Chapter Eleven: Double Double
"Twin?!" I said when he'd snatched the picture back from me. "I don't have a twin. I don't even have siblings!" I ran my hand through my hair again, not knowing how to take in any of the information I'd just learnt.
"Weren't you listening to anything I just said?" he scowled. It was like looking into a mirror… Even his facial expressions matched mine. There was a silence as the two of us glared at each other, both frustrated with the other.
"Well!" Swan turned on her heel and headed to the back corner of her office. "I see you two have a lot to catch up on. I'll just make some tea, shall I? And maybe something stronger for myself," she mumbled the last part.
Finally, I let out a breath I'd been holding. "Okay, I believe you."
"You do?" he seemed shocked.
I nodded and shook my head at the same time. "Yeah, sure, why not? Really, it's the only thing that makes sense." Swan held two teacups out to us. I took mine, but Atlas stole the whiskey from her desk and downed it in one go. I set the cup on the desk. "I don't think this is the time for tea," I said sharply, going against every English bone in my body… Was I even English? Atlas sounded American… "I have so many questions." Swan busied herself behind her desk, leaving my brother and I to talk things out. "If you were tryin' to warn me, why were you actin' so creepy about it?" I asked, finally getting my thoughts together.
"I wasn't being creepy, I was trying to get you to let me out!" he crossed his arms.
"Let you out?" I shook my head, not understanding.
"Yeah," he was still agitated. Honestly, we both were. "I got stuck in there months ago trying to save your dumb ass." His eyes softened a bit, but his scowl remained.
"Oh, Atlas," Swan frowned at him sympathetically.
"Save me? From what?" I asked, thinking that months ago I was still in Bristol, completely ignorant of magic.
He sneered. "From that self-aggrandising sod that calls himself The Dread."
"That Raife guy?" I asked.
He nodded. "I'm surprised you know his true name."
"Perseus has been studying hard while he's been here," Swan told him. "I'm glad something stuck, though, I had hoped he would focus more on his schoolwork than a subject I specifically asked him not to look into," she scolded me.
I shrugged defensively. "It's comin' in handy, innit? I read about this guy. He murdered a ton of kids."
"It wasn't kids, Percy. It was twins. Hundreds of them," Atlas informed me.
"Buy why?" I squinted at him, trying to imagine any reason to kill a bunch of ankle-biters. I mean, kids could be annoying, but how mad would you have to murder hundreds of babies?
"Because he was looking for us," he explained. "And he wants to kill us."
"This is unreal," I shook my head in disbelief. Why us specifically? What did we ever do? Were we special somehow? Was there something he needed us for? A thousand questions raced around my head. This was too much information.
"Yeah, well you didn't think magic was real either up until a few months ago," he snapped.
"It's not like that's my fault! I was raised without magic!" I snapped back.
"Atlas, that's enough!" Swan narrowed her eyes at him. "He's… He's not ready!"
"And whose fault is that?!" he hissed at her. "The Miller family knew this day would come! It was their job to prepare him, like my caregivers did me."
My mind was reeling. Miller family? I thought it was just my mum… Was there supposed to be someone else? What does he mean? "My… my mum's dead," I said softly, catching both of their eyes. They looked utterly shocked. "I mean… my caregiver," I hated correcting it, but I had to think about my birth mother and how Atlas might misunderstand. "She died a few years ago."
"What about her husband?" he asked.
I started at him questioningly. "I… don't… She wasn't married," I said. They shared an anxious look. "What was she supposed to be preparin' me for?"
"For the fight to come, of course," he answered. "Our birth parents separated us to keep us safe. Our caregivers were supposed to keep us hidden." His irritation returned. "Now, Raife knows where we are and he knows we're together. Our time is up, and you have no idea what's coming." He stepped forward and put his hand on my cheek, his fingers cold as ice.
I moved out of his reach. "What are you doin'?"
He sighed, his features untightening a bit. "It's a Moon spell. It'll allow me to share my memories with you."
"Atlas!" Swan held out her hand to stop him. "You still need to recover. You're not strong enough to do this right now."
"He needs to see what we're dealing with here," he snapped.
I looked between the two of them. "He's right. I have no clue what's goin' on and this seems like the fastest way to understand." Swan sighed and nodded reluctantly. Atlas put his hand on my cheek and closed his eyes.
"Perseus, close your eyes," Swan instructed. "This will feel fairly real, but remember that you are perfectly safe." I closed my eyes, and everything went dark.
I was up in a tall tree, looking down on a caravan of creatures and Attuned wearing dark robes. They were all carrying building materials to a weathered old castle on the nearby hill.
"I don't know why we have to help. We should be up at the castle sitting pretty right about now," one of the gruntmen whined.
"You know those things need direction," a woman gestured to the shadow creatures ahead of them. "And you also know the boss doesn't like to hear that kind of talk, so shut up and do as you're told."
The man grumbled and raised his hand, effortlessly lifting a massive tree trunk into the air. He's already build his machine, so what's all this for? I squinted, trying to get a better look at the caravan. "All I'm saying is, we better get what we're owed."
"And you shall," a voice echoed through the night. I recognised it and felt a chill run down my spine. Raife was walking down the pathway toward the two lackies. "You know what they say. If you have time to complain, you have time to work. Or maybe you need a little supervision of your own," his voice was gruff and threatening. He held an essence up in his hand and tossed it into the air. Before it hit the ground, a huge shadow beast emerged from the stone.
"N-no, sir!" the man took a step back. "No, I was just telling Sofia how I can't wait to see you ascend to your rightful place, sir," he panicked.
"Hm. Rest assured, we will all have our comeuppance," Raife said. "We will all have the power we were denied by earthly limitations, but first, we put in the work." His voice seemed twisted as he grinned, looking insane.
"Sir, not to question your brilliance and wisdom," the woman said, "but all of this work is for nothing if we don't get those twins, right?"
"Not to fret. The eldest has made a mistake. We were finally able to track him through his college applications," he said. "He's at some Attuneless institution in an English town called Bristol. He won't be hard to find." Percy! I have to get to him first!
