Tracks in the volcanic dust led to the Four Worlds mirror, then stopped. She was too late. Qeturah had been here and left.
Failure hammered at her. Gideon was dead, and now his otherselves would fall silent one by one like dying echoes. Her soul mate would be wiped from existence.
The grief she’d buried threatened to erupt. Leah slipped to her knees on the uneven stone floor, breathing harshly. The weight of her emotions pressed down on her, as if her body had to make an effort just to live in a world without Gideon.
She waited and waited, but no tears came. Her inability to cry sat on her shoulders like a judgment. She didn’t deserve the release of tears—and wouldn’t unless she stopped Qeturah.
Her eyes aching, Leah pushed back to her feet and studied the hanging squares of obsidian, glass, gold, and ice that filled the archway.
Qeturah had a head start, but Gideon’s otherselves probably still lived. Qeturah would want to recreate the circumstances that had led to Fire’s shattering. Leah still had time, but she couldn’t slip through the mirror like Qeturah: she had a Water self who still lived.
Leah would have to work with Holly. Except— Doubt chipped at her. Holly knew no magic; how could she deal with a sorceress like Qeturah?
Leah would never murder her otherself as Qeturah had done, but perhaps she should take over Holly’s body again—just long enough to save Gideon. Her gaze fell on some buzzing firewasps, and she had an idea.
No. Leah dug her fingernails into her palms to ward off temptation. Taking over Holly’s body, treating her otherself as someone less real than herself, was what Qeturah did.
She resolved to tell Holly everything. Her Water self would want to save Gideon’s otherself just as much as she did. She would only take over if Holly asked it of her.
Or if her stubborn otherself forced her to it.
Decision made, Leah pressed her hand to the cold ice and Called.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Otherself
At one a.m. the night before her scheduled flight to L.A., Holly found herself about to enter the upstairs bathroom and (find a mirror.)
What was she doing? Adrenaline pumped through her veins. No way was she going to let her body be taken over again. Holly about-faced and returned to bed. She climbed between the sheets determined to ignore the inner voice and go back to sleep.
Forty minutes later, her blood boiled. She was stressed enough about tomorrow’s trip. She didn’t need some psycho twin from another dimension keeping her awake with that whole look into your reflection crap.
Holly marched into the bathroom and flicked on the light. Squinting, she splayed one hand against the counter-length mirror; her wild-haired reflection failed to echo the gesture. “What do you want?” Only the desire not to wake up her mother kept her from shouting. Though, come to think of it, her mom might not be home from her girls’ night out yet.
(look deep into my eyes)
“How stupid do you think I am?” She fought the compulsion and stared at her otherself’s chin. “You want something? Try asking. Nicely.”
Pause.
“Hurry up, or I’m going back to bed,” Holly threatened.
(you must help Gideon)
The name stirred a faint memory. “Who?”
(in your world he has a different name—Ryan)
Holly crossed her arms. “Why should I help him?”
(he’s in danger)
Holly’s pulse jumped. “Danger from what? Too many adoring fans?” she sneered.
(from his mother. she plans to sacrifice him for power)
Holly’s rising alarm deflated. For all her stab-with-a-plastic-fork flakiness, Nimue would never harm Ryan. Especially now that she seemed to be taking her meds. Kill for him, yes, kill him, no.
(you must keep him safe)
Urgency filled the words.
But Holly didn’t buy it. This was just another ploy to gain access to her body. “Not going to happen.” The thought of being anywhere near Ryan burned her like acid. “Ryan can rot for all I care.” She searched for a lipstick to ward the mirror.
(NO. I won’t let him die again. if you won’t save him, I will)
Holly gasped as a glowing orange wasp flew out of the mirror, identical to the one she’d killed in Ryan’s old house.
“What is that?” Holly raised her hands as it buzzed over her head and landed high on the wall.
(a firewasp. on my last visit, I noticed that most of your buildings are made of wood, not stone)
Holly watched, horrified, as the patch of wall under the firewasp began to smoke. Crap! She jumped up and tried to swat it, but missed.
