by Diana Nixon
As soon as Evan’s parents left, he sat tiredly on the floor, shaking slightly and hiding his face in his hands. I wished he could feel my palms on his shoulders. I had never seen him so vulnerable and so small. He was filled with despair. Elizabeth’s suffering was his own torture, and he didn’t know what to do to make it stop.
Trying to calm down, Evan got to his feet and headed for the dining room. One single crystal tear ran down his cheek.
In a few seconds the door bell rang.
“I will open,” Evan said on the way to the hall.
There were two policemen standing on the threshold.
“Can I help you?” he asked them in French.
“Yes, sir. Do you know Mr. Kevin Murray?” asked one of the officers.
“Of course, I do. He’s my brother. Why?”
“Tonight he was attacked by some strangers. He was seriously injured and now he’s in one of the local hospitals.”
“Oh, my God! Who did attack him?”
“We don’t know. But he’s really bad and you need to go to the hospital as soon as possible.”
“Okay. What hospital?”
Remembering the address, Evan hurried back to the house. He told his parents about Kevin, ran to the car, started the engine and dialed someone’s number on his cell phone. Meanwhile Dominic and Elizabeth were coming down the stairs.
“Oh, no, Mom, you are not going anywhere!” Evan groaned.
“I can’t stay here! I’ll go crazy, knowing nothing about him!" Elizabeth replied, holding her husband’s hand firmly. Jeez, she could barely move.
“Let it go, Evan,” Dominic said. “She’s coming with us. Take the back seat with her. I’ll drive.”
“Good God, Mom, you’ve chosen not the best moment to demonstrate your stubbornness,” Evan pointed nervously, helping his mother to get in the car.
“He’s my son, Evan! I have to be there for him!” Elizabeth protested.
As soon as they were ready, Dominic went out of the gates and sped to the hospital. We were driving along the streets of Paris without paying much attention to the speed limits or the horns of the passing by cars. I took the passenger seat, but no one could see me there.
“Mom, are you okay?” Evan asked, hearing her groaning.
“My back,” she said breathlessly. “It hurts.”
“Did you take your pills?” Dominic asked, turning around to look at her.
And then all the pictures started to change like in a silent movie. Fast and blurry. I saw our car, skidding before the turn, Evan’s father, trying to stop it, and a truck, smashing it hard. Dominic turned the wheel to the right, but we couldn’t escape the side crash. I stopped breathing and closed my face with my hands, trying silently to convince myself about the unreality of all the surroundings.
I felt it when everything stopped. When I opened my eyes again I saw that our car was sinking into the waters of the Seine. Evan was trying desperately to break the window of the back door. To my surprise, everything was okay with me, I didn’t feel any lack of air and all my clothes were absolutely dry, as if I was wrapped in some invisible blanket.
I couldn’t believe my own eyes. Dominic’s body was still. His eyes were open and totally empty. I turned around and froze in terror. Now Evan was trying to get his mother’s body through the broken window, but her coat stuck in between the seats and he failed.
With every passing second, the car was sinking deeper into the water and Evan couldn’t hold his breath any longer. Magic was helpless there. He stifled for want of air, but he didn’t want to leave Elizabeth.
She was already dead, but he couldn’t give up, he was in agony. His eyes were burning with crimson fire and his face was turning pale.
“Leave her, Evan!” I shouted through the water. “Stop this damned memory! Just stop it!” I couldn't stand seeing his torture any longer.
“Don’t make him do this, Eileen!” Marion’s’ voice said in my head. “He can’t hear you, he doesn’t want to stop.”
But I wasn’t listening to her, I kept shouting, “No, Evan, please! Stop it! Stop!”
My last words were lost somewhere in the darkness between the last and the next memory, and a few moments later we were in the hospital’s hall. Nurses were running around Evan, but he was all right. The only thing that worried me were his dreamy eyes. It wasn’t the result of recent shock, there was something else.…
I didn’t know why but it was the only part of that memory and now we were both walking down the alley near our dorms in Dever. It was pretty dark outside and I thought that it must be around midnight. There was no one else on the street, but a few steps away from us I saw someone’s silhouette. Coming closer, I recognized Tara in it.
“Going somewhere?” Evan asked her.
Tara stopped and without turning around she said quietly, “Yes.”
“What about me?” he asked again, his hands in his trousers pockets.
“You know we can’t be together,” she replied.
“So everything that happened between us meant nothing to you?”
“I’m sorry,” Tara whispered before walking away into the night.
Bright sunlight burned my eyes and I blinked twice. We were still in Dever, but this time it was daytime. Evan was walking leisurely around the campus. There was a girl, walking a few steps away from him. I was still thinking about the previous memory so I didn’t immediately recognize myself in that girl. I was wearing the same clothes I put on before coming to Dever.
My first day there, I thought to myself.
Suddenly Evan ran up to me, because I tripped over some stones on the road. “You should be more careful. There are a lot of mountains here and you shouldn’t forget about the traps like this,” he nodded to the damned stones.
“Thanks. Next time I’ll try to watch my way,” I said. I took a step back and raised my hand. “Eileen Clark.”
