by Nicola Marsh
“Holly … ”
I didn’t know her voice. How could I, when she’d abandoned her baby? But somewhere, deep down on an instinctual level, I wanted to hear her talk. I wanted to hear her apologize and say all the comforting words of affection I should’ve heard all those years.
Cadifor turned to me. “As you can see, Holly Burton, your mother is perfectly well. Now for your end of the bargain.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Despite Cadifor’s reassurance she was well, I didn’t buy it. Why was she propped in the doorway like a mannequin? Why was she so pale?
“You said the whole process would take several minutes.” I pointed upward. “And the sun isn’t even overhead yet to pierce the hole in the roof. Let me talk to her.”
I expected him to refuse, so he surprised me when he said, “As you wish.” Turning to Mom, he said, “Rhiannon, my Elphame, come greet your long lost daughter properly.”
As Mom stepped into the cave, I gasped.
The bastard had lied. She looked like she’d gone ten rounds with a prizefighter and lost. Livid bruises ringed her neck and arms. Finger marks traced from her collarbones to her ears, thumbprints near her carotid arteries. Deep purple edged in blues and golds, like kaleidoscopic proof of his cruelty. Despite my intense dislike for her, I instantly wanted to go to her.
Questions reeled in my head, but only one tumbled from my lips.
“Why?”
Mom didn’t respond, her unwavering stare beseeching. For what? Forgiveness? Understanding?
Cadifor’s chuckle pierced the silence like a chisel scraping on metal. “Go on, Rhiannon, tell her why you chose to abandon her. Why you took the other one.”
The other one …
She took the wrong one.…
I dragged my gaze from Mom to Cadifor, chills racking my body, making me sway. “What did you just say?”
I couldn’t see his face, but I could imagine a predatory grin, pure evil.
“It’s not my place to tell you about your twin sister, Holly. That’s your dear mother’s job.”
Twin? Sister? No freaking way!
“Mom?”
Blood pounded in my ears, not loud enough. I wanted it to drown out my thoughts, my horrific, catastrophic thoughts, all of them centered around one horrible truth.
I had a sister, a twin, and Mom had taken her and left me behind.
Acid bubbled up in my throat. I clutched my stomach and moaned, a low, gut-wrenching groan of pain, of suffering. Joss was beside me in an instant.
“Get back!” Cadifor thundered. Joss didn’t listen, sliding his arms around me and pulling me backwards.
“Get back or she dies!” Cadifor pointed at Mom, and in that instant I didn’t care. I wanted her to suffer, just like she’d made me suffer all those years, which was nothing compared to what I’d suffered these last few minutes, learning I’d been dumped in favor of a sister I never knew I had.
“Go ahead,” Joss said, inching me back toward the exit.
The rest happened in a blur.
Joss’s arms were around me one second and gone the next. He crumpled to the floor. Keenan towered over him, holding a club and smacking it against his other palm.
The guy I loved lay on the ground, motionless. I froze, desperate to scream but unable to squeeze air through my closed-off throat.
I can’t lose him, not now.…
Keenan grabbed my arm and I struck out, swinging and kicking and writhing. It did nothing. Keenan dragged me toward the altar as the sun trickled through the roof aperture.
Cadifor laughed, an eerie humorless sound that chilled my blood.
Mom crossed to stand by Cadifor’s side, so close they were touching.
I wanted to be brave, to face the monsters head on, but one glance at Joss lying stationary on the ground had me clutching the altar for support.
All eyes were on me as the sliver of sunlight started inching along the floor, creeping closer …
None of us saw another person in the archway.
None of us saw her enter the cave.
None of us registered she was close until she uttered one word.
“Mom?”
CHAPTER THIRTY
“Shona, leave us!” Mom swung toward the girl in the doorway, fear twisting her face. Ironic, the first sentence I ever heard my mom utter was directed to my sister, not me. She cared about the girl. A hell of a lot more than she’d ever cared about me.
