I lunged at the mirror, slapping both hands against the cool, smooth surface. “What the hell, Dom?”
He turned around and looked at me with those dark, silvery eyes, expression guarded.
“You’re in Aaru?”
He set his jaw.
“Is it true, Dom?” I yelled as I banged on the glass once more. Cracks snaked out from the place where my fist struck. “Is it?”
The fissures in the mirror crept across Dom’s ghostly face. He nodded once, right before the mirror shattered. Shards of glass rained down on the sinks and clattered onto the cement floor.
I stumbled backward, running into Nik.
He steadied me with hands on my arms, then spun me around to face him. “What’s going on?” he demanded. “Tell me.”
But I didn’t know how, so all I did was stare at him, lips parted, head shaking, and heart broken. “I—I have to go,” I said, breaking free from his hold.
“Kat—”
I turned away from him and ran to the door at the back of the locker room.
“Kat,” Nik called after me. “Wait!”
I pushed open the door, leaving a bloodied handprint on the push bar. Once I was outside, I broke into a sprint and ran away from Nik—away from this place—as fast and far as I could.
I slowed to a walk when I reached Nina’s neighborhood. Her house was the only place I could think to go. I needed to rest; the shadows had drained me dry, and I was running on borrowed energy—specifically, Nik’s energy. I could feel that foreign energy humming in my ba, resonating with the very core of me.
The run had used up most of what I’d had left, leaving me lightheaded and nauseated. All I could think about was putting one foot in front of the other and getting somewhere where I could rest. I stumbled most of the way through the neighborhood, praying to any and every universal force that no nosy neighbors would be peeking out through their windows, making a call to the local police to report the bleeding, crazy girl wandering through their neighborhood.
When I reached Nina’s house, I broke in through a back window and stumbled the final few steps to the couch in the living room. As I fell onto the cushions, darkness overtook my mind.
Chapter Thirty
I’m walking through a forest of birch trees, their white bark and leafless branches encased in a thin layer of ice. I reach out with one subtly glowing golden hand, skimming my black- and white-marbled fingertips over the smooth surface. I’m surprised to find that it’s warm to the touch. So, not ice. Glass, as strange as that seems. Or maybe crystal . . .
The ground, unblemished by any form of undergrowth, is covered in a sheet of powdery snow. I crouch down to scoop up a handful and am surprised once again. It, too, is warm, and more the consistency of the finest sand than snow. It glitters as it slips through my fingers and falls to the forest floor.
“You came,” a woman says, just up ahead. “I knew you would. Is it time?”
I look up, then stand.
There’s a break in the trees up ahead and, beyond it, a clearing blanketed in more of that glittering sand. An enormous tree stands in the center of the clearing, its general shape like that of an ancient live oak, but there the resemblance ends. This tree’s trunk is wider than any tree that has ever grown on earth, its bark tarnished silver, its leaves burnished copper and gold. Its lowest branches extend out over the tops of the birch trees, its leaves making a faint clinking sound as they rustle in some hidden breeze.
A young woman walks along one of the tree’s massive roots without watching her step, like it’s a pathway she’s traveled a thousand times before. She’s barefoot, and the gossamer fabric of her ankle-length white shift flutters in that same ethereal breeze.
I recognize her—she’s blonde, her build delicate, her features pixie-like. She’s a spitting image of the girl I’d pretended to be to blend in. Except this isn’t some reflection of me.
This is Isfet.
I take a deep breath, despite having no actual lungs to fill, and make my way into the clearing. “Before we do this, I need to know that Nik will be alright.” I need her to say it out loud so I know it’s true. She can’t lie; my mom told me so herself.
Isfet hops down from her root and tilts her head to the side. “Alright?”
I stop just inside the clearing. “Is there a way to release him from our bond—a way to make sure that whatever happens to me doesn’t affect him?”
Isfet continues on toward me. “Ah, yes, I see. I can release him from this burden easily enough.”
I take another useless deep breath. “And I need you to agree to take care of the shadows before they hurt anyone else. It has to be the first thing you do once you’re free.”
“Very well.” Isfet comes to a stop a few yards away from me. “I swear to you—no other living thing will suffer at the hands of the abominations.”
“Alright,” I say and lick my lips. “Let’s do this.”
Isfet smiles prettily, her eyes skimming over me. “You are perfect,” she says, then dissolves into a fine, glittering mist that flutters all around me. My arms raise seemingly of their own accord, and I’m lifted off the ground as that glittering mist soaks into me, merging with my soul, transforming me.
Because there’s only one way to free Isfet from Aaru—to become her.
* * *
I woke with a start, sucking in a breath and sitting bolt upright. I was still on the couch in Nina’s living room. A quick glance at the bay window told me it was after dark. I could hear two heartbeats nearby—one upstairs, the other in the kitchen.
“Nina?” I called out.
The girl poked her head through the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. “Oh, you’re awake.” She smiled hesitantly. “How do you feel?”
“Fine,” I said, lifting a hand to brush the hair out of my face, but brow furrowing when I saw the gauze concealing all but my fingertips. “How long was I out?” I asked as I unwound the bandages. Had Nina tended my wounds while I was out? Or maybe it was Kimi?