"And the other one, sir? Atlas?" the man added.
Raife grinned again. "Ah, Atlas. Well, I'd imagine he's closer than we think." He turned and looked through the treetops, staring right at me through my invisibility ward. Shit! "You can come out now, child. There's no need to hide." I can't be caught right now! I jumped out of the tree, headed straight for the ground. I used the wind to set me down gently before sprinting back toward my camp. I needed the mirror… "Tsk, tsk. Always running," his voice followed me and a ghost like image of him appeared before me. "Fetch, my pet." No, no! I tried to run faster, hearing the angry scream of Raife's shadow pet. I could hear it crunching trees behind me.
"Come on, Atlas! Pick up the pace!" I yelled at myself. I intertwined my fingers as I ran, casting an Air spell to propel me forward. I looked over my shoulder. The boost didn't seem to help. The beast was right on my tail.
Raife's disembodied head appeared in front of me, laughing. I ran through the projection. "Why don't you just give up, child?" His laugh echoed all around me as I ran through the underbrush to get to my camp, but all my stuff was gone. "Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide."
"That's what you think," I muttered, pulling a compact mirror out of my pocket. I looked up at the moon and aligned the mirror with the moonlight. The light was reflected onto the tree next to me, creating a circle of light. I blew on the mirror, making the circle brighter. I could hear the beast getting closer. I didn't have time. I rushed toward the tree and began drawing a circle around the light in the bark, making my fingers bleed as I dug my nails into it. Come on, come on, come on! When I finished the circle, I took a step back and pressed my palms together. I pulled them back then thrust them towards the tree. "Open!" As the Sun magic left my hands, I tripped forward, completely out of energy.
"Fool! You've weakened yourself!" Raife's voice echoed.
"Yeah," I smirked, "but it worked." I pulled myself into the portal I'd just created and dropped into the mirror dimension. I was so drained that I just laid there for a minute. "I can't believe I made it," I groaned, but laughed a bit, relieved. A loud growl got my attention and I realised that the portal was still open. The beast was clawing its way in. "Give me a break!" I stumbled to my feet and hobbled for a mirror several feet away, my vision starting to blur. The creature behind me managed to tear through the portal, but it cried in pain as it did so. It roared, shaking the ground. I tripped and fell into a pool of black water, seeing my scratched and muddy face in my reflection. "Come on, get up! Keep moving!" I drug myself through the mud, pulling myself toward the mirror. "Just… a little… further!"
The beast crashed into the trees behind me. I rolled onto my back, looking for a way to defend myself. I threw up my hands, letting a surge of energy escape from my palms. "Yueguang Trabem!" I shouted. The shadow screamed and vanished into wisps of smoke as the essence fell to the floor. "I… did… it," I grinned before blacking out.
Sudden nausea caused me to lean back against the bookshelf. "I feel sick," I groaned.
"That's to be expected," Atlas said. "It'll pass."
"He… He almost had you! And that shadow thing… You're fingers…," I tried to piece together what I'd seen. Wait… I've seen that before… I remembered my dream from months ago. It was the first time I'd seen my odd reflection… Was that the day he got stuck?
He shrugged. "That old creep has been trying to catch me for years."
"I don't understand. What do we do now?" I asked, finally able to stand up straight.
"Now," Swan piped in, "you go back to your room and keep Atlas out of sight until I can figure out what to do about this mess!"
"That's it? But-," I objected.
She put her hand up, stopping me. "Please, Perseus. I know this is a lot to process, and I know you have more questions, but it's my duty to keep you safe," she said sternly. Then she turned to Atlas. "The both of you. Please, let me do that."
Atlas stared at her for a while, but nodded curtly. "Fine."
"Sure, that's all well and good, but in case you hadn't noticed, Atlas has my face," I said. They both raised their eyebrows at me until I expanded on my thought process. "People are goin' to notice that I suddenly have a twin brother runnin' around."
"Ah, I've got just the solution for that," Swan beamed. "I can put an illusion over him that will make him invisible to everyone except you, Perseus. It only lasts for thirty minutes, though, so you'll have to go straight back to your dorm room. Don't stop for anything," she looked between us until we both nodded. Then she stepped close to him and made pinching motions in the air around him. Each point left a crease of rainbow light.
"Is it… workin'? What are those lights?" I asked. Atlas walked over to the mirror, but showed no reflection. I chuckled. "Awesome. You're a vampire." He rolled his eyes and groaned. When Swan didn't seem to have anything else to add, he turned for the door. "I guess we're leavin' now."
"Before you go," she frowned at me. "I know Atlas has a lot of hard edges, but he's your brother, and he did a lot to keep you safe and shield you from the evils out there. Just remember that while I try to get this all sorted out. I suspect living with him in close quarters is going to get a bit… tiresome."
I pursed my lips. "I get the feelin' you're right. I'll keep it in mind," I smiled weakly before following him out into the hall. He was leaning against the wall, drumming his fingers against his arm.
"Finally. I need you to show me the Hall of Mirrors. The entrance on your end, of course, not the mirror I came through," he said, standing up straight and shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Er, I don't think we should do that. We're kind of on a time crunch," I argued.
"You do realise our lives are on the line here, right?" he hissed. "Trust me, I know that better than Swan does."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine, I'll show you, but you need to chill. You may be invisible, but the whole school can still hear you."
"Fine. Your turf, your rules," he agreed.
I nodded and started off toward the hall. "What exactly are you expectin' to find there anyway?" I asked quietly as we turned the corner.
"You don't think it's suspicious that I've been banging on the other side of that glass for months, but now I'm suddenly able to get through?" he asked. "If that's a coincidence, I'll eat a skizditch whole."
I thought for a second. "Come to think of it, when I first got pulled through, I couldn't get back either. It wasn't until Swan let down the wards that I was able to get back in." As we rounded the corner, I stopped and backed up, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him against the wall.
"Excuse you?" he hissed.
"Shush!" I whispered lowly, peeking around the corner quickly to confirm what I saw. "Professor Englund is guardin' the door. Looks like we'll have to come back later."
