Two Halves Series by Marta Szemik

He lowered his head. “I’m sorry.”
    When my head sank, I felt Mira’s grip on my arm. I looked up and the three keepers dissipated into their colorful mists, its sizzling reached my ears like crackling mini-fireworks. The three shiny stones left behind illuminated the room in red, blue, and white light. The white reminded me of Xela and the gem I still held in my pocket.
    Eric took us back to his living quarters. Smokeless candles set on wall candelabras weren’t enough to illuminate the space, but it was bright. A two-story opening in the wall, about twenty feet wide, was the main source of light. Beyond the back wall, a sheet of falling water flowed seamlessly—Eric lived behind a waterfall. The hum of the water hypnotized me, and I wouldn’t find it difficult to stare forever at the shimmering candlelight reflected in its flow.
    The room had a high ceiling, but it didn’t make the space 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