The Fog of Forgetting (24 page)

E
velyn's shoulders sagged over her oars. Teddy and Knox were sound asleep. Chase struggled to stay awake, splashing water on his face. They had traveled upstream for several hours, and now the sun was rising over the rocky cliffs like an eye opening. It lit upon the water with a painful glare, softened only by a white mist rising off the river. Chase shielded his eyes and looked toward the eastern shore. He saw a long, white plume of water falling from the top of one of the cliffs and yelled to Evelyn, pointing it out. Teddy woke up and Evelyn showed him the water chute. Her skiff began to tack right, toward the east. Chase suspected his hunch was correct: Rysta's necklace was helping Teddy steer their boat.

The line connecting the two skiffs suddenly stretched and tightened; the boats moved faster, creating larger wakes behind them. Chase thrust an oar straight down and felt the drag—they were definitely picking up speed. The skiffs, which had kept closer to the safety and camouflage of the western side of the river through the night, now glided quickly out into open water and the center of the river. A gust of northern wind blew down, which, combined with the current, created a lot of chop. The skiffs pitched up and down. Knox woke up with a yelp when his head smacked hard on the bottom of the boat. Waves were gaining in height and velocity, quickly turning into rapids and moving them downstream, back toward Metria.

Chase braced himself with his knees and dug the oar into the water again, trying to slow their speed, but it didn't work. A cold finger of fear tickled his insides. He looked downstream, half-expecting to see Rysta or a troupe of Metrians on their tail—but the river was empty. The skiffs hiked up and slammed down violently with each swell.

Teddy was laughing now, crashing up and down in the bow of his skiff, enjoying the bumps. The harder he laughed, the higher the waves seemed to rise. The skiffs were caught smack in the middle of the river at the height of the chop. Evelyn and Chase struggled to keep the boats straight and not crash into each other.

“Knox!” shouted Chase. “Untie the bowline!”

A moment later, he realized his mistake. Untethered, the trailing skiff spun wildly in the current. He couldn't maintain control. Knox wrestled with the other oar, and together they tried to straighten the boat and keep it from swamping. It was all they could do until the current exhausted itself somewhere farther south and released them. Chase examined the surroundings as best he could, wracking his brain to remember the topography of Ayda from Hesam's maps. The Hestredes flowed southeast of the mountains, bypassed the city of Metria, and emptied into the ocean. Would the current take them all the way south to the city, into Rysta's lap? His stomach turned over at the thought of what else might be there to greet them.

“Knox, we have to get out of the current!” he cried.

“I know! I'm trying!” Knox was on his knees, digging an oar deep into the river with all his strength, trying to keep them steady. Chase scanned the rapids for the boat carrying Evelyn and Teddy. They were surfing the chop less than thirty yards to the east. He could see Teddy's blond head bouncing in the bow when the skiff crested a wave. Rysta's necklace glittered in the sun briefly before they disappeared in a trough.

“Teddy!” Chase screamed, trying to be heard over the thrashing water. The waves were getting inexplicably bigger and the wind was blowing harder. He heard Evelyn shriek and whipped around in just enough time to fend off her bow as it came crashing down on top of his stern. No one was rowing now, they were just holding onto the gunwales, trying not to flip over. Teddy was beaming. He was having the time of his life. Chase's fear blossomed into panic.

“
Ted!
” Chase shouted again. He was desperate for Teddy to stop enjoying this so much. It was only making things worse. “Think about Melor, think about going back! We need to go upstream and out of the current!”

At that precise moment an enormous set of waves broadsided the skiffs, knocking them all overboard. The skiffs rolled over and over in the froth, the oars spinning wildly away. There was no time to rescue any of their supplies as they were all swept head over heels downstream.

Chase tried to swim close to Teddy, but the water going up his nose and in his mouth and eyes made it difficult to keep track of anything. Waves surged over his head. He coughed and spluttered, fighting to keep his head above the surface and not go under. A dark knob swept by him, to his right. Teddy's wet head. Chase zoned in and tried to follow. He had no idea where Evelyn and Knox were.

