Jared read the message a second time.
"Yeah," Crimson commented. "I had to read it a few times myself. I guess I know now why Nicolai didn't resort to using the gem."
"I wonder what kind of memories it's asking for."
Crimson shrugged. "I wonder if most vampires even have memories they hold dear."
"Silas has memories he holds dear. So do you."
"True," Crimson admitted. "I don’t know if my memories of my past life would even count, though. They don't feel as immediate as the memories I've made since becoming a vampire."
"I can’t tell you."
“Anyway, we better discuss this with the others.” Crimson turned to leave the kitchen.
As expected, the rest of the family was still gathered in the living room, along with Talon and Aldrich—and Vlad. They sat on the two couches and the arm chairs, with Vlad taking up a chair a little to the side of everyone else. It was a bit of an odd sight. Usually all the chairs stood close to the couches and Jared wondered who of his siblings had taken the initiative to move one of them away so Vlad could sit in it. Or if the vampire had moved his chair himself.
Heads turned to them as they entered the room. Crimson waved the piece of paper in the air. "We got what we wanted. But it's not really what we wanted."
"What are you talking about?" Luke asked.
"Silas told us how to activate the gem, but it's just like I thought. Not exactly a cheap price."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's asking for memories."
Vlad looked at them sharply. "Memories... I should have thought of that."
"How so?" Remy asked. A moment ago, he'd looked as if he was half-ready to go to sleep, the lines under his eyes still prominent, but now he was piercing the vampire with his gaze.
"I didn't mention it to you," Vlad said, "but these stones were used to worship the God who created the original vampire. In that sense, it's obvious that he would be asking for memories. The Blood crystal you have is part of the set. That one asks for blood, this one asks for memories... It's a vampire thing."
Crimson spoke up. "Nicolai told me that blood is more nutritious if we can get the hosts memories at the same time, but he never explained why."
Vlad cut his gaze to Crimson. "Does it matter?"
"I would like to know."
“It has something to do with the God I mentioned, but don’t ask me about the specifics. I still struggle to understand why a God would create vampires in the first place. All that matters is that we know how to use the stone now. Memories."
"But whose memories?" Crimson asked.
Jared's siblings looked at each other, none of them saying anything. Jared didn't know what to say either. If it came down to it, there was a lot he would give to ensure his family's safety, but the memories he held most dear?
Which memories were those, anyway?
The memories he had of his biological family back when they'd still been alive? Or all the good times he'd spent with his adoptive family growing up?
Or that time he'd seen Silas and realized that he still had a chance to save Michael?
Which would he have to sacrifice?
And could that memory ever be regained?
When Jared looked at his siblings in turn, it seemed everyone was thinking along the same lines, sorting through their own memories of things and people and events they didn't want to forget.
"Seriously, you guys," Aldrich spoke up after a moment of contemplative silence. "You act as if forgetting stuff is the end of the world, but there's at least four people in this room who've gone through forgettingeverything,and we’re just fine."
