Chapter X

Once school ended, Lilly immediately made her way out toward the dumpsters behind the building to wait for Vinny. She wasn’t sure whether he would actually show up or not, but she had to hope he would. She had decided to return Vinny’s memories first due to the fact that he had been in the erased realm the longest. He wouldn’t know anything about Nigreos and Album outside of whatever he saw the day Ralph’s Diner was attacked, but he would know the most about this version of Wilham. At the same time, the main reason she chose to start with him was simply because he had been gone the longest and she missed him. She spent nearly four weeks without knowing who he was and so, she wanted to talk to him again. Yet, when she approached him, she realized just how different he was in this world.

That version of Vinny…was far different from the one I know. In fact, he reminded me more of the way Vinny was when he used the stone on Evan and Rina back during Christmas. Though, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Damien and Eric told me a bit of what he was like before he met Eric, and in this world, the Magic Club never existed. It’s no wonder this Vinny would be so angry and bitter.

She leaned her back up against the wall of the building and glanced at the two dumpsters to her left. They reeked of trash and she wished she could have met him anywhere else, but she knew this was the most private place on campus. There was always the option of asking him to meet her outside of school, but she had a feeling that he’d be far less likely to show up if she did that since it was less convenient for him. As she was thinking this, she felt a presence approaching her and, moments later, she heard Rista’s voice.

“So you think this Mickelson kid is actually going to come?”

Lilly shrugged. “Dunno, honestly. I don’t really know much about the erased version of Vinny, and when I talked to him, he wasn’t anything like the Vinny I know. In fact, it’s probably unlikely that he’ll show up.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Rista asked.

“Then we track him down and return his memories the hard way,” she answered. “As much as I’d rather not cause trouble in this world, at the end of the day, it isn’t real, so if push comes to shove, we can do whatever we want. I know where he lives so breaking into his house is always an option.”

She said it partially as a joke, though if she became desperate, it wasn’t that bad of an idea. The fact of the matter was that what Rista said on their walk to school was right. This world wasn’t real, and so there wouldn’t be repercussions for their actions. They could do whatever they wanted without it having any effect on the real world, and while Lilly preferred to lay low for as long as possible, she knew there would come a time when she no longer had an option but to do whatever she could to reach her goals.

“Anyway,” she went on, “were you able to get a visual on the erased students?”

“I was,” he confirmed. “Five boys, including Mickelson, two girls, and one teacher.”

Lilly cocked an eyebrow then turned to stare at the empty space to her right in confusion. “A teacher? That shouldn’t be right. As far as I know, there was never a teacher who touched the stone.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you,” Rista said. “It was some history teacher named Mr. Alexander. As of right now, he’s under the same memory spell as everybody else, thus, he doesn’t have the slightest clue that he isn’t in the real world.”

Lilly clenched her teeth in fury as she processed what he said. Why the hell would they erase Mr. Alexander?! He never touched the gem so what reason would they have to get an innocent teacher involved?

Eric had never told her that the man was erased so either he didn’t realize it, or he simply opted to keep it to himself, but whatever the reason, Mr. Alexander was still another victim of the club’s actions. That meant she had to fight for him as well. She had to take the realm down so that he could return home safely.

“Harper. He’s coming.”

At Rista’s sharp whisper, Lilly looked up to see Vinny heading her way, his hands in his pockets and an irritable expression on his face. She straightened up and subtly motioned for Rista to put some distance between them. The plan was to keep Vinny distracted so the Ijirian could break the spell on his memories. For the moment, it was best to make sure Rista stayed hidden on the chance that the spell failed. If Vinny’s memories didn’t return after seeing a man appear out of thin air, it would only make gaining his trust that much harder.

“Alright, Harper, I’m here,” the blonde boy grunted. “Say what you want to say so I can get the fuck out of here.”

God…it’s so weird seeing such an annoyed look on his face. I miss his cheerful grin and his constant joking around. Please let this spell work… Please…

“Thanks for coming,” she replied, putting on as pleasant and sweet of a smile as she could. “I know this probably seems out of the blue, so I appreciate it.”

