Hollow Dolls

by MarcyKate Connolly

  We keep close to the walls and tiptoe down the corridor toward the stairwell that leads up to the library and the map room we need. My talent stretches out, keeping track of who’s asleep and who’s not. We’re particularly careful near the hallways where librarians and guests are still awake in their chambers. It’s nerve-racking and exhilarating at the same time. The fear we could get caught at any second, mixed with the fact that we seem to be getting away with it.

  At least until we hear someone else in the hallway. Fear lights up our insides, and Sebastian and I exchange a terrified glance as the sounds get closer.

  What do we do? Sebastian thinks.

  Find somewhere to hide. Quickly!

  While we’re not yet on the floor with the maps, we are near a door into this level of the library. We duck inside and hide behind one of the shelves. We hold our breath, hoping the person in the hall—Connor, judging by his thoughts—will pass right by.

  But we’re not so lucky. Connor opens the door to the same room and stomps inside. He carries a candle, holding it aloft while he examines the spines of books on a shelf not far from where we hide.

  Be ready, I warn Sebastian. We may have to move quickly if he gets too close.

  Sebastian’s eyes are wide in the dim light. What do you think he’s searching for at this hour? He wrinkles his nose.

  I shrug, but my curiosity has been piqued. I let my magic rummage around Connor’s brain, surprised at what I find.

  It must be here. I need it to complete my research. Perhaps those foolish children took it back to their rooms. I can’t imagine what they might want with a book such as that, but if they did, there will be hell to pay.

  As soon as Connor begins to move in a different direction, the pair of us sneak out of the room when his back is turned. I no longer suspect he might be the body walker, but I’m still not willing to take any chances. I have no doubt he’d use any excuse he could find to have us out from underfoot in the library. Soon we’re running down the hall, then up the stairs to the next level, and then the next, until finally we reach the floor with the map room.

  Being sneaky is exhausting. And we haven’t even left the fortress yet.

  The map room is usually kept locked, but Sebastian already took care of that problem. We snagged the master key from Rachel’s key ring before she locked us in here, and then Sebastian made her forget before she could even object. The guilt Sebastian feels at deceiving her clings to him like a thick fog. But it was a necessary evil.

  We unlock the door to the room holding all the ancient maps and artifacts and look around.

  Where is the obsidian you saw? I ask, and Sebastian points to an alcove in a far corner. An array of artifacts crafted from the same pitch-black stone sits on a shelf behind a pane of glass. This time, the key doesn’t work—it must be only for doors—and we’re left with no choice. My heart sinks.

  I don’t wish to deface any property in the library. The librarians have been kind and sheltered us. But we need protection from the body walker. Perhaps we can work off the debt of replacing the glass once we come back.

  Ready? I ask Sebastian. Stand back.

  I lob a heavy book at the glass. Much to my dismay, it only cracks, but the noise sends a shudder through us both. After a few tense moments, we relax. No one has come rushing down the hall outside, so we should be safe for now. I pick up another book, the heaviest I can manage to lift, and this time the glass shatters into tiny pieces on the floor. Thankfully, the artifacts aren’t affected, and Sebastian manages to grab a couple of them—two necklaces—without getting cut by the glass. He hands one to me, with a shiny, black orb I could get lost in if I stared at it too long, and puts the other, an arrowhead on an old chain, around his own neck.

  We slip back into the hall, guiltily leaving the broken glass behind. A telltale reminder that we did what we could, but it wasn’t quite enough.

  Leaving the fortress is easier said than done. While most of the librarians are indeed still asleep, there are a few night owls wandering around here and there, and we have to duck inside empty rooms several times to remain out of sight. Reaching the exit is the most difficult part. We’re sure there must be another exit somewhere in this beast of a building, but no one has ever told us where. Nor do any of the minds we narrowly miss have any knowledge I can glean from them about that.

  Instead, we make our way to the main entrance of the building. There’s a guard posted there who I spy by his thoughts. He’s sleepy and wishing he hadn’t agreed to work the second shift.

