Authors: Laura Hawks
“I’m sorry. It doesn’t ring any bells. It has no personal meaning to me.”
Logan moved a stray lock of her hair away from her face. She was so beautiful. Her light brown eyes with those unusual specks of orange and yellow held a sadness he couldn’t fathom the depth of, no matter how hard he tried to understand the loss of identity she must be feeling.
“It’s okay. We will figure it all out.”
She gazed up into his turquoise orbs. Although she was unsure of everything, she felt him to be very caring, very concerned and loyal. It was an instinct more than anything else, but at the moment, she had little else she could rely on, so her gut was it.
She reached out, touching his cheek with her hand, watching as Logan closed his eyes leaning into her gentle touch. She had a sudden brief flash of them together. Of him leaning in to kiss her while surrounded by a multitude of vines laden with black roses and a rainbow of lights rippling over his head. Just as quickly as it had come, the vision or memory or whatever it was vanished.
She swayed slightly from the reverie she just experienced. Logan quickly grabbed her elbows to steady her.
“Are you okay?” he asked with concern.
“Yes,” she said weakly. “I think I just had a memory. Of black roses, an Aurora Borealis and you leaning in to kiss me.” She blushed lightly, a rosy hue appearing high on her cheekbones.
Logan grinned. “That could be just about any day over the past decade and a half. You tried to visit my mother’s garden at least once every couple of weeks, and more if you could get away without being discovered. However, the good news is, you remembered something. Which is awesome, because it means you will eventually remember everything. See! Everything is going to be okay. Plus, you had a vision of me. So, maybe you can trust me a little more? Know I’m not going to hurt you?”
Jaz looked up at him. “Do you, I mean, are you in love with me?” She was unsure of anything at the moment—nervous, uncertain—but seeing him lean towards her for a kiss in her wayward memory sent excitement through her body.
He flushed and looked away. She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m just trying to understand our relationship.”
He turned back to her, giving her a gentle, almost apologetic, smile. “Honestly, the question surprised me, is all. I’ve spent every waking moment since I first met you when I was fourteen just thinking about you. Every time you visited, I’d replay those moments over and over in my head. When my sister was taken, I knew it was you they were after and there was a part of me that worried about your safety. I guess it is part of the reason I feel so guilty. I was more worried about you than I felt I was about my own sister. I feared whoever took her would find you. No matter how much time we spent together it was never enough. Yet, in all that time, all we have shared, I only rarely told you I love you. Just so you know, you never told me if you loved me either. I guess we either assumed it was a given or it just never seemed to be needed to be verbalized, like if we said it out loud too often it would change everything we had between us. I won’t make that mistake again, Jaz. I’m going to tell you every day I love you, so you will never forget.”
Logan could tell she was about to say something and he placed his finger gently against her lips to keep her quiet a bit longer. When she relented to his silent request, he pulled his hand back from her mouth to hold her hand in his. “Truth is, I hadn’t thought it was important since there were still so many secrets between us before. I felt in the past, there was a part of you I didn’t really know. I never understood why you had to sneak away to see me or why you never came into my house. I never knew who was chasing you or why. I didn’t understand why my sister was taken when we believed it was you they were after. Why keep her when they realized she wasn’t you? Yet, regardless of all of this, I am still in love with you and think about you every moment of every day. I was frantic when I got the call from Tyler, terrified you were physically hurt, over-wrought with worry until I saw for myself you were okay, anxious to just get to your side. So yes, if I have to put a name to what I feel for you, then yes. I’m totally, hopelessly in love with you. I can only hope you felt that way in the past about me and that one day soon you will remember loving me. But, even if you don’t, know this much, Jasmine, I will do everything in my power to make you fall in love with me again.”
“I wish I could tell you what I’d kept from you and why.”
He stopped her. “You did, baby. Just hours ago at the wedding. Some things even you were not aware of. We learned things about your grandmother and my mother as well as why you are so desired by whoever might have taken Trinity. I believe, when we learn what happened to your past, we will also learn who did this to you and maybe, hopefully, find my sister.”
Chapter 17
Logan entered the kitchen, fully dressed in jeans and an Avenged Sevenfold t-shirt, although he didn’t look like he had slept much. Tyler put a plate of eggs, sausage and toast on the table and nodded towards him, indicating the food was for Logan.
“Dude, you look like crap warmed over. Didn’t sleep well? How is Jaz?”
“She is still sleeping. I gave her the bed and slept on that rock we call a couch. So yeah, didn’t get much sleep. Besides, I’m worried. What if she never gets her memories back? What if she never remembers us? Or worse, what if she can’t remember how she felt about me and I can’t get her to fall in love with me again? I don’t want to lose her.”
“You won’t. She will remember or she will fall in love with you again. Just, give her some time and space. Besides, you all are going to see your mom. Between her and Spidey, they are going to do everything to help her get back to her old annoying self.”
Tyler placed a cup of coffee in front of Logan and patted him heartily on the back. “Buck up, bro. You ain’t gonna lose her. She loves you too much. If nothing else, that much she’ll remember. Eventually.”
“Yeah, you might be right and I am overthinking it. She did have a flashback of us kissing in the garden when I still lived at home. So, maybe.”
Tyler snorted. “You just ain’t slept without her in your arms for a couple of years is all. Ain’t used to it.”
“True, there is that, and the fact the couch smells of your rank ass and beer farts.”
“What a conversation to walk in on!” Jaz rubbed her eyes, stifling a yawn as she entered the kitchen. “Not sure I’m ready for a beer fart discussion just yet.”
Both men looked up slightly surprised, then Tyler bust out laughing. “Better than some of the other conversations you have walked in on. You usually say ‘men’ with a sardonic tone to your voice then berate how all we want is to scratch our balls and dip our wicks.”
