Earth(110)

"Arianna?" I called out. My voice echoed off the walls.

I heard a scuffle above me. Still riding the high of power, I was connected to my physical body. Micah tried to shake me awake. Shawn pushed him away, then stood over my unconscious body, waiting to fend off further attempts by Micah.

Good to know they both found their feet.

Light gleamed out from a cavern high on the wall.

I thought Shawn released Sarah.

I leaped, covering the distance and landing solid on my feet. I threw my arm over my eyes, squinting at the sudden intrusion of light in the otherwise dark cave. The light rotated, sending alternating spikes of blue and white along the cavern walls, until it shimmered and pulled in on itself. A human form stepped forward and the light dwindled until it blinked out behind her.

It wasn't Sarah. It was me.

I stepped forward to meet her – to meet me.

Of course, I thought. I was marked with the Athame same as any. Why did I not think my Shade existed?

The woman before me was not a mirror image. She stood tall, with shoulders held back. Her skin glowed and her eyes sparkled.

"I have something for you," she said.

She reached behind her neck, unclasping a silver chain, and pulled a charm out from under her shirt. She handed it to me. I took it, rubbing the pad of my thumb across the smooth, blue butterfly. The gift from Micah to me, and something I thought I had lost in the waves of the Mediterranean.

"I didn't ask for this." My hand closed around the necklace, squeezing tight. "I didn't ask for any of it."

She smiled. "No one ever does. But you'll do what has to be done."

"Why?" I asked, in a whisper. Tears ran down my face.

"Because someone has to." She raised one hand, and paused, waiting for me.

I wiped my nose with my shirtsleeve. I took a deep breath, and raised my hand opposite hers. The light came back encompassing us both, growing brighter as our hands joined.

I clasped it, and our bodies merged, thrust together by the light.





* * *





"Get out of the way, or I swear I'll—"

"What? Bleed to death on me?" Shawn interrupted Micah's threat. He bent down to retrieve his singed shirt. "I might've cut a little too deep at your stomach. At least put some pressure on it."

Micah caught the shirt, then grimaced at the pain the sudden movement caused. "What do you care?"

"I watched my father die – I don't want a repeat with my brother."

Micah rolled onto his back. "Then close your eyes." The gray, turbulent sky was going darker. Micah was sure it wasn't part of the storm.

"Micah…Micah!" the voice echoed with varying degrees of volume.

"Micah!" This one was Kaitlyn's. It brought the world back into sharp focus. "Can you stay with me just a little longer?"

Micah shifted his gaze. Kaitlyn kneeled over him, using Shawn's shirt to apply pressure. She still held the Athame. Shawn stood behind her, hands hanging limp by his side.

"I…" her voice caught, and she swallowed hard, fighting back tears. "I still need you."

His hand went up to her cheek. She followed it with her own hand and something hard hit his knuckles. She relaxed her grip, and part of the lost butterfly necklace fell out.

His eyes darted to Shawn. Shawn didn't answer the unspoken question. Instead, he rubbed his neck and looked away. A stray wisp of Kaitlyn's hair drew Micah's eyes back to her. He tucked it behind her ear, then took the necklace from her hand. He clasped it around her bowed head.

When she rose, the butterfly fell to her chest just beneath her neckline. Blue swirls on the wings matched the angry swirls of dark grays in the sky behind her. But her eyes, a deep brown shimmering with golden specks, were inviting; peaceful, almost.

"Beautiful," Micah said.





Chapter 73





Earth Falling





Power thrummed, and it was all I could do to keep it contained until Micah clasped the necklace around my neck. When the butterfly hit my chest, it was warm. It countered the cool burn I felt from Shawn's scar on the back of my shoulder.

A lump rose in my throat. Micah didn't have much longer. His eyes, a blend of rich greens, were infused with the amber-like spots. Spidery veins interconnected, laced through the color.

Like a leaf, I thought. How did I never notice that before?

I squeezed his hand. A static shock jumped from me to him.

Micah smiled. "Just like when we first met."

A smile spread across my own face.

Behind me, Shawn cleared his throat. "She wasn't there, right? I already sent her off…"

I turned, looking at him over my shoulder. "No, Sarah wasn't there." My thumb stroked Micah's cheek as I looked at Shawn. "What will you do now?"