"Why won't it open?" he shouted, turning to find the owner of the dream.
Lucy stepped away from her mother's side. Her face was awash in tears, her hair a frazzled mess. Bearsy hung from a hand as she bellowed in response, "Why did you do that? You ruined my dream!"
The floor shifted sharply, nearly spilling Wyatt onto it. Lucy stared back at him, unfazed and wild-eyed. The vision of Wyatt's mother turned, began to speak, and crumbled to dust.
"Mom?" Wyatt asked, moving back toward the center of the store.
The floor shifted again and several shelves fell over. He looked at his father, still crouched over the young version of Ms. Abagail. After another violent tremor, they, too, fell to dust.
"What are you doing?" Wyatt asked, turning his attention back to Lucy.
The small girl was trembling with fury. "You ruined my special dream! You shouldn't be here. You ruin everything!" The last word came as a bloodcurdling screech, and the ceiling of the toy store began falling in.
Wyatt bolted for Lucy, though he didn't know if it was to shield her or attack her. He collided with Ms. Abagail halfway there and fell in a heap.
"Watch out!" Ms. Abagail yelled.
Wyatt tried to rise, but a large section of ceiling fell directly on top of him. He flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, but never felt the impact. When he opened them again, only Lucy and Ms. Abagail remained. The store was gone, as was the parking lot, and the rest of whatever world they had just been a part of. Nothing but endless wisps of gray amid an unending stretch of black remained.
CHAPTER TWELVE
WYATT STOOD, THOUGH he couldn't discern the ground beneath his feet. Lucy remained as she had been, but was no longer yelling. Bearsy had vanished as well, leaving Lucy looking as she had when Wyatt had last seen her in the Realms. Her chest and shoulder were crudely bandaged, and she look as haggard as Wyatt felt.
"Where are we?" Ms. Abagail asked.
Lucy whimpered and looked at Wyatt. "Why did you do that?"
"I didn't do anything, Lucy," he said as softly as he could. "We came looking for you. What was that?"
Lucy wiped at her nose and sniffed. "It was my favorite dream. It's where I usually go when I'm scared or hurting. But you made it different."
"Different how, Lucy?" Ms. Abagail interjected. "I remember that. It wasn't just a dream. I just didn't know..."
"That we were there, too?" Wyatt asked. "And Athena?"
Lucy shook her head. "That wasn't right. I just pick out Bearsy. You weren't supposed to be there. Or your stupid friend."
"Hey!" Wyatt said.
Ms. Abagail steadied Wyatt with a gentle touch of his arm. "Don't start."
Wyatt scowled at her. "We need to find Athena. That man is going to hurt her."
"It was a memory, Wyatt. Maybe you still don't remember it, but I do," Ms. Abagail said.
"She's still in danger," Wyatt protested.
"Are you not even going to consider what we just saw?" Ms. Abagail asked. "Five years ago, we were all there, in that toy store. You, me, Lucy, Athena..."
Wyatt had already taken stock of the strange notion, and purposefully avoided giving any serious thought to it. It was too impossible. If they had all been there that day and were all part of the Realms now...
Wyatt clutched at his temples and groaned. "We just need to find Athena and defeat the Regents."
"It's more than that," Ms. Abagail said. "It has to be. No way is this—whatever this is—just some weird coincidence. And let's set aside the utter impossibility of being able to travel to memories like they're real places, and let's not think about a vast army of weird creatures in a weird world that shouldn't exist either. There has to be something more than just being in a toy store at the same time five years ago. There has to—"
"I know, I know," Wyatt said, fanning his hands at her. "But we can't think about that now. I know it doesn't make any sense, but we can figure it all out later. Right now, we need to get out of here."
Ms. Abagail twisted around, seeming to see their surroundings for the first time. "Oh," she said simply.
"Lucy..." Wyatt said, slowly leaning toward his sister. She stared at him blankly. "We need to get back to the Realms. We need to find Athena."
"Why do you care about her so much?" Lucy said, her eyes still vacant.
"She's my friend," he said. "And she's important."
"What about me?"
