Two Halves Box Set

by Marta Szemik

  “Sarah, I promise you, I will never leave your side,” he assured me. “I belong with you and only you. I could not live without you. I could not survive. You bring out the best in me. You give me strength.”

  “I feel the same way.” I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder. He rubbed my back. “Maybe I’m just mixing in the fears from the underworld.” The flames in the fire pit suddenly rose higher, as if receiving more oxygen.

  William held me tight. I didn’t want him to let go, despite the pain. “William? Promise me you will not take me to a sunflower field.”

  “You know you can’t change the vision.”

  “Promise me?” I insisted.

  “All right,” he said, “I promise.”

  “And if we happen to get there somehow, we will not get too close to each other.”

  “I promise. I may not be able to control where we are, but I can control what we do . . . or not do.”

  “Even if I persist? No matter what, it cannot be there. I want to be fully present for our first time, and somehow I didn’t feel like I was there.”

  “I promise it will not happen in the sunflower field. I can guarantee it.”

  “Pinky-sware?” I asked

  William hooked his smallest finger into mine and said,“Pinky-sware.”

  “Thank you.”

  He set aside the broken glass and did not let me go as he rubbed my arms. “You’re trembling.”

  “I have a feeling something bad is about to happen, but I don’t know what.”

  “We’re safe here,” William assured me. He covered my lips with his, then I pulled away squeezing my eyes shut.

  “I’m sorry you’re hurting.”

  “It’s not your fault, William. We’ll get these fixed.” I pressed my hand against the left side of his chest.

  “May I speak with you?” Alex interrupted, walking into the kitchen area.

  A new wave of chills invaded my skin.

  I sensed trouble, and I felt Alex’s presence carve into my visions. Like she was part of a future I’d already seen. We turned and watched her approach with her typical small steps.

  “I’m sorry, but I overheard you speaking of the spell that’s keeping you apart.” She straightened the drying cloth overhead. “I can help you. I want to help you, to thank you for taking me in.”

  “How can you help us?” I asked, straightening my shoulders.

  William frowned. “Let’s go to the family room.”

  I set the sweeper back in its corner and followed William.

  Atram and Ekim sat on the couch, sharing a quiet conversation about the delivery of new serums. Their attention flew to us as soon as we walked in.

  “I thought the spell or the curse can only be removed by the one who cast it,” William said, his tone almost accusing.

  “What you say is true, but I can erase the pain temporarily.”

  “Really?” I perked up.

  “Will that not offset the balance?” Willow asked as she wiped her hands on her apron.

  “Not if you give up your gifts, while the spell’s in effect. This wouldn’t work for long, perhaps twenty-four hours or so. My spell can paralyze the curse because it would be offset by something you gave up.” Alex settled in the swinging chair.

  Twenty-four hours is not long, but it’s long enough. I saw my hope reflected in William’s eyes. He wanted this more than he’d admit.

  “What exactly does this spell involve?” he asked, crossing his arms, as if reluctant to reveal his interest.

  “It’s actually more invasive for me than you. I need my inner tissue to complete the spell,” she said.

  Everyone stared at Alex. Willow sat down on her husband’s lap on the sofa. He wrapped his arms around her slender frame.

  “The tissue—my tissue—can cover up the spell. You don’t have to do anything, just sleep,” Alex explained.

  “I don’t feel comfortable with this,” William said. “What if something goes wrong?”

  “Nothing can go wrong. It’s a simple spell.” The witch shrugged. “If you’d like, your family can stay with you the whole time.”

  No one objected. Alex’s proposition became irresistible.

  “William, what if this is the only chance we have to get close for a long time, without pain? Your parents will watch it being done. My father will, too.” I looked at Ekim, who nodded and then made my puppy eyes at William.

  He sighed. “All right. But I’m not tired; are you? How are we going to fall asleep?”

  “Serum. There’s some left in my backpack.” My heart pounded as I rushed to retrieve it. “Here.” I handed a syringe to William.

