‘Because I’m an idiot. Leave me alone.’
‘You knew what you were doing.’
‘If you know so much, why do you keep asking me?’
Shireen didn’t answer, and I stopped and looked at her. ‘Fine. I stayed because of Luna.’
As I said the last word, I felt something shift. I looked around and realised that the walkway had been steadily descending until it was level with the city rooftops. Ahead, it sloped down to street level, ending in front of a mansion. A familiar one.
Shireen spoke into the silence. ‘It’s in there.’
Slowly, I walked towards Richard’s mansion. It was exactly as I remembered it, right down to the cracked stone at the doorway. I came to a stop in front of the double doors.
‘Why are you stopping?’ Shireen asked from behind me. ‘Are you afraid?’
I stood silently before answering. ‘Yes.’
We stood looking at the doors for a minute. The city was quiet, expectant, as though holding its breath. ‘I swore I’d never come back here,’ I said at last. ‘When I escaped.’
‘But you didn’t. Not really.’
I turned in surprise to see that Shireen was looking up at me seriously. ‘You never really got away. That’s why you have the dreams every night. You live alone, you don’t get close to anyone, the only human friend you make is a girl who can’t be touched. Morden was right, you know – you
I looked back at Shireen in silence. ‘What does that matter?’ I said at last.
‘Because Morden was wrong, too. You’ve protected yourself, but you’ve protected others as well. You risked your life to try and save Luna. You’re not a Dark mage. You shouldn’t live like one.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’
Shireen sighed and looked away. ‘Alex, I was nineteen when I died. I didn’t live very long and I made a lot of bad choices, and by the time I figured out which choices were the bad ones it was too late. I just want something good to come from it. I’ve tried with Rachel, but she won’t listen to me any more. There’s still a bit of what we had inside her, but it’s so … twisted now that when I try it just makes her angrier. You’re all that’s left. I don’t want everything I touched to be evil. Please.’
I looked down at Shireen. ‘What do you want me to do?’ I said at last.
I saw Shireen close her eyes for a second, her shoulders going limp with relief. ‘The way out is in the mansion. It’s in Richard’s study. Walk towards the door. Once you step into the room, don’t turn aside for anything, no matter what you see. If you take even one step to the side, you’ll never be able to leave. You’ll be trapped there for ever.’
I nodded.
‘There’s one last thing. It’s a message for you. I had to go to a dragon to learn it. You have to remember it word for word.’
I nodded again.
‘This was the message.
‘“Forego the greater power for the lesser …”’ I frowned. ‘That came from a dragon?’
Shireen nodded. ‘I don’t know what it means, but I know it’s important. It cost me a lot. Don’t forget.’
‘I’ll make sure.’ I looked at Shireen, and felt a tug of odd feelings. ‘It really is you, isn’t it?’
‘No.’
‘But you …’ I trailed off. Shireen was shaking her head, and there was something sad in her face.
‘I’m only a shadow,’ Shireen said. ‘I can look like her and I can feel like her and I can think like her, but she’s gone. Soon I will be, too. I’ve only lasted this long because of her.’
I looked at Shireen a moment longer. It was a strange feeling, looking at her through an adult’s eyes. I’d grown, but Shireen was still the same, frozen as she’d died. ‘I’m glad I could see you,’ I said at last.
Shireen smiled. ‘You’ll see her again. Sooner or later.’
And with that, she was gone. All of a sudden, Elsewhere felt much emptier. I was alone in the empty city but for the mansion brooding behind me.
I took a look around, then drew a breath. ‘All right,’ I said to no one in particular. I walked up the steps to the mansion doors and pushed. They opened at my touch. I stepped inside and they swung shut behind me.
Inside was utter blackness. Spots swam before my eyes after the brightness of the outside. I stood still for a long moment before lights started to appear, brightening ahead and above. As they grew stronger I saw I was in the entrance hall. Magelights hung from the walls and ceiling, but they seemed dimmer than they should be. Shadows clung to the corners and beneath the tables and chairs.
The mansion was silent, but it was a different silence than outside. Outside had felt empty; this was the silence of something watching and waiting. I wanted to freeze, stay still and hide. The first step was the hardest. The second was easier.
As I walked, I heard whispers at the edge of hearing. The house was the same, but different. Doors that should have been there were missing, walls were bare or blurred, tables the wrong shape or size. This was the mansion my mind had rebuilt in my dreams. One part, though, was perfect: the door at the end of the first-floor corridor, the entrance to Richard’s study.