"Oh, Lucy," Ms. Abagail said, kneeling at Lucy's side. "You're important, too."
Wyatt nodded. "Yeah. You're my sister, after all."
"You yelled at me," Lucy said. "And all you talk about is Athena and Rozen and Regents and..."
Her words cut deep into Wyatt's soul. Ms. Abagail gave him a telling look, but he didn't need any help feeling horrible.
"I know," he said. "It's just...never mind...you're right. I was a jerk. I shouldn't have said those things to you."
"Then why did you?"
Wyatt looked down at his feet. "I was scared, too."
"Really?" Lucy asked.
Wyatt looked at her again and saw her eyes focused on his. He nodded. "I've been scared ever since I first traveled to the Realms. I was scared when I got sent to Greenwood. I was scared when I realized what the shadows were and I was scared when the Bad Man first came. And most of all, I'm scared to remember what happened to us. I'm scared I won't be able to handle it. Lucy, I'm scared right now. Scared for you and Ms. Abagail and Athena and everyone else wrapped up in this mess. I'm just plain scared."
With that, Wyatt instinctively grabbed for Lucy. She did the same and they fell into each other's arms. Ms. Abagail moved next, wrapping them both up just as she always did when they needed it most, and together they cried. Wyatt wept for the small pieces of his past he was remembering and for the uncertainty of what would come. Ms. Abagail had been right when she said he couldn't do it on his own, but now he feared that, even as a family, it wouldn't be enough.
As they held each other, that day in the toy store slowly solidified in Wyatt's memory, not just as what he had just experienced, but as it had been that day five years ago. He hadn't known who that girl was that had run out of the toy store as he was entering, and he knew less about the man that followed her. At the time, he had given neither even a passing thought, but now he realized that whatever darkness Athena had left behind, Wyatt had played a role in it. It renewed his conviction. He had to set things right.
"I know where she is," Lucy said suddenly, stepping out of their embrace.
"Who?" Wyatt asked, his mind still on the toy store.
"Athena."
"Where?" Wyatt asked.
Lucy scrunched up her face. "I think I can show you."
"Really?"
"I don't know. Maybe," she said.
Wyatt smiled and grabbed on to her hand as she lifted it toward him. Ms. Abagail took her other, still silently crying.
"Well, go on," Wyatt urged.
"Shhh," Lucy said. "I'm trying. I just need to wake up in the right spot..."
Wyatt watched as Lucy squeezed her eyes shut and screwed her face into a mask of determination. A sensation like being pulled up from the depths of an ice-cold lake washed over Wyatt, stealing his breath and his concentration.
Wyatt gasped, lunged forward, and found himself sitting in a deep hole, beneath rays of sunlight split apart by a grate of thick iron a dozen feet overhead.
Ms. Abagail bolted upright at his side, gasping for air. He looked at her. "Looks like we're back where we started."
"Master?" asked a shrill voice from the far side of their prison pit.
Wyatt started and turned to see a slight spriteling step out of the shadows. "Maia?" he asked, not believing his eyes.
Maia smiled and raced across the space to wrap him in a fierce hug. He hugged back, squeezing as hard as he could.
"Wait," he said, abruptly pulling back. "Where's Athena?"
Maia's smile melted, and she looked back at the far wall. Wyatt followed her gaze
and saw Athena curled up against the cold soil, pressed into the corner of floor and wall. Her red hair was touching her knees, and both arms were curled around her legs. She wasn't moving.
"Athena!" Wyatt shouted.
Before he could run to her, Maia flitted in front of him. "You must leave her," she said.
"Leave her?" Wyatt asked incredulously. "Is she all right? Athena!"
He pushed against Maia, but the spriteling forced him back with the aid of her enormous wings. "She is alive."
"Is she hurt?"
Maia shook her head.
"Is she sick?"
Another head shake.
"Maia! What's going on?"
Maia hung her head. "She does not feel anything, Master. Since the Regents took us, she has been as such. She responds to nothing."
"I...I need to see her," Wyatt said softly.
Maia stared back for a time, but then nodded and stepped aside. Wyatt looked back at Ms. Abagail and found her wiggling beneath the still form of Lucy. Ms. Abagail looked up at Wyatt and smiled weakly.
