“Look, look, look, look,” Amanda sang, skipping up to Austin’s car. She thrust the newspaper through his window, expecting him to be able to see at that ungodly hour.

“What is it?” Daniel asked who had taken the habit of getting in Austin’s car every morning to do his Algebra homework before school. Algebra came so easily to Daniel that he didn’t see the need to dedicate his afternoons to it. And nights were automatically reserved for Daniel-like behavior.

“The carnival is in town,” said Amanda. She scratched at Austin’s back door, “Unlock, now.”

Austin complied like a zombie, but his mood darkened a fraction more.

“Carnies…burr….” said Daniel.

“You are in no position to criticize,” Amanda replied, settling into the back seat. She flicked fast food bags off of the seat next to her. “Austin, you need to clean your car.”

Austin made a noncommittal sound that implied frustration. Just then Troy sauntered over to the car and hung his head in the window.

“Please,” he said, his voice sounding about as groggy as Austin looked, “Does anybody have any?”

“Any what?” Daniel asked, sweetly.

“Come on,” groaned Amanda. “Every morning he comes over and every morning he asks the same thing….”

“And every morning, my answer is the same,” said Austin. He took a deep breath; “NO I DON’T HAVE ANY FUCKING CIGARETTES YOU DIRTY SMOKER!”

Troy blinked sleepily, ignoring the resounding ringing in his ears from Austin’s scream.

“I think its time to quit,” sang Daniel. Troy sneered.

“Good morning,” Crystal chimed in; hopping into Austin’s other backseat unannounced. Kaine was never anywhere to be found until he was nearly five minutes late for first period. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Austin grumbled. “Fucking nothing.” He began to roll up his window on Troy’s neck.

“The carnival is in town,” Amanda said. She reached forward into the drivers seat and snatched the newspaper out of Austin’s lap.

“Oh, getting a little personal,” said Daniel, scandalously. “I don’t think Sam would like that.”

“Yeah like I care what he thinks,” Amanda muttered. Crystal made the throat-cutting gesture at Daniel in the rear-view mirror to indicate Amanda’s relationship with Sam was not a good joke subject at that time.

As if summoned by people talking about him, Sam came up to the passenger side window, which Daniel rolled down. Austin still held Troy’s head captive. Amanda licked her finger and turned a page in the paper, pointedly ignoring her so-called boyfriend.

The silence stretched on too long for comfort.

“So,” said Crystal, “You want to go to the carnival this Saturday?”

“That sounds cool,” said Daniel, taking his cue perfectly.

Austin grunted. Troy gurgled. Amanda carefully glanced over the top of the paper at Sam.

“I wouldn’t mind going,” she said. “If I had someone to go with.”

Sam said nothing and didn’t look at her.

“I think we should all go,” said Kaine.

Amanda and Daniel jumped in surprise, but Crystal rolled her eyes, by now quite used to the act. Austin looked in his rear view mirror and narrowed his eyes.

“I ‘ain’t going to no carnival,” he muttered, sagging his head onto his chest.

“Use proper grammar,” said Amanda, picking up the newspaper again.

“I tell you what you can do with your proper grammar,” Austin growled, his head still implanted in his chest.

“Yes, please,” muttered Sam. Amanda shot him an outraged look, but he still wouldn’t look at her.

Crystal felt the tension rising. “Why whatever for, Kaine?”

Kaine didn’t answer.

Troy had managed to twist his head out of the window, and besides the nicotine deprivation showing in his face, he actually seemed quite calm by comparison. “I hate carnivals,” he said, flatly.

“Still,” Crystal reasoned. “If some of us go, we should all go.”

“Why?” asked Sam.

“So we can all be together,” snapped Amanda.

“This isn’t Little House on the Prairie,” Troy yawned, sarcasm seeping into his voice.

“Oh, can I be Laura?” asked Daniel. No one deigned to comment on that statement.

“I’m not going,” said Sam. He pulled away from the car and gestured that Troy should go with him. Troy ignored him.

“I have to see what I’m doing,” said Austin, hovering near sleep.

“You should all go,” Kaine said.

“We should all go, “ Amanda repeated, but she wasn’t aware that she was repeating. Crystal felt strange, like there was something warm and fuzzy pulled over her brain and she couldn’t tear it off.

“I’ll see,” Austin said forcefully. Troy said nothing. Another car pulled up, three spaces from Austin.

“Well, let me know what the deal is,” Troy said, excusing himself to no doubt seek out his morning cancer stick. “Later.”

“Farewell, Whitie,” said Daniel. Sam wandered off.

“There goes degenerate pig one and degenerate pig two,” sneered Amanda from behind the paper. Austin shot her a strange look in the rearview mirror.

“Why do you even pretend to be people’s friends,” he asked without wanting an answer.

Amanda put down the paper and looked up at his reflection. “What?” Then she dismissed him with a shake of her head and went back to the paper, “Don’t even try to lecture me.”

“Get out,” Austin said. Amanda looked up. “You heard me, get out of the car.”

“Well, I’m leaving,” Daniel announced and fled out of the sunroof for dramatic effect.

