Chapter 21

Lysandra picked at her food with a fork. She wondered whether to tell her friend about yesterday's ordeal with Cale and Zavier. Just as she opened her mouth to start in on the story, though, she saw a figure pass by their table, on her left. His back was turned to her, but somehow she recognized him all the same. Her breath stopped halfway in her lungs, and she felt her fork slip from her hand.

"Liss?" Zephyr asked, shooting her friend a concerned look. "You okay there? You look like you just saw a ghost."

"What?" Lysandra said.

Zephyr twisted in her chair, but she didn't recognize the figure, clad in black and gray, standing in the line for the café just twenty feet away. "Lysandra, knock it off. There's no one there."

"No, I know, it's just - " Lysandra stammered, fumbling for an explanation. "I just remembered something."

"You did? What?" Zephyr asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh. Um, it was nothing important," Lysandra said.

"Right. Not by that look it wasn't," Zephyr laughed, rolling her eyes. "You didn't look like you just thought of some life truth or anything."

"I mean," Lysandra amended, forcing a smile, "it's important, but not here. It's for home."

"Really? Enlighten me," Zephyr challenged, leaning her chin on her hand.

"Well, Ismene was having me try on gowns this morning," Lysandra began.

Zephyr's eyes went wide. "What? Don't tell me they were wedding gowns or something."

"No. No wedding gowns," Lysandra assured her. "Just regular gowns. She said I have to be back by one o'clock."

Zephyr turned and looked at the café's clock behind her, once again missing the shadow Lysandra was still watching out of the corner of her eye. "Oh, shoot. You're right. You should probably go soon," she said, turning back to the table.

"Yeah. Sorry. I didn't mean to lose track of time," Lysandra answered, forcing a laugh. "I'll get our dishes."

"No, no. You should go home. I'll get everything," Zephyr said.

"Actually," a sweet, deep voice said in Lysandra's ear, "I'll get them. Don't worry about anything."

Lysandra had to force back a gasp that threatened to escape her throat at the sound of Cale's voice. She hadn't seen him leave his place in line.

"Oh," Zephyr said. She arched an eyebrow at seeing him. "Thanks."

"Yeah," Lysandra echoed. "Thanks."

Zephyr stood up from her side of the table, and Cale took the opportunity to lean down to Lysandra and whisper, "Back of the building. I'll give you five."

Lysandra swallowed. She couldn't imagine what Cale would want from her on such short notice, and she wasn't sure exactly how to get away from Zephyr. She felt guilty, even having to think of such a thing regarding her best friend.

"Later," Zephyr said and dragged Lysandra out of the café by the arm, leaving her with no time to respond to Cale.

As soon as the door to the building closed behind them, Zephyr raised her eyebrows at Lysandra, exclaiming, "Holy Saints! Did you see him, Liss? Damn, he was something."

"Yeah," Lysandra managed, feeling her face warm, "I guess so."

"I would so love to talk about that encounter," Zephyr sighed, "but I shouldn't keep you. I don't want to make you late for getting yelled at by Ismene." She grinned.

"Thanks for the sympathy," Lysandra answered, rolling her eyes.

"No, seriously, go. I don't like that lady," Zephyr said, pushing Lysandra toward the other end of the street. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Lysandra agreed.

Lysandra walked all the way up the street and turned right, circling around the block until she came back to the café. Once there, she ducked behind the building and picked her way across the cracked brick road and sprouts of long wiregrass, dripping oil, until she reached a small slab of pavement that had been mostly cleared. Cale stood against the wall, his arms crossed, his eyes closed. He sensed Lysandra's approach, pushing away from the stone wall and looking straight at her.

"Cale," she stated. "I-is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," he said. "I came to ask you about some... loose ends."

"Loose ends," Lysandra echoed.

"Yes," he said. "Your friend - the one you were with just now. Was she the one who remembered getting her memory Erased?"

Lysandra nodded slowly.

"I thought I recognized her." Cale squinted up at the edge of the building above him.

Lysandra considered that for a moment. "You mean from my memories." She felt an unfamiliar squeeze in her chest, like a weight sitting on her lungs and pushing the air out. "Why do you remember so many things that I remember? Don't you look at other people's memories all the time?"

"I used to," he said. "I don't very often anymore. It's rare that anyone even comes by my studio. I think they all go to Zavier now."

Lysandra watched him, but he didn't meet her eyes.

"And anyway," he added, "if they do come in for some sort of Recoding, they don't ask for a full examination, in which case the memories vanish almost as soon as they enter my head."

"So," she said, "why do you need to know about Zephyr?"