CHAPTER EIGHT

As I walked into the dining room, with Mom at my heels, I noticed the room was bathed in a warm, golden light that seemed to emanate from the card of The Star itself.

Luke and Magnus were standing there, facing Gray who was still restrained against the wall and judging by the expressions on their faces, they were in the middle of discussing what to do with him. Meanwhile, Rocco and Yolanda remained seated at the table, still in a heated argument about the porn dungeon. And that was just as well because they were last on my list of ‘people’ I wanted to deal with at the moment.

I could almost feel the hope and inspiration radiating off The Star card as I walked up to Luke and handed it to him. “Artemis just reached out to me with this,” I said, my voice a little hesitant because I really wasn’t sure how he was going to take the other bit of info she’d reached out to me with.

“It’s your next tarot card,” he said, sounding pleasantly surprised as he accepted it. Glancing down at the card, he nodded and examined it carefully, before looking up at me once more. “The card of The Star represents hope and inspiration, renewal and healing.”

“Yep, Artemis already told me that,” I retorted, feeling slightly impatient to get on with the part about him returning Gray’s memories. “Right,” I continued as I cleared my throat, figuring it was best just to deliver the rest of the news without preamble. “Oh, and she says you need to return Gray’s memories to him.”

“Return his memories to him?” Luke repeated and didn’t appear happy with this information at all.

I nodded. “Yes, and she also said that once Gray—”

“—Valerian,” he corrected me.

“—Gray,” I corrected him right back—adding in a frown. “Once Gray has his memories back, he’ll have to make the choice about whether or not to remain the big baddie he always was or continue turning a new leaf by sticking to the road of the straight and narrow.” Then I did a charade of the ‘straight and narrow’ by holding my hand out and almost saluting him. “I’m pretty sure he’ll choose to be good.”

“If the enemy chooses the path of the bad man,” Magnus chimed in, “I slay him.” He finished by flexing his muscles like he was itching to do the job right now.

My mother, never one to miss an opportunity to act like a cat in heat, sidled up to Magnus, wrapping her hands around his ridiculously large arm as her eyes sparkled up at him mischievously .

“Mmm, I love it when you talk barbarian, Magnus Baby,” she cooed, stroking his bicep appreciatively.

“I am barbarian.”

“Oh, I know,” she purred back at him. “I just love how willing you are to slay a man as easily as if you were taking out the trash.”

“I slay the trash.”

“Oh, you’re making me just gush, Magnus.”

So. Gross. God.

No longer wanting to face my mother and the barbarian trash man, I turned back to Luke and saw conflict clearly written across his face as he, no doubt, considered the implications of returning Gray’s memories.

“I’m not sure that’s the best thing to do at this juncture,” he said finally, scratching his chin as he breathed in deeply.

“Why?” I demanded.

He cocked his head to the side. “Returning Valerian’s memories also means returning his awareness of who and what he was. And that could be… well, bad.”

I nodded. “Either way, that’s what Artemis said needs to be done.” Then I held out the letter from Artemis as proof. “If you don’t believe me, here’s the transcript of the conversation—well, at least on her side. ”

He accepted the letter, skimming it quickly and his eyebrows lifted in surprise as he handed it back to me with a clipped nod. “Well, I guess I have to return Valerian’s memories to him.”

I didn’t say anything more, but silently thanked my lucky stars that this conversation had gone as relatively easily as it had. Then I watched as Luke squared his shoulders and approached Gray. The glowing runes on Gray’s throat, wrists, and ankles seemed to glow even more brightly as Luke approached him. At Gray’s expression of concern, I hurried over to his side, my heart aching at the glimpse of trepidation I could see in his eyes.

“Hey, don’t worry,” I told him softly.

“What’s happening?” Gray asked me, but his attention was fastened on Luke and the expression of grim determination on Luke’s face.

“Kate, you’ll need to stand back,” Luke said to me, his lips tightening.

“Give us a minute, would you?” I asked.

Luke paused a moment or two and then nodded as he turned around and walked back to the dining table, leaning his very shapely ass on top of it. Folding his arms, he nodded to me as if to say my ‘minute’ had already started .

