‘Get what?’ questioned Emma.
‘What Titus said,’ answered Simon. ‘He told us that he and you would leave this place, but he didn’t say how you would both leave. It was a trick. He knew he was going to die.’
‘That’s what he saw in the mirror,’ breathed Emma.
‘Mirror?’
Emma nodded grimly. ‘The other room on the first floor … there was a mirror inside. That must have been when he saw … when he saw his own death.’
‘I don’t understand.’ Simon shook his head in bewilderment. ‘Why didn’t he change his future somehow? If we all went together –’
‘– one of us would die,’ finished Emma. ‘That’s what it was. He didn’t want any more deaths on his conscience.’
‘Still …’ mumbled Simon, ‘not my choice of action.’
Emma remembered what the seer had said just hours before, about how she would soon learn the truth of things to come and how she would not like the truth. It seemed like an aeon ago to her now.
‘We should get moving,’ said Simon quietly. ‘The others are probably already waiting for us.’
‘Yeah,’ agreed Emma, and they both got to their feet.
Somewhere down the dark hallway the sound of running echoed loudly. Simon – who had not put away his weapon – pulled Emma over behind a rather mutated statue of a strange creature, whose name Emma did not even want to start guessing. The shadowy figure at the end of the corridor came to an abrupt stop and then started walking slowly forward, head shifting from side to side.
‘Hello?’ he called. It took a moment for Emma to understand who it was, because their voice had a slightly gruffer pitch than she remembered.
‘That’s Matt,’ she whispered. ‘… I think.’
‘It is,’ confirmed Simon, and they both came out of hiding.
Matt looked surprised to see them, and Emma noticed a few things out of place. The most obvious was the mark across his cheek.
‘What happened to you?’ she asked quickly, pointing to his face.
Matt seemed puzzled. ‘My … face?’ he questioned, touching his cheek. ‘Oh! I had a little accident on the way here.’
‘Yeah?’ said Simon. ‘Was it a drayskul? Because we just had our share of fighting.’ He frowned suddenly. ‘Hey, how come you’re wearing a hood? And where’s that scarf to cover your face?’
His brother was taken off guard. ‘I … uh … was always wearing a hood,’ he said uneasily. He shrugged. ‘I lost the scarf when I was attacked.’
‘Was anyone else hurt?’ asked Emma quickly. She feared another of her friends had been lost. ‘And where are they now?’
Matt shook his head. ‘They’re waiting for us up ahead,’ he answered. ‘I came back to look for you both. You were taking so long.’
‘Huh,’ murmured Simon, crossing his arms. ‘Have you lost your mind, Matt? There were three of us.’
‘Oh, right,’ mumbled Matt. ‘Well, where’s the other one?’
Emma hung her head. ‘He fell off the tower,’ she said quietly.
‘It was Rais’s fault,’ added Simon quickly, ‘and if Titus hadn’t looked in that stupid mirror, then maybe he wouldn’t have died in the first place.’
Matt was silent for a long moment, and then he said, ‘The seer died …’ He fought back a strange expression and smirked. ‘Well, we’re going to have to give Rais a big thank you when we meet him again.’
Simon looked apprehensive. ‘Wow, now you’re really starting to scare me, Matt.’
Matt shrugged. He turned to Emma. ‘You still have the Sapphire Stone, right?’
‘I - I do,’ replied Emma uneasily, touching the stone underneath her jacket. ‘Do you think Vanyir is just ahead?’
‘Yes,’ answered Matt gravely. ‘We need to be careful.’
‘You really don’t want to fight him, do you Matt?’ said Simon quietly, touching his brother lightly on the shoulder. ‘You know … Vanyir?’
Matt smiled at this comment. ‘No, I guess I don’t.’ He shrugged off Simon’s hand and started down the hallway. ‘Come on, or they’ll face him without us.’
Simon exchanged a grim look with Emma before they both chased after Matt. By the way he was hurrying down the hallway, Emma almost believed that the others were in trouble, and they were rushing to their rescue. She wondered if Mystic was giving Flynn a hard time, and smiled at the thought. Her grin faded though, when she remembered Titus. She would have to tell his teammates about … about his death, and Simon had a message to relay to Flynn too.
