The Remembered

by Michael J Sanford

  "Athena," Maia said softly from behind Wyatt.

  The change of scenery had been so surreal that Wyatt had forgotten where he'd been just moments prior. And when he'd seen Athena, standing and well, he'd forgotten near everything else.

  Athena and Maia embraced.

  "So...this looks like Greenwood," Ms. Abagail said, standing nearby.

  "Wait," Athena said suddenly, pulling herself from Maia's grasp. "Ms. Abagail? What the hell?" She looked back at Wyatt. "What is this?"

  "Uh, well, seems we're back in Greenwood," Wyatt said. "It's...well, it's a long story. Are you all right?"

  Athena screwed up her face for a moment. "What is this?" she repeated. "How are you here? And what is she doing here?" Athena gestured at Ms. Abagail.

  "Oh, she's cool," Wyatt said. "And another long story."

  "Yeah, it's a bit complicated," Ms. Abagail said. "But it's nice to see you, Athena."

  "Uh, okay..." Athena said slowly. "Maia, what's going on?"

  "We were captured by the Regents," she said softly. "While still in the Plains, a strange storm arose, and...well, we ended up in the snow."

  Athena's eyes widened. "Oh fuck, that's right." She then shot a look at Ms. Abagail and mumbled, "Oh, sorry."

  Ms. Abagail shrugged.

  "Well...shit. I remember the Regents catching up to us," Athena said. "We were with the elves. Wyatt thought it was important that we try and get the Gazarians to help us, but the Regents caught us off guard at some point..." Athena looked up at Maia and shook her head. "I don't remember anything after that. Where are we?"

  Maia slid under Athena's arm and wrapped her arms and wings around her.

  Wyatt felt a tiny flare of envy, but forced it down. "Greenwood, like I said. Maybe not quite where we wanted to go, but it's better than where we were."

  "I'm not so sure this is the real Greenwood," Ms. Abagail said, pointing past Wyatt.

  He spun to face a large line of windows. Early morning sun streamed in, outlining Lucy's silhouette as she stood, face pressed against the glass. Bearsy hung from her hand.

  "Hey, who's that?" Athena asked.

  "My sister."

  "Your what?" Athena asked in disbelief.

  "Long story. And she's the one that teleported you and the whole Regency army to Sanctuary."

  "And where are we if this isn't Greenwood, wherever that is?"

  "It's a memory," Wyatt said, eyes still locked on Lucy.

  The small girl waved her free hand at an unseen entity and said, "Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time. Just a little further and I'll do it."

  "Wait," Athena said. "What? Who's she talkin' to?"

  Wyatt could only shake his head. "Our parents," he said. "Or at least a memory of them. Funny, I can't see them here."

  Lucy unlatched the window she had been leaning against, opened it, and tossed Bearsy out into the dawn light. "There," she said. "I hope you're happy. And I better get Bearsy back."

  "Lucy?" Wyatt called out hesitantly.

  Lucy spun, regarded the crowded room, and crossed her arms. "Why do you keep following me? I had to find another good memory to hide in since you ruined the last one. Don't you dare do that again."

  "This is the day we first met. Well, sort of," Wyatt said. "That's your second favorite memory? You weren't even Lucy that day. You remember what...the others did?"

  "Spanking you and hearing you scream is my third favorite memory," Lucy said. She grinned. "But nope, I don't remember it."

  Wyatt blushed and turned so Athena wouldn't be able to see his cheeks.

  "I think I need to sit down," Athena said.

  "Go sit somewhere else," Lucy said sharply, smile gone. "I have a naughty boy to discipline. He'll be here soon."

  "We all need to get out of here," Ms. Abagail said. "It's great we're all together, but hanging out in Lucy's memory is not going to help anything."

  "Wyatt said we need to remember things," Lucy said, spinning back to the window. "Oh, look, Wyatt's running and screaming." She stifled a laugh.

  "The bad things," Wyatt said. "Or the forgotten things. And that was just a theory, anyway. We need to get back to Sanctuary. There's got to be some way we can help them fight off the Regency and find Rozen as well."

  "You still haven't found your princess?" Athena asked. She was leaning on Maia, but still swaying slightly.

  "Mas—Wyatt, are you saying the Regents have recaptured the Lady Rozen as well?" Maia asked.