I faced Gray once more and gave him another smile that I hoped was consoling. “Luke is going to return your memories to you.”

Gray looked at me and shook his head. “My memories?”

I nodded. “So you’ll know who you are and who… you were.” I paused, looking deep into his eyes as he studied mine. In my dreams, Gray had always appeared so confident, so sure of himself. Now, however, he seemed different—worried and fearful.

“Who I was,” he repeated and seeing the expression on his face, I could tell he was concerned to be returned to his previous self.

I nodded again. “It’s going to be okay,” I said, even though I wasn’t convinced. Not in the least. “Just keep in mind—when you’re restored to the man you were—that you don’t have to become that man again. You have a choice—you can be the man you were or the man you are right now.”

“A choice?”

“Yes. I just hope you make the right decision when you understand who you were.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, his voice sounding strained .

“You’ll have to choose—to become the man you were, Valerian , or become the man you and I now know, Gray .”

Gray stared at me for a moment, then sighed. “After everything I’ve been through in the garden—all that time spent in self-reflection—it would be impossible for me to go back to being the man I was.”

“Time will tell,” Luke interjected, his tone wary as he pushed off the table and approached us once more. “And your minute is up, Kate,” he said while turning to face me.

“It’s going to be okay,” I said to Gray as I took a step back.

“We can only hope,” Luke responded and when he turned back to Gray, his lips were tighter.

I couldn’t help but think that Luke sounded almost... jealous? But was that even possible? Sure, there had been something romantic between us, and Luke had admitted having interest in me. But whatever had blossomed between us had been put on hold since this newest mess began. Now I had to wonder whether Luke was regretting our closeness. Was that the reason he was acting this way now? Or was he actually jealous of my friendship with Gray ?

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on such concerns, though. Not when there was so much at stake. And speaking of what was currently at stake—not only was I hopeful that Gray would become the man I believed he was and could be, but I also had to figure out what was awaiting me on the path of The Star.

Finding the key to unlock the door leading into the bedroom of The Star would be task number one, followed by learning the lesson the card held, and discovering the power it would grant me. And, of course, I still needed to hear back from my editor, Janice, about my newest book that I’d sent over to her just a few days ago. But my book was the furthest concern in my head at the moment.

“Did you know I’m magic too?” Mom suddenly piped up and I turned around to tell her to shush but she only had eyes for Magnus. And, as always, Magnus didn’t pay her any attention. Not that it mattered—as far as my mother went, I was pretty convinced she could have had a conversation with a wall.

“I always knew I was, of course,” she prattled on as Magnus did nothing but continue staring straight ahead like he was impersonating one of the royal guards. “Did I ever tell you about the time an alligator crawled out of one of our waterways, ready to make a snack out of me?”

She batted her eyelashes at the ape, who merely grunted in response.

“Mom, put a lid on it,” I whispered. “Important stuff is about to go down.”

She looked at me and waved me away with an unconcerned hand. “I used my magic to talk to the horrible beast telepathically,” she continued to ‘regale’ Magnus. “And I told the awful thing to go eat the neighbor instead.”

“Nancy, this is going to require my full attention,” Luke said as he turned to face my mother who made a motion of zipping her lips closed and throwing away the key. If only it could be so easy to shut her up.

“Here goes nothing,” Luke muttered to me as he then faced forward once more, raising his hands in front of Gray. He closed his eyes and began making a deep, humming sound. Then he started to move his fingers in looping patterns in the air as the hum shifted into a chant, but I couldn’t understand the words and figured they must have been in a language I didn’t know. In response, the air in the room seemed to thrum with an intense energy that hadn’t been there before .

Luke opened his eyes then and they appeared sharp and focused, gleaming with a deep, arcane knowledge as he prepared to cast whatever powerful spell he was currently concocting. Against the far wall, Gray was still restrained by the glowing runes that shimmered with an eerie blue light, holding him firmly in place. Gray’s eyes were filled with a mix of confusion and fear, as if the only thing of which he was aware was that something profound was about to happen. When his gaze landed on mine, I smiled and gave him a little nod, hoping he would understand that everything was going to be okay.

I could only hope I was right.

