The Halves of Us

by Sydney Paige Richardson

  Curse. Aura spoke of a curse in my premonition. Could this be the one she was talking about?

  Gossamer turned to Adie. “Zakar is dead now. We’ve burnt his body, but he may have had a plan in the event of his death. Perhaps he was more powerful than we thought. I agree with the Sandman. You must warn Aura of your premonitions.”

  Adie stood and hugged her uncle. I can’t imagine what he went through. I can’t let Aura be like Zakar. She turned toward the Rokis as she left Gossamer’s embrace. As her hand grazed it, a bright light shone about the room. She stepped back, and her uncle covered his eyes. “Another projection!” She drifted around the room, gazing at the stars the projection revealed.

  Gossamer opened his eyes. “The constellation from your first lesson with the Rokis!”

  “You recognize it?” Adie asked.

  “I spoke to Tut afterward. Your mother’s orders. She wanted to know if we could find out specifics on the stars and planets we saw. This is the constellation!”

  The projection zoomed in, passing planets swirling of oranges, yellows, and red hues. The projection eased on a blue and green planet.

  “This is the one it stopped on before. Tut is still continuing his research to determine the name of the area and the planet. Do you have paper?”

  Adie ran to her bedside table and retrieved paper and an ink pen. She handed it to Gossamer, and he drew the likeness of the planet. She walked closer as the planet swirled, and she reached to touch it as the projection dimmed. The stars around her disappeared, but the planet remained. Adie watched it as Gossamer reviewed his drawing, but she stepped back as a black cloud slowly etched itself across the planet.

  “What is that?” Adie asked.

  Gossamer turned to look just as the projection faded.

  “It looked like dark cloud enveloping the planet!”

  “I didn’t see it, but I’ll let Tut know. I’m taking this to him now.” He folded the drawing as he headed for the door. “It’ll help him tremendously. We must identify this planet. Somehow it’s connected to all of this.” He stopped as he opened the door, turning to Adie. “Go to Aura. Warn her of what you saw.”

  Adie nodded as he exited the room. She turned toward the Rokis. Gossamer and the Sandman are right. She had to warn Aura.

  She reached out for the Rokis, her fingers touching the point of one of the triangles. She hesitated before placing her palm upon the center gem.

  “Show me Aura.”

  A bright blue light echoed throughout the room, transforming her surroundings. A projection of her sister’s room in Vadim appeared. She moved around the room quietly even though she knew Aura couldn’t see her. Adie feared the worst after her premonition from last night.

  Aura sat on her bed with a giant book opened out in front of her. She seemed to be reading. Adie walked over, looking at the projection of her sister. She looks beautiful. Her hair was pulled back tight, and her dark black leather top and pants hugged her body. Adie reached out to touch her sister’s shoulder. Her fingers slipped through the image. Aura shuddered and scratched where Adie had tried to touch her.

  Focus, Adie. She walked to the other side of the bed, attempting to get a better view of the book. “I can’t read these markings,” Adie said aloud.

  Aura didn’t react to her voice. Adie strained her ears to hear the words her sister spoke. Her voice sounded so far away. Her sister ran her fingers over the words in the giant book.

  “You can read these symbols?” Adie asked, not expecting an answer.

  Suddenly, Aura’s voice became clear. “Years, many years I have waited for this. Wendelone says the time is getting closer. The curse which began so long ago will finally be brought down on Thindoral. All will know my name. All will fear me. Ambrielle will plead. I will watch and bask in her distress. She will beg her brother for forgiveness, and I will laugh at her request.”

  Adie walked to the center of the room. “Zakar.”

  The image of his face burned her eyes, and she squeezed them tight. She opened them as Aura got off the bed and walked toward her. The projection of Aura walked through Adie and rematerialized from the other corner of the room. Aura stopped and looked in her direction, and Adie froze, holding her breath. Please don’t see me.

  Aura walked slowly toward her, searching the area around her.

  Adie ran over to her bed and put her hand on the Rokis. The projection quickly faded.

  42

  Aura

  What was that? Aura felt a presence as she stood in the center of the room, so close she could reach out and touch it. A cold rush of chills went down her spine, and she shivered as she glanced around.

  There was nothing there.

  Aura locked her door and walked back to her bed. She moved her finger across the pages of Zakar’s journal.

  “They will never stop me. Even if they kill me, it will not stop the curse. Wendelone started it at the beginning of our world, and I completed it. My sister will suffer. She will meet her doom.”

  Aura stopped. Wendelone started the curse? But she said . . .

  She looked out across the room, remembering the words of the curse Wendelone spoke to her. “There will not be one, but two. The eldest will bring destruction upon her first breath. For by the sixteenth year she grew, the only salvation for Thindoral is death.”

  Aura stood from her bed, pacing her room, trying to control her frustration. The red sparks burst between her fingertips. Her sister. Bokah. Toni. They were all right.

  Wendelone had lied to her.

  The curse began with Wendelone. She looked toward the pieces of broken mirror on the ground. The reflection of one caught her eye. She stepped closer and knelt next to the shards of glass.