  "She never escaped. It's all been one big game for the Lord Regent. And now that I know the Bad Man is part of the magic they use, or whatever, I'm not surprised. One doesn't want us to remember our pasts and the other wants to destroy the Realms."

  "And let me guess," Athena said. "We have to defeat them both."

  "Something like that," Ms. Abagail chimed in. "Lucy, we really do need to go. I know you feel safe here, and it's good that you brought us together, but now we need to get back."

  "No," Lucy said.

  "Lucy..." Ms. Abagail said, taking a step toward the window.

  "No," Lucy repeated, this time with greater venom. Wyatt could see her breath fog the window, obscuring the reflection of her scowl.

  Ms. Abagail stopped a short stride from Lucy's back. "I know all of this is weird, but I think it's best—"

  Lucy whirled around, snapping off Ms. Abagail's words with an icy glare.

  Wyatt eyed the two for a brief moment, wondering if he should interfere. Part of him wanted to see which had the stronger will, but a muttered curse from Athena brought the gravity—or at least the uncertainty—of their situation to the surface.

  "All right, all right," he said as he walked up to Ms. Abagail and Lucy.

  They were staring at each, both pairs of frowns deepening by the second. Lucy's hands curled into fists. What had gotten into her?

  "I know what she's afraid of," Lucy said coldly, voice hardly above a whisper.

  "Yeah, we were all there," Wyatt said. "But Ms. Abagail faced her dark memories, just like we have to do. Somehow. Eventually. But first, let's get back to Sanctuary."

  Lucy shook her head and an eerie smile cracked her face. Beyond the window, the sky was beginning to darken far faster than was normal. The new shadows carved lines into Lucy's face that made her look more demon than child. Wyatt's eyes flashed from Lucy to the window and then back again. He didn't have to understand Lucy's ability to know she was calling upon it again. She has far more control than she lets on.

  "Lucy, we just need to get back to Sanctuary," Wyatt said soothingly. "That's all. Can you take us there? We can worry about our memories later. Just take us all to—"

  A knock sounded from the door to the room they occupied, causing Wyatt to jump. Ms. Abagail flinched as well and broke from her stare-down with Lucy. The sky was continuing to fade to dusk, and without lighting in the room, they would soon lose their sight.

  "Knock knock," Lucy whispered as another pair of knocks fractured the stunned silence.

  "Your sister is straight creepy," Athena said.

  Again the knocking came. It wasn't loud or threatening, but every beat sent chills down Wyatt's spine. How much did Lucy truly know about what each of them kept hidden? And if she did know their dark memories, what was stopping her from remembering her own, and Wyatt's with it?

  "Go on," Lucy said. "Don't be rude, answer it."

  "What is this, Lucy?" Ms. Abagail asked. If she was as shaken as Wyatt was, she hid it well. "I faced my memory, and Wyatt and I chased the Bad Man from your last memory. This isn't a game. We need to get back."

  A single bolt of lightning flashed across the windowpane. No thunder followed that Wyatt could hear, but he felt a tremble in the floor that shook up his legs and rattled his spine. Staring at Lucy, he saw something in her eyes that terrified him. Her lips curled into a sneer and she began laughing.

  "You're not Lucy," Wyatt said, largely on impulse.

  Whatever was on the other side of the door knocked again.
/>   Lucy cocked her head to the side and stared at him, her laughter fading.

  "What is she doing?" Ms. Abagail asked. "Is this another one of her personalities? Can you snap her out of it?"

  "I don't think so..." Wyatt said, staring back at what looked like his sister, but was assuredly not.

  She took a single step forward and cocked her head to the other side. It tilted into an impossible angle.

  "You," Wyatt said.

  Someone—perhaps Athena—said something, but Wyatt couldn't decipher it.

  What looked like Lucy clapped her hands. Her grin was stretching her face like it was rubber.

  "How wonderfully perceptive," the Bad Man's voice said from Lucy's lips. "You've found me right out."

  Ms. Abagail stepped in front of Wyatt, breaking his stare. It startled him, bringing the room back into focus. Lightning lit up the space, freezing them all in a flash of white. Instead of thunder, knocking sounded from the door again.

  "Didn't you learn you lesson last time?" Ms. Abagail said. "You're nothing but idle threats. You have no power here. I suggest you let Lucy go."