He shrugged, as if attempting to act like it didn’t matter. “Yeah, whatever. It’s not like I have anything better to do so I can spare a few minutes.”

“R-right,” she stuttered, then glanced past his shoulder to see Rista’s hand floating in midair as he extended it toward the back of Vinny’s head. “Uh, anyway, what I wanted to, uh, ask you was…”

Lilly did her best to drag the sentence out and just as Vinny looked like he was getting even more impatient, Rista’s hand grabbed the back of his head. Vinny flinched at the sudden touch, but before he could turn around, there was a sudden flash of light, causing the boy to cry out in pain. His hands went to his temples and he doubled over while Rista’s hand swiftly returned back into the distortion, but not without a quick thumbs-up to confirm for Lilly that the spell was complete.

“Ow. god damn it,” Vinny growled. “What the hell was that?!”

He weakly raised his head and looked over his shoulder, but when he didn’t see anything, he just furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Um, Vinny?” she said slowly, still unsure of whether it worked or not. “Is everything okay?”

The boy scowled then nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just had a sudden headache, is all. Anyway, Harper, just get to it. I’m sick of you stalling! Just say what you want to goddamn say so I can leave!”

Lilly stared at him with wide eyes, realizing both by his addressing her by her last name, as well as his pissed off tone, that the spell didn't work. Vinny’s memories were still locked away.

N-no… Why didn’t it…!

When she didn’t say anything, Vinny merely snorted and turned away. “Whatever. I should have known this was just a fucking prank anyway. Leave me alone, Harper. Go bother somebody else.”

What?! Wait, no! I can’t let him leave! I need to do something!

“Er, Vinny!” she frantically called after him. “Just hold on for a moment!”

He turned around and flipped her off with a glare, then continued on his way without another word. She could feel herself becoming desperate but she didn’t know if trying again would work and her immediate thought was to discuss what might have gone wrong with Rista before giving it another attempt. The problem was that if she didn’t do something now, Vinny wouldn’t ever give her the time of day again. So, in her desperation, she shouted out the first thing that came to mind.

“I just wanted to ask you if you’d go on a date with me tomorrow night!”

She exhaled softly as she watched Vinny pause, then turn around once more with a stunned expression on his face. She swallowed, realizing what she had just gotten herself into, but knowing that she didn’t have any option but to commit now that she’d gone and said it.

“A date?” he parroted. “You want to ask me on a date?”

She hurriedly nodded and forced her sweet smile back to her lips. “Y-yeah, I do. I’m sorry for taking so long to say it, but I was really scared you’d say ‘no’, so I kept stalling. I didn’t mean to upset you, but I promise this isn’t a prank. I actually think you’re a really cool guy and I…want to get to know you better.”

She wasn’t sure how effective her acting was, but the fact that Vinny hadn’t scoffed at her told her that she was at least somewhat convincing. As much as she didn’t want to go on a date with Vinny, and especially not this version of him, it was the first method she could think of that would get them another chance to talk. This way, she could discuss the situation with Rista and then try again tomorrow.

“I honestly can’t tell if you’re bullshitting me, Harper,” he muttered. “You got cameras around here or something?”

She shook her head. “I don’t. I swear to you, I don’t.”

“But you hardly know me,” he growled. “We’ve maybe spoken five words to each other before today, so why would you ever want to date somebody like me? You must know what I’m like. Trust me, for the sake of both you and your reputation, stay away from me.”

Lilly smile turned sad, seeing the pain in his eyes as he spoke. He wasn’t saying that to be mean. He was actually looking out for her, and that was enough to convince her that parts of the Vinny Mickelson she knew were still inside of the boy before her.

“Remember who you’re talking to,” she retorted playfully. “My reputation is garbage anyway. We’re both loners, you know, so why not stick together? I already eat lunch by myself and I don’t really have friends. I guess…I just saw a bit of me in you and thought getting to know you better could be fun. So I was thinking we could go get some dinner at Ralph’s Diner tomorrow night…”

“W-well…” He paused, then glanced around as if making sure they were still alone. “I guess we can get dinner. I just…hope you know what getting involved with me could do.”

