As the room fell into silence, a collective confusion spread across everyone, except for Thomas and Tierney, who seemed to recognize something unusual.
"That voice," remarked the man confined in the cell.
"Oh crap, I forgot about the man," Thomas exclaimed, dashing toward the cell. "Whose voice?" he inquired.
"I know that voice anywhere," the man declared, now visible in the cell.
"Whose voice do you remember?" Thomas asked again, reaching the cell.
"That voice I know is the woman I fell in love with," the man revealed.
"Who is this person?" Tierney asked as she approached the cell.
"He said his name is Dean," Kathrine informed with a smile.
"Yes, my name is Dean Duke," the man in the cell identified himself.
"What?" Thomas exclaimed in shock. "How is that possible?"
"How can he be here?" Tierney wondered, tears starting to stream down her face. "He died in my arms fifteen years ago."
"Yes, I did," Dean acknowledged as he walked to the bars of his cell. "And Victor resurrected me."
"Why would he do that?" Thomas questioned, placing his hand on the cell lock.
"He brought me back because he needs to know about his daughter and where to find her," Dean explained, looking at Thomas and then Tierney.
"Why?" Thomas probed as he unlocked the cell.
"That's because I married her and know everything about her," Dean clarified.
"I can't believe it," Tierney muttered.
"So, this is my father," Kathrine realized as she looked at him.
"Yes, it is," Tierney confirmed, tears still rolling down her face. "Now, what do we do?"
Kristen chimed in, "We need to get out of here."
"But how? The elevator is gone," Niall pointed out, looking toward where the elevator doors used to be.
"Let's go back up to the second floor and see if we can access the elevator from there," Tierney suggested, wiping away her tears.
"Okay, let's get out of here; it's creepy down here," Courtney added, eyeing the beds and computers.
"Are you scared?" Niall teased with a smile. "Do you think there's a murderer hiding somewhere?"
Carlyle chuckled at Niall's joke. "Hey, that's not funny," Courtney snapped with anger.
"Fine, you win," Niall conceded with a laugh. "At least someone thought it was funny."
"Now that we are done," Thomas interjected with a smile, "let's get going."
As everyone reached the stairs and ascended the spiral staircase, Thomas, Kathrine, Niall, and Carlyle contemplated the unknown challenges ahead.
"So, how will we find the others when we get out?" Kathrine asked her uncle.
"I don't know yet," Thomas responded, still gazing straight ahead. "But when we do, we will find them."
"So, that will take..." Kristen began.
"It can take days, weeks, months, or even years," Selena explained, glancing at Kristen.
"I hope that it does not take that long," Kristen said with a laugh.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Kathrine, Niall, Carlyle, and Thomas observed that the second floor differed from the third floor.
"I see you guys had the easy job," Niall commented, looking at tables with books and files.
"Maybe," Kristen replied with a laugh, "but at least we found some info on the elements."
"True," Kathrine agreed with a smile. "But we need to get out of here to put that info into use."
"Okay, let's go to the elevator and see if it will work," Thomas suggested, heading toward the elevator.
"I hope it will work," Niall added, eyeing the wall where the elevator used to be.
"We both hope so," Carlyle chimed in with a laugh. "I'm tired of being here."
"Have you ever left this place?" Niall inquired, looking at Carlyle.
"No, I have not," Carlyle confessed, sadness in his eyes. "Not even to go outside for air."
"Not even for air?" Kristen asked, surprised.
"Yep," Carlyle confirmed with a weak laugh, "not even for air."
"So you're saying you have been in this place your entire life?" Kathrine questioned, turning to Carlyle.
"Yes, that is true," Carlyle admitted, finding a seat. "I don't really remember that much."
"What do you mean?" Tierney asked, concerned.
"The farthest I can remember back is four years, and that's all," Carlyle explained as he sat down.
"How is that possible?" Courtney wondered as she also took a seat.
"So, they used a Memory Spell," Thomas stated, stopping and looking around at the elevator wall.
"A what spell?" Courtney asked, perplexed.
"A Memory Spell is a spell that blocks your memory," Tierney clarified with a smile. "It only lets you remember stuff after you have it."
"So that means that someone put the spell on Carlyle four years ago," Thomas added, resuming his walk back to the group. "The person affected by the spell can only remember the day it happened."
"Carlyle can only remember the day the spell took place and then on," Tierney added with a smile. "He can't recall anything before that."
"So, if he tried to remember when he was like thirteen," Niall mused, looking at Tierney and then at Thomas, "it would be nothing."
"Exactly," Tierney confirmed with a smile as she looked at Niall.
"But there is a good thing about this," Thomas said, grabbing a book from his magic storage.
"Is that the same book that helped us get our powers?" Courtney asked, inspecting the book closely.
"Yes and no," Thomas replied as he opened the book. "It is the same book, but it only helped unlock the powers that were already inside you."
"And how is this good regarding the Memory Spell on Carlyle?" Kathrine asked with a serious look.
"There is a way to remove the Memory Spell," Thomas explained with a smile, "with the Unshattered Spell."