“If you even so much as twitch—” But before he can finish his threat, Mandy closes her eyes.
And then…
I wake up in a shitty apartment, smiling serenely at my best friend, Avery, as he moves around the small kitchen.
I wake up as Emily Lopez.
CHAPTER 28
I come back to myself with a gasp, heart racing and hands sweaty.
“Em? Em? Em?!?” Rebecca’s urgent voice penetrates the remaining fog in my mind. I jerk my head in her direction to see her staring at me with wide, terrified eyes. “Oh, fuck. Are you okay? What happened? You totally passed out.”
“Are they here?” I whisper desperately, pulling at the rope securing my hands together. And…they give way. Somehow, the rope has loosened.
“No. They left a little bit ago,” Rebecca replies, her voice just as quiet as mine. “What the fuck happened?”
“I got my memories back,” I admit as I struggle against the ropes. My hands wiggle back and forth, and I bite down on my lower lip.
“What the fuck do they want?”
“My power,” I admit, and finally, fucking finally, I’m able to pull my hands free. I nearly sob in relief as I quickly shake the rope onto the floor.
“Your power? How the fuck can they…? Em!” Her voice drops to a hiss. “Be careful.”
“I will be,” I assure her as I move to the rope around my ankles, nimbly untying them as well. Now free, I crawl past Rebecca towards the knife drawer and grab the biggest fucking knife I can find. Rebecca waits patiently as I cut through the rope. “They’re behind this entire thing,” I admit as I slice through the rope. “Mandy has the power of illusion, obviously. But apparently, that can extend to perception as well. She made us believe we had these lives here on Earth, and she planted false memories into the humans’ minds as well. It’s fucking powerful magic, if I’m being honest.”
“How long have we been here?” Rebecca whispers when I finally free her hands. I work on one of her ankles while she tugs on the other.
“A little less than a year,” I say, my mind flashing back to the first memory I had on Earth. It was the day Avery attempted to make me a fancy dinner. I’d just been on a date that ended in a disaster, and he was trying to make me feel better. Now, looking back at it, I wonder if the failed date was just another fake memory Mandy had implanted in my head.
“That fucking bitch,” she seethes, gracefully straightening to her full height when the last coil of rope falls away from her.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.” I cast a glance in both directions. “You’re going to leave out the back door.” Racing towards the notepad my brothers always keep by the landline, I scribble down Avery’s phone number. “Call him. Tell him where I am. They’ll come for me.”
“What the fuck? No!” She shakes her head vehemently. “I’m not leaving you behind.”
“You don’t have a choice.” I level her with a no-nonsense look. “Because I’m going to finish this once and for all.”
“But—”
“Even if Bitch One and Bitch Two have only been here a few hours, their time on the Earthen realm will have dampened their powers,” I explain. “This might be my only chance to take them out for good.”
“But—”
“They’ll just keep coming after us. You know that. Athena is certifiably insane and obsessed with me. Rebecca, please. I’m a fighter. I trained for this, but I won’t be able to do what I need to if I’m worried about you,” I beg, taking her hands in both of mine. Indecision still wars across her pretty face, but she concedes with a slow, reluctant bob of her head.
“Fine. But you can bet your ass I’ll kill you if you die.” She quickly wraps me in her arms, her frail body trembling slightly. “Be safe.”
“Always.”
With one more squeeze, Rebecca dashes out the backdoor. I can only pray that Avery answers her call—and doesn’t kill her when he finds her.
Clutching the knife in my hand, I stealthily tiptoe towards the living room.
“…are you sure? …work? …don’t know.” Mandy’s voice reaches me from down the hall, and I automatically turn in that direction. I don’t know how long I’ve been sleeping, but it was long enough for the sun to begin peeking through the boughs of trees. Orange light filters through the closed blinds, illuminating Mandy’s sleek hair as she talks with Athena.
I hear what sounds like a door slamming shut—no doubt, Athena has left—and I watch Mandy exhale noisily. Her power really is unparalleled. Distorting our memories? Bringing us to the Earthen realm? Making entire towns believe that we were always supposed to be here? If she wasn’t such a raging bitch, I would want her to be an ally. But alas, she tried to kill me, and I can’t allow her to live.
Just before she can turn and spot me, I lunge at her with the blade raised. The moment it would’ve connected with skin, she disappears from view.
What the hell?
“Did you really think you could get the drop on me?” An invisible fist flies at my face, whipping my head to the side. I taste blood in my mouth, the coppery flavor eerily familiar to me. Let’s be honest—I’ve eaten my own blood way too many times.
“Fuck you,” I whisper as three more punches are leveled at my face. The first one grazes the side of my cheek, but the next two I’m able to duck and twist away from. I can feel her foot on my back, shoving me towards the ground, but when I whirl around with my knife, she’s nowhere to be seen.
“I’m the Goddess of Manipulation, you dumb bitch.” Her voice seems to be coming in all directions. The ceiling. The corner of the room. Behind the couch. The fireplace.
I push myself onto my hands and knees, but immediately, Mandy stomps her invisible heel onto
