Page 134 of Scars Like Wings

“Yes, unfortunately. Nothing was ever the same after that. Byrd’s father, Forrest, never recovered after losing his wife. He just… he was never whole again afterward. He did his best to care for Byrd, but Max and Everett had to move in to help.”

I blinked back tears as the truth of Talli’s words and old memories I had forgotten hit me hard. After we lost Mom, Pops never went back to how he was before. He was so much quieter and reserved. He always had a lost look in his eyes. He seemed so hollow, an empty ghost just floating through life. My Mom had just been murdered, and now it was like I was watching Pops fade away. Pops forced a smile around me but he was adrift without Mom, and there was nothing he could do to hide it. I hated seeing him like that. It made me question which was worse: losing a parent suddenly or watching them be lost to you and there was nothing you could do about it.

Talli pressed on. “I visited more often to keep an eye on things, but… things were so different. It felt harder… empty and colorless. I think we learned to manage, to cope, and it seemed to work for a while. But then, Max and Forrest were murdered. I was close enough to know they needed my help, but I was too late to change how the night ended. That weighs on me every single day.

“After Max’s and Forrest’s funerals, I remember I was leaving the house, having finished packing it to send the items to Byrd and Everett. Suddenly, I realized I was not only being followed, but that I was surrounded by these heavily tinted SUVs full of passengers. A man in the vehicle closest to me rolled down his windows and spoke. I don’t remember what he said. What I do remember is that it was a threat, especially as he pointed a magicked gun at me to really cement his point. I had never felt so much fear in my life, and I haven’t since. He said that his group had used my magic to find the family, that I was the reason they were dead. He threatened that if I didn’t tell them where Byrdwas and vow to stay away this time, I would end up the same way.”

“Whaaa-? Can someone trace your magic? Is that possible?” Betty asked around a mouth full of Simone’s cake that she had passed to the little girl.

“If they have a very,verypowerful witch-fae, yes. But this witch-fae would have to be of equal or greater power to my own to locate me. And none of the guys in these vehicles were fitches. I would sense power like that, and they didn’t have it.”

“Do you know what they were?” I questioned.

Talli shook her head. “I knew they were similar to the ones that had attacked us before, and I knew what they weren’t—which is to say not human, fitch, vampire, or shifter.”

“What happened next?” Leah asked.

“Unsure what to do but certain this guy would act on his words, I cast a Forget-Me-Maybe spell.”

As my stomach sank learning that Talli had been in such danger because of me, Simone asked. “Uh, I’m sorry, don’t you mean Forget-Me-Not?”

“No, you’re thinking of the flower,” Maisie corrected. “There are many different Forget-Me spells. A Forget-Me-Forever will make someone forget about you no matter what. There’s no spell to break that. You would have to change someone’s entire essence to break it by turning them into a vampire, shifter, or by killing the caster. A Forget-Me-Never makes someone remember you and think about you always. It’s an obsession spell, kinda like a love potion. Depending on the intention, it can be broken. A Forget-Me-Maybe spell is the most complex of all those spells. It’s also one of the few spells a witch can cast on herself. There are multiple parts to it: what someone is forgetting, how long they will forget, the trigger to make them remember, a trade to ensure the spell isn’t broken accidentally, and consent from the main folks involved. So, say, you justbroke up with someone. You cast a Forget-Me-Maybe spell for them and yourself to forget until they tell you that they are sorry for hurting you. You trick them into consenting—easier than you think. You trade part of your magic to ensure no one remembers your ex or reminds you of them. Then one day years later, someone bumps into you, making you fall. They apologize for hurting you. Guess who it is? Your ex and you remember everything all over again.

“A Forget-Me-Maybe is averypowerful kind of Forget-Me spell and highly technical. It can get unruly and too much to handle very quickly. That’s why they usually recommend witches not cast such a spell.”

“Well, witch-fae by nature are not recommended, darling. Stick with me long enough, and I will teach you plenty that I’m sure you were taught not to do as a witch but can do as a fitch.” Talli winked at Maisie, who smiled mischievously. “I can even teach you a hack to cast a Forget-Me-Maybe spell without it backfiring, even if it’s on yourself.”

“So, that’s how you didn’t remember Byrd when we first arrived? You cast that spell?”

Tall nodded to Maisie’s question. “Exactly. After I did the spell, we all forgot what we were doing there and went our separate ways, but I had this uneasy feeling about going straight home. I left for Morgaine then. I met my husband and the rest is history. My point is: Witchcraft is always about intention. Most spells require consent if you are casting them on someone other than yourself, but that can be skirted around if you have bad intentions or your intentions are to protect someone from harm. So, I made them forget about me, Byrd, and Everett. As an extra measure, I made myself forget about Byrd and vice versa. I tied the trigger to another Forget-Me-Maybe spell I had cast before, so they were linked together. You break one, you break them both?—”

“Wait, wait, wait, I’m so sorry, Talli, but I have so many questions,” I interrupted. My anxiety was rising by the second as more and more questions sprang into my mind. “Why were there people after you? Why were there people after me and the rest of the family? What did they want?”

Talli’s eyes looked off into the distance again for a moment. “I can’t say. Although I remember who you are and who your mother was, there are still gaps in my memory. It’s like I woke up from a lucid dream and I’m trying to remember all the details, but my mind is pulling them away from me the more and more I try.”

“How is that possible? I thought you said the spells are tied together?” I asked.

“They are. It’s how I was able to remember you after you said you were ready to know the truth. But there must be something still hindering the release of all the information. If I had to guess, it must be because you arementallyready, but you may not be physically ready. Or there’s another element to the spell that I don’t even remember. Or it’s a combination of the two. We won’t know until it’s broken, which isn’t the best answer, I know. I’m so sorry.”

“Is there anything we can do? To figure out how to break the spell and remember?” As I fidgeted with my necklace, a loose skin tag caught on my sweater. I moved to pull at it under the table. Distant alarm bells went off in my head at how long the pull was and how many more strands I could feel appear in their wake. But I ignored them. My questions were more urgent than whatever my body was doing to act out right now.

Talli thought for a moment. “I don’t have any concrete answers. But I’m sure that whatever started this path toward the truth will be what brings you to its end. It’s vague, I know.”

“The grimoire got us here, and it’s really what started this. Maybe now that we have Talli up to speed, she can help us decipher more of it to get answers sooner?”

“Simone, you are a beautiful genius!” I declared before turning to Talli. “Would you mind?”

Talli’s smile was wide enough to make her eyes crinkle on the sides. “Why, of course not!”

“Can I help?” Leah quickly asked.

“Oh, me too! I want to help Miss Maisie and the princess!”

We all laughed at Betty’s eagerness. Talli kissed her head. “Yes, yes! I think working with a grimoire would be excellent lessons for both of you.”

“Of course you find a way to make something cool about schoolwork.” Leah rolled her eyes.

As Talli admonished Leah for her attitude and Betty jumped with excitement and talked about her love for learning magic, I couldn’t help but smile even as a rope tightened around my heart feeling like it was strangling it. I missed my mom. I wished she was here for me to ask these questions. What was she? Why were there people after her? Had she done something? Why were they after me? Were they the same ones that killed Mom? Were they different from the ones that also killed Pops and Max? Why threaten Talli and Everett? I picked more and more at the skin around my fingers as the questions swirled around in my head. But there was something that Talli said that I also couldn’t shrug off.

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