  The blue liquid in William’s hand became everyone’s focal point. He stared at the aquatic glow in his palm, then his gaze came back to me. “Now? Sarah, don’t rush this,” he pleaded.

  “I’m not rushing it. I just want to touch you without being zapped.”

  William’s face tensed.

  “I’m worried too,” I whispered, brushing my fingers through his hair. “But everything will be back to normal in a day.”

  I wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head and stroked my hair, but the electric shock pushed us apart. The need to be close again increased the pain. It was almost unbearable to hug.

  “We’re here, in the safest place possible.” I pulled away.

  “Okay. At least that’s true.” William sighed, “Only for you.” He injected the serum.

  I jabbed the needle in my thigh.

  Willow took our hands. “Come. Lie down here. We will not leave your side,” she promised, helping me settle on one of the mattresses at the end of the room.

  The serum slowed my pulse, as if I’d been injected with barbiturate.

  “We won’t let anything happen to you,” Atram added, bringing two pillows.

  William lay as close to me as he could without it causing pain. I turned my head to him and cupped his face in my hand.

  “What are you doing?” he smiled.

  “Remembering you for my dreams.” An odd tug pulled at my stomach. The same one I’d had when the seekers first took me to the underworld. The one that told me I would not see William for a long time. I ignored it, telling myself it was only butterflies of excitement.

  “Are you afraid?” he asked.

  “No, just excited.”

  “I should have known. I still see the tarantulas.” He laughed quietly.

  My eyelids dropped lower, then closed.

  “Sarah?” William asked. With difficulty, I opened my eyes again. “I love you.” He thumped his fist on his chest.

  “I loved you before I met you,” I replied, this time closing my eyes to fall asleep.

  Chapter 22

  I knew they wouldn’t discover my secrets, after all, I was the most powerful witch in the world! The half breed vampires were too stupid and lost in their pathetic love.

  Not for long.

  Sarah would soon suspect her recurring chest pains warned her every time I came close. I had to act before it was too late, before the stupid girl smartened up. My jaw tightened, and I felt my lip curve up in a smirk. Relax. They’re almost asleep. I looked at them and laughed inside. You humans give in to your emotions so easily.

  The dimly lit room was silent. No one moved, no one spoke. All eyes were on the two bodies asleep on the mattress against the wall. Ekim and Atram stood over their children, looking at them with mildly worried expressions. Willow held her son’s hand. Sarah’s and William’s mouths were curved into smiles.

  If they only knew! I wanted to stick my tongue out in disgust but refrained.

  “Are they ready?” Willow asked me.

  “Yes. It will not take long. Here.” I handed her a cloth. “It’s soaked with an herbal infusion. I’m going to have to cut my chest. Can you wipe it down when I’m done? It’s to prevent infection and help it heal,” I lied in my new soft voice. In truth, the potent concoction soaki
ng the cloth would wash the spell away. “It will also put me to sleep.”

  “Of course,” Willow said, accepting the damp cloth.

  This is much easier than I thought. The sibling demons are gone. The timing is perfect. My insides vibrated with gloating laughter I could not release. Aseret was right to call them silly creatures. How would these stupid beings have enough sense to take over the underworld? I let out a quiet snort. It’s thrilling to be so differently perceived and deceiving. Aseret’s plan is brilliant, flawless. Such wisdom, to have me curse the couple with a potion to keep them apart.

  Sarah’s eyes moved under her eyelids; she was dreaming.

  Soon, their demonic powers will disappear. Soon, I will be on my way to ruling the witches. Soon, Sarah will live her short life in exile before rotting to death; if these morons don’t kill her first. William won’t know until it’s too late, and Aseret will take his place. No one will know! I chuckled.

  “Are you all right, Alex?” Willow asked.

  “Yes; I’m sorry—just got something stuck in my throat.” I glanced around the room, my eyes resting briefly on the two vampires. They’re too dumb to know who I am. And Willow—it makes me sick that the human thought she could live amongst the mystical!

