Aunt Cata let out a tense hum of a sound, neither in agreement nor disagreement. Furtively, she examined the other Patrons’ notes before they exchanged glances and hushed whispers with one another.
Daron’s pulse quickened at the slightest tug from his sleeve.
“Be careful with whom you trust, Demarco,” the mayor whispered in a low, gravelly voice. “You’ve been looking for answers ever since you arrived. Far more than that, too.”
Daron gave a jerky nod.
The mayor bore a smile of relief. “They wanted me to pass along some advice,” he said. “It’s hard to find a single thing when the game board’s been wiped clean, even harder when you’re on the wrong game board altogether.”
“Who’s they—” Daron’s pulse skipped as his fist clenched tightly. “What are you talking about?”
“Look for the gate, and you’ll finally find her.”
Daron’s heart went still.
Kallia.
He pressed closer to the bed. “What did you say?”
“Daron?”
His aunt’s voice fell to the side as he shook her hand off him. “What gate?”
“You know it.” Mayor Eilin spoke quickly, holding up the black-stained sides of his hands. “I tried drawing you the path, to find the way in to get below the surface. It’s closer than you think—wait—” His eyes began drifting, his speech slowing. Slurring. “Lose yourself … where those dare not … get lost…”
No, no, no. In a burst of panic, Daron shot forward, close to shaking the man back awake by the shoulders.
Not until he noticed his aunt’s hand on Mayor Eilin’s. Her cold stare intent, focused. “That’s enough for now. You should rest.”
“One magician can enter … only one can…”
“What are you doing?” Daron seethed, ready to tear her hand away before someone grabbed him back by the elbows.
Daron struggled hard, slamming his shoes to the ground. “Eilin!” he shouted. Please. Just a moment more. A question. “Is she safe?”
He had to know.
He didn’t want to wonder anymore, to imagine the worst. Whatever the answer, he had to know that.
His chest nearly caved when the mayor finally faded, sleep thickening his voice. “Don’t … let them … take…”
4
As Kallia and Jack walked, the memories kept following her in the dark.
Like beasts tracking prey in her periphery, the illusions rose from the shadows, begging for her attention. Tugging at every familiar sensation.
Dark-rose carpets sprouted beneath her feet while the delicate music of clinking utensils and teacups of the Prima Cafe swirled around her. Soft, cool satins and velvet brushed up against her like when she’d browse through Ira’s dress shop. Bursts of laughter and too-warm air found her in a heady blend of sweat, perfumes, and liquor from the Conquering Circus tents.
“It’s not real.”
Jack reminded her every time she stood still for too long or slowed even a little. Because despite everything, for a torturous second, she believed in them. Even as she knew better.
Just like the others they came across.
The first magician who had attacked earlier was far from the last. There were more. A faraway voice, jaunty whistling, faint steps that were neither hers nor Jack’s. Occasionally she’d catch their forms staggering in the distance. Ghosts drifting past.
Kallia knew better than to run to them now. There was no reaching someone lost in their own world, and the knot in her stomach sank like a stone each time they crossed paths with one.
All it took was one look to drown.
And there were so many others drowning around them. Without Jack, she’d no doubt be among them, wading blissfully through the dark as though it were light.
Kallia hated it. This was a different kind of dark, and walking with him in it made her a fool. But at least she was still walking. A fool, but a surviving one.
“When will this end?” She seethed. They must’ve walked the length of a city five times over, and yet Jack continued looking out into the darkness ahead of them. As though waiting for something to rise from it. “You said this would end eventually.”
“And it will. Eventually.”
Kallia glared daggers into the back of his head before down at her feet.
It didn’t escape her, the way he walked too calmly. With every step came a potential trap, and she couldn’t begin to comprehend how his gait remained so unbothered. “They’re not following you,” she observed. “Why?”
“Who?”
“The horde of flying snakes behind us.” He was just being insufferable now. “The illusions, or magician traps—whatever you called them. If they’re all around us, why aren’t they pulling at you?”
“Who says they’re not?” Jack countered. “I know this world better than you, and it loves to prey on new souls.”
This world. That phrase still bit at her like an unhealed scar. “What is this world, exactly?”
Predictably, he laughed. “You mean you actually want to talk to me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she said in a droll tone. “Everything is a lie with you, but I’m curious to hear what stories you’re going to spin for me now.”
“What’s the point if you won’t believe me?”
“Why should that bother you?”
The chill returned in the air between them. A tense second of silence.
“It wasn’t all lies, Kallia.”
Her muscles went rigid as she looked down at her feet, focusing on her steps. “It certainly wasn’t all truth, either. But you knew that.”
There was so much Kallia wanted to know, so many questions. And with Jack, she’d have to choose them carefully. Like her, he would never answer anything that revealed too much of himself or give another too much of an upper hand. The rest did not matter if she could confirm one thing for certain.
It’s not gone forever.
It was not the first time he’d said so, and the possibility of it being a lie terrified her. If she ever hoped to somehow get out of here, she’d need her power. All of it, if she ever hoped to make it past Jack.
“I did tell you before, mirrors are like windows. Like coins and cards, there are two sides. The world we see—where life is true and fleeting and mortal,” Jack said before raising a hand around them. “And the one we don’t. The other side, beneath the surface. A world below.”
“A world below.” Every piece of his answer chilled her. “And what’s the difference?”
A hesitant pause carried into his next breath. “Power.”
It’s not gone forever.
Kallia squeezed her fist tight, no magic behind the warmth clenched under her fingers at all. Just anger. And the slightest, most foolish bit of hope.
“And how does one go about hiding an entire world?” Kallia mused. “Strange to have never heard about any of this until now. First devils, now this? I’m surprised Patrons haven’t fallen from the sky from the lunacy of it all.”
“Your magicians in white gloves have only just touched the surface of magic.” An amused smile tilted his lips. “Though it’s really not hard to figure out what’s always been in front of you.” He sent her a sideways glance. “When Zarose closed that gate, what do you think was on the other side?”