“You’re in a rare mood this morning,” Logan grumbled at Tyler, making a sausage and egg sandwich. He turned to Jaz. “Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep okay?”
“I did. Although I kept having strange dreams. Almost like flashes, maybe of my memories, but nothing made sense and there was no familiarity about them.”
“It’s okay baby, they will come in time. Your grandmother should be here shortly, then we will see my mom. They should be able to help. I hope.”
“I know, Logan. I do. I am worried though. Although, I think it’s more anxious nerves than anything. Are you going to come with us, Tyler?”
Tyler looked up, his mouth full. Swallowing quickly, he shook his head. “Me? I would love to go, but I’m not really allowed in the Nether Realm.” He then turned away, quickly focusing on making a plate of food for her, realizing he might have said too much.
“The Nether Realm? Not allowed?” Jaz asked confused but still wanting answers.
Logan and Tyler exchanged looks and Tyler shrugged. “Sorry, man. Ain’t used to watching what I say.”
Logan sighed and put down the sandwich he had just made from his breakfast plate. “Your grandmother is a goddess, as she told you yesterday. I am not sure you fully believe it or not, but it’s true. My father is the god of demons. He makes sure they don’t interfere with the Human Realm. This realm. Because of his duties, he lives with other demons in what the humans might consider a type of hell. However, his house,
my
house, is warded heavily. It’s safe”
“And your mother? Is she a goddess too? Why can’t she come here? Why do I have to go there?”
“Yeah,” Tyler spoke up. “Your mom has never visited here. Someone would think she doesn’t like us.”
“She doesn’t know you, Ty. But if she did, she probably wouldn’t like you. My mother has impeccable taste. She wouldn’t appreciate your dirty sense of humor. Or the smell of you after you eat garlic,” Logan teased lightly.
“Ha. Ha. Such a load of roach dung. You have me laughing my fucking ass off over here. Asshat. You’re such a dick wad sometimes.” Tyler mumbled the last two sentences almost to himself, but loud enough for them both to hear.
“Honestly, man. I just found out last night why she has never been here. She can’t come to this realm.”
Tyler and Jaz simultaneously asked why. Logan gave Jaz a sad look before turning away. She had been there when he learned of this but didn’t remember. It was a strong dose of reality each time she couldn’t recall something about things they shared or just discovered. His arms ached to pull her to him, hold her close. He wanted to kiss her breathless and leave her weak in the knees, but she still didn’t know who he was and certainly wouldn’t allow him those pleasures he had enjoyed less than twelve hours ago. Moving past the thought, he answered them as best he could. Honestly, he wasn’t fully sure he understood all of it himself.
“Long story short, there was some sort of battle, and in the process my Uncle Jes killed my mom. Although she is alive in the Nether Realm and can go to various other realms, she can’t return to this one because this is where she was killed. I don’t get the whole thing myself, but that is the gist of it. We, Jaz and I, only found out last night. She wanted me to know it was why she hadn’t visited me here or met either of you. It’s not that she didn’t want to, it was just she couldn’t and hadn’t told me why before.” He turned to Jaz. “I think it was her way of letting us know she was okay with us. Or maybe it was an apology. Again, I am not really sure. I’m just glad she finally told us. Anyways, that is why we have to go to her instead of her coming to us.”
“I’m not sure I like the idea of going anywhere called the Nether Realm. What if I get stuck there?”
Logan snorted softly. “You won’t, baby. You used to visit my mother’s garden and me often. Besides, I won’t let anything more happen to you. I should have never let you leave alone last night. I should have stayed with you. Maybe if I had, none of this would be happening now. Can you ever forgive me?”
Jasmine moved over to him. “There is nothing to forgive. I have a feeling I am pretty stubborn when I want to be. If I left alone because I wanted you to have more time with your family, I doubt there would have been anything to stop me from leaving alone.” She moved around the kitchen and poured herself a cup of chicory coffee, inhaling the rich, aromatic scent before cautiously taking a sip of the velvety rich beverage.
“Hah. You are so right. Always have been,” Tyler readily agreed, then looked up as he sensed an approach to the door. “Your grandmother has arrived. You ready to go?”
“Mostly. Why can’t you come again?”
“Because I’m not welcome there,” Tyler replied as he moved to open the door for Archanidou before she ever had the chance to knock.
“Because you are human or because you are alive?” Jaz questioned as she watched him move to the door. She was surprised when she saw Archanidou moving towards the steps. She knew he said she was here, but how did he know?
Spiderwoman glided in, greeting the three of them with a “Blissful morning.”
Tyler shut the door behind her and responded to Jaz’s question. “I’m alive, but it’s not the reason I am not welcome there. I cannot go because of a truce the realm I come from has with the Nether Realm. We stay out of each other’s territory.”
“So you are not human?” Jaz asked, astounded, though considering all the revelations of the past few minutes, she really shouldn’t have been. Yet, somehow she felt like Alice who fell through the looking glass to a world which was topsy-turvy from what it should be.
Tyler shook his head. “No.”
“What are you, then?”
Tyler looked at Archanidou, almost as if asking permission to tell her. Archanidou nodded to him and waited.
“I am Fae.”
Silence.
“What is that? Like a fairy?”
“Yes.”
“Where are your wings?”
“They can only be seen in my realm.”
Silence.
“Can you fly?”
“Only in my realm.”
“What realm are you from? What is it called?”
“Faefardom.”
Silence.
“How did we meet?”
Again, Tyler looked over at Archanidou who answered for him. “You were born there. That is where my daughter, your mother, Fern, laid you.”
“Laid me?”
“You are my child’s child,” Archanidou said patiently. “Spiders lay eggs. And it is because of the egg that you are so sought after, which is why you live in a warded house, and why you grew up in Faefardom. It was to protect you.”