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“That’s no longer your concern,” says Chloe. “Take this step. You know it’s the only way. Save your child and let her assume the mantle. It’s incontrovertible. She has to live.”
Now the tears are streaming down Kate’s mother’s face. A sob erupts from her throat, and she nods. “Maybe she’ll never have to fully awaken. Surely that’s a possibility? Maybe the pieces of the puzzle will never be found, and the guardian won’t be defeated.”
“Maybe,” says Chloe, folding her arms across her chest. “It’s a hard road.”
“Yes, it was hard for me too. The more my own puzzle was pieced together, the more memories I lost – but each time, my powers also increased until eventually I awakened.” She looks down at her deathly pale daughter, at her closed eyelids, and touches her cheek. “It’ll be the same for you. I’ll have to lock the last piece inside something that’s important to you.” She looks around and sees the music box beside the bed. “This object will be linked to the guardian. Only when you can defeat it will you prove that you’re strong enough to fulfill your role. And maybe you’ll be lucky, and nobody will come forward to search for the puzzle pieces. But in any case, until then, you can live a normal life. And I’ll be here for you as long as my condition allows.”
She gently caresses Kate’s cheek again, then cups her delicate little face in both hands. She closes her eyes, tilts her head back, and suddenly she’s enveloped in a warm glow. It’s a golden light that rapidly grows brighter. It wanders like a glowing chain along the mother’s arms onto the dead girl.
Kate’s mother opens her eyes for a moment but maintains contact with her child. She looks at her one last time, as if saying goodbye, and then closes her eyes again and allows the rest of the light to wander into Kate’s body.
Suddenly, the child comes back to life. Her chest rises and falls, and a faint rosiness creeps into her cheeks, although she’s still horribly pale.
“I’ll take care of the little one for as long as I can,” Chloe promises with a nod to Kate’s mother.
“Thank you,” she says without taking her eyes off her child.
The picture blurs. I feel something pulling me. I’m dragged away, and everything teeters so that I feel like I’m falling. And as suddenly as it appeared, it’s gone, and I’m standing opposite Kate, still holding her arm. This time it’s unmistakable: Kate’s changed. She’s no longer the same person – not at all. There’s something strange about her, something powerful, incredibly old and immense. And I sense something else. The Kate that I know is disappearing more and more to make way for this new power.
I look at her and shake my head. “No! No, don’t do this,” I murmur. I can’t accept it, although I know exactly what’s happening. “Please, Kate, no!”
She shrugs off my hand and puts her hand on my cheek in a soothing gesture, the way her mother once did to her. There’s a smile on her face, and for a moment, I recognize my friend’s face, my Kate.
“Don’t blame yourself. It was your destiny to find me. This is how it’s supposed to be. I’ve been running from my powers for so long. I saw it. I knew it would change me, but that’s my path; it’s predestined.” She rubs my cheek and wipes away the tears. “Thank you for being my friend. I’ll always cherish the time we had together.”
“Kate, please don’t do this. I’m begging you,” I implore her again, reaching for her hand. I squeeze it, as if that could stop things taking their course.
Her eyes are radiant as she looks at me. There’s no fear, no sadness – only happiness.
“It’s too late, and you know it. And I wouldn’t change a thing anyway. Everything is exactly as it should be. I’ll never forget you, Tess.”
I see a golden flicker of light in her eyes. It surrounds Kate’s irises, driving out the pale blue and replacing it with a darker shade. When I look closely, I can distinguish the golden flecks. I know that something has happened to her, that she’s changed.
Kate leans forward and rests her forehead against mine. “Now say it, Teresa. Speak my name. Because you’ve finally found me.”
I wipe the tears from my cheeks, look up into those unfamiliar eyes filled with a golden radiance, and whisper, “The library.”
Chapter 21
Patricia prophesied it: I was destined to find the library. But I never figured it would be a person and that I could lose a friend to it.
I feel it in every fiber of my being that the person in front of me is no longer Kate.
Why? Why did she have to go? Why did I have to lose her? It’s still Kate’s body, but there’s nothing left of her soul, her character.
“Tell me why,” I say. “Why did I have to find you? Why is my Kate gone? How can this be worth it?”
“Someday you’ll understand,” is all she says. Then she steps back and looks around her with interest. It’s as if she’s seeing the place for the first time in her life – and I suppose she is.
Without showing any emotion, she looks at Max’s dead body and then looks past her as if she’s just some object. Her eyes eventually stop on Gray, and she bends down and reaches out to him. He looks anxious, mistrustful, and a little lost. But then he looks into Kate’s eyes, and it’s as if they’re communicating. Finally, Gray moves and rests his head in Kate’s outstretched hand. He closes his eyes and seems to relax, as if he’s trying to express with this gesture that he’s putting his life in her hands.
I don’t understand. How can he do that? He just lost Kate.
“I’m not your enemy,” she says, still looking at her key spirit. “She knew what she was doing, and she understood that this was her destiny. We’ll always be one.” Suddenly, she raises her head and looks down the corridor. “They’re coming.”
And then I hear footsteps. Several people turn a corner, and I recognize Mr. Collins accompanied by Lucia and a couple of teachers and several hunters. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see Ayden among them.
He reaches me first and puts his arms around me. He glances at Max and then tightens his grip on me.
