33.

Although the realisation that my doppelgänger plotted my death was frightening, Alvar and I knew that she feared my growing strength. The physical fight wouldn't be won easily. More than that, she feared that even if she did succeed in killing me, she would absorb my personality along side my power.

"How do we even know we are actually stuck here? Whose to say the whole story was made up to get me to agree to the binding." I questioned Alvar late into the night as we lay together on my bed, the spell still cast on our lips.

"No, if it wasn't true this would all be all too easy," Alvar laughed, head propped up on his right hand, "Plus, Beast has already travelled to the portal we came though and all the one major ones. Not a single one was operational."

"So The Anima really did lock us in here with the hopes we would all destroy each other." I clucked my tongue and collapsed back into the pillows, my horns poking holes into the feathered material.

"I don't think she would have sent us here if she knew what The Umbra was planning." Alvar said truthfully, "Speaking of whom, I was beginning to wonder how much influence her power is having over your doppelgänger."

"I assume its much like what I've been experiencing," I shrugged lightly, "She probably feels more connected to her people, but I doubt she's hearing voices in her head. Perhaps she actually had a good relationship with The Umbra before she died and just wants to keep to their friendship."

"I doubt it's that simple." Alvar rubbed his eyes, the fatigue drawing dark circles under his eyes.

"True," I yawned, "But unless you want to ask her, I think we will have to suffer without knowing."

I laughed lightly, imagining the scene from behind closed lids. Alvar began to chuckle, his deep laughter vibrating the bed sheets. We stayed like that for a little while, laughing softly among the softness of the blankets.

"Alvar?" I asked quietly, my hand reaching for his.

"Yeah?" He kissed the back of my hand.

"What am I going to do?"

He squeezed my hand lightly, but remained silent. We stared at the ceiling for a full minute, our breathing matched as we considered all the different scenarios that could fall from our predicament.

"I've never killed anyone before, Alvar. And if that's what it's going to take... I don't know if I can do it."

Alvar shifted to face me, his fingers reaching for a strand of my curly hair.

"Don't think of it as killing a person," He said softly, confirming my theory. It was either she or I. "Think of it as taking back a piece of you. I don't think the wolf will be a problem, either. It's likely he will become part of the essence and power you absorb when you kill her."

"But do I really have to kill her?" My voice cracked as I considered driving a blade through my own heart.

"I know she has lied to us. We know now that the binding ceremony was just a ruse for when she was going to kill you and take your power. But I believe everything else she said was true. We are stuck here unless one of you gains the power to defeat not only The Anima's magic, but also centuries old portals and dimensions. And if we don't get out of here, who knows what The Anima is planning for The First, or even Earth. We can't let your doppelgänger have the power to bring whatever destruction The Umbra has ordered her to complete and we cant let The Anima have free reign back home. Lyra," He shifted closer, finger catching a tear that had slipped from my eye, "I know you are strong enough. You just have to believe in yourself, believe that everything will be all right. I'll be right there with you."

I knew I had no reason to cry, or to shy away from the concept of death. Either I killed her, or she would kill me and possibly everyone I loved. More than that, she could kill the Fae, just like The Anima, and she could kill humans in my own home. Alvar knew it, I knew it; there was no choice; I had to kill her.

"But how can I kill her? We know she has all the power of The Umbra and the ceremony will probably be the day after next."

"Leave that to me," Alvar squeezed my hand again and kissed my forehead, "We just need to figure out how she was planning on killing you and reverse it."

"So we trick her?"

"Essentially."

I laughed in spite of it.

"You might need to enlist Lucius then." I said, half joking.

"I'll speak to him in the morning. Whatever you did to him earlier, I don't doubt he will be bouncing off the walls for the rest of the night."

Alvar talked to me for the next hour about The First Plane and everything he knew about the Shadows. After a while, I drifted to sleep, his voice a peaceful lullaby.

My eyes narrowed at the elder as I examined him closely. I had yet to make up my mind about him. Claiming ignorance just wasn't a foreseeable option; this man was too talented and intelligent to not know about his queen's plan. If anything, he was in on the entire plan. It was my suspicion that he was the one tasked with tiring me out so I would be an easy kill. I wanted to pry, my tongue itching with half insults and baits that could catch him in a lie. But Alvar had told me to keep the elder distracted for a few hours while he navigated his way around the palace. I had managed to open a mental link with him, a part of my new abilities, so I could converse with him privately in my head.

"I need to get into Ly's room. She must have the weapon or spell or whatever she was going to use in there." His voice was soft but frantic in my mind and I struggled not to wince.