  One piece seemed stuck under the wall. She carefully slid her hand along the top part of the glass. Her hand disappeared into an open space between the wall and the floor. A trap door! She pulled the glass up slightly to see if she could see a reflection of the other side. Two glowing red eyes of a Sight stared at her. She jumped away from the wall, wincing. She examined her finger, watching the crimson blood slide down. Sparks came up from her palm, healing her wound, and she turned back toward the wall.

  The drumming of her heart fell in time with her rapid breathing.

  The wall was a few inches off the ground, until it met the fireplace. She looked around frantically for anything that could open it. The walls were bare, except for the lanterns on either side of the fireplace, similar to the ones in the hallway. She scanned the room and noticed the two lanterns were the only ones in the room, and unlike the lamps in the hallway, these weren’t lit. Stepping closer to one of them, she gently pulled it toward her. It moved easily, but nothing happened.

  She walked over to the other one and tried to pull it toward her. It required more strength to move, but it finally came. The walls remained in place, and the other lantern moved back in position.

  Aura huffed as she took a step back from the walls, standing in front of the fireplace. She held out her hands, each pointing at one of the lanterns. The sparks came to her fingertips and dark clouds swirled around her palms. She flicked her wrists, and the lamp she had just moved shifted back into place. With another flick of her wrists, both lights moved out from the wall, toward her simultaneously. The walls shifted and shook as they moved up and over toward the fireplace.

  Dust clung to the air, spiraling around Aura, tickling her nose. After the walls stopped shifting, Aura stepped forward into a small room with two staircases, one leading up and one leading down. A few lanterns on the walls lit as she sent the sparks out from her hands. Pedris webs covered the corners and walls of the two staircases. Furry, twelve-legged creatures scurried into hidden holes in the walls, afraid of the light. No one has been here in a while.

  She looked at the floors where her footprints disturbed the dust. The stone floors were deep red and smooth as Aura walked toward the first staircase leading upwards. She strode on the first step.

  “Aura
.”

  She turned quickly, peering behind her. There was no one.

  “Aura,” the voice whispered again.

  The lanterns in the upward-leading staircase darkened, and the flames to the other staircase brightened. She turned toward the light, following with her eyes the ruby steps which spiraled downwards.

  She froze when the voice returned. “Aura.”

  She heard the whisper again as if someone had leaned into her ear.

  Aura stepped forward, her hands touching the walls. She felt the pedris webs fall away, revealing intricate designs carved into them, similar to those throughout the tower. The lanterns grew brighter, and Aura’s eyes widened. The carvings were stunning, artfully engraved into the walls, and while they were similar to the ones throughout the tower, these had bright, bold colors which brought the carvings to life.

  She gazed at the patterns. Her eyes grew wide as she ran her hand along the grooves in the walls. On her left, carved into the wall, were five tall Designers. The tallest was holding the Rokis. Their bodies were painted with hues of dark and light blue. Their pristine white hair glowed around them.

  Aura gazed at them in wonder. She looked closer and brought her hand along the image of the last Designer. The white hair fell around her exquisite features. Her long, thin nose and deep eyes seemed so familiar to Aura. She stepped back when the image of the blue woman trapped in the tree reappeared in her mind. “Wendelone?”

  Aura continued to walk down the staircase. Wendelone appeared in the next set of drawings. White sparks came from her hands, which encased a swirling planet.

  “Thindoral,” she said as she recognized the land masses and traced her hands over the carving. Aura continued down the staircase.

  Wendelone returned in the next image. She stood in front of a tall, dark tower. There were shadows of hundreds of figures before her. Aura recognized the tower immediately to be the one she now resided in. Vadim.

  In the next image, Ogres, Fae, Tontu, and every inhabitant of Thindoral were represented, bowing before Wendelone. She admired Wendelone’s beauty before moving on to the next set of drawings.

  Wendelone stood in the top of the tower. Red light and dark smoke curled around her. She held a white piece of paper.

  “The Room of Papers,” Aura said, reaching her hand out to touch the paper.

  In the next carving, the Designers had Wendelone on her knees. They looked at her with shame and disgust. Wendelone’s eyes pleaded, her mouth open in agony. Roots were coming forth from the ground, pulling at her limbs and encircling her.

  “Aura.”

  She heard the whisper again and looked down the darkened staircase. Aura walked down the last two steps and stepped onto a small, flat area which led to a wall. Dead end?

  She stared at the black wall covered in dust and barely lit by the lanterns. In the center of the wall, she could see a silver shimmer coming forward. She ran her fingers over the shiny area, revealing a large, oval mirror. But there was no reflection.

  She ran her fingers along the wall surrounding it, feeling the lumps that formed thick curves and twists around the mirror.

  The wall beside her trembled, dust falling to the ground, bringing her attention back to the carvings. Her eyes caught movement along the walls. Shifting, thick lines squirmed like the ones she saw earlier with Bokah. They moved through the walls like worms scurrying away from prey. The scratching sound they made echoed through the staircase.

