MirrorWorld

“But they weren’t,” I say, but it comes out closer to a growl. “Because of you.” I’m not sure if he thought this information would quell my anger, because while he might not have meant to get Maya and Simon killed, my parents, along with Hugh and Allenby, whom he knew would not be at Neuro, since he’d insisted they all take vacations, were clearly his intended victims.

Instead of begging for mercy, he digs his grave a little deeper. “The Dread have been waging a war against mankind from the very beginning, frightening us, keeping us afraid of the dark, of the unknown. You know what they did to me. All those years. And it’s not just me. They’ve held us back and influenced history in tragic, murderous ways. Despite all this, you were going to walk away. The fearless killer who lost his taste for blood.”

The gun in my hand raises from his chest to his head. “I was trying to protect our family. There are other paths to peace than war.”

“My daughter made you soft.”

I nearly pull the trigger, but am not yet done trying to understand. “You and I both know that their world has been—”

“I don’t care about their world.” He leans forward, fists pressing into his desk, face red. “I don’t care how much they’ve suffered.”

“You should,” I say, and squeeze the trigger.

A pinch in the back of my neck stops me. As I slump to the ground and lose consciousness, I see Katzman standing above me, looking sullen. “Sorry, Josef.”

The memory fades, picking back up a day later.

“Stephen, I swear to God, if you don’t let me go—”

Lyons leans in close. “I am no longer Stephen to you, and you are no longer my son-in-law.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

He works the wedding ring off my finger, nearly breaking the digit as I resist.

I try to slip into the mirror world, preparing myself for a drop. But it never happens.

He looks down at me, a mix of sorrow and anger in his eyes. “You don’t think I would overlook your abilities, do you?”

“What did you do?” I ask. “Am I—”

“The DNA is dormant.” He stands up straighter, as much as his hunch allows him to. “You no longer have the ability to move between worlds.”

“I won’t need Dread DNA to—”

“You won’t remember. You’re too important to actually kill, but Josef Shiloh is dead.” He steps away from the table. “I sincerely hope that whoever it is you become will someday see me as a partner once more. Perhaps even a friend.”

“Stephen…” I speak his name as a warning. Whatever he’s about to do will have consequences.

“I’m going to forget you, Josef … and so are you. You’ve left me no choice.” He walks away. “Good-bye, Josef.” A drill spins loudly behind my head. A door opens and closes. I can sense the medical team around me but can’t see anyone. A mask slides over my nose and mouth. Ten seconds later, the memory ends and Josef Shiloh is erased.

Realization takes the memory’s place. I never chose to forget. The e-mail to Winters was fake. Lyons erased my memories. Erased my son. And Maya. My entire life … because I opposed conflict with the Dread.

I wake up in the mirror world. I’m on the floor. Two Medusa-hands stand above me. They no longer look threatening or concern me. I look from one to the other and ask, “What do you need me to do?”

55

“Stand up,” a voice whispers. I turn, looking for the speaker, but see no one. I’m still in the large chamber, surrounded by Dread. Maya is there, too, but now stands far to the side, still flanked by mammoths, but no longer controlled by a Medusa-hands. She meets my eyes and gives a very lucid nod. Is she urging me to listen?

I obey the voice and stand while two Medusas slide away from me. The thick Dread mole, or matriarch tendrils protruding from the ground, undulate slowly, very nonthreateningly. They’re just ten feet away.

“Do you remember?”

I spin around, looking for the source of the whispered voice. My eyes widen with realization. The whispering is in my head. I can understand it now. I turn and face the tendrils. “Did you do this to me?”

“Your mind has been restored, but it is not you who is understanding our language; it is I using yours.”

“Can all of you communicate in English?”

“Yes.” The tendrils slow. “Do you remember?”

“Remember what?”

“Your life. All of it?”