  The Bad Man held up one of Lucy's hands as if to study it. It twisted into shapeless mist before solidifying back into a girl's hand. "I haven't done anything to the girl. Unfortunately, she's far more possessive of her power than that one was," Lucy's head nodded at Wyatt. "Not that I have need of it."

  Wyatt felt someone brush at his shoulder. Athena whispered in his ear, "What is going on?"

  Wyatt didn't answer, instead stepping up even with Ms. Abagail. "Where is my sister?"

  "To be honest," the Bad Man said, "I'm still surprised you gave it up so easily." Magical green light pulsed to life at the center of the Bad Man's chest. "It truly makes things so much easier for me. And quite the opposite for you, I'm afraid."

  Lightning flashed, and the wall at the left of the windows shook violently, spilling plaster dust and bits of cinder block across the room. Again the knocking came from the door, still irritatingly patient.

  "You really only have two choices here," the Bad Man said. Its voice coming from Lucy's body was enough to make Wyatt nauseous, but it also enraged him.

  "I want to remember," he said as firmly as he could. It took everything he had to stop him from throwing himself at the creature in his sister's form. "I want to remember all of it."

  The Bad Man wagged a finger at him. Something heavy slammed into the wall again, and a small section crumbled inward. Light shone through the hole. Brilliant sunlight that was wholly out of place. And a chorus of voices chanting a war song.

  "Oh my God," Ms. Abagail said. "It's the Regency."

  Wyatt didn't need to look directly at the coming army to know what the Bad Man had done. Wyatt knew that the creature had used Wyatt's own power to once again shift worlds, this time bringing the valley outside Sanctuary to the other side of a wall in a dream-induced memory. It was madness, but no less real.

  "Now, now, Wyatt," the Bad Man said over the sound of continual knocking. "You may get that chance should you survive long enough, but for now it is your darling Ms. Abagail's turn to face her darkness."

  "What does that even mean?" Wyatt asked.

  "We need to flee, Master," Maia said from close behind him.

  "I'm with Maia," Athena said.

  Wyatt tore his gaze from the Bad Man to look first at the quickly crumbling wall and then at Ms. Abagail. He thought to find an answer written on her face, but found her quickly moving toward the door.

  Wyatt reached for her, fearing what she would unveil more than what he knew was coming through the wall. There was no limit to the number of possibilities that the door could uncover. Earth, the Realms, their collective memories...none of it was separate any longer. None of it was safe.

  Under the cacophony of the Regency army and a quickly climaxing storm, Wyatt held his breath as Ms. Abagail wrenched open the door near hard enough to void the hinges.

  There was no monster beyond the portal. And no change of worlds. But no matter the countless things Wyatt feared could have been standing in the hallway, none were close to what actually was.

  Standing in the open doorway was a slight boy with blonde hair and freckled cheeks.

  "Henrick!" Wyatt shouted at seeing the eerie but familiar boy.

  Wyatt raced up to Ms. Abagail, having forgotten about the Bad Man and the army. It was just a trick. There was no evil waiting there for them. The Bad Man was playing some wicked game with them—forcing them to believe doom was calling upon them when it was instead a friend and ally.

  Henrick waved excitedly at Wyatt. "Oh, good, I've found you. Quick, Master, there is little time, we must go now." Without waiting for a response, Henrick darted down the hallway, waving them on over his shoulder. "I can get you back to Sanctuary, don't you worry, Master, but time is of the essence."

  "Come on," Wyatt said, stepping into the hallway. "He's a friend."

  He turned to make sure he was being followed and found Athena and Maia close at hand. Ms. Abagail, however, was locked in place.

  "Come on," Wyatt urged. Glancing back into the room, he saw the Bad Man had vanished. That left the real Lucy unaccounted for, but there was little to be done about that fact now, as much as it tore at Wyatt.

  Wyatt grabbed Ms. Abagail's arm, but she still refused to move. She remained as a statue, tears running down her cheeks. A large portion of the wall caved in, filling the room with the blinding light of a snow-reflected sun.

  "Ms. Abagail? Are you all right? The Bad Man was bluffing. I know it's weird, and I don't know how he keeps finding me, but Henrick is a friend. I've known him since Ouranos."

