This is the third chapter of a four chapter short story that ties into my fantasy adventure Portals Series and can be read as a standalone. To read more information on the this story and the others in the series, visit Keeper of Memories.
To start with the first chapter click here: Chapter One: Adventure
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction written by K. S. Wood and thus is copyrighted 2026. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author. All rights reserved. Cover created by K. S. Wood using Canva and no part of this work was written or created using AI.Loss
I was aware of the music before I became aware of anything else. The sound had permeated my consciousness before I even realized I was awake. As I opened my eyes, I saw my father already eating the next meal.
“What time is it?” I mumbled as I sat up and tossed the blanket aside.
“I’m not sure,” Papa replied. “Time is irrelevant here, so your guess is as good as mine. Did you get enough sleep?”
I nodded as I started to stretch.
“What about you?” I asked
He shrugged slightly and then slowly nodded.
“I did not seem to need as much sleep as you did.”
“How long have you been up?” I asked, wincing as the final words came out of my mouth. “Sorry, I forgot that you already said time is inconsequential here.”
Papa chuckled.
“It is applicable when you are still used to it. But to answer your question, I’ve been up for a bit. Long enough to ask the Caretaker for more food and to get a few notes jotted down. The Memory Keeper is still resting and will be for a while longer, or so I have been told. The companions will come and get us when it is ready for us.”
I pulled out my notebook
“Think I will have time to do some editing?” I asked.
Papa chuckled as he pushed the container of sustenance towards me.
“Yes. But eat first. You will need the strength to get through the day.”
The Memory Keeper seemed to be more jovial and lucid when we were brought into the room by the companions. It opened its appendages to us in waves as it seemed to exude joy.
“Hello, Solilune of Delphian!” it shouted cheerfully. “When did you get here?”
I blinked as I looked up at Papa. There was a brief scowl on his face and then he smiled.
“We’ve just arrived, old friend,” he said.
“And who is this?” it asked, indicating me.
I watched as Papa smiled again.
“Memory Keeper, may I introduce my middle child, Lady Portia of The Realm of Original Magic.”
His colorless eyes flitted over me again and I blinked, nodding in understanding. The Memory Keeper was still in the throes of the kwynva. We had to placate it, even if it meant pretending we hadn’t already done this once before.
“It is an honor to meet you,” I said.
“You too, Lady Portia of the Realm. Why have you come?”
Papa spoke again.
“We were invited to witness and record your demise, Memory Keeper.”
It looked from us to the young Memory Keeper, who had already taken its perch on a new couch. There was a baleful hum and the appendages drooped in a sigh.
“Oh yes. I have forgotten. I am sorry. You are here to watch my ending.”
“We are here to watch Memory continue,” Papa replied gently.
“It is the same thing, is it not?”
Papa stepped forward and placed one hand reassuringly on the Memory Keeper’s shoulder.
“It is what it is, old friend.”
The Memory Keeper nodded and shuffled back to its seat as Papa took a step back and found a place to sit as well.
“Let us resume,” the elderly Memory Keeper replied wearily.
This session of memory transfers started pretty much like the previous one had. Memories flowed and I was inspired to write, noting the changes in cadence of the humming and the tempos of the music. Words filled my notebook as my own memories came to me. The stories I had heard. The words of wisdom shared with me by those long gone. The moments that made me feel most important. I continued to write.
As the irrelevant time continued to tick by, I became aware that the memories once again seemed to falter. The humming slowed to nothing. The older Memory Keeper was getting agitated, though not aggressive. And soon, the transfer of memory once again came to a grinding halt.
“Is there something I can do to help, old friend?” Papa asked gently.
The Memory Keeper seemed to blink and I realized that its features had become static and unchanging. I could see the weariness etched on its face as it looked at my father. It blinked twice.
“Hello, Memory Keeper. I am Solilune of Delphian. I am the Portal Seeker.”
It blinked again.
“You are Erynnion?”
Papa shook his head.
“I am not Erynnion, though I am his heir.”
“Your eyes though. They are Douglagal’s.”
“Yes. I am one of his heirs as well. And you have a job to finish.”
The young Memory Keeper reached up its appendages and shook them.
“There are more memories,” it said. “We must press on.”
There was a loud sigh from the old Keeper.
“I cannot. I am tired.”
“It is time though,” the young Keeper insisted. “The stories must press on.”
The old Keeper groaned and began to thrash about aggressively.
My father had moved to put himself between us and the old Keeper as it tried to swipe at the young one. The old Keeper’s appendage clipped my father, sending him staggering back a few steps.
“Papa!” I shouted, jumping up from my seat.
I watched as the Memory Keeper swung again and my father put up his hands to cast a spell. But the Keeper was faster and I watched as Papa practically flew across the room.
“Help!” I shouted in the language of memory as the old Memory Keeper seemed to start moving for me.
But just as it had changed course for me, it stopped and shuddered. Its haggard face stared at me as it seemed to forget what it was doing.
“Poe,” Papa said quietly with a groan as he pulled himself up. “Don’t move.”
The old Keeper shuddered again, muttering something to itself as the shaking became more and more violent.