“Oh, I know,” she assured him. “And I don’t care.”

For a moment, she thought she saw a spark of admiration in his eyes, as well as a soft blush on his cheeks, as he bid her goodbye and took off back toward the main building. Once he was out of sight, she let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall once more.

“Congratulations on your date,” Rista said stoically as his distortion came down, revealing an almost amused look on his face.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up. Anyway, what happened? Why didn’t his memories come back?”

“I…don’t know, honestly,” he admitted. “When my mother taught me that spell, it was more out of a precaution than anything. I’ve actually never had to use it, so it’s possible that it won’t work. I have other theories as well, but…”

Rista trailed off as he rubbed his chin in thought, leaving Lilly standing there in silence.

Damn it! If he can’t bring anybody back, then I might be stuck dealing with this all alone. I was hoping I could have everybody at my side, but… She shook her head. No, don’t give up yet. I’m sure I can figure something out and if I can’t return their memories, that doesn’t mean I can’t try to work with this world’s versions of them. I still have options. But, for the time being…

Lilly sighed and put a hand to her forehead. ...I guess I’m going on a date with Vinny Mickelson of all people.

***

Left only with the option of returning home for the day, Lilly began making her way back to her apartment building with Rista tagging along. He said there was something he wanted to look into, and so he requested that she allow him to meet Natalie. He said he wanted to meet the last of the erased victims so that he had a better idea of who they all were, and while she was hesitant to let somebody she hardly knew go near Natalie, she also knew that the power of The Angel would be there to protect the little girl if anything did happen. Therefore, with Rista in tow, Lilly rode the elevator up to the second floor of the building, before heading down the hall to where the Hills’ apartment was. Lilly had yet to visit Natalie since regaining her memories, so she was glad to have a chance to check in with her. She knocked a few times then stepped back, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Rista was still distorted as the door opened.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Oh, Lilly. I didn’t expect you to visit today.”

Part of her tensed up as she faced Renee Hill, or at least that world’s recreated version of her. Every time she interacted with somebody that wasn’t real, she felt horribly unnerved. She knew they were fake, yet they were so realistic that she would never have known without being told. Because of this, she had been avoiding her parents and considered herself lucky that Alexa was off at college for the time being. Yet, even knowing this, she still forced herself to smile as she greeted Renee as if everything were normal.

“I’m sorry for not giving you any notice,” she said. “I was just thinking that I haven’t seen Natalie in a little while and thought I’d pay her a quick visit.”

Renee smiled. “Well, I’m sure she’d like that! Please, come on in!”

Lilly stepped into the narrow entryway, praying that Renee wouldn’t hear Rista’s footsteps while also hoping that he’d be able to make it through the door before she shut it. She wasn’t really sure what would happen if Renee saw magic, but what she did know was that regardless of what happened, it would only make things unnecessarily complicated. To her relief, she could still sense Rista’s presence behind her after the door was closed.

“Nat’s in her bedroom so why don’t you head on back,” Renee told her. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

Lilly smiled but shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m okay. My Mom’s already got dinner taken care of.”

“Alright, sweetheart, but the offer’s still up if you change your mind.”

Thanking her once again, Lilly then turned and headed down the hall and toward Natalie’s closed bedroom door. She went to knock, but then hesitated. The little girl on the other side was one of the only real people in this world, and the only reason she was there was because of what Lilly did. By going against her initial instincts and using the gemstone on Natalie, she got her wrapped up in a mess she shouldn’t have had anything to do with. They never even explained the situation to her. When the apartment was attacked, Natalie wouldn’t have known what was going on. Lilly didn’t even know what happened to her after Nigreos and Album attacked.

And now she’s here, without her memories. She hardly knew Eric so hopefully nothing much should have changed. She should just be the same Natalie Hill from the real world.

She felt a sudden touch against her back, followed by Rista’s soft whisper.

“You okay, Harper?”