Tell Flynn that I’m sorry, Titus had said, and Emma had a hunch about what he had meant. Though, the apology might be for Sheena too. The whole seer problem had finally run its course and now – if they ever made it out of the tower – the Gunclove thieves had nothing else to worry about.
The strangest thing was when Ghalgaun had showed up, and Emma wondered why Simon had not told Matt about the silver dragon. They seemed so keen about the beast of legend back in Dwenin. The same dragon Lucian had made the pact with had been standing right in front of her! It was all too unreal to believe.
They passed the fork in the corridor where the other hallway leading back to the second set of stairs lay, and Matt shouted out, ‘They’ve gone ahead! I was afraid of that!’
They quickened their pace and kept running. Dozens of paintings hung on both sides of the walls, but Emma had no time to study them. If this were not the evil lair of the enemy, she would have loved to explore the massive tower.
Two side-by-side doors awaited them at the end of the corridor. They were both made of bronze and had dragon handles, just like the town hall in Dwenin. One door had been left open a crack and Matt pressed his hand against the door to push it open.
The room inside was larger than most of the rooms Emma had seen in the tower. A red carpet led from the door to the other side of the room and turned in the middle to wander up towards a large canopy bed. A row of full-length windows covered the wall to their left, and straight ahead – at the end of the carpet – was a single door half hidden behind a wall tapestry of a black dragon. The room did not have much other furniture – besides the basic things every house included – but Emma found a particular item quite fascinating. It was a long, wide sword standing up against a holder, its handle worn and its sides scratched from use.
She had seen it before.
‘Simon …’ whispered Emma, tugging on his jacket, but he was too captivated in the view from the windows to notice the blade.
‘Whoa! I bet you can see all the way to Dwenin through this window … if it wasn’t so dark, I mean,’ he said excitedly. His thrill vanished just as quickly though, and he spun around to face Matt. ‘Where are the others? I thought you said they were here.’ He glanced swiftly around the room. ‘And where’s Vanyir?’
Matt – who had been quiet since they entered the room – touched the dark railing of the bed and slid his hand all the way across to the other side. He took two steps towards an old cabinet against the wall – still ignoring Simon – and looked at something through the glass doors.
‘Do you know how long I’ve been up here?’ he asked quietly.
‘Yeah,’ retorted Simon, checking the invisible watch on his wrist. ‘You’ve been up here for about … forty five seconds now. Matt, come on, what’s going on?’
Matt sighed in a bored sort of way. ‘Your friends aren’t coming back,’ he said.
Simon gaped at his brother, while a sinking feeling entered Emma’s heart. What did he mean … they weren’t coming back?
‘Matt,’ said Simon slowly, cautiously stepping towards his brother, ‘what did you do when you left us back in that hallway?’
‘Nothing,’ replied Matt honestly. ‘I wasn’t there.’
Simon gave Emma a confused look. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked Matt, taking over the conversation. ‘Of course you were there. It was your idea to leave us.’
Matt smiled at her. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said.
/>
Simon threw his hands up in the air. ‘This is fabulous!’ he exclaimed. ‘My brother’s lost his mind! What are we going to do now?’ He turned to Emma. ‘We have to get out of here! This plan was a complete disaster! I knew we shouldn’t have climbed up this stupid tower!’
While Simon continued rambling about how they would escape the Black Fortress, Emma studied Matt. For some reason he did not seem like himself. Not only did he talk more brusquely, but something seemed a little … off about him. Then there were the other strange signs throughout the tower … like the statues, the paintings, the portrait of Beau and the strangest thing of all: the sword. Emma knew it had to fit together somehow, but nothing made sense to her! Vanyir, Mirth, and Matt were three completely different people, not to mention that one of those three were dead! She could not understand what was so puzzling to her about this place and situation, yet – at the same time – it seemed so obvious …
As Matt turned his gaze away from the cabinet, Emma saw the mark on his cheek again and became even more mystified. It was not a cut at all. It was a scar.
Matt doesn’t have a scar! Emma thought to herself. She was absolutely sure of that.
‘Simon,’ she said to him, and Matt’s eyes instantly found hers, a smile slowly forming its way across his face. She swallowed uneasily and began again. ‘Simon, does Matt have a brother?’