Amanda’s face twisted with several different emotions, but betrayal seemed to win out, “Fine.” She slammed out of the car, leaving the newspaper in shambles all over Austin’s back seat. “Don’t need no cleaning, anyhow, do you?” she shouted as she departed.

The bell rang announcing the beginning of the five-minute race to make it into first period.

“See you at the carnival?” Crystal asked. Austin didn’t even answer as he got out of the car.

On their speed walk across the parking lot, Crystal asked Kaine; “Why did you do that?” Kaine didn’t answer, but Crystal knew he had heard her. “Kaine, why did you make them argue?”

“They were destined to quarrel anyway,” he said. Crystal fell silent.

“You know I don’t buy that destiny crap,” she said at length. She didn’t want them to start fighting.

Kaine merely shrugged, holding the door open for her to enter the school building.

“You wanted them to fight,” Crystal stated, trying not to be trampled by the onslaught of kids. “Why?”

“To see who will show up,” Kaine said. “We don’t need false hopes right now.”

“False hopes,” Crystal echoed, making her way to the main stairwell at the center of the school. “Why?”

“Second commandment, no false idols,” Kaine said, admonishing her.

“I know you don’t believe in that,” Crystal retorted. Kaine shrugged. They began their ascent up the two flights of stairs.

“Why now, I mean,” Crystal pressed. “Why make them fight now? Why does it matter?”

“For what will happen next, we need only our true allies to stand beside us,” Kaine murmured. His voice barely carried over the commotion from people trying to avoid being caught by the fashion Gestapo policing uniform violators every morning. Kaine broke away from her to head to his first period class down the corridor of the special school. Crystal’s was on the other side of the school and she now had only two minutes to get there. Still she stalled to ask the one most important question in anyone’s life that she knew Kaine would never answer:

“What happens next?”

Somewhere between her sixth cotton candy stick, and her ninth candy apple, Amanda felt like crying. It wasn’t so much the fact that her blood sugar had just taken a major nose-dive, but rather, she was feeling the pressure of the lack of sleep, lack of control and lack of friends. Amanda felt like she was walking through a carnival all by herself with a bunch of colorful shadows around her. And creepy, fucked up music playing in the background.

And here she was, alone, without anyone to help her if a bunch of demons suddenly decided to jump her or Lord Robert showed up. There was always Astrea, but Amanda really didn’t want to do that. The last time she had pulled the Crystal Sword at the Renaissance Festival, she couldn’t remember anything. And the looks the others had been giving her…

Well they should be scared of me, she thought. I’m not even sure if it is me anymore…

Amanda had wandered the carnival grounds for the last hour, looking for Crystal or Kaine, and half hoping she would find Sam, Troy, or Austin, or even Daniel. Okay, the last words she had said to them were not kind ones, and no; they had no reason to just show up at the carnival. Save for the fact that Kaine wanted them to be here. He wanted it enough to use his powers to play with their minds. Amanda had been aware of Kaine’s subtle ability to control some of her thoughts and actions, but as the curse of Astrea had taken over more and more, Amanda found she was less susceptible to Kaine’s magic. She even rejected his healing powers for some reason.

Amanda could sense Kaine nearby and she had no doubt that Crystal was with him, but she was holding back her own presence, not wanting to let Kaine or Crystal sense her.

Yes, that’s right, I want to be alone…

Amanda blew a stray strand of hair out of her face and headed for the House of Mirrors. She had to fork over two tickets, but it was worth being out of the cool November chill that not even her letter jacket could keep out. Troy would think I’m such a geek for wearing it to a public place, Amanda thought ruefully. She really wished the boys were here…

Just so they could make fun of me. Amanda contemplated her reflection as she contemplated her own existence. What the fuck did it matter if Astrea possessed her mind, body, and spirit. It wasn’t like she had been putting them to good use anyway….

Except for that part about being a superhero, that was kind of cool…

And a great deal of trouble… As a matter of fact, it sucked! Being a super hero was worth a lot of nothing. She was just as miserable, paranoid and subject to hormones now as she would’ve been if she didn’t have the world to save. Embodying the spirit of a long-dead super human didn’t get her extra friends, free food, or even spare her from the chilly weather. All it got her was nightmares and temporary amnesia at times. And a bad ass sword. A cursed sword, but still bad ass.

Then why not quit?

Because… Hey, why not quit? It wasn’t like she had to sign anything. She could just not do superhero stuff.

Amanda reached her hands out as she moved through the maze of mirrors. She could hear other people laughing and cursing as they smashed into hidden panes of plastic. She was careful, tracing her hands along the cool surfaces of the mirrors, watching her reflection change in every pane.

No, it wouldn’t be that easy; she couldn’t just give it up like a piece of clothing. Being a superhero was kind of like an addiction, Amanda surmised. She liked the thrill of battle. Besides what was the harm in helping humanity by destroying demons?

Because you are being manipulated.

Amanda froze, staring at her own reflection that seemed to be talking back to her.

Wait, I know this, she thought to herself. I’ve done interior dialogues, before…

Her reflection smiled. But were they ever this honest?