Lilly nodded. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”

She then bit back her fears and knocked a few times. When she heard Natalie’s soft call to come in, Lilly opened the door and walked inside. The bedroom was just as she remembered it, with Natalie’s bed covered in stuffed animals of all shapes, sizes, and colors, though a part of Lilly felt a twinge of sadness at the absence of a certain stuffed rabbit Natalie had gotten during their trip to the pier—a trip that never took place in this world. The little girl was sitting at her desk on the opposite side of the room, probably working on some of the homework Renee assigned her.

“Hey, Natalie. It’s been a little while,” Lilly greeted.

At the sound of her voice, Natalie’s expression lit up. “Lilly! I didn’t know you were coming today! Is Mom going somewhere or…?”

“No, I’m just here to visit,” she answered. “It’s been too long and since I had some time, I thought I’d stop by.”

Natalie frowned. “I mean, I’m happy to see you, but don’t you have cross country practice after school?”

A sudden jolt of dread went through her body at Natalie’s words as it was in that moment that she remembered that it was already cross country season in the erased realm. Her conflicting memories had been throwing her off all weekend, and after getting so focused on returning Vinny’s memories, cross country had completely slipped her mind.

Well, it’s not like it matters too much, but now I’m only going to be drawing attention to myself, especially since I’ll have to skip practice tomorrow for my damned date with Vinny!

“Er, well, it was canceled,” she lied, and at the same time, she had a nasty feeling that Rista was quietly snickering behind her.

She knew that her response was obviously a lie, but if Natalie was suspicious then she kept it to herself. Instead, she tilted her head a little to the side and asked, “By the way, is there somebody with you? I thought I heard someone else walking in.”

Lilly froze. God damn it, I forgot how good her hearing was!

Realizing just how much of a mess this visit had already become, she did her best to respond as casually as she could. “Huh? No, nobody’s with me,” she assured her, and the moment she said it, she felt Rista’s presence begin to carefully move across the room, his footsteps soft but noticeable. Natalie frowned, following the sound with her head.

Rista, what are you doing?! Stop moving!

“Um, Lilly? Are you sure? I could have sworn—!”

Before she could finish her sentence, Rista’s hand shot out from the distortion, his fingers gently pressing against Natalie’s forehead. The same flash of blue light erupted from his fingertips, causing Natalie to grunt in pain before gripping her head. Lilly exhaled sharply as she rushed to Natalie’s side, but not without sending a furious glare in the direction she could sense the man.

What the hell did you just do, Rista?! You weren’t supposed to touch her!

“A-are you okay, Nat’?” Lilly managed to stutter, gently placing her hands against the girl’s shoulders. She feared that Renee might hear so she kept her voice lowered to avoid attracting her attention. “W-what happened? Do you have a headache or…?”

“L-Lilly?” Natalie whispered as her head slowly rose. Her skin was pale, as if she were suddenly scared of something, and her breathing was slightly heavy. When she spoke again, her voice was shaking. “I don’t… What happened? Damien and Liz? Are they okay? There was a gunshot…and screaming! And I heard a woman's voice…and then…”

Lilly’s eyes went wide as she listened to Natalie ask question after question about an event and people she should not have been able to remember. The little girl only continued to tremble, giving Lilly a brief moment to process what happened.

Rista…returned her memories? The spell worked? That’s not…? But why didn’t it work on Vinny then?

“Yeah, I had a feeling.”

Natalie jumped at the sudden voice while Lilly could only round on the still distorted Ijirian in anger. She didn’t have a clue what he was thinking, but in barely five minutes of arriving in the apartment, he had gone and acted against her wishes, and now Natalie remembered everything.

“Who is that?!” Natalie exclaimed as she scrambled to her feet.

Lilly could tell that the girl was getting more terrified by the second, so she hurriedly put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her before glaring once more at Rista. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped. “I thought you just wanted to see her! I didn’t realize you were going to try the memory spell on her!”

“Of course you didn’t,” he replied curtly. “I could tell just from the way you talked about Natalie that you wouldn’t have approved of this, so I decided it would be easier to just act on my own and see what would happen. Like I said, I had a theory for what might have gone wrong with Mickelson.”