The girl frowned, a tiny crease that lowered one eyebrow and tilted the other. I sagged, my knees turning to mush, as the truth slammed into me like a wrecking ball.
Those visions … two cribs, one empty … the girl with the topaz eyes, trying to protect Nan from Keenan, hating me …
Pieces of the puzzle slid into place, realigning to paint a picture I couldn’t comprehend. My gaze swung from Mom to the girl in the doorway.
The girl, Shona, stared straight at me.
With luminous golden eyes.
Shock peppered my body like shrapnel from a bomb blast as I struggled to come to terms with the truth, and stupidly, I picked up on an insignificant thing: the sunburst medallion she’d been wearing in my vision had vanished.
“I’ll explain later, honey. Just let me take care of things here.” Mom smiled at Shona and the stab of betrayal sliced deep. Honey. Mom called her honey.
She’d abandoned me, chosen to take my sister over me, and now she stood there having a nice little chat with her precious Shona right in front of me, like I didn’t exist. The rage I’d bottled for years erupted like a silent volcano.
I clenched and unclenched my hands, flushed and shaking, wanting to kill someone.
Shona glared at me. “Who’s she?”
Nobody spoke, not even Cadifor, the bearer of glad tidings.
“Shona, sweetheart—”
I snapped. Seething, I launched myself at Mom, yelling obscenities, desperate to vent every ounce of pent-up bitterness that had been building for years.
“No! Get back to the altar!” Cadifor roared, roughly pushing Mom aside, making her stumble and fall.
I laughed, a loud, hysterical cackle I couldn’t control as she crumpled in a heap, exactly where I wanted her.
I didn’t feel pity. I felt nothing but rage, a frenzied storm of jealousy fuelling my temper and urging me to kick her while she was down.
She’d left me.
She’d chosen one child over another.
What kind of a maternal monster did that?
Guess I had my answer right there. She was a monster. Little wonder she kept the company she did.
Shona and Keenan rushed to Mom’s side and I sniggered at their misplaced devotion.
Mom clutched my sister’s hand for support, while I went face to face with a monster.
Cadifor’s face remained hidden. He didn’t speak, his silence unnerving me as much as his proximity. His fetid breath washed over me from his faceless cowl. I clenched the snow quartz around my neck, wishing I could miraculously conjure an army to stand alongside me.
But I didn’t get an army. I got one better: the reedy voice of a lone warrior.
Use the stone.
Joss was okay. Relief shimmered through me—but then I realized he hadn’t uttered the words. They’d come from somewhere deep in my head, like a seed of knowledge bursting and sprouting and growing.
Cadifor lunged for me.
I scrabbled backwards, clutching the snow quartz.
The stone. Of course!
“Go. Run away. Escape back to your false safety.” His eerie monotone washed over me like sleet. “Do you think the real Queen of Elphame will allow you to rest?”
His harsh cackle raked nails of dread down my spine. “Beware, if she gets her hands on Arwen she’ll create her own race of immortals, banish the Trio, and rule all worlds forever.”
I had no idea who this crazy queen of death was and I wasn’t planning on sticking around to find out. I grasped the pendant between my thumb and forefin
ger and pressed it to my forehead, summoning the heat of Bel that flowed through my veins. An instant flash of light slashed the gloom, a radiant sunburst like someone had scooped out the entire roof and let the sun in.
“Don’t let Elphame gain control … ” Cadifor whispered, diving for the tunnel from where he’d come.
Blinded, I squinted in Mom’s direction and saw a frozen tableau: Mom, Keenan, and Shona like one big happy family, all staring at me like I’d lost my mind.
Though she didn’t deserve one second of my time, I knew I’d kick myself for the rest of my life if I didn’t take this chance. “Mom, you’ve got one shot at making this right. Come with me.”
Shona stumbled and grabbed at Mom to steady her. “What’s she talking about?”
“I’ll tell you later, honey.”
Still with the barf-worthy sentiments. Sweetheart. Honey. I wanted to puke.