Amanda stared at the mouth that moved when hers did not. The voices of the other patrons of the attraction faded, leaving only her with this image of her that was talking.

What do you mean? Amanda asked herself.

Is this really what you want to do? What ever happened to being a Journalist or Director? Did you forget that you had a life?

Amanda turned and kept walking. Her reflections followed her, continuing to speak.

You gave it up, her reflection said. For what? What have you been going on about all this time?

Amanda stopped moving when she came to a dead end. She looked at the floor so she would not have to see her many reflections staring back at her.

Is this what you want?

Amanda looked up and before her was the perfect image of Astrea. She stared blankly back at Amanda, her cold blue eyes looking straight ahead. Instinctively, Amanda reached for the scar on her chest which she anticipated would burn. The image of Astrea also reached for its chest.

Is this what you want to become?

No, Amanda answered. I am me; I’ve always just been me.

The image of Astrea faded to just Amanda standing there, with her hand to her chest.

You are dying.

Amanda removed her hand and watched as blood seeped through her t-shirt and drizzled down over her belt onto her cargo pants. She looked down and saw no blood on herself. When she looked back up, Lord Robert was staring back at her in the same mirror. He was still missing the eye, still wearing the same clothes, only now he seemed less intimidating to Amanda. She wasn’t sure why.

You will die. Amanda narrowed her eyes. Lord Robert held up his hand in which he held the severed heads of Austin, Sam, and Crystal. They will die.

“Cute,” Amanda sneered. She slammed her hands against the mirror pane. It wobbled and the image faded, leaving Amanda alone in the house of mirrors staring at herself yet again in the mirror. She watched as her reflection again began to bleed. She made a furious oath.

“Hey, hey! There are children in this attraction you know!”

“Yeah?” Amanda answered the other person, loudly. “I paid money for this attraction too, Lady!”

“Right on sister!” Another person in the House of Mirrors shouted.

Amanda looked first one way and then the other. She chose a path and began walking, every now and then glancing at her reflections to see what they would do.

Do you even know what you’re dying for? Lord Robert’s cool voice whispered in her ear. She whirled around, but Lord Robert was nowhere in sight.

“What are you talking about?” she murmured. She had to stop falling for that trick.

Poor little puppet, Lord Robert murmured. I feel pity for you.

Amanda slammed into a plastic pane headfirst. “Well I don’t blame you!” she exclaimed, furiously as she rubbed her smarting forehead.

Blame, said Lord Robert. Such a simple word…

“Oh, fuck off,” Amanda muttered. “This isn’t philosophy 101.”

It is easy to assign blame to what you know, Lord Robert said. But not so easy to discern whom the blame should be laid upon.

“Gee thanks, I’ll remember that when I’m taking my SATs,” Amanda replied. She considered and then chose another path through the mirror maze, this time, holding her hands out in front of her.

Accountability is a slippery concept, Lord Robert droned on. Amanda came to a junction; she chose the left path. Responsibility is even more difficult to fathom.

I wonder if he’s got a thesaurus sitting in his lap, Amanda thought to herself with a grim humor. That was another thing Amanda wasn’t so sure she could walk away from. She had promised to kill Lord Robert and even if she did back out on the promise, there was no guarantee that Lord Robert wouldn’t continue to stalk her. And no guarantees that the nightmares will stop and Astrea will go away…

Amanda had come to an open, circular space. The mirrors were arranged so confusingly that at first, no exit was apparent. Amanda hesitated, then put her hand on one wall and began to walk along, trailing her fingers over the surface of each mirror, looking for an exit.

Who do you blame for your misery? Lord Robert asked.

“Shut up,” she said. She fell silent as two other patrons stumbled into the circular space. They took no notice of her and after some stumbling, they found their way through an opening. Amanda walked over and proceeded to follow in the same path. She slammed into an invisible barrier.

“Damn it!” she shouted. An image of Lord Robert swam into view.

Amanda made a face and turned to the next mirror, pressing on it to try and open up a path. Lord Robert came back into view in that mirror as well.

Do you blame yourself? Lord Robert asked. Amanda tried the next mirror, but got the same results.

Or perhaps you blame the spirit of Astrea? Lord Robert continued.

“You know, you’re really spoiling my fun here,” Amanda told the fourth image of Lord Robert that appeared. “I’m supposed to see my own reflection, not your ugly face!”

Lord Robert’s image didn’t seem to react. You know nothing of that which you fight for.

Amanda stopped and drew in a deep breath, closing her eyes. “Okay,” she said, with exaggerated calm. “I think I’ve been a good sport about all of this…. So would you just leave me the fuck alone? I came here to enjoy the carnival!”

You came because he told you to, Lord Robert said.

“All right,” she said. “Just for the sake of discussion, let me ask who are you talking about?”

You know of whom I speak.

“No, I want you to spell it out for me,” Amanda said stubbornly, placing her hands on her hips and staring down the image of Lord Robert. Another guy stumbled into the enclosure. He saw the multiple mirrors reflecting a seven foot tall man missing one eye and a stubborn teenage addressing the mirrors.