As with the other times Luke called on his Magician magic, he relied on the cards from the tarot. Reaching into his pocket, he produced his deck and as soon as he pulled them out, they began to disperse into the air and circle around him.

“I call on the card of The Sun,” he said. “The card that will bring about clarity, enlightenment, and the illumination of truth. I wish to bring all that is hidden or forgotten back into the light.”

Then Luke held out his hand and the cards immediately returned to his palm, the one exception being the card of The Sun. That one remained airborne and began to take on a bright yellow glow. The card featured a radiant sun shining high in the sky. Below, a happy child rode a white horse. Surrounding the child, sunflowers bloomed, their faces all turned towards the sun.

The card continued to glow with an intense, golden light and that light started to spread from the card, enveloping Luke in a radiant aura. Luke began repeating his strange hum/chant once more, in a voice that was low and resonant. He brought his hands up again and they moved gracefully through the air, tracing complex symbols that left trails of shimmering light. As he chanted, tendrils of luminous energy started to form from between his fingers, coiling and weaving together into a swirling, ethereal sphere. This sphere, glowing with a brilliant white light, pulsed with the accumulated power of the spell. Luke then directed the sphere of glowing light toward Gray, and it floated through the air with a gentle hum, its brightness intensifying as it neared its target.

As the sphere reached Gray, it hovered just before his forehead, radiating a warm, penetrating light that matched the brightness of the card of The Sun. Luke spoke again, his voice rising to a crescendo. With a decisive gesture, he sent the sphere forward, allowing it to merge with Gray’s head.

As soon as the light touched his forehead, Gray’s body jerked like he’d just been electrocuted. The runes at his wrists, ankles, and throat flared brightly, their light mingling with the glow of the sphere. Gray’s eyes rolled back, and for a moment, he was completely still, suspended in what I imagined was a state of magical transference. All the while, the sphere continued to glow from where it had joined his mind—making it look like a halo of sorts.

“Luke,” I whispered, now feeling worried for Gray because the way his body had started spasming made it look like he could be in pain.

“It’s okay,” Luke said, and he held out a hand to stop me from coming any closer. “The light from the sphere is flooding his mind, unlocking the doors that have been sealed for a very long time.”

“The doors to his forgotten memories?” I asked and Luke just nodded.

“Fragments of his past are flashing before his eyes; a flood of emotions and images are reawakening his sense of self,” Luke continued to explain. “The sensation can be overwhelming.”

As I watched, Gray’s body shuddered with the intensity of what he was going through, but the runes held him steady, preventing him from collapsing under the weight of his returning memories. Gradually, the light of the sphere began to fade, and shortly after that, the sphere dissolved into myriad sparkling motes that dissipated into the air.

Gray’s head still remained drooped and if not for the runes, I was pretty sure he would have collapsed onto the floor. Luke, his task now complete, lowered his hands and gazed at Gray with a mixture of satisfaction and concern. The Sun card, meanwhile, stopped glowing and when Luke held out his hand, it immediately returned to him like a well-trained dog. He replaced the card with the others and then faced Gray once more.

“You are whole again,” he said.

Gray didn’t respond—and didn’t even act like he’d heard Luke.

“Gray?” I started as I took a step towards him, but Luke extended his hand once more, wrapping it around my upper arm to keep me back. I nodded towards him to say I wouldn’t come any closer, and Luke turned his attention back to Gray, who was still slumped over.

“Who are you?” Luke demanded.

Still no response.

“Did it work?” I asked Luke. He looked at me and frowned like he wasn’t sure. “Gray, are you okay?” I called out to the man in question.

Still, he didn’t respond. I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d just made a terrible mistake? Had Luke fried his brain instead of returned his memories?

“Who are you?” Luke asked again, more forcefully this time.

For a moment, there was only silence. Then Gray lifted his head, his gaze locking with Luke’s and then mine. I instinctively held my breath, waiting to understand what had happened. Was Gray the man I hoped he’d be or the same man he’d always been?

“Who are you?” I whispered, feeling my heart beating inside my throat.

“I am Valerian Shadowbane,” he answered, his voice heavy with both exhaustion and defiance.