The river curved slightly and the chop quieted somewhat. Chase could see his little brother floating on his back toward the western shore, on the edge of the rapids. He swam sidestroke out of the main flush of the current so as to be in a better position to grab him. Chase was making good headway when a swarm of wrinkled heads and heavy-lidded eyes broke the surface of the water around Teddy: Rysta's turtles. He wasn't sure if he should be more relieved or frightened, and swam faster, trying to get close to his brother. The current fought him like a living thing, bent on stopping him, dragging him under. He struggled to see what was happening.

Teddy had climbed astride one of the turtle's shells and wrapped his skinny arms around the wrinkled head. He was smiling. The necklace shone like a star against his chest.

“NOOOO! TEDDY! DON'T!” cried Chase, flailing his arms and thrashing at the water. The turtles floated on the surface for a moment longer. The one with Teddy on its back turned to look at Chase. A heavy lid lowered over the turtle's enormous eye, and then it dove beneath the surface, taking Teddy down into the depths.

Knox came ashore on the eastern banks of the river, his hair and eyes streaming. He scanned the surface, looking for heads, and saw one struggling toward him. It was Evelyn. She gained the shore in a few moments, breathing heavily. They had landed on a flat granite ledge that sloped gently into the river. To the right was an impassable cliff; to the left, a thicket of vegetation. There was no sign of Chase or Teddy. Knox and Evelyn said nothing, searching the river with their eyes. The rapids had subsided and the surface on this part of the river was calm, bubbling along as though nothing had ever disturbed it.

“Where are they?” Knox groaned, trying not to panic. He closed his eyes, unwilling to let his mind think the worst. He willed Chase and Teddy's heads to appear. He begged. Then he opened his eyes. Nothing. He collapsed on the rock. Evelyn sat next to him and patted his knee.

“Don't worry. They'll be okay. They're good swimmers. We've had a lot of practice lately.”

Knox lay back on the rock and groaned.

“We shouldn't have done it, Evelyn. We shouldn't have stolen the necklace.”

They sat together in silence for several more minutes. Knox pressed his ear to the rock, hoping it would pass on to him some kind of useful information. He jumped when Evelyn stood up and waded into the water.

“What are you doing?”

“Look!” Evelyn pointed to a small dark shape swimming against the current in their direction. She waved wildly. Within moments, they could make out Chase's head, his face contorted with effort. Knox waded in and together, he and Evelyn pulled him up onto the ledge. Chase was shaking, his breath whistling through his lips. His lips were blue from the cold water.

“It's okay, Chase,” said Knox. “Just breathe.”

“I lost him!” wheezed Chase, gasping for air. “I tried to stay close, but the current was too strong. The turtles came and … one pulled him under and I couldn't see anything and then”—Chase broke off, sobbing. “He didn't come back up. I tried to get him. I dove under again and again, but—”

Knox's knees buckled in shock. “Teddy?” he whispered.

Evelyn blanched beneath her copper skin.

Chase nodded, sobs ripping through him.

“I told you not to do it, Knox! I begged you. WHY DON'T YOU EVER LISTEN?” His body convulsed. He rolled over, spitting up water.

Knox dove off the ledge, swimming fast into the open water. He let himself drift downriver, scanning both shores and the surface for some sign of his little brother. The landscape was unchanged. He slapped at the water in frustration, tears streaming down his face.

“Rysta!” he howled. “GIVE HIM BACK!”

The river sped him along deftly. Knox stayed in the water, searching until he grew dangerously cold. He swam back toward Chase and Evelyn. They were sitting as far away from each other as they possibly could on the small ledge.

Knox pulled himself out of the water, his teeth chattering.

“Chase?” he asked.

Chase turned his head away.

Knox began to cry in earnest. “I'm sorry, Chase. I should have listened to you. You were right, okay. We shouldn't have—”

Chase cut him off by standing up, his expression dark.

