Then it stops.
I’m once again standing, now surrounded by black slate and obsidian darkness. Cornelius is standing directly in front of me, jaw clenched as he looks me over, shaking hands outstretched toward me but not touching.
“Did it settle, then?” Jacob asks.
I nod, working hard to catch my breath and slow my galloping heart. “Darkness and gloom?”
Cornelius releases a loud breath, his hands gripping his skull briefly before an exasperated chuckle falls from his lips. Then he looks over at me, his eyes wild. “That was a close call, but you did good.”
The corners of my mouth lift slightly, knowing this is as close to a pat on the back I’m going to get. Nodding, I wave him off, once again checking my surroundings for any indication that someone was here before us.
A glint behind Cornelius draws my attention. I cock my head, slowly walking around him toward it, frowning as I get closer and see a gold coin lying in the dust.
Glancing back at Cornelius and Jacob, I sidle closer, eyeing the shiny coin curiously. I glance back again, noting the two men deep in conversation before slowly turning my focus to the golden trinket calling me closer. Bending over, I touch it lightly with a fingertip, frowning slightly at the familiar warmth that has me scooping it up.
Cupping it in my palm, I hold it out in front of me, tilting my hand just so until the reflection of my face appears.
“Vivian,” Cornelius shouts. “No.”
But it’s too late.
The coin liquifies, wrapping itself around my hand as I attempt to shake it off. It sinks into my skin, disappearing with an iridescent glow that has me turning my hand slowly in front of me. Staring in awe, it vanishes completely, quickly replaced by a burning electrical current that has me clutching my hand to my chest, an exclamation of pain falling from my lips.
Screaming, I drop to my knees, fire coursing through my veins, and I writhe against the agony stabbing through my skull. My back bows, my torso coming up off the ground, my teeth grinding together as I attempt to keep myself centered, not to allow the white-hot inferno to take me.
“Grab her,” Cornelius yells, his hands latching onto me, preventing me from being completely enrobed by the golden web washing over me. Our eyes meet, dread rolling over me at my distorted reflection in his eyes. He blinks, resignation on his face, and my hands move to his wrists instinctively, searching for an anchor.
Jacob leans close, his words a frenzied whisper in my ear. “It seeks you out because it knows its true master. You must free it from its stolen prison.”
I shake my head, confused by the conflicting urge to run while also yearning to succumb. I try to speak, but my words stick in my gold-coated throat as Jacob whisper-shouts, “Don’t fight it. The gold leads the fallen home again. You must trust in it.”
Agony rips through me at his words, immediately followed by a humming buzz, a deep warmth pooling in my chest.
“Remember what we said, Vivian!” Cornelius’s shout draws my attention back to him, his expression now panicked, his grip on my forearms painful. “Remember what you know.”
Jacob grabs onto him, yanking at his arms as the gold oozes from my skin, licking lightly at his fingertips where they’re pressed into the muscle of my forearms. My hands grip hiswrists even tighter, grappling for purchase, desperate to keep my hold on him even as that heavy metal within me pulls me away.
And then, for a moment, time stops.
He releases me. “Go.”
I nod, my hands loosening until he slips from my grasp.
And I’m gone.
THIRTY-FIVE
A DEVIOUS THIEF
Vivian, Age 25
I’m not supposed to be here.
I keep telling myself that as I trudge through the forest at the park near my parents’ place. After all the years I lived there, I don’t recall ever coming here, or at least not walking this far into the shadows.
I’m still unsure why I decided it was a good idea to head out here in the dark without even a flashlight, but here I am, hand-in-hand with hindsight.
Frowning, I stop, glancing around nervously. With a long look over my shoulder, I consider turning back, but then, I remember the now-crumpled piece of paper in my pocket, and continue along the path.
