How much of our parents did we inherit? How much of our behavior was learned from those who raised us? David is strong and silent, usually slow to speak when Josh isn’t hanging around. Me, I say what’s on my mind. Most of the time.
“We do as Dahlia says.” Out of habit, I check the blade at my hip, only to remember it’s gone. I exhale. I need to come by another weapon, though nothing will ever compare to the one I possessed. “What other options do we have?” I’m starting to feel it. The anxiety pressing in. The absence of the Verity since Em left. The loss of everything good. The Void inside fights me. “I feel as if this is our best choice right now. We jump in headfirst and go from there.”
“Not long now,” the voice says. “I’ll be taking over soon.”
We’ll just see about that, Kyaphus. With Em by my side again, nothing will stop us.
The worst part of me laughs in my head. His voice is growing louder. We don’t have much time.
“Always going off your feelings, Rhyen,” David interrupts with a shake of his head. “Feelings are what landed me in my mess with Josh. I suggest you use your brain and leave your heart out of the equation.”
I relate to the bitterness he houses, I really do, but . . . “Without the heart, there is no life.” I clap him hard on the back. “Sure, you got into trouble, but that’s not your heart’s fault.” I poke him square in the chest. The shocked expression on his face is worth it. “It’s your fault for not guarding it better. I suggest you remember that.” I move away from my brother, leaving him to ponder my wise advice.
“Let’s get this show on the road.” Dahlia dips one bare toe in the water. “The Sixth waits for no man.”
I hesitate. Withdraw the vial.
“Drinking again, Rhyen?” Wren rolls her eyes.
My brother and I exchange glances. “Got an Elixir of your own, I see.”
“Close, but no cigar. This”—I hold it up for all to see—“is a drink from the Fountain of Time.”
If ever a hush fell over the crowd, this is it.
“Where did you get that?” David doesn’t remove his gaze from the vial. He wants it, that much is clear. His right eye twitches, and I see the shadow the moment it crosses his face. Josh is fighting his way out.
Stay strong, I think toward him. Though he can’t hear me, he also can’t mistake the meaning behind my gaze. “A traveler once told me this water would take me where I was required most. To think on my deepest desire, drink, and see what happens. I’ve seen the tale become truth, and I believe when combined with the power of a Threshold, one sip will take us where we need to be.”
“You’re mad,” Song says. “Joshua, we can’t follow him. He’s leading us nowhere. We’ve accomplished nothing. We’re walking in circles and everyone is just fine with it.”
“Stay behind then.” I stomp into the puddle. I can feel it suck me in like quicksand, the green light dying every moment. Whatever we find on the other side doesn’t matter, as long as it leads us to Em. “If you wish to come with me, you’ll have to hold on. The drink is for one, but I’m betting, just like Em’s mirror walking, if you’re touching me we’ll stay together.”
David joins me, places a hand on my shoulder.
I wish I could say his support is encouraging.
“Why don’t you let me take that?” He reaches for the vial.
I hold it away from his grasp. “Don’t.” My voice shakes. “We have one shot at this, and I’m not letting you ruin it like you’ve done with everything else.”
“Just give me the bottle, Brother.”
“Stop your grousing.” Dahlia puts her hand on my other shoulder. “We’re all in this. I love Elizabeth’s oldest more than you two combined and then some. I want to find her as much as anyone. We can’t do it with your constant bickering, though. I say the one who knows her best takes the drink. Seems to me Joshua has known her longer—”
“See?” he says. “What did I tell you? Now give me the drink.”
“Don’t interrupt me, son,” Dahlia says, wheezing. “I was sayin’ you have known her longer, but I believe Kyaphus here knows her better. The Void he’s taken on is proof. He loves her more. The drink belongs to him.”
David says nothing as Wren joins us. Attempting to touch me as little as possible, she pinches the sleeve of my shirt between her fingers. Preacher’s the last. His firm hand on my arm feels almost fatherly.
Here we go.
The process is slower than ever as we sink deeper and deeper into the puddle. Just before our heads go under, I think of Em. The water took me to her before. I have to believe it will do so again.
Just as the vial reaches my lips, David grabs it, downs its contents.
Then the puddle swallows us whole.
I can count on one hand the times in my life I’ve felt so much pain I wanted to die. Surprisingly, the Void is at the bottom of the food chain on that one. Pain can be physical, but not always. Sometimes heartbreak bruises deeper than any cut or jab.
The day I found my mother unmoving on the stairs.
The moment Josh ran his sword through Khloe. The thought still makes me want to pummel the guy.
The second Em’s fingers slipped from mine as she was sucked through the wormhole. I promised I’d find her, though is that a promise I had the power to make? Am I the only one she’s forgotten? What if messing with her memories caused her to contract full-on amnesia? She could be anywhere without the slightest clue she’s supposed to be searching for us. For me.
The Threshold to the Sixth sucks us in, twisting and squeezing, as I recall one other time I’ve experienced this amount of pain. I’ve hesitated to let the memory fully resurface. Guilt rolls like a tidal wave about to crash into me. A not-too-long-ago conversation pulls me back, reminding me just how connected we are.
“Who did this?” Em thought while within the private walls of my ship’s cabin.
“Some came from Jasyn’s Soulless.” The mix of terror and hurt on her face about destroyed me. Even so I knew it was only a matter of moments before she asked about the—
“And the burn?”
How could I answer her in truth? Would she have believed me if I’d told her? The last thing I wanted was for her to think any of our relationship was somehow orchestrated. So I answered, “Next question.”
Much to my relief, Em didn’t bring it up again. And I worked hard to make sure that part of my mind was closed off. Couldn’t have her knowing I’d kept this to myself, not when she’d just started to trust me again.
I thought of her as I tipped the vial to my lips, as the cloaked stranger disappeared from view. Yet what came to be afterward was not what I anticipated. Standing before a brick school, the scent of smoke filling my nostrils? Where had I ventured and why? I longed for Em, someone so familiar to me. Thinking of her is equivalent to breathing. But a school in a city on a street I’ve never seen? What a waste of whatever it was I drank. Surely the stranger couldn’t have meant for it to bring me here. She said to think of the person I cared for most, that I would be where I was needed. How could I be needed anywhere other than where Em or Khloe were? And this place was neither.
Then again, I’ve never been one to write off anything until the full picture grew clear. So rather than walk away, I waited. For what? You got me.