Page 37 of Shadow Warrior
I shook my head. “No. I don’t care about that. I’m talking about the subject of banishment?”
“What about it?”
“Where are people sent?”
He blinked slowly, and his gaze flicked away. “I don’t know.”
“And how many people have been banished?”
“I … I’m not sure.”
“Names?”
Silence.
I threw up my hands. “See? Why can’t you tell me?”
“Because he can’t remember.” An imperious voice came from the top of the stairs.
Kash’s gran stood there, a thick book clutched in her hand. “You want to know what’s going on. That is, after all, why you came here, isn’t it?”
I guess my cover was blown. I nodded.
“Then come with me.”
* * *
Kash’s granled us into a study lined with books. The décor was dark and masculine, and the fire crackling in the hearth gave the room a cozy feel.
“What’s going on, Gran?” Kash asked. “Why can’t I remember?”
Kash’s gran sank into one of the leather seats by the fire with the book on her lap. “Because you aren’t meant to. It’s always been that way. An enchantment so old that only the chosen few are aware of it. I believe it was created to keep the peace and maintain the purity of our bloodlines. It was also a humane solution to many of our societal problems.”
It? “What isitexactly? What does the enchantment do?”
“It erases people,” she said flatly.
My pulse thudded hard in my neck. “What?”
“Weavers who break our sacred laws are banished. They’re sent to another place, another reality.” She smiled sadly. “You may know it, actually. It’s called Lunar Creek.”
My pulse was hammering now.
“The TV show?” Kash sounded confused. “I don’t understand.”
“And you don’t have to. In a few hours, none of this will matter. Carter Payne will be wiped from your memories, and as this conversation relates to him, you’ll have forgotten it ever happened.”
No … “You can’t do that.”
“I’m not doing anything, my dear. It’s out of my hands. Despite your coveted ability, we cannot ignore what Carter did. He broke the law by procreating with a nightblood, and we cannot allow him to remain here, flaunting his transgression.”
“And how the hell will you explain my existence?”
“Oh, that’s simple. Your mother had a liaison with a weaver. We know not who, and you were born.”
“My mother will forget Carter too?”
“Everyone will forget him.” She gazed into the flames. “There are so many that have gone before him. He won’t suffer. He’ll find a new home, a new purpose in Lunar Creek, and you’ll watch him on the screen, day in, day out, drawn to the show without quite understanding why.”