“Evan Murray.” He smiled in response. “Always at your service,” he added, bowing his head ceremoniously. “So, you are a freshman here, right? 'Cause I would have never missed such a beauty.”
“I think I would have never missed such a gentleman,” I replied, trying to laugh it off. “But you are right, I’ve just come here.” Feeling Christian’s worry, I added hurriedly, “Sorry, I have to go. It was nice to meet you, Evan."
”I’ll see you soon, Eileen!” he shouted after me.
It was very funny to watch that memory.
“Well done, Eileen,” Evan said, turning suddenly to me. “You did it all just great.” He looked into my eyes.
“Can you see me?” I asked, surprised.
“Very clearly,” he laughed in response. “I’m ready to go back, Eileen.”
It all ended so fast. I couldn’t hold back my emotions any longer, I ran up to Evan and embraced him tightly.
My eyes were full of happy tears. “No, you were the one, who did it all great,” I whispered.
“Hey, are you crying, lady? I can’t believe that! Let’s get out of here before you wash us out.”
“Okay.” I smiled, taking his hands in mine. “Close your eyes.”
Our way back was much slower. Memories were flashing one by one. Black and gray shades were surrounding us and even with my eyes closed I could feel Evan’s tension. He still had no idea about the fact that I could see his memories too. He was holding my hand firmly, as if he was afraid of losing me in his past. He radiated sadness and pain and I knew that his emotions were more than real.
When the darkness cleared, we opened our eyes and found ourselves standing in Marion’s room again.
“Welcome back,” she said happily, touching our hands.
Chapter 9. Secret of the Cup
Evan
I’d never thought I would be so glad to be back to reality. I could see my reflection in a mirror, I could feel Eileen’s presence and I could hear Marion singing somewhere nearby. Traveling into my memories took no more than a few hours, but it felt like an eternity, an endless tort
ure with the years of my past, most of which I would gladly put out of my head forever. Especially the reasons, that made me hate Paris....
“Evan, you don’t look very well,” Marion said, giving me a cup with something to drink.
“What’s this?” I asked, taking it from her hands.
“This herb will help you to recover.”
“I hope it’s not one of those Eileen’s killing poisons?” I asked quietly.
“I can hear you, Evan,” my friend said, turning another page of a book, she was reading standing a few steps away from me.
“No, I made it myself,” Marion said, smiling. Just as Ethan had predicted, knowing her better made us change our opinion about her. She was really nice. “Why don’t you tell us something about your journey, Evan? What did you feel being there?”
“Um… it was weird,” I said, turning the cup in my hands absently. “On the one hand, I knew that it was just a memory, but on the other hand it felt so real. And I wanted to change a lot of things there. Badly. By the way, Eileen, how did you get into my last memory?”
With her eyes still glued to the book, she said, “Waiting for you here was too boring, so I thought I could hurry you a little.”
“You know what? There were moments when I thought I could feel you in my other memories too,” I said, recalling some strange bursts of energy. “Especially at the moment our car crashed.”
“You saw the day of the accident again?” Marion asked, surprised.
“Yeah, with every single detail of the tragedy.”
She and Eileen looked at each other.
“But the weirdest thing was my feeling about all those memories. I knew they were mine, but I couldn’t get rid of the idea that I was intruding into some else’s territory. Especially, when it was the memory about the accident. If felt fake, like… I don’t know, not my own memory. As if it were an illusion,” I said, thinking about the blurry colors and my parents’ eyes. They were foggy and dreamy. My father’s expression was very calm. I’d never seen him so peaceful and relaxed in real life. And my mom… well, she looked surprisingly happy. A light smile seemed frozen on her lips and her beautiful blue eyes looked at me with so much love and regret. I swear if there wasn’t so much water around us, I would have seen her tears. They always seemed so unnatural, crystal and shining as if she were crying with diamonds. I would never be able to forget her life’s last moment. I still saw it in my mind.
“Do you remember the way you were moving from one memory to another?” Marion asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“Well, it was like crossing a river. As if every time standing on its shore I had to swim to get to the opposite side. And with every new memory it felt easier.”
“Good, very good.” She nodded approvingly. “Now we have to check if your traveling into someone’s dream will be as easy as getting into your own head.”
“How do you suggest doing that?” I asked, hoping she wouldn’t be the one whose dreams I had to visit. I was sure that her memory kept a lot more bad things about my father then my own head did.
“We will let you pierce into my dream,” Eileen said, quoting the book she was reading. “It says that if I give you my permission to become a part of my dream, you will be able to get there and come back without any problems.”
“Really? What if I see something I shouldn’t?” I asked, hiding my smile behind the cup containing Marion's potion.
“Don’t worry, Evan. I’ll try to be fully dressed,” she replied, smiling back. “But I’m not sure if I'll be able to fall asleep knowing that you are going to watch me there.” She grimaced at the thought.
“I have some sleeping pills if you need them,” Marion said.
I kept wondering how someone like her could live without using magic. She had to hold back her powers all the time. How on earth was that even possible? I would have killed anyone forbidding me to use my powers. I couldn’t stand a day without my magic. It was my life, the air I breathed and the light making me wake up every morning. I thought I would die without that part of my existence. The energy running through my veins was something more than just my blood, it was pure magic.
