Page 17 of The Eternal Mirror
“Come on, Amber, I need more than that.”
“My mother gave me a spell to destroy my father—yup, just one big happy family. She couldn’t do it herself—she still loved him. The amber around my neck contained the good part of my father. I had to destroy it and speak the spell. But the spell also destroyed Hell and everything in it—including very nearly—me and Khaos.”
“And yet here you are,” he says. “How?”
I shrug. “Magic.”
I don't want to talk about it anymore. “I’ll leave the rest for another time,” I say. “But yeah, it was all pretty unbelievable.” There’s one last thing I need to tell him. “There’s something else. Hecate is dead. She betrayed us.”
But that's not quite correct. “She did what she thought was right. She wanted to save Lucifer. She wanted to reunite his good part with his bad. And honestly, that was never going to happen. She died for it. She was destroyed with Hell.”
“I don't believe it,” he says. “She loved you.”
“I know she loved me. And she loved me at the end. But I think she loved Lucifer more. But that’s another story for later.”
I think I'm ready to try and get us out of here. I push myself to my feet and cross to where Josh is lying on the sofa, his little body curled up around itself. I can see the tracks of tears on his cheek. I reach out and touch his shoulder, and he almost jumps out of his skin. He's shaking. Then he glances up and sees my face. His fear melts away and a smile blossoms. “Amber, you came. You rescued us.”
“Yeah, I did, didn’t I? Sort of. Except we're not quite out of here yet, Josh. So you’ve got to be strong, okay?”
He casts a glance at Zayne, and I can see the fear flickering in his eyes. Ouch. That must hurt.
“Hey,” I say, “it wasn’t Zayne’s fault. It was a horrible, evil man. He made him do it.”
“I know. But he was scary.”
“I bet. Zayne can be very scary. And you were very brave.” I reach down, get my arms around him, and hug him hard. “Come on. Let's see if we can get out of here for good.”
I lift him off the bed and whirl him around, then put him down on the floor. There’s still a worried frown between his eyebrows, but I’m guessing that’s not going away anytime soon. He nearly died at the hands of his own brother. And he knows it. Only time will heal him now.
Zayne, still seated in his chair, long legs sprawled out in front of him, watches us. His face is almost clear of expression, but I knowhim too well, and I can see the pain in his eyes. He’s another one who’s going to need some time.
It’s so not fair. Both of these two had horrible childhoods. That’s how they ended up at Pete and Lisa’s. It wasn’t much better there, but they survived.
And then I landed in their lives.
Yeah, definitely not fair. But if there’s one thing I’ve come to realize, it’s not to expect fairness from life. When I had no memory of who I was, I didn’t believe in any gods; I thought it was all just random shit. Now I remember, and I know the gods do exist—hey, I’ve even met one—and it makes no difference. If they are making decisions about us, then they are making crap, malicious, fucking senseless decisions that we have no control over. You can pray all you like, and it won’t do you a damn bit of good.
“Okay,” I say, trying my best to sound cheerful. “Let’s get the hell out of this joint.”
I look around and find a space big enough. I peer inside myself, and yes—my magic is building. It should be enough. I take a deep breath and whisper the words of the mirror spell.
And absolutely nothing happens.
“Crap.” I whisper the words again—and guess what? Still nothing happens.
I take another look inside myself; the magic is definitely there. It’s more like there’s something stopping it.
How the hell can that be? And more to the point—what can I do about it?
“Amber? Nothing seems to be happening,” says Zayne, ever one for stating the obvious.
“Really?” I snarl. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Josh tugs on my pant leg. “Are we leaving, Amber?”
Oh, Lord. What do I say? I hate to disappoint him. “I don’t think so, Josh. I think we’re going to have to stay a little while longer. But hey, don’t worry. Me and Zayne—we’ll keep you safe. I promise.”
Behind me, Zayne snorts. He knows that promises like that are worthless.
