Cursed

chapter 9

It’s not difficult to reach Elsewhere. It doesn’t even take magic, though most people think it does. It usually takes newcomers a few tries, but once you’ve done it, you can always go back. Travelling there the first time seems to set up some kind of bond that lets you always feel it in your thoughts, somewhere in the twilight between waking and dreams.

Leaving Elsewhere … well. That can be a little harder.

I’ve been to Elsewhere but I don’t understand it. On past journeys I’ve done things on instinct and had them work without knowing how or why. One of the few things I’m sure of is that Elsewhere changes depending on who comes to it. When I visit Elsewhere, it always takes the same form: a great, silent city, plazas and colonnades and high walkways bathed in bright white light. Empty but not dead, only sleeping.

But this time would be different. As I looked into the futures of travelling to Elsewhere, I knew Luna was there already; I’d known as soon as I’d looked into the futures of travelling there. The stories say that there’s nothing dangerous in Elsewhere except what you bring with you-but that can be more than enough. The Elsewhere I was about to see would be one shaped by Luna. I didn’t know what it would be like but I was about to find out.

I opened my eyes.

I was standing in a maze of crystal passages, all alike. The walls pressed in around me but I wasn’t underground; by craning my neck upwards, I could glimpse sky. As I looked around I realised I was in a network of canyons, crooked and twisted. The walls, rocks, and even the ground were translucent crystal. The sky above was overcast and grey, thick clouds blocking out the sun, yet somehow, even down here in the canyons, there was enough light to see clearly. Distant whispers echoed through the passages, seeming to form words just on the edge of hearing.

I turned slowly, studying the landscape around me. I didn’t sense any danger, but it wasn’t comfortable, either. Somehow I had the feeling I wasn’t welcome here. I started walking, my footsteps echoing about the ravines.

The first time I came to Elsewhere I was nearly lost forever. Geography doesn’t work as it does in our world and not even divination magic can help you if you’re led astray. Everything is different in Elsewhere, and what’s strong outside can be weak within. The same sources of strength and power we rely on in our world still function here … but somehow they never seem to work the way you want them to. I didn’t try to use my magic. I knew where I wanted to go: to Luna. The direction didn’t matter.

As I walked I noticed that the crystal of the walls and outcroppings was more varied than I’d thought. It ranged from nearly opaque to clear enough that I could see several feet in, and the colour of the crystal ranged from blue to grey to clear white. One patch caught my eye, coloured a brilliant azure. As I passed I reached out for it … and snatched my fingers away just in time. Although it radiated no cold, the crystal had the icy chill of a glacier, enough to freeze flesh. I carried on, keeping a more respectful distance.

The canyon widened as I walked, the glimpses of sky becoming more frequent, until finally the sides curved away, opening up to give me a clear view. Before me was a wide, open bowl, a vast, shallow depression in the ground. The cliffs formed a ring around it and at the centre was a palace of crystal, sharp spires pointing upwards into a brooding sky. A thick canopy of cloud cut off all trace of sun, the layer of grey drifting steadily across the sky from right to left. I altered my course for the palace and kept on going.

The palace was surrounded by acres of broken crystal. The doors were open, leading into a long entrance hall, thick pillars rising up to a vaulted ceiling. It was darker in here and the side passages were covered in shadow. Only when I was in the middle of the room did I realise the whispers had stopped.

I saw movement from the corner of my eye and turned sharply. For an instant I thought I saw a flash of something disappearing behind a pillar, then everything was still. I stood motionless, listening. The hall was silent … but something in the silence had changed. It was the silence of something holding its breath.

I thought of going after it but some instinct warned me that would be a bad idea. I waited a moment longer, then when nothing moved I carried on down the hall, slower this time. I half-expected something to jump me, but I reached the doors at the end safely. They opened at a touch.

Luna was inside. The room within was huge and circular, a ring of columns going up and up into the shadows, and Luna was at the very centre upon a wide dais. As I headed for her I noticed at the back of my mind that the whispers had started again.

Luna didn’t react as I approached. She was kneeling, staring into a tall silver mirror that reflected not her image but only a grey mist. She wore a white dress, and as I approached I saw that her lower legs were frozen in crystal. It seemed to have grown up around her, a thin layer spiderwebbing over her ankles and knees, reaching up towards her lower body. The mist in the mirror shifted at the edge of my vision, hinting at something within, inviting me to look. I hesitated, then took hold of Luna’s arms and pulled her to her feet.

