Page 128 of Damned and Broken Gods
“Yeah? What if something climbs out of the water and tries to eat me? Or grabs me and tries to pull me in?”
He chuckled softly.I doubt this trial is about fighting a river beast.
“There are river beasts?”
Another warm chuckle filled my mind, easing the tension in my body. He could do that so easily, with a touch or a word. Even now, when I was drifting across a weird river, through dodgy mist.
We continued to bob across the water, and a strange fuzzy feeling bloomed at the back of my mind. I rubbed my nape, hoping to ease it.
How much longer before we reached the other side?
Your Nani would be proud of you, Leela.
Nani? “Who?”
Silence greeted my question.Your Nani. Your grandmother?
What was he talking about? “I…I have a grandmother?”
Leela, what do you remember about the mortal world?His tone was sharp and demanding, teasing panic to life in my chest, and the fact that his question made no sense to me made it worse.
“What’s the mortal world?”
The boat moved a little faster, and when Araz spoke next, there was blatant urgency in his tone.Leela, listen to me. The river is taking your memories. You’re forgetting your past.
My chest flooded with heat. “What do I do?”
You have to hold on. Take one memory and anchor it deep. Something that will bring you back. Something that changed you in some way.
My mind went back to the kiss on the night of the ball. The connection of surrender that led to consummation because the moment our lips had touched, I’d known with absolute certainty that we were going to become one, and that there would never be anyone else for me. That moment had changed me.
Leela, hold it. Don’t forget it, don’t…
Images flickered through my mind—memories of the journey to this world, of my friends, of Blue, of Pashim, the trials and?—
The boat swayed, and I sat up straight, blinking back tears.
What…I reached up to touch my cheek, fingers coming away wet. Why was I crying?
The boat stopped with a bump, and the fog parted to reveal the shore.
I spotted a campfire in the distance. Four figures sat around it, but they rose slowly at the sight of me.
“Hey!” A young woman came jogging over. “Another arrival. Maybe you can shed some light on where we are?” She smiled, but it was an awkward, nervous smile. “Do you know your name?”
That was a stupid question. Of course I knew my name. “I’m…” I stared at her blankly as a balloon of panic expanded in my chest. What was my name? “I…I can’t remember.”
She sighed. “It’s all right. Neither can we.” She held out her hand. “I’m Number One, because I got here first, and you…You’re Number Five.”
Chapter 47
A Time To Trust
ARAZ
There’s a veil between Leela’s mind and mine. I can’t hear her, can’t see through her eyes. I’m locked out, and a serpent writhes in my belly.
You must trust that she will remember, the voice of authority in my head says.Trust that your connection is strong enough for her to feel it, to follow it to the memories that the river has suppressed.
