LXXVII. Two Halves

Edward

I was very still as I listened to James and Victoria, my mind working hard to put the pieces together.

Helen is yours.

Helen's had four thousand years to finish them off.

Was your command void while you slumbered?

I can track her.

It was exactly as Bella suspected—Helen was being controlled. I looked at the crescent-shaped ruby at my feet and thought about the one around Victoria's neck. If my own brother could hide the fact that he was—or had been—a Singer from me for four thousand years… it wasn't a stretch for James to be a Singer too. And unlike Bella, he seemed to know how to use his powers. He could control Helen. Could he control me too?

It's a trap.

His army is as good as dead.

Andronikh wasn't on James' side. The thought brought me very little relief, seeing as my brother had left me chained here and taken Helen to where my mate was. What the hell was he up to? If James could track Helen, he could find Bella. It was enough to drive me wild. Five hundred years ago, I would've raged against the chains. I would've chased after my mate in blind panic. Now, I only became more still, considering my options.

You must think, not feel.

It was ironic that I was using my brother's advice for a predicament that he'd put me in. I pushed the thoughts of him away, his constant vacillation between seeming to care and doing rotten deeds was enough to make anyone crazy.

My aim was first and foremost to keep my mate safe.

And the obstacles: the chains, the enemies downstairs, the distance.

The chains were obviously powered in some way, which meant I needed information. How much did Andronikh know? How much power did he have? Probably not much, considering how he couldn't control Helen… or me. It was definitely not for lack of desire. But what he lacked in power, he seemed to make up in knowledge.

I began to open the drawers in the room, searching for something—anything—that could help me. But they were filled with useless objects, some so old and decrepit they seemed like trash. Dried flowers, carefully pressed between fragile paper, pieces of lumpy wood, blue ink, and at the bottom, a yellowing parchment filled with symbols. I frowned at these but they were nothing more than alphabets, the shaky writings of what had to be a child. Most of the symbols were wrongly shaped, with missing lines, more lines than necessary, or flipped backwards like a mirror image. There were hundreds and hundreds of these, including strange patterns I'd never seen before.

I shuffled through them in bewilderment.

Then I looked back at the ruby. I was hesitant to touch it—what if it was somehow synchronised to the ruby downstairs? What if it alerted James to my presence? Old me would've relished the chance to throw myself into a fight, current me knew that it was reckless—I was imprisoned, I had no knowledge of his abilities, and dying of stupidity was the worst thing I could do to my mate.

But the ruby was my only chance, unpredictable as it was. Perhaps it would show me something useful. With an ear trained on the vampires downstairs, I gave the ruby an experimental touch with a finger. It glowed and I released it immediately. The ruby downstairs remained unchanged. Feeling marginally safer, I wrapped my palm around it, not knowing what to expect.

The scene changed again and this time my brother was walking down a darkened path, something heavy strapped to his back. This was still a human memory but the ground seemed slightly further away than in the first memory—he was older here, but not by much.

Everything was white. Snow was falling down in heaps and he was sweating from exertion and shivering from the cold all at the same time. A shabby hut came into view and from within it, I heard a woman keening. Andronikh's walk turned into a run, his heart pounding in his chest. He shrugged whatever it was off his back, letting it crash and shatter behind him as he sprinted and nearly slipped on the ice. He yanked the door open.

It was too dark to see much but the outline of a woman on the floor. A quick glance around the tiny home showed that no one else was there.

"The knife," she gasped. "Give me the knife."

He obeyed without question, grabbing it from the table. The air stank with blood and then the shrill cry of an infant cut through the air. Mother's breathing was harsh, her hair plastered to her face and she made no move to touch the child. Seconds, minutes passed and it continued to cry alone in the middle of the grimy floor.

Andronikh came closer, his steps hesitant. "Mother?" He looked at the small, wrinkled thing as it wailed. "It's… She's crying."

Mother's eyes were dull. "Leave it outside and fetch me some water."

He hesitated and then bent down, his small hands hovering unsurely over the infant before he slipped them under its arms and hoisted it up. It was slippery and squirming and he nearly dropped it. When he reached the door, he paused again, gazing at the snow through the windows. "But it's cold outside."

The child's body felt hot, its cries loud and impossible to ignore, but Mother didn't look up. "It's cold everywhere." She wrapped her shawl more tightly around herself, her hands stained with blood. Her voice cracked. "Who knows? If you leave her outside, one of the gods might take her somewhere warm."