The crystal shattered, splintering like glass, and Luna stumbled upright, shaking her head as if she’d just come out of a trance. She looked up at me and her eyes lit up.

I grabbed Luna in a bear hug, holding her close. She made a protesting noise, but I didn’t care. Elsewhere is the one place Luna’s curse is dormant, and as I held her I felt something tense and wound-up inside me ease. Only now did I realise how afraid I’d been for her.

Gradually I realised Luna was trying to talk. I looked down. “Hm?”

“Can’t breathe!”

“Right.” I relaxed my grip and looked down at her. “Better?”

Luna pulled back. “The caves-you got out?”

“I got out.”

Luna sighed in relief and leant her head against my chest. “Thank God.”

I stroked Luna’s hair. It felt good to hold her. “Were you looking for me?”

Luna nodded. “Like the last time,” I said. “Was that where you got the idea?”

“I couldn’t find you.”

“It’s hard to bring someone into Elsewhere if they’re awake. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Luna pulled back again and looked up at me, her smile gone. “He’s going to kill Arachne.”

“I know,” I said. “We’ve only got a few hours. Where did he take you?”

“A manor house in the mountains. Belthas brought everyone here. Me, all his guards, that woman …” Luna’s face darkened. “…and Martin.”

“Where are you?”

“In the basement. A cell. They locked me in and left me.”

“Okay.” I took a deep breath. This was the million-dollar question. “Do you know where it is?”

Luna shook her head and my heart sank. “It was too dark,” Luna said. “There weren’t any lights. It’s somewhere deserted, no towns, but …”

“But that’s not enough.” I tried to think of all the deserted, mountainous places Belthas could have set up a base. Hopeless. Even in Britain, there were thousands. Finding it would take days, weeks. “Did you see a landmark? Anything that would give us a location?”

“No. But I think I know who did.”

I looked at her in surprise. “Deleo,” Luna said. “She’s in the cell next to mine.”

“Did you talk to her?”

Luna shook her head. “I saw her.” A shadow passed across Luna’s face. “She looked bad. I think they were … getting information from her. For the ritual. She wasn’t awake. Asleep, a coma … I thought we could talk to her. I don’t know how to stop Belthas, but maybe she does.”

I thought about it for all of five seconds. I’d never tried bringing more than one person into Elsewhere, and if I had, I wouldn’t have picked Rachel … and none of that mattered since I didn’t see how we had any choice. “Why not,” I said. “I’m relying on one psychotic Dark mage, might as well make it two.”

Luna gave me an odd look. “What do you-?”

“Tell you later.” I started walking again, leading Luna towards the edge of the room. “Um,” Luna said. “Where are we going?”

“To Deleo.”

“Okay.” Luna thought for a second. “Where is she?”

“Up to you.”

Luna looked at me. After a second, she realised I was serious.

The pillars ahead turned out to be masking a tunnel into another hallway. “What did you mean about a Dark mage?” Luna said.

“Sonder brought along some muscle.”

“Sonder? Really?”

“Surprised?”

“Well, he’s a mage. I guess he can get people to do stuff for him, right?”

“Not quite how it happened.” I glanced down at Luna. “He’s tougher than you think.”

“He’s a bit nerdy.”

“He went looking into this on his own. He’s the one who found the link between Martin and Belthas.” I shrugged. “Figured it out before I did.”

As I said Martin’s name Luna’s face went blank and she looked down at her feet. We walked in silence for a little while, passing through another columned hall. There were no windows and the shadows were long and deep.

“Want to talk about it?”

“About what?”

“Martin.”

“What’s the point?”

I didn’t answer.

“I was stupid.” Luna stared ahead of her, her voice bitter. “I knew there were things he wasn’t telling me. I thought-I thought it didn’t matter. As long as he …”

Luna trailed off. “I know this isn’t much consolation,” I said at last, “but it won’t be the last time you make a fool of yourself over a guy. It happens.”

Luna kept walking, head down, arms wrapped around herself. “I used to think about it,” she said quietly. “I’d see some-one and I’d imagine it. Being with them. But I always knew it was just a dream. This time … I thought it was real. He said …” Luna’s voice wavered. “He said he loved me. That everything with the monkey’s paw was to help. He said that was why he needed to see Arachne. So we could be together.”

I stayed silent, walking by Luna’s side; I couldn’t see her face, but I knew she was crying. I felt pure hatred towards Martin. I try to give newbies to the magical world a chance, I really do. But Martin had crossed the line.

