by Sara Ella
Ugh. I kick a stone and it slides across the red dirt, over the cliff’s edge, and into the gorge. The water is so far down, the rush of the wide river pronounced enough, I don’t hear a splash. The stone goes over and then . . . nothing. Kinda like these memories I can’t quite place.
Someone squeezes my shoulders. I jump, but then they squeeze harder. Sigh. I reach back and pat the top of Mom’s hand. Her, at least, I remember. With a signature kiss to my temple, she asks, “How are you feeling, brave girl?”
I scratch my head. Because that’s what you do when you’re . . . “Confused.”
She comes around to face me. The calm in her voice doesn’t match the panic in her eyes. She glances past me, then back, past me, then back again.
“Mom, what is it?” What’s she looking at? I want to look over my shoulder, but the slant of her lips warns against it.
Tight hug. Can’t breathe. Her mouth finds my ear. “Listen, we don’t have much time before he retrieves me.” She pulls away. Smiles too sweetly. Kisses my forehead.
Retrieves her? Why do I get the feeling she’s overdoing the affection as some kind of act?
“Joshua cannot be trusted,” she says through pursed lips. “Something has disturbed him. I am unsure what, but he trapped me, your brother, and the boy Tide.”
Dread churns. Spider-walks my nerves. “Where’s Evan?”
She pulls me close again. “Joshua has him. It is why I cannot say more. Regina has gone to fetch Makai. She was outside when Joshua arrived and was able to slip away unseen. I have no idea how long it will take them to return.”
The mention of Reggie injects a dose of hope. My favorite cook in all the Reflections was here? Maybe my memory isn’t so poor after all. I know Mom and Evan, who the first time I held him smiled straight at me as if we’d been best buds forever. Makai and Reggie are on their way, both of whom I recall to a tee. Maybe they’ll bring Stormy. Crowe, I wouldn’t even mind if Preacher tagged along. How horrible can things be as long as I recognize those closest to me?
“Just remember,” Mom whispers in my ear. “Be chary about those in whom you place your confidence. Joshua threatened to hurt your brother if I tell you too much. I am reluctant to put anything past him at this point in time. He carries a madness I recognize all too well.”
Madness. A pinprick in my brain. Someone mentioned something about madness. And Jasyn Crowe. The memory feels recent. I’m in a room. Ebony is there, and the leader of the Fourth . . . ? But the rest is hazy at best. Why can’t I remember?
“Mom, what doesn’t Joshua want you to tell me?” The words are a runaway subway. Urgent. Ahead of schedule.
She lists her head. Once again her gaze falls to the door behind me. “Kyaphus. Do you remember anything about him at all?”
The guy with the Void? “I’ve never seen him before in my life.”
Her mouth turns down. “Promise me this: if he attempts to speak with you, if he finds the chance, listen.”
I nod. Anything for Mom. Always.
After one last kiss to my cheek, she shuffles back toward the house. “Supper will be on soon. We will wait for Dahlia’s return together.”
My ears perk. Dahlia Moon? Of course, that’s why I came, right? To find the Ever woman with answers regarding the Void and the Verity. I don’t know how I know that, and the source of the information is once again a fog. Still, it’s another memory restored. Yay, me.
“How do you know her?” I ask before Mom enters the house. “Has she been caring for you? Did she help deliver Evan?”
Mom does a half turn, a genuine smile perking the corners of her lips. The panic melts from her complexion, replaced by a secretive look I know all too well. “Dahlia comes and goes. Sometimes she is here, sometimes there. Evers get antsy, you know? They never remain in one place too long because they are around for so long. But yes, once you left the Second, she arrived to care for your brother and me.”
What does my leaving have to do with anything? “How do you know her?”
“You know her too. She goes by an alias to keep her Calling hidden, as many Evers do. She bears many names, in fact. I believe her favorite is the nickname you bestowed, though. Your ‘Fairy godmother’ is quite fond of you, my darling.” Mom slips inside without another word, leaving me more confused than before.
