by Allison West
"Just like you remember it?" Hudson joked.
"Better," Lil said before jogging across the street to Bray's house. Fist raised in the air, she pounded on the front door. "Bray! Come on, let me in." There was the sound of slow footsteps on the other side of the door. Lil assumed Bray was looking through the peephole, checking outside first. "Bray, it's me!" Lil shouted.
Bray pulled open the door in a rush and threw his arms around her. "You're home!"
"I am." She smiled, returning the hug briefly. "But there won't be a home soon if we don't stop Eilith. The portal in the forest, it's linked to your house."
"What?" Bray's eyes widened, and he glanced back at the others behind Lil. "Come inside." He ushered them in and shut the door behind Jamie, the last to enter.
"Where's the door to your basement?" Rawlie asked. "The device would need to be underground because of its weight and size."
"You don't think I'd notice something like that in my house?" Bray shot Rawlie a look. "You're insane, thinking I'm hiding anything in this place."
"Not you," Arianna said calmly. "We think your family might be involved."
"That's not helping matters." Bray briskly walked to the basement door, opening it. "Knock yourselves out." He stood at the top of the steps, watching the others follow Lil downstairs.
"I've been in the basement before," Lil said. "Bray's right. I've never seen anything out of the ordinary—" She paused, hearing a strange, whirling noise. "Do you hear that?"
Bray shook his head and joined the others in the basement. "It's just my dad's old computer in his office."
Lil stared at Bray. "I don't think that's from a computer." The hum wasn't loud, but it was strong and steady. Lil tried the door to the office, but it was locked. The basement had been remodeled many years ago, and most of it was used for Bray's father's work assignments. A smaller portion had been designated a playroom when they were kids. Lil knew the door was always locked and remembered curiously trying to peek in when Bray's father would emerge from the other side. "Get me the key for your dad's office."
"He'll kill me," Bray said. "There's government contracts and classified information all over the place in there. That's why it's locked. You know that, Lil."
Rawlie gritted his teeth. "I'll break down the door if I have to."
Bray shook his head. "Even if I could help you, I don't have a key."
Rolling his eyes, Rawlie reached into his back pocket and retrieved a lock-pick set. "Fine, I'll do it myself."
"When did you get that?" Hudson asked Rawlie.
Rawlie shot Hudson a look. "When I thought we might need it."
"You should hurry up. My parents will be home soon," Bray said and shifted awkwardly on his feet. "I won't be able to explain why there are two Lils standing in the basement."
"Were your parents mad that you disappeared?" Lil asked. She wondered how her parents would react. What had he told them? Probably not the truth.
"I'm grounded until I graduate college, but I don't think it'll last. I have a scuba trip this summer in the Caymans. So far, they haven't cancelled it yet."
"You're getting off easy," Lil said. "Until they find out we broke into your dad's office." She knew his dad would be pissed.
"Gotcha!" Rawlie turned the handle, pushing the door open. He felt around on the wall for the light switch, flipping it on. No one stepped inside; there wasn't enough room.
"I take it that's the device?" Lil stared at the chrome machine. It towered over five feet, scraping the ceiling, and stood seven feet wide. Its legs held the awkward weight of the device, and the whirring noise they'd all heard earlier intensified up-close. Lil took a tentative step forward. "How do we shut it down?"
"There's no off-switch?" Hudson asked. "There has to be a power source." He pushed in past Rawlie, carefully circling the machine. He bent down, ducking his head as low as possible, trying to see if there was anything connected from underneath.
"Anything?" Bray asked.
Hudson stood. "It's not possible. There's no immediate power source being used, but it's turned on." He glanced at Rawlie. "Do you think it could be self-sustaining?"
"You're the tech genius," Rawlie said. "I'm leaving this one in your hands to figure out."
Hudson's face went pale. "I don't know how to disable it. We could destroy it."
"With what?" Lil laughed, staring up at the giant metal spider. That's what it looked like to her, a huge, chrome tarantula.
"I have a baseball bat." Bray reached for the wooden stick in the corner of the basement.
"Do you think that'd work?" Lil asked Hudson.
