29.

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29.

Sometimes even an undeniable truth is hard to face. Take this for an example. Since entering the First Plane I had discovered many things that I would never before seen as being possible, with creatures of all size and powers, brainwashed humans and a connection to an animal that was not even of my own world. When I had been told I had a doppelgänger, a soul split in two bodies, I can accept it with a nod of my head and nothing more. And yet, when faced with a mirror image of myself, who possessed a half of my soul, I was internally struck with turmoil. This thing was me, not just by appearances.

But did that mean that she, that I, could be trusted? I knew my old self, the one I had been before entering the Fae realm, and I remembered the strong possessiveness of my desires. I had been full of anger, over the loss of my friend and over the neglect I faced at home, and would have done anything to escape my situation even for a moment to achieve some superficial sense of happiness. Everything I had done was done with motive, with inherent desire.

As much as I wanted to believe that my doppelgänger was acting in the best interests of 'the people', I still had reservations about trusting the soul currently residing within my body. My emotions had been in an endless whirlwind, constantly thrown by the very forces working to keep me away from my family. These very emotions had led me to the conclusion that, for one, The Anima was not to be trusted and was certainly involved in some sick power play, and second, that the shadows had been unjustly condemned to live in isolation. I had seen the destruction caused by those of the First Plane, both in their world and in the Shadow Plane, and knew that all the creatures of unearthly sorts were equally contestable in the right of evil. But something about this situation was throwing me off course. Undeniably, there was something that had gone unsaid or unexplained, and I was not the only one who felt its presence. Alvar and Beast had engaged me in a mental conversation about the matter, but none of us were closer to deciding what was amiss as my other half continued to stare at us expectantly.

She wished to bind her soul back to mine, but I had no idea what that would mean. And even worse, The Umbra herself was not here to shed some light on the matter, which was concerning to say the least. I had yet to truly understand what would happen to me by sharing in The Anima's power; already being able to enter my companion's minds and heal without touch. And better yet, I still hadn't even controlled the unruly influence I had over the weather when angry, or near death. Those powers, I had noticed, had not applied to this Plane.

So what would The Umbria's power do to her? It could free them all from this destroyed Plane, but would that power take over and bring The Reckoning that was both equally dreaded as it was hoped for? And in releasing that power, how many would die in the name of sacrifice?

"You doubt my intentions." It was no question, but it was directed at me.

"Yes," I saw no point in lying to myself, "so if you could explain what this would all mean, it would be greatly appreciated."

My doppelgänger sighed and motioned to the wraiths behind her.

"If they can spare it, collect some chairs from the dining hall?" They nodded and returned swiftly carrying wooden chairs, one charred black with smoke from the fires.

"Sit, and I will explain everything the best I can."

Lucius plucked a chair from one of the wraiths hands, making a point of avoiding any contact with the creatures dangling drapes. Lucy, much to his dismay, situated herself next to him and laid her head on his lap, falling asleep almost instantly. Alvar also took a seat, but sat on the edge uneasily, as if ready to leap off it at any given moment and strike down any opponent that would wish me harm. Just as reached for one of the chairs, Beast sounded his concern. I ignored his plea for me to not sit on the charred chair, and so he carefully wrapped his large body around its legs, his head resting protectively on my feet.

The wolf seemed to do the same, leaping atop his owners lap as she resigned to the throne.

"The Umbra explained it to me like this; there is an ancient ritual that can be performed by two willing parts of a fractured soul that will restore it to whole. We must fight each other until death," Alvar shot up, outrage drawing the sword from his belt. Beast remained wrapped protectively around my chair, but his head rose to my lap. "Calm yourselves, let me finish."

Alvar glanced at me for approval. I shook my head with a small smile, as much as the revelation confronted me, I knew there was more to it.

"Or," she made a pointed look at Alvar, "One of us May willingly lay down their life in forfeit of the other. Either way, when one of the two bodies is dead by the others hand, the soul has no choice but to return to its original body. And because my essence is bound to the powers of the Umbra, you will also inherent those abilities."

Alvar had calmed, but reached for my hand across the short distance between us. I held onto it tightly.

"But even with more power, having only one body means you are mortal, save for the life of your beast. It is much like what the Fae must do, if ever they are only left with two pieces of their souls. That is why they split it up amongst many objects, so they cannot be killed. In this case, I will forfeit my life to yours, I think I would like to be stabbed directly to the heart, and we will merge. Noir will remain, another extension of our soul, just as the Gryphon is. If you question how I know these things, it is because of The Umbra whose high power is premonition. I do not fear this death, because I know I will not die, but regain my rightful place back into a complete soul."

"So you have no fear of the pain?" Lucius asked, puzzled.

"No." She answered calmly, a smile on her lips. "For as I have said, I am pain. I am suffering. I am the loss of life. Once Lyra has me back, she will know our true purpose."

I grimaced, hating being referenced to in the third person, and began to run my free hand through the feathers on Beasts head.

"And what must we do, when you are back within me? What will happen to me?"