“There’s something else,” I said at last. “I know it’s not a good time but it’s got to be done.”

Luna wiped her eyes, her voice muffled. “What?”

“I’m going to get you out of there,” I said. “One way or another. But once that’s done … we’re going to have to decide if you’ll stay.”

Luna looked up, confused. “I’ve been treating you like a half apprentice,” I said. “I’ve been teaching you but without everything else that goes with it, and it’s not working. I realised that yesterday. Belthas was able to get to Arachne through you and I got captured trying to find you. By going with Martin you put all three of us in danger.”

“But-” Luna looked stricken. “I didn’t-”

I shook my head. “I’m not blaming you for what Belthas and Martin did. But you should have listened when I warned you off. I nearly got killed trying to get you out of there and I can’t keep doing that. If I do, sooner or later I’ll end up dead, and probably you will too.”

Luna and I walked for a little while in silence. “So what am I supposed to do?” Luna said at last.

“You’ve got a choice,” I said. “We can stop the training. No more work, no more late-night outings. We can still be friends. Go on as before.”

“Or?”

“Or you become my apprentice-this time for real. I’ll teach you what I know, introduce you to my contacts, bring you into mage society. The Light mages have a teaching structure. You’ll have classes and tests. You’ll meet other apprentices. But there’s a price. I’ll be your master-not your friend. If I tell you to do something, you’ll do it. And I won’t be the only one. You’ll be under the authority of every other Light mage you meet. You won’t get second chances either. Disobey me and you’re out. And you won’t be able to come back.”

Luna stared at me, then opened her mouth to speak. I held up a finger. “Don’t answer yet. Once we’re out of this, take some time and think about it. Right now, we’ve got other things to worry about.”

Luna kept her eyes on me, searching my face as if looking for something, then finally nodded. “Okay.”

“Good.” I stopped. “I think we’re here.”

We’d reached a hallway lined with doors. Shafts of light fell through from small windows high above but the shadows between them were dark and cold. The door Luna had led us to looked no different from the others, yet somehow I felt reluctant to touch it. It was made of black crystal, almost translucent enough to see through but not quite. The whispers had stopped.

As I stood looking at the door I caught the flicker of movement again and snapped my head around. This time I was sure I saw something: a flash of white vanishing back into the hall from which we’d entered. The hallway was silent. I kept my eyes on the entrance but nothing moved.

“Alex?” Luna asked.

I hesitated for a second. Luna might know what it was but this landscape was shaped by thought. Drawing her attention to our pursuer could be a very bad idea. “It’s nothing,” I said. “Do it.”

Luna reached for the door, paused for a second, then put her hand to it. It opened at a touch, the doors swinging silently back.

Beyond was swirling darkness, exactly like a cloud of smoke with every bit of light drained out of it. Tendrils of shadow drifted towards us and Luna stepped back hurriedly.

“Um,” Luna said after we’d both stared into the blackness for a few seconds. “What is that?”

“I have no idea,” I said honestly.

“I thought this was supposed to be Deleo’s dreams?”

“Maybe it is,” I said. Something about that darkness scared me. I had the creepy feeling it was just waiting for us to get within reach. I took another step back.

We stared a bit longer. “Do we go in?” Luna said eventually.

“God no.”

We stood there. “Well, we have to do something,” Luna said.

“I’m thinking,” I said. I didn’t know if it was my imagination, but it felt as though the cloud of darkness were edging towards us.

Then a voice spoke from the darkness, focused and cold. “What are you doing here?” A second later, its owner stepped into view-and she wasn’t alone.

Rachel is average height, with bright blue eyes. When I first knew her she was good-looking, even cute. She’s changed a lot since then. It’s rare now to see her with her mask off and when I do her face makes me think of sculpted ice, beautiful and cold. The darkness shrank from her, curling about her feet.

Standing on Rachel’s right was a girl with dark-red hair. She was smaller and younger than Rachel and felt far more alive, full of vitality and movement. She’d been dead for ten years, but in Elsewhere that doesn’t make as much difference as you’d think. She wasn’t looking at Rachel and Rachel wasn’t looking at her, but they seemed aware of each other somehow, as if they knew exactly where the other was without needing to see.

And on Rachel’s left was something that wasn’t human at all, faceless and eyeless, made of living shadow. Its body blended with the darkness around, making it almost impossible to pick out its shape, but I had the vague impression of something tall and slender, unnaturally still. Even twenty feet away, I could feel the cold radiating from it.

