They were everywhere. Small spotlights highlighted the portraits of Mrs. Dupont’s dead relatives that lined the otherwise gloomy walls. Curiously, they were only women.
There was a painting of a relative lying across a red chaise longue, wearing a black dress with puffed sleeves and a corset. Blonde ringlets fell down on the side of her face, in a style reminiscent of the 16th century. Zoey slowed down and examined the painting more closely. Could this be a great-aunt perhaps? The woman in the painting looked a lot like Mrs. Dupont—except for one thing. The face was younger and not altered. She looked like a normal woman.
The women in the pictures all had the same odd eyes. Another portrait showed a woman in a beaded 1920s dress. Her cheekbones were more pronounced, her lips a little fuller than the one beside it…Zoey’s stomach lurched. These were not generations of the Dupont family. These were all paintings of Mrs. Dupont.
“Is it me or do you guys feel like we’ve stepped into a circus funhouse?” said Simon, as he examined the paintings.
Zoey could see some transformation in the generations of cat-faced women as she walked through the great hall. Every generation had a portrait. If she was right, and these were all portraits of the same woman, then Mrs. Dupont hadn’t aged for at least four hundred years. But how could that be? How was she able to cheat death?
Finally they arrived at the south end of the great room. To the left was an oak door with large ornate moldings. The woman knocked twice, pushed open the door, and waited by the threshold.
Xenor strolled into the room. Zoey and the others were pushed in behind him.
The room was large and decorated with the same gaudy furniture and paintings as the great hall. Portraits of Mrs. Dupont stared down at them from the walls. There was a large bay window at the opposite end of the room. A man with slick black hair sat in a leather armchair facing a large stone fireplace. He was dressed in an impeccably tailored dark blue suit. His single white eye shone in the dark like a small moon. Zoey recognized him at once. It was Mrs. Dupont’s right-hand man, Nazar. He had killed Mrs. Andrews and had tried to kill Zoey and her friends a few months earlier. He took a sip from his golden drink, and watched them. A gun lay across his lap.
And sprawled on a red chaise longue across from him was Mrs. Dupont.
“Xenor,” she said lazily, and a smile formed on her bulbous lips, “Never thought I’d see the likes of you again after our little misunderstanding.”
Her cat-like eyes widened at the sight of Zoey.
“If you want to call being cheated a misunderstanding,” said Xenor, angrily. He took a moment, as if to compose himself. “But I’m not here to bring up the past. I’m here to make a trade.”
“A trade,” said Mrs. Dupont, a hint of surprise in her voice. “And what trade would that be?”
Xenor snapped his fingers, and the changelings pushed Zoey, Tristan, and Simon forward.
Mrs. Dupont’s eyes moved over Zoey and settled on Tristan and Simon. “You don’t mean these children, do you?”
“I mean exactly these kids.” Xenor rubbed his hands eagerly.
“You see, your ladyship, this redheaded girl here is no ordinary human — she can manipulate the portals. She mirror-ported here with her friends - without their precious mirror devices. I have eyewitnesses. She’s a rare commodity. I know she’d be very valuable to either side and now I’m ready to trade her,” he pointed a sharp talon at Zoey, “for what was promised to me. I want to command. I want power. Those are my terms. I won’t negotiate.”
Mrs. Dupont grinned at Xenor, and her face warped distortedly as though some of the muscles in her face were frozen and couldn’t move.
“And what gives you the impression that I’d want to trade with a miserable thief and trickster like you? I don’t trade with Nexus outlaws.”
Nazar rose slowly from his chair, the gun in his hand.
Simon turned to Xenor and raised his voice. “I thought you said you were a lord?”
Mrs. Dupont threw back her head and howled in laughter. “Are you calling yourself a lord again? How pathetic. You are no lord. You’re nothing but a thug with delusions of grandeur. You should have let me kill you when you had the chance. It could have saved you from this despicable life. The only skills you possess are those of a resourceful bandit.” She eyed the kidnappers. “I see you still surround yourself with the only idiots that would follow you and your worthless ideals. You think I can’t see through your disguises, changelings? I can smell your stink from over here.”
