04

THE RECALL

Chapter Three: The Recall

Kitee, North Karelia, Finland

The lone figure stood on top of the hill. He looked down at the small town that stood at the bottom of the hill. The lights looked light tiny fireflies. The humans were safely in bed, clueless. They didn't know about battles of the future or what was to come.

"You just wait," the figure said. "There's a battle coming and you won't be ready for it. It's time to go back, back to where it all began."

And the lone figure disappeared.

Many miles away Mikael woke with a start. He ran his hand over his face. It had been nearly four years since he had joined the Cult. Now, all the traces of his past had disappeared. He looked like his old self.

Well, sort of.

He looked at his newly wedded wife who was lying sound asleep next to him. She looked like an angel. So peaceful and innocent. He really loved her.

Mikael got out of bed. He needed to get ready to go to the goddess's side. She had given him a huge list of people to investigate together. He chose to think of them as people. They were still somewhat human. He knew why they needed to trim down the lines, but he did not completely understand all of the madness that went along with it. It was like Ajatar had snapped or something.

He was just pulling on his gray T-shirt when Lilja woke up.

"Mikael is it time for you to go already?" she asked sleepily.

He put on his T-shirt and reached for his boots. "Yeah. I hate early duties."

Lilja touched his cheek and kissed him. "There's no surprise. You never did like getting up early. However, if I remember correctly, at certain someone always scheduled office when they were in charge before dawn."

Mikael pulled on his right boot. "Well, I was young and stupid."

"You still are."

Mikael stood up. "Not funny."

They kissed again and Mikael disappeared.

Aku paced the length of the room. He didn't actually think he killed anyone, but he was pretty sure that he had hurt someone. His mind was a blank slate and he just could not remember anything more than bits and pieces. There had been a boy in a bar and Aku could remember talking to him, but that was about all.

Aatu's eyes never left Aku's face. "You need to think. Dive into the deepest parts of you mind and allow yourself to push it all out."

Aku gave Aatu a dirty look. "I am! You need to stop pressuring me! I just don't remember!"

Aatu got to his feet. "You're not trying hard enough! Anything is possible is you just try! Look at me! I came back from the dead on my own!"

Aku's eyes narrowed. "No, you didn't come back on your own. You have magic on your side." He knew he was walking a dangerous line by talking to Aatu like this. Even without his wolf powers, Aatu could probably rip him in two.

"It doesn't matter," Aatu snapped. "What matters is that I came back and judging by the way everything is, it's probably a good thing."

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't hold the Pack together, like you were supposed to! I've never seen a more divided group of people! You're just lucky that I was able to get a witch to block my presence! The others are back and I think don't think they'd be very pleased to see you!"

Aku gaped at him. "The others can't see us?"

"Just anyone who comes into this house. They'll be able to see once we leave the house."

"Are you going to tell them you're back?"

Aatu shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know yet."

Aku fell silent. He had kind of counted on Aatu being his ally, but now that the others were going to possibly be in the picture, it really was hard to tell. Things were just getting even more complicated than usual.

If only he could remember what he had done, maybe that would change Aatu's mind. If Aku could prove himself to be strong like everyone else, then maybe he would have a fighting chance. It was fully possible, wasn't it? Wasn't that what they kept saying?

"I really am trying to remember, but it's just not coming for me. I can't get past the boy. I don't know what I said or did to him. He's just this face hovering around in front of me. The more I think about him, the less he appears. It's like there's something preventing me from finding more out." Aku paused. "The more I look at him, the less memory I have. Maybe I should stop thinking about him?"

Aatu's eyes narrowed. "I really do think a lot of it is that you don't want to remember."

"I do!"

"Then, try and focus harder!" Aatu spat. "They are on the move and I need to know just what all you did!"

Aku ran his hands through his hair. What had he done? There had been a bar and he had talked to someone who was a little bit younger than he was. The other boy had been sick or dying or something. Anyway, there had been something wrong with the way he smell. They went out of the bar. He sighed. He had already told Aatu all of that, but there was still something missing, something more that was wrong.

Aatu eyed Aku. "Do you remember what happened to the boy?"

Aku shook his head. "I think he took off running, but I'm not sure. He couldn't have gotten far in this, maybe we could just track him down and talk to him. I could play the drunk card...It just may work."

Aatu rolled his eyes. "Going and talking to someone like that is not going to work."

"Why not?" Aku jerked his head up. "It seems to work for the rest of you."

"It really doesn't. It's just an excuse that people use. Ask anyone who has played the drunk card. They haven't gotten anywhere."

Aku stared back out the window. "I really don't remember what happened to the boy. Maybe I can go back to the bar and ask around. Maybe someone has seen him since them."

"It's only been a day," Aatu pointed out.

Aku gave him a long look. "You really do know how to ruin everything, don't you?"

"I'll go get some food. The others should be in bed, so it won't be a big deal."

"It's not like they can see you anyway."

"Right."

Aku watched Aatu disappear. He flopped back down on the bed. Things really were not going well for him. He supposed he really didn't need to directly think it, but things just were not going well. That boy was probably out there, afraid and alone with no one help him. Aku knew he would be too.

He could remember being alone with the boy and had a bad feeling that he had done something bad. Of course, he was pretty sure that he had extended the boy's life, but they still didn't make everything alright.

He just needed to get his memories back. He was also pretty sure that he had been around Elisabeth had been involved, messing around with him. He really did not understand how he always ended up in Elisabeth's clutches. It was like they were drawn to each other for some reason. It was like magic or something was causing them to come together.

The matter really was quiet simple. He was probably just going to have track down Elisabeth. She would have all the answers and would probably give them to him in her own twisted way. Yeah, that was what he was going to have to do.

For now, he was just going to wait on Aatu to come back with the food. A little bit of food may help, but if and when it didn't, he was going to find Elisabeth.

He laid back against the pillows. Whatever had happened had taken so much out of him. It was like he really didn't feel okay, like his body wasn't his own. It was strange, everything that had happened was so strange.

Radi rolled over. His body was aching, not the kind of ache that came from the disease, but something different. It was like there was a power raging through him that was far too great for a mere human body.

Plus, he had a killer hangover.

He got out of bed, gripping the wall. Huh, this was strange. He really didn't feel weak anymore. He kind of expected to because of the attack and the illness, but he actually felt like he was going to be okay.

He jumped up and down, getting ready for the collapse, but it never came.

"Well, this is an interesting turn of events."