Forgotten [Book Two of The Twins series]

Twenty-One

JOSIE

NEW ORLEANS

ROUSSEAU'S BAR & GRILL

I sat a table across from Hope. "What are you expecting to find here, Josie?" Hope asked me. "An answer as to who Niklaus really is. Don't you find it odd that he shares the same exact name as your dad?" I explained. Hope sighed. "Good point." She stated. "Or that there's a self portrait of him in the dorm upstairs that smells like ashes?" I asked. "Okay. I see your point." She said. "And how old are you two claiming to be?" A woman asked us. "21...ish." I answered.

"Mm. Relax. It's called "the Big Easy" for a reason, kid. Hey, Hope. How you doing kiddo?" The woman answered giving Hope a hug. "Josie. This is my aunt...Freya." She said with a smile. "Hi, how are you, 21-ish?" She asked with a smirk. "Good." I answered as Freya took a seat between us.

"I hear you two have been asking around the Quarter for me." Freya explained. "We kind of need your help." I told her. "There's this spell that I"m kind of trying to reverse engineer." I explained. "I'm sure one of your teachers can help you with that." Freya said getting up to leave. "An ancient Japanese black magic purge spell?" I stated. "Oh boy." Hope muttered.

"Those aren't the kind of spells school kids should be messing with. You should know better than that, Hope." Freya warned looking at the two of us. "You two should go home." She added walking away. "Wait." I called out getting to my feet. "You have photos in your home of someone you don't recognize. Feels like you should know them, but you don't?" I stated. Freya turned around and looked at us. "How did you know that?" She asked. "We've all forgotten people. It doesn't matter what I say. The spell I need is the only way that you're gonna remember for yourself." I explained. "Freya. Surely you must have something with Japanese black magic." Hope told her. She sighed.

"I might have something in storage. I have dozens upon dozens of boxes and books revolving around Japanese mythological creatures and spells so." She answered. "Why do you have Japanese mythology books?" Hope asked. "No clue. Don't even remember why I got them in the first place." She said before leaving. I shared a glance with Hope. "That can't be a coincidence can it?" I asked. "You mean how Niklaus defeated the Oni with a demon called the Nogitsune? Probably." Hope answered.

HOURS LATER

"Harae-tamai Kioku Yomigaerashi-tamae." Freya stated as she wrote the spell down on a piece of paper. "In the spell, conviction matters. You need to be clear of mind and purpose. If not, instead of purging the supernatural influence in the mind, you'll end up solidifying it, making it permanent." Freya explained to us.

"Is that as bad as it sounds?" I asked. "You'd erase the very memories you're trying to bring back." Freya answered. "Got it, bad." Hope voiced. "How did you even find this spell?" Freya asked us. "I siphoned it from an ancient sword to save my sister's life while some guy fought off some Japanese demon called an Oni with a demon called the Nogitsune?" I answered.

"The Nogitsune? That demon is extremely dangerous! Please tell me you destroyed it?" Freya said with wide-eyes. "Not exactly. Uh...the demon killed the Oni using these black tails...tendril things. It looked like a doppelganger of this guy we know." Hope explained. "Hope, promise me. Promise me that you'll stay as far away from that demon fox as possible. All it does is bring chaos, pain, and death wherever it goes. There is no need for any of that in this family again. Not anymore." Freya told her.

Hope nodded her head. "I promise." Hope voiced. "Weird story short, I read in this diary how it returned all of her memories somehow." I stated pointing at the diary on the bar. "Mm. Magic and privacy don't mix well." Freya said before her phone rang. "That's my wife. She's on Nik duty tonight--our kid. Excuse me. Hey. Yup. Yeah, I'm still at the bar. How's Nik doing?" Freya said as she walked away answering the phone.