He shrugged me off of him and started around the corner. I grabbed his jacket sleeve and pulled him back again. "You touch my jacket one more time, I swear…," he threatened.
"Shut up!" I whispered harshly. "What was your plan here? You know you're effectively an intruder, right? I don't know if you've heard, but intruders get vaporised here."
"Yeah, I'm also currently invisible," he rolled his eyes. "You can talk to him. Ask him my questions for me. He's got to know something that can help us," he pushed me forward. I tentatively turned the corner and approached my professor.
"Percy! One of my star students," he greeted me. "If this is about your homework, we'll have to chat later. Students aren't allowed down this hall for the time being."
"Oh. Is that so? Why's that?" I tried to act ignorant, but my usual coolness was crushed by my aggressive twin standing next to me.
"You haven't heard?" Englund's jaw dropped. "I thought it'd be all around school by now. I'm not really supposed to talk about it."
I shrugged. "If the whole school already knows, why is it a secret? What could you tell me that I couldn't go find out from some random kid?"
He looked around nervously. "I guess you make a fair point… Well, if anyone asks, you heard it from the old rumour mill, but it appears that someone has vandalised the mirror room."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "What? Vandalised the Hall of Mirrors? Who would do such a thing?"
"Laying it on a bit thick there," Atlas whispered behind me. It took everything in my power not to roll my eyes.
"That's all we know at the moment," he frowned. "The dean is currently busy attending to other matters, but she'll be down to check the sentry recordings as soon as she's finished," he pointed to a suit of armour against the wall.
"That's all? But what about-," I started, but he shook his head.
"It's nothing for you to worry about, Percy. Now, please, I need you to keep this hallway clear," he pushed me back down the hall.
I let out a sigh as we turned the corner. "Well, that was a total waste of time."
"Not entirely," Atlas walked over toward the sentry near the main door in the foyer. "These sentries act like Tuneless video cameras. We may not be able to see inside the mirror room, but we can at least see the aftermath."
"Well, that's cool… and useful," I looked the suit of armour up and down, impressed.
"Considering we know absolutely nothing, I don't see how it could hurt," he said. "We should have enough time before Swan's spell wears off."
"Sounds fun," I nodded.
"I'm so glad you've got your priorities straight," he rolled his eyes. I walked up to the sentry, not sure what to do. "Don't just stand there. Ask it a question."
"Er… Sentry, please tell us what happened in the mirror room," I asked politely. There was a long silence as we anticipated its reply, but none came.
"Fantastic," Atlas groaned.
I smirked. "I have an idea," I put my hand on the sentry's metal shoulder and stared into the helm. "Would you mind tellin' us what happened in the Hall of Mirrors?" The inside of the armour began to glow, and the helmet rattled as the suit came to life.
"Did you just use a Moon spell?" Atlas' jaw was hanging down. I smirked again proudly. "I can't believe that worked."
A voiced echoed out of the hollow armour as it spoke. "Demonstrate thine knowledge and I will do so in kind. Search the crest of Penderghast past and what dost thou find? Before the Dryxmar came a creature most powerful and fierce. Speak forth its name and my defences you will pierce."
Atlas groaned. "I hate riddles," he crossed his arms.
"Ouroboros," I told the armour as it awaited my response.
"You knew that?" Atlas seemed surprised for a second time.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'm not a complete git."
"I just didn't think you would, being new to magic and all," he shrugged defensively.
"You don't have to be magic to read," I stated bluntly.
The armour accepted my answer when we were finally silent. "You are correct. Now, see through the eyes of another," it said, the light where eyes would have been becoming increasingly luminous until all I could see was white.
My friends and I were in the hallway outside of the Hall of Mirrors. Percy had just disappeared. We were panicking as we brushed the shattered glass from our clothes and checked on one another. Luckily, no-one was hurt more than just a scratch.
"What happened in there?!" Griffin turned in the doorway, completely stunned. "How are we supposed to go after him if all the mirrors are broken?"
"Why did the mirrors shatter in the first place?!" Shreya asked. "Was it because of the shadow monsters?"
"Never mind why they shattered! Why did Percy fall through the mirror like that?" Beckett was pacing back and forth in the same five foot stretch of hallway.
I had to do something. They needed to calm down and focus. "Guys, relax. I'm sure Percy's got that big ol' monster in a headlock by now," I tried, but the response was less than desired.
"You can't just assume that, Zephyr!" Beckett hissed at me. "This is serious. Percy needs our help!"
I sighed. "Come on, Beckett. You know him as well as I do. You saw how quickly he picked up on all this magic stuff."
Beckett finally stopped, his arms crossing in front of him as he rubbed his elbow. "That… That may be, but…," he stuttered.
"If any of us is gonna fall int an alternate dimension and survive, it's Percy. Kind of already happened once, if you think about it," I said. "We need to put our trust in him, and then we can think about what to do to help."
Shreya nodded. "Zeph's right. If anyone can get himself out of this mess under his own power, it's Percy."
"What do you think we should do?" I asked her.
"I don't know about any of you, but I'm not going to leave Percy wandering around god knows where. There's got to be another way in," she said. "We just have to find it."
"Maybe, but I doubt us students could access-," Griffin started, but Shreya held up her hand and closed it, telling him to shut up.
"I'm sorry, I don't think you understood me," she glared at him. "Let me say this slowly this time. I. Am. Not. Leaving. Percy. Alone," she clapped between each word.
I frowned. "Shreya, Perc wouldn't want us to do anything reckless."
"You guys can do whatever you want," she hissed, turning to me. "If being reckless means saving him then I'm gonna be the most reckless woman in Penderghast history!"
"I think we should go to one of the professors and tell them what happened," Griffin suggested. "They'll know what to do."
"That is a terrible idea!" Beckett shouted, seeming extremely out of character. "What if they ask us how it happened? We can't give them a reason, and we're just students. They could end up blaming us," he glared between us. "They'll find out about the room on their own, so let them. We're all safer that way."
"I don't think the professors would-," I started, but the suit of armour next to me began to move, catching us all off guard.
