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Time to play along.
I take one step toward the madman. "I'm sorry, Sefton, I forgot. But I really would like to hear what your plan is. And maybe you could explain what your note meant. The part about the alchemy of worlds."
"You should know," Sefton says. "This is my gift to you."
"What is?"
"The alchemy of worlds and of souls, the change that will make everything better." He moves half a step toward me, his expression alight with an excitement that infects his voice too. "I am creating a new and better world, where no one will be able to disguise their true nature because it will be on display for all to see."
"No more crackbrained rubbish," Dax snaps. "What does any of it mean?"
"Why do you think I transmuted you into this"—Sefton waves at Dax's body—"thing that you are now. I did it to reveal your true self. The chancer who shagged every woman he met, took pleasure wherever he wanted without regard for how his actions affected others.Youare the monster, Dax. I transmuted you to make your inner self show on the outside."
Dax freezes, his face going blank. His voice becomes a harsh whisper. "You did this to me on purpose?"
He had assumed it was an unintended consequence of the magics that Sefton had employed to create the Echo. Now he knows his brother made him this way on purpose.
I want to hug him. But that would be a catastrophically bad idea. Besides, I shouldn't feel sorry for the man who held me hostage and accused me of being Sefton's cohort in creating an apocalypse.
But I can't help it. He looks so…stricken.
Sefton seems oblivious to his brother's reaction. He waves a dismissive hand. "Alchemy is the transmutation of one substance into another, or one being into another. In the classical sense, it's also the quest for eternal life."
"You want to live forever?" I say.
He scuffles closer, now mere inches away. "I wantusto live forever. Allison, we can rule the world together. Just think, no one will ever look down on us or mistreat us because we will be invincible."
"I don't want to be immortal."
Sefton lifts a hand near my cheek, like he wants to touch me but can't quite do it. "I did all of this for you, pet. We can be together at last, with nothing to stop us. The Echo is my gift to you."
"But I—"
He seizes my hand, gripping it tightly. "I love you, Allison."
Love? He barely knows me. But I don't think it's a good idea to point that out or to tell him I don't feel that way.
My gaze flicks to Dax.
He's still staring at his brother, but his stark expression has hardened into something much darker and angrier. His attention stays nailed to Sefton as he speaks through clenched teeth. "Did you know what would happen to me when you threw me into the Echo?"
"Of course."
Dax lunges for his brother but ricochets off whatever shield Sefton has erected around himself. "We are brothers. How could you do that to me?"
"Because I've never liked you." He rakes his gaze over Dax, his lip curling. "I explained all of this when I gave you the gift of being the anchor." Sefton returns his attention to me. "Come with me, pet, and I will tell you everything."
He holds his hand out to me, palm up.
Go with him? No way. Even before he revealed his madness, I wouldn't have done that. From the start, I'd sensed something off about him, and I'm not going anywhere with Sefton Stainthorpe.
But telling him that seems like a bad, bad, bad idea.
Sefton thrusts his hand out to me again. "Come, Allison."
Come? I am not a dog.
But I need a plan. Can't discuss it with Dax, not when his lunatic brother is standing right in front of me. So I'll need to do this on my own.