There was a blast then and bright light washed the room. The younger Memory Keeper let out a yell and clawed the magic that surrounded it, as if it were trying to draw all of the magic to itself.
I watched as the spells began to swirl around, the light particles becoming small clouds that floated in the air. The young Keeper was frantically collecting them and I noticed that most of these magical clouds were absorbed into its body as it reached out its appendages. But one cloud hovered over me and despite my best efforts to avoid it, it floated towards me and encompassing me in the fine mist.
Waves of memories washed over me. I could feel the emotions of traumas long buried, mingling with the euphoria of pleasures once had. Stories began to whisper to me, telling me everything I ever knew and ever longed to know. Secrets long kept were told. Every memory I ever held myself flashed before my eyes in a plethora of sights and sounds and emotions and smells. It overwhelmed me.
“NOOOOO!” the young Keeper shouted, snapping me from my stupor. “You are ruining the memories!”
I watched as the old one stopped and turned towards the younger Keeper. It started to move, screaming incoherently as it waved its appendages menacingly. I worried for the life of the young Keeper as the old one seemed to grow more and more violent.
Immediately, Papa was in front of the old one, yelling loudly. He looked fierce as he stood his ground, trying to reason with the dementia-riddled keeper.
“You will not harm it,” he shouted, casting a shield spell on the young Memory Keeper. “Turn away. The memories must remain. Your time is fleeting, but the stories must go on.”
The old one growled and began to move again as the Caretaker and a few others stepped into the cavern. It swayed, snarling as the Caretaker and minions began to step forward. It reached out one claw and swiped at Papa furiously, a blast of magic leaving its body as it did so.
I heard my father let out a shout and then the Caretaker and the others jumped into action, neutralizing the Memory Keeper with some sort of spell as I ran to my father.
He was bent over, swaying slightly as he groaned from the effects of whatever damage the old Memory Keeper had inflicted upon him. His hands were pressed into his thigh.
“Are you okay, Papa?” I asked, my own head swaying from the magic of the memories that had inflicted me.
He shook his head as he seemed to press his hands harder. When I saw why, my heart seemed to drop.
Blood colored his hands, flowing in a way that told me that Papa was severely injured. I could see the shreds of cloth on his leg and knew that the claw had inflicted a great deal of damage.
“I can’t stop it,” he said softly. “The magic of memory is clouding my sage magic.”
Despite the whispers and the urgings that tugged on my soul. I ran across the room and scooped up Papa’s bag. I began to dig through it, looking for anything I could use to stem the bleeding as the memories washed over me, every emotion coming to the surface. My father’s life was hanging in the balance.
I grasped the blanket I had used to sleep and pulled it out quickly. Holding it in two hands, I remembered every moment this blanket had already had. The night Ambarre spent wrapped in it in Marihone. The fight Papa had with my mother in Maon. The tent my sister and I made under it when we camped under the stars just outside the village. I mourned that this would be the last memory with this blanket. But I had to do something.
I tore it into two and then four. Deftly I began to wrap the pieces around the injury on my father’s leg, wrapping them tight to stop the flow.
I felt Papa wince and watched as the color seemed to drain from his face.
“No, no, no,” I said. “We have to get out of here. We need to get you to a place that can heal you.”
“They can’t leave!” the young Memory Keeper shouted. “The young one has absorbed some of the memories!”
“We most certainly can leave,” I commanded as I stood. “My father needs far more attention than you are willing to give him. The Portal Seeker will die unless he gets help now and the memories won’t help him. Are you willing to let that happen?”
The Caretaker looked from Papa to me and put its hands up, ignoring the laments from the young Keeper and the screams from the neutralized old one. Light flashed around me as the smaller orbs seemed to blink in some sort of rhythm and I felt the air about me stir. I smelled the scent of old paper and woodland detritus and even caught a whiff of my mother’s soap.
The Caretaker let out a sigh and nodded slowly.
“They will be safe with you, young Portia of the Realm of Original Magic. They will return here once more when you have gone on to the spirit realm. Go. Now.”
With that, it turned its attention back towards the final moments of the old Memory Keeper.
I stepped back towards my father, noting he was another shade lighter and the blanket was almost drenched in blood. Pulling his arm over my shoulder, I used all of my strength to push myself to my feet. I groaned from the exertion.
“Come on, Papa, you have to do this.”
“Do what?” he asked.
His voice sounded weak and despite the memories that seemed to scream at me, I felt afraid for his life. I took in a deep breath and shook him again.
“You have to open a portal.”
He sighed as he shook his head.
“I can’t. I have no strength.”
“You’ll need to find it,” I shouted as I struggled to keep him up. “We need to get back home and I can’t open portals!”
“Where are we going?” he asked, his words starting to slur as his weight against me became heavier.
I grunted as I shifted my feet to support him better and then let out an exasperated shout.
“Home, Papa. Home!”
He sighed and closed his eyes. Raising his hand, he cast a spell that almost toppled us both over. A door appeared and opened and I saw bright light on the other side, so brilliant I didn’t know where it was leading us but knew I had to get there nevertheless. I pulled my father’s nearly lifeless body through the portal, crashing to the ground as I did so. I wondered where I was as I worried about my father’s life.
Click here for the final chapter Home (Available 10 January 2026)
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