Marked: A Two Halves Novella by Marta Szemik

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overwhelming. Centered on the left wall was an oval bed with white and blue
sheets. Mira sat on the edge of the wrinkle-free sheets, sinking in unnaturally
deep. The bed moved like a wave flew through it and I’d heard pockets of air
flow with the motion.
    I took a step forward on the plush red carpeting to join
her, messing up the vacuumed edges of the rug, but nearly doubled over as a
sharp pain stabbed the middle of my stomach, accompanied by a pulling
sensation. Although excruciating, I welcomed the throbbing tug; when it released
for a moment, I wanted to be tugged at again. Dark magic. The only reason my
body would give in was because I knew to whom it would take me.
    Mira focused on my trembling body with concern. “What’s
going on, Xander?”
    “Someone’s trying to summon me to the underworld,” I
mumbled.
    “Xela?” she asked.
    “I think so, but she’s being forced.” My eyes bulged open at
the thought of the body that heated mine yesterday being tortured. I wanted to
give in to the dark sway just so she’d be safe.
    The falling water in Eric’s room flashed a picture of Xela
with her wrists tied, hanging over the fire pit in Aseret’s dungeon. Hundreds
of seekers stood around the pit, their bright orange eyes broadcasting death as
they squeaked and yelped with pleasure.
    “I have to help her,” I whispered.
    “No, Xander, it’s a trick.” Then Mira gasped and fell to her
knees, hunching over, jaw clenched.
    My sister’s pain brought me back to the waterfall room. I
recognized the searing aches, but for me, Xela’s suffering overrode my agony.
    “Are you all right?” I rubbed my sister’s arm.
    Mira managed to stand. “Aseret’s trying to summon us to the
underworld again. You’re tied to Xela and he’s using her. It’s time to bind his
powers so they cannot be used outside the underworld.” She straightened her
shirt and looked at me. “We have to bind him.” Then she collapsed, Eric
catching her before her head hit the floor.
    I smoothed her hair behind her ears. Her eyes were closed.
    “What’s happening to her?”
    Her body shook the same way mine had a minute earlier.
Tremors of pain rippled through her from her fingertips to her toes.
    “Aseret’s summoning you.”
    I looked at Eric in alarm. “I can’t feel anything.”
    “He’s using Mira to get you both. He knows you’ll follow
her.”
    “I’ll go by myself if that’s what he wants, but not her.” I
pointed at Mira.
    Eric raised his hand. “No. He knows you’ll go, but he’s not
sure about Mira—of her loyalty. He doesn’t know if she’ll follow.”
    “Help her, Eric, or I swear I will disappear in the next ten
seconds.” My fingers found Xela’s gem in my pocket.
    “Shhh,” Eric hushed, standing with his feet apart. Fleshy
spikes protruded from his neck. I’d seen them before in the cave when Aseret
arrived, though not as many as now. Blue sparks shot around his body, now
charged in an electric current. The sparks sizzled louder as the charge
increased. The spikes vibrated. A blue mist formed.
    Mira opened her eyes.
    Eric’s shoulders slumped, and flashing a crooked grin, he
knelt beside my sister again. “You all right, sugar?”
    She smiled, then looked at me, the corners of her mouth
drooping. “Xela’s in trouble,” she whispered.
    The pull I felt earlier returned, hauling me like a cruise
ship tied to a tugboat. I no longer wanted to be in Spain; I wanted to help
Xela. My hands faded from flesh to nothingness and I didn’t care to protest.
The need to rescue my witch overrode any rational thoughts and I let Aseret’s
summons carry me to the underworld.
    “Xander, don’t. Not this way.” my sister cautioned, knowing
I’d given up my will.
    My vision of the waterfall shuddered as it slowly dissipated
and was replaced by an apparition of a cave in the underworld. I looked down at
my legs; they became ghostly and transparent. The room fogged and I saw my
sister and Eric behind a