But it was the redheaded girl who held my attention. “Shireen,” I said quietly.

Shireen gave me a wave. “Hey, Alex! Long time no see.”

“Shut up,” Rachel said in irritation. “You know why he’s here.”

“We don’t know why he’s here,” Shireen pointed out reasonably.

Rachel snarled. “Belthas couldn’t get what he wanted while we were awake. Now he’s trying dreams.”

“You know that’s not how this place works. Just because he’s here doesn’t mean he’s there.”

“Um,” I said.

“You think we should give up?” Rachel said. “Tell him what we know?”

“I didn’t say that,” Shireen said mildly.

“That’s what it means!”

“Excuse me?” I said.

“You know he’s probably already got all he needs,” Shireen said. “Otherwise he would have been back by now.”

“Maybe he wouldn’t have what he needs if you didn’t-”

“HEY!” I shouted.

Shireen and Rachel turned to me in faint surprise as if they’d forgotten I was there. “Oh, right,” Shireen said. “Sorry.”

Luna was looking between Shireen and Rachel with the expression of someone who’s reconsidering whether this was a good idea. I was just as confused as she was but didn’t let myself show it. Why was Shireen in Rachel’s dreams? I mean, I knew why she could be in her dreams, but-I shook it off. This wasn’t the time. “Rachel-”

“That’s not my name.”

I sighed inwardly. “Deleo. I need to know where you are.”

Rachel looked at me. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

I looked back at her.

“You’re working for Belthas,” Rachel said coldly. “Go ask him.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not working for Belthas anymore.”

“Good.” Rachel took a step back.

“Wait!” I called. “Look, Rachel, I’m trying to help you. If I was working for Belthas, why would I need to know where you are? I’d just ask him!”

Shireen cocked her head at Rachel. She’d kept pace with Rachel, and the darkness was starting to shroud the two of them again. “He’s got a point.”

“Shut up,” Rachel said. “He led them to us! It’s a trick!”

“I hate to point this out,” Shireen said, “but we’re not really in a position to turn down help.”

Rachel hesitated, then looked to her left at the shadow and her face hardened. “No.”

I knew Rachel was about to step back into the darkness, and once she was in there, she wouldn’t come out. “Cinder’s with me.”

Luna looked at me. Rachel paused. “What?”

“We made a deal,” I said. “I’m going there for Luna, he’s going there for you, and we’ve both got a score to settle with Belthas. He’s with me back in the real world. We’re coming but we need to know where Belthas is.”

Rachel hesitated. “Look, what have you got to lose?” I said. “If I’m working for Belthas, it doesn’t make any difference to you if I know where his base is. But if I’m telling the truth, this is the best chance you’ll get of letting Cinder find you.”

I could see Rachel thinking about it. Shireen waited, silent; maybe she knew trying to push Rachel now wouldn’t help. The shadow didn’t move but I could feel it watching me.

“Scotland,” Rachel said at last. “Northern Highlands.”

“You saw it?”

“I know it. An old manor on the Black Craeg mountain.”

“Does Cinder know where it is?”

“You’ve got the name.”

“Anything else?”

“How would I know? It’s a manor. It’s got cells. Belthas is there and so are his soldiers.”

I nodded. “All right. We’ll be there soon.”

“Then if you’re telling the truth,” Rachel said, “you might want to hurry up. Belthas has started the ritual. Once it’s done he won’t need me or your precious little apprentice.”

I felt Luna flinch but didn’t look at her. “Can you help us find a way out?”

Rachel laughed. “In your dreams.”

“We die, you die.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m going with you. You found a way in. You find the way out.” She glanced from me to Luna. “Don’t come back.” Rachel stepped back; the darkness flowed over her and she was gone. Shireen had time for a quick wave before she vanished too. Silently and smoothly, the black crystal door swung closed, shutting with a click. The last wisps of darkness faded and we were alone.

“Well,” I said after a moment. “That went about as well as could be expected.”

“You’re working with Cinder?” Luna asked.

“For now … We got what we came for. Time to go.”

Luna looked around at the doorways. “So where …?”

I looked down at her, eyebrows raised. Luna sighed. “I get it, I get it. Up to me, right?”

Luna thought for a minute, then crossed the hall, heading for one of the doors. “But word of warning,” I said. “Finding someone’s dreams in Elsewhere isn’t hard. Leaving is.”

