Forget Me Book Three: Forget Me, #3

By Odette C. Bell

I am thrown headfirst into danger. There's nowhere I can go. There's no one to help me.
As I'm plunged deeper into this broken city, nothing is as it seems. And that includes Belford.

…

Forget Me follows a witch with the power to make anyone forget her as she fights for freedom from any and all who'll use her. If you love urban fantasies that fight destiny with action and guts, grab Forget Me Book Three today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odette C. Bell
• Release date: Apr 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393408604

Book preview

1

There was nothing I could do. Nothing I could clutch hold of. Nothing I could say. I didn’t even have the chance to part my lips and scream at him to save me. I fell. My hair fluttered around my face, my clothes catching up around my hips and chest. The only thing I could do – the only thing I wanted to do – was close my eyes.

This was it.

I’d failed in my task.

I had—

That thought didn’t have the chance to finish. Something suddenly smashed out of the window I was traveling past. It wrapped around my wrist and yanked me back into the building. It happened so fast, I couldn’t keep up. The next thing I knew, I was in a powerful set of arms.

I warily, slowly blinked one eye open, incapable of believing I was still alive.

I had no idea who’d just save me. My weary, trembling heart told me it had to be Belford. But it wasn’t. I looked up into Philip’s conflicted expression.

Glass covered his shoulders and head. He looked like he had no clue what he was doing. His frown was so pronounced, I thought it would rip across his face.

Philip? I stammered.

Secretary, he said in the kind of dull voice you’d use if you’d just woken up from some fitful sleep.

How— I couldn’t push my words out. I had no clue what to say. No string of syllables could force this scene to make sense.

Why… did I save you? He finally gave voice to my question.

Yes, why?

Because you’re my secretary. I do not wish you ill. With that, he placed me down.

There was no way I could stand. My feet might have alighted on the floor, but my knees became so wobbly, I fell down to my ass. Glass was scattered around me. It shredded my tights and skirt.

Philip took several steps away from me. He faced the massive hole he’d created in the window. The wind raged in. It tugged at everything that wasn’t tied down. Still, Philip was a vampire. A fact he proved as he stood right at the edge of the window. He looked down, then up, then turned. You know, I haven’t always been a nice man, he said out of the blue.

I was so overcome by what had just happened that I couldn’t even turn to him, let alone reply.

In a single second, with nothing more than a mutter, Jennifer had changed Belford. He hadn’t even resisted….

I clamped my hand over my mouth and sunk my fingers in hard. It felt like I would rip my lips back from my face.

Philip rubbed at his head. Why did you jump off the top of the building, anyway?

I looked at him warily. I parted my lips, but just a fraction of a centimeter. I was thrown off, Philip.

By whom?

Michael, Jennifer, and Belford.

I should not have mentioned Jennifer’s name. Philip’s face suddenly contorted. I watched it – as every single muscle twisted and turned. They looked like hands groping for something – anything. Maybe what they really wanted to do was settle around my throat, because he took a threatening step up to me. Long gone was the breezy Philip who’d just sacrificed himself to save my life. He looked like a completely different man.

I could no longer afford to just sit there, sinking in my sorrows. I let my hand fall from my face as I stared up at him. Philip? I hissed, my lips breaking open gently with a trembling breath.

He formed fists. They were hard enough that, if he were an ordinary person, his nails would’ve perforated his palms. As it was, I was treated to the sound of his knuckles creaking like trees under strain. She….

I did not have the energy or time to push into Philip’s mind and remove whatever Jennifer had done to it. In time, maybe I’d have to come back and break her spell on him. But not now.

Would Jennifer and the others be aware of the fact that I’d been saved? Up on the roof, had they heard Philip break through that window and grab me up?

I pressed up. I inched toward the closed door. I didn’t know exactly what room we were in, but it was somebody’s office. It was about 10 floors down from the roof. Was that far enough down that they would have no clue I’d been saved?

They were so arrogant and dismissive, they wouldn’t have bothered checking. Right?