“What the fuck are you looking at?’ Amanda demanded.

Get the hell out of here, Lord Robert said to the man.

“Don’t talk to him like that!” Amanda snapped at Lord Robert. The baffled man stumbled back the way he came. “What were we talking about?”

Your reasons for being a vessel of revenge, Lord Robert replied.

“Dude, I’m just trying to keep you from killing innocent people,” Amanda said. “Screw your revenge.”

My vengeance exceeds your scope, mortal, Lord Robert sneered.

“Oh, is the concept of murdering my best friend beyond my scope?” Amanda asked.

Lord Robert stared down at her, and Amanda saw something move behind that cold gray eye. You fail to grasp my meaning.

“Screw your meaning. You tried to kill me,” Amanda said, stamping her foot adamantly. “And Sam.”

That is incidental, Lord Robert replied, his imaged becoming smaller and blurring more. It is not the puppet I wish to kill, but rather the puppeteer.

“You tried to kill Crystal,” Amanda said. “I understand that much.”

No I did not.

“Yes you did,” Amanda said.

Lord Robert’s image became clearer and glared down at her. No, I did not.

“Yes you did,” Amanda insisted. “I saw you!”

When? Lord Robert demanded.

Amanda stopped, her mouth wide open, but no words came out. Exact dates seemed to escape her at that moment. “Well, you sent all those demons…Ms. Itemiser…and that bullshit at the Ren Fest….”

Who says it is the girl I am trying to destroy?

Amanda opened her mouth to argue and then understanding hit her. “You’re after Kaine,” she said.

My, aren’t you the epitome of astute?

“Okay, if that’s true, then what the fuck do Crystal and I have to do with this?” Amanda asked.

I do not know, Lord Robert said. Perhaps you should ask the one who brought you here.

“No one brought me here,” Amanda said. “Well, my Dad dropped me off, but… I’m not under anyone’s control, okay? I do my own thing!”

Do you? Lord Robert’s image asked.

“Yes!” Amanda answered.

Then why are you in possession of the Crystal Sword? Why does Astrea haunt your soul and Kaine shape your destiny?

His image faded and Amanda looked at herself in the mirror yet again.

“He doesn’t shape shit,” Amanda said, more to herself than to Lord Robert. “It’s my life.”

If so, then why does Kaine control it?

“He doesn’t,” Amanda started to say, but she was distracted as she watched the blood begin to seep through her reflection’s t-shirt. “Kaine can’t control me.”

Can’t he? Doesn’t he? How can you be sure of his intentions of you are not sure of your own?

Amanda suddenly looked down and saw blood actually seeping through her own chest. She looked back up in horror and saw Astrea smiling at her. Fear filled the pit of Amanda’s stomach, and the all the cotton candy and candy apples threatened to come right back up the way they came.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Is this the fate he sold you to? Or did you choose it? Astrea’s hand reached out of the mirror for Amanda, who stumbled back.

Did you choose this, or did Kaine choose it for you? Lord Robert’s voice whispered over and over, his image appearing all of the mirrors, save for the one that contained Amanda’s worst fear. Astrea took a step forward, seeming to come right out of the mirror. Amanda shook herself and closed her eyes, but Astrea, and Lord Robert were still there when she opened them again.

Amanda began to shake in fear and she lowered her head so she would not have to see Astrea. She could feel the hairs along her neck rise as the long, cold hand reached for her.

You will die…and it will be as he wills…

“THAT’S ENOUGH OUT OF YOU!” Amanda screamed, releasing all of the energy in her body in one tremendous blast.

When she opened her eyes, every single mirror in the House of Mirrors was shattered. Astrea and Lord Robert were gone and her chest was dry and free of blood. And about fifteen people, including the carnie who let her in, were staring at her.

“Oops,” Amanda said, sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Do you think they’ll come?” Crystal murmured as she and Kaine walked through the multitudes of people at the carnival.

“I can’t see the future,” Kaine lied.

“But you can manipulate minds easily enough,” Crystal said.

Kaine would have flinched if he had been younger. And the paranoid assumption that she knew he was lying would have crossed his mind. But he was immortal and she was fifteen and he would have bet his robes that Crystal had no idea of what he was thinking. Thank whatever gods there were too; he was thinking she looked great in those hip huggers.

“True,” he answered, calmly. “But as you made quite the point of telling me before we got here; they must make the decision on their own.”

Crystal only sighed at that and continued to walk alongside Kaine through the carnival. The sun was setting, streaking the sky pink. The air had grown cooler that month, wafting by in gentle breezes. Kaine inhaled deeply and savored the moment. He was well aware that if something went wrong tonight, it could be the last peaceful moment he would have in a while.

Crystal suddenly slipped her arm beneath his and held his elbow. Kaine’s heart twisted sideways. It was the closest feeling that he experienced to guilt.

“Kaine,” Crystal said. “What’s bothering you?”

He briefly considered lying, telling her he had a headache, but as he felt he had already been dishonest enough with her, he said, “I’m just a little concerned is all.”

“About what?”

This time, the thought of lying didn’t even cross his mind. “I am concerned that…recent event being what they were, that perhaps the decision to involve your friends in our destiny was not a wise one.”