Mom didn’t say anything to me. She merely shook her head, turned away, and followed Cadifor, taking the last sliver of my faith in the bonds of family with her.
Shona glared at me, her hatred staggeringly intense.
In that moment Keenan lunged at me. I fell, scrabbling backward on my hands and feet.
I connected with something solid—Joss—and Keenan flung himself at me. To protect myself from the incoming assault I rolled onto my side, into the fetal position, and found myself inches away from Joss, our faces almost touching.
Joss’s expressive blue eyes sparked with approval, long enough for me to know I was doing the right thing. I closed my own as I held the snow quartz to my forehead, tilting my head so the sunlight I’d created could stream down upon us.
And let the comforting heat come.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
When I opened my eyes, Quinn and Raven towered over me.
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing my rolling stomach to subside.
I had a sister I never knew existed who hated my guts. And a mom who hated me just as much. What else could explain what she’d done all those years ago? And why she’d done it again, choosing to stay with the devil and her other daughter dearest over me?
I could hear Raven whispering to Quinn. It struck me that my friends must’ve followed me to the shed. My eyes eased open. Raven waved her hand in front of my face. “Anyone home?”
I swatted her hand away. “I’m fine. But I need you to give me a moment while I do something.”
“Something other than lose consciousness for the last two hours?” Quinn’s sarcasm was welcome. At least he was talking to me again.
I held up my hand. “Give me five minutes and I’ll explain everything.”
Raven shrugged. “Fine. You’ve kept your friends in the dark this long, what’s another few minutes?”
Quinn merely snorted.
Patting down my pockets, I found the trans-channeling crystal and yanked it free. “I’m going to be out of it again for a little while but I’ll be back soon. Promise.”
I didn’t wait for their response, desperate to talk to Joss and see if he’d survived. I’d used my powers to escape because he’d made me promise to do so if I faced a life-or-death confrontation. I couldn’t believe I’d left him there, injured, battling Keenan. I couldn’t lose him, not now. I needed him more than ever.
Pressing the crystal to my forehead, I closed my eyes, focused.
Joss? You okay?
My blood ran cold at the silence.
Hey, Warrior Boy. Stop taking the heroic act to extremes and check in.
Nothing. Not a whisper of a smartass retort.
Joss, please. Speak to me. Tell me you’re okay. I’ve got to annoy you about that soulmate thing, remember? And I still have to kick your ass for lying to me about everything. And I still don’t trust you like me for any other reason than you’re using me to get to Cadifor so you can kill him yourself. But I’m pathetic and you’re the first guy I’ve really been into and that kiss … you were great and I really, really want to do it again soon. I don’t know what to do. I mean, I know what I want to do with you, but that scares me too, you know? I’ve never done it before. And I want you to be my first. So answer me, dammit, before I teleport back there right this very instant and kill you myself.
My voice cracked, tears stinging my eyes, and then I heard a faint gasp.
Joss?
I heard a drawn out wheeze, the pained sound of someone dragging in air.
You’re alive!
Another long, agonizing indrawn breath, a hiss out. ’Course I’m alive. Someone’s gotta have your back.
Have me back, you mean?
He grunted and I smiled, beyond relieved. How did you get out of there?
Whipped Keenan’s ass good.
And Cadifor?
Didn’t reappear. He couldn’t, with that sunlight trick you pulled.
I hesitated, the hurt too raw for me to even speak their names.
I didn’t see your mom or Shona either. They fled along with him.
Disgust churned in my stomach. Mom had chosen Shona over me. What sort of a mother did that?
Holly, I got the truth out of Keenan before he lost consciousness.
The truth?
About your mom and Shona.
I didn’t want to hear platitudes. I didn’t want to hear excuses. What I wanted to hear was this was all some bizarre dream and I’d wake up back at Nan’s cottage with her baking banana bread while I re-read The Hunger Games for the umpteenth time.
Maybe hearing the truth would calm me. Anything was better than this edgy, spiky feeling I was about to explode. Tell me.