"I have seen many possibilities," she turned to me, stroking her own beasts head in a perfect mimic to my own actions. I shuddered, "but I believe it is wise that we go through this slowly and not shove all this power onto you at once. Before we get to that, you must take that necklace off."

Instinctively, I clutched the present gifted to me by my sister. The Anima has told me it had offered me protection and had hidden me from the Shadows. I was unsure if removing it was wise.

"It is a gift from our sister, and I know it means a lot to you, but it is currently inhibiting your powers. When's the last time you took it off?"

"My performance." I answered quickly, fiddling with the rope.

"That explains it," She nodded, "you don't even know how powerful you have already become. Yes, that necklace serves as a protection, but it is also spelled to keep you 'true to yourself', and to our little sister, who are we truly?"

I knew the answer.

"Human."

My doppelgänger nodded solemnly.

"Some of The Anima's gifts have managed to come through, for our sister is only a young witch in comparison to a very old power. But The Anima has instructed you to keep that on because it keeps you from more of her power, which you receive daily. At the time of your performance, I assume you only had a hundredth of her abilities. Now, I wager you have half."
"How do you know all these things?" I said in astonishment; it was like she could read my mind, or at the very least had lived all my memories.

"As I have said, premonition is a powerful gift. I can see all things, including your conversations with her. That necklace is keeping you from great power. The sooner you take it off and become adjusted to the abilities you will revive, the sooner we can perform the ritual and get everyone out of this place. I have failed to mention, but we are also riding on borrowed time. All the crops and harvests were also burned with the city, The Anima saw to it that we would all be dead by the tome she could resume more control over matters in the First Plane."

Biting my lip, I looked to Alvar. He stared back at me, the line between his brows stirring concern in my stomach. He feared what I would become. I stared into my lap, suddenly ashamed. But his grip on my hand remained strong, and he stroked the back of it with his thumb. When I next looked up, he sported a small assuring smile and kissed the back of my hand. Beast stirred in my lap, and turned his big head to stare up into my eyes. I let go of Alvar's hand and ran both of mind through the softness of Beasts feathers. He closed his eyes and leaned into my touch.

"I can feel what she speaks of, Lyra. There is power in you that wants to come out. But I fear it's strength. This may not be a pleasant experience." He nudged my stomach.

"It will be better than dying." I chuckled at him and sent him an image of all the devastation we had encountered. "And we can't let this continue."

He nodded, and helped me to my feet, his body a strong support against my legs as I struggled to stand.

"So all I have to do is... take it off?" I asked my doppelgänger.

She nodded, her wise eyes narrowing at my companions.

"And whatever you fools do, do not attempt to interfere. She will be in pain, but it will pass. An attempt to comfort may end one of your lives when suppressed power comes out to play."

Lucius held up god hands in mock surrender, but we all knew he wouldn't come to my aid in any other circumstance anyway. Alvar, on the other hand, looked torn. I smiled weakly at him, not wanting to approach out of fear Id never leave the comfort of his arms.

"I'll be fine." I wanted to believe myself, but my words came out as a cough and my legs wobbled traitorously beneath me.

Before Alvar could reach out, or Beast could cushion my fall, I lifted the necklace from around my neck and dropped it onto the ground.

At first, nothing happened. I stood frozen, waiting for the world to start spinning or for disaster to strike. But after a minute of silence, even the wraiths looked bored. I looked at Lucius, then at Alvar, and began to laugh. My laughter turned to a scream. Searing pain shot through my skull and reverberated through my entire body. It felt like someone was drilling holes into the sides of my skull, making my eyes swim and my vision blacken. I screamed as my legs buckled beneath me. I remembered the feel of something soft beneath my fingers, but then it was all just hot. Heat and fire, fire, fire, everywhere. Each cell in my body was exploding over and over again, mutating like rabies. I wanted to claw my hair out; I clutched my temples as blood began to trickle down my face. I thought I heard someone call my name, but it was lost in the endless screams.

Then, as abruptly as it began, it stopped.

In a crumpled heap on the ground, I laid sweating and panting in a pool of my blood. My limbs shook, laced with lactic acid, but strong beneath my body. I pushed myself back onto my feet, rising slowly as the strength slowly returned to my body. I could feel it, the magic, the energy, everywhere. At my call, I could draw it into my body, and be healed in an instant. But I didn't, I revelled in the exhaustion and pain that had entered my body, feeling that If I repelled it, I may never feel it again. Something dripped from my forehead, red splashed onto the black tiles. My eyes shot eagerly around the room, too bright in my new eyes. I knew if I wanted, I could cross the room in an instant, climb up the very walls, and fall from terrifying heights unscathed as I hit the ground. And if I willed it, all the worlds would answer my summon.

I must have fallen asleep, because my eyes opened hours to a cleanly washed and dressed Alvar smelling of roses hovering at my side. I crinkled my nose, put off by the sent wafting off his new shirt.

"You smell different." Alvar's eyes shot to mine and a grin broke out across his face.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up." He laughed and sat next to me.

It was only then I realised I was on a bed, under a roll of fluffy white sheets. Looking around, I found us in a dark room, the black walls opening to a window off the side of the building. Night had fallen and the low hung moon pierced through the clouds. I frowned, wondering how long I can been asleep.