"The sentries!" Griffin exclaimed. "They see everything that goes on here. They must know what happened in the mirror room!"
"Which means they might know what happened to Percy!" Shreya agreed.
I turned to the knight. "Hey, sentry, why did all the mirrors shatter like that?" I asked.
"We know not why the mirrors shattered, but when opposing powers meet on the bridges between worlds, those bridges collapse," it replied.
"Well, it heard us, but… what the heck did any of that mean?" I turned to the rest of the group.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Griffin shook his head. "The sentries are enchanted to give answers, but not necessarily clear ones."
"Everyone, if you could return to your dorms, please!" Professor Englund's voice bounced off the stone walls as he rounded the corner. "This hallway is off limits for the time being!"
We all looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Beckett spoke up first. "We should get out of here. If we get caught and detained, we lose time looking for Percy." Without waiting for the rest of us, he turned on his heel and trudged off down the hall. The rest of us glanced at each other, not knowing what to do, before following after him.
"That is all there is to see," the sentry's voice echoed in front of me.
My head was spinning. I was starting to get sick of visions… "I can't see so well right now, but thank you. That was helpful." I turned to usher Atlas out of the foyer when I noticed the rainbow lights around him flickering. At first, I thought it was just the green and purple spots I was seeing for the second time that evening, but then I realised it wasn't. "Time's up, we have to go!" I pushed him toward the exit, but the doors swung open just as we reached them. Without a second thought, I shoved Atlas behind the suit of armour. Its head turned towards me with a loud screech. "Both of you… just… shush!" I held my finger to my lips. As two students started toward the stairs, I leaned against the wall, casually picking at my fingers. They didn't seem to notice me at all as they went about their conversation. "Alright, they're gone. We have to go."
Atlas peered around the armour before stepping out behind me. "Quick thinking," he muttered. We ran down the stairs to the central courtyard of the school. Luckily, the cover of nightfall gave us an edge up on sneaking.
"My dorm is that buildin' there," I pointed across the way.
"Why don't we just book it?" he asked. We were hiding near the bushes behind the upperclassmen dorm, staring at our target.
"You see that statue?" I jerked my head at the giant lady with the swivelling head. "Remember what I said about intruders bein' vaporised?" I asked. "That." Her eyes shined like a lighthouse around the campus.
"Oh, I get it," he nodded to himself. "When I say run, run," he ordered before jumping out of the bush and patting himself down. He took a casual step to the side, leaving a remnant of himself where he'd been previously standing. He pushed the copy forward in the opposite direction from where we needed to go then darted off across the courtyard.
"You didn't say run!" I scrambled after him.
"I thought it was implied. Keep up!" he shouted back at me.
I looked over my shoulder and saw the lady's gaze completely fixed on the clone. When I looked back, I had to jump quickly. I'd nearly ran right into a flowerbed filled with tinkling tinnies. They would have given us away in a second, since their buds were actual bells. Shit, that was close! We sprinted up the hill, but I stopped him before we entered the building. I knew the R.A. would be at her desk. We had to sneak passed her. I looked at Atlas before opening the door. The lights around him were flickering rapidly. It was now or never. "Listen up," I said, hand on the handle. "You need to sneak passed the girl at the desk then take a right at the hallway. It's a straight shot to my room from there."
"Got it. Say no more," he nodded and did a quick hand motion, making a cracking sound as sparks flew from his knuckles.
"The bloody hell are you doin'?!" I whispered.
"Knocking her out," he looked at me like it was obvious.
I slapped his hands down. "You git! We don't need to hurt her! The bloody hell is wrong with you?" I shook my head. "I'll go distract her and you will sneak around to the hallway, yes? My turf, my rules, you said?" He shrugged silently. "Bloody hell," I mumbled under my breath as I swung the door open. "Hiya, Becca," I grinned and leaned on the desk.
She beamed up at me. "Hello, Percy. What can I do for you?" she asked sweetly.
I saw Atlas slip behind a planter out of the corner of my eye. The leaves reached for him, you know, since all the plants are magic and alive. He swatted at them, flailing around like an idiot. "I wanted to know if you'd seen that," I said, gesturing to the painting behind the desk. As soon as she turned around, Atlas sprung up and darted for the hall, his footsteps not making a sound.
"Uh, you mean the portrait of Celestina Qu'itvitsits that's been hanging here all semester?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Right!" I grinned and snapped my fingers. "That's her name. I'd completely forgotten it. Hey, are you hangin' out with Griffin this weekend?" I asked, trying to play it off.
She blushed and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah. What about you? Any plans?"
I shrugged. "You know me, always findin' somethin' to do," I chuckled. "I might practice that cymitar a bit more," I lied. "Speakin' of, I've got to jet," I glanced at the hall where Atlas was impatiently tapping his fingers.
"Oh, alright. Goodnight, Percy," she said.
I turned to leave, waving over my shoulder. "You, too. Cheers."
The common area was empty, thank god. I sighed heavily and dropped over the arm of the sofa onto the cushions. "Blimy, that was way too close."
Atlas crossed his arms and leaned his leg against the other side of the couch, towering above me when I opened my eyes. "Actually, you handled yourself pretty well. Maybe I don't need to worry about you as much as I thought," he said, but before I could respond, he changed the subject. "Now that we're alone, we have to talk about-," he started, but suddenly turned his head to the door. "Do you hear that?"
I strained my ears to listen and heard Shreya's voice coming from the hall. "Well, that's it. Percy's not anywhere on campus… That mirror must have taken him somewhere else entirely."
"The way the glass shattered, I've never seen anything like it," Beckett was there, too.
"Shit!" I shot up from the couch and pushed Atlas toward the magic door with a million handles. "My room, quick!" I turned the lowest handle and shoved my way into the room, but before he could follow me…
"Percy?!" Shreya froze in place, dropping her bag. I hid behind the door, watching through the crack. "Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere!" Atlas looked panicked, his eyes darting to where I was.
"Just go with it," I mouthed.
Shreya dove at him, wrapping him in a tight hug. "Y-yes. I am Percy. Your friend," he said with the most piss poor attempt at an English accent I'd ever heard in my life. Dear god… His eye twitched as he attempted to smile. I had to pinch myself as not to laugh.