“Oh, it’s not like we didn’t warn them about risks,” Crystal said, tugging on Kaine’s arm to steer him towards a crowd observing a midget juggling a washing machine and a cat. “Besides, I didn’t even know Troy, Austin, Sam, or even Amanda until you came into my life.”

“But they are your friends now, correct?”

“Yes,” she answered, leaning her head against his shoulder. The sideways feeling came back, this time more powerfully.

“WELL FINE! WHO WANTS TO PAY TWO DOLLARS TO STARE AT THEIR REFLECTION ANYWAY!”

Crystal straitened and her face lit up. “I know that voice!”

“TELL IT TO YOUR SHRINK, LADY! AT LEAST HE GETS PAID TO GIVE A FUCK!”

Sure enough, turning around, Kaine saw a girl stomping angrily away from somewhere, dusting shards of what looked like broken glass off of her jacket. Even without seeing her name written on the back of the garishly colored letterman, he was able to identify the girl as none other than Amanda Levy.

Crystal dashed off after her. Kaine followed at a more leisurely pace. By the time he caught up with the two girls, they were standing in front of the dart booth, and Amanda was animated telling a story that involved the words “mirrors,” “Lord Robert,” and “shit storm.”

None of which sounded good to Kaine.

“I don’t even want to begin to calculate the amount of bad luck you earned in there,” Crystal told her. She turned to Kaine and said, “It looks like Lord Robert is ready to face off again.”

Kaine grimly nodded.

Amanda said, “Crystal, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Both Kaine and Crystal looked at Amanda. The tone of her voice suggested something was amiss and judging from the discreet flick of her eyes to him, Kaine knew what she had to say was not for his ears.

“Sure,” Crystal said, missing the subtle meaning entirely. It wasn’t until Amanda practically dragged her over to the dunking booth, that she understood that Amanda didn’t want Kaine to hear.

Kaine remained perfectly calm and wore a pleasantly clueless expression. Having the features of a teenage boy made the latter easy, but the former was something he had to strive for. Did she know? Kaine was aware that Amanda could read minds, but he had been careful to shield his thoughts in her presence. Kaine stretched his senses to Amanda’s mind to try and get an idea of what she was thinking without alerting her to his prying.

She was not there. A real stab of panic reached Kaine as he frantically tried to get a fix on Amanda. Crystal was still there for him, her sudden flash of confusion burning in Kaine’s mind as if the emotion were his own. This had happened only twice before. Once when Amanda had just received Astrea’s curse and she had been bent of slicing off a chunk of him and the other time when she truly had been possessed by the spirit of Astrea.

Kaine pushed his way towards were the girls had been. Crowds of people had obscured them, but as he made his way forward, he saw them both having what appeared to be a heated discussion. The noise from the crowd made it difficult to hear snatches of their conversation, and when he got close, Amanda sensed him and stopped speaking to stare at him with a blank face that revealed nothing. Crystal wore an expression of frustration, but when she turned to Kaine, she also put on an unreadable smile.

The silence was awkward. Kaine had to remind himself that such moments were common among teenagers.

It was Crystal who said something first. “Hey, let’s go get some popcorn,” she said, suddenly eager.

Kaine looked at Amanda, still trying to get a fix on her mental state. Her brown eyes were level and unrevealing. She smiled blandly, but it stretched no farther than her mouth. “I’d rather play laser tag.”

Amanda had closed herself off to him deliberately, Kaine was sure of it.

He said, “Popcorn sounds good to me.”

They were at a stalemate. Crystal shifted anxiously, looking from one to the other, wondering if she should try some random display of immaturity that would distract them.

Amanda shifted, forcibly relaxing her features. “Well go ahead,” she said, smiling more easily. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

“You sure?” Crystal asked.

“Yeah,” Amanda said. “I am.”

“Okay…I borrowed my mom’s cell,” Crystal said. “You want the number?”

“I’ll call your mom and get it,” Amanda said, suddenly wanting to get away from them. “See ya!” she called, turning and fading away into the crowd.

Kaine glanced at the sky. The sun had completely set, and the lights from the carnival twinkled brightly against the skyline. He felt Crystal seize his arm and start steering him once more. Kaine suddenly had huge misgivings. His mind worked itself over and over, trying to come up with a plan or an idea to rectify the situation. He briefly wished he could confide in Crystal; she was much better at handling people than Kaine. But he was hiding something from her as well, so for the moment, Kaine was on his own.

He didn’t realize where Crystal was taking him until they were halfway through the line of people outside the Tunnel of Love.

Much to his surprise, Kaine’s heart did a back flip against his spine. And this time, the feeling had nothing to do with guilt.

“Kaine?” Crystal asked, leaning her head on his shoulder again. “What was my past life like?”

Kaine suddenly realized that Crystal was becoming guarded as well, harder to read. But he could still feel the stab of guilt she had about not trusting him.

“Why do you wish to know?” he asked, lightly. It was a loaded question, but the answer she gave was not the one he had wanted to hear.

“Because I’m curious,” she said, simply.