The changelings shifted nervously. “Chief,” whispered Grugg, “You think we should change back? She knows who we are now—”
“Yeah, I miss my old self,” agreed Gorb.
Gall scratched his forearm. “I’m really itchy—”
“Shut up!” bellowed Xenor. He was sweating profusely. “Do we have a deal?”
Mrs. Dupont’s eyes twitched. “Tell me, where have you been hiding from us all this time? In my very own village, perhaps?”
Xenor raked his hair. “If you won’t trade with me, then I’ll just take her back—”
“Hang on a second.” Mrs. Dupont rose from her chaise longue. Her silk black robe spilled behind her like dark water. “There’s no need to get so uptight, I was only having a little fun with you. Can’t a girl have fun sometimes?”
“Who is she calling a girl?” whispered Simon. He and Tristan shared a look.
A strand of hair fell over Xenor’s sweaty face. “So you agree to my terms then? Control. Power. You agree to that?”
Mrs. Dupont waved her hand dismissively. “Yes, yes, yes. All of that.” She walked over to a side table and poured herself a glass of burgundy from one of the decanters.
A flicker of light caught Zoey’s attention. To the left of the decanters was an ornate mirror. Bingo - their ticket home. Now, if only she could get these mystic ropes off.
Xenor paced around on the spot. “Good, good. This is very good. Ha! Finally, a chance to regain my strength.” His smile faded. “You’re not going to trick me again, are you?”
Mrs. Dupont took a mouthful of the burgundy drink then placed the empty goblet on the table. “Of course not. A deal’s a deal. You have my word.”
Xenor nodded. “Excellent. Excellent.”
He turned and smiled at his minions. “I knew this was going to work, boys. Didn’t I tell you it would work?”
“Yes chief,”
“You did chief.”
“You’re the best, chief.”
Zoey saw Mrs. Dupont drop something silver into her pocket.
She turned around. “I must admit, you’ve brought me something of real value this time. I’m impressed.” Her eyes settled on Zoey. “Can’t say that I’m surprised at your resourcefulness. Perhaps it was merely dumb luck, you’ve been lucky before.”
Xenor frowned. “It wasn’t dumb luck. I saw an opportunity—and I took it. I brought you the virus, didn’t I? I helped you bring down the Agencies. Without me, you would never have put your hands on the virus. I get things done. That’s what I’m known for in the Nexus – I’m the demon that gets things done.”
“I don’t doubt that,” said Mrs. Dupont.
Xenor’s talons twitched in excitement. “Well, do I get my own room? I’d like one with a view.”
Nazar left his chair, and Zoey watched him as he made his way silently behind the two guards.
“Patience, Xenor, patience,” said Mrs. Dupont as she crossed the room and examined the prisoners.
Xenor’s talons curled into fists. “If you’re going to trick me again, I swear, me and the boys—”
Mrs. Dupont raised her hand. “Relax. I gave you my word. I was just making sure you hadn’t spoiled my trade.”
“Oh, right, of course, your ladyship.” Xenor’s face relaxed. “Take the time that you need.”
He hesitated. “Can we shake on it? That would settle the score for me that much more securely.”
“Of course.” Mrs. Dupont smiled, her
face even more grotesque up close. As she neared Xenor, she slipped her left hand into her pocket and withdrew a small crystal top. She handed it to him.
Xenor frowned. “What is this?”
“Nothing.”
In a flash, Mrs. Dupont raised her right hand and slashed it across Xenor’s neck. His black eyes widened as he wrapped his hands around his neck. Black blood seeped from the spaces between his fingers. He gasped and then he fell to the ground, black blood pouring out of the large gash in his neck.
The changelings howled and ran to their boss’s aid, but Nazar was faster. With a speed Zoey didn’t think possible, he fired his gun into the back of their heads. The three of them toppled to the ground. They bubbled and steamed until all that remained were three greasy puddles.
“This is seriously messed up,” said Simon, miserably. He stared at the three puddles. “She’s going to kill us. I know she is. And I was really looking forward to my birthday in two months.”