"What happened to your hair?" Zeph asked, rushing over and touching Atlas' straighter, brighter hair. Mine was white, too, but the tips were naturally a light lavender, and it curled. His was straight and solid white. I have to help him. I tried so hard not to snicker while his eyes shot daggers at Zeph.
"Laugh it off," I mouthed.
He stared at me for a second, his eyebrows furrowing, but the fake smile still trying to hold itself. "Uh… Ha! That's so funny… you. That's just like… you. Always crackin' jokes," he was terrible at this.
"Well, he recognises my comedic genius, so he must be alright," Zeph grinned. Oh, come on! I put my hand to my face, disappointed in my best mate.
"Never mind all that!" Beckett charged forward. "Where have you been? The Hall of Mirrors was completely destroyed, and you were just gone!" he seemed more panicked than I'd ever seen him. Awe, he does care.
"Yeah, where did that mirror take you?" Shreya finally pulled away from him and looked up with worry in her eyes. "We looked all over campus!"
He suddenly seemed to compose himself. "It… it took me to Penn Square. I don't know what went wrong, but it dropped me right into a dumpster." I sighed. Skip bin… I'd never say 'dumpster,' you uncultured… "I tried a spell to clean off, but somethin' went wrong and it did this to my hair," he said. "Guess I'll have Swan fix it tomorrow."
"Oh, no need," Beckett raised his hand to Atlas. "That's just a simple transmutation spell. I can quite easily-"
"You touch my hair, and I'll punch the eyebrows right off your face," Atlas hissed, fake accent gone. The room was dead silent. I hid my face in my hands, unable to watch this disaster of a performance. "Sorry," he said quickly. "I've just had a long day. I'd like to just go to bed," he tried to add the shitty accent again.
"Oh, well, of course," Shreya frowned, running her hand down his arm. "We're just… glad you're safe. I guess we should all go off to bed, hm?" I could hear her voice crack.
"Thanks. All of you," Atlas said kindly.
Zeph and Beckett turned to leave, looking dejected, but Shreya threw her arms around him one more time. "Oh god, I'm just so relieved! We've been looking everywhere for you, and, you know me, I'm a faithful optimist but even I was starting to get concerned," she cried. "Of course, I was right all along," she smiled through her tears. "I knew whatever happened to you, you'd come out of it just fine, and here you are!"
"Yeah, here I am," Atlas wrapped an arm around her and patted her back.
She held him at arm's length and wiped at her face with her sleeve. "Percy, I'm so, so glad you're alright. Really. I couldn't imagine not having you around."
"Thanks…," he was starting to get awkward again. When she finally left with Beckett and Zeph, he bolted into the room and shut the door hastily, letting out a long sigh of relief. "Your friends talk so much. No wonder you're so behind in your studies." I couldn't hold it anymore. I erupted into laughter, falling to my knees. "Shut up! They'll hear us!"
"No! They won't! Magic door!" I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt. "You're terrible with people."
"Your friends are strange. Did you see the way the loud, bright one looked at me? It was odd," he shifted uncomfortably.
I pulled myself together and took a deep breath. "What's odd is your description of people. My friends are just nice." Before I could continue winding him up, a knock came from the door. Atlas hid behind the desk as I answered. "Beckett," I greeted. He's the only one who knocks.
"Eh, hello. Hi. It's… me… again," he fidgeted.
"I can see that," I smirked.
"You fixed your hair," he pointed out.
"Er, yeah," I ran a hand through my wonderfully wavy locks. "It just… turned itself back…" He looked around awkwardly, not saying anything. I looked him over, noticing how unkempt he looked. I stepped out of my room, closing the door behind me. "Let's sit," I gestured to the couch.
He awkwardly followed me, but didn't sit. "I'm… I just wanted to make sure, again, that you were okay. I…," he paused. "I'm at a loss here. When you vanished like that I felt like I should have been able to do more, but I couldn't, and I-," he let his body fall onto the couch next to me, leaning forward on his knees and scrunching his hair in his hands.
"Mate, I've never seen you this shaken up. Not even over an exam," I pointed out. "I'm fine, Beckett. See?" I took his hands and forced him to pat my face. I expected him to give me that awkward look he always gave me when I did something he didn't expect, but he didn't.
He laughed, but it sounded forced. He took his hands back and stared down at them. "I know it's late, but… do you want to talk? Just for a little while? I know you said you're okay, but I feel like I have to make sure."
"Er, now isn't really the best time," I hesitated.
He eyed me, suddenly looking panicked. "You're hurt!" he held my arm up. I was covered in cuts from the broken glass and being thrown into rocks. I hadn't noticed until he'd pointed it out. Adrenaline, I suppose. "I can help with that! I know a spell that'll remove the glass quite painlessly."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about this," I pulled a small piece out of my elbow, trying not to grimace. "I'll just go to the nurse tomorrow."
He frowned. "But… I can help. I have to help. Please, Percy."
I sighed and gave him a soft smile. "Alright. If it'll keep you from lookin' this depressed."
He looked down at himself and tried to straighten his blazer, but it was a fruitless task. "I must look like a complete mess," he chuckled. "Bet it's pretty amusing, seeing the posh Beckett Harrington off his game."
I scoffed playfully. "It's not if you make fun of yourself. Leave the insults to me. Self-deprivation doesn't suit you."
"Have a go, then," he smiled weakly.
I looked at him seriously. "You're a walkin' disaster, a complete and utter wreck."
"Gee, thanks," he looked put off, but a real smile pulled at the corner of his lips.
"I mean it. Your look is in shambles. Your hair is all over the place, and your blazer… is that a crease?" I pointed to his collar. He looked down sharply and tried to straighten himself out, but then laughed. As I smirked, I looked down at my arm. I really did have a lot of cuts. I only saw the one large piece of glass, but I wondered how many tiny pieces got stuck in my skin. "I'm actually surprised you're so concerned, considerin' how hard you've tried to hate me."
