Valor | Marcel Gerard

Chapter 18

Dahlia wasn't very good at hiding.

"It's a trap," said Andra immediately, as they crouched down behind an alley dumpster, watching as Dahlia's mind-controlled minions filed into St. Anne's Church.

"Clearly," said Mikael. "By now, Niklaus ought to have acquired the witch to create the weapon we need."

She began to lead the way back to the bar and grill. "What are your plans, then, when Dahlia is vanquished?"

He didn't seem sure how to answer. "I wish to know my daughter. See Freya whenever I can."

"So, I'm guessing that means you'll be close by?"

"In the state, perhaps. Not in New Orleans. My children will not want me here, nor do I wish to settle in this pathetic city."

"Where in Louisiana? Eunice?"

"It suited my needs."

"That's close enough."

He raised a brow. "You believe the bastard will be displeased?"

"No. I want to visit you, obviously."

His lip curled upward. "I've had much time to think, while running my errand. Your father... he consumed you. That is why you disappeared."

"Yes. And immediately wiped me from the mind of everyone I knew."

"I recall when it happened. With the memories intact, of course, it makes some sense. I found one of your weapons. I could not recognize it as my own, had no idea where I procured it. There were other things... replicas of my own equipment but far smaller, even a piece of armor that I knew was designed for a woman. Objects that you used in your training that I no longer had a place for. I did not understand where they came from."

She half-smiled. "It's confusing. I've never been on the receiving end of having my memories wiped but I remember what it was like for those who helped Ryan and I along the way, trapping monsters. How disoriented they were, how panicked they became when they found traces of items that didn't fit into their lives anymore, without the knowledge of what it had been used for, or by whom."

He was silent for a moment, considering her words, perhaps running through his memories once more as he grimaced. "The weak would claim it is a mercy to forget. The strong know all experiences thicken the flesh."

"If you could have forgotten the pain of losing Freya and Henrik, would you have done it?"

"Never."

"Despite the damage it did?"

"My answer remains the same. I would have preferred to remember you and know you were trapped than to have forgotten I ever knew you. It was a disservice to the both of us."

"You're going to hate me for saying this," said Andra quietly, "but I missed you, Mikael."

He rolled his eyes, but it didn't escape her notice that he wasn't sneering. She still remembered how he'd teared up when his memories were first restored. Without saying it, he let her know he'd missed her, too.

"Malivore, he is not defeated?" he inquired.

"Not yet. Eventually. He can't hurt anyone right now." She wouldn't dare mention that Hope could be the key to defeating Malivore.

"If a vampire, werewolf, and witch made him, three of those creatures can unmake him. Perhaps when Dahlia is sent to a shallow grave, you and I could find the descendants of the three who originally created Malivore. I imagine any vampire will suffice if from the same sireline."