  The lines crawled toward the black wall, traveling along the lumps, revealing an elaborate design. With the dust gone, the bulges appeared like roots, intertwining one another and surrounding a mirror in the center. They pulsated as though they were veins sending blood to the heart. The lines traveled toward the center, and her reflection appeared. She took a step back. The reflection mirrored her movement.

  Aura stared at it and moved her left hand to her hair, watching the reflection do the same. She stepped closer, touching the root-like protrusions, but quickly pulled away, shivering. The wall felt cold. Deathly cold. She stepped back as the reflection sneered at her.

  “Aura.”

  She froze and looked at the reflection’s eyes as they went black. “You are not real,” Aura said, breathlessly as she tried to control her shaking.

  “Oh, but I am,” it whispered back to her, maintaining its smile.

  “What do you want?” Aura asked, slowly stepping backward onto the stairs behind her. Her foot slipped, and she tried to steady herself but fell back on the stone steps.

  The reflection smiled. “I have a message for the Fated.”

  Aura froze.

  The reflection spoke, her voice smooth and eerie. “Only the Fated can receive my full hidden power. The last Fate I created will make them all cower. The Fated will bring destruction. Thindoral will fall. There is no savior, only doom for all.”

  Wendelone’s curse! “No! How do I stop the curse!? ” Aura shouted, repeating the words in her head and trying to stay calm, but her voice faltered.

  The reflection continued to smile as it gradually faded. From the roots came dark smoke, drifting across the floor and moving slowly toward her.

  Aura trembled and tried to stand, but her legs buckled. She crawled her way up the steps.

  “Aura,” a voice whispered.

  She glanced over her shoulder. The dark smoke moved closer, inches from her face. She saw the outline of the smile dancing in the cloud.

  “No. Please!” she begged, remembering the cloud that came from Zakar, but the smoke lunged forward into her.

  Every inch of her skin burned as the darkness plunged into her, sewing itself into her flesh and pulsing through her veins, feeding her heart. She lay helpless on the crimson staircase as the darkness took over. Tears escaped from her eyes just before they went black. Her body convulsed and twisted, cracking in places she wished to never hear. She tried to scream, but only guttural, dry cries escaped as her lungs wished for air.

  As she gained control of her limbs, she used what strength she had left and pulled herself up the stairs. She trembled from head to toe. Her teeth chattered from the unspeakable pain that ripped through her.

  Air finally filled her lungs, and her skin felt electric.

  As she reached her room, the trap doors started closing behind her. She tried to calm her breathing as her body heaved forward, sobbing.

  It was Wendelone all along. She used Zakar.

  As the pain became tolerable, Aura stood and staggered over to her bed. She held on to her bedpost and closed her eyes as the room spun. Whispers took over her mind, calling her name and repeating the curse. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.

  With a thud, the trap doors finished closing behind her, and the lanterns clicked back into place. Aura quickly turned around. Her eyes caught the broken mirror glass on the ground.

  She stared as the pieces created multiple distorted reflections of her black eyes. Aura focused on the glass, keeping her hands still by her side. The glass melted, coming together to form the mirror. It moved slowly back up the wall, without her conjuring the sparks or clouds. Her power had grown. She walked toward the mirror. The words of Wendelone’s curse echoed in her head. The last Fate I created will make them all cower. She stared down her reflection.

  “I choose my own Fate,” she snarled, and with a rush of wind, her surroundings changed. She now stood in front of the Wicked Willow.

  “Another visit so soon?” Wendelone asked.

  “The curse. It’s yours, isn’t it?” Aura stomped as she neared the base of the tree.

  “I helped Zakar by providing him with the rest of the power I had left trapped with me. I see my hidden power has found you.” Thin branches danced happily around Aura.

  “But the idea of the curse. You implanted it in his head?” Aura stopped as she reached the base.

  “My brothers and sisters failed to marvel at my design.” Wendelone’s voice moved through the air like silk. “This planet, all I created, had to wors
hip me. They disagreed.” Her voice grew deep. “I knew they would come after me, so I created the last Fate. The last paper for the Room of Papers. Yours. I hid most of my powers in the tower, under a curse. They came sooner than I thought, and I didn’t have enough time to finish the curse. For centuries, I waited. Few came to me, but none were worthy. Then Zakar came along. He was the perfect specimen. He was a fool and power hungry, but he sought the destruction of those who had betrayed him. He completed the curse without hesitation.”

  Aura’s anger bubbled inside her. Red sparks danced in her eyes. “Betrayed him? He betrayed my mother! He tried to kill her, and in the process, he killed Samuel’s grandfather. All he wanted was to rule and for others to fear him and bow down to him and . . .” She stopped. “That’s what you want, too! That’s why you were banished to this tree.”

  “My brothers and sisters were made for creating. I was made for reigning. You creatures are so ungrateful. You are beneath me. You should worship me. I am your Designer.”

  “You found someone weak and gullible to do your bidding until you were free.” She paced the trunk of the tree. Zakar. And now, me. “Meanwhile, Thindoral believes the threat has been put to rest. What will you do when you’re released from this tree?”

  “All of Thindoral will bow before me! And this time, I will not fail!”