Andronikh stared, clumsily readjusting his arms around the screaming infant. "No, they won't."

Uncontrolled laughter bubbled from Mother. "You're a clever boy, aren't you?" Her laughter turned to sobs and—

I couldn't watch anymore.

It was wretched enough to see on a stranger and knowing that this was my family… I didn't have time for this. I had to find something useful. Something that would get me out of the chains. Something about Didyme or James— I was about to let go of the ruby when the memory melted away, as though the ruby were reacting to my aversion.

I was looking at a familiar face—the same silken hair and sky-blue eyes, except she didn't look as perfect here as she did when she was the Oracle. Didyme seemed around sixteen, her white-blonde hair clean and twisted into elegant braids, her pale robes woven from threads that glowed in the sun. She wasn't looking in our direction and a frown marred her forehead as she glanced furtively behind her for what must be the third time.

Andronikh was barely breathing as he came closer. He'd been watching her for a while.

"Didyme?" he finally dared. "Is that you?"

She turned and her eyes widened in a manner similar to his.

"Didyme!" He sounded overjoyed. "Didyme!" He threw his arms around her, weak with relief. "You're alive. You're alive…" He turned, craning his neck. "Ari! Ariadnh, come here. Come say—"

"Who's this, sister?" I was shocked to see James strolling towards us, coming to a halt just in front of Didyme, his eyes narrowed and suspicious as he studied Andronikh. He was older than the other two but still disconcertingly young, around nineteen. But the most striking difference were his eyes—where I remembered them to be cold and vicious, here they seemed frenzied, anger a permanent fixture in their depths.

Didyme hadn't said a word the entire time and now, she wrinkled her nose. "No idea. But he reeks of the sewers."

Without another word, she turned her back and walked away.

Little Ariadnh came up behind Andronikh then, looking up at him in puzzlement. "What?"

Andronikh didn't answer, his cheeks darkening as he stared after Didyme. James's curiosity faded instantly and he followed Didyme without sparing Andronkh another glance.

I let go of the ruby, my head pounding. Not what I'm looking for. Were there no helpful memories? I'd already suspected that James was their brother. Still, it had gone in a better direction after I'd accidentally told it to show me something related to Didyme and James than the first time when I'd gone in blind. Maybe it was like a Google search. Maybe I had to tell it exactly what I wanted.

Downstairs, James and Victoria were speaking again.

"Did you find anything?" Victoria asked.

"No," James said. "He knew I was coming. There won't be anything to find here." The Maze is a distraction. He has no powers. But why take Helen? Where is the trap?

"What about the Ancient?"

"There's only one place he can be," James said. "With the Shifters. With the human Singer. With Andronikh," He sneered the name. I'll kill you this time. "They'll likely use the Ancient as a shield." A well-hidden pawn but a pawn nonetheless. "He'll be problematic, especially if they work with the Shifters."

Victoria toyed with the pendant idly. "Let's go. I'm dying to see my sister."

"Slowly," he said. Something isn't right. There's a trap somewhere.

"I'm tired of waiting," Victoria said. "The longer we wait, the more time they have to plan." Strike the iron while it's hot. They're cornered mice. "They won't expect it."

Her words made my stomach tighten with anxiety. I needed to see Bella. I needed—

I gripped the ruby without thinking.

The earth gave way underneath me and I found myself sprawled on the side of a dirt road, bewildered. I waited for the memory to happen but there was only silence. I lifted up my free arm and shifted my legs, amazed I could control my movements. Had it been that easy to get free?

Something flashed in the distance and I realised the ruby in my hand was glowing… and so was something else. I stood up and my jaw dropped to find my mate lying a few feet away from me, the ruby around her neck glowing in tandem with the one in my hand.

"Bella!"

Her eyes were closed, the hot sun beating down strongly on us both, and terror struck my heart until I realised she was neither dead nor on fire. Gently, I lifted her into my arms and looked around at the endless blue sky, the trees and the dirt road.

Where were we?

Did anyone read Midnight Sun? I was so surprised when I saw it got published! Binge-read it last night and felt like a teenager again. So much nostalgia!

I remember reading the incomplete draft and wishing so much it was complete. I think Midnight Sun fanfictions were how I ended up here :D