I still felt myself weak and light-headed. And I didn’t like it. At all. But Marion did her best to make me feel better. She gave me some more herbs and a few hours later my life energy returned to my exhausted body. Breathing felt easier, moving was faster and thinking was clear.
“Tomorrow you need to go to the waters,” Marion said. “Both of you.” She looked at Eileen and me. “You have to be strong. Oh, and Ethan called and said he had some news from Dever. He asked you, Evan, to call Patrick.”
“Did he say what his news was about?” Eileen asked impatiently.
“No, but he mentioned something about Nora.”
“Nora?” Eileen and I repeated in unison. I grabbed my сell immediately and dialed Patrick’s number.
“Hey, Evan!” I heard Amanda's voice. “Dad is extremely busy now, so he asked me to answer the call. How are you guys? I miss you like hell!”she said almost crying.
“Actually, I wanted to know how you are,” I said, happy to hear her voice. She always knew how to cheer us up. She didn’t have to do anything special. It was just enough to be herself. “So what’s up with Nora?”
“Oh, that’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” Amanda said hesitantly. “Well, Nora, she is… dead.”
“What? When did it happen?” I asked, wide-eyed. Marion and Eileen both turned their eyes to me.
“A couple of hours ago. We got a call from London, and someone from the Council said her body was found in the prison where she was serving her sentence. It was lying near the ward’s entrance. Probably she tried to run away.”
“Wait a minute, I don’t get it. Was someone trying to kill her?”
“It’s hard to tell for sure. There was no evidence of violence, but Frederick said she had enough power to live for at least ten more years. Her energy couldn’t disappear all at once.”
“It means someone has helped her to go to her last home,” I concluded. “Bloody hell! Who wanted her death? Eric?"
“Actually, we were thinking about Alexis,” Amanda said. “She ran away from the prison.”
“Damn it! As if that wasn’t enough! How did she do that? There were dozens of guards!” I shouted, realizing too late that I must have scared Eileen and Marion.
“Well, we have an assumption, though it may sound a little absurd.” Amanda hesitated. “We thought that she took Nora’s powers and neutralized the security. She’s one of the Wizardy, after all.”
“I don’t understand how she could get to Nora’s ward if it was a few levels below her own ward?” I said, puzzled.
“That’s exactly what we are trying to figure out at the moment. The problem is that we have no idea where she could go, as no traces were left. Patrick changed the security spells and the elements around Dever, just in case she would show up here. But that’s all we know for now.”
“I see.” I sighed. “More problems every day.”
“Exactly.” Amanda agreed. “So, how are things going in France? How’s Eileen? I heard about your journey into the past.”
“Yeah, let's say we are having fun here.” I chuckled. “Eileen’s fine. It’s better to keep her away from Dever for a while. It’s much safer here.”
Hearing my words, Eileen shook her head irritably and asked me to pass her the phone.
“Wait a second. She wants to talk to you,” I said to Amanda.
“Hey, girl!” Eileen greeted her old friend. “How are you? How’s Lucas? Jaclyn and Ethan are really nice,” she said, smiling. “By the way, tell your boyfriend that our meeting with the mysterious ghost was a success. Well, it’s a long story, but in general it was okay. Oh, you have no idea! He bores me to tears!” she added, laughing. I raised my eyebrows questioningly. Were they talking about me? “Okay, I have to go now, love you too, sweetie. Say hi to everyone and don’t forget to keep in touch. All right.
Bye!”
“Who bores you to tears?” I asked, pretending to be reading a paper.
“Are you sure you can read it upside down?” Eileen asked, pointing to a paper in my hands. I rolled my eyes and put it down as there was no reason to keep pretending. “And yes, I was talking about the very same person you thought about,” she added with a grin. “So what did Amanda tell you about Alexis?”
“She ran away. And no one knows how and where.”
“Hmm, so I was right,” Eileen said thoughtfully.
“Right about what?” I asked, confused.
“About Alexis, of course. I always knew she would never give up so easily. The note she gave Christian the other day was really weird. And we all fell into her trap!”
“Yes, but she told us about the Cup and Eric,” I said. “It was very helpful.”
“And I think, it was just a part of her carefully thought-out plan.”
“Are you talking about Alexis Wilde?” Marion asked, squinting.
“You know her?” I asked, raising my eyebrows in surprise.
“No. But I heard a lot about her. She is the Cup’s keeper now.”
I turned around abruptly, almost losing my balance. “What did you say?”
Marion stared at me, puzzled, obviously wondering about the reason of my astonishment.
“Alexis is Jillian Wizardy’s descendant,” she said, looking carefully at Eileen and me. “And the Cup has always been handed down through the female’s line.”
“It can’t be possible!” Eileen exclaimed. “The Cup has been descended from father to son.”
“No, dear.” Marion shook her head in disagreement. “The Cup was created by a woman. It is filled with her old magic and all the Wizardy mothers passed it on to their daughters.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Wait a minute,” Eileen said, turning to her. “How do you know who has the Cup? You were one of the Dragons brotherhood members and they’ve never managed to find it.…”
