Kaz hadn't given any response to Elena. But she could see the tenseness of his jaw. She could tell he was angry, maybe at her maybe at Nella maybe at himself, she couldn't tell. She didn't care. She deserved the anger. She had ignored his warning to return to the compound and now she has no memory. A crucial piece of information was gone with it.
There has to be some way to bring back her memory, right? Something that could trigger it? Not just bits and pieces but the whole lot. Maybe, just maybe, if she went to where it all started...
"I have to get to where I woke up."
"Huh?" Kaz raised an eyebrow at her.
"That place where I woke up. If I go there maybe I can find something."
"Do you know where it is?" He asked.
"I know the way there from that motel, but..." Elena shrugged, tucking her hair, which had come loose during the whole fiasco, behind her ears.
"What did it look like?" Kaz asked. "The place where you woke up?"
"Sort of an apartment building, I think," She squints, trying to recall. "Half of it was collapsed—"
"I know the place," Kaz said. "The only problem is we can't drive through the Rift."
"We can find something else in the Lost City, right?" Elena asked, leaning forward and resting her chin on the back of the passenger seat.
"Hope so," Kaz shrugged, pushing his bangs away from his forehead. That was when Elena noticed the four bloody crescents in his palm. Why?
"Hey, Kaz, can I ask you something?" Elena asked cautiously.
"If it's about what happened back there in the diner, then the answer is no," His face was stoic; Not giving away any kind of emotion. She dropped the subject.
They dumped the truck a bit far from the Rift. Kaz took the keys with him, in case Nella and her henchman returned for it. The trip back through the Rift was the same as before, except they were spat out onto solid, rocky ground instead of grass. Elena took a page off Kaz's book and swore loudly, spitting out a mouthful of sand.
"I hate this thing," Kaz grumbled next to her, brushing sand off his clothes. "It makes me feel like something ate me and threw me up. Gross."
Elena couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her chapped lips. She felt exhausted, not just tired—like there were heavy metal cubes hanging from her limbs, weighing them down. She wanted to lie down and sleep. But she had a mission on hand; One she had messed up. She won't mess it up again.
"It's times like this I wish our people had a bus service here," Kaz glared into the distance. "How the hell are we supposed to find a car?"
He looked worn out; Elena noted. His pale skin had turned even paler, a sort of sickly paleness. His powers had taken a toll on him and now they had travelled through the Rift twice in a row, which was not pleasant. Elena knew she didn't look any better either. She could feel a dull throbbing starting behind her eyes, making it hard to look at the sun glaring down at the Lost City below.
"Maybe we'd have to steal again," Elena suggested a bit reluctantly. Stealing from Nella Alden was one thing; Stealing from an innocent, unsuspecting citizen was another thing.
Kaz frowned. "Maybe we can pull some strings. People know the Devils—They fear it."
Elena didn't want to be feared by anyone but what choice did she have? For whatever stupid reason she couldn't remember, she had joined the Devils and here she was: Stuck on a mission she had messed up with no memory of anything.
This time she was the one who stood up first. She offered a tentative hand to Kaz. He blinked at it in surprise for a bit before letting her pull him to his feet. Elena noticed that they were about the same height, Kaz being only about an inch taller than her. They started down the dusty road in silence until the busier areas came into sight. No one paid them much attention, just went on with their work, shouting at unruly children and going in and out of shops that sold everything from bread to small colourful stones that Elena somehow recognized as amplifiers.
The Lost City is truly lost, Elena thought. It was like a city built in a desert with its dusty, winding roads and the ever-increasing heat. Even the crowded parts lacked the modern elegance the human cities carried. Even with people, it felt hollow: Unlived. Abandoned. Like an old small town separated from the rest of the world: A world that moved on, leaving the city behind.
"Stay here," Kaz said, marching towards a man in dusty trousers and a flannel shirt. The man seemed to recognize Kaz.
Elena watched as they talked, the man looking hesitant, Kaz impatient. Finally, the man nodded and went behind the building they were in front of. Kaz returned to her side, his hands in his pockets.
"I found a truck," He said.
"You know him?" Elena asked.
He shrugged. "Sort of."
Elena didn't ask what that was supposed to mean. There was no use in prying at him. He will just sidestep the question.
They silently got into the truck—a battered yellow one that shone like a beacon in the blinding sun. Elena sat uncomfortably in the back seat with Kaz; The interior of the vehicle smelled like beer and cigarettes.
"You know, kid," The man whose name turned out to be Lex looked at Kaz through the review mirror. "We hear things. Rumours go around fast. We know something is happening. We know, this time, something big had gotten into the wrong hands."
"What else do you know?" Kaz leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. He didn't look even a bit bothered by the condition of the truck.
"We know the Devils are being torn apart by the inside."
Both Elena and Kaz sucked in a breath, sharing a look with each other. Word seemed to have gotten out. At least the people weren't panicking; At least they didn't seem to.
"I'm not talking for those white-collar criminals, I'm talking for the ones like us," Lex went on. "Sometimes, we have no choice but to sell some small lucky charm to a desperate human. You rich people never understand—no offence to you, miss," His eyes met Elena's through the review mirror. "But I know you understand, kid. You were one of us."
Kaz didn't say anything. He was staring down at his hands, an odd expression on his pale face. Again, Elena didn't pry.
"We are here," Lex said, and the truck jerked to a stop.
In front of them was the half-collapsed building, with its shattered windows, and the surviving windows were shuttered. They were the only source of life in this dead land. Elena watched as Kaz pressed a few bills of cash into Lex's hand. The man squinted at the ruins, shrugged and drove away, leaving them to deal with their problems.
"What now?" Kaz asked, looking up at the building.
Elena took a deep breath, wiping her palms on her jeans. "I should go alone."
Kaz raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"
Elena nodded shakily. She wanted to do this alone. This might not work at all but she tried to be optimistic. That was the only thing she could do now: Hope.
Elena slowly climbed the concrete stairway which started to slowly crumble away to dust. She had to be careful; One time she set her foot on the edge and a small slab of concrete fell away, leaving a puff of dust. She stood at the edge of the corridor with the room she had woken up. Her heart was beating so loud in her ribcage, she thought she could hear it. She wanted to turn around and go back. She'd rather be anywhere other than this building she had lost her memory; She had woken up to a dead man beside her.
"I can do this," Elena bounced on her heels, clenching and unclenching her hands. "I can do this."
I have to do this. For the sake of everyone.
Taking a deep breath, she marched towards the third door—the room she had woken in—and pushed it open.
Standing in the middle of it, her arms crossed across her chest, was Nella Alden.
* * *
"I knew you'd come here," Nella grinned at Elena's shocked expression.
"But—How?" Elena asked, clenching her fists. "We left you—"
"Passed out?" Nella's grin turned into one of burning hatred. "That was a very bad thing, Elena." She waved a finger at her like an mother scolding a little child who stole a cookie and lied about it.
"You deserved it," Elena snapped at her.
She could feel the thrum of power inside her veins, beating alongside her heart. She let it build.
Nella made a face. "Because I betrayed the Devils? Who cares."
"You were the one who took my memories, weren't you?" Elena asked, feeling anger burn inside her.
"Well," Nella examined her nails. "I didn't take your memories. I only placed a barrier in your mind. Kind of a dam."
Elena's fingertips were tingling now, like electricity passing through her.
"But I see that the tide is coming through," Nella went on. "I can fix that," She gave one of her dazzling smiles. "Let me fix you."
Elena stood her ground, slowly unclenching her fists. "I'm not broken."
And her power exploded in a blinding wave of light.
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