“Just a day,” Nina said, disappearing again. She reemerged with a bag of Doritos and a box of Pop Tarts. “We were going to try to wake you in a few hours if you weren’t up yet.” She set the goodies on the coffee table.
“Thanks,” I said.
“No prob. I read that you guys get pretty hungry after one of your healing comas.” She retreated back into the kitchen. “Does pizza sound okay?”
My stomach rumbled. “Yeah, sounds great,” I said, reaching out for the bag of chips and tearing it open. I knew what I had to do now, and I had a feeling I was going to need all the energy I could get. “When did Kimi get back?” I asked before stuffing a few chips into my mouth.
“Kimi?” Nina said from the kitchen. I could hear her digging around in the freezer. “She’s not here.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Then who’s upstairs?” I could hear a heartbeat; someone was up there.
There were a few beeps in the kitchen, probably Nina setting the oven temperature, and then she came back into the living room, a couple bottles of Powerade in hand. “Your friend—Nekure. He’s taking a nap. We just switched shifts watching over you.”
I laughed under my breath. Of course Nik was here. I should’ve guessed he would be, especially considering there was no sign of a bonding withdrawal headache. “How long has he been here?” I asked.
Nina shrugged. She set the bottles of enhanced sugar water on the coffee table in front of me, then joined me on the couch. “He was here when I got home from school yesterday.”
I reached for one of the bottles of Powerade—Jagged Ice—and twisted off the cap. And then I froze. A whole night had passed while I was out cold in a day-long regenerative sleep. “The school—” I looked at Nina. “Did anything happen while I was out? Did—” I almost couldn’t bring myself to ask. “Did anyone get hurt . . . or killed?”
Nina’s face fell, and I could read the truth in her eyes.
The blood drained from my face, l
eaving me feeling hollow. I was too late. All of those people . . . Alison . . . they were all dead because I’d failed.
“It was a freshman,” Nina said softly, looking down at the floor. “I didn’t know her, but I heard she was nice. Shy, but really nice—at least that’s what everyone’s saying.” She fidgeted with her fingers. “They found her in the cafeteria bathroom. She—” Nina swallowed roughly, her chin quivering. “She died during lunch, but nobody found her until seventh period.”
I straightened, reaching out for Nina, and gripped her forearm. “Just one kid—that’s it?”
Nina nodded. “They shut down school because of it,” she said numbly. “No one knows when we’ll go back, but there’s a candlelight vigil in a couple hours. Everyone’s going.”
I released her arm, going cold all over. “Where?” I asked. But I already knew.
“The football field.”
Chapter Thirty-One
After making Nina swear not to go anywhere near the school tonight, I nabbed her keys and locked myself in the downstairs bathroom. I knew exactly what I needed to do, and the path ahead was clear cut and obvious. Every time I’d tried to fight the shadows, I’d failed, in the end. There was only one person—one being—who could deal with them with absolute certainty.
And now that I knew that the world beyond the mirror was Aaru and that Nik could pull me out of that inescapable prison using the bond between our souls, I had an actual actionable plan to free Isfet. Then everyone would be safe. Nik would be free to live his life however he pleased. The universe would keep on keeping on, because Isfet was the biggest, baddest bitch around.
I tried not to think about how exactly I would be transporting Isfet out of Aaru, but the echo had been pretty damn clear. I tried not to consider the implications of her hitching a ride out via my soul—of her becoming a permanent part of me. I tried not to think about whether or not there would be anything left of me once she took over my body . . . my soul.
My mom’s warning whispered through my mind.
. . . this will not end well for you . . . she’ll use you up until there’s nothing left of you but ash and memory . . .
My mom had claimed that I couldn’t trust Isfet’s intentions toward me. Lucky for me I didn’t really care about her intentions; what mattered most was her actions. Saving Nik. Saving the people at the vigil on the football field. Saving the whole damn universe, when the time came. Even my mom had admitted that Isfet would do whatever it took to protect our universe. It didn’t matter why she did any of it, just that she did it. And I didn’t see a way that I could do any of it without her.
My mind was made up. I stared at my reflection in the mirror—my true reflection. Tonight, I would free Isfet. No undoes, no resets, and absolutely no take-backs. This was happening, and it was happening now.
I couldn’t help but wonder if my appearance would change once I was no longer technically me anymore. Would my face change to match Isfet’s—not as a disguise, but as a true transformation this time?
“Doesn’t matter,” I said, glancing down as I twisted Nina’s house key off of the key ring to use as an etching tool. That latest echo had been pretty damn clear—I would free Isfet, and when I did, she would save the people I couldn’t.
I set the rest of the keys on the lid of the toilet and leaned over the sink to begin etching Dom’s name into the mirror. I paused after I’d scratched the “D” into the glass. What if he fought me on this? What if he shoved me back out of Aaru again? He was the gatekeeper, in this instance, and I was at his mercy.
I shook my head and continued etching his name. I just wouldn’t tell him about the sacrifice part. I’d assure him I had a way out—my soul bond with Nik—and he would let me pass through. The echo had showed me inside Aaru, which meant there was a way to convince him to let me in. I just had to figure out what the magic words were.