The one I bestowed? What—?
I shake my head. There’s only one person I’ve nicknamed. One person who has said those exact words verbatim. Which means Dahlia Moon is none other than the sometimes crazy, always bubbly, Fairy godmother incarnate Regina a.k.a. Reggie Reeves.
FORTY-EIGHT
Josh
My brother is on his knees. I kick him in the rib cage again. His head slumps to his chest and his shoulders heave.
What a pathetic excuse for a twin.
He lifts his head. “What did you do to her?”
I pace to and fro across the living area, keeping one hand on my weapon’s hilt at all times. “That is none of your concern.”
“Give it up, David.” He spits to one side. “Do you honestly want her this way? Confused? Forced to be with you because she knows of no other option?”
“There is no other option.”
“You’ve fooled yourself.” He hangs his head once more.
“No, brother, it is you who has been fooled into believing her love for you is true.”
His head snaps up and tilts to one side. “You keep calling me that. Why?”
“Because, unfortunately for me, we’re brothers. Fraternal twins, in fact.” I draw my sword for good measure. “And the only—the only—reason she feels anything for you”—I touch his shoulder with the tip of my blade—“is because of your connection to me.” I return my sword to my side.
He squints and his mouth opens as if he might speak. Then he seems to think better of it and clamps his jaw. Good. He’s learning. At least that much can be said for him.
“This is what we’re going to do.” I drag him to a stand and shake him a bit to force eye contact.
He’s reluctant, but his gaze meets mine.
“You are going to tell me everything. Where you have been. Where you are headed. And then you will walk away. You will never contact her again. Do I make myself clear?”
He nods. “Crystal.”
I can tell he’s lying, but the detail is trivial. If he won’t walk, I’ll make him.
“Now tell me.” I shake him again. “What are you after?”
“A way to destroy the Void for good.”
The idea is laughable, but I keep my tone neutral. “And exactly how are you going to do that?”
The front door swings wide and bangs against the wall, causing both our regards to flash in that direction. The Second castle’s head cook stands there, a menacing scowl on her plump face. “What in Sam Hill is going on here?” Regina Reeves’s hands plant on her generous hips. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you two boys were having a brawl.”
Makai Archer appears behind her. My lesser half inside me punches the air. I suppress his joy. The Shield may bear an effect on Joshua, but he will do nothing to stop me. The Void will not be destroyed. Its power is too great. If anything, we must discover a way to let it flourish. Jasyn Crowe made too many mistakes to count. I will be different. I will control the Void the way he never could.
“Moron,” Joshua shouts. “Don’t you see? You can’t control the darkness. The darkness controls you.”
Silence, prisoner, I think.
“Makai, get ahold of your man.” Regina moves aside and the man advances on me.
I shove my brother to the floor and level my sword at Archer. “You don’t want to do that, Commander.”
He should disappear using his Shield ability, but he doesn’t. Perhaps the Callings are returning in the order they vanished. Ever failed first, then Physic and so forth. Shield didn’t die out until later, so it serves to reason it would not have returned just yet. Same with the Thresholds. It may take time to reverse wha
t was done when Eliyana and Kyaphus shared a Kiss of Infinity. Joshua and I may disagree on what happens with the Void, but at least we can come to terms on one matter.
Eliyana is mine—ours. The only one she will share a Kiss of Infinity with is me.
“Joshua.” Makai’s tone relays warning. “Do not force me to disarm you. If you do, you do not want to know what comes next.”
I tilt my head back and laugh. “Oh, please. You’re twice my age and half as strong. Do you really believe you can best me?”
The man in the prison of my soul smiles.
Makai attacks.
I lunge, but he’s quicker than I anticipated. He dodges my move, darts behind me, and wraps my throat in a choke hold. “Drop the sword, Joshua.”
Clenching the hilt tighter, I stretch my neck.
“I said drop it.” His hold contracts.
My weapon clangs to the ground as I gasp for breath. My arms are twisted behind my back with so much force my shoulder pops from its socket.