“Ah,” Kaine said. He ran through some lines he could try, deciding just how much he had to edit his words. In the end, his judgment told him that honesty would serve him best at this time. “Well…in the Capital there were lots of castles and buildings, nothing like this of course. Sort of an old style Moscow with more buildings. And no gold, only white marble. The kingdom favored white back then. And there was no town square, only a vast bay of water between the castle, the temple, the government building, and the library….”

Kaine continued to describe the Capital until the two of them had settled into a massive swan boat and began to bob slowly along their path towards the tunnel opening.

“Were their spaceships?” Crystal asked. “Or cars? How did people get around?”

“We walked,” Kaine said. “Longer travels involved a kind of teleportation provided by acolytes of the temple…”

He stuck with that rant well into the darkness of the tunnel. Crystal had been sitting quietly next to him, her hand still on his arm. In the dark, he could not see her face clearly, but he could make out the crease of her smile when he attempted at humor. He still could not quite tell what she was thinking, but that she was humoring him.

“How did I die?” she asked suddenly.

The question slid into Kaine’s heart like a dagger.

“What makes you think you died?” Kaine asked, his voice perfectly level.

She didn’t answer right away. When she did speak, her voice betrayed the confusion, anxiety, and even the bit of fear she was feeling. “Well…how else could…I mean it wasn’t like I was Sleeping Beauty or anything, right?”

“You sure look beautiful to me,” said the voice of a third person riding in the boat with them.

“WHAA!”

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THE GODS IN THE UNIVERSE ARE YOU DOING?” Kaine demanded, turning the full 180º around to glare at the tail of the swan boat.

“Telling Crystal she looks beautiful,” Daniel said. “What’s the problem?”

“The problem is you stowing away on a two person ride,” Crystal yelled. “Are you trying to sink our swan?”

“Oh, is this a private function?” Daniel asked. “I’ll leave.” He made the dramatic motion of diving into the shallow flow of dark, murky water.

Crystal hands shot out, seizing the collar of his shirt and hauling him up into the seat of the swan boat. “Don’t you dare touch that water! You have no idea what’s in there!”

“Yes mother,” Daniel said.

“And do you want to explain why you were eavesdropping?” Kaine demanded.

“But Father, I wasn’t eavesdropping,” Daniel said, turning to face him. “Or maybe I should call you Grandpa…”

“Are you insinuating that I’m old?” Kaine asked.

Crystal sighed and leaned over the side of the boat. Why had she even got her hopes up? How could she possibly be so audacious as to assume she could work in a romantic moment without Daniel being in her immediate vicinity? She put a hand to her forehead and massaged her temples. The stupid music in the ride was also getting to her and if she saw one more naked cupid, she was going to tear its head off.

When she opened her eyes, looking at the murky water so as not to let the sickening shades of pink make her sick, Crystal saw something that made her blood run cold.

She saw a clear image of Daniel staring back at her, his face a mask of horror and his mouth wide open. Behind her in the boat, Crystal could hear Daniel cheerfully arguing with Kaine about the Oedipus complex, but as she watched, the image of Daniel in the water turned his eyes up and the head fell away from the body, severed at the neck. Red filled the water, and through the haze, Crystal saw rapid images of Amanda, Austin, Troy, and Sam flash by, all in apparent situations of mortal peril.

When the miniature montage was complete, Lord Robert’s scarred visage appeared against the background of blood and mouthed something that Crystal could not hear. The next image was a black silhouette against the vivid red pool of blood. It was an image of what appeared to be Kaine…strangling Crystal.

There boat rocked violently and the ripples washed away the image. But not the horror imprinted in Crystal’s mind. She turned around and saw Kaine gripping the edge of the boat and half rising from his seat. His face was bright red and furious as he glared at Daniel.

“What?” said Daniel. “You don’t think Crystal’s mom is flexible enough for that?”

“WHAT?” Crystal demanded. When Daniel turned to her she said, “No, wait, no, I don’t want to know, just…just sit there and be quiet.”

Daniel shrugged and looked straight ahead, crossing his legs. Crystal looked at Kaine who also settled back into a sitting position, though he was careful not to let any part of his person touch Daniel. Crystal forced herself to relax and stare straight ahead as the ride continued. But now, on every cherub’s face, all she could see was the look of horror on she had seen on the images of her friends’ faces before they died.

Troy didn’t know how he was expecting to find Crystal, Amanda, or anybody else for that matter, but he certainly didn’t expect to meet Austin byway of vomiting on him in the gravity ride.

“I can’t believe you threw up on the Fonz jacket, you asshole!” Austin was screaming as they cleaned themselves up in the restroom.

“Its not like I was aiming for you, for Christ’s sake,” Troy said, rinsing out his mouth.

“What were you doing on the ride, if you had a full stomach?” Austin asked, calming down as he rinsed the jacket off. It was impervious to liquid and damn near anything else, but the stench of Troy’s vomit was going be around for a while.