I slunk toward the door, moving so slowly, it was like I expected the carpet to rear up and strangle me. Meanwhile, Philip was still breaking down at what I’d said. Jennifer is the only good vampire left in this city, he said in a voice full of toxic anger tinged with remorse. Me, he patted his chest so loudly, it sounded as if he was popping a balloon, I’m twisted and dark.

Though I didn’t turn, I heard the unmistakable sound of him palming his face. It was unmistakable, because he raked his nails down his temples. It was like he was trying to dig the flesh up so he could plant new seeds into his mind.

I finally reached the door. Settling a hand warily on the handle, I slowly opened it. I let my head edge around the doorframe.

There was no one in the corridor. The lights were off. What did that mean, exactly? What about security footage? What about Belford’s insane vampire senses?

I had to get out of here.

No. I had to go back to the roof. I had to find them. And I had to make them forget.

As I realized that – that that was the only way to truly live through this – my grip tightened on the handle. It twisted further under my tensed fingers.

You need to retract what you said, Secretary, Philip snarled, his voice about as dark as a pitch-black night. Jennifer—

Why don’t you tell me what Jennifer is later? You’re right. I was completely wrong. There was no way I should have ever cast aspersions on her. There’s no one quite like her. She’s the only truly good vampire left in this city. I repeated an amalgamation of what he’d said earlier with what I hoped was sincerity.

It doused his growing flames. He gave out a sigh, and it was loud enough that it echoed through the room and reverberated like a bell. There you go. Maybe I won’t sack you, after all.

You’re not going to sack me, I just said distractedly as I pushed slowly out into the corridor. You saved my life, Philip. You might not be able to understand why, but underneath, I guess you’re a good vampire. Thank you.

He became silent for several seconds. Maybe he was still hung up on what I’d said about Jennifer. Perhaps he was just trying to rationalize the fact that yes, he had just saved his secretary’s life. Cynthia—

I turned to him. I wasn’t completely out of the doorway yet. The little light that made it in from the city cast his dark shadow through the room. It almost touched mine.

Thank you, Philip. Now, forget.

He stiffened. I fell hard to the side. I’d used so much magic tonight, it felt like there wasn’t anything left inside me – just this empty void. If I kept trying to tap it, it would only turn around and start stealing my life. But what choice did I have?

I’d been thrown off a building barely minutes before. If I thought I could survive this by playing it timidly, I was fresh out of luck.

If I wanted to get to the bottom of this – if I wanted to be alive to see the likes of Jennifer and Stafford get their just desserts – I had to keep pushing. No matter what. No matter what….

2

I made Philip forget. I kind of didn’t want to – no matter how crazy that sounded. Philip was not a good man. Not only was he a complete A-grade asshole, but he was neck-deep in whatever was happening in this situation. But he had saved my life. I wouldn’t forget that.

Even if he would.

I didn’t know how he would explain the broken glass. That would be up to him. The rest was down to me.

All I wanted to do was run and hide. Visions of Belford’s smiling face as he opened his hand and dropped me filled my mind. They told me that no matter what happened in the future, I’d never be able to trust anyone ever again. What if there were more vampires out there like Jennifer? More creatures with the power to make anyone loyal to them? I knew I couldn’t be the only forget-me witch – even if there might not be any more for a few generations. The point was, you couldn’t trust anyone in this world when memories could be both created and forgotten in the click of someone’s fingers. Everything I thought I’d once stood on had turned out to be nothing more than clouds.

I felt light – but in a deceptive, dangerous way. It wasn’t as if all of my troubles had been ripped off my back and I now had nothing to carry. It was as if all of my muscles had been whittled away and, no matter what I faced, I would not be able to withstand it.

I kept telling myself there was no one like me. I was the forget-me witch. There was nothing I couldn’t do. But tonight I’d faced exactly what I could and could not achieve. When it came to actual fighting, I was worse than useless.

