It is fact. The clappers made their choice, and now you will do as required. You will return the clappers here. Then you will restore balance. The one called Marcus has broken it. You will fix it. And your demon will fix it too.
“No. No. You took the purest of all souls—the only person in this world who truly wanted to be good. You think that is balanced? If so, I do not want your balanced world. You may bind my body in place, but you will have to hold me for an eternity before I will ever be your pawn or do your bidding. I do not care how much you punished Hathor. It can never be enough. The clappers and the Black Pullet should never have existed—and Hathor should never have fallen for a mortal she could not have.”
My eyes bored into Thoth. I fought against the power that trapped me.
“I came here to find the man I love, and that is all I will do. I have made my choice, and it is for me. The balance of the world may crumble for all I care. I will have my Daniel back, and you. Cannot. Stop me.”
With those final words, I pushed against Thoth with my mind. Against Anubis. Against anything that was not my choice.
I was not a pawn.
I was a queen. I was an empress.
My hand shot up. Movement rippled through me, through the boat. My eyelids lowered, and when they popped back up, the ibis was gone.
So was the jackal.
On wobbly legs, I jumped up and grabbed the dock. But I was so weak. I had to swing my legs—back, forward, back—but even that did not give me the momentum I needed.
A hand appeared before me.
My gaze leaped up . . . and met sea-blue eyes. Elijah. It was my brother, and though his body looked like Marcus, his soul did not. Nothing about my brother’s spirit felt like the monster outside.
Elijah gripped my wrists and hauled me out. My belly scraped over the dry wood, but soon I was upright.
And my arms flew around his neck. My brother.
“I’ve been waiting for you, El.”
“Help me,” I mumbled into his chest. But then I trembled back a step, trying to see beyond him.
Daniel’s silhouette was gone.
I clutched at my heart. No matter how many breaths I gulped in, my lungs would not stop shaking. “W-where did he go? Where did he go?”
“He left the dock.” Elijah stroked my hair. “He passed into the spirit realm.”
“No.” I shook my head, a desperate swinging that made the dock spin. Made tears scorch down my cheeks. “He was right there.” I pointed ahead.
“I’m sorry, El.” Elijah’s eyebrows lifted, a pitying look that I wanted to scratch away. It was not time for pity. Not yet.
“He has passed on,” Elijah added. “Daniel crossed from the no-man’s-land, and now he’s out there.” He gestured to the black waters around us.
My breath hiccuped. Left, right—I searched every wave and ripple for some sign of him. . . .
“So I must use the boat then.” I pivoted back to the hole.
But I instantly stopped. My nose hit an evening suit, and I rolled back my head to stare into Clarence Wilcox’s face.
“You,” I breathed. He looked so much like Allison.
I grabbed his jacket. “Why didn’t you tell me about her?” I screamed. “You should have warned me!”
“You do not understand,” he shouted back.
“I do! She made this happen. I wouldn’t be here if not for her. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Enough.” Elijah yanked me back. “Clarence has been so focused on protecting you, so intent on helping me keep watch of this spirit dock, that he lost sight of his sister.” He wrenched me around, and his fingers dug into my elbow. “I promise you he feels enough agony.”
“He may feel shame,” I snarled, “but that does not mean I forgive him. Or forgive Allison. Let go.” I snapped my arm free. “I will take the boat, and I will find Daniel.”
I kicked into a stalk, shoving past Clarence.
But the boat was gone. The hole was gone.
I rounded back on Clarence, whose brows were drawn tight with sympathy.
“Where is the boat?” I demanded.
He lifted one shoulder. “That is the way of the no-man’s-land. You may find it again. Or you may not.”
“And even if you could find the boat,” Elijah said, moving to Clarence’s side, “and even if you could find Daniel’s body, it would do you no good. Daniel’s body and his spirit are cleaved. You cannot hew them back together.”
“Don’t lie to me.” I stared into his blue eyes—so familiar, so foreign. “You tried it. With a spell from Le Dragon Noir, you tried to return Father’s soul to his body—to his skeleton. I will do the same. At least Daniel’s body is still fresh and whole.” Spinning on my heel, I resumed my stride.
“It will not matter,” Elijah called after me.
I ignored him and pushed my legs into a march. The golden curtain was as absent as the boat, so I could only guess I had come very far into this no-man’s-land.
But not too far. There was never too far for Daniel.
I moved faster. And faster. Soon I was sprinting, and each step thwacked hollowly on the wood.
“Miss Fitt.” Clarence’s voice whispered behind me. “I implore you: stop walking.”