The door Luna had picked was blue crystal. It opened at a touch to reveal a rounded corridor lit with a pale light. I waited for Luna to step in, then shut the door behind us, taking a quick look around before I did. “You know, if there’s anything else you know about this place,” Luna said as I caught her up, “now might be a good time to tell me.”

“I don’t know how Elsewhere works,” I said. “Nobody does. There are books about it but they’re not much more than guesses.”

“You’ve been here before, right?” Luna said. “How did you get out?”

I shrugged. “Instinct? Luck? I don’t know. There are a few rules that work for me but I don’t know if they’ll work for you.”

“I think I need all the help I can get.”

“All right,” I said. “Don’t stray off the path. Don’t strike the first blow. And always look before you leap.”

Luna looked at me. “That’s not really all that specific.”

“Sorry.”

We walked for a little while. The corridor was growing lighter and there were slit windows appearing in the side alcoves, bright light streaming through them. “Maybe there’s one more thing,” I said. “I read a few chapters once out of a much longer book about Elsewhere. The author spent years studying it, getting stories from people who’d been there, and he never found a constant. In the end he decided Elsewhere was shaped by the traveller: What you found there would always link back to you. He found something else as well. How much power a mage had didn’t seem to have anything to do with how well he did in Elsewhere. The ones who did best were the ones with the most … self-awareness, I guess. The ones most comfortable with who they were.”

“Oh,” Luna said. She thought about it briefly. “What happens if you … don’t do well in Elsewhere?”

“Nobody knows.”

“Why?”

“Because they never wake up.”

Luna fell silent. We kept walking.

“Who was she?” Luna asked.

I knew who she meant. “Shireen.”

“You know her?”

“Yes.”

“And … she was in Deleo’s dreams, right?”

I didn’t answer.

“Is that supposed to happen?”

“No.”

“You … knew her from before?”

“Luna, I don’t want to talk about this,” I said. “Not now. Focus on getting us out of here.”

Luna looked like she was about to argue, but she didn’t. It didn’t help me get the same thing out of my head. Why had Shireen been there and what had that shadow been?

The corridor ended in another door. Luna opened it without asking-

And we stepped into a city street. Semidetached houses, yellow brick with hedges and front gardens, formed a line in front of us with hatchbacks and sedans parked by the side of the road. Instead of the unnatural silence of Elsewhere or the whispers of before, I could hear the familiar low buzz of city traffic, though the street itself was still. The sky overhead was still cloudy but lighter, the sun glowing through the white canopy. I looked back to see more houses behind us. The door had vanished.

Looking around, I realised that the city felt like London. It’s hard to say exactly what it was-it’s not as though city houses look all that different-but I’ve lived all my life in London and something about the bricks and the trees made me think of a London suburb, though not one I’d ever been to. “Huh.”

Luna didn’t respond. I looked to see her staring at the house in front of us. It was three storeys high and had a red door with the number 17 on the front. The front yard had a privet hedge and two pot plants.

A flicker of movement made me glance up sharply. “Luna.”

Luna started and seemed to come awake. “There’s something here,” I said quietly. I couldn’t see what it was but my instincts were telling me we were being watched.

Luna shrank back against me, staring at the door as though it were going to bite her. I stood tense, trying to watch every direction. I was starting to think that the creature following me wanted us to know it was there. The glances I was getting were too deliberate, the disappearances too quick. But this time I couldn’t see a thing.

I felt Luna jump and snapped my head around. The door with the number 17 was swinging open and people were coming out.

There were two: a man and a woman. The man looked about fifty with the tanned skin and dark hair of Southern Europe. His hair was greying, but he looked strong and fit. The woman was a little younger and fairer, with Luna’s hair and eyes. As she saw Luna her eyes lit up and she ran towards her. “Luna, Luna!”

Luna froze. I tried to step in front of her but somehow they slipped by and a second later the woman was hugging Luna while the man stood by smiling. “Oh, Luna!” the woman said. “It’s been so long!”

Luna stared back at the woman and she looked terrified. She tried to pull away. “You’re … No. I don’t …”

“Tesoro,” the man said with a great smile. “It’s so good to see you.”

“I- No!” Luna pulled herself away violently. She kept backing away across the road until she came up against a car. “It’s not you. It can’t be you!”

“It is, love,” the woman said. If Luna’s reaction bothered her, she didn’t show it; her face was compassionate. “Let us help you.” She began to walk towards her.