"Who knows? It could blow up in our faces, or it could obliterate the thing. Think about how unstable the portal is. It shouldn't be in the forest; it should be here in the house." Hudson frowned. "The fae can power it down. We need to find the book."
"What book?" Bray asked, turning off the light and shutting the door to the office, locking it behind him. They headed back up the stairs.
"The Book of Incantations," Lil answered. "Eilith will use it to keep the portal open and make it work in both directions. Once she stabilizes it, there will be no stopping her from destroying our home."
Bray took a deep breath and nodded. "We can't let that happen. I'm trying to think. If my father had the book, where would he keep it?"
Lil looked to the front door, her eyes widening as it started to open and Jamey snuck in.
"Lil!" Jamey exclaimed. She stumbled on her feet, her cheeks flushed.
She didn't look to be doing as well as Lil would have hoped.
"I thought I saw you come in here! What are you doing at Bray's?" She ran toward Lil, throwing her arms around her sister, giving her a tight hug.
"Trying to save the world." Lil grinned, returning the hug as fiercely as Jamey was giving it. "Do me a favor and call Mom."
Jamey gave her a guilty look. "I already did. I told her I saw you across the street. She told me to stay inside, but I couldn't listen. I had to see you, Lil!" She hugged her sister again, tighter. "I thought Mom sent you away, Lil. I found those stupid brochures about a boarding school and I thought Mom and Dad lied to me."
"We'll talk about that later," Lil said. How would she explain where she'd been and Nightblood Academy? Her mother owed her answers, but she would have to wait to get them.
Lil patted Jamey's back. "I missed you too, tiger."
Jamey stepped back, examining the rest of the group. She gave a peculiar look to Lil when she saw Lil's doppelganger beside her. "I'm either seeing double, or you have a lot of explaining to do."
"I was confused at first too," Lil said. "We don't have much time. You should get home, lock the front door, and stay inside where it's safe."
"No!" Jamey was adamant. "I'm not leaving you again, Lil."
"Lil's right. It's not safe for you here, Jamey. Do you see how your sister is dressed?" Bray asked.
Jamey eyed the sword hanging over Lil's back and the eternal suit she wore. "Cosplay?" she guessed. "Lil always loved going to Comic Con."
Her cheeks burned from embarrassment. It wasn't something that she wanted Hudson to know interested her. Why? She wasn't sure, probably because it made her feel like a geek. "Oh, I wish it were that." Lil kissed Jamey's cheek, trying to usher her back outside, but it was too late.
Glass from the back door shattered and flew. Lil ducked, trying to shield her sister from the shards cascading onto them. A roar of air and a whoosh of smoke permeated the first floor, followed by a rich laughter, causing Lil to shudder.
"There you are!" Eilith beamed as she glided in through the shattered back door. Eilith ran a hand over Arianna's arm when she was close enough to touch her. "I'm glad to have you back, dear."
"I'm not going anywhere with you." Arianna stood her ground. "Leave us alone. Go back to Orenda."
"You can't have her!" Rawlie shouted at Eilith. He gripped the dagger in his right hand.
Lil pushed Jamey behind her. "Go home, now!" she demand
ed.
"What is she?" Jamey whispered in awe, unable to move.
Eilith flashed her set of double razor-sharp teeth. One hand gripped Arianna's arm, and her nails left scratches on her bare skin. She would not let her get away again.
Lil refused to bow down before Eilith. She tried to keep Jamey hidden behind her. The others reached for their weapons.
Eilith let go of her daughter long enough to freeze Jamey in place. She was displaying her power, showing everyone what she was capable of if they betrayed her. "Do you really want to defy me?" Jamey was breathing but unable to move or react. "Give me The Book of Incantations, and I'll let her go. I'll be generous and let you all live."
She would do anything to save her sister, in the same way that Jamie had wanted to save Willow. "The book is here?" Lil asked, surprised. Her eyes flashed toward the bookshelf. Could it be so obvious to be hiding in front of everyone? She rushed toward the shelf in the study, Eilith just inches behind her. Nothing looked different or out of place. If it was magical, wouldn't it be someplace safe from evil?