  Ms. Abagail shook her head and wiped at her tears, bringing a sigh of relief from Wyatt at seeing her move. She took a deep breath, shuddered, and nodded.

  "You all right?" Wyatt asked.

  Ms. Abagail didn't answer, but she moved into the hallway, and that was good enough for Wyatt at the moment.

  "Step on it, Wy!" Athena shouted, already at the end of the hallway with Maia and Henrick.

  Wyatt pulled the door shut, and with Ms. Abagail at his side, ran for both safety and Sanctuary.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  AS WYATT ROUNDED the corner, trying desperately to keep sight of Athena, Maia, and Henrick, he heard the door to the room they had just vacated explode. It was quickly followed by the sound of metal boots on stone and the hiss and crackle of Draygan fire-braids.

  "They're coming!" Wyatt shouted.

  He tossed a glance at Ms. Abagail and saw she was crying. Her eyes flicked to him, and with a surge, she passed him. Wyatt couldn't begin to imagine what troubled Ms. Abagail. She had challenged the Bad Man on more than one occasion, and this wasn't their first face-off against the forces of the Regency. Had the terrible wonder of it all finally caught up with her?

  Up ahead, Henrick stood holding open the doors of a service elevator. He was waving Wyatt and Ms. Abagail onward. Athena and Maia were already standing inside the lift, wrapped up in each other's arms.

  Something hot brushed at the back of Wyatt's neck, and he heard Maia shriek.

  "Step on it!" Athena yelled.

  Ms. Abagail reached the elevator first and came to a skidding stop in front of Henrick. Wyatt was only a few strides behind her. He didn't risk looking over his shoulder, knowing what was just out of reach. He was fairly certain the hair on the back of his head had been singed, and knew the next attack would likely be deadly.

  Ms. Abagail hadn't moved from the spot in front of Henrick when Wyatt arrived at the elevator. With a final desperate surge of energy, Wyatt drove his shoulder into Ms. Abagail. She hadn't known the hit was coming, and Wyatt took her clean off her feet, driving them both into Henrick, and taking all three of them into the elevator.

  They hit the floor at the same time Maia slammed the steel gate shut and Athena kicked the down arrow.

  Wyatt rolled off Ms. Abagail's back to see a Draygan slam into the gate. The creature recoiled and sen
t out his fire braid. It snapped through the steel gate, leaving molten edges and just missing Maia. She squeaked and dropped to the floor of the elevator.

  With a lurch, the lift dropped and began slowly descending, taking the army from view. The screech of metal and thunder of steel footsteps continued to echo above them.

  "Not that I'm not happy to see you, Henrick," Wyatt said, climbing to his feet and jerking the boy up by the arm. "But they're going to keep after us, and now we're trapped in a metal box."

  "Not to worry, Master," Henrick said. "I said I'd get you to safety and that's just what I'm going to do. Have some faith. Do you still have the elven smoke orbs I gave you?"

  Wyatt started. "That was you?"

  Henrick nodded and glanced up at the small metal hand that marked their current position. They had just passed the eighth floor. Wyatt hadn't realized there were so many floors in Greenwood.

  "Just a bit further," Henrick said.

  A million questions flooded Wyatt's mind, vying for release. But before he could decide which he wanted to start with, a thud sounded from the roof of the elevator. It was followed by a second. The lift shook with each impact.

  "Uh, yeah, I have the orbs," Wyatt said, fishing around in his pants pocket, hoping he was telling the truth. He only found one and pulled it out.

  Henrick looked at it. "Good enough."

  "Wy" Athena said from the corner she and Maia were pressed into. "You and your weird friend have a plan, right?"

  "Of course," Wyatt said. He turned to Henrick. "We do, don't we?"

  Henrick nodded. "Naturally." With a shudder, the elevator stopped at the fourth floor.

  A flicker of firelight invaded through a newly scorched hole in the metal roof of the elevator car. Athena cursed and pulled Maia toward the gate. Henrick lifted the gate just as the outer doors to the fourth floor slid open. Maia and Athena leapt out of the elevator, closely followed by Henrick and Wyatt.

  Wyatt tried to run after Athena, but Henrick shoved a hand to his chest, stopping him. With his free hand, Henrick pointed back at the elevator. "This is where you use the orb."