“Shut up. I don't want to hear it.”

Evelyn tried to intervene. “Chase, this is my fault. I stole the necklace.”

“Do you think I don't know that, Evelyn? Are you happy now?” Chase glowered at her. “Does it feel more
even?
”

Evelyn's jaw dropped. “How can you say that? I … I never—”

Chase raised his hand. “Save it.”

Knox's heart was racing. He didn't know which was more frightening: Chase crying, or this blunt hollowness.

“Rysta wouldn't hurt him,” he squeaked. “He's her favorite.”

“Even if that is true and he's alive,” said Chase, through gritted teeth, “I'm sure she'll be happy to give him back after we stole her most
precious
possession, the thing she values most! You heard her, Knox. You heard what she said that night!”

Knox cowered. He had never seen Chase so angry before.

“There is
something
I would like to know,” said Chase, turning a cold eye to Evelyn. “How did you take the necklace in the first place?”

It was Evelyn's turn to look frightened. She opened and shut her mouth a few times before answering.

“I tricked her into giving it to me,” she confessed, speaking so low her voice was almost drowned by the rippling water. “I remembered that she took it off when she played that game with us, with Urza. I got to thinking about it, and I remembered a story my father told me about a cat that kills an ogre by getting him to turn into a mouse. I don't know—” She struggled for the right words. “I thought it was worth a try. I rowed out to the ship and asked for her to see me. I told her I wanted to know more about the daylights, that I was confused, that I didn't understand them.” Evelyn took a shuddery breath. “I told her I was afraid that Dankar had killed my sister. I told her about my mother and my father, and the earthquake. About being an orphan, like her. She felt sorry for me! I used it.” Evelyn's voice shrank even more.

“I asked her to show me again how the daylights of a Keeper transform. I told her it would be a great comfort for me to know that my parents' and my sister's daylights would live on as something else, but secretly, I remembered how weak it made her. She didn't want to do it, but I begged her. Finally she agreed … she wasn't happy about it.”

“Yeah, well,
duh
, they know pretty much everything we're thinking. She probably knew what you were doing the whole time,” Chase sneered.

Evelyn thought about this for a minute, then continued.

“Rysta took off her robe and the necklace and then … you know … did her fish thing. I grabbed the necklace and dove off the side of the boat and swam to the skiff and rowed as fast as I could to meet you.”

“
You mean you just left her there?
She can't breathe air when she's a fish! You could have killed her!” Chase exploded.

A tear slid down Evelyn's cheek. “I was sure she'd be all right. She could just transform again. I never meant to hurt her. I just wanted to do something to save my sister.”

“You did something; that's for sure,” he growled. “Who needs Exorians when we have Evelyn.”

“Chase, don't … please.” Knox was still shivering. He had never felt more miserable in his life. “She's sorry. I'm sorry, too.”

“You
always
say that. But this time, IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!”

Knox began to sob again. Cold wind blew in from the north. Chase shivered and looked down at Knox, who was curled into a ball, and then over at Evelyn. He had never hated anyone as much as he hated them right now. It would serve them right if Dankar got them.

The sun on the river twinkled at him, hiding the dark depths that Teddy had descended into. A painful lump rose in Chase's lungs where the beast used to live, right below his heart. He could not let himself think about Teddy right now; if he did, he might never be able to move from this spot again. And he
had
to move. He could not stay here for another minute thinking that Teddy would not be following them like he always did, trying to keep up. Maybe Knox was right and Rysta had used the turtles to bring Teddy safely back to her. But what if she hadn't? What if she just wanted revenge? Or—worse—what if this had nothing to do with her, and he'd let Teddy drown all on his own? Tinator had made a mistake when he gave him the sword. He didn't deserve it. He wasn't strong enough. He couldn't bear to think about it. Chase buried his head in his knees and closed his eyes, wrapping up the pain in his chest tightly, like a bright, hard pebble, and pushing it down into a dark hole. After a long time, he opened his eyes.