"I don't hate you, Percy," his eyes shot back up to me. "I admit that when I first heard about you, I was jealous. More so when I realised your formal training was quite lacking… I lashed out," he said sombrely. "I worked so hard to be the best, and it didn't matter. I thought with you attending, I'd have no chance of being top of the class."
"And you were right," I joked. He pursed his lips. "Look, Beckett, I never meant for you to feel that way."
"Of course you didn't," he forced a smile again. "You… were my first friend here. You took me in when no-one else did."
"Now you just sound like an orphaned pup," I teased, but he was unfazed.
"The thought of something happening to you," he continued, "when I could have stopped it…"
I cocked my head. "Could have stopped it? This was an unpredictable situation."
"Er, I… I've been practicing some advanced magic," he said, straightening his blazer again. "There had to have been some spell, some part of my knowledge I could have used, but when it came down to it, I just stood there, weak!" he slammed his fist down on his knee.
"Oh, Beckett," I patted his shoulder. "There's nothin' wrong with freezin' up. It happened so fast. You would have needed superhuman reflexes to have stopped it."
"How do you know I don't have them?" he asked. "I am vastly superior to the majority of the world's population."
I grinned. "There's the Beckett Harrington I know and loath," I chuckled. I patted his back one more time before trying to catch his eye. "You can't put the blame all on yourself. We were all there and no-one else had any idea of what to do either."
He frowned and let out a sigh. "Still… I said I'd help, so at least let me have a look at you," he glanced back down at my arm, which was now bleeding a bit from the shard I'd pulled out from my elbow a moment ago. I smirked and held my hands up like a picture frame. When I made a silly face, he narrowed his eyes at me. "I'm serious, Percy," he said sternly, twirling his finger in the air.
I sighed and stood up to do a spin. "You see? I'm completely fine," I said before sitting back down. He grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. When he poked at a piece of glass in the back of my neck, I winced. "Oi!"
"You are not 'fine', Percy, though this does seem like the worst of it," he told me. "Now, sit there and let me do this," he ordered. I sat completely still, watching him through the mirror on the wall in front of me. He hovered his hand above the glass and stared at it intensely. His palm started to glow, but nothing happened, and the magic seemed to fizzle out. "Shit! Just… give me a second," he swore. I'd never heard him so flustered. He tried again, but the magic only flickered like a florescent light on its way out. "Come on, Beckett, you worthless-," he mumbled.
"Oi!" I spun around to scold him. "None of that!"
He gritted his teeth, growling slightly as his hand fell to his sides. "Sorry… I've… I've done this spell a million times. I just can't… it won't…," he stuttered angrily.
"Beckett, don't be so tough on yourself," I tried to calm him down, but his fists balled on his thighs. "It's not like you to be so agitated. Just breathe. You know what you're doin'. Stop tryin' so hard. You're stressin' yourself out. Stop thinkin' so much."
"How am I to do spells without thinking about them?" he snapped at me, looking regretful immediately after.
"Well, for one, you're 'innately magical'," I quoted Professor Englund. He reminded us of that fact in every class. He let a smile pull at his lip, shaking his head a little. "Yeah, that's it. Just relax. Take a deep breath and try again."
He let out his breath. "Fine," he huffed, repositioning me away from him. He held his hand up again, shaking slightly, and his hand began to glow. It didn't faulter this time. "It's working!" he beamed. The glass flew out of my neck and floated just below his palm. He ran his hand down my arms, picking up tiny pieces of glass I hadn't noticed. It didn't even hurt. "There," he said, letting the glass fall into a pile on the table. "You'll have to see the nurse tomorrow to get a salve for the cuts, but that takes care of the glass at least."
"Thanks, Dr Harrington. Am I good as new?" I joked.
He smirked. "Not so fast, Mr. Miller," he joked back. "Let me double check. Sometimes glass can dislodge and shift, and if that happens-"
I put my hand to my face. "You've taken this too far. I can't stomach the rest of that sentence."
He chuckled, then looked me over one last time, checking under my collar even. "Alright," he nodded. "I officially give you the all clear."
"What a relief," I rolled my eyes. "Does this mean you're feelin' better as well?"
He took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Yes. I think so." His smile disappeared as he checked the bizarre clock on the mantel above the fireplace. "My word, it's late," he said suddenly, getting to his feet. "I'm such a dimwit. You must be exhausted, and here I am complaining about my feelings," he buttoned his blazer.
"Z'alright, really," I stood up, too. "After everythin' that's happened today, I'm not sure I would've been able to fall asleep anyway," I glanced over at the door, thinking about how impossible it seemed to sleep with a complete stranger, who was also my identical twin brother, in the room. "But you could make it up to me if you want," I smirked when I looked back at him. He started back at me, waiting for something to do. "You could do all my homework this week," I joked.
"Absolutely not! How would you learn anything?!" he was so taken aback.
I laughed harder than I had all day. "I'm sure I'd figure it out. I am supposed to be the most powerful Attuned at this school. You said so yourself."
His ears went pink and he rolled his eyes with a huff. "You have to know I would never condone cheating, especially in regards to schoolwork…"
"As if I'd need to cheat," I joked.
"I mean, unless you need the help, in which case I…"
"Don't worry, spod. I won't compromise your morals," I had to wipe at my eye. I was laughing so hard that my face hurt.
"That's such a relief. I was already sweating," he chuckled.
I nodded approvingly and patted his shoulder. "I'm so proud of you. You've progressed so far," I smirked, loving that his jokes were slowly becoming better. He rolled his eyes, but his smile remained.
After a moment of silence, with only the roar of the fire, he looked away, pulling at the ends of his blazer again. "I'll let you rest, but… I want to tell you that…," he looked around, eyes darting to the ceiling, the floor, the wall, and everywhere else but my face. He furrowed his eyebrows and his face went a bit pink.
"Oh my god, you're not comin' onto me, are you?" I asked, trying to get him to look less serious.
"What? No!" he flushed even more. "I just…," he paused, biting his cheek. "I'm just glad you're still here," he smiled uncharacteristically.
I squinted at him for a moment, then let him keep his secrets. "Yeah, me, too."
