Page 88 of The Ordeals
‘Don’t trust anyone or anything in here,’ I say fiercely. ‘It’s all riddled with illusions. No doubt there are masquiers as well. Can you use your magic?’
‘Maybe?’ Her face ripples, her body changing, growing … and then I find Fion staring back at me.
‘Your magic is fine,’ I say with a shudder. ‘Nice and realistic.Toorealistic.’
Tessa laughs with Fion’s mouth as she ripples back to her true appearance. ‘If I come across anyone else, I’ll change into a professor. Scam my way out.’
‘Good plan.’ I grin. ‘At least we can do the rest together …’
We head for the door and I turn the handle, pulling it back to reveal the hallway beyond. But when I step through it, Tessa yelps, falling back. As though a fist has shoved her back into the room.
She slowly gets to her feet, trying again, but it’s like there’s a solid wall of air. She bangs her fists on it, fear lacing her features, and I fix my gaze on her. ‘Hang on, let me.’
But when I push, I find the same.
We’re divided from each other.
She lowers her fists, staring at me, her lower lip trembling. ‘We have to do this alone, remember what Professor Grant said?’
‘No pairs. No partners,’ I grate out. Shit. ‘Fion must have broken down the barrier between our Ordeals. She was an arsehole, granted, but a pretty good wielder …’
‘You won’t be able to get back into my Ordeal, and I can’t step into yours. You have to go on,’ she says, trying to smile. I rest my hands on the divide and she places her palms over them. ‘I’ll see you on the other side, Sophia.’
I nod, throat suddenly thick.
‘On the other side,’ I whisper. I wrench myself from her, walking down the corridor … and when I look over my shoulder, she’s nolonger there. If the final Ordeal is in three parts, I’ve conquered the first by shattering the illusion of the cold, creepy house that Dolly was killed in.
I peer back down the staircase and decide to descend. But when I reach the entrance hall, I find I’m not alone. There’s a man with a grinning pale face, waiting by the front door. A cold, bloodless face.
I jerk back, hitting the banister.
It’s a cold one.
Chapter 31
The Horror and the Breaking
‘You …’ I snarl, fumbling for the wooden stake, cursing myself for not being more alert. But it’s gone from its holder at my thigh, I must have dropped it fighting Fion. Shit. I search for a hint of magic, pearlescence, or a glimmer, even aglintof the illusion or masquier wielder this could be … I find no trace. Not a hint of glitter, nothing to suggest this monster isn’t real. Which means this mightnotbe part of the final Ordeal. Fuck.
His hair is blonde, so blonde it’s almost white, eyes a pale blue, features sharp and angular, with that greyish tinge that the boy and the woman both had. He’s just taller than me and thin, clothes tailored, cut close to his frame, and he has an air of the aristocrat about him, a commanding sneer twisting his mouth. He sniffs, eyes widening … then he begins to laugh in exuberant delight.
‘Oh, I’ve found you. My cousin was too greedy, reckless in the end. She couldn’t help herself. I see she marked you, but no matter. It’s just the two of us this time.’ He bounces on the balls of his feet, hands clasped behind his back. ‘How wonderful. I truly believe we will enjoy this.’
I flick my switchblade open and pin my gaze to his. Somehow, this monster has got in; another cold one has found me here. Could Fion have let him in like the last one? Is this another play by Alloway to destabilise Killmarth? Or worse, is this personal?
‘Your kind has been stalking me. Why?’ I narrow my gaze, assessing the hallway for escape routes and anything I can use as a weapon.
‘You are a feast. And we are hungry, so hungry.’
‘You’re a vampire. I mean, I’ve heard the stories, but they’re folklore.’
He chuckles, watching as I take another small step. ‘We are not the kind of vampires you whisper about to scare children. Don’t confuse us with those base creatures, driven by lust and thirst. We don’t just feed on any blood. Not that coppery stuff chugging through justanyhuman in these worlds. It’s that gleam, that glitter that renews us … In some worlds, you are witches. In this one, wielders.’ He closes his eyes, as though in rapture, picturing it.
Then his eyes fly open.
‘You call itmagic.’
And he lunges.