"I see it!" Hudson ran for the shelf, his eyes a sea of green that Lil had never noticed before. His pale skin glowed a warm cream, and he reached toward a book, blue and thick with antique pages, only to be stopped short by Eilith.
She threw a dagger across the room, just missing Lil. Hudson wasn't so lucky. The blade slammed into his back, causing him to cry out in pain. "Thank you. Seems you came into your powers, just in time," she said, snickering. She reached for the book that he'd been attempting to get off the shelf and spun around on her heels.
Lil reached for her sword, surprised to find it was heavier now than when in Orenda, but it was not impossible to wield. "Drop the book, now!" she spat. She wanted to bend down and check on him, but she couldn't yet. Arianna rushed over to his side, the only one unafraid of Eilith.
Lil held the sword out, pointed it away from Eilith, and turned the blade on Arianna. "I'll kill her." She knew Eilith's weakness. She could see the flaw behind the sorceress's eyes, a hint of love that was buried deep within her.
"You wouldn't dare. You care about her too much to kill her." Eilith's hand whipped through the air, throwing Jamey across the room. Jamey's body smacked loudly against the wall before she fell to the ground, unconscious. Eilith beamed. "Your powers are worthless here."
Lil glanced back over her shoulder. She didn't have to see an ounce of blood to know the damage internally that Jamey suffered. She had tissue fragility that put her at high risk for rupturing of arteries, muscles, and internal organs. Undoubtedly, she was dying.
"Go home! Back to Orenda. Leave us alone!" Bray shouted.
Lil lunged with the sword at Eilith's chest and found herself forced back against the wall. Eilith lifted her off the ground. As her feet dangled, she gasped for breath, choking underneath Eilith's boney fingers.
"Let her go!" Bray ran up from behind, taking a frying pan with him and slamming it against Eilith's head. The frying pan bent in half, having no effect on Eilith. Bray cursed under his breath.
"Nice try, lover boy." Eilith flicked her wrist, tossing Bray across the room, slamming him into the bookshelf. The top two rows slid down the shelf, burying him.
Lil dropped the sword as she tried prying Eilith's fingers away from around her throat. Her mouth opened, choking from the absence of air as she struggled to stay conscious. The world was spinning, black dots floating across her vision.
Eilith's arms stretched beyond any natural capacity. One hand held Lil to the wall, choking her. The other struggled to lift the sword.
"No!" Willow shouted, but it was too late.
Eilith whispered a chant and the sword beneath her right hand glowed gold with an unrecognizable Latin inscription on the blade. She lifted it with ease and stabbed Lil. Only the eternal suit saved her life from the enchanted blade. Lil's outfit sizzled and sparked. Eilith groaned as her hand holding the blade burned, and she dropped Lil to the floor.
"Touch me again; I dare you." Lil refused to show fear. But her heart pounded in her chest, terrified as her friends and family were dying beside her.
"Another time," Eilith said, looking Lil over, taking note of her outfit. With the book in her hands, she walked out the back door toward the forest.
"Where's she going?" Lil asked. "We have to go after her!"
"To the open portal in the forest," Willow said. "Go check on your sister."
Lil didn't waste another second. She rushed to Jamey's side. The young girl mumbled incoherently, tears glistening down her cheek. "Jamey, no." Lil's eyes, too, burned with tears as she tried to save Jamey in the same way she'd saved Willow's brother. Nothing happened.
Willow walked over to look through the window shades. She stared at the house across the street. It looked just like her home. A car pulled into the driveway, and her breath caught in her throat. She glanced at Lil and the young girl in her arms. "Lil, you have to go back to Orenda. It's the only way to save them both. Your magic will work back there."
Lil nodded. Rawlie bent down, helping Lil lift Jamey into his arms. Arianna and Jamie helped Hudson, sharing his weight.
"Willow, come on," Jamie said.
"I can't; I'm sorry," Willow called out as she rushed out the front door. She wasted no time, running across the street.
