Page 35 of The Evil Twin

“Same,” said Nikolai. “Hannah?”

“Yep. I feel weird, but I’m not hurt.”

“Sam?” I called. “Tennyson?”

It felt like an eternity until there was a response.

“I’m okay, but Tennyson’s knocked out,” said Sam. “I can only just see him, but he’s breathing.”

“Is he still on his mark, Sam?” Althea asked.

“I think so.”

“What do we do?” I asked.

My eyes just wouldn’t adjust to the dim light. I couldn’t move to go check on Tennyson. It was too frustrating.

“Continue with the ritual,” said Althea. “Just go through the steps, but do it quickly. The crack is spreading. I don’t know what will happen once it reaches us, but I’d prefer not to find out.”

I looked down at the list she’d left on the altar. There were a few splatters of blood on it and some crushed herbs, but it was still legible.

I picked up the goblet. It was heavy, with the weight of the lodestone inside it. The lodestone had heated the metal of the goblet until I was barely able to hold it. I felt like it was burning off my fingerprints; it was so hot. Which I supposed might come in handy, if this ritual failed and I was forced to turn to a life of crime.

The lodestone still glowed, but much more faintly now. It was more like a spark of flame within it than the bright light it had been. I placed the herbs and oils from the altar and swirled them around, so it mixed in with the blood and coated the stone. Faintly, I realized the drum had begun to beat again.

I held out the goblet in front of me. The mirror still showed my reflection but it was no longer solid. Other-me was supposed to do this next bit, but I couldn’t see her. I couldn’t actually see anything, I realized, only the goblet. Still, I held it out. This bit was important. I held out the goblet until it passed through the surface of the mirror. She needed to take the goblet from me, or the whole ritual would fail. I needed to blindly trust that she’d do it, just as she needed to trust that I would accept her soul as part of myself.

Even if I’d been able to see her clearly in front of me, I’d have struggled with it. There was nothing stopping her from turning around and running off with the lodestone. Sure, I’d have my powers back, but the ritual would fail, and the world would collapse in on itself. But if I couldn’t trust, the ritual would fail just as surely.

I let the goblet go.

I half expected to hear it clanging to the ground, but there was no sound at all, nothing but the drum beat. Instead, I felt warm liquid trickle into my hands, as she emptied the goblet into them. Our blood, the herbs, and oils. Then the lodestone fell into the palms of my hands.

As soon as it touched my skin, the cut from the sword began to heal. Within seconds, it was as if the skin had never been broken at all, not even a trace of a scar. I pressed the lodestone to my forehead, to the space between my eyebrows. I closed my eyes, feeling the lodestone sink into my skin. Once I had absorbed it, had taken in the entire stone, I knew the transformation was complete.

Other-me was gone. I had taken on the darkness we both carried, I had absorbed it, absorbed her, just as I’d absorbed the stone. I had ascended into my own darkness and become the first united being. I was all-powerful, in total control. Nothing could stand against me now.

I fainted.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I wasn’t out for very long. When I came to, I could see again, so that was a good sign. I was still in the meeting hall, but all of the symbols were gone from the floor. I knew, somehow, that I had absorbed them too. I was chock-full of stuff, basically.

The drumming had stopped, thankfully, as I had a splitting headache. I probably should have expected that, after shoving a huge rock into my forehead, but it had seemed the thing to do at the time.

“Lucy!” Althea gasped, rushing over to me.

“I’m okay,” I said, sitting up.

“You’re covered in blood,” said Nikolai, keeping his distance.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I’m not hurt.”

I wasn’t hurt, but I wasn’t sure what I was. I was still me, I knew that much, but not the same me as I had been. I’d need some time to adjust to all this, but I didn’t care about that right then.

“How’s Tennyson?” I asked.

Althea glanced over. “He’s still out cold. Sam’s trying to wake him.”

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