When Carter woke up, he was alone. He groaned quietly, taking a deep breath. Ugh, what happened? He felt like his brain had...

Okay, now wasn't the time to go into that.

"Carter, are you feeling better?" Aarya's voice asked.

Carter fell off the bed with a loud thud. He groaned and struggled to stand up. Aarya stood there, trying (not very hard) to muffle her laughter.

"You've got to stop doing that," Carter groaned.

"But it's fun." Aarya's mouth twisted into a smirk. "Besides, it seems like you're doing better. Right?"

"Yeah, right," he mumbled.

Aarya poked him. "Are you ready to begin training again?"

Carter raised an eyebrow. "Training?"

"For the attack." Aarya's eyebrows furrowed. "Carter, I know they took your memory...but this is important."

"Attack? What attack?" Carter asked.

"The attack against the Twenty-First Nome," Aarya said seriously. "You need to be ready by that time. You have to."

Carter stepped back. "But why?"

"It's what we've been planning," Aarya whispered. "What we've all been planning."

Carter shook his head. "No."

"No? What do you mean, 'no'?" she snapped. Her eyes narrowed in anger. "Well?"

"I...I...no, I can't. I don't remember much, but I know that I actually like the Twenty-First Nome."

Aarya clenched her fists. "Zia," she hissed. "It's all her fault that you're like this."

"What are you talking...? What do you have against her?"

Her face softened. "Because she broke your heart," she murmured. Then, louder, she said, "Training. Get ready and don't be late."

"But-"

Aarya was already gone.

Twenty minutes later, Carter emerged from his room. He was feeling better then he had since he had woken up, but was still groggy.

Stupid...

His thoughts trailed off when he saw the seven people stare at him.

"Are you okay?" Paige asked.

"Just peachy," Carter muttered sarcastically.

"Good!" Hunter said, equally cheerful as Carter was sarcastic. "Who do you want to spar?"

"Spar?" Carter asked. "Don't you...uh, wave boomerangs around?"

Paige snorted. "Ha, no. We prefer hand-to-hand combat. We don't want to wear ourselves out by using magic. A waste of time, if you ask me."

Ette rolled her eyes. "Well, come on."

"Uh...can I just go?"

Hunter snorted. "Big bad Carter giving up already?"

Carter glared at him. "No. I don't know what's going on. Simple as that."

"He had his head bashed," Irma said sympathetically. "Cut him some slack, Hunter."

Carter was tempted to yell, but he had a feeling that was exactly what this Hunter guy wanted.

"Everyone, shut up," Peter snapped. He turned to Aarya. "We spar, then?"

"Fine." Aarya gave him a curt nod. Carter sighed in relief and leaned against the wall.

Just then, something glinted on Aarya's neck.

A necklace.

A snake necklace.

Something burned in Carter's mind. A memory was coming back, but it was so strong and powerful he groaned and got to his knees, clutching his head.

The sun...

A statue...

Girlfriend turning into a god...

"Is he okay?" a voice asked. The world around him was churning. Churning...

SNAP.

Carter shook his head. Above him, Aarya was glowering, her face a mask of annoyance and anger.

"Well?" she snapped. "You happy?"

"Wha...what was that...?"

"What was what?" Aarya asked impatiently.

Carter scowled. "Nothing. Not that you would care, anyway."

"Not that I would care?" she spluttered. "We're the ones who've been treating you back to health! We could have left you for the Twenty-First Nome to kill, but we didn't! We rescued you and brought you here. And now you're all suspicious, like WE'RE the bad guys!"

"Maybe because you are," Carter responded.

Okay, he was confused. He had memories that were fading, and fast. And these people who claim that they're his friends? How stupid did they think he was?

Paige shoved him. "Jerk," she snarled. "We're trying here!"

Carter said nothing. He felt strangly out of character, but his only excuse was memory loss. So there it was. His excuse.

"Leave him alone." To his shock, he realized that it was Ette. Her voice had an edge of annoyance, and she was scowling at Paige and Aarya.

"You're defending him?" Hunter snarled.

"You're arguing is giving me a headache," Ette responded flatly. "End of story. Like Irma said, his head was bashed. It isn't quite his fault he's acting stupid."

"Hey!" Carter protested.

Ette gave him a bored glance. "My point has just been made." She turned on her heel. "He's expecting us later," she called over her shoulder. "Don't be late, Aarya. You know how he gets." With that, she was gone.

Aarya huffed and exited as well, shortly followed by Irma and Paige. Hunter shook his head and left. Saul, who had been so quiet that Carter didn't even notice him, muttered, "Good luck," to him before leaving.

With an irritated sigh, Carter left as well.

Peter stood there, alone, asking, "What happened to sparring?"

"Do we have a lock on his location?"

"No." Sadie's voice was short. "Wherever they are, they're hiding well."

Walt sighed and sagged against his chair. "What could they possibly be planning?"

"Oh, I dunno," Sadie said sarcastically. "Maybe they kidnapped Carter so they could force him to buy ice cream for them! Or, or maybe so they could hold him for ransom! Yes, because all magicians just love money when they also have magic. Or-I think this is a really good one- world domination! Wouldn't that be a surprise!"

Walt gave her a flat look. "I get it."

"Oh? So you don't have an urber powerful god living inside you anymore?"

"Sadie. I know you're tense right now, and that's causing you to snap, but calm down."

"I am not snapping!"

Just then, Zia entered the room. She was carrying scrolls she had collected from the library.

"Do you have a lock on his location?" she asked Sadie.

The blonde threw her hands into the air. "How many times do I have to say 'no' today?!"

Zia lifted an eyebrow. "Okay. Just checking."

"Ignore her. She's going to snap any second," Walt said.

"Stop saying that!"

Zia rolled her eyes. "I found some things in the library that might help."

"In finding my git of a brother?" Sadie asked flatly.

"No. To understand their motives," Zia corrected. "If we understand what they're trying to do, then maybe we have a better chance of finding them."

There was a pause. Then, Sadie said: "I fail to follow your logic, Zia."

Zia sighed and studied the scrolls without another word. When she was sure they weren't looking, she pulled out another book, titled: Ways to Bring Back the Dead.

There was no way she could tell them. Just...no.