I didn’t even have my bag on me anymore. Presumably it was still up on the roof.

I made it down the corridor. Rather than reach the elevator, I decided it was better to take the stairs.

I spent a long time with my ear pressed up against the fire escape door. I couldn’t afford to go out and face more people straightaway. I’d be able to make them forget, but it would cost me dearly. I should be asleep right now – if not unconscious. It was pure luck and grit that were keeping me going.

I finally eased my way out into the stairwell. I was shaking from head to foot. What if I faced Belford again? What if this time he didn’t bother throwing me off the roof? What if this time he just reached into my bag and pulled out one of my guns?

I clutched my talisman. I wasn’t trying to detect any hidden magic – though the place was probably filled with it. It was the only thing I could hold on to right now. I longed for Belford’s hand – the real Belford. I knew that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Maybe it would never happen. I had to go back to how easy it had been for Jennifer to take control of him. All she’d done was touch his damn shoulder. I hadn’t felt any magic. Okay, I hadn’t exactly been in a condition to be detecting magic at the time. But my point was, it hadn’t been an ostensibly powerful show of force. Which meant that Jennifer was….

An enemy I simply could not hope to fight.

I hissed those words. They kept repeating in my mind as I climbed the stairwell. I was careful not to make a single noise. But when I neared the top of the roof, I felt people coming my way. I darted forward quickly, my feet slapping against the concrete. I pushed behind the door just in time. It opened, and several people walked out.

Fortunately the door was large enough and I was small enough that it completely obscured me. I couldn’t forget, however, that I was dealing with vampires.

Sure enough, I heard sniffing. What’s that scent?

Somebody gripped the door. They pulled it back. Forget, I bellowed.

I’d been hoping that it would be Belford, but it wasn’t. It was Michael and Jennifer.

They froze.

I forced a hand on to my chest. My heart beat so wildly, I thought I’d collapse, but I stayed standing.

I faced Michael first. Forget me, I spat.

The words made it out of my lips, but that was it. As soon as they tried to draw magic from within me, I found myself collapsing. I staggered against the door. My eyes started to roll into the back of my head. Forget… forget me, I tried. I managed to push those words out again, but this time it was even worse. I couldn’t stay conscious.

Worse than that, I was having trouble holding both of them in my spell. They didn’t remain stiff – they twitched.

What… is happening? I stammered.

There was no one to answer me – no one but my body. It felt dry. It was like it was an oil well that somebody had tapped into oblivion. I clutched my chest. My entire body was so sweaty now, I thought I’d slip down the stairs.

… I didn’t have the power to make him forget me, did I? That was a grand spell. I had to tone it down. Weakly, still gripping the door, I looked up at Michael. Forget you saw me here tonight.

The spell was bad enough, but at least it didn’t knock me out. I fell to the side. I was now down on my hands and knees, practically crawling in front of them.

He twitched several times. But he wasn’t as bad as Jennifer. She was about to break out of my spell. Just before she could leave, I grabbed her foot. Forget you saw me tonight, I stammered.

It felt like a semitrailer slammed into my cerebellum. My head jerked backward. I was certain I was going to lose it this time. I would black out. There was no hope for me.

Just at the last moment, I managed to scrounge deep enough to find just a little bit of magic.

It flowed out of me, into him and into my spell.

The both of you will forget that you saw me tonight.

They both stiffened. Then they straightened. They looked confused. I’d already inched back behind the door. With frowns, they continued down the stairwell. They didn’t look back at me once.

I… God, I’d done it.

I grabbed my chest. My fingers sunk into my blouse. I was clutching onto it for dear life. I started to fall to the side. My eyes rolled into the back of my head.

No. No way. I could not black out.

I would fall unconscious….

It was no longer a question of if. I would. I could not stop myself anymore. I had used far too much magic.

I fell against the door. It was still open. Fortunately I was just behind it. The only thing that was visible was a scrap of my skirt.

I lost it. As my consciousness tipped back into itself like a jug pouring water backward, the last