Page 72 of Demon's Bluff

“Make your own mirror.” Head bowed, she stomped down the stairs.

“I don’t know how.” I reached out after her, jerking to a halt when a stone cracked at the ceiling. “Newt, tell me where one is. I can tell you the future!”

“Blah, blah, blah.” Her gaze roved over the sanctuary in horror as if only now realizing it was in ruins. “I can tell the future, too. It’s easy when every day is exactly the same. You don’t belong here and you will die before you escape it.”

“I know what you were trying to find in that church!” I shouted, and Newt spun.

She started for me, arms swinging. Panicked, I retreated, only to trip on my robe and fall against the steps. “Tell me now! No deal. Tell me!”

“Me!” I squeaked out, flat on my back on the stairs. “You were looking for your memory of me!”

Newt jerked to a halt, pain in her eyes. The book against my chest sparked, and uncertainty lit through her. It didn’t want her, and that, more than anything, I think, was saving my ass.

“Minias is destroying your mind to keep you pliant,” I said, thinking the information wouldn’t change anything since she eventually figured it out for herself. “He’s been writing down everything you remember, then making you forget.”

“This is a different kind of future,” Newt said, jaw tight as she stared at me with those black eyes. “Who are you?”

I slowly sat up, my book clenched to me, scrambling for anything that would satisfy her and not give too much away. “You will ride across the paradise you destroyed,” I said, and confusion flickered, familiar and hated. “And though you will not see the ever-after renewed, your horse will run across it through amber fields and cool forests. You will see the elves reborn and the demons saved, and they will both fear you for your greatness.”

“I will ride?” she said wistfully, and from above came the crack of a rock—warning me.

I sat up more, finding strength in her bewilderment. “A mare so fiery that even the finest elven horseman can’t break her. A gift from a hated name.” Yeah, that was vague enough. If she ever figured it out, it would be in hindsight.

Newt’s focus sharpened in distrust. “I see what you want me to believe, but you are no one. Nothing. I killed all my sisters.”

“I saw Ku’Sox dead,” I said. “Poor child.”

“Ku’Sox is not dead,” Newt said, and I put a finger to my nose.

“It depends on when you look.” She was scrambling now, and I felt a flicker of hope.

“My sisters all have mirrors. You are not my sister.”

“No,” I admitted. “As you say, I’m nothing.” I had to keep her talking, thinking, interested until she gave me what I wanted out of sheer confusion.

“I don’t remember,” Newt said. “Was I there when Ku’Sox died?”

I slowly got to my feet. “You will be,” I promised. “Do we have a deal?” I asked, though no deal had been made.

Newt’s mood shattered. “An Atlantean mirror for a delphic vision of my future? No.” Her black gaze flicked past me. “For her, maybe. So many spells, I sense, and not a whisper of hesitancy to use them. No wonder you singed her before dragging her to market.”

“Rachel…” Elyse warned, and I grimaced as she named me.

“Not nothing. You are aRachel,” Newt said coyly as if having gained points.

“You can’t have Elyse,” I said, using her proper name, seeing as she’d used mine, and the woman flushed, only now seeing her mistake. Demons could use your name against you, but she wasn’t getting all three so it was a moot point. “She doesn’t wear my smut. She has her soul,” I added, and Newt smiled to show perfect white teeth.

“Then nothing will stop me from taking her.”

Book in one arm, I fingered the forget potion in my pocket. “I will,” I said boldly. “And as you say, I’m nothing.” Little ribbons of hair that had escaped my hat were floating in the mystic-charged air, magic dischargessnapping. Maybe this was why Newt chose to rock the bald look. “Don’t press me, Newt. If I tell you too much, you won’t survive what’s coming.”

Newt sent her gaze to my hand in my pocket, not a clue as to what I held. She could best me, but she hesitated, lest she ruin exactly what she coveted. “And what is that?” she asked.

My pulse was fast. “Freedom.”

“From this hellhole?” she said dryly, and I shrugged. Bored now, Newt considered me. “Perhaps. I will give you a mirror, but I want something in return.”

She had one, and I stifled my excitement. “What?” I asked, and Newt smirked. The expression seemed surprisingly right on her.

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