He stared at her like a fool, which made her flush.
‘Well, yeah,’ he said seriously, ‘and you’re looking at him.’
‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ said Emma quickly. ‘I meant ... does Matt have a brother other than you? Like, you know … a twin.’
Simon awkwardly cleared his throat. ‘W-why?’ he asked, and then shot his gaze quickly up to Matt. He paled and whispered, ‘No way …’
‘Yes way,’ said Matt, smirking. ‘The girl is clever.’
Simon rapidly shook his head. ‘Y-you’re dead,’ he stammered. ‘Matt said –’
‘Matt … is a liar.’
Now Emma was truly confused. She had obviously been right about Matt having a twin brother, but if that was not Matt, then where was he? And who was this?
‘He is not!’ argued Simon, angry now. ‘Why would he lie about you?’
‘To protect you,’ replied the twin, as though the answer was evident. ‘He thought you’d run off to join me if you found out I was still alive.’
‘Impossible,’ breathed Simon.
‘Improbable is more like it.’ Matt’s twin laughed. ‘And I can’t believe you couldn’t tell me apart from Matt! I made so many mistakes and my face –’ He pointed to the scar on his left cheek. ‘Even the girl noticed that, and I have no idea who she is.’
‘And you’ll never know,’ said Simon defensively, stepping in front of Emma, ‘because I’ve just realized that you’re after the Sapphire Stone. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?’
Matt’s twin smirked again. ‘Yes, I guess so,’ he answered, ‘but I’m after a little more than that. While we’re waiting, why don’t you introduce me to your friend?’
Simon stiffened. ‘N-no,’ he said, ‘I won’t.’
The twin shrugged. ‘If you won’t, I will,’ he said, which made Simon pale even more.
Emma could feel her heart loud in her chest, and she knew that this was the truth Titus was talking about – the truth that she would not like.
‘Let me tell you a secret,’ said the twin. ‘Matt’s darkest secret.’
‘Stop it,’ whispered Simon, his hands curling into fists. ‘You don’t want to do this.’
‘Why not?’ questioned his brother. ‘I think I do. It’s only right that she knows our family’s horrible past.’
Horrible past? Emma gulped. ‘What - what kind of past?’
‘See,’ said Matt’s twin. ‘She’s curious.’
Simon flashed Emma an angry glance and she cringed away. She did not understand why he looked so upset. If she was destined to learn of this truth, then she would learn.
‘I bet your cat friend warned you to be extra careful when you parted ways,’ said Matt’s twin, ‘and he was right. He knows the truth behind the Wheeler family. He’s the only one who does. Even Simon there didn’t know I existed until today.’
‘W-what?’ gasped Simon. ‘That - that cat knew you were alive!’
‘Of course,’ replied his brother. ‘I guess if he didn’t figure it out on his own, Matt must have told him. But not you.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘What a pity. You could have joined me all this time.’
Simon was silent to that, which troubled Emma more than anything.
‘Matt’s real name is Matthias,’ said the twin.
‘After his ancestor,’ Emma glanced at the old sword, ‘Mirthias, right?’
The twin laughed. ‘Is that what you’ve heard? Well, that’s half true. He was named after Mirthias, but Mirthias isn’t Matt’s ancestor.’
Emma frowned in confusion. ‘But … that doesn’t make sense. I was told –’
‘What you were told was all a lie, I’m guessing,’ interrupted the twin. He gave another one of his common smirks. ‘Because Mirthias Wheeler is not dead, and I can prove it.’
Emma was too afraid to ask how, but thankfully she was not given the chance.
‘It’s because I am Mirthias Wheeler,’ he said dramatically, ‘and here’s the best part of all: Mirth is Vanyir.’
What about Lucian and Mirth? They were good friends, weren’t they?
This was the one thing Emma did not see coming. Not in a thousand years. She had been just as oblivious as Simon to this dark secret. Now the past made sense, every bit of it. Vanyir was Lucian’s best friend, but she had only seen Mirth in her dream. But Vanyir was Mirth, so now the puzzle pieces were complete, and no one had ever known before.
No, that’s my grandfather. People say that I look like him.