"Well, we're all together now," she said.
Wyatt studied Lucy for a moment, wondering why she hadn't woken with them. Then he turned back to Athena and felt his heart crumble anew. Whether they were together or not, those around him were still in peril. Would that ever change?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE SUN ROSE with more hope than Wyatt had, though it did little to warm him, and only revealed more of the pain trapped within the icy hole. He sat next to Athena, not daring to touch her and only whispering her name on occasion, hoping for a reaction. She never stirred, locked in a fetal position.
Lucy was half-awake, fading in and out of consciousness as Ms. Abagail cradled her as best as she could. Every so often Wyatt and Ms. Abagail would look at each other, say nothing, and return to their charges. Maia sat cross-legged in the middle of the pit, humming without pause. It brought some comfort to Wyatt, and he was grateful to have been reunited with the spriteling, though it was difficult to erase the image of her and Athena from his mind. He hadn't gotten a chance to address it, even with himself. And now it seemed silly. Though it still hurt, he was thankful Athena had Maia. She deserved someone who wouldn't betray her or leave her. Like I did.
For hours they sat in stasis, having said little since Wyatt, Ms. Abagail, and Lucy had stepped out from Lucy's memory and into Maia and Athena's prison pit.
Wyatt leaned over Athena, verified she was breathing, and sat back against the dirt wall. "She eaten anything?"
Maia stopped humming and shook her head. "There is nothing to eat. I have melted snow past her lips, but nothing more."
Wyatt felt his own stomach twist with hunger and looked up at the grate keeping them trapped. He wondered if they could somehow move it if they worked together. Or perhaps they could dig their way out in some manner.
"Hey, I don't hear anything," he said suddenly.
"Shall I sing something?" Maia asked.
"No, that's not what I mean. Up there," Wyatt said, pointing upward. "I don't hear anything."
"And what is it that you expect to hear?"
"The army," Wyatt said.
Maia frowned at him. "The Regency?"
"Uh, yeah," Wyatt replied.
"He's right," Ms. Abagail added. "It's quiet up there. Did they leave?"
"Oh no," Wyatt said. "Did they attack Sanctuary already?"
"I know not," Maia said. "But we are far from the Regency. We were left here before their journey was concluded."
Wyatt had assumed that they were housed in a similar location as they had been previously. After all, their prison was nearly identical. He should have been comforted by the silence and absence of the Regents above, but if they weren't given food and did not find escape, then their fate was sealed.
"Well, where are we?" Ms. Abagail asked.
Maia hung her head and didn't answer.
Wyatt looked briefly at Athena, but shook off the sorrow-filled guilt he felt. He stood and rubbed his hands together. "How's Lucy?"
Ms. Abagail brushed a strand of hair from Lucy's face. "I think her fever is gone, and her color is better, but she's still out of it. I don't know how much blood she lost. It might take time."
"And if she doesn't get some food in her..." Wyatt said, not daring to finish the thought.
"Well, she did get us here," Ms. Abagail said.
"True," Wyatt admitted. "But there's no telling if she can do something like that again. And if she does, there's no way of telling where we'll end up. Her mind may still be well, but that won't last if her body—"
"We can hope," Maia said. "Whatever your young sister did to bring you to us, I am ever grateful. She has true power. Much as you do, Master."
"Did," Wyatt corrected. "And it's just Wyatt now, Maia. I'm no Master."
"Very well," Maia said.
"Thank you," Wyatt said. "Now we need to work on a plan to get out of here. No telling how much time we have left."
"I'm all ears if you have an idea," Ms. Abagail said.
Wyatt studied the iron grate above them. "Can we dig out? Maia, you could fly up near the grate and dig around it, maybe."
"The soil is frozen," Maia said.
"Well, it's not down here," Wyatt said, moving back to the wall and digging his fingers into the dirt. He removed a small handful and looked back at his companions. "I could use some help."
"Think about it Wyatt," Ms. Abagail said.