  After I sat cross-legged on the floor above Sarah’s and William’s heads, I placed my palms on their foreheads. Closing my eyes, I whispered the requisite chant in its ancient language, backwards to the original curse. Then I opened my eyes. This was more for show than anything.

  I pulled my dagger from the back pocket of my dress. Ekim and Atram growled and took a defensive stance over their kids. “I will not hurt them,” I lied, using my new, mollifying voice. “It’s to gather my tissue.”

  “Alex, please be careful,” Willow whispered.

  I nodded with innocence. It annoyed me to be so polite, so calm and pleasant. It would still be some time before I could show and use my true powers.

  My fingers fiddled, unbuttoning the front of my dress and I slid the dagger down my bared chest, from the hollow at the base of my throat to the floating ribs. Nice and easy, not too deep. They have to believe I’m hurt enough to die on my own, but not too quickly. I’ll let her suffer before bleeding out, dying, and decaying, all alone, without her body.

  Blood dripped. “Amena cora si lamu pentubi,” I said, marking Sarah’s temples with my blood. No one noticed I only did this to Sarah. A sudden gust of dancing wind swirled outside, rustling the last of the autumn leaves noisily enough to be heard inside the hill-home’s thick walls. Sarah and William did not move.

  “It’s done. You can wipe the cut now, Willow.” I stretched out onto the floor and closed my eyes.

  Willow gently slid the wet cloth across my chest. My body arched up, releasing my invisible soul. My soul looked down at the mark on Sarah’s head, and I knew where to go. I crushed into Sarah, pushing her sleeping spirit out. The spirit awoke too late—Sarah’s body no longer housed it. It took the next available body and went back to its dreams.

  At the same time, the potion the cloth had been soaked in evaporated, releasing its spell into the air. It hovered over my body, then slowly sank through it, releasing Aseret’s finery spell.

  “Look!” Ekim pointed at me. “What’s happening to her?”

  “Alex is changing.” Willow gasped, before covering her mouth with her hand.

  If I could, I would have chuckled until I fell over. But I could only listen to their speeding heartbeats and imagined them staring as an invisible cloud of magic washed away the curly, golden-blond locks, changing them in to straight, tangled black hair; hardened the eyes and let dark circles to appear underneath. It marred formerly white teeth with dark-brown and yellow stains from years of neglect. The youthful face sagged; wrinkles and blemishes resurfaced.

  “This cannot be!” Ekim and Atram blurted together.

  “Who is she?” Willow’s voice trembled.

  “Xela,” someone whispered in horror.

  The door in the hillside flew open, and in one leap, I knew Mira was at my side; Xander flew after her to grab my old, limp body—Sarah’s new body—with one arm and wrap his other arm around her neck in a choke hold.

  The siblings must have been warned by their witch mother.

  “What do you want from Sarah?” he growled ominously. “Why are you here, Xela? Talk, or I’ll break your neck the way I should have done years ago.” Four sets of eyes stared at Xander and the limp body he held.

  My new body stirred at the commotion. I opened my eyes and looked toward the far end of the room, where Xander’s arm was still around the neck of the dark-haired woman. “What’s going on?” I asked.

  It worked . . . of course it did.

  “Xander, who is this? Let her go or you’ll kill her,” I said casually.

  It’s strange, seeing my old body in front of me; I can’t let them kill it. Let her suffer! Let her know what it’s like to be one of the “bad guys.”

  “This is Xela,” he growled from the back of his throat.

  “Alex is actually Xela from the underworld. She’s a witch in league with Aseret,” Mira explained. She still half crouched in front of me, ready to protect me from whatever might come.

  They have no clue.

  William awoke as well. “What’s going on?” He sat up, rushing to my side. “Sarah, are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. Xander, ease up or you’ll kill her.” Though I liked the way his muscles flexed all over his body.

  “That’s the idea,” he replied.

  “You can’t kill her. She didn’t do anything,” I said.

  “Are you sure? When we got here, you were unconscious. We thought she hurt you.” Mira turned to face me—the body she thought contained her friend.