So Matt had lied about the picture on his fridge. It was not his grandfather at all! It was his twin brother!
Death happens to us all ... eventually.
A new realization suddenly struck Emma. If Mirthias was Matt’s twin and Simon’s brother, then all three of them had lived a thousand years! She was bewildered that her friends could keep such a secret from her!
Do I … know you? You sound an awful lot like someone I know.
Sheena had no doubt recognized Matt’s voice to be similar to Mirth’s. If only she had figured it out sooner, while they had been all racing to the top of the tower. Then they would have been prepared for this. Matt had been the one to call the guards away from Sheena’s room. He had posed as his twin.
I thought we were friends?
We have a history together. That doesn’t make us friends.
You are part of this … right from day one.
When Emma had asked how Mystic knew the Wheeler brothers, she wouldn’t have guessed it to be anything like this. They were connected to the Dragon’s Tear, just like Mirth. It all started a long time ago, and Mystic had been a part of it too. That was how they had met. That was how he knew them.
‘You - you’re Vanyir?’ questioned Simon, speaking as though his voice was slowly dying. ‘You launched the war against Dragon City … and - and you’re trying to kill the dragons!’
‘No, Simon,’ said Mirth quickly. ‘I don’t want that to happen.’
‘Liar!’ accused Simon, furious now. ‘You lie just as much as before!’
Mirth sighed. ‘I thought I was your favourite brother?’
Simon flinched. ‘I - I never said that,’ he muttered.
‘Aren’t you upset that Matt lied to you?’ questioned Mirth. ‘And that he wants me dead? I bet he didn’t want you to come here either.’
‘Well,’ murmured Simon, lowering his gaze to the floor.
Emma knew what was going on here. ‘Simon!’ she hissed, grabbing his arm. ‘Don’t listen to him!’
‘Matt was always following the rules,’ continued Mirth. ‘He was so boring. We always had fun together, didn’t w
e Simon?’ He smiled, as though recalling an old memory. ‘Matt never understood us. He never understood what I did was just a job to keep our family together – something to earn money to feed us.’
‘He’s lying!’ whispered Emma urgently, but Simon’s attention was fixed on his brother now.
‘I had a plan for the three of us, Simon,’ said Mirth quietly, and then he frowned angrily, ‘but then that stupid Dragon Child came and ruined it. He tore Matt away from us. You remember!’ Simon nodded slowly. ‘He left us – just like that – for that … creature. Thalendor Grey.’ He spoke the name as though it was poison on his tongue. ‘Matt never wanted us at all. He deserted us, and he only came back to you because that thing left him.’
‘That isn’t true!’ said Emma earnestly to Simon, although she knew not the specifics of the story. ‘Matt loves you! He’s been worried about you the whole trip!’
‘Yeah,’ said Simon slowly, yet bitterly, ‘worried that I might mess up or find this out.’
‘No,’ breathed Emma.
Mirth smirked. ‘I bet he still treats you like a kid.’
Emma knew she was losing. Mirth was Simon’s brother, someone he thought to be dead, and now he was back. She would have no chance unless Matt himself came here to save the day. She doubted that would happen, though.
‘Someone’s coming,’ said Mirth, smiling now. It was obviously who he was waiting for.
Emma expected some ancient warrior to leap into the room, but through the bronze doors came Mystic running full force. He hissed at Mirth and marched straight up towards him.
‘Escaped already?’ said Mirth. ‘I underestimated you.’
‘Let them go, Mirth,’ growled Mystic. ‘They’re not what you’re after.’
‘No,’ agreed Mirth, ‘but they came up here to kill me, so I don’t feel comfortable letting them loose again.’ He grinned at Simon, reminding Emma of Matt’s carefree smile. But this was not Matt. ‘Besides my brother, of course. He may come and go as he pleases. But I promise not to harm the girl if she behaves.’
‘You’re a complete monster!’ snarled Mystic. ‘We had a deal!’
Deal? Emma’s heart raced. What was the cat talking about?
‘You said if I brought the Sapphire Stone, you’d tell me my name,’ said Mystic angrily. ‘I can see that you’re a liar!’
The Secret World of Dragons Page 28
