Chapter 26: Chapter 26

THEO

Yaran defiantly met Amyra's rigid gaze with her face impassive."And who might you be?" She asked, her yellow eyes cold and calculating. "I am Amyra-"

"I know who you are, mistress of evil. You have not answered my question" Yaran spat, her yellow eyes burning brightly. Amyra's face twisted into a wicked sneer. "I do not answer to anyone but myself" she spat."I see. What makes you think I will let you have the mirror of mirrors?"

"Who says I'm asking for your permission? I don't care who you think you are but he is not leaving here with the mirror of mirrors" Amyra said, pointing at me with a look of disdain on her face. As soon as she finished making the statement, her men attacked me. They were strong I'll give them that. But, they were no match for me. Amyra's eyes clouded with rage at the sight of the dead bodies scattered around me. "Good thing I have a plan B" she said, her lips curled with disdain."Annie, come out" she said and someone stepped out from behind her. A young woman. She had a head full of red curls and bright green eyes. She was a foot shorter than Amyra and she looked rather skinny. I stared at her, confused.The young woman looked innocent and helpless. How could she possibly be of help to Amyra? I got my answer as soon as she opened her mouth and screamed. Pain lanced through my skull, forcing me to clamp my hands around my ears. She screamed until my knees hit the ground. A banshee, that's what she was. Her screams were lethal and I knew that I needed to find a way to silence her. Gritting my teeth, I felt for the dagger in my left boot. I curled my fingers around the hilt of the dagger and threw it at the banshee. It slashed her neck, brutally cutting an artery. She choked, blood rushing out of her wound."No!!!!" Amyra cried when the banshee sank to the ground roughly. Amyra conjured a dark blast of energy and directed it towards me. It hit me head on, sending me crashing several feet away. I struggled to my feet, my head swimming.Amyra was draining Yaran, trying to put her in limbo. She didn't notice that I'd risen to my feet and was quietly making my way towards the river. Everything hurt and my ribs felt really banged up. My vision was blurry at this point and I felt like something was draining me. I felt even weaker than ever. It was then I realized something. I'm a lightbearer and my strength seems to go down the drain when I'm in the night court. I knew I had to grab the locket and leave as quickly as I could or I would be stuck here until I die. My knees buckled and I begin to crawl. I got to the river bank and jumped into the river. A shiver ran through me when I noticed how cold the water was.Amyra must've noticed that I'd sneaked past her. So, she rushed forward, throwing herself into the water. There was a big splash but I was determined to find the locket. I swam deeper into the river with Amyra tailing behind me. My eyesight was growing dim and it was getting even more difficult to breathe. Through my dim vision, I saw a golden locket lying at the bottom of the river. I reached forward, my numb fingers closing around it. The locket was glowing a bright golden color. Amyra wrapped her iron whip around my neck and pulled. I gasped for breath, struggling against her hold. I choked, my lungs straining for air. All of a sudden, Yaran appeared behind Amyra and wrapped her fingers around Amyra's neck."You cannot have the locket. You will not" Yaran hissed and I took the opportunity to drive my elbow into Amyra's stomach and swim to the surface. Amyra reached out to grab my ankle but I immediately vanished from sight and appeared in the summer court. I stared at the locket lying on my palm. It was as smooth as a mirror but had the shape of an eye. A golden eye. I heaved a sigh and ran a hand through my wet hair. I'd succeeded. It's left for me to figure out how to use it without loosing my soul.

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DEVON

I buried my face in my pillow, groaning when the knock on the door persisted. "Come on, princess. Open the door" Luke said.

"Go away!"

"I'm not going anywhere until you open the door. You've refused to get out of bed for three days and you're starving yourself. Theo isn't going to be happy if he finds out"

"He's been gone for four days! Don't expect me to be okay with it! He told me he would be gone for only two days!" I snapped."You have to know that time flies faster here"