  My magic ranges through the guard’s mind. We use the same trick we did before: Sebastian approaches and makes him forget why he was there in the first place. As soon as he wanders off, confused, we waste no time running for the bulky wooden doors, then gingerly open them.

  Freedom, I think, startling Sebastian.

  Don’t run too far ahead, he replies.

  Don’t worry, I wouldn’t leave you like that.

  We close the heavy door behind us as softly as possible. With any luck, the guard won’t even notice anything is amiss and our flight won’t be discovered until tomorrow morning when they don’t find us in our beds. The cool night air slithers around our shoulders in a welcoming embrace, but it makes me shiver too.

  Somewhere, hopefully not far away, is Maeve. We’ll find a way to get past Ida and return with Maeve to nurse her back to health—whatever it is we must do to return her to normal. I may not know exactly how, and I may not know where we’ll find her.

  But I do know one thing for certain: we are not alone out here.

  Chapter Nineteen

  There’s one great difference between Sebastian and me—I welcome the night, while he’s terrified of the darkness. Or, more specifically, the things that lurk in the darkness. But I can sense them, feel their thoughts, and determine whether they are friend or foe. If we need to avoid something nearby, I’ll know.

  With the stars twinkling over our heads and the chill of night seeping into our bones, we forge ahead into the mountain woods hand in hand. I lead the way with my talent. Near the main path into the woods is an owl’s nest, and an idea occurs to me.

  Just a moment, I think to Sebastian, and he gives me a nervous glance. When he hears the hoot of the owl, he cringes. An owl gave him that scar on his face, and they’ve terrified him ever since. But we don’t need to get close to this one.

  I let my talent brush over the mind of the owl in the tree. It’s a mother just returning from the hunt. Her babies chirp and mew, happily eating the dinner she brought them. She feels safe and happy, and I take advantage of that by worming my way inside. Her mind is an open book, and I nudge in thoughts of Maeve and what she looks like. The owl’s hackles raise, but she soon calms at my soothing thoughts. She shows me that Maeve passed by last night, at nearly the same time—just as she was feeding her chicks. Maeve glanced over her shoulder more than once to be sure she wasn’t followed. Her expression was not the serene one I’ve grown accustomed to; instead it was twisted and frustrated, but with a determined bent. Her steps were strong, as if she knew exactly where she was headed.

  And that is all. The owl lost interest after that, and her thoughts only consist of her chicks and her mate.

  I shiver. Judging by Maeve’s sudden change in behavior, I’m more certain than ever that she is possessed by the body walker. Her demeanor seems more like Ida’s than her own.

  She went this way. I point toward the left fork in the path. Sebastian doesn’t question me. He knows I have ways of obtaining information that are beyond what others can do. The owl hoots a goodbye behind us, making Sebastian jump, but I keep him from straying off the path. My teeth are set on edge, clenched together, and I’m praying we find Maeve before it’s too late.

  What do you think Ida wants us for? Sebastian thinks.

  I shudder. I don’t know. Power, like Lady Aisling, maybe? I’ve
heard her thoughts, and she clearly covets our talents.

  Until now, I’ve tried to chalk up all our encounters with the body walker to coincidence. But every one of them has been connected to us in some way, and Ida has been close by for them all. First, the nice woman who let me have the last of the day’s flowers and her husband in the market. Then Jemma, Euna, and now Maeve. She’s been circling us, getting ever closer, waiting for the right time to strike so she can use us like Lady Aisling. No wonder she had such a keen interest in learning more about the Lady’s garden!

  The sheer horror of that thought nearly stops me in my tracks. And it probably would’ve made me turn around if we were going after anyone but Maeve.

  If Ida did take her, it was because of us. How can we abandon her to the same fate we had? We’re probably walking into a trap, but we can’t stomach leaving her behind.