Wyatt withdrew another fistful of dirt and cast it aside. "If we all work together, we can dig a tunnel straight to the—" He stopped himself, realizing his error.
"Digging down here will not change the frost line," Maia said.
Wyatt shot her a look and wiped his hands on what was left of his pants. "Yeah, I got it now. Well, what are we supposed to do? Athena and Lucy need help."
"I believe our fate may rest in your sister's hand, Ma—Wyatt," Maia said.
Wyatt ran a hand through his hair. He knew she was right. Lucy was the one with the power now. And he had vowed to trust in the others, but he couldn't bear the idea of giving up control. Waiting around for Lucy to whisk them all into another maddening memory didn't sound like the best idea, but Wyatt had to admit it was the only one they had.
"Well, we better get Lucy closer to Athena in case she does...her magic," Wyatt said.
Maia and Ms. Abagail carefully carried Lucy to Athena's side and set her down close enough that Lucy's hair draped over Athena's foot. Wyatt, Ms. Abagail, and Maia sat around the pair, boxing them in against the wall.
Athena was as still as a corpse, but Lucy continued to twitch and moan. Neither was what Wyatt wanted to see.
"She's restless," Maia said as she placed a hand on Lucy's arm, her expression darkening. "She is frightened. Lost."
"And you know that how?" Ms. Abagail asked. Beyond a brief introduction, Wyatt hadn't found the time or need to further explain Maia's nature.
"We messed up her favorite dream," Wyatt said.
Maia looked at him, clearly confused.
"It's how her magic works," he said. "Well, one way. It also activates when she gets mad, or really any strong emotion, I guess. She doesn't exactly have the best control over it yet."
"Not so different than how yours worked," Maia pointed out.
Wyatt had never considered the similarity. But now that he did, he didn't see how it helped.
"It's also super unpredictable," Ms. Abagail said. "Like her moods."
"Maybe we can, I don't know, help her relax and better control her power? I thought I was getting the hang of mine near the end."
"When I was little, my dad used to sing me lullabies when I couldn't sleep. Helped get me through a lot of thunderstorms," Ms. Abagail said.
Maia began humming in her eerily melodic and beautiful way. As she did, Ms. Abagail began singing, softly at first, but then with greater conviction. Wyatt leaned back, stunned. He had never heard Ms. Abagail sing, and didn't think anyone could have
rivaled the mystical ability with song that he knew Maia to possess, but as her voice filled their prison, he couldn't help but get swept away not just in the melody, but in the words that Ms. Abagail sang with such bitter perfection. Words she shouldn't have known.
The night falls cool and silent
When you are not watching
It comes like a familiar stranger
Do not fear when it comes
The light and the crash
The heavens call out with love
The night hides the evil
But the light takes their cloak
And the thunder sends them away
Do not fear when it comes
The light and the crash
It is the Mother above and below
That chases the night away
So when the sky cries out at night
You must know you are watched over
No evil can withstand the judgment
For it is the evil that fears the sky
The light and the crash
Do not fear when it comes
Stillness fell over the dismal scene. Wyatt felt every muscle in his body relax. Lucy immediately stopped squirming and Wyatt felt himself being pulled to sleep, too. And if the dirt of the pit hadn't shifted abruptly, he might have. The soil seemed to melt, falling downward only to vanish completely into a tile floor that hadn't been there before.
Wyatt forced his hands against it, expecting to disperse it like a puddle, but he found it solid. He looked up and saw a room full of dusty furniture, much of which was covered in white sheets and thin plastic. The air smelled musty and felt damp on his skin. The stone walls that now surrounded him gave one final tremor and fell to absolute silence. Ms. Abagail's lullaby faded with the transition as well.
"Wyatt?"
Wyatt jumped at the voice and jumped again when he saw the source. "Athena!" he yelled.
Wyatt ran at his lost friend and wrapped her up in a hug before she could stop him. With pure jubilation he lifted her off the floor and swung her around.
"Set me the fuck down, right now!"
Breathless, Wyatt relented and released her. She dusted off her shirt and fixed Wyatt with a scowl. Then it melted as Athena looked over Wyatt's shoulder.
The Remembered Page 12