“I’ll kill her before she tries,” growled Tristan, as he pulled at his restraints. “This isn’t over, Simon, but be patient.”
He turned to Zoey and lowered his voice. “We need to find the source, and then we’re all going home. Right, Zoey?”
Zoey watched as her two friends struggled with their bonds. If they were going to die, it would be all her fault. Her master plan had failed, and what was worse, she had brought along her only two friends to die with her. She couldn’t bring herself to speak.
Her eyes darted to Xenor. He lay in a puddle of his own blood. Even if he was an evil mystic or an outlaw in his own world, he hadn’t hurt them. He didn’t deserve to be killed so violently. Compared to Mrs. Dupont and Nazar, he had been practically an ally. Zoey’s hatred for Mrs. Dupont intensified like gasoline on a fire.
Mrs. Dupont wiped her blade on her robe. She looked up at Zoey, her monstrous face stretched and pulled into what Zoey suspected was an attempt at a smile.
“I was wondering when we’d meet again, Zoey dear,” she said. Her voice was as smooth as the best silk. “I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a very long time.”
“And why’s that?” growled Zoey, her voice reverberating in the room. “So you can slit my throat, too? You sick cow!”
Mrs. Dupont laughed softly. “Of course not, silly girl. But I am curious to see you here in my village. I must confess that we had planned to come to get you, but now you’ve saved me the tedious trip. You’ve arrived at my doorstep on your own. Tell me, why is that? Why did you come here?”
Zoey did her best not to look at Tristan and Simon. She hoped Mrs. Dupont couldn’t read minds. She couldn’t let her know what they were truly after. It was all she had left of her plan.
“I think I know why,” said Mrs. Dupont.
Zoey stopped breathing.
“You were looking for something, weren’t you?”
The blood rushed to Zoey’s face, and Mrs. Dupont measured her for a moment.
“You were looking for your mother, weren’t you?”
Zoey breathed through her nose, unable to answer. She had hoped to look for her mother once she had got the virus.
“Is she here?” she asked finally. She felt she was going to be sick.
Mrs. Dupont ignored the question.
“I have big plans for you, my dear,” she said. Her smile twisted into an ugly sneer.
“A great battle is about to begin. And you, Zoey, are the key.”
Chapter 15
The Transfiguration Chamber
Zoey glowered. “What are you talking about?”
Mrs. Dupont stepped over Xenor’s body and crossed the room. She poured herself another drink and cupped the glass in her hand.
“The Great Junction, the merging of the two worlds. The greatest event mankind and monster-kind has ever known, and the end of this world as we know it.”
“What is she talking about?” whispered Simon. “Is there some cracked truth in what she’s saying, or is she still as crazy as before? Maybe she’s had one too many drinks.”
Zoey looked at Tristan.
He frowned, shaking his head. “I don’t know what she’s talking about either.”
“You see, Zoey,” continued Mrs. Dupont, as she crossed the room and made her way to her chaise lounge, “At first, I believed Elizabeth was the key to my plans. That’s right, your mother.”
She sprawled over the chaise longue. “But as much as I wanted her to be the key, her powers weren’t strong enough. I realized too late that she wasn’t the one. It seems the Original bloodline skipped a generation - giving you all of its strength.”
“I’m not an Original,” spat Zoey.
Mrs. Dupont’s face was unreadable. “You’re the closest thing to an Original in this world, my darling girl.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Mrs. Dupont giggled.
Zoey wanted to punch her ugly face even more. But just as she moved her arm, something yanked her back.
“Where do you think you’re going?” said Nazar. He pointed his gun at her and squeezed her arm with his left hand, making sure it would bruise.
Zoey lost her cool.
“Are you going to shoot me in the back, too?” she screamed, trying to pull away. “Is that how you fight? Killing old people and kids? You’re nothing but a coward.”
Nazar gritted his teeth and raised his gun. “Why you little—”
“Nazar,” said Mrs. Dupont lazily, “Come, come. We were just starting to have some fun. Don’t be such a spoil-sport. What can she do? What can any of them do? Their hands are bound with mystic rope. They’re not getting out anytime soon.”