Neither of the pair had reacted to me and they didn’t seem unfriendly, but whoever they were, they were freaking Luna out. I stepped between them and Luna, taking care this time to make sure they couldn’t get past me. The woman kept walking. “Hey,” I said. “Wait a-”

The woman walked right through me. I felt a shock of cold as her body passed through mine, then she was gone. I turned with a shiver to see her stroke Luna’s hair tenderly. “It’s all right,” she said. “Everything’s all right now.”

Luna stared at the woman, then at me, then at her, then took a deep breath. She reached up and took the woman’s hand from her hair, bringing it down in front of her. “I–I don’t understand. How are you here?”

“We came for you, of course,” the man said with a smile. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

“But you-” Luna said. “I thought-”

“It’s all right,” the woman said. She clasped Luna’s hand between hers. “It was hard to believe at first, but once we came … Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“Luna?” I said quietly. I’d stepped to one side. “Are these … who I think they are?”

Luna looked between us, then gave a tiny nod. Now I looked closer I could see the resemblance between her and the woman. She didn’t take after the man so clearly, but there was something there in how they moved. “Cara,” the man said. “Remember what we said?”

The woman nodded. “Yes. Luna, we’re sorry. For not believing you, for not listening. You were telling the truth all along and we should have known. We were too scared.”

“I-” Luna wavered.

“They’re not real,” I said quietly.

Luna’s head snapped around to look at me. “How do you know?”

I shook my head. “How could they have got here? It doesn’t make sense.”

“We’re really here, Luna,” the woman said. She didn’t show any sign of hearing me but she answered as if she had. “We found a way into this … Elsewhere, that was what it was called? It wasn’t easy, but …” She smiled and brushed Luna’s cheek. “Well. To do this again …”

Despite herself, Luna smiled. “Mum, I told you not to do that-”

“They’re not real,” I said again. “Don’t accept it.”

Luna looked at me, frustrated. “Give me a second!”

“The longer you let yourself believe they’re real, the harder it’ll be,” I said quietly. “Trust me.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Because it’s happened to me,” I said. “There are things in Elsewhere, Luna. No one knows what they are. They can wear the masks of family, friends, people from your past. Do you seriously believe your parents found a way into Elsewhere? Both together? Is that the kind of thing they’d do?”

“Luna?” her mother asked. “Who are you talking to?”

Luna drew in a harsh breath. I could see the struggle in her eyes, trying to decide whom to believe. She looked away, her movements jerky, and I knew with a sudden flash of insight that at that moment she hated me. Not for telling the truth, but for making her believe it when the lie would have been so much less painful.

“I have to go,” Luna said.

“Go?” her mother asked blankly. “But why?”

Luna didn’t meet her mother’s eyes.

“Don’t you see?” her mother said. “This was why we came. It’s safe here. We can be with you without getting hurt.” She put her arm around Luna with a smile. “Come inside. There’s so much you need to tell us. And I promise you’ll never have to run away again.”

Luna hesitated, wavering. For a long moment she stared at the house in front of her. Then, gently, she took her mother’s arm from around her. “I’m sorry,” she said. “There are things I have to do.”

I felt my shoulders relax slightly and realised I’d been holding my breath. Just for a second, I wondered if this was what happened to those people who never came back from Elsewhere. I’d always assumed they’d been attacked. But maybe it had been something as simple as this …

“Then we’re coming with you,” Luna’s father said.

“You’re-?”

“No arguments,” her mother said firmly. “After all this time, you think we’re going to leave you alone again? It’s your choice but we go where you do.” She smiled. “We’re not going to send you away this time.”

Luna looked from her to me, unsure, but I was caught off guard as well. “Okay,” Luna said at last. “I’d … like that.”

“Perfect,” the woman said with a smile. “It’s settled, then.”

“Which way?” Luna asked.

The woman turned Luna towards the end of the street and nodded. “Right there.”

Luna looked down the street. Her mother was still holding her arm. She took a step, the scenery seemed to blur and shift-

We stood in the middle of a mountain village. It was after sunset, that time between twilight and darkness where just enough light is left in the sky to see but only by straining one’s eyes. The weather was dark and brooding, thick clouds covering the sky with only a tiny sliver of grey showing in the west. A mountain peak loomed over the village, a black shadow in the gloom.