When he left, I went back to my room to deal with my new brother. He was sitting on the edge of my bed, his elbows on his knees in a thoughtful position.
He rolled his eyes at me when I approached him. "Don't get too attached. We won't be here long, and we don't know who we can trust," he said bluntly.
"They've been alright thus far… and what do you mean, we won't be here long?" I asked, proper confused.
"Your friends are a liability," he started. "They don't know about your history and they don't know who's coming after you."
"Why don't we just tell them, then?" I asked.
"Do you really think they'll want to be dragged into that?" he pursed his lips.
"I'm sure they-," I started.
"They'll what? Say it's fine? That they're behind you no matter what?" he snapped up at me. "Are you really willing to let them get involved? To let them die for you?" I couldn't think of anything to say. I didn't want to cause them any more trouble than I'd already had, but I was certain they'd go along with whatever I told them. They'd done so much for me already. "What if Raife has something they want, huh? What if the people you trust so much decide their happiness is better than your safety?" I was going to snap back at him, but his eyes betrayed his tone. He'd had experience with that sort of thing… I couldn't imagine being on the run for years and not feeling I could trust anyone. He looked down at his hands. "Look, I, um… I know this is a lot to process. We've lived pretty different lives."
"Yeah," I said, sitting next to him. "This whole marked for death thing is a lot to take in. How are you so calm about all of this?"
"It's something I've always lived with. I'm sorry this is the way that you're finding out," he looked up at me for a moment, but quickly hung his head again. "It was pretty tough, growing up like this. The only thing that got me through it was knowing this was what our parents wanted."
"For us to live apart and in constant fear, danger, and depression?" I asked, a bit puzzled as to whether our parents would have actually planned for all this nonsense.
He shook his head and looked up at me. "For us to live, Percy. To survive."
We sat in silence for a moment. I couldn't think of anything to say. We were so different. He grew up being prepared for an inevitable fight, and I was raised in a world without magic with no concept of danger other than crossing the road or learning to drive. Did… did he get to know our parents at all? Was I the only one pulled so far away from the family? When I finally thought of something to say, I asked about them. "So… brother," I started awkwardly. "The picture of you and our mum… where did you get it?"
"I found it in the wreckage of our childhood home," he said.
"Wreckage?" I figured our parents were probably dead from the bits and pieces I'd put together from our lives, but… that was a strong word…
He nodded. "The fire burned it all down, but no-one ever demolished the house. It's probably still standing to this day."
"A fire? So… our parents… they…," I tried to asked without being incredibly insensitive. He was clearly more broken up about it than I was, but I didn't even know that they'd cared until that day.
He shrugged. "I didn't find any bodies. Trust me, I looked," a dark expression took over his face. "We should get some sleep. It's been a long day."
"You're tellin' me," I agreed, flopping back on my bed. "Do you want the bed? I can sleep on the floor. How long has it been since you even slept in a bed?"
"I won't take your bed. The ground is more comfortable anyway," he pulled a black disk out of his pocket and shoved his arm into it, making me sit up to figure out how his void circle worked. He pulled out a sleeping bag and an old blanket that looked like it'd seen better days.
"That looks like it's been through the ringer," I pointed out as he set it on the floor.
"Hm? Oh, yeah," he picked it back up and stared down at it like it was the most precious thing in the world. "It's one of the only things I remember from when we were little. I found it at the house."
"You actually remember our parents?" I asked, desperate for information I'd never wondered about before.
"Not a lot, but some," he frowned. "It's kind of hard to think about sometimes." After a pause, he looked back up at me. "I could tell you what I do know, if you can handle it."
"I feel like I have to now," I said, thinking about everything. He held out the blanket for me. The material was frayed and burnt. "You said you found this?" I took the blanket from him and looked it over, hoping it was the key to a memory locked deep within my subconscious.
"Yeah," he began. "I must have been eight or nine at the time. I snuck out and went to see what was left of our parents' home," his face suddenly twisted into a snarl. "Raife had burned it to the ground."
"Wasn't it risky to go back there?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yeah. If he had left any traps behind, I could have been caught, but it seems like he didn't think we'd be that stupid… And I was a kid, angry about his lot in life. I used to be a lot more reckless," his eyes narrowed, and I could feel his sorrow and anger in my soul. Is this what they call twin empathy? "Picking through the burned out mess turned out to be a waste of time for the most part. That blanket and the photo were all I found worth keeping."
I bit my lip. "What… what was it like? I know it was burnt down, but…"
"Kind of hard to tell, considering the damage, but it was spacious," he told me. "There was a swing set out back that was still intact. It makes me sad to think that they had been planning a future for us that they would never get to see," he frowned.
"So… our parents are dead, then," I implied, wondering if my assumptions were true.
He shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but it certainly looks that way," he leaned back on his hands. "My caretakers said they fell out of contact just after we had been separated."
"I wonder…," I paused, thinking that maybe I shouldn't say it aloud. It seemed like a sorer subject for him. He looked at me, seeming to give me the okay. "I wonder in what ways we're similar to them."
He looked up in thought. "My caretakers always used to tell me when I'd do something that reminded them of Mom and Dad. It made me feel like I actually knew them," he let a small smile grace his stern face. "I clearly got Mom's magical aptitude and problem solving. That gene must have skipped you."
I shoved him off of my bed and onto the floor. "Problem solved," I joked, smirking down at him as he glared back at me. He rolled his eyes and made himself comfortable on the ground. "Tell me more," I begged.
"Dad was apparently good at sports, which you seem to have inherited," he said as he unrolled his sleeping bag. "And you definitely got Mom's optimism. My caretakers said she never lost hope that we'd all get through this and be a family again."
I frowned, suddenly feeling a pull at my heart. "Well, I guess she was halfway there. We made it back together." I looked down at the blanket in my hands. "You said you remembered this. How?"