Zoey wiggled out of Nazar’s iron grip and glared at Mrs. Dupont.
“What did you do to my mother? I know you did something to her! Where is she?”
Mrs. Dupont smiled at Zoey’s distress. “Why on earth would you think that I would have had something to do with your mother’s disappearance?”
“Because you made her disappear years ago.”
Mrs. Dupont raised her brow. “Well, you got me there. But that doesn’t prove that I did something to her now. Does it?”
Zoey lowered her eyes.
“Yes it does. Because if she’s anything like me, she would have found me by now…” she answered, “…which only leaves you. You did something to her, or you have her imprisoned somewhere.” Zoey looked around the room. “Maybe even in this house.”
“Ha!” Mrs. Dupont’s unsettling feline eyes turned on Zoey.
“Why do you care so much about a person you’ve never even met? You should be glad you grew up without a mother.” She took a sip of her drink, and her cheeks grew a little pinker. “I never cared a stitch about my mother, and I knew her. I hated the woman. Pity she was such an insufferable cow. I was her least favorite daughter—the ugly one—the one no one wanted to marry. Well, at least I was the smartest. And then I took care of my dear mama. I still remember the look in her eyes when I slit her throat.” She laughed harder. “It was perfect.”
“You’re sick,” said Zoey. She tried hard not to imagine it.
Mrs. Dupont swished the contents of her drink in her glass. “I’m practical.”
“So where’s my mother? Is she here, in this house?”
Mrs. Dupont looked directly at Zoey for a moment. “I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
Mrs. Dupont giggled again. “Yes, I am lying.”
She threw her head back and swallowed the rest of her drink in one gulp.
“I sold her.”
Zoey’s voice faltered. The way Mrs. Dupont’s face distorted into a triumphant smile so genuinely convinced Zoey that she was telling the truth.
“What? No, that’s not… that’s not right. You can’t sell human beings.”
“Sure you can. I sell people and mystics every day. It’s business, nothing more. We found Elizabeth a few months ago and, well, since I don’t have any more use for her, I had no reason to keep her—”<
br />
“So you sold her!” said Zoey, half in a trance.
“You’re one twisted lady,” said Simon. Mrs. Dupont beamed at him like he had paid her a great compliment.
“Don’t listen to her, Zoey,” said Tristan as he leaned in beside her. “She’s trying to trick you. She’s a liar. Don’t believe what she says. She only wants to hurt you. She takes pleasure in it.”
“But I do believe her.” Zoey turned her attention back to the cat-faced woman. Her lips trembled when she spoke next.
“Whom did you sell her to? Where can I find her?”
“You can’t,” said Mrs. Dupont in a matter-of-fact way.
“She’s probably dead by now. Trust me when I tell you, you’ll never find her! So you might as well give up and stop thinking about a woman you’ve never even met. You should be thinking about what great things we’re going to achieve together—”
“I’ll never do it!” Zoey trembled in rage. “Whatever it is that you want me to do, I’ll never ever do it. I’d rather die than help you.”
In that moment, Zoey saw a twitch in Mrs. Dupont’s face. She glanced over to her friends, and a silent understanding passed between them. Zoey felt the blood drain from her face.
“I take it from your expression that you know what will happen to you if you resist.” Mrs. Dupont smacked her bulbous lips together. “Are you prepared to live with that?”
“Zoey, what is the beast talking about?” Simon looked at Zoey.
Zoey hesitated then said, “She’s going to hurt you, if I don’t cooperate.”
“Correction,” said Mrs. Dupont. She raised her voice slightly, “I’m going to torture them and then kill them if you don’t cooperate. But for now, I have other plans for them.”
“What other plans?” said Zoey, trying to read the expression on Mrs. Dupont’s face.
The door opened suddenly, and four Alphas came in, three men and one woman. The woman had dark hair and milky white skin. She carried a glowing red sphere that hovered just above her right hand.
The woman smiled coldly at Zoey. She was the same woman who had used the globe to kill the man outside, when they had first arrived. Zoey remembered the petrified look on that man’s face, and the triumphant smile from the icy woman.
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