“Trying to pick up chicks, what else?” Troy asked. He put his head into the sink and let the cool water run over his face. Jesus, he knew he shouldn’t have had the Jim Bean before he got here. The rest of the bottle was out in the car right next to his bottle of odor remover. Right next to my cigarettes, damn it…

“You really are just a simple creature, huh?” Austin said.

Troy got his head out from beneath the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror to see if he really looked as drunk as he felt.

He saw Austin’s face splattered in blood.

“The fuck!” he said and stumbled back from the mirror.

Suddenly, the whole mirror changed into a movie screen, showing images of blood, death, and despair. Troy fell on his ass, feeling as though he would be sick once more. He briefly thought that he was hallucinating this, but he saw Austin also step back from the mirror in shock.

The last image was of Sam having his head chopped off and immediately, Troy did get sick again, this time puking on the floor of the bathroom.

Is this the fate you desire? A deep, unfamiliar voice intoned.

Troy looked back up at the mirror and saw a man he had only seen twice in his life. The same man who had shoved a knife right through Amanda’s chest.

He spoke to them, his image appearing as if he were standing right beside Austin, Your friends are dead and your lives will soon be forfeit as well. Unless you leave now.

Troy didn’t say anything.

Austin said, “Look pal, I ‘ain’t exactly thrilled with you after you slashed up my tummy!”

Troy looked at Austin. “Tummy?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Austin growled, without looking at him.

Very well, the image of Lord Robert said. If you wish to follow your destiny as puppets of a cruel master, it must be that Kaine has a finer control of your senses than I imagined.

“Fuck off, you rat bastard,” Austin snarled. “Your my arch-nesimis.”

“Nemesis,” Troy corrected.

“Shut up, Troy,” Austin hissed at him. To Lord Robert he said, “As soon as we find you, your ass is grass, my friend.”

“But you just called him your arch-nemesis,” Troy said.

“Shut up, Troy.”

The image of Lord Robert smiled at them and then faded from the mirror.

“Chicken shit,” Austin snarled. One last image appeared on the mirror. It was a silhouette against a red background.

It was the Ferris wheel and as Troy watched it toppled over sideways and the image dissolved.

We shall meet in good time, rather soon, in fact, Lord Robert’s chilly voice said. The image faded, leaving the staring faces of Austin and Troy, who was still sprawled on the floor next to a puddle of stuff that had been in his stomach minutes before.

“Gross, man,” Austin said.

“Yeah, I know, that scar freaks me out too,” Troy said.

“No, I meant the vomit,” Austin said.

“Oh,” Troy said. He got to his feet and brushed his hands nervously down the front of his shirt.

“Are you gonna be sick again? Cause if you are, don’t stand near me,” Austin said.

“No, I’m not going to throw up,” Troy said. “But now I have to pee.”

“You need to have your urethra checked,” Austin muttered.

“Thanks, Amanda,” Troy answered.

Austin stared at the mirror, his arms crossed. “Now what do we do?”

A man sitting in one of the stalls with no door lowered the newspaper he hand been reading to look at the two boys.

“Well it seems to me like you should go find your friends and get the hell out of here before that Ferris wheel falls down, eh?” the man said.

“Thank you Random Man,” Troy said after a moment.

“He’s right,” said Austin. “Let’s go.”

“The only place I’m going is the bathroom,” Troy said. “Excuse me.” He stumbled to the nearest urinal.

“Dude, there’s not time for that!”

“There’s always time to pee, my man,” Troy said. “Ah, God, that feels good…. Besides, we don’t know when that Ferris wheel is going to fall. Take a moment.”

Austin opened his mouth to argue but after a moment, he came over and joined Troy at the neighboring urinal. The boy did have a point after all.

Jesus, I should just go home, Amanda thought darkly. But she had already spent forty five minutes in line for the sky box ride and she wasn’t about to back out now after all that invested time. It was funny how she didn’t have the same attitude towards school.

Amanda was going over all the possible outcomes of this evening in her head and she didn’t like anything she was coming up with. Not even the extremely unlikely fantasy she had about Sam buying her a stuffed panda made her very happy because it just made her dwell on the fact that her relationship with Sam was basically on the rocks.

Damn it, Amanda thought when she had run out of scenarios involving various methods of strangling Sam. Damn it, damn it, damn it…

She brooded until she climbed into a skybox and took her seat.

“Be sure and buckle up,” said the operator.

“Be sure not to sleep with your sister,” Amanda replied, not caring if her comment was crude and uncalled for. She had developed a deep dislike of all carnies since that incident at the House of Mirrors. Nevertheless, she turned part of her attention to trying to fasten the bloody seatbelt. The rest of her attention was focused on what she was going to do if Crystal didn’t believe her about Kaine.

Kaine’s more of a danger to her than to me, Amanda thought. But then she realized that that probably wasn’t true. Kaine liked Crystal better than Amanda and Amanda could surmise that Kaine would be more willing to sacrifice her instead Crystal. But sacrifice what? I could take Lord Robert…I think. Or I could just let Astrea out and she would take care of him…

Amanda immediately rejected that idea. She had a feeling if she lent Astrea her body willingly, she might not get it back. Besides, even if she could get rid of Lord Robert without help, there was still the issue of Kaine’s little mind control power trip. That was inexcusable. And despite the fact that Amanda thought she could kick Lord Robert’s ass, she wasn’t so sure she could match up against Kaine, especially since he had taught her most of her cool moves…

Wait a minute…if Lord Robert is after Kaine, then how come Kaine doesn’t take him on himself? What does he need us for?