It took me about five minutes to etch Dom’s full name into the four corners of the mirror, and when I finished the final “E,” I felt that familiar surge of power rush through my sheut, transforming the mirror from a looking glass to a portal to the underworld. The surface of the mirror rippled, and when it stilled, Dom stood on the other side.
I pressed my hand against the glass and met Dom’s dark stare. “I understand why you didn’t tell me,” I said before he could speak. “I’m not mad—I get it.” I laughed under my breath. “You didn’t want me beating myself up for failing to save you.”
His severe features softened.
“But I have to go in there now,” I told him.
“Into Aaru?” Dom clasped his hands behind his back, eyes narrowing. “Why?”
My fingers curled against the glass. “I can’t tell you—not because I don’t want to, but because I literally can’t. But you have to believe me when I say it’s important, Dom . . . like fate-of-the-universe important.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Does this have something to do with what happened to you when you died?”
I nodded.
“Is it about her?” he asked. “Is it about Isfet?”
I sucked in a breath, eyes widening. “You know—” I shook my head. “How?”
“We hear things in here,” he said. “Murmurs and whispers, mostly, but enough to know that she’s awake.”
I leaned in closer to the mirror. “Something’s coming, Dom, and I have to—” I caught myself before I said too much and triggered the no-talk fail-safe. “I need to get in there. I’ll explain everything to you once I’m in there—I just can’t while I’m out here. Re and Apep did something to make it so we can’t talk about . . .” I gave him a meaningful look. “But it doesn’t seem to apply in Duat or Aaru.”
“But once you are in here, you will be trapped, just like the rest of us.”
I shook my head. “I won’t. Nik can pull me out. He’s already done it once—when I died in the locker room. I went into Aaru, but I didn’t stay there.”
“And if he cannot retrieve your soul this next time?”
“Then I’ll be stuck in Aaru with you forever,” I said with a wave of my hand. “It was bound to happen eventually . . . but it’s not going to happen this time.” I paused, giving him another meaningful look. “I had another dream—another echo—a new one. It’ll work.”
Dom pressed his lips together, thinning them further.
“Seriously, Dom, we don’t have time to argue about this. People are at the school right now—hundreds, maybe thousands of them,” I said, exaggerating a tiny bit. They wouldn’t be on the field for another hour or two, but I hoped the urgency would light a fire under Dom’s ass. “I don’t know how to stop this on my own, but I know that if I don’t get in there and—and do what needs to be done, all of those people are going to die. The massacre will happen, and you and I will both have to go on knowing we could’ve prevented it.”
Dom continued to stare at me for a few more seconds, then stepped out of view. “Very well. You may enter.”
I blew out a breath. One obstacle down; only a gazillion or so left to go.
I set down the key on the soap dish and pressed my other hand against the mirror, too. Closing my eyes, I focused inward, feeling my body work. Feeling the air whooshing in and out of my lungs. Feeling the blood pumping through my heart. I withdrew my awareness from those physiological responses, retreating deeper within myself until I found the thrumming, pulsing mass that was my ba. I retracted the branches of my soul, uprooting it from my body until it was an impossibly compact seed, bursting with energy.
With every ounce of will and concentration, I pushed that seed out of my body and into the mirror. I pushed me into the mirror.
Into Aaru.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The bathroom door crashed open. “Damn it, Kat!” Nik exclaimed.
I was halfway through the mirror into Aaru when Nik wrapped his arms around my physical body and pulled it away from the mirror. He might as well have been grasping my ba, because the moment he touched my body
, he yanked me right back out of Aaru. My soul snapped back into my body, and we slammed against the wall opposite the mirror.
I twisted around to face Nik and slapped my palms against his chest, shoving him away from me. He stumbled back a step, his shoulder banging against the broken door. “What the hell, Nik?” I shouted.
“I know, Kat,” he said, brushing his hair out of his face. “I know you’re trying to get into Aaru.”
Lips parted, I shook my head. “How?”
“Mei . . . and Dom.”
I shot a quick glare at the mirror, but Dom wasn’t there. He must’ve slipped away to tattle to Lex.
My hands balled into fists. Dom had lied to me—again. Had he been planning on running off to tell Lex this whole time? Had he known Nik would stop me? Was that why he’d agreed to let me into Aaru? Had this whole thing been an act? A lie?
“Traitor,” I hissed, snatching the soap dish off the sink and hurling it at the mirror. The glass shattered into a thousand glittering pieces.
“He was trying to save your life,” Nik said, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer. “Is that really so bad?”
I fixed my glare on him. “I don’t know, Nik. You tell me. I was trying to save your damn life.”
Nik tightened his grip on my arm, and I gritted my teeth against the pain. “Save my life? Is that what your visions told you would happen?” He laughed, a bitter, biting sound. “Mei’s had a glimpse of the future you were trying so hard to bring about. The second you stepped through that mirror, my fate would’ve been sealed—in about five minutes, I’d have been dead.”
My eyelids opened wide. “But—but—” I shook my head. Isfet couldn’t lie. In the echo, she’d promised to release him from our bond.
Kat Dubois Chronicles Page 74