"Don't be stupid. If I can tell where she and everyone in this place is at all times, she sure as hell will know when you try to break into her room."

"Is there any way you can distract her then?"

I stared at the elder, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently.

"Yes. There might be a way. But I can't do anything about the wolf. Beast?" I pulled him into the link effortlessly. He stirred from his nap atop a high bolder a few miles away, "Can you keep the wolf busy?"

"Of course."I sensed his pride and could see he puffed up his chest on the rock and bound immediately into the air. Since I had told him of the danger, he had been awaiting my instructions. "For how long does it need to be occupied."

"Two hours, at most."I said and finally stepped into the clearing, pulling the elders attention away from the ground to my face.

"Is violence needed?"

I nearly laughed and I felt Alvar chuckle.

"No, Beast. Avoid it as much as you can. We don't want to cast suspicion before we know what my doppelgänger is planning on using. While I distract her, ill try to see if I can fish anything from her."

"So, you ready to try again?" The elder stepped closer and clapped his hands together.

I broke my mental link to focus my energy onto the task at hand.

"Of course." I nodded eagerly and rubbed my hands together, feigning excitement. "How can I do for longer this time, without nearly passing out?"

"Well, since Ly is so strong, making any type of connection will be draining, especially a mental one." I raised my eyebrow; perhaps this is how they wished to fatigue me, but I had to do it if I wanted her mind to be anywhere but on Alvar and his snooping. "So I advice that this time, you draw on the power of your creature."

I flinched and bit my cheek to keep myself from swearing. There was no way I was going to draw upon Beast's energy. With any bet, it was an extension on the plan to wear down my defences to keep him from coming to my rescue. The elder stared at me expectantly and I nodded reluctantly. Although he may think it, I was not going to use Beast. My own power would have to do.

Closing my eyes, I let the golden coil unfurl. It reached out, frantically searching for something it could fixate upon. Gently, I pushed it outwards, past the hills in the west to the lake Ly was currently training beside. As my power closed in, my conscious leapt from my body and suddenly I was walking in the body of the light. I knew Ly's eyes couldn't see me, but one wrong move and her mind would also know I was here. Unfortunately for me, those wrong moves were exactly the right thing to do.

Ly's body flashed at the edge of my vision, her body moving swiftly as she twirled twin blades in her palms. She slashed and jabbed at invisible bodies, finding the most vulnerable places to ensure a quick death. Her movements were alien to me, but she had practiced them well. Just as I thought she would move on to something less frightening, she gripped onto an imaginary body and slit the area of the throat, blade slicing vertically down the jugulars.

The wolf, who had been stationed as guard by the lake, suddenly perked up and sprang into the forest, gone in a swirl of smoke. Beast had done his job. None it was time for mine. It was a strain, but I managed to send out a call to Alvar.

"Now, Alvar."

Like a junkie on cocaine, I sprang from my position and began to spastically tear through the undergrowth. Ly's eyes snapped towards my position as I began to tear up the grass, chucking it in her face before prancing around her other side. Her eyes widened as I began to laugh, speaking my golden power over her like a cloak. I knew I would not be able to command her now, not with her full attention on me, but I could still experiment with my powers. I had wondered what I could achieve outside my body.

Gritting my teeth, I threw my power at a nearby stone, shattering its physical body to pieces. The shards flung outwards, some flying straight through me, while my doppelgänger shielded her face from the debris.

"What are you doing?" Ly screamed, her anger making the sky rumble with thunder.

Intriguing, it seemed she had the same powers over her Plane. Perhaps she would make the earth hold me down as she slit my throat.

"Training."I called back, throwing my power at another rock, much larger this time.

The boulder lifted of the ground, hovered for a moment, and then smashed down into the lake. Ly whipped around, fury boiling in her eyes as she searched for me. It was good, I had her attention. But I was unsure why she was so angry. Of course, since I knew her intentions, it made total sense, but if she was trying to come across like a sacrificial saint, why wasn't she acting like one?

"Okay, seriously, Blake, cut it out." I actually laughed at her words. I knew they were addressed to the elder, but hearing his plainly human name made me want to go home and gossip.

"I need to build my strength," I shouted, concentrating my power once again on my other half. Wanting to have some fun, I delicately let my power play with her hair, bouncing and pulling it, "Blake said I should try mind control, but I didn't think you'd appreciate that, I know I wouldn't. So if you could help me out a little, let me play around, that would be great. Then we can both tell him I did as he asked and we can both stay completely sane!"

