“It is slightly more complex than that, but for now I think that's as good an explanation as you need.”
“So if I could undo the spell she cast on you, can I undo the curse of the darkness on dreamwalkers?”
Cardine once again sips her tea. “I knew you’d get there on your own. Good thing too. Having someone go rifling through your head to teach you things is not the most pleasant of experiences.”
“Cardine, if Zoë is able to break the curse, what will happen to all the lost walkers?” I ask.
Charlie pushes off the wall and takes a few steps closer to us, listening intently for the answer.
“It would be in your best interest to get them home first. Ending a curse with lost souls in the mix is never a good idea.”
Charlie rubs his hands over his face and lets out a frustrated, breathy laugh. “And how exactly do we do that?”
“Ask your meiga here. She already knows the answer. Just has to find it within herself.”
We turn and look at Zoë. Her eyes dart from person to person. “Me? I, I don't know how to get them home.”
“Aye, but you do. And you can start with the young one you came here for. She’s not far away.”
I nearly burst out of my seat. “Natalie? You know where she is?”
Cardine looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Calm yourself, Emma. She was here before you lot arrived, looking for help. Clearly I couldn't give it to her. She stayed for a while before moving on. She left something behind though.”
She points her finger to a dark corner of the room. A small object flashes, as if light has reflected off it. Zoë rises from her seat and slowly approaches it. The closer she gets, the more the object seems to glow and shine.
Zoë's head tilts to the side. Her facial expression relaxes and her jaw falls slightly open. The glow of the object reflects in the almost black iris of her eyes. She takes slow, deep breaths and other than the rise and fall of her chest, she is completely motionless. I begin to stand but Cardine grabs my forearm and shakes her head no while keeping her eyes locked on Zoë.
The soft white light that Zoë is enchanted by seems to grow as it approaches her. It hovers in front of her face for a quick moment before lowering to her chest and disappearing within her.
She inhales sharply, gasping for air and grabs hold of the back of a chair for balance. “What was that?” she asks Cardine.
“You tell me. What did you see?”
“It was like I was seeing things through someone else’s eyes. I was a little kid. I climbed onto my mother’s lap and wrapped my arms around her neck. We were watching a bird fly around the yard.”
Cardine smiles proudly at Zoë, who looks utterly confused.
“Was that a memory?” Zoë asks her.
“Aye,” Cardine responds.
“You can read the memories?” I ask.
“I … I guess I can. I can see what they are.”
Charlie and I look at each other. “Do you know whose memories they are?” he asks her.
“Well according to Cardine, that one was Natalie’s. I’m sure I could figure out whom they belong to if I tried again. If I can return the memories to their owners, we can get everyone home.”
“And then we can break the curse?” I ask Cardine.
“Well, you yourself can’t break it. But Zoë can.”
I stand up and walk over to Zoë. “Where did that memory go?” I ask Cardine. “It just disappeared right into her.”
“It went into her heart for safekeeping.”
Zoë places a hand on her chest and swallows hard. She then turns to Cardine. “Can I return their memories?”
“You can, but you will need to learn how.” She lifts her gaze to Charlie.
“What? Me? I have to be the guinea pig? No way.”
I smile wearily at him, telling him the correct answer without uttering a single syllable.
“Ugh, fine,” he says rolling his eyes. “But you better not scramble my brain.”
He takes a seat in a chair and stares at Zoë, waiting for her to begin.
“Not in here, lad. We have to venture into the forest.”
My stomach does a nervous flip at the suggestion. “Why the forest?”
Cardine answers with a sense of urgency. “We will have the best chance of him losing something out there. The girl already had a trail of memories following her. One managed to stay behind. Either he goes in the forest or I