching for my bracelet.

  My father glanced behind him. “Your mother and I stored the Original Memory inside your mind. Lyra’s—” He cleared his throat. “Your memories contain the map to find it.”

  I raised my brows, utterly confused. “My mind? Seriously?”

  “We realized during our studies that humans have a more complex storing system than Inflexaens. In order to charge, memories, emotions, and thoughts are constantly streaming in and out. The Original Memory would’ve gotten lost. When we moved your soul into Thea’s body, we tethered it to a memory she and Lyra shared. Something only Lyra knew. Then we erased all of her memories and contained them.”

  Everything they had done seemed unfair. Lyra might’ve died if they hadn’t moved her soul. Although, maybe she didn’t want this life. Maybe I didn’t. “Did you ask Lyra if she wanted this?”

  “We’d never do anything without her permission.” His arms reached as if he wanted to hug me. He dropped them and rubbed his hands together. “If the formula gets into the wrong hands, this planet will inevitably be destroyed. As part human, you had the mind to hide the memory and the power to protect it.”

  “I don’t even know how to use my power. I’m weak.”

  “You aren’t weak. You never were. You have more strength and courage than anyone I’ve ever met.” His face softened. “We have to get you somewhere safe and far from Larc. If he finds out the Original Memory is inside of you…”

  “What about Cole’s memories? Larc has the key.”

  “We’ll figure it out.” He looked behind him. “Once I get in touch with my mother, I’ll contact you. Until then, protect the formula and yourself.”

  “How?” I strained, desperate for guidance.

  “I have to go. Everything depends on your safety. I love you, sweet Lyra.”

  Everything depended on my safety. Awesome. The light zipped into the box, and I drooped to the floor, wanting nothing more than to rest my cheek on the plush carpet. In one conversation, everything changed … again. I was the Original Memory. The fate of my kind depended on me. Not just Inflexaens but humans too.