“Lilly?” Natalie whimpered, clutching at her side. “What’s going on? I’m scared.”

“It’s okay, Nat’,” she replied, placing a hand on her head. “I’ll explain everything in just a moment. But it’s safe. He’s a friend…I think.” Her words turned sharp as she directed that last part at Rista. “Alright then, explain. I’ll at least hear you out first.”

She wanted to shout at him for doing anything to Natalie without her permission, but she knew that if she showed her anger at Rista then the little girl would only get more scared. She had to remain calm for Natalie’s sake.

“Like I said back at the school, I’m not that familiar with the spell,” Rista answered. “And I’m not that strong of a mage to begin with. You told me that Mickelson was old friends with Eric Reiner, so part of me wondered if the reason the spell failed was simply due to the fact that returning Mickelson’s memories was too hard of a task with my skill level. So, when you said that Natalie hardly knew Reiner, I decided I could test the spell out on her and see.” Rista paused for a moment. “And it seemed it worked. Her memories being less altered meant I could bring them back…”

Keeping her irritation in check, Lilly took in everything Rista was saying. “So…to summarize, you can’t give Vinny his memories back because he has too many to return?”

“Yes, exactly that.”

Then…that means he won’t be able to bring Liz or Damien back either. But then…how many memories are too much? Jay, Alice, and Brad shouldn’t have nearly as much to return. Would we be able to bring them back? What’s the limit here?

“Lilly?” Natalie whispered. “He’s talking about magic…and memories? Is the club okay? Did something happen to them? Did that woman…hurt Liz, Damien, and Eric?”

Despite the obvious fear in her eyes, Lilly could see genuine concern for the others. Natalie was worried for the others more than she was for herself.

“I still don’t know what happened…or what’s happened since,” Natalie went on. “But somebody was coming after them, right? Somebody magical? Please say they’re okay! Please!”

“Uh…” Lilly hesitated, knowing that while she could confirm that Damien and Liz were alive, she didn’t have the first clue what state Eric might be in. Yet, despite that, she spoke with confidence when she answered. “Yeah, Nat’. They’re alive, but…they aren’t themselves. Those people that attacked us…took their memories…and yours and mine, too, but this man here brought yours back.”

Lilly wasn’t sure how much to tell Natalie, but at the same time, she no longer saw any reason to hide anything from her. She had already interacted with Nigreos and Album, and had been erased herself. By keeping things from her, she would only scare Natalie more, and that was what Lilly wanted to avoid. She would have preferred to keep Natalie ignorant while they dealt with the erased realm, but she no longer had that option, so she didn’t have a choice but to explain everything.

“You helped us?” Natalie asked, turning her head in Rista’s direction. “Are you a wizard, too?”

Rista chuckled softly. “I’m a mage, but yes, I helped you. My name’s Rista Pine. It’s nice to meet you.”

Natalie smiled, though her fear was noticeably straining it. “I’m Natalie. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

Well, I guess I have no choice. I’ll deal with Rista later, but for now, I have to make sure Natalie’s okay. At the very least, she’s handling this better than I would have thought. She always was a strong girl.

“Alright, Nat’, why don’t you take a seat on the bed?” Lilly suggested. “I guess…I have a lot of explaining to do.”

Natalie turned her head up toward her, and despite finding out that Lilly had been lying to her all this time, she still smiled. “Okay… Yeah, tell me everything!”

***

At first, Lilly wasn’t sure how much to reveal in regards to Ijiria and the erased realm, but once she started talking, she decided to just be honest. Natalie would know if she were lying anyway and so, she explained it all. She told her about Nigreos and Album, as well as of Ijiria and Eric’s mother. She then went on to describe the events that followed the spring festival—how she and the club tried to fight the Masters, how those who used the stone were marked for erasure, and how they were all erased one by one. Lilly finished her explanation with the circumstances surrounding the attack on the apartment and the separate reality that was the erased realm they currently found themselves in. The only detail she left out was The Angel, but since she, herself, knew very little about it, she figured there was no reason to discuss it. All the while, Natalie listened silently.