  The moon above provides some light as it trickles down through the trees. Even so, we still stumble over the occasional root and rock. The going is slow, and sometimes I pause to consult with the animals to see if they recall Maeve passing the night before. Thank goodness we were able to escape the Archives so quickly! Animals’ memories are not long, and if we’d had to wait another day or two, they would’ve already forgotten.

  The result is a circuitous path around the mountains, almost as though the body walker either didn’t know where they were headed or didn’t want to be followed. Exhaustion begins to wear at my determination and focus. The moon is directly overhead now, its beams streaking between the branches to illuminate bushes and flowers and bark and odd leaves, all of which try to distract me from the task at hand. But Sebastian keeps me grounded, calling me back when my feet begin to stray. Our progress slows until we find ourselves in front of the yawning black mouth of a cave. Fireflies dance in front of the entrance, making it seem both deadly and inviting. I reach out to catch one in my hands, but Sebastian’s words stop me cold.

  “Look! Footprints.” He points to a boot mark left in the mud at the entrance to the cave.

  “It could easily belong to Maeve or Ida,” I say. “It’s not alone either.”

  The mud at the entrance is littered with tracks in various sizes. My spine goes rigid, and all trace of sleep falls away as though someone threw a bucket of ice over my head.

  This is it. We’ve found the body walker’s lair.

  One glance at Sebastian’s face makes it clear he understands this all too well.

  I pull two candles out of my bag and light them with a match to keep the darkness at bay. Then I hand one to Sebastian. Are you ready?

  He takes the candle and twines the fingers of his free hand with mine. As I’ll ever be.

  We press onward into the cave, leaving the moonlit forest behind. The walls are damp to the touch and coated with moss, making the floors slippery. But there are also fresh footprints left by Maeve and Ida. All we have to do is follow them when confronted with a choice of tunnels. In a few places, the going is steep and rocky, but we manage as best we can.

  Then the tunnel begins to widen until we stand at the mouth of a huge cavern full of stalactites and stalagmites on one side, which taper off to a giant pool on the far side of the cavern.

  On the bank of the pool stands Maeve.

  I reach out with my mind, but I don’t sense Ida anywhere in the cavern, or nearby out of sight. My talent wanders all the way back to the entrance, but I can’t find any trace of her. She must have stepped out, perhaps for more provisions or to return to the library with some sort of cover story. Or maybe she’s out hunting us. Whatever the reason, she isn’t here, and that is good news.

  But still we must be cautious. We flatten against the moss-covered cave wall and peek around the corner. Maeve can’t see us, but we can just make out her expression. It isn’t what I expected, but it is what I feared. She looks angry and frustrated, just as Jemma did when the body walker had her under their control. If Maeve were free, she’d be running for the exits to return to us, I have no doubt. At the very least, she’d look bewildered.

  I let my talent reach into Maeve’s mind to confirm what I already know.

  But this time I don’t find what I’m looking for.

  I stand at the edge of the cavern in shocked confusion. Horror trickles upward, working its way from my toes until it reaches the reeling, panicked thoughts in my brain. I sink to the ground.

  I can’t feel Ida’s mind in Maeve’s head. There’s no hint of her own consciousness being shoved aside as I’ve seen and experienced myself so many times.

  There’s only her. Just her.

  “She’s the body walker,” I whisper, hardly able to believe it. Then I clap my hand over my mouth.

  What? Sebastian thinks.

  Maeve. It’s not Ida; it’s Maeve.

  Only one mind resides in Maeve’s head—one I know and love. I had no idea until now that it’s also the one that haunts our nightmares.

  Sebastian pales, his dark hair casting his eyes in shadows and making his scar a stark white line. You must be mistaken. It can’t be. It must be Ida.

  I shakily regain my feet. No mistake. I was wrong before. It’s Maeve. It’s been her all along.

  His shocked silence is a stark contrast to the whirling confusion in his brain. That means Maeve is the one who took over Jemma. How could she do that? And then pretend to be our friend?

