“But Carlos has been a good friend to me, and he has been keeping me informed of what’s going on with Sailor. I think the more salient point, at the moment, is that Patience and I were chased by someone who looks exactly like Sailor. I mean exactly. Dresses like him, sounds like him, carries himself the same as Sailor. Except his eyes are empty, he was chasing us, and—according to Patience—he wanted to kill us.”
I shivered at the memory of those vacant eyes on the face of someone so familiar, so beloved.
“Have a seat, Lily,” Aidan said, as he sat behind his desk. “Tell me the whole story.”
“I thought you didn’t have the time.”
“I’ll make the time.”
After glancing at Oscar, who was now snoozing, I sat down in the chair facing Aidan and told him what had happened earlier with Patience.
“So you escaped with the aid of a shop owner in Chinatown,” Aidan mused. “Aren’t you the clever thing?”
“Lucky, not clever. If that shop owner hadn’t been so gutsy, we might have been in big trouble.”
“I think you may be dealing with a doppelgänger.”
He stood up and stepped over to his bookshelves, tilting his head to one side as though reading the spines.
“That’s . . . that’s really a thing?” I asked. “Doppelgängers are real? Actual doppelgängers?”
“How do you mean?”
“As you know, I’m not exactly clear on what’s real and what’s just folklore. I sort of assumed doppelgängers might be fictional, like vampires.”
“This would be one reason—”
“You keep urging me to finish my training. I know that. And I’ve been trying to play catch-up, but I keep getting derailed.”
“Chasing after murderers?”
“And dealing with whatever supernatural havoc comes my way, yes. So, seriously? Why would Sailor have a doppelgänger? And a homicidal one, at that?”
“I’m not saying he does, but it’s a possibility to consider.”
He started to read from the splayed book in his hands.
“The application of the German word is relatively recent; it might also be called a ‘fetch,’ or a ‘double walker,’ but all refer to the ‘apparition of a person living.’ Blah blah blah . . . The concept of alter egos and double spirits has appeared in the folklore of many cultures throughout human history. Most often they are considered harbingers of bad luck.”
“Oh, yay,” I said. “How come I’m never assaulted by harbingers of good luck?”
Aidan ignored me and kept reading. “The Norse vardøger precedes a living person and performs that person’s actions ahead of time. The Finns call theirs etiänen, or ‘firstcomer.’ In ancient Egyptian mythology a kaka was a spirit double with the same memories and feelings as the person to whom the counterpart belongs. But in most traditions, the doppelgänger is a version of the Ankou, or the personification of death.”
“You’re saying . . . Wait,” I said. “Are you saying that this is a sign that Sailor . . . that Sailor is going to die?”
“We all die, Lily,” Aidan said in a gentle voice.
“Yes, thank you. I realize that. But no time soon is what I was hoping. Is this doppelgänger a harbinger of Sailor’s death?”
He shrugged. “I’m not even saying it is a doppelgänger. Just that it’s a possibility. And if it is true, then it’s a sign.”
“A bad sign.”
He inclined his head.
“How do I stop it?”
“As always, that’s slightly more complex than simply identifying what you’re dealing with. With doppelgängers, in particular, if you attack them, it can be felt or shared with the original person.”
“I could hurt Sailor.”
“Possibly.”
I leaned back and let out a long sigh.
Aidan looked up from the page. “You okay?”
“It’s just . . . I have a wedding to plan. Also, I haven’t found my dress yet—in fact, I was supposed to preview an estate sale this afternoon, but instead I’m getting chased by doppelgängers and lugging my high-as-a-kite familiar around. Also, my fiancé is in lockup. I guess I’m feeling the pressure.”
“Not to mention the prophecy and the threat to San Francisco posed by Renee.”
I sneezed. “Yeah, that, too. Also, I think I’m getting a cold. I’ve never gotten one in my life.”
He gave me an odd look. “Are you feeling any other ill effects? Besides the sneezing?”
“Just tired. And I’m sort of stuffed up.”
“So your sense of smell has been affected?”
“A little.”
“That could be significant. You often sense things through scent, don’t you?”
I nodded. “So, back to the doppelgänger. If he’s an omen of”—I cleared my throat—“of Sailor’s death, then does it make sense that if I find a way to kill him without hurting Sailor, then Sailor will be okay?”
“Possibly. But if he isn’t a doppelgänger, then you’ll be the one sitting in jail facing murder charges.”
“Something in what you read rings a bell . . . ,” I said, reaching out and taking the book from Aidan. I skimmed over what he had read aloud. “Yes! Right here, it says the Egyptians call their version kaka. Tristan Dupree said kaka to me just last night.”
“You sure he wasn’t swearing at you?”
“At the time, I thought he was trying to say ‘cake.’ He ended up talking about cupcakes.”
“There’s a lot of that going around. Speaking of which, how did Oscar get ahold of Renee’s cupcakes?”
“She sent a box over.”
“Interesting.”
“Interesting how?”
“It sounds to me like an invitation. Which reminds me, I’m going to guess I’ve fallen off the guest list. I haven’t received a formal invitation to your nuptials. Unless . . .” His blue eyes flickered down to my bare hands. “Dare I hope you’ve come to your senses?”
“No. I mean, yes. I mean, I was never out of my senses. I lent my ring to Patience to help her distinguish between the real and fake Sailors. But to get back to your question, would you come to our handfasting?”
“Of course I would come.”
“Despite the fact that you dislike the idea so intensely.”
He looked at me for a very long moment. “I’ve made no bones about the fact that I think your involvement with Sailor is a bad idea. A terrible idea, in fact. I think you will be diminished by the relationship. And I had hoped for something different for