Ly looked in my general direction. I had made my way over to the lake, examining its waters with intrigue. I assumed she couldn't actually see me exactly, more just a bright light in the centre of her head.

"He asked you to do that?" She asked, crossing her arms.

I cocked my head, but continued to examine the water. Her tone indicated she was irritated at the elder, perhaps for trying to get me in her head, or perhaps for failing to get me inside her head. I assumed brain-dead me would be easier to bond with than strong but getting stronger me.

"Yes. But I would rather not risk entering your mind before the binding. After the ceremony, we will have the same brain after all and I wouldn't want to destroy one half of it."I tried to make my words sound sweat and naive, if words could convey it.

She said nothing, but remained focused on me. That was all I needed, just for a little longer. I didn't know how time passed when I was outside my body, but I still knew Alvar would need at least thirty minutes.

"How does it feel?" I asked suddenly, a desperate attempt to keep her attention.

"How does what feel?" She uncrossed her arms and took a small step forwards, analysing the direction my speech came from.

"To have all The Umbra's power. I only have a small amount of The Anima's, so I don't know what to expect when we merge. I mean, what can you do with all that power?"

It was indeed an important question I hadn't considered asking. Knowing her power would be extremely important in trying to defeat her. I felt a tickle at my feet, but looked down to find nothing out of the ordinary.

"Well," She sighed and closed the distance between herself and the water, "It feels... heavy; like there is a lot inside me, a lot of different things that all want a chance to come out and play. So if I don't let them out every once in a while, it bottles up a bit."

I chewed my lip and examined her closely. It didn't appear to be a lie, but I also couldn't tell if it was meant to scare me or not. Now my wrists itched, I scratched them automatically.

"As for the powers, you'll find out soon enough, I guess."

Cleaver, I thought. She was not stupid; she was me. If I were planning a plot, it would be carefully thought out, with many back up plans. I shot up; suddenly aware that I was had left my body, my real body, vulnerable. Her first plan had failed, but in no way was it unsuccessful. Not only did she have my body, but also she had separated me from my three protectors.

"Alvar!" Now I was the one to be frantic. "Alvar, get out of there now. There is no point looking, it won't be in her room." There was no point looking in her room; the weapon or spell wouldn't be in there, if she had one. She would put it elsewhere, where she could have it easily but also conceal it if need be. It was what I would have done. It was with her wolf.

"Beast! Get away from the wolf! Please! Come to the clearing!"

Neither of them answered me. Either I had lost the strength to use all my power, or they had already been taken. We had fallen straight into a trap, laid by the elder and his queen. The day before, the conversation I had overheard, was planted. They had succeeded in separating us completely.

Ly straightened, a wicked smile curling the corners of her lips.

"Give up. You already know you've lost."

And she began to laugh, a high cry of achievement, a wretched screech of joy.

I threw my power backwards with a scream, pushing and pushing until it reached my body. The gold blanketed my body and sent my consciousness back into my brain. I jerked backwards, my eyes blinking rapidly as light poured into my eyes. I tried to lift my hands to shield my vision, but something was keeping me from moving. I tried to call out, but something was in my mouth, tightening from the back of my head. Bounded and gagged, all I could see was the dirt and mud of the ground and boots, walking around my head.

"I'm sorry it must come to this." The elder crouched, his legs and torso coming into my vision. "But the lady doesn't want to die. There is just too much that needs to be accomplished, things that you haven't even begun to understand. She'd much prefer if you could do the sacrificing."

His big hand patted my hair and I flinched. He was no fool, but he had played us excellently.

"Now, now, Blake. That's enough. Bring her to the throne room, we have little time to spare." Ly approached from beside the elder, her hand falling to rest on his shoulder.

I gritted my teeth, wanting to spit and scream, demand where my friends were. But as I searched for my gold light, I found it gone, beyond my reach. Whatever they had bound me with, preventing me from moving an inch, was also keeping me from my abilities.

There was a crunch, someone else was moving up beside me. Only this time, I could see its face. The black wolf approached, its black mussel curled into a snarl as it circled. As it moved, its muscular hide tensing and relaxing with each menacing step, something glinted at its neck. Hidden under the fur, a large stone acted as a collar. It wasn't just any stone; it was my sister's bloodstone.

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Hey guys!

This is about to get intense ;)

I've entered this book into the Watty awards this year, and would really appreciate it if you could help me get there by voting and sharing this story with your friends. I've never written a book this long and I'm really proud of myself for not giving up like I have with so many others. I appreciate all the support you've given me so far, its amazing to know more than one person tunes in to read each week. 

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xx Charli

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