The MirrorMasters

Chapter 17

"We'll bring the others here later," Brian promised, whispering in my ear as he leaned his head against mine. I nodded as I took in the new world around me, with its sky of purple in the early morning sunlight and its multicolored sands. Only a few palm trees grew as far as I could see, but I figured there must be some oasis around and perhaps a garden at the castle.

Something shiny sparkled in the sunlight on the golden sand beneath my feet. I bent down and picked up a child's bracelet, all elegant glass beads of varying colors and shapes in a beautiful pattern. Sniffling, I slid the bracelet onto my slender wrist. "This bracelet — it belonged to a little girl," I said in a choked whisper. Brian's expression of horror and sadness mirrored my own. "She died in that sandstorm. It was probably happening when we saw it."

"Well planned, Aeda," I heard Erik say behind us. "Now take her. As you said, we have little time."

"What?" I exclaimed, whirling to face him. Brian's father stepped toward me, as did Erik. Where was Aedalina, I wondered, backing away. I didn't get far. Brian suddenly gripped my arms, holding me tight against him. "Brian, what are you doing? Let go!"

But he didn't.

As I struggled, I shifted my neck to study him for a moment. He and his father had engaged in a sort of staring match, and I glanced between them, frightened by the expressionless mask Brian's face had suddenly become. It was like he wasn't there anymore. A shiver ran down my spine.

Standing in front of me, Jenny gazed at me with an inscrutable expression.

"Jenny, run!" I cried out, only belatedly realizing how neither Erik nor Caleb made any move toward her.

Brian's grip on me tightened, but I forgot my struggles entirely when Jenny reached up to her own neck, withdrawing a pendant. Then, in a flash of light, Jenny's form vanished, leaving Aedalina standing in her place.

Eyes wide with shock, I stared at my sister. "So, where is the real Jenny?" I had an awful feeling there was more to this than my sister impersonating Jenny.

Aedalina took another step toward me, standing within reach of me now. She smirked, a glint of triumph in her eyes as she toyed with a strand of my hair. "I'm sorry to tell you this, dear sister," she said, not sounding sorry at all, "but Jenny has been dead since the night at the cemetery." Pausing for a moment for effect, she allowed me to absorb the news.

"This whole time, you've been pretending to be her." A statement, not a question. It all clicked in my head now, the differences in Jenny we'd attributed to the trauma of that night, the things Jenny — the real Jenny — had told me in the dream of the cemetery.

"Yes, and using her soul, I could pretend so well you never suspected. She was part of the ritual, and she became the hundredth soul buried in the cemetery. I suppose we owe her our gratitude, as she was the final one we needed to get our bodies back."

"And now she's tied to the Soul crystal." At the thought, muscles in my hands and jaw clenched. "She's all her mom had left, and you murdered her and stole her from us!" My voice rang as sharp as a stinging slap, and even Aedalina and Erik seemed taken aback by the sheer power and depth of my raw fury.

Erik and Caleb made no comment, though a glint in Caleb's eyes showed a secret he wanted to tell but couldn't. Meanwhile, as Aedalina faced me, for a moment I could read some internal battle on my sister's face as her vicious façade faded. Too enraged to have any sympathy for it, I again fought to pull away from Brian to no avail. His grip held strong.

"It was necessary. She became a regrettable...casualty of this war. You see, we believed she was you. And we needed her powers — your powers — to stop what we've unleashed once our rule has been established and the traitors are overthrown." Aedalina's expression became thoughtful, almost regretful, as she stepped toward me, a necklace which held two crystals with space for seven on an ornate silver pendant in her hand.