Thinking things over, Cecily speaks up, “I mean... clearly my parents were able to make everyone forget about me. So it’s possible to make people forget. We just need to figure out the spell for it. But that doesn’t negate me still wanting to find her and bring her into the fold of our people. She looked frightened, like she never expected to shift at all. Can you imagine what she’s going through right now? We still need to help her.
“We should come up with a procedure we can go through to protect our people when exposure happens though. Alex seems to have a strong hold on technology, and stopping the spread of people finding out about us, but being able to make humans completely forget seems like a good plan to have. I’ll start thinking about how to perform the spell to wipe the incident from the memories of those present. Derrick, would you mind helping me?” She stands up and holds out a hand for him so they can leave the room.
Marcus immediately mumbles, “I don’t know why she asked him. Not like he has ever performed magic. He was born after she was wiped from memory, and we had already started to lose use of our magic along with the memory of its existence.”
“Telling you, she’s totally dick drunk. We need to spread out the favoritism.” Alex whines, joining in on the complaining.
“I don’t think she’s playing favorites. We haven’t found out what happened to her, and the way she acted when she woke up... she doesn’t fully trust us. Don’t get me wrong, she’s starting to, but something happened to make her cautious. She knows who all of us are, we met her before everything happened. And don’t forget how she acted toward Marcus specifically, and truly believes she knows him more than just a passing greeting.
“Derrick doesn’t fall into any of those categories. It makes sense she would latch onto him. Like you said, he was born after she was wiped from our memories, therefore she never met him and knows he had nothing to do with what happened. Plus, she clearly loves teaching people how to connect to their magic. Just look at all of her actions today with the wolves. Performing a spell like this would be a perfect teaching opportunity for her. Not like Derrick actually had to use magic when coaching those wolves into shifting back to human form.
“I know you were mostly joking about her playing favorites, but I don’t want you to get an attitude toward her either. She’s been warming up to you every time your perverted mouth opens. For reasons beyond my comprehension…” Alex scoffs at my implications and acts even more offended when Marcus laughs.
A seriousness comes over Alex. “I hear what you’re saying, man. I really am joking, but she’s spent most of her time with the two of you since she woke up. I’ve barely had a moment alone with her, and most of it was spent with me working on this bear situation. Having found her in that bunker... I felt an instant connection, and nothing has gone as I pictured it since she woke up. It’s just throwing my mind for a loop. I want her to nurture a connection with me as well, and I don’t know how to make it happen.”
Damn, I know what he means. “It’s only been a couple of days. I know it feels like forever, just give it some more time. I've even felt like there isn’t enough time for everything on our plates right now.” Giving a shrug, I let the topic drop, not sure what else to say about it.
Marcus gets up from his bedroll and paces the room. “How long do you think they’ll take? Seems like they’ve been gone for a while. Should I go look for her?”
Alex snickers in response. “And you say I’m the one with puppy love. Leave her be for now, man, she already yelled at us once today for hovering.”
I lay back on my own bedroll and place my hands behind my head. Having my memories restored earlier today really threw me. My mark had already shown up again with the emotional connection we made in the bathroom, but now I remember when it originally showed up. I remember how I felt during the few moments I knew it was there, before the spell made me forget about it.
I can now pinpoint the moment where I began experiencing the emotions her soul was going through. The empty void she would send out, the ache I felt, like her soul was being trapped. It has to mean something, and if I’m being honest with myself, I’m not looking forward to finding out. What if I could’ve helped her all this time and did nothing? How would I ever be able to forgive myself?
Chapter 19
Marcellus
Four Hundred Years Ago
The sound of my clipped steps echoes along the dungeon hallway I’m walking down. Reaching Stephen’s cell, I unlock and enter it quickly. None of my guards should be coming down here, but one can never be too careful. Seeing my friend on his bedroll with only a threadbare blanket brings me a pang of guilt.