  Tears burn the backs of my eyes. How could I have not known? Why couldn’t I tell? Perhaps it’s because I’ve only felt the effects of the body walking talent in use and never before the mind actually wielding it. Indeed, as I send my talent deeper into the cave, the shape of Maeve’s mind doesn’t feel like the victims I’ve seen. But every once and a while, there’s a sickly flare of something familiar…

  She’s using her talent on someone. That’s it. That’s why it escaped my notice. She didn’t use it around us. She must have been careful ever since I told her I was a mind reader.

  But who is she using it on? For a moment, I hope it’s Jemma, but I find no trace of her in the cave. If she’s here, she must be so far gone that she’s no longer struggling and I can’t sense her. Maybe that’s what happened to Ida too. But there are others. They’re screaming for help.

  And I know them.

  My insides have gone hollow, and my knees weaken. Sebastian is right next to me, quaking like a leaf in storm.

  What now? What’s wrong? Simone, I’m too scared to even say a word aloud anymore.

  She has Lady Aisling’s other shells. Our friends. Kalia, the dream eater. Natasha, the illusion crafter, Elias, the thought thrower, and Melanthe, the mind mover. I’m relieved she doesn’t have Finn as far as I can tell. He’s a mind changer and is deceptively dangerous.

  Sebastian frowns. But what is she doing with them?

  I shudder, recalling my earlier thoughts. They’re damaged like us. She must want to use them like Lady Aisling did.

  Sebastian’s face shifts from horror to determination faster than I’ve ever seen it. We can’t let her do that. We have to stop her.

  In that we’re of one mind. It’s one thing to betray us. It’s another to kidnap our friends who’ve only just been reunited with their families in order to use them too.

  We have no choice but to help them.

  Chapter Twenty

  We decide that we’ll confront Maeve together. We lend each other our courage, what little of it we have left.

  Cautiously, we clamber down from the top of the cavern opening. The threshold is rocky and sharp, and I flinch at every noise we make. I’m surprised Maeve doesn’t hear us coming. Her focus and concentration must be divided elsewhere. It’s a tiny bit of luck, but we’ll happily take it.

  When we’re about ten paces away, I call out. “Maeve?”

  Half of me hopes I’m wrong, and when she turns around, she’ll be overtaken by the body walker—someone who isn’
t her. The other half of me aches with the heavy burden of the truth.

  She whirls at my voice, surprise written all over her face.

  “Simone? Sebastian?” Then her expression settles. “You followed me.”

  “We did,” I say. “We thought the body walker had captured you. We wanted to help.” A sudden lump forms in my throat.

  She raises her eyebrows. “You thought the body walker had me?” She moves toward us, and we unconsciously take a step back. “What’s this now?”

  “We know,” Sebastian squeaks.

  “Know what?” Maeve says.

  She reaches for him, and Sebastian shrinks back. She frowns, then laughs. “What is the matter with you?”

  “Why?” I breathe out the word softly, yet it still manages to echo off the walls of the cavern.

  “Why what? Simone, what is going on?” Maeve places her hands on her hips, and for one moment she seems just like she always has. But I dip into her mind, prying deeper than usual. Her determination that I attributed to wanting to find out what happened to her family has warped into something darker. Her fierceness that I chalked up to loyalty has taken on a cutting edge.

  But before I can delve too deeply, her thoughts calm and smooth over. I cannot see beneath them anymore. She knows how to conceal things from me, and that realization shocks me.

  Maeve’s mind has always been orderly. I never knew that was because she had so much to hide.

  “We know what you are.” I choke out. Speaking the words is a physically painful thing.

  She folds her arms across her chest. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re the body walker. You’re the one who took over Euna. You took over Sebastian’s sister, Jemma. You probably took Ida too.”

  “Where is Jemma?” he whispers. “What did you do with her? Why hasn’t she met us here yet?”

  A look of innocence crosses her face. “That’s absurd. You’re just confused. I’d never do that. You know me better. I’ve protected you both, cared for you when there was no one else to help you.”