Page 38 of The Evil Twin

“Fine,” I said, over their cheering. “But come up here and sit at the table. And bring your manners!”

“Where were we?” I said, once the boys were settled.

“At the crack,” said Nikolai, with a snort.

“Fine,” said Althea. “Let’s call it a tear then, or a rift. It all means the same thing. Your father started to wedge it open.”

“Like in your vision?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I’m sure that’s what he intended, but because the ritual had already begun, he couldn’t form a bridge between the worlds. I have no doubt that’s what he’s working on right this minute. I’m not sure what he plans is even possible anymore, now that the ritual has been completed, but the rift is still big enough for him to do a lot of damage with it nonetheless. There’s no precedent for this, so we don’t know how far he can push it, but obviously we need to stop him.”

I glanced around the table for where my brothers had found those sausages, but the serving plate was empty.

“So, what do we need to do? I’m not sure what I’m capable of yet, but I can probably zap him with my brain or something.”

I glanced around the table, but nobody met my eyes. Well, nobody except Hamish, who gave me a big thumbs up. Maybe not the best plan then.

“I think first we really need to discover what you are capable of,” said Althea, exchanging a glance with Hannah.

I could see their point.

“You’re worried about how much of Other-me is in here?” I said.

“Obviously there’s not a lot,” said Harper. “Considering how badly you still dress.” She laughed at her own joke.

I waggled my fingers at her, making them glow. She stopped laughing.

“It’s a valid concern,” said Sam. He hadn’t looked at me once since the ritual. I wondered if I’d lost him forever, now that part of her was in me.

“I understand,” I said. “But I don’t know how I’d prove to you that I’m the same person as before.”

“Well, you haven’t run off to that other world yet, so that’s a good start,” said Althea. “I suppose it will just take a little time to build up trust.”

“How much time do we have?” I asked. “I’m sorry, I understand why you’re all wary. If it were the other way around, I would be, too, but we’re on a deadline here. You should know enough by now to not underestimate my father. He’ll find a way to tap into that power. We need to stop him before that happens, and if that means I have to go rogue and lose all your trust, well, I wouldn’t like that, but it would be better than the alternative.”

“I trust Lucy implicitly,” said Tennyson.

I smiled at him.

“No offence, buddy,” said Nikolai. “But we can’t be sure you’re thinking clearly when it comes to her.”

Tennyson stiffened in offence. “You think I don’t know with whom I share a soul bond?” He always went super formal when he was angry. “Do you imagine that our sacred bond is something so easily hoodwinked? That I am?”

Nikolai grimaced. “I said ‘no offence’.”

“I trust Lucy implicitly,” Tennyson repeated. “And I am the alpha of this pack. Does any at this table question my command?”

Hamish opened his mouth, and I shot him a look. He made like he was just stuffing more food in there, but I wasn’t fooled.

“Very well,” Tennyson continued. “We don’t have much time, but we need to be prepared. While the rest of us are co-ordinating our attack, Althea and Hannah, I’d like you to work with Lucy to test her powers. We need to know what she is capable of, as well as what her limits are.”

He glanced between Sam, Nikolai, and Harper, and I could tell he was trying to decide which combination of the three would be the least damaging. It was a tough call. I felt like all three were fairly opposed to me at the moment, but I doubted they’d actively work against us. Except for maybe Harper.

“Nikolai and Harper, the two of you are best at strategy. I want you to liaise with our other teams and figure out a way to approach this.”

The two of them preened at Tennyson’s praise.

That left him and Sam.

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