The village looked old, very old, and it wasn’t English. The architecture was different, the houses built in a square-edged style with sloped roofs. Some of the houses had walls of brick, others stone and mortar, and all were dark. No lights showed in the windows, and there was no sign of movement. The village was silent, so quiet it was unnatural; there was no sound of wind or life. As I looked around I saw a few open doors, shutters hanging loose. It felt … dead. Whoever had lived here, they weren’t here any more. As I looked around the silent square, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise and I looked unconsciously for lines of retreat.

Luna was a little in front of me, her parents clustered protectively around her. She took a slow look around and something in her eyes made me sure it wasn’t the first time she’d seen this place. “Are you all right, dear?” her mother said. “Do you want to go back?”

Luna’s gaze settled on the house at the other end of the square. It looked ancient, even older than the other houses, with a ragged roof and crumbling stonework that looked on the verge of falling down. The narrow entrance had no door; there was only a black hole in the wall. Luna raised her arm to point. “There.”

“Is that the way out?” I asked. I kept my voice down. I had the feeling something might be listening.

“Yes,” Luna said. She sounded absolutely certain.

The doorway was maybe twenty paces away. Luna didn’t move towards it and neither did her parents. “What’s wrong?” I said quietly.

Luna didn’t reply for a second. “You remember when you first brought me into Elsewhere?” Luna’s voice was distant and she gazed at the house in front of her, talking as if to herself. “You told me my curse didn’t work here.”

“Yeah.”

“I thought about that, afterwards,” Luna said. “I couldn’t figure it out. I mean, my curse is part of me. I can’t live without it, Arachne told me that. So how can I be here if my curse isn’t?”

I looked at Luna but she didn’t meet my eyes. “Well, I figured it out,” Luna said, staring towards the house. “My curse is here. Just not in me.”

The darkness behind the house moved and something stepped out of the shadows.

It was beautiful.

Looking back on it, that’s the first thing I remember. There was a kind of perfection to it, a purity. It stood taller than a man, its stance hunched with its arms hanging to its knees, but it moved with a smooth, loping grace that hinted at speed and power. It was hairless, its skin bare and pure white, and the fingers were curved in a way that made me think of claws. The head was wolflike, with a lengthened muzzle and two pure white eyes that glowed with a pale light. Despite its size, its movements were almost silent.

The four of us stood dead still. The creature kept moving at a steady pace, keeping its distance from us as it circled counterclockwise, its eyes fixed on us. The only sound was the click of its claws against the stone.

As the creature kept circling, we had to turn to keep it in view. It wasn’t making any effort to hide and its pale shape stood out clearly in the gloom. “What’s it doing?” I said at last, very quietly.

“I don’t know,” Luna whispered. She was staring back at the thing. Its eyes had no pupils so I couldn’t be sure, but I had the feeling it was looking at her.

The creature had gone a quarter of the way around us. “Cutting us off?” I said, then shook my head. “Doesn’t make sense …”

“We should go,” Luna’s mother whispered. She shook Luna gently. “Come on.”

Luna didn’t move. “It’ll get behind us,” her father murmured. “Run, cara. Quickly.”

I shook my head. Somehow I knew this thing was faster than we could ever be.

The creature was almost opposite from where it had started and we’d turned through a hundred and eighty degrees watching it. The doorway was behind us now and we were between it and the creature. We had a clear line of retreat. As if she’d been thinking the same thing, Luna took a step back.

My hand shot out to catch her. “No.”

Luna stopped, but she didn’t take her eyes off the thing. “It’s where we’re going,” she said.

It was true but my instincts were warning me of danger. This thing had started its circle from next to the door. If it had wanted to block our exit, it could have just stood there. Why had it moved? Unless it wanted us to-

A horrible suspicion hit me. I focused, narrowing my eyes, and froze. The creature was leaving a trail of silver-white mist as it walked and the mist wasn’t fading, but staying. I looked about and understood. The barrier of mist started in front of the house, blocking the way to the exit, and it was two-thirds of the way around us. The creature was drawing a circle around us. As soon as it finished, we’d be trapped. “Luna!”

I heard Luna inhale sharply as she saw it too. As she did, the mist shimmered into visibility, as though by seeing it we’d broken the spell. The mist looked silvery, harmless … just like Luna’s curse.

I don’t know if Luna’s parents knew what the mist was but they knew what it meant. “Luna!” her mother cried.

“We have to go!” her father shouted. He ran towards the quarter of the circle still open.