Buzzing angrily, it flew closer to the ceiling. It left behind a bubble of blistered paint and a brown singed spot.
(let me in, or the firewasp will burn down your home)
Holly snatched up the long-handled toilet brush. Whack! The firewasp fell to the linoleum, still glowing. Holly hit it again, and its light extinguished. Taking no chances, she poured a glass of water over the insect.
She was breathing heavily, but felt a surge of triumph—
Until another firewasp flew straight at her face. She frantically brushed it away, burning her cheek and fingers in the process. Oh God, what if it landed in her hair?
Bzzzzz. She could hear the firewasp but lost track of it in the long room. At least it couldn’t get out: the door was closed.
A third firewasp flew out of the mirror.
Ooh! Holly bared her teeth in rage.
Her otherself glared back. (I have more. if you do not want your house to burn, yield to me now.)
Bzzzzz. There! A firewasp had landed on the door. Holly knocked it off with the toilet brush, but it only buzzed angrily and danced around the ceiling. She spotted the second one crawling on the mirror, where it should be safe for the moment.
(I only want to save Gideon’s otherself. yield)
Two more firewasps arrowed out of the mirror and zipped around the room. Holly couldn’t track them all, and she could smell burning paint.
“Mom!” she yelled, panicked. “Help!”
But her mom didn’t come. Some girls’ nights she didn’t get home until three a.m. Holly imagined her mom returning home to fire trucks in the driveway. And what if the firewasps got loose? They could burn down the whole town.
A whiff of smoke enabled Holly to locate another. She struck out with her toilet brush, but the firewasp had jammed itself into a corner. Swearing, Holly dunked the brush in the toilet and poked at the insect.
Another firewasp landed on her back between her shoulder blades, burning through her loose tank top. Holly slapped at it, raising a red mark on her palm, and it fell to the floor, dead.
Her otherself released a replacement.
(I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t let him die again. Yield!) Her otherself held up a jar of a dozen firewasps.
Holly’s blood ran cold. “Okay! You win! Just let me finish.” She blinked back tears as one of the firewasps buzzed around her legs. Her burns throbbed. “You said someone died. Who?” Holly delayed.
(Gideon. My soul mate. Ryan’s otherself.)
So much pain filled those words that Holly felt an unwilling sympathy. “What happened?”
Forgetting herself, she glanced up just as her otherself thundered: (Stop stalling and look at me.)
She met her otherself’s eyes. And fell in.
Holly started to fight the sensation, then stopped. She’d go insane if she became trapped in murky gray limbo again.
Instead of blacking out, she experienced a brief moment of weightlessness before the world snapped back into focus. She had eyes to see out of, ears to hear.
She had a body—but not her own. One with—ow—myriad bruises and scratches, wearing a long dress. One holding a jar of buzzing firewasps that Holly hastily set down. One standing before a strange four-panel mirror taller than herself. It filled the corner of the wall she faced, seamlessly joining black stone, glass, gold, and—
ice? Could that be right?
In the ice mirror, her own pajama-clad body calmly dispatched the remaining firewasps in the bathroom.
A rush of fear weakened her knees, or rather, the knees of the body she now inhabited. Oh God, already the boundaries were blurring. “What did you do? Where am I?”
(you’re on Fire World. don’t worry, as soon as Gideon’s otherself is safe, I’ll return you to your body.)
Holly wasn’t reassured. “And when will that be?” she demanded.
(when I find Qeturah and stop her)
Holly didn’t know who Qeturah was, and she didn’t care. “My mom will know something’s wrong,” she said shrilly. “She’ll be able to tell us apart.” She hoped.
Her otherself paused. (perhaps in time she would, but you journey to your father tomorrow)
“My dad will know, too,” Holly lied. “We’re close.”
Another pause. (while I’m in your body, I can access your memories. you’re more fortunate in your father than I, but I don’t think he’ll guess. good-bye)
“Wait!”