Because your mom’s a direct descendant of Bel, any female child of hers would be watched closely by Cadifor. When she had twins, he knew one of you could be the chosen one, so he ordered Keenan to kidnap your mom and the Scion.
I hated that word, Scion. Go on.
When Keenan came for your mother, he made her choose which child to take.
“She took the wrong one.” Nan’s words made perfect sense now. No wonder she was shocked into a stroke when I told her about the visions. She’d raised me the last sixteen years believing I was the normal one, only to discover my mom had botched big time.
Apparently, Shona had those weird golden eyes and exhibited advancements beyond her age, even at six months, so your mom thought she was the one.
Well, well, well, the joke’s on her. My bitterness didn’t help ease the rage seething just beneath the surface. I’d managed to put a lid on it during that confrontation, but only because I’d had no choice. If Cadifor hadn’t lunged at me, I would’ve taken another shot at Mom. And that round, she wouldn’t have gotten up off the canvas. I would’ve given TKO a whole new meaning.
So why did Cadifor keep her and Mom alive all these years? If he knew where I was, why not come and snatch me?
Because he didn’t know Shona wasn’t the one ’til you came along. She could’ve exhibited abilities any second, but then you showed up in Eiros. Cadifor got curious with the rumors flying around about the newest Sorority member, and then your mom recognized you in a photo and he knew.
Good old Mom, landing me in the crap again. He had Shona, so why keep Mom around?
Joss’s lengthy pause indicated I wouldn’t like the answer.
He calls her his Elphame. The original Queen of Elphame ruled the Otherworld. She presided over death and destruction. You know Cadifor’s buddies, Mider and Nemain, are part of the Dark Trio? Elphame was Mider’s consort. She felt like the slighted, inferior female to the powerful trio, so she was intent on ruling on her own. Rumor has it Elphame has reincarnated yet again, and taken on a human body to continue her quest for domination of the worlds.
This echoed what the monster had told me before he’d vanished, something about me returning to false safety, and in that instant I wondered if this reincarnated queen was someone I knew. But for now, I needed to hear it spelled out why Cadifor kept Mom around to completely eradicate any lingering sympathy I might have had for her being kidnap
ped.
So why does he call her Elphame when she clearly isn’t?
Because she stood by him, he considers her his queen. Initially a captive, she has roamed the labyrinth freely for many years.
And Shona?
Keenan wouldn’t elaborate. I got the impression he has a soft spot for your mother and has tried to protect her when things got rough with Cadifor.
How touching. I wanted to puke. My mom, with a bad case of Stockholm syndrome, falls for a monster like Cadifor?
What was she thinking?
As for my sister, I had no idea what her story was, but surely she’d want to escape that hellhole? I couldn’t begin to comprehend what it would’ve been like for her, being raised by two monsters, trapped underground. It was like something out of America’s Most Wanted, one of those horrific, heart-wrenching stories involving kids being locked up and abused for years.
My sister had been like those victims.
And that’s when I started to feel sorry for her.
No one deserved that kind of treatment, and while I’d disliked her on sight due to the simple fact Mom didn’t, that wasn’t Shona’s fault. She simply hadn’t known any better. While I couldn’t understand her hatred for me, and had no intention of trying to figure it out, I could excuse it. I was free. She was still cooped up with those lunatics.
Then another annoying twinge of remorse niggled at me. While Wolfebane High had sucked most days, at least I’d had the opportunity to attend school. Was she educated? Did she have hobbies? Was she aware another world existed above ground?
Throwing a pity party for the unchosen one was getting me nowhere, so I refocused.
So my mom’s shacked up with a monster and has a not-so-secret admirer. Anything else?
You were amazing. Joss’s voice, barely above a whisper, filtered through my mind, warming me despite our distance apart.
I almost lost it at the end there.
But you came through.
Without Arwen, though.
Doesn’t matter. We don’t have it, but neither does Cadifor. Time to reevaluate, plan a new strategy.
The thought of going through it all again turned my stomach, because essentially nothing had changed.