I refuse to yield. With a shove to the pain, I jerk and lurch, biting down hard so a scream cannot release.
“Stormy! Preacher! Wren! Robyn! Give me a hand!” Archer’s bellow is too loud in my ear.
My fellow Guardians are on me, holding me back as I lash and struggle. Teeth bared, I emit a growl. “This isn’t the end. The Void will prevail.”
“Do you realize how idiotic you sound?” the man in my head asks. “They’re going to throw you in the dungeons with Rafaj if you keep this up.”
Shut your mouth, captive. I continue my fight all the way to the cellar. Continue until they tie me to a pipe. They release the countess’s son and the man who arrived with Kyaphus. Stormy, Preacher, and Robyn leave without a second glance. But Wren lingers, giving me that look she always gives.
“Why are you here?” I let my head fall back against the pipe.
“Why do you think, Joshua?”
Her wounded tone does nothing to faze me, though I feel it pinch my other half. “You shouldn’t have come, Wren.”
She yields one long glare before going the way of the others and bolting the door behind her.
Darkness shrouds me, not a shaft of light in view. But I don’t mind, as I welcome the shadows. They comfort me as I drift off to sleep.
ASIDE
Joshua
At last he’s out. I thought he’d never leave.
Without my dark side to war against, my task grows simpler. I tug against my invisible restraints, making the slightest movements in my effort to be free. I will undo what I’ve done. As much as I hate to work with my brother, I see now destroying the Void is the only way. My experience has shown me as much. The power of the darkness is too great a temptation. Kyaphus is stronger than most, it seems, but who’s to say he won’t end up like Jasyn Crowe?
Josh walks that path now. And, like the Void, he must be terminated.
FORTY-NINE
Set Me Free
Night is in full bloom now, and the slightest chill begins to descend, draping the canyon like a light dusting of snow. Only, without the snow.
I cross my arms and rub my biceps, feeling a forever film of grime even after my bath earlier. I can’t decide what bothers me more. Joshua’s guard-dog act or the vessel of the Void’s lingering gaze. Both leave me unsettled. A deep sense of loss coats every thought and emotion. A sense something is missing. Yes, my memories are spotty, but it’s more than that.
If only I could figure out what.
So much has been misplaced. Joshua claims I was taken by pirates, but how was I captured? And why? None of it makes sense, and something deep inside rings an all-too-recognizable bell.
Joshua has lied to me before.
Mom says he’s lying now.
I’m keeping my mouth shut around him until I find out why.
How long until Reggie and Makai arrive? They have to travel through two Reflections to get here, and the Threshold we used to enter the Fourth has drained. Mom says Reggie left yesterday, but there’s no telling how far they’ll have to travel to the next nearest passage into the Fourth. I’d mirror walk and pull them through, but I’ve no clue where they are. Besides, I haven’t attempted mirror walking since leaving the Second. The Verity inside still feels like a flicker. When will everything be normal again? Has it ever been normal?
Joshua has Mom terrified, refusing to put Evan down if she can help it. Ebony and the girl Khloe whisper behind his back, and the other two guys, Flint and Tide, are under lock and key along with the man Joshua claims is enemy number one in all the Reflections.
Kyaphus Rhyen.
As if on cue, footsteps scuffle behind me. I didn’t hear the back door open, but there’s no question who has followed me out here. Doesn’t Joshua know when to give it a rest? I’ve heard the same thing over and over since our reunion. I was kidnapped. The trauma messed with my memory. But he’s here now and everything’s going to be fine. The Callings and Reflections are safe. The drained Thresholds should fill up and return to normal. But nothing is normal, not when I hardly know who I am or how I got here. Not when the Verity lies dormant in my soul.
I loose a frustrated scream. Grab at my hair.
Joshua clears his throat behind me.
I brace myself for another conversation I’m not in the mood to have.
“Ember.”
I whirl. Terror grips me. I back toward the cliff’s edge, toward the mouth of the rope bridge. The man before me looks different from earlier today. The blackened veins that covered his entire body have begun to shrink, reaching only as far as his jaw, revealing his face. The expression there can only be described as anguish.
