Another voice, Simon’s voice. She would know it anywhere. It sounded far-off and distant, like an echo, or a whisper. But the urgency in it was like a coiled spring.
She wanted to listen to him, wanted to obey. But she couldn’t.
Something else was at play here, something that was so much stronger than him. Than her. Than anything.
A long low laugh sounded, much closer to her, part of the shadow that wound its way around her, encircling her, crushing her.
‘He tried to tell you, your love, before he lost his way on the path to Ys. He tried to leave you clues and to protect you. But you did not see. You did not listen. And now it is too late. Put on the mask. It will show you. It is the only way.’
Slowly, as if she no longer had control of her body, she lifted the mask towards her face. And she knew, deep inside her heart, that she didn’t want to do this. Every instinct screamed at her to put the wretched thing down, to let it go. But she couldn’t.
Darkness swept up, wrapping itself around her and pulling her down into the depths. Drowning her in shadows.
‘Ari?’
A spear of light lanced through her with the sound of her name, grabbing her by the throat and dragging her back to the surface. She drew in a breath of shock and pain. Not Simon’s voice. Not this time.
She turned so fast she almost dropped the mask. Instead, her grip on it tightened so much she feared she’d break it herself. And part of her wanted to.
To shatter it. Crush it. Grind it to dust…
Rafael stood in the door, holding her jacket. She must have left it behind. Standing there with her mouth hanging open, she didn’t know what to say.
The spell broke and she inhaled the sweet air. Before she could second-guess herself, she dropped the mask back into the box and stepped back as quickly as she dared. Her head spinning, she fought for breath and the whispering voice faded away.
‘Ari? Are you OK?’
Suddenly he was beside her, his arms around her, the warmth of him driving the chill of the darkest depths of the sea from her bones. He held her close, cradling her against him. She wasn’t proud of it. She clung to him.
‘What is it? What happened?’ he went on when she didn’t answer. ‘You’re shaking like a leaf.’
His fingers brushed her hair, stroked the side of her face and she leaned into his touch. The comfort it gave her was unexpected.
She dragged her face away from his shoulder as if it was the last thing she wanted to do. Which it was. Looking up, she met his dark eyes and read the undisguised concern there.
It gave her the strength to tell him the truth. Even if it made her sound like a madwoman. Given what they had seen together already, it was not a leap.
‘There was someone here,’ she whispered. ‘The lock’s broken on the storage and…Rafael, there was a voice. Not a human voice. Something else. It wanted me to wear the mask.’
He frowned and shifted his gaze to the mask lurking in the water again. ‘It looks…’ His voice trailed off, confused.
‘Different. I know. It’s changed. I don’t know how or why, but it was old and worn when we found it, covered in dirt and barnacles and God knows what. And now…look at it.’
The expression that crossed his face married repulsion and fascination.
‘It’s beautiful,’ he whispered and his voice was a rumble against her. ‘Ari…I had no idea.’
For a moment, he held her tighter and then released her just as abruptly. He leaned in closer, staring at it.
‘It looks familiar,’ he said. ‘The face, I mean. Like…like someone I knew long ago…something…’
He reached out, his hand hovering over the water. The liquid rippled beneath his skin, moving like a living thing, moving out of his way. An optical illusion, it had to be, but she stood there transfixed as something magic started to unfold before her. She was frozen as he moved closer, the same spell which had swept over her creeping through him. She could see it at work; a blank expression, a desperate need burning in his dark eyes.
All sound fell away, every breath stilled, her heartbeat, everything.
‘Don’t let him touch it, Ari,’Simon’s voice whispered suddenly in her ear.‘Whatever you do, don’t let him—’
The enchantment shattered.