"It hasn't been too long," Alvar said, reaching to tug the blankets up to my chin, "Only a few hours or so. Ly said it would be best if you got more rest."

"Ly?" I ignored his remark and began to sit up in the bed, curious.

"Your... other half." He shrugged, "She said it would ease the confusion of what to call the both of you if we were all in the one room."

I nodded, still frowning slightly. I wondered if the name was an indication of her personality, if she was lying about taking off the necklace. Perhaps it had made me more vulnerable and it had only been her power I had felt. But then again, I couldn't doubt the strength coursing through my body. All the energy in the world seemed to be at my finger tips.

I clenched my fists, staring down at my hands. As I flexed each finger individually, I noticed something; a small scar on my thumb was missing. Sitting up straighter, I rolled my hands over and found not a single sun spot, scratch, or mark of any kind. Hands flying to my face, I searched for bump of the familiar scar I had received from an ill advised boxing match, but again, found nothing. Frustrated, I ran my fingers through my hair.

A thump. I had hit something with my hands.

"Lyra!" Alvar's eyes expanded as he scrambled to take my hands off my head.

"What is on my head, Alvar?" I yelled, yanking my hands from his grip.

Feeling with both hands now, I knew there was definitely something on my head, just off to the side of my temples. Fingers trembling, I stretched my fingers down the length of the strong structures, noting they had ridges and bumps.

"What is this, Alvar?" My voice raised, I jabbed his chest with my finger.

He seemed to be locked in an internal debate, carefully considering his plan of action. Running his hands up my arms, he sighed.

"Let me get a mirror," he sat up and grabbed a small shiny mirror from under the bed. I would have wondered where it came from, if I wasn't so concerned with what was growing out of my skull. "Just," Alvar pulled the mirror back into his hands, "don't freak out."

I raised my eyebrow, considering snapping a smart remark about how I was already freaked out, but bit my tongue. Nodding, I slowly extracted the mirror from his grip.

Bringing it up to my face, I immediately had to look away, blinded by an extremely bright light. Squinting my eyes shut, I breathed deeply and tried to calm my nerves.

"You'll get used to it, just blink a few more times and it will go away."

Swallowing hard, I opened my eyes to meet my reflection. As I blinked away the brightness, a stranger stared back at me. My fingers slipped from the mirror and it shattered on the floor. Alvar jumped from the bed and quickly swept the shards away from my feet, grabbing my hands to examine any cuts. But I couldn't see him. My hands drifted back to my head, feeling the base of the large stumps in my skull.

Not stumps, I corrected myself; horns.

The large goat horns spiralled out of my head, just behind my temples, to curl the width of my forehead, tips ending sharply at my cheekbones. My unruly curly hair was streaked with copper curls, matching the colour of my horns. My skin was cleared of all remnants of acne scars and old wounds, the freckles remaining on the tip of my bronzed nose. It had flowed through the reflection of the mirror, but it wasn't what blinded me. Most frightening of all, worse than the horns stretching out of my skull, was my eyes. They pierced through the mirror the colour of liquid gold, shining like a drop of the sun had fallen to the earth; to bright to look at for more than a second.

I stared straight ahead, straight at Alvar, wondering why he hadn't run the moment he had seen me. Perhaps I wasn't as frightening as an Wraith or a Leefy, but I was certainly a rare and terrifying sight to behold. I was no longer human.

"Well this is interesting," I gripped my horns and began to laugh.

It was nervous, jumpy laughter that resembled a hyena cry. But after a moment Alvar too began to laugh, a real laugh, and that made me feel a little better. Knowing he wasn't afraid of me was one thing, but knowing it hadn't changed anything was another. Our laughter died down, and we sighed in succinct. As our chests rose and fell as one, I looked into his dark eyes and found them staring right back. A smile tugging the edges of his mouth, Alvar slowly leaned and touched his lips upon mine.

I couldn't help it; I smiled into Alvar's lips. His touch was ecstatic, alive with an energy that drove my core crazy. My heart rattled the cage of my ribs as it attempted to beat its way out of my chest, closer to him.

When we finally pulled away from one another, our breathing was rapid and raspy. I ran my hands through his hair, pulling back the curls from his eyes. The scar on his brow was knitted together perfectly, like a strand of pure silver.

"You're really not bothered by this?" I left my hands knotted in Alvar's hair and pressed my forehead to his.

Alvar smiled and slowly reached up. He traced the curves of the horns with his index finger. I shivered, the sensation of his touch travelling through my bones.

"No," Alvar said softly, his breath hot on my face, "quite the opposite really. Now I know I can't hurt you, even if I try."

I shoved him playfully and laughed.

"You couldn't have hurt me before; you're too much of a softy."

He grinned, hands sliding to the dip in my back. Close once more, we sunk into each other embrace, high on the kisses shared between us.

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Hey guys, how you liking the plot so far?

I just love the song above, give it a listen if you haven't <3

Below is what I want her horns and eyes to look like;

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xx Charli

(unedited)

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