Lil didn't have time to turn around and see the exchange. She suspected her mother would throw her arms around Willow and be grateful she was home. Her mother wouldn't know it wasn't really Lil but, rather, a lookalike from another world. They didn't have time to consider Willow; right now, they needed to save Jamey and Hudson. "Are you coming?" Lil asked Bray. He was looking better than he had when Eilith had flung him across the room.
"I have to sit this one out," Bray said. "Someone needs to clean up the mess before my parents get home. Besides, I can't face Eilith again."
She nodded at Bray and offered a weak smile. "I'll see you later."
Everyone but Willow and Bray gathered in a circle, grabbing each other's hands. Jamie held up the fairy wand and transported them back to Orenda.
"Mom?" Willow couldn't stop herself. The moment she laid eyes on Lil's mother, looking exactly like her mother had, she rushed across the street in a daze. Lil would be back later, and she didn't need her help now.
"Lil?" Lil's mother dropped her keys on the grass, her arms wide as she rushed toward her missing daughter. "Lil, you're okay."
Willow buried her face in her mother's neck. She smelled sweet, like cherries and vanilla. It was different from how she remembered her own mother smelling, but it was familiar enough. Willow refused to loosen her grip. "I missed you so much."
Her mother's hold relaxed and she pulled back, searching Willow's eyes. She unlocked the front door, leading Willow inside, and shut it forcefully behind her. "Where's my daughter? Who are you?"
"What?" Willow stammered. It wasn't possible for Lil's mother to be able to tell them apart. Sure, there were tiny differences, but it could be explained away. At least, Willow had hoped that was the case.
"You're not my daughter. You're from Orenda, aren't you?"
"How did you know?" It wasn't possible. There was no way she knew about the parallel world.
"I've had my own dealings when I was your age with Nightblood Academy in Orenda."
"You're from my world?" Willow's eyes widened, shocked by the news.
The older woman shook her head. "No. My mother had enrolled me at the academy, but I hadn't exactly done well in school. By the time I was old enough to graduate, I was returned home. I guess you could say I flunked out."
"You have powers?" Willow asked.
"Only in Orenda. I could have lived among your people if I'd have been a good student. Maybe everything would be different."
Willow didn't believe this one older woman could have made any difference in stopping Eilith. Had she been in Orenda, she, too, would probably be dead. "Why didn't you come search for Lil? If you knew the other world existed, my home, why didn'
t you come for your daughter?" Willow knew this woman wasn't her mother, but she couldn't fathom, had the roles been reversed, her own mother would have abandoned her.
"I tried. Your house was destroyed. I didn't remember where Nightblood Academy was located. It was so long ago that I attended, my powers are weak. I had no idea what had become of Orenda. I was chased out of Orenda by a force that I can't even begin to understand. It was far more powerful than any lesson I had encountered while I was enrolled as a student."
"Eilith," Willow said. "She's the one who caused all the destruction in my world."
"We had no idea. The communication between worlds had ceased for so long that I just, I felt something was wrong. I met your parents once, a long time ago. Your mother traveled to our world, looking for our help. It was after Eilith had begun destroying your world. It was a difficult time. I wouldn't put my children in danger, and I wouldn't leave them motherless. Your mother wanted me to raise you and your brother. She hoped sending you here would protect you." She sighed, staring down at her hands in her lap. "Your mother asked a lot of me. I couldn't care for four children. I was struggling with just Lil and Jamey. My husband had no idea about Orenda. How would I explain the addition of two more children? I'm sorry you lost your mother." She gently placed her hand over Willow's. "If I'd had any idea the type of life you would have had, I'd have agreed to take care of you and your brother. Your parents died saving the two of you. I was a coward."
She'd always considered her parents to be heroes, but she'd never heard the words from anyone else. "I miss them," Willow said.
"Thomas, Bray's father, built a window, the size of a mirror, between our world and Orenda. We watched the devastation take over your land in recent years, but we couldn't safely travel there. We tried many times, but we weren't able to move between worlds without devastating consequences. I had hoped Nightblood Academy would come for Lil, and a small part of me, when she vanished, thought they'd quietly taken her without our knowledge or permission. I thought they may have enlisted her help."