I’ve tried to make his stay here as comfortable as possible, unfortunately we both know the importance of him remaining unnoticed. Any special treatment will draw attention, which is something we can’t afford, not after all the work we’ve put into our plans of how to help prisoners slowly escape. We started making our plans when Stephen became the first prisoner we kept alive here. We’ve hit snags, and some aspects of the plan took way too long to fall into place, but things are finally in line.
Scooping a spoon full of the broth I brought, I bring it up to the prisoner’s mouth. Even though Silas has seen the value in keeping this man alive, he has found great joy in beating him whenever boredom strikes, or when he’s angry, frustrated, hungry, tired, when the sky is blue. Silas really doesn’t need a reason to perform a beating.
What I don’t understand is why the prisoner isn’t healing. I suspect it’s the tea Silas is forcing down his throat before the beating. This time, Silas left the prisoner so beaten he couldn’t move. Maybe I should’ve given him the mercy of death instead of trying to actually save his life. Holding the spoon to his lips, I try to feed it to him. He just turns his head away, refusing my help. I can’t blame him, he has only encountered harm since he’s been here, why should he believe I’m only interested in helping him?
Letting out a sigh, I contemplate my choices here. I recognize a reflection of myself in this man, my circumstances may be seen as infinitely better than his, but we’re both prisoners of Silas, just in different ways. “I should apologize to you. My uncle had wanted to kill you when you arrived, and I convinced him to keep you as a prisoner with the intent to help you escape someday. I fear my good intentions resulted in a fate worse than death. I still want to help you, but it appears things will take a lot longer than I expected, and to be honest, I really need help now with Silas bringing in even more prisoners.
“It’s completely understandable if you don’t trust me, or even hate me. Just know I’m on your side. If you wish for death, I’ll give it to you.” His bloodshot eyes gaze upon me with distrust, again I don’t blame him. I’d be giving me that same look if I was in his position.
With a croak, he asks, “Why should I believe you?” Valid question for sure.
I proceed to tell him all about my childhood, how Silas raised me and the beliefs he drilled into me. Then I tell him all about how I met my mate, who she is and what Silas did to her, and how she’s lost until I can find a way to bring her back. “So until I’m able to bring her back to all of us, it’s my mission to help her people and protect them from Silas, and that includes helping you. You can believe me or not, but I want nothing more than to see Silas defeated once she’s safe.”
The man in front of me has slowly shifted his countenance from distrustful, to possible hope throughout my story. He holds out his hand for me to shake. “My name is Stephen, and I want to join your cause.”
Stephen and I spend all our time working toward our goals. The only moments we aren’t actively working on our plans is when we’re sleeping, or when I’m able to sneak off to see Cecily. He performs the role of a recruiter, speaking to each new prisoner as they come in. These prisoners are provided a full description of what life will be like for them while they’re here. Then they’re given the option to live a quite frankly miserable life, constantly tortured with an unguaranteed hope of escape one day, or they can choose to move on from this life, and hope the Fates grant them a second life.
We give them all two weeks to decide for themselves what kind of life they’re willing to live with. Once their decision is made, we honor it no matter what it is. Most choose to live with the hope of escape, it’s then when Stephen will introduce them to our cause. Every single prisoner who hears our stories chooses to join us, and we’ve amassed quite the army.
There are those who choose to escape the horrors they’ll face. For those, we help them pass on in the most humane way possible, and then cover up their death as a complication of imprisonment, or self-sacrifice. Any way to fool Silas into complacency instead of suspecting us of having something else going on.
Our first recruits were sent out to make contacts throughout the country to help us with our cause. Safe places needed to be set up for those we help to escape, along with resources and back-up plans in case we’re found out. We also needed some individuals who are able to help with the research on what Silas could possibly be up to, any repercussions to him drinking shifter blood, and ways to make the effects null without him knowing about it.
Another change the dungeon has undergone is the number of prisoners. Either I never noticed how many people came in who never left, or Silas has ramped up his search for individuals he deems as traitors to our kind. After hearing the stories of those who come here, I’m more inclined to believe they were just victims of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. They sure aren’t traitors of any kind, unless you count having a different viewpoint from Silas. Which, knowing him, is enough...