He busied himself with laying out his bag and pressing the creases out. Then he sat on it and looked up at me. "I've been training for a long time," he said. "One of my gifts is the ability to feel things. Sun-Atts have their prescience, and we Moon-Atts have the ability to sense moods and emotions." He reached forward and rubbed a corner of the old blanket between his fingers. "As soon as I picked this up, I felt their love and the comfort of them swaddling me in this… I felt the warmth of being in the crib next to you. When I touch this, I feel… safe."
"Atlas," I stared down at him. "Now that I know about you, there's no way in hell I would let you face any of this alone. Whatever happens, I'm not goin' anywhere."
He didn't say anything for a while. We kept eye contact long enough for me to see that he was on the fence about whether that statement was true or not. After a moment more, he laid down on his sleeping bag, his hands behind his head. "You can keep that. I think I've had it long enough. Maybe you can use your prescience to feel a little closer to them."
I decided to try it, holding the blanket close to my chest and closing my eyes. After the white flash, I couldn't see anything really, but I could hear a woman's voice. It was soft as she hummed. When she finally spoke, she said, "The two of you will never know how precious you really are…" My eyes shot open, expecting to find her standing right in front of me. I'd never felt such warmth in my life. I looked back down at my brother, who was watching me intensely.
"Thanks for tellin' me all of this," I said, a bit of uneasiness in my tone.
He cocked his head. "Why are you doing that?"
"Doin' what?" I asked, having no clue what he was doing.
"Your emotions are all over the place. Shouldn't you feel happy? What did you see?" he sat up, clearly interested.
I looked away, a bit embarrassed with myself. "No, it was quite sweet, actually, it's just… Wh… Where were our parents from?" I asked nervously, hoping he didn't know.
He eyed me suspiciously. "Quebec," he said matter-of-factly.
I could feel myself scream internally, the panic setting in. "My whole life is a lie," I muttered lowly. "First," I began to list things when he cocked his head again, "my mum isn't my mum, which I knew, but now I have two mums. Or I always had two mums, but now I care about both of them. Second, it turns out the mum that raised me forgot to mention a lot of things about my status in the world. Third, it now makes sense that I was home-schooled, but the big one… the thing that upsets me the most… I'm… from Canada," I ranted, feeling the strain of the last few words. Not only was I Canadian… but I was French Canadian…
"Why is that a bad thing? It's just a place," Atlas justified.
I shook my head. "No, you don't understand. I am… I thought I was English. To find out I'm Canadian… This is bollocks…," I felt utterly shambolic. I suppose it could have been worse. I could have been… American… or worse… actually French… Canada wasn't so bad, I supposed, but I'd never left the UK before falling through the lake. I didn't know what it was really like, just what I'd learned in school.
He scoffed at me. "This is what you're so upset about? Our lives are in danger and our parents are dead, and you're pissed that you're not a Brit?"
"Obviously," I folded the blanket up in my lap and set it on the desk when I stood up. "I'm goin' to go make some tea to get over this." I walked out of the room and put on a spot of tea in the common area. When I got back, Atlas was still sitting up, looking around the room subtly. "Weren't you goin' to bed?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, but I figured I'd wait to make sure you were okay."
I sat on my bed and set my cup on the side table. "Is this what havin' a brother is like?" I stared down at him, still not used to the fact that he had my face. It was a weird sensation. "I mean, I was expectin' more bitin' and hair pullin', but I'd say this has gone rather smoothly so far. I've heard horror stories from my mates."
"I suppose I could punch you in the face if that's what you'd like," he raised his brow at me.
I chortled. "If that's what your into, mate, I won't judge," I joked. When he rolled his eyes, I got serious. "I actually enjoy this heart-to-heart stuff, mind," I sipped at my tea.
"Hopefully not too much. I don't think I could stomach doing this every day," he scoffed and laid down with his arms folded behind his head.
"Give it time," I smirked. He rolled his eyes again and we were silent for a bit. I was about to turn off the light and settle into bed when his eyes shot open.
"There's… one other thing," he started hesitantly.
I sat up and looked down at him again. "I don't have a sister, do I?" I asked.
"Can't you take anything seriously, Percy?" he sat up and narrowed his eyes at me.
"Not usually, no," I shrugged.
He let out a breath. "Look, when I was trapped in the mirror dimension, someone else kept coming in and out," he said. "I could never get to the open portal in time to escape."
"Who was it?" I leaned forward on my knees. "Maybe they were helpin' that Highmore guy."
He nodded. "That's what I've been thinking, too. I never got close enough to make them out, but there was one thing I saw clearly," he reached out for my hand, grabbing my wrist and holding it up to show me Shreya's bracelet. "Only your friends have these, right?"
I furrowed my brows at him, not liking where he was going with this. "Yeah, but what's that got to do with any of this?"
"Whoever's been traipsing through around the mirror dimension was wearing one just like it," his eyes were cold looking up at me.
My gut twisted. "My friends would never work with Raife Highmore," I said firmly, but my mind was already circling around trying to figure out who it could have been.
"I know what I saw," he frowned, pulling away from me. "I'm not saying anyone's working with that monster, just that I saw them there. They're not being truthful, and if they're keeping this from you, what else could they be hiding?"
I looked over to the wall, the silence lingering like a dense and ominous fog. "So… what you mean is…"
"It seems as though one of your friends isn't as trustworthy as you think."
Author's Note:
Apologies, my lovely readers, for the long hiatus. You know how it is, school and work and all that jazz. I'm sincerely sorry for taking so long to finish up chapter 12.
I'm sure quite a lot of you have already noticed that the original story now has two books, therefore are frustrated with me for taking so long. Understandable. You see,
as I was typing up chapter 12, I noticed quite a lot of errors in the previous chapters. I spent nearly a month fixing up the mistakes and have finally finished chapter 11's
corrections. Here's hoping that you find the story easier to read now that the accent marks have been placed and the missing words have been found. Remember, poor
Percy was raised in Bristol, so his accent can be a bit... interesting at times. Beckett's accent is more RP. If you feel like youtubeing their accents to get a better grasp
of it, there are plenty of videos to help with Bristolian/West Country and RP accents. I only hope that hearing these accents will help you better understand the story.
Thank you all so very much for the support. I do really appreciate all of the reads and such.
Cheers
LoZM