I hadn’t taken the time to appreciate when I saw him coming out of Raphael’s clothes. I was a good size to scare humans, but he was something else. He was definitely over ten feet long and well-fed. He dropped to the floor and looked at me for a moment.
The next time I blinked, he was a man.
“The sleep was nice,” he commented, turning back to the glass home. “Good sun rock too.”
“I take it you haven’t been able to use any of that stuff before, huh?” I crossed my arms, watching him carefully.
“No, I haven’t. I don’t get to be a snake very much anymore,” he whispered. His fingers touched the glass. “Thank you for allowing me to stay in snake form for some time, it felt like home.”
“I bet. So, here’s the deal. I’m going to feed you, we’re going to talk, then I’m going to make arrangements with the local witch coven to dig into your memories. I don’t know how that’s going to go, but you should know I’ve already contacted Mahavir and Adhar to move locations, so they remain secure. I never knew you had visited them before I caught you.”
“Ah…they…they didn’t know what I had been doing…” Nakul looked at his feet, guilt seeming to weigh him down. “Do you think they aren’t safe?”
“I think someone meddled with your mind, you knew the locations of two nagas, and one of them has had a child since you went to prison. Letting them stay where they are isn’t a risk I’m willing to take. I should have gotten to them sooner, but I had the immediate worry of not dying to deal with.” It hadn’t been a major concern until Mahavir confirmed the suspicion Cassius had put in my mind ages ago. And I was just tired.
Nakul looked up, his eyes lanced with pain.
“Who had a son?”
“You’re an uncle twice over now,” I said, refusing to smile. “Mahavir’s son turns sixteen this summer and no, I’ve never met him, and don’t plan to. I won’t participate in a little party before you ask.”
“I’m glad to hear my brother found happiness, and it was fruitful,” he said weakly as if he had a bad headache, which was common in people who had their memories tampered with and thought about it too hard.
“Are you okay? Let’s get some food in you.” I gestured to the stairs and spoke gently, not wanting to upset or make him feel any worse. He was a prisoner, my prisoner, and I wasn’t aiming to be cruel to him.
“My head hurts…” He started rubbing his temples as he walked.
“Yeah, I bet,” I said kindly.
He went up the stairs first. I trailed behind him, keeping a close eye on him. Once upstairs, I was glad to see Raphael waiting in the hall.
“Can you clear out the kitchen? I’m going to get him something small to eat, so he feels a little better. He’s going to need the energy for later.”
“We’re taking him somewhere?”
“Witch coven is already preparing to go through his memories.” He nodded and went into the kitchen. Less than a minute later, he looked back out and nodded.
“It’s empty. I’ll be around, but I’ll give you two some privacy.”
“Thanks.” I watched him leave, then ushered Nakul into the kitchen.
“Sit down and wait. Stop trying to think about it. The witches will be able to tell us what memories were messed with, what type of magic did it, and if it can be fixed. If they can’t, they’ll at least clean up the damage and make it so you don’t hurt so much from the missing memories.” It wasn’t easy magic, but I knew that when I found out Nakul had the problem, and I still promised to get him the help.
There was a reason I had never done this with Raphael. It was dangerous, for one. It also exposed the person to the witch coven doing the magic. It was a similar story if it was a fae going through the memories. Those were the two big players in the memory manipulation business. There were some small groups of supernaturals who had their own versions of memory tampering, but many of them were very secretive, using their magic to protect themselves and their secrets. I couldn’t reasonably assume any of them were the culprit.
I was willing to risk Nakul because I could actively work to make his memories less dangerous. Raphael wasn’t the same. On top of that, I just liked