Shadowed (Unbound, Book 2)

Chapter Forty Eight

I opened my eyes after falling asleep and found myself in a gazebo. Everything around me was green and rolling, and the hills blocked any sign of civilization from sight. It felt safe. Aside from all the green, the gazebo itself was beautiful, with a glass mosaic of a Celtic knot on the floor in a circle that stopped where the benches began to circle the interior of the open building.

"Let's keep this brief, hmm?" Zachariah said, and I looked up to see him sitting across from me, appearing as if from nowhere. Opal lay at his feet, subdued with her head on her paws and sad eyes.

"Why did I read from a book?" I asked, raising my chin. If this would be brief, I was going to learn from our last encounter and ask what I most needed to know first. "What was that supposed to accomplish?"

Zachariah leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked down to Opal. His complexion had brightened and his gaunt appearance had thickened, but a simple thought seemed as complex as solving world hunger. He glanced back up and smiled, and then pushed himself up to pace back and forth across the stained glass in the center.

"Losing your memory has been terrible, yes?" He lifted his head for a moment and clasped his hands behind his back, but continued before I could respond. "I wish it hadn't happened because it's been horrible, but I'm not sorry it did. I don't say this to be mean, Nora. I want you to understand that. But..."

"What?" How could he say that? To my face! There was no but in this kind of situation, especially if he didn't plan on finishing the sentence!

"You and I never got along, but I would never wish you harm," he said. Zachariah stopped pacing and sat down, leaning forward across from me. "Still, I choose to look at the good from this situation. You lost your memory—that's hard. You found out who to trust, though, right?"

"I—"

Zachariah raised his hand and shook his head. "You were able to put all of your views aside and see things for what they are. You saw people for who they are, Nora, and that? Is a good thing."

"So you think me losing my memory is a good thing?"

"Of course not."

"Then what?" I spread my hands out in front of me. "I need a better explanation."

"You wanted nothing to do with magic, Nora. Ever. You never did." He sighed. "But without your mother, there is no one else to do what needs to be done. Losing your memory gave you a new perspective. You'll view the Craft better—use it—and see what the people around you are doing because you are no longer wrapped up in your own problems."

"You think not knowing who I am isn't a problem?"

"I think it got you to look places you never would have searched for answers, to find things you couldn't see when you were too busy trying to run from your heritage." Zachariah sat back and crossed his arms. "When you lost your memory, you stopped being selfish. You now know what Devland is capable of because he's done it to you. Now, no matter what anyone does to you or to those around you, it won't be an insurmountable problem for you to deal with because you've been through worse."

"What are you talking about?" I felt like screaming. Zachariah talking about how I was didn't help me now, especially since what he said about disavowing the Craft—my inherited condition, as Devland called it—seemed like a pretty smart move. Superpowers were cool in movies, but what about the ramifications to the person who wielded them? Other than the devastation they could cause that couldn't be portrayed within the time constraints of film.

"Can you walk away and let Devland do what he did to you to someone else?"

"It's not my problem," I said, and crossed my arms. "Besides, it's not like he has any other children to manipulate."

Zachariah stood up and patted his thigh. Opal jumped to attention. "That book you read will deflect any harm done to you. The charms you were given and the spells placed on you, will be dissolved by the spell you read. Think about the fact that it was only meant for those of your bloodline and the fact that you are the very last of it. That book will destroy itself if touched by anyone else. The only thing preventing you from recovering now is you."

"I am not trying to forget."

"Good." He nodded and walked to the entrance of the gazebo. "Then remember who you are, Nora. Your mother taught you a lot, and I am here for you, but you are the one with the power. The High Council must be reigned in."

"How is that my problem?"

He glanced over his shoulder. "Because you are the only one left strong enough to fix it."

Zachariah left the gazebo. I watched as he and Opal walked away, climbing hills and disappearing only to crest another. After the fifth, they were gone. I remained in my seat and refocused on the floor, cursing my subconscious for allowing me to dream. Why did my mind conjure Zachariah and Opal instead of my mother? Maybe it was my mind's way of telling me what I was facing was as conflicted as my emotions to the man who'd mentored my mother had been.

The only good thing about it was knowing it wasn't real.

*****

The first thing I did when I woke on Saturday morning was call Dr. Stanzo. Calin had said we were expected, but I asked to reschedule for Sunday so that I could get ready with Maible for the dance. It took agreeing to a double session and answering on-the-spot questions like I was front-and-center of a firing squad, but finally she let me off the hook. No way could I have fun if I went to the dance feeling like I'd just been dissected.

I hung up the phone and dropped my gaze to Onyx sitting at my feet, and asked, "Do you want to go for a run, girl?"

Onyx barked, her lip curling into what looked like a smile.

"Let me get changed and grab my car keys, okay?"

Onyx barked and ran to the door leading into the sitting room, and then stood guard as she waited for me to get ready. It took five minutes to change and throw my hair in a high ponytail, and another ten to find a screwdriver. A half hour later, Onyx and I were in the car and backing out of the garage.