"I don't care! Theo is out there in some nightmarish place. I don't even know if he's okay! He might be hurt or worse-" I choked out, fisting the bedsheets."You don't know that, princess. Open the door or I'll be forced to break in" I groaned and sat up on the bed. Cursing under my breath, I put on my robe and rose to my feet. I caught a glimpse of my reflection on the mirror and cringed.Dark circles were under my eyes, thanks to my inability to sleep. My hair was a mess and I looked tired. Running my fingers through my hair, I trudged across the room and unlocked the door. Luke stood there with a small smile on his face. His hair was in a neat ponytail and he was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a white T-shirt. Dark bags still darkened the skin under his eyes and he still looked weary. On the bright side, he seemed to be recovering. "My goodness, you look awfully awful" he said and I rolled my eyes. "Such a drama king" I said."You, my dear must shower right now" he drawled, pushing past me to walk into my room. "This room smells like depression"I scoffed, watching him as he lifted the window blinds. He turned to look at me with a raised brow."What the hell are you waiting for? Do I have to force you into the bath tub now?" He asked.Muttering under my breath, I made my way into the bathroom and jammed the door shut. I'm supposed to feel very uncomfortable with Luke in my bedroom but to be honest, I'm not. I trust him and I know he's just looking out for me. I undressed and stepped into the bath tub, warm water soothing my skin. I closed my eyes, thinking of Theo. I hoped he was okay. By the time I stepped out of the bathroom, Luke was no longer in my room. I let out a long sigh and began to get dressed. When I walked into the kitchen, Luke was in it."I know I'm a horrible cook but I can manage sandwiches. So, here you go" he said, placing the plate in front of me. My stomach grumbled and I started to eat, realizing how hungry I was. "I ordered pizza too. Just in case you are still hungry"I grinned at him."Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks" I said and he smiled."Don't mention it"Karla arrived when we were half-way through a movie, an hour later. Luke and Karla slept off in the sitting room while I went back to my room and laid down on the bed, holding Theo's red shirt to myself. I fell asleep shortly.

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I awoke slowly and sat up on my bed, groggily. There was someone standing at the foot of the bed, watching me intently. "Theo?" I breathed.But, he didn't say anything. He just continued to stare at me. Surely, this is just a figment of my imagination?I blinked, rubbing my eyes to clear my vision. He was still standing there. A slow smile raised the corner of his lips. It was then I knew that he was real. He was alive and was in my room. "Theo!" I cried, sliding out of bed and rushing into his arms. He kissed my forehead, his eyes glowing brightly."You're alive. You're okay. You're here" I breathed."Of course" he said and I grinned. I brushed his hair away from his face. He looked really tired but it's nothing a few hours sleep wouldn't solve. "Did you-did you get the locket?" I asked. He took it off his neck and placed it in my hand. It was heavy and was pulsing with life. I embraced him, inhaling his pines and lemons scent mingled with the coppery smell of blood "I missed you" I sighed"Well, I'm here right now" he said, his eyes twinkling."Come on let's get you clean. You're covered in blood and dust. And, you're wet" I said and he smiled.He slowly took off his hoodie, then his T-shirt. I noticed the injury on his bicep. It looked like a claw mark. It looked angry and red. "You're hurt" I said.He grimaced."I know... it's not as bad as it looks" he said, shaking his hair loose. A few minutes later, Theo was sitting in the bath tub with his clothes discarded. I carefully lathered his hair with shampoo, massaging his scalp. He let out a half sigh, half moan with his eyes fluttering close. I washed him up with the wash cloth and soon, he was clean and dry. He got dressed and laid down on the bed, his head resting on my lap. I cleaned his wound and wrapped it up with gauze. I caressed his hair, my fingers grazing his scalp."I'm really tired" he said, his eyes hooded with exhaustion."Get some rest. We'll talk about what we're going to do next when you feel better" I said and he nodded. He fell asleep in a matter of time.

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Hours later, Theo suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, his eyes narrowed."Did you hear that?" He asked and shook my head.He rose to his feet and started to head towards the front door with me following closely behind him. He opened the door, a frown creasing his brows. He stepped into the porch and so did I. There was no one there. "I heard someone knocking on the door but there's actually nobody here" Theo said, his eyes holding uncertainty.I looked towards my house, my blood running cold when I saw the body lying on my front porch. "Theo?" I said, my voice trembling slightly."What's wrong?" He asked, concern in his eyes."There's a body in my front porch" I said and he stiffened. He turned to see what I was looking at, the look of horror on his face, mirroring mine.He started to walk across the lawn with tension resting on him, heavily. I followed him with my heart thudding madly. My stomach churned when I finally saw the corpse. It was beyond recognition and was mostly covered in blood. Cuts, scabs and bruises littered it's bloodied skin.Theo had gone impossibly pale at the sight of the corpse. He took a step backwards, looking like he was going to be sick. It was almost as if he recognized whoever it was. "Do you recognize who it is?" I asked.He slowly looked away from the corpse and met my gaze with his distraught ones. He crouched beside the corpse and picked up what looked like fingers with the nails absent. Nausea swept through me. The nails had been ripped off in the most gruesome way possible. There was an ornate silver ring on one of the bloodied fingers. I've seen it before but I don't remember where."Veronica" Theo said and at that moment, my stomach betrayed me. I puked on the side of the porch, tears pricking my eyes. Amyra killed Veronica. She's dead because she'd helped us.