Page 86 of The Stone Curse
This isn’t about the material things, Sharniza. But maybe you need to see more to understand.
The room melts away, and darkness swallows me…
CHAPTER 40
CAM
The abyss swallowed Derek and me, then spat us out in a room housing a huge gilded mirror. There were no windows, no doors, just the mirror.
“What happened?” Derek asked me.
“We’re in a mind walk. I had to pick between two versions of me to free you. What happened to you?”
“All I remember is the orb and smoke, then I was dangling over a pit, and my Cameron, you were there.”
And now we were here. “I’m not sure what we’re meant to do now. I think I may have killed both of my guides.”
“We don’t need guides,” Derek said. “We can figure this out together.”
He took my hand, and we laced fingers before approaching the mirror. Our reflections stared back at us, my five seven dwarfed by Derek’s towering frame. The image rippled, and the mirror went dark.
An androgynous voice filled the room. “You’ve made your choice, cadet, and now the strength of that choice will be tested.The five bloodlines have been gifted with chimeras, but not every gargoyle born to those bloodlines can access their second form. As an elite, your chimera will be your secret weapon, the form you can call upon when all else fails. Your chimera is a part of you, but it is also its own beast, and when we awaken it now, it will choose whether you are a worthy host.”
Choice. Once again. I was sensing a theme here. “And what happens if it finds me unsuitable?”
“Then it will kill you.”
“No!” Derek growled. “You’re not touching her.”
“You are right, shield,” the voice said. “I will not be touching. But you will.”
“What?”
“A chimera is fueled by a gargoyle’s shield, and since you have made your shield sentient, you have also separated your chimera from your body. It is your shield that will now turn. It is your shield that will test if you are worthy.”
“She is worthy,” Derek said. “My Cameron is the most?—”
He doubled over with a bellow of pain.
No! “Stop it! You’re hurting him.”
“The first shift is always painful,” the voice said. “But it will get easier…ifyou survive. But if you don’t, then you will both cease to exist.”
Derek thrashed and slammed his body into the wall. “No. I won’t…I won’t let it hurt you.”
“The more you resist, the more pain you will feel,” the voice said dispassionately.
He was afraid of what the chimera would do, afraid that it would hurt me.
“Derek!” I put my arm around his waist. “Don’t fight it. Let it out.”
He shook his head. “My Cameron, I can’t risk you being hurt. I must protect.”
I cupped his face. “Do you believe that I’m worthy?”
His bright eyes flared brighter. “Yes, my Cameron, with every fiber of my being.”
“Then there’s nothing to fear. Let it out. Just…let go.” I stepped back with a smile and a nod.
