18

FORGOTTEN

Crisp air chilled Adelaide’s skin as she stepped out of the cab. It was late, the moon a round, bright glow in the sky when she reached the brick building that housed The Bean of Scots and Kolt’s apartment. She hadn’t planned to come, but as Charlie hailed them a cab to head back to headquarters, Adelaide knew she couldn’t go back just yet. She wasn’t sure why she felt compelled, but sometimes her feet carried her to places she needed to go before her mind knew exactly where that was or why. After seeing Charlie safely away, she’d signaled for a cab of her own and told the man at the wheel to just drive. He’d given her a quizzical look, but did as she asked, probably more than happy to let the meter run while she watched the world pass by outside the window. It wasn’t until they neared the familiar turn that Adelaide knew where she needed to go. The Bean of Scots.

Adelaide figured if they locked anything, it would be the front, so she headed straight for the back entrance that she and Kolt had used when they stopped here before Holyrood. Gravel crunched beneath her feet as she rounded the side of the building. She could hear the muffled sounds of the city in the distance, but in the quiet off the beaten path, her own footsteps echoed louder than any other sound. Coffee grounds and vanilla scented the air, carried to her by a breeze that swirled dust on the street. It made her crave the hot drink Kolt had bought for her earlier or the rose tea Gideon continued to make for her during their chess games.

Adelaide didn’t have to worry if Kolt was up. When she approached the back entrance, he was already there, silhouetted against the brick wall. A cigarette hung from his fingertips, the bright embers igniting a hot red as he took a drag. Hands in her jean pockets, Adelaide leaned a shoulder against the wall beside him. Kolt kept his eyes on the sky and blew out a breath, the smoke like a layer of mist as it left his lips. “What are you doing here, Ad?”

She let her head rest against the cool brick and wondered what the right answer to that question was. “I wanted to see if you were okay. You seemed pretty shaken when Charlie and I ran into you at the boutique.”

Kolt let the cigarette fall to the ground and snuffed the flame beneath his foot. “I’m fine.”

Adelaide scoffed. “I’ve used that line enough to know that it’s a lie.”

Kolt, his eyes cloaked in shadows, finally looked at her. She shivered, half from his gaze and half from the breeze that swept once again through the lot. Kolt’s features softened as he ran a defeated hand across his brow. “Come on.”

He pushed off from the wall and held the door for her. Adelaide stepped inside, welcoming the warmth and vanilla scent that was even stronger within the walls than it had been without. Kolt locked the door behind them and proceeded up the stairs. She followed, at ease as the familiar feel of worn floorboards creaked beneath her feet. At the top of the stairs, Kolt pushed open the door to his apartment. The room stretched out to their right, echoing the lengthy but shallow architecture of the coffee shop below. It was nice, a smooth blend of antique and grunge that somehow worked. The aroma of maple and sea salt wrapped around her as she moved deeper into the apartment. A record skipped on the turntable beside a leather chair, making Adelaide wonder how long Kolt had been standing outside before she got there.

Kolt made his way to the kitchen at the opposite end and tossed his keys into a bowl atop a small marble island. “Do you want a coffee? My last pot is almost out, but I can make another.”

Adelaide slid onto a stool at the counter. “Do you have any tea?”

“Xander used to drink that crap too.” He smirked, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I think I might still have a box here somewhere.”

He rustled through the cabinets and emerged from the depths of one with an assorted box of tea. “Looks like all that’s left is peppermint. Does that work?”

“I’m not surprised. I used to drink those for him because he didn’t want to waste them.”

Kolt dug two bags out of the box and put a kettle on the stove. “I’m not much for tea, but I don’t think I can drink another cup of coffee tonight.”

Adelaide didn’t blame him and probably wouldn’t have let him even if he’d tried. Outside, the darkness had hidden Kolt well, but inside the light gave everything away. Shadows darkened the skin beneath his eyes, and his hands trembled as he filled the mugs with hot water and slid one across to her.

She asked him, once again, the same question she had before. “Are you okay?”

Kolt was silent, the moment stretching on long enough that Adelaide wasn’t sure he was going to answer until he finally spoke. “What happened at Holyrood?”

Adelaide swallowed her tea, the hot liquid scalding her throat. “What do you mean?”

“Before we left, in the room with Darnley’s locket, did you—” he paused, choosing his next words carefully, “see anything?”

Adelaide set her mug down, wondering what their time at Holyrood had to do with her question. She met Kolt’s gaze across the counter. The few feet of marble separating them might as well have been miles because in that moment she could tell that he knew. He knew about her traces. But even as the realization hit her, she couldn’t get the truth to leave her lips. Instead, a simple, “Like what?” squeaked out instead.

He nodded slowly, as if her response was confirmation enough of what they both knew. “I have something you should see.”

He rounded the counter and opened the door at the edge of the kitchen. Adelaide hesitated only a moment before following him across the threshold. Moonlight streamed in through the large window above his bed on the opposite wall. Kolt flipped the switch, chasing the dark away with the warm glow of an Edison bulb on the ceiling. She was just about to ask what he wanted to show her when her eyes found his desk. A series of books and journals coated its surface. Bunches of paper were stuck between their pages as placeholders, but what was on the desk wasn’t nearly as interesting as what was above it. A massive cork board hung on the wall, nearly every inch plastered with newspaper clippings, printed articles and hand-written notes. Red string ran from push pin to push pin, telling a story Adelaide had a hard time deciphering.

“What is this?”

Kolt hesitated, but the words pushed past his lips. He spoke quickly, like he needed to get them out or wanted to before he changed his mind. “A few years ago, a girl named Sienna came to the Ancestral Gala as a Kindred, and like you, grandmother denied having sent her an invitation. When Sienna came back from the jump it was the first time anyone successfully brought an item back without it crumbling.”

Adelaide stilled, her heart roaring in her ears. Sienna. The name stirred something in her mind until she realized it was the same one she’d seen the woman write in the ledger during her trace. A million questions raced in her mind, but she bit them back, afraid to speak before Kolt had finished.

“We became close, close enough for me to notice when she started acting off. Eventually, she told me she could see what she called imprints. She explained them as layers of history in an object or place. I saw it happen a few times. She got the same look on her face that you did at Holyrood.” He fiddled with a button on his jean jacket, a sad frustration in his eyes. “I told her to consider telling grandmother, that maybe the Red Rose Society had resources or information that could help her figure out what she was seeing and why.”

“What happened?” Adelaide asked, daring to hope that they did or that she could talk to Sienna.

“I don’t know.” Kolt shook his head as if he were trying to clear away cobwebs. “The rest of the story is blank. It only started coming back more, in bits and pieces, when you appeared with the earring unscathed.”

Adelaide started pacing, her feet carrying her across the small room as she processed what Kolt was saying. “If Sienna brought something back before I did, why was everyone so surprised? Juniper and Matriarch made it seem like I was the first.”

“To them, Sienna never existed. I don’t understand it, but for me, she was there and then... nothing. It seems like I’m the only one who even remembers she was here at all. I mentioned her name a few times to people who knew her, and all I got was a blank stare.”

“You’re looking for her,” Adelaide said, finally understanding the purpose of the corkboard and the desk spilled over with notes.

“Yeah, I thought I had a lead at the boutique, but it was just another dead end. All I know right now is that I need to find her. I think she’s in trouble, and it’s all my fault.”