CACKLE- Book 1

Chapter Thirty-Three

Hux stayed with Remi all night, sleeping on the couch across the room. Remi would occasionally wake from a nightmare to find him petting her head. She was screaming in her sleep, but Remi didn't mind too much. With each slip into her subconscious, a fractured piece of her memory would return. Hux would write them down while Remi dried the sweat from her neck and face. With every day she was growing stronger. The more she ate, tried to move and write, the more her magic would return to her. The spark she once tried to hide was now alive and in the open. Well... at least around Huxley and Anna.

Remi stared at her hands as green flickers of fire tickled her finger tips. She let her magic fill her limbs and support her when she moved. She started off slow, exercising her muscles. Walking around her room on her own was a great accomplishment, she was making more progress than Anna had originally predicted.

When Ryker told her that she was invited to attend the wedding, they weren't sure Remi would have recovered enough by then, but as the days passed, her progress excelled. This was great, but just as daunting. Regardless of her current state, she had to continue her preparations for that trip. The one she absolutely had to attend.

Anna had been doing some research into the sigil, the possession and the ring. There were three things they could be certain of.

Theo's ring and the sigil were not a coincidence.

The possession had to be orchestrated, a long and time consuming effort.

There was another witch on this continent, possibly an Elemental, and she wanted to kill Eloricia's royal family.

The trio believed their best chance of gaining more knowledge about what they may encounter, was for Remi to remember what happened when she was comatose.

Remi's dreams were confusing. It was hard to distinguish what was a past memory and what was just a dream. She would dream of being in the cave, of past Anna- she knew those were not what she needed. She would dream of holding hands with Hux by the water, or stealing a kiss in the gardens. Though there were trickles of what felt like more than a dream, a clear and crisp voice speaking to her in the back of her mind. There had been one such dream that very night.

"Do you remember any names?" Anna asked.

"I remember yours." Remi said, her face drooped with melancholy. "The voice... or, erm... witch, had told me about the culling. She told me that you were... a traitor."

The pigment drained from Anna's cheeks.

Remi continued, "She said that there was a prince in Drilis, long ago, the brother of the King, he... took advantage of an Elemental witch. Impregnated her and then turned the King against her. She was locked away, her coven rescued her and killed the prince for his crimes against their sister. The voice told me that was what had started the culling. She said you didn't answer the call."

Anna swallowed hard. Huxley was sitting at the end of Remi's bed, rubbing her feet. He had told her he started doing that daily when she slipped away into that comatose state. "It's supposed to help with your circulation." Though Remi had been up and walking by herself for some time now, he still continued his little ritual on a daily basis.

"It's not that simple." Anna said. "I had obligations here, I hadn't seen or heard from the coven in over a century. I wasn't going to drop everything I was doing, leave my patients, the people who needed me here. I didn't know the full extent of what had been done to that poor witch, or what happened to the coven... until it was too late. I was fortunate really, that King Valerian protected me. As a member of the coven my head should have been marked, at least in Drilis, but no one here batted an eye. They knew me, they knew I was good. I didn't know the whole story..." Anna's eyes went glassy and Remi was sure her own memories were playing out before her eyes now.

Remi picked up Anna's hand, "You have nothing to be sorry for. You are not a traitor. You're a hero. You're the only reason this world stands a chance now, because of what you will inevitably do for me."

Huxley was nodding in agreement. A small tear dripped from the corner of Anna's eye. She wiped it away so quickly Remi wasn't sure she had actually seen it. "Thank you, you're so kind." Anna said, her voice laced with regret.

Remi tried to change the subject a bit, "So we know the witch talked to me about the Culling. She tried to possess Theo to kill the king and queen- but why of Eloricia? Why not Drilis? Where did the ring come from? How did it end up with Theo? What was the end game here?" Remi racked her brain, re-reading the notes she had made from the nights prior.

"When you were sleeping, I remember you saying a few things." Hux said, pulling a crumpled scrap of paper from his pocked. "You said "What War? What new Era?""

He paused.

Remi shook her head. She couldn't remember anything about a war or new era.

"You also said, Marella." Hux said. "At first i thought it was a place, now I think it could be a name, maybe the voices name."

Remi extended her hand and Hux handed her the paper without hesitantion. She studied the words on the page. 'What War? What new Era? Marella.' Nothing came to mind.

Remi felt so frustrated. All she wanted to do was remember but her brain felt stuck. Like there was a wall up between her and her time in the dream scape.

Huxley must have read the anger in her features, "Don't worry. It'll come back, with time." He patted her foot, finished with another foot massage and tucked it back under her blankets.

"I'll do some research into the name Marella. Were you given a last name?" Anna asked. Remi just shook her head, feeling completely defeated.

"Not to worry. I think it's also worth asking around about that ring." Anna said.

"Where is it now?" Remi asked.

"It's inside the poppet dear. In the iron box, buried under three feet of grave dirty." Anna said, as though Remi should have remembered.

"Oh, right." Remi sighed. Her mind was her worst enemy at the moment.

"I'll ask around as well." Hux volunteered. "Tomorrow." He added. Smiling at Remi. "Someone's got to keep you company and watch out for any sleep chatter. We might get some new information." He winked.

"You just like to watch her sleep." Anna said, bluntly as she packed up her books.

Remi giggled at Huxley's face, which has now turned tomato red.

"It doesn't hurt." Hux mumbled.

Anna rolled her eyes, giving Remi a peck on the head, leaving the two of them alone.

"Hux, did you ever hear stories about the Culling?" Remi asked.

Hux scratched the back of his head, a look of concentration contorting his features. "I think so... Yeah, I think my grandmother told me about it- but it wasn't like what you had said. She told us that an Elemental witch had tried to assassinate the King of Drillis, her coven was helping her so they were all sentenced to death."

Remi nodded. "Then, why do people here hate Elementals? Why not every witch?" She asked.

Hux made a face of irritation. "It's not fair honestly. I guess they think that they're too powerful. Maybe they believe that power can make the witch more dangerous. Like, the average witch can be a healer, but after that one Elemental's reputation had spread, it was like a consensus had been reached that her strength and powers must have corrupt her." He shook his head. "Ridiculous really. I mean, you saved Theo's life. Anna couldn't do that. How could that kind of power be anything but good?" He asked, more of a rhetorical point than an actual question.

Remi smiled and reached for Hux's hand. He leaned forward to meet her. They sat there, his hand holding hers, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"It's not fair. This burden you have. You're too good for all of this." Hux sighed and Remi pat the bed beside her. He climbed over her, staying on the outside of her blankets while he tucked her in. Huxley always moved to the couch after Remi fell asleep, but sometimes he would stay with her for a little while. Brushing her hair back with his fingers while she nuzzled her face into his chest. His warm smell made Remi's stomach flutter. He smelt like summer nights, leather, and forest dew. She drifted off to the sound of his heart beating like a steady drum.