There was a flicker of movement, almost too fast to see. Luna’s father’s chest came apart in a gout of blood, droplets spattering onto the stone. The creature loomed above, bright red staining the white skin, and snatched the man up in its claws before fading back into the mist, gone before I could move.

“No!” Luna screamed. “Dad!”

“Artur!” Luna’s mother screamed. “ARTUR!”

Luna made as if to run into the mist but I grabbed her. “No!”

Luna struggled. “Let go-!”

Something came flying out of the mist. It made a wet thump as it hit the ground and bounced, rolling and leaving a red smear behind it. It came to rest at Luna’s mother’s feet. She looked down and screamed. Two empty eyes stared up from out of it, glazing.

Luna went rigid, staring in horror. Her mother kept screaming as I looked about wildly. The mist swirled, obscuring the square, and I couldn’t see where the thing was. The edges of the mist had almost closed the circle and only a narrow gap was left, leading towards an alley-way.

Luna’s mother saw the narrowing gap and ran towards it, still screaming. “Don’t!” I shouted.

The creature appeared out of the mist before she’d gone five steps, faster and quieter than anything so big had any right to be. Its claw ripped through the woman’s stomach to burst out of her back with a damp snapping noise, and Luna’s mother jerked as she was lifted off the ground. The creature held her weight impaled on one arm without difficulty, its empty eyes staring into hers as her mouth worked, trying to speak, then with a lightning motion it snapped its jaws around her throat and ripped it out. Spurts of blood painted red streaks on its skin as it dragged the body off its arm with a horrible scraping, cracking sound before fading back into the mist.

Luna didn’t scream this time. She was frozen, stiff and staring. I looked around to see that the mist had closed around us. I couldn’t see the exit. “Luna. Luna.”

Silence. I moved back to back with Luna, trying to look in every direction at once, my instincts still screaming at me to watch for danger even though my head knew it was useless. The thing was inhumanly fast; if it wanted to snatch me I didn’t have a hope of stopping it. “Luna!”

Luna stayed rigid against my back. I took a deep breath and stepped around to look at Luna face to face, leaving my back exposed. Her eyes flicked up to meet mine but they were horrified, blank. “It’s not real,” I said quietly, putting every bit of belief into my voice that I could. “They’re shadows, phantoms. That’s how this place works. It strikes at your fears, where you’re weak. Your real parents are still alive, out in the world, but if you want to see them again you have to get out of here!”

Luna shivered. Her eyes came back into focus and she stared at me. Then her eyes shifted to focus on a point over my shoulder and slowly, very slowly, she looked up.

A horrible empty feeling opened up inside my stomach. I turned around.

The creature was standing right behind me. The mist had closed in and now we were at the centre of a ring barely twenty feet across. The creature was almost twice my height, the empty white eyes looking down at me, and it smelt of something cold and ancient. Red blood made ghastly spatters on the white skin, but it was already fading and I knew that in only a few minutes the blood of Luna’s parents would be gone. Just as mine would be.

The creature moved. I’d like to say I did something brave but I didn’t. I shut my eyes.

Nothing happened. One heartbeat, five, ten. I opened my eyes to look.

Luna was standing in front of me, shielding me. Against the backdrop of that monster, she looked tiny, like a child. She was in range of those lethal claws and one strike would have cut her in half, but the creature stood still, its blank eyes looking down at her as Luna stepped forward to meet it. She reached up to place her hand flat against its smooth muscled chest.

There was a single blinding flash and I flinched. Spots swam before my eyes and I scrubbed at them. As my vision returned I realised I could make out the shapes of buildings around me. The mist was gone.

I looked from side to side. There was no trace of the mist, or Luna’s parents. The stones of the square were clean, with no blood. Where the creature had stood, only Luna remained … and as I looked at her, I saw the silver mist begin to seep from her skin again, strengthening until it formed its aura around her, just as it always did.

Luna didn’t look at me. She nodded to the black doorway of the house in front of us. “We can go.”

I hesitated. “You first,” Luna said. Her voice was distant. “I don’t think I’m very safe to be near anymore.”

Carefully I circled Luna. She was staring into the doorway, her face unreadable. A pace short of entering, I stopped. “Are you …?”

“Don’t worry,” Luna said. “I’ll follow.” Her eyes met mine. “It’s not like I’ve got anything to stay for, is it?”

I looked at Luna, then nodded slowly and turned to face the doorway. It was lightless, a black void, and I stepped through. Cold froze my bones and I fell into nothingness.