Page 72 of Never Quite Gone

“There isn't.” Marcus's bluntness was almost kind. “The barrier in his mind – it's not just containing memories. It's containing power that was never meant for mortal souls. Power that nearly destroyed everything in thatfirst life.”

I remembered that moment in the temple, when Will had tried to claim immortality for himself. When jealousy and ambition had twisted something sacred into weapon. “But he's different now,” I argued. “He's my brother. He's grown beyond that first life's mistakes.”

“Has he?” Marcus's question hung in the air between us. “Or has he just been protected from making them again? The barrier doesn't just block memories, Alex. It blocks the very thing his soul keeps reaching for – the power to transcend death itself.”

The implications settled like lead in my chest. Every life, every iteration, Will's soul had been drawn to that same forbidden knowledge. And every life, Marcus had been there, placing barriers, protecting him from truth that would destroy him.

“Vale knows, doesn't he?” I asked suddenly, pieces clicking into place.

“Vale remembers more than he should, less than he needs to.” Marcus stood, moving to the window where Manhattan glittered below. “His own memories are fragmenting, distorting. He thinks he's protecting everyone, but he's only making things worse.”

“By pushing too hard, too fast.” I joined him at the window, city lights painting patterns like temple fires. “Like he did in that first life.”

“History repeats itself,” Marcus agreed quietly. “Until we learn to break the pattern.”

Will made a small sound in his sleep, almost like a child having nightmares. I turned back to him, this brother who had been so many things across so many lives.

“The barrier,” I said carefully. “How many times have you had to renew it?”

“Every life.” Marcus's voice carried weight of centuries. “Sometimes more than once, when the memories start breaking through. But it's getting harder. His soul grows stronger with each incarnation, more determined to remember.”

“And eventually?”

“Eventually the barrier will fail completely.” Marcus met myeyes steadily. “And when it does, all that ancient power, all that forbidden knowledge – it will either destroy him or transform him into something beyond mortal understanding.”

Together we moved Will to my office couch, arranging him carefully to make it look like he'd simply fallen asleep during late work. His face was peaceful now, showing no sign of the violent memories that had nearly torn him apart.

“He won't remember this episode,” Marcus explained, methodically cleaning up evidence of the struggle. The letter opener disappeared into his pocket, papers were straightened, everything returning to corporate normalcy. “But the memories are still there, building pressure. Next time might be worse.”

I touched the spot on my throat where the blade had nearly found its mark. Not the first time Will had tried to kill me, but somehow this felt different. More desperate. More primal.

“He talked about immortality,” I said quietly. “About collecting lives.”

Marcus's expression darkened as he adjusted Will's collar, erasing signs of our confrontation. “He's piecing it together wrong. Seeing the pattern but misunderstanding its nature. That makes him more dangerous than Vale ever was.”

“This shouldn't be possible,” I said, watching my brother breathe peacefully. In sleep, he looked like the boy who used to build pillow forts in our family library, who cried when I left for college, who stood beside me at every major milestone of this life. “The spell was supposed to prevent anyone else from remembering. That's why Vale cast it in the first place.”

Marcus shook his head, ancient power still shimmering faintly around his hands. “Will's different. His soul...” He paused, choosing words with immortal care. “It's older than the curse. Older than the pattern itself. I've suspected for years, but tonight confirms it.”

Cold settled in my chest as understanding dawned. “What are you saying?”

“He's not just remembering your past lives.” Marcus straightened,power fading from his hands but weight remaining in his voice. “He's remembering what came before. What caused all of this.”

The implications hit like physical force. “Before the temple? Before Vale's curse?”

“Before everything.” Marcus moved to the window where pre-dawn light was just beginning to paint the sky. “His soul carries echoes of knowledge that was old when I was young. Power that should have been lost when the first temples fell.”

I studied my brother's sleeping face, seeing him with new eyes. How many times had we played this pattern out? How many lives had his soul chased echoes of power it was never meant to touch?

“The dreams he mentioned,” I said slowly, pieces clicking into terrible place. “They're not just about our shared lives, are they?”

“No.” Marcus's reflection in the window looked ancient and tired. “He dreams of things that should be forgotten. Things that Vale's curse was meant to bury forever.”

Dawn approached as we finished making everything appear normal. My office returned to its usual corporate efficiency, all signs of ancient power and violent confrontation erased. But nothing could erase the nature of what I'd learned, the terrifying implications of Will's true nature.

“Protect Eli,” Marcus warned as we prepared to wake Will. “Your brother's obsession with immortality, his ability to remember what should be forgotten – it makes him unpredictable. Dangerous.”

I thought of Eli's steady hands, of last night's perfect kiss, of all the lives we'd lost to violence and fate. “How long do we have?”

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