CHAPTER SIX: MORE THAN A MEMORY

~ Marie ~

Adrian eyed her as he came down the stairs. He stopped next to Leon and spoke to him but his gaze never strayed from her.

“Was I interrupting something?” Had he come on purpose, knowing that she would be in the area? No. Based on his earlier reaction, he was just as surprised as her.

“You two know each other?”

“Marie helped me with a problem recently.” She hoped he wasn’t thinking of interfering with her current investigation. “Something going on?”

“I’m not sure. Marie was asking me if I’ve noticed anything unusual.” Leon looked up at Adrian as he spoke. “Have you noticed anything?” The man turned to Marie to explain. “Adrian has been staying with me for the past couple of days. He might have noticed something I haven’t.”

“I haven’t noticed anything unusual.” Adrian’s eyes narrowed for a moment.

“Could you make us some coffee?” The dragon gave the other man a bright smile. It was met with a frown before Adrian turned and stalked away. He went through a door in the back of the room. Probably the kitchen. “You had another question?” Leon smiled as he gestured for her to continue. Even with Adrian out of the room, he should still be able to hear everything she said. She needed to cut this short and leave.

“Have you had any contact with any of the wolves?” The man folded his hands on his lap as he tilted his head. She wished he would hurry up but Adrian came back before he was done thinking. He was carrying a tray with three mugs on top. He handed one to Leon and Marie before he sat down with his own. Adrian set the tray on the ground next to his chair before taking a sip of his coffee. She looked into the mug to find light colored coffee. Marie took a sip. She still wasn’t sure if she liked it but she was happy to be drinking more coffee. Even though she’d eaten, her energy was still a little low. Marie took another sip as she looked over the rim of her cup. It looked like they were having a silent conversation. Adrian glared at Leon’s smug smile. The dragon shrugged in response. Then the moment passed and both of them turned their attention to her, polite smiles on both their faces.

“The only werewolf I’ve had contact with was the pack leader. This was...several months ago. Nothing recent, I’m afraid.” It was likely that none of the other wolves knew that Leon was even out here. Should she ask Peter about him?

“Is something happening?”

“I’m still investigating.” Adrian nodded as he went back to drinking his coffee. He was going to be a problem. Marie drained the last of her coffee. She looked around for a place to put it but Adrian reached out his hand. She gave it to him before standing up. “Thank you for the hospitality but I must be going.” Leon stood up and showed her to the door. Adrian didn’t move as she walked out but it was only a matter of time before she saw him again.

“Please feel free to visit again.” Leon smiled as he bid her farewell. She nodded but there wasn’t a reason to visit this area again. Marie glanced around. The porch light illuminated only the area within the fence. The area outside it was probably pitch black.

The idea of stumbling around in the dark was not appealing. Marie frowned. She did her light spell and a small ball of light floated over her shoulder. Once she was further in, she could teleport back to her room.

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She carefully picked her way over as many roots and rocks as possible but there wasn’t enough light even with her spell. Marie stepped around another root but misstepped. Her steps faltered as she tried to catch herself but she couldn’t regain her balance and fell backwards. She really hoped that she wouldn’t have to fight out here. Marie knew she wasn’t athletic but she didn’t think she was this clumsy.

“Are you okay?” She looked up to see Adrian standing there. Marie stood up and dusted off her jeans.

“I’m fine. Did you need something?”

“I wanted to discuss something with you.” He sauntered over to her and she envied how easily he avoided the roots that crisscrossed the path.

“What?”

“I’d prefer someplace more private.” What should she do? Even if she ignored him and left she still had no idea if the blood link was still active. He might still be able to find her even if she teleported away. She pushed back a sigh. Marie might as well take him back to the room and get this over with. If she helped him, maybe he wouldn’t go looking for her later. Marie held out her hand. He stared at it for a moment before he placed his hand on hers. She closed her eyes. Adrian’s grip tightened for a moment before relaxing. Marie opened her eyes and let go of his hand.

“Where are we?” Adrian looked around the room before he focused back on her.

“This is where I’m currently staying. I have protections on the room so you don’t have to worry about eavesdropping.” She sat down at the table. Adrian took one more look around before he sat down and leaned forward.

“You remember the night Mark disappeared?” Of course. Marie had wondered what had happened but she never thought Adrian would discuss it with her. “I asked him why he left but he has no memory of it. Nothing.” He frowned and looked away for a moment before he continued. “The last thing he remembered was going to bed.” What did he see that someone felt the need to erase?

“Why are you coming to me?” Based on how he acted, she should be the last person the Master Vampire would want to talk to. Leon knew magic and so did that man who healed her back at the Westfall safehouse. Why didn’t he go to one of them?

“I was informed that if I wanted memory manipulation magic, the Guardians would be the ones to ask.” Who had informed him? Whoever it was knew quite a bit about Guardians. “Was that wrong?”

“No, I do know memory manipulation magic.” It was one of the things she learned as a Guardian and was something she was quite skilled at.

“Do you have a way to recover his memories?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Meaning?”

“I won’t know anything for sure until I examine him but the problem wouldn’t be with my magic. The problem is how badly did someone not want him to remember? If it’s a simple erasure, then I can easily bring his memories back but if they did something more than that, things can get complicated to the point that his mind could be damaged if I’m not careful.” What was important enough to erase but not kill Mark outright? Was the memory loss just an added precaution?

“If they did take extra precautions, would there be a way to get around them?”

“It’s possible. Or you could always wait.” Marie shrugged. She wanted to learn more about what happened but she wouldn’t put the boy’s mind in danger if waiting could solve the problem.

“For what?” His eyes narrowed.

“Unless this person is in constant contact with Mark, then eventually, the magic will run out and his memories should come back on their own.” It’s possible that whoever sealed Mark’s memories was also the person who betrayed Adrian. With his memories sealed, Mark wasn’t in any danger.

Yet.

If they were a part of Adrian’s clan then there must be a reason why they would still be hanging around. At the very least, they were someone who was in constant contact with Adrian. If they’d been someone who could just leave and never come back, they wouldn’t have taken the time to erase Mark’s memories. Until they completed whatever they were doing, Mark was safe but once that was done… Adrian looked like he was thinking along the same lines. His expression darkened with anger for a moment before it returned to his polite mask.

“I will consider both options and get back to you.” He stood up and went towards the door. Marie followed after him and held the door open. “If I have any more questions, I know where to find you.” He gave her a smug smile before he disappeared into the night.