Sipping from a steaming mug of coffee, Liliya played with her phone, turning it round and round in her hand.

I can't not tell Kit, she told herself for the umpteenth time. She's my best friend! I've never kept a secret from her before.

But she's also a cop, said the cautious voice in her head. It's her job to catch the Memory Thief. She's not going to let him walk.

With a groan, she dropped her head on the table and covered it with her arms. "What am I going to do?" she muttered.

Suddenly a thought popped into her head: What if they got to him already? She picked up her phone and dialed Kit's number. Her heart beat in her chest as she listened to the beep in her ear.

"Morning, Lil. What's up?"

"Hey!" Liliya squeezed her eyes shut when her voice squeaked. "H-how are you?"

A short silence fell at the other end of the line, before Kit said, "Are you alright?"

"What? I'm fine!"

"No, seriously," Kit pressed on. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I just..." Liliya sighed. "Mum isn't doing so well and I just wanted to chat. Get my mind off it."

I'm so going to hell for using mum's illness as an excuse...

"Oh, Lil, I'm so sorry!" came Kit's sorrowful voice from the other side. "Do you want to come over? My shift isn't until later today."

"No, that's okay," Liliya mumbled. "I like the quiet. It helps me think. What about you, are you doing alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I need a break, though. Oh! Can we go out for dinner this weekend? We could go to that new Zorasion place. My brother said it was really good."

"Yeah, alright," said Liliya, smiling at the prospect. "Why do you need a break so much?" she added quickly. "That Memory Thief still bothering you?"

Liliya held her breath as her friend once again fell silent.

"Oh, Lil," she sighed eventually. "I'm not making this easier on you, am I?"

Guilt crept up as she played with her empty coffee mug. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

"I know. But I probably should." Kit groaned with frustration.

"No, you shouldn't. I know you're only trying to protect me. I just... Well, I was wondering if you know anything yet. Preferably something that'll clear Nyron's name."

"Actually, there is news."

Liliya sat up at Kit's words, holding her breath. "There is?"

"A man was found last night."

The blood in Liliya's veins turned to ice. That man she'd seen in the pub, tied up to the chair, marks all over his body. He was found? Had Nyron... killed him?

"Marked for the ritual of memory stealing, according to experts," Kit continued over her silence. "The weird thing is, he didn't seem to be missing anything. Except for how he got those marks, of course."

Liliya's jaw dropped. "What do you mean? Are you saying he wasn't missing any memories?"

"Yep," said Kit. "As if he let the man go. Don't think we've ever seen that before."

Nyron had let him go? How was that possible? She'd seen him chanting. She'd watched him do the ritual.

And then I watched him break it, she thought, to come chase after me. He must've not finished it after I ran...

"Lil? You still there?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. That's great news! Right? The man's okay!"

"Yes," said Kit. "Although it also means that he's become even more unpredictable than he already was. We have no idea why he's doing this or, in this case, why he didn't do it."

Even after hanging up ten minutes later, Liliya still couldn't stop thinking of Nyron. Last night she'd been so sure that he was evil. That he had taken the poor man's memories. And now... Now she didn't know what to think. Could he have simply let him go, after already having started the ritual?

I need to know more.

She picked up her phone off the table and opened her text messages, typing 'Can we meet?'

It took barely more than a minute before he texted back. 'Of course. Come to the pub.'

She scoffed at her phone. 'I'm not stupid. Somewhere public. That café next to the library.'

'Okay. See you there.'

She put her phone in her pocket, releasing a shuddering breath.

The café was smaller than she remembered. An older pair sat by the window, a family with two small kids was near the door, and next to them sat a man in a suit reading a newspaper. The rest of the café was empty, save for the two waitresses.

I should've told someone I was going here... I should've told Kit.

Liliya had taken a spot in the back corner, the quietest space inside, where nobody would hear them talk. As she waited, she pulled the hair tie out of her hair and re-braided it.

When the door opened, she jumped, sitting up straight. Nyron waved at her, then went over to the counter to order. She was rubbing her hands together in her lap when he finally joined her. He set a mug of tea down in front of her and she couldn't help but lean back in her chair, staying as far away from him as possible. Seeing him sparked the fear she'd felt the night before all over again.

He sighed when he noticed it and slumped down in the empty chair. "Listen," he said. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. I didn't want you to see that. I had no idea the side door was open, and I definitely didn't know you were coming over. I never wanted –"

"Did you let him go?"

Nyron faltered, taken aback. "Y-yes, I did."

"Why?"

He stared at her as if she'd said something crazy. "Because you fled from me in terror! I don't want you to look at me like that..."

"You stopped because of me?" Liliya frowned. Had she saved that man's life?

"Yeah. I guess I did."

"But why do you do it in the first place? How can you do such a horrible thing to people?"

"Well, see, it's really not as bad as they make it look on the news!" He pulled a hand through his hair, messing it up completely in the process. "I'm not actually hurting anyone. Un-unless I make mistakes," he added quietly.

Liliya's jaw dropped. "What do you mean you're not hurting them? You're literally taking their memory!" She hissed the last part, making sure nobody would overhear her.

"Yeah, but that doesn't hurt them! All I do is take something they're not using."

Liliya couldn't believe what she was hearing. That was his excuse for committing these horrible crimes? "What is wrong with you?!" she exclaimed before she could help herself. She glanced around the café nervously, casting an apologetic smile at the elderly lady who glared at her.

Once the woman had turned back to her husband, Liliya continued, "Don't you understand what you're doing? You're taking their memories! Those are a part of them. They make people who they are."

"Right," said Nyron. "And sometimes there are things you just want to forget."

Liliya furrowed her brows. "What?"

"People come to me to forget certain things," Nyron explained. "As payment, I take another one of their memories. Something I can sell on the black market. I love my pub, but it does not make me enough money to live off, with how deserted it always is."

"You... You're saying you help them?"

Nyron shrugged one shoulder, then nodded.

"That's a lie! Why would they go to the police if you've helped them?"

"They don't remember it afterwards. I make sure they don't. Wouldn't want anyone to rat me out. It's bad for business." He chuckled but fell silent under her glare. "I'm not lying to you, Liliya," he said. "Sometimes people just want to forget. Don't you have any awful memories? Something you wish never happened?"

Liliya hesitated. Of course there was something she wished never happened. Her dad, her sister...

"Come on," said Nyron softly. "Tell me."

She stared into her cup, tea gone cold by now. "I lost my dad and my sister when I was 14 years old," she said. "The house caught fire. My mum managed to get me out on time, but my dad... I think my sister was trapped or something, I heard them shouting. My mum kept holding me back, because I wanted to go back inside and help them. We waited for them, watching the flames burn. They never got out."

Nyron reached out to take her hand, but she pulled away. Tears stung in her eyes. She blinked furiously to get rid of them. "I'm sorry that happened to you," Nyron whispered. "But then surely you understand why people want to forget things? Sometimes they're desperate enough that they come to me."

Liliya waited a few seconds before she trusted her voice again. "No," she said, looking up at him. "I don't understand it. That memory, awful as it is, is what makes me who I am. That experience has shaped me into the person I am now. If I forget that, what's to stop me from forgetting my father and my sister?"

Nyron nodded. "I understand. Still, that must be one of the most awful memories I've ever heard. You were out there with your mum, weren't you? Are you sure she doesn't want to forget?"

It felt like he'd slapped her across the face. She felt the heat rising to her cheeks as her heart clenched. She stood up, her chair toppling over. "How dare you suggest that?"

With one last glare at Nyron, she stormed out of the café.