“So…that’s it,” Lilly whispered. “That’s what’s going on. Eric’s still in the real world but I’m certain he’s safe. I know he is and so, I just need to break out of this world and reach him. Rista’s going to help me do that. But…” Lilly paused, deciding to wait and see what Natalie’s reaction would be.

“That’s…a lot to think about,” the girl murmured. “And…does this mean that my mom, or the mom in the other room, isn’t actually my mom?”

“That’s correct,” Rista answered from his spot in the back corner of the room. “Everybody here, except those who got erased, are just rectreations, most likely using your memories of them to make them so accurate.”

Natalie furrowed her brow. “Oh… And these, er, Ijirians… They want me gone just because I used your rock? That’s… so mean.”

Lilly nodded meekly and could feel tears coming to her eyes, so she did her best to fight them back. “Yeah, tell me about it. And I know this won’t make up for it but, I’m sorry, Nat’. I’m sorry for dragging you into this. If I hadn’t used the stone on you then you wouldn’t have gotten stuck here. It’s my fault… I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t cry, Lilly!” she insisted, seeming to hear the quivering in her voice. “It’s not your fault! Our trip to the pier…it was really fun! In fact, it was the best day of my life! I got to see the sunset… For the first time in my life, I got to see the pretty colors I’ve always heard about… It was the best! I wouldn’t trade it for anything…not even going back to the real world. And Mr. Pine…” She quickly turned her smile toward Rista. “Thanks for giving me that memory back! I really appreciate it!”

Lilly could only gape at her. Despite everything Natalie had just been told, she was still cheerful and grateful for their trip together. It made her realize just how tough of a kid Natalie Hill was. It was impressive.

“But I want you to promise me one thing!” Natalie went on, turning back to Lilly. “Don’t leave me out this time! If you’re gonna break out of here then let me help! I promise I won’t tell Mom…er, or my fake mom! But I wanna help you, Lilly! I want to fight Ijiria, too!”

Even though Lilly knew there was nothing Natalie could do to fight the Ijirians, she just couldn’t ignore her enthusiasm. After keeping her in the dark for so long, she couldn’t turn her down. “Alright, sure. After all, we’ll need all the help we can get! Let’s do this, Nat’.”

“Yup!”

Natalie held her fist out and Lilly bumped hers against it, the symbol of a promise made between them. Lilly intended to keep that promise. She would return Natalie to the real world and make everything right. She would undo what Nigreos and Album stole from them…for the sake of everybody she loved.

***

After promising to visit Natalie again soon, Lilly and Rista departed the Hills’ apartment and headed out into the hall, entering the elevator that would take them to the lobby. Lilly knew they would have a more extensive talk another time but, since Rista would be leaving in a minute, she decided that she would say one quick thing.

“Rista, I’m glad we were able to figure out why the spell didn’t work on Vinny. However…” she said softly, turning to stare directly at the empty spot beside her. “Don’t you dare use magic on any of my friends without my permission. You hear me?”

She kept her voice low, but made sure that he could hear the seriousness in her tone. Somewhere deep inside her, she could feel something stirring with her anger, but she managed to keep it locked within, knowing she couldn't allow it to break free against someone who was supposed to be an ally. She couldn’t see Rista’s expression, but his curt reply was enough to know how he felt.

“I apologize,” he said. “But unfortunately, I will do what I believe is best regardless of your opinion. You’re a magicless girl, according to you, and so, you don’t understand the situation as well as I do. Natalie Hill is safe and unharmed, and I gained information…information for a problem you want solved. Returning your friends’ memories is not a requirement to escape this place. So…” He laughed bitterly. “Be grateful that I’m helping you with this.”

With that, the doors slid open and Rista moved out, leaving Lilly to glare in his direction as she pressed the button for her own floor.

“Just say the word…and he can be dealt with.”

Lilly shook her head. No, it’s fine. I need him, but…I just need to be more careful around him. I don’t want him going behind my back, but I need his help.

The Voice of Darkness chuckled. “Whatever you say, Lilly Harper.”