Her otherself didn’t pause, vanishing from view.
The surface of the ice mirror rippled. When it cleared, it showed only a reflection of the body Holly now occupied.
Panic constricted Holly’s windpipe. She closed her eyes, shutting out the sight of the cave-like room full of polished metal mirrors. What might have been fascinating in other circumstances was alien and terrifying when she knew herself trapped.
She didn’t understand what was happening or why. Mirrors, different worlds, otherselves… Tears threatened.
Okay, okay, what should she do first? She didn’t trust her otherself—that went without saying—so she needed to find a way back to her real body. But that might take time. Meanwhile, she had to figure out how to survive on this world, how to pass herself off as her otherself.
A bubble of hysteria rose in Holly’s throat. Easier said than done—she didn’t even know her otherself’s name. But, it suddenly occurred to her, she did know two names from this world—Gideon and Qeturah.
If her otherself could access Holly’s memories, then the reverse should be true. Experimentally, she tried to think about when her otherself had first met Qeturah and Gideon—
A flash of memory: kneeling on the hard floor while the duke handed a message to an armed guard. “Deliver this to Lady Qeturah.”
The first memory triggered another and then another and another.
Holly collapsed to the floor under an avalanche of images, tastes, and sounds.
Chapter Twenty-Three
One Big Happy Family
Holly woke sprawled on the floor of the Mirrorhall. It took her several dazed minutes to remember that she was Holly, not Leah.
OMG. What had just happened?
That had been more real than any 3-D movie. She’d literally relived the last month of Leah’s life.
Holly sat up—whoa, head rush. She waited for the room to stop revolving before standing. Her body felt shaky and weak, or rather, Leah’s body did. No mystery there. Leah hadn’t drunk more than a few mouthfuls or eaten in hours.
Holly hobbled over to the Four Worlds mirror, laid her hand on the ice—yikes, it was cold—and attempted to Call her otherself. “Leah!”
Her reflection wavered. An image appeared: Leah standing in the sunlight, her hair blowing in the wind. Instead of being still abed, she was already on the ferry, heading for the airport.
Fear stomach-punched Holly: twelve hours had passed. Had she been unconscious that long, or were the two worlds that much out of sync? She didn’t know which possibility was worse.
Leah walked away. Her reflection vanished.
“Give me back my body!” In frustration, Holly hit the ice mirror with her fist, then had a second of horror. What if it cracked? Fortunately, the only thing hurt was her hand. Holly didn’t understand what kept the mirror from melting in this sweltering world, but the ice had to be ten centimeters thick.
Holly kept Calling, but Leah didn’t answer.
Stymied, Holly rubbed her eyes with grimy hands. She felt like crap; she was teeth-grindingly furious with Leah and scared sick, all of which made her want to scream. But yelling wouldn’t do any good—Leah had just lost her soul mate and was operating in a haze of grief. Before Holly Called again, she needed a better strategy. She tried to think, but her head was pounding—probably from dehydration.
Her throat felt sand dry, and the mere thought of food made her empty stomach clench. Holly forced herself to turn away from the mirror. As long as she was stuck in Leah’s body, she needed to take care of it. Better to do it now before her trembling legs were no longer capable of taking her downstairs without falling.
…
Half an hour later, a little cleaner and her thirst and hunger satisfied, Holly sat cross-legged in front of the Four Worlds mirror and Called again. Softly.
“Leah? Are you there? I just want to talk.”
It was partly true. After experiencing Leah’s memories, Holly felt a lot less hostile toward her. Holly understood Leah’s drive to save Gideon’s otherself. Thinking about Gideon’s death made her throat swell with emotion.
But that didn’t give Leah the right to take over Holly’s body. To steal her life.
