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"Don't believe her, Pip." "What have you promised me, Gemma? I helped you and what have you done for me?"
She steps around the well and takes Miss Moore's hand."So we can be together, Fee. Just like before."
Felicity's hand wavers on the bow. The string loosens.
"Felicity, you know it can't be," I whisper.
"Shoot her," Ann whispers."Shoot Circe."
Felicity takes aim, but Pippa moves in front of Miss Moore, protecting her like a shield. I do not know what would happen to Pippa, a spirit, if she were to be killed inside the realms.
Felicity stands, muscles straining from the weight of the taut bow and the ruthless task. At last she lowers the bow. "I can't. I can't."
Pippa's smile is heartbreaking in its love. "Thank you, Fee," she says, running to embrace her.
I grab the bow and hold it fast. I'm not the shot Felicity is, and there is only one arrow.
Miss Moore holds Nell in her arms."I could offer Nell right now as a sacrifice. Join me, and I shall let her go peacefully."
"You've given me an impossible choice," I say.
"But it's a choice, nonetheless, which is more than you've given me."
Nell leans against Miss Moore like a lifeless doll. Whatever spark flashed in her eyes once is gone, buried beneath layers of pain. I can spare Nell, join with Miss Moore and share the Temple with her. Or I can watch her offer Nell to the creature and use that power to do as she pleases.
Nell turns her anguished eyes to me. Don't hesitate. . . .
I let go. Fleet and straight the arrow flies, piercing Nell Hawkins through the throat. With a small gasp, she slumps to the ground. As a sacrifice, she is useless now. Miss Moore looks up with a mix of fury and shock in her eyes."What have you done?"
"Now I have bloodied my hands," I say.
Miss Moore races for me. There is no time to follow the rules. I shall have to make new ones. Closing my eyes, I race forward toward the well. But Miss Moore is fast. She grabs hold of my hand. I'm caught off balance, and we fall together, arms locked in battle, into those great, eternal waters.
I can feel Miss Moore's breathing, hear the mad thumping of her heart as it discharges blood, that necessary messenger. Smell the faint scent of London chimney soot and lilac powder and something else. Beneath the skin, there is fear. Pain. Remorse. Yearning. Desire. A fierce longing for power. All of this. We are joined. It is as if we live in the center of a great storm. Around us the world of the realms revolves like a giant kaleidoscope, images refracted again and again. So many worlds! So much to know.
Yes, Miss Moore seems to say inside my head. So much you do not know.
I'm being stretched by it all. I can feel every bit of me spreading out till I am part of everything I see. I'm the leaf as it turns into a butterfly, and I'm the river polishing the stones on the bank. I'm the charwoman's hungry belly, the banker's vague disappointment with his children, the girl's yearning for excitement. I want to laugh and cry at the same time. It is so much, so much.
A frozen wasteland comes into view. We're soaring over craggy mountains under a savage sky. Below, an army of spirits, a thousand strong, howls at the emptiness. I can feel them inside me. The fear. The rage. I am the fire. I am the monster who destroys. I have no wish to stop the cruel fight. It is the fight that keeps me alive.
I feel Miss Moore's arms tighten around mine. She will not be denied a second time. I'm aware of nothing but our struggle now. Only one of us can emerge from the well. As if she can read my thoughts, Miss Moore pushes hard against me. She wants to win, wants it with all her heart.
I also want to win. You must reflect on the course you wish to take, the form of the binding, I must think of a way to contain the magic, but it is difficult in the midst of this desperate fight. All I can see is Miss Moore, my teacher, my friend, my enemy. And suddenly, I know what I must do, how I must bring this to an end.
With one great push, I kick away from Miss Moore, sending her flying backward. Her eyes grow large. She knows what is in my mind, what I aim to do. She lunges for me, but this time, I am made quick by my determination. I climb up and over the top of the well, emerging slick and shiny as a newborn babe. I hold my hands over the surface of the water and say the words I hope shall restore the balance.
"I place a seal upon the power. Let the balance of the realms be restored and let no one disturb their majesty. I bind the magic in the name of all who shall share the power one day. For I am the Temple; the magic lives in me."
There is a sudden burst of brilliant white light. I feel as if I'm being split wide open by the force of it. This is the magic. The binding is using me as its pathway. It rushes through me like water. And then it is done. I'm on my knees, gasping.
But the cave is drenched in color. The frescoes are vibrant once more. The roses bloom, and the great statues seem alive.
"What happened to Miss Moore?" Ann asks.
"I have done as she asked--I have saved her from her wretched existence and bound her in a place where she can do no more harm."
"So it's done, then?" It's Pippa's voice.