  “No, you have it wrong. She did not hurt us. She paralyzed the spell that kept us apart,” I explained. And she put Aseret’s plan into action. I chuckled inside.

  “Sarah, they’re right. This is Xela. She’s dangerous. We should be thankful she didn’t hurt you.” Ekim looked lovingly at his daughter—me.

  I cannot let them kill her. She has to suffer. She has to know what it’s like to writhe in pain. She has to know what it’s like to not have a choice of who you are! “Okay, but she didn’t hurt us. She helped us.” I focused on the limp body. “She helped us out of the dungeons, and she took the spell off. I can feel it already. Can’t you feel it?” My hand pressed into William’s, the way I’d seen the half-breeds do.

  William’s apprehension eased. “You’re right. It worked.” The worry faded from his face. He took me into his strong embrace. His eyebrows went up when nothing happened. There was no pain.

  “Sarah is right. We can’t just kill her. Maybe she wanted a new life; maybe she wanted to turn it around,” Willow interjected.

  “Not Xela. She’s all about cunning and pain,” Atram held his wife in a tight embrace.

  Xander’s eyes sparked with hatred, the way I’d remembered. A shadow of green shade covered his face. If he only knew what I’d done, he’d kill me on the spot.

  “Let’s just leave her in the woods and let fate decide what should be done with her. She’s lost a lot of blood anyway.” Willow pointed to the red puddle on the dirt floor at Xander’s feet. “It will be difficult enough for her to recover.”

  “Fine, I’ll drop her off in the vampire territories. Let fate decide that way,” Xander growled. The vengeance inside him warmed my black heart. No one paid attention to me. They kept staring at Sarah’s new limp body.

  “I’ll go with you,” Mira said to her brother.

  As soon as they left, William picked me off my feet and swung around the room. “I hope this lasts more than twenty-four hours,” he said before kissing me passionately.

  Your wish is my command. I guess I’m going have to get used to being good.

  Chapter 23

  She appeared out of a fog and stood ten feet away from me.

  “Mom, is that you?” I had to ask; after al
l, I had never seen my mother, other than in the dream where I murdered her and in Castall’s projection. Uncertain what she’d look like, the physical similarities between us were too striking. She had familiar features to mine, but a little older. Her triangular face centered a small, pointy nose and a dozen or so freckles aligned almost like mine.

  “Yes, sweetheart, it’s me,” she answered. Her smile softened.

  I wanted to believe what I saw was real, but logic told me it wasn’t possible. My mother died. I must be dreaming. But the urgency of her expression told me otherwise. She seemed authentic and not part of a dream which foretold my future. It felt as if she’d stepped into my mind on purpose, to tell me something. Glowing light shined behind her, casting her into silhouette which didn’t help to convince me I didn’t dream—yet, I could feel her presence.

  I knew this was a dream even before she spoke, from the pattern of lines on her face and the slight squint of her eyes. Her face was as readable to me as anyone else’s. She smiled. My head hurt trying to remember where I fell asleep; perhaps that would give me some answers. But it was hard to recall. Seeing my mom confused me.

  “Sarah, you’re in trouble. You have to remain strong to get through this.” She turned for a moment to look behind her.

  “What do you mean? Where did you come from? You’re not alive.” My voice rose hopefully, but I knew it was too much to ask for; seeing her was bittersweet, nothing more.

  “No, I’m not alive. I don’t have much time.” She glanced behind her again. “You will soon wake up, Sarah, and you’ll find yourself alone.”

  “What do you mean?” Again, I strained to remember where I’d fallen asleep, trying to identify where I’d wake up. It didn’t work. The throbs in my head intensified.

  “Saraphine, he’s coming,” I heard a hushed voice say. “Hurry!” Helen appeared beside my mother. Her silhouette was faint and ghostly.

  I stopped doubting my dreaming state. “Helen?” I smiled, unsure why my aunt was there.

  “Sarah, listen to your mother. We have to go back, Saraphine.”