The mirror showed Leah getting out of her mom’s car. Leah avoided her reflection in the side mirror, but Holly kept talking. “I believe you now that Ryan is in danger. I saw what Qeturah did to Nimue. I saw—” Everything. “I agree that Qeturah must be stopped. I swear I’ll warn Ryan—even if he is a two-timing creep,” Holly added under her breath. “That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it? My help. Well, you’ve got it.”
Leah ignored her.
Holly worried that she wasn’t Calling right. Being able to access Leah’s memories wasn’t the same as truly understanding them. It reminded Holly of her first time behind the wheel of a car. She’d watched people drive, but trying to steer, operate the pedals, and keep an eye on the speedometer, other cars, and traffic lights all at once had overwhelmed her.
As Leah was about to find out. Smirking, Holly watched as her otherself timidly walked through the glass doors at Vancouver International Airport.
…
Leah stared around the busy airport, palms sweaty, breathing too fast. People thronged everywhere, pulling trunks behind them on tiny wheels, towing children, talking into magical devices called cell phones. They all seemed to know where they were going.
Leah didn’t. In order to reach Ryan, she had to ride some sort of mechanical dragon, but she couldn’t see any of these airplanes, just people.
Crossing an enormous stretch of water on a floating castle called a ferry and then being driven through the city to the airport had been frightening enough. But at least then all those hundreds, thousands, millions of people had been safely on the other side of the car’s glass windows, mere blurs as they sped along a cooled lava road.
Holly’s mother had driven her to the airport but then left for work. Leah should’ve asked her to stay, but she’d feared giving away her ignorance. And now she was alone.
(I can help you.)
Leah ignored her otherself. “Pardon me,” she said to a tall woman passing by. “I don’t know where I’m going.”
“Follow the signs,” the woman said without pausing.
Which signs? Leah wondered in rising panic. There were so many. Her otherself’s mind interpreted the strange symbols into words, but the words often didn’t make sense. Like Air Canada. Air was what people breathed, and Canada was the name of the red-leaf-emblem duchy, but what did they mean together?
There were also pictures, like that of a square with a handle and a staircase, and brightly colored posters containing pictures and words.
(those are just advertising. you don’t know what you’re doing. let me in)
Leah fought the urge to look at a mirror. Oh, her otherself claimed to want to help Gideon’s otherself now, but Leah could feel how grudging he
r offer was. Leah didn’t trust her to follow through.
Taking a deep breath, Leah closed her eyes and accessed Holly’s memories. Holly had flown on airplanes before. All she had to do was follow the same steps.
First she needed to find a ticket counter labeled “West Jet”—the particular type of airplane she had purchased a seat on. The people there would help her. Dutifully, Leah followed the signs. But as she waited her turn—Water Worlders seemed to spend half of their life in lines—doubt struck. Jet was a type of airplane, but west wasn’t the direction Leah wanted to go. Ryan lived to the south.
Only there was no South Jet.
How she hated this maddening, noisy, confusing world!
…
Holly expected Leah to cave, but she made it through security and customs and into the boarding lounge. Holly smothered a flicker of admiration. So what if her otherself had guts? She was still in the wrong.
Holly tried to reason with her again. “Look, I’m sorry that your world is dying, but it’s not my fault, and this isn’t my world. I need my body back.”
Leah winced but kept her eyes closed and leaned back in the stiff plastic chair.
(as soon as Gideon—)
Holly gritted her teeth. “It’s Ryan, not Gideon. You can’t even get the name straight.”
(as soon as Ryan is out of danger, I’ll let you return.)
“And when will that be? How, exactly, are you going to defeat Qeturah?”
Leah didn’t reply. Her countenance became stony.
“I’m guessing that means you don’t have a plan.”
(do you?)
The return question caught Holly flat-footed. “Maybe not,” she said after a moment, “but at least I won’t give myself away in the first five minutes.”
(I fooled your mother.)
“So you claim,” Holly retorted. “I wouldn’t know. I lost twelve hours passed out while I processed your memories.”
(that long?) Leah’s eyes snapped open. A connection started to form—but she turned away before they switched bodies.
Through Fire & Sea Page 24