“Please,” he says. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“How’d you get out?”
“Makai and Reggie are here. They’ve brought reinforcements, including Stormy and Robyn.”
Stormy is here? And Robyn? Their familiar faces fill my memory and I emit a half sob, half hiccup. I’ve never been so happy to remember anything in my life. But . . . how can this guy know those names would give me such relief? “My name’s not Ember,” I say.
His entire face points south from his furrowed brows to his drawn lips. When he reaches out, I stumble backward, end up straddling rock and bridge. I’m leaning so far I might end up in the gorge if he comes any closer.
“Would you just listen, Em? Please.”
I promised Mom. I bite my lip. Nod. “Okay.”
His stare bores into mine. His jaw muscles flex.
What’s he doing?
The ground shudders.
I bend my knees to keep from falling. Whoa. Another earthquake? How is that possible?
“Lower your walls, Em,” Kyaphus says. “Let me in.”
This guy really is off his rocker. Lower my walls? Let him in? What game is he playing?
That’s when I hear it. The music. At first the tune is faint and far away, floating along the night air in a whisper. This song, I’ve heard it before. Once, perhaps. Or twice? It’s so achingly familiar. I long to put lyrics to its notes.
The Void’s vessel smiles. “That’s right, Em. Remember.”
I tilt my head. Lower my eyelids. Lyrics I didn’t know I had in me roll in a sonata across my mind. They’re not out loud. Because this song is my soul. And sound can’t do it justice.
“I can walk through my reflection,
Use my Shield as a deflection,
Sing the song of my complexion,
But it’s nothing without you.”
A breath in my mind. Dim but real. I continue . . .
“I can heal and I can fight,
My memory is bright,
Through a façade I bear good sight,
But it’s nothing without you.”
Without who? Have I lost someone? Is this why my memory loss has been so painful?
“If love is what ignites me,
Then the Verity inside me
Cannot win unless you’re beside me.
I’m noth
ing without you.”
The song inside dies just as a sound like earth splitting amps my pulse. Dust rises and pebbles dance. It is another earthquake. Joshua said the Thresholds were fine.
He was wrong.
My hands grasp the poles anchoring the bridge in place. I peer beyond my shoulder. The water below churns in hunger for a fresh body.
I’m losing my balance.
The cliff’s edge is crumbling.
And I’m falling.
The Void’s vessel grabs me.
And everything comes back into focus.
I look into his eyes, but the monster before me has vanished. In his place is the man beneath. Kind, two-tone gaze. Crazy-adorable crooked smile. Hair of gold with a heart to match.
“Ky.” His name is a wake-up call to my soul. I used to think “I See the Light” was about Joshua. But now, now I see the difference. Because it’s like the fog has lifted. Because, with Ky, everything is new.
“Hold on!” he shouts.
The cottage windows rattle. The draining Threshold calls to me, but Ky’s grasp keeps me from falling.
For now.
I look down. The water drains faster than anything we’ve witnessed. Which means whatever Joshua—Josh—did to make me forget Ky, to break the soul bond we shared, it didn’t quite work. Ky’s tear. And the bottle? Somehow it erased my memories of him. But erasing memories can’t change what actually happened.
Joshua can make me forget Ky, but he can’t alter the events of the past. Such a feat would be impossible. Ky and I shared a Kiss of Infinity. My mind has forgotten him, but my soul?
Never.
Somehow I know Ky’s touch is the only thing binding us. I feel it in the very real and tangible energy passing between our fingertips. If we disconnect, my memory of him will fade once more. If he sets me free, he’ll be lost to me. But our hands are slipping, the cliff is breaking. Much more of this and we’ll both end up sucked through the Threshold. And if it creates a wormhole? Who knows where we’ll end up, or if we’ll even arrive at the same place. And even if we did, would I know him? Is this touch thing a fluke or a permanent fix to what Joshua—Josh—did?