Something clicked in Amanda’s understanding. He doesn’t need us…he needs Astrea…but why? What can she do that Kaine or we can’t?

The seatbelt slipped from her fingers and smacked her in the face.

“Damn it!”

“Do you need some help?” the person sitting across from her asked.

“No,” Amanda said, stubbornly. The box had rotated into a queue, waiting for its turn to leave the station. It was dark, even in the station, so she couldn’t see the person across from her. Nor did she want to. She just wanted to sit there and sulk, and curse at her freaking seatbelt, which didn’t seem to want to buckle.

“Fucker…” she muttered darkly. She wasn’t sure if she was talking about Kaine or talking to her seatbelt.

“Are you sure you don’t…”

“PISS OFF!” Amanda shouted, looking up from her labor.

Sam stared back at her. Amanda’s heart dropped right into her stomach as the skybox lurched out of the station with a jolt. She was thrown across the tiny cabin into Sam’s midsection. Instantly, his hands went around her to steady her. She looked up at him, her startled eyes meeting his hazel ones.

And for no reason, or perhaps for a reason that she couldn’t even begin to fathom, she kissed him, long and hard.

When she pulled back, she returned to her seat and looked out of the skybox at the carnival below.

“What’d you do that for?” Sam asked.

Amanda shrugged, feeling her cheeks turn red. Thank God it was dark.

The skybox shifted as Sam unbuckled his seatbelt and moved to sit beside Amanda. Her heart beat rapidly as she turned to him. He leaned down and kissed her more deeply than she had kissed him. He pulled back, but made no move back to his seat. The skybox leaned heavily to one side.

“What’d you do that for?” Amanda asked him.

He smiled down at her. “Because you’re my girlfriend…I guess.”

“You guess?” she asked.

Sam got a feeling of panic. Did I say the wrong thing?

She kissed him again. “Well, I guess you guessed right,” she said, snuggling firmly against his chest.

Sam let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

Amanda nuzzled the warmth of his chest, inhaling his scent and managing, for the moment, to forget about Kaine, Lord Robert, and everything else that was wrong in her life.

Nothing could spoil this moment.

SLAM!

The skybox flailed sideways as something struck it sharply on Amanda’s side. She was thrown in Sam who was knocked against the other side of the box. Fucking seatbelts, Amanda thought, even as another clang sounded. It was a distinct sound of metal striking metal, but this time, it was happening to another skybox. Amanda struggled to sit up from Sam’s lap. The side of the skybox had folded in from the blow.

“What the hell?” Amanda said. She went over to the side and stuck her head out of the twisted bars. She saw that what had struck them was the Ferris wheel. The large circle of metal was rocking from side to side, slamming into the occasional skybox that passed too close to it. There were several screams both from the crowd below and people on the ride.

“What’s making it do that?” Amanda said out loud. The wind wasn’t strong enough to be rocking the Ferris wheel, much less the skyboxes. Amanda turned back to Sam, “Hey, look at…” she stopped as she saw Sam, holding his forehead and blood leaking out from between his fingers.

“Why does it always have to be my head?” he moaned.

“Oh,” Amanda said, going over to him and reaching for his wound. “Hear let me help.” He hissed in pain as she touched the wound. “Uh, well, lets make a stop at the First Aid tent after we get off, okay?”

“Sounds like the perfect date,” Sam muttered.

“My face!” wailed Daniel. “My beautiful face…my livelihood!”

“Your livelihood?” Crystal asked.

“Well it was going to be,” Daniel whimpered.

“I can’t image how,” Crystal said, pressing the ice pack to the red and swollen socket.

“Ow!”

“Stop being such a pussy,” Crystal chided.

“Meow,” Daniel said, weakly.

“And shut up, you’re not funny,” Crystal said.

A park medic came into the small tent. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, we’ve got it under control, thank you,” Crystal said to the man.

“Good, cause I’m the only medic here and I gotta go over to the Ferris wheel. You’ll be all right by yourselves?”

“Sure,” said Crystal.

“And if anyone from OSHA asks, you’re the medic on duty, okay?”

“…Sure,” Crystal said.

“Bye,” said the medic.

“I don’t see why Kaine had to punch me,” said Daniel.

“I don’t see why you had to provoke him,” Crystal replied, firmly.

“You like him better than me!”

“Yes, sometimes,” Crystal said. “But he’s in time out right now.”

“How come you’re so calm about this?” Daniel asked. “The guy punched me!”

“Well you must have said something to set him off,” Crystal said.

“I did not,” said Daniel, defensively.

“You must have,” Crystal insisted. “I know Kaine. He wouldn’t just fly off the handle like that unless you said something.” But even as she said that, she had to wonder. She didn’t hear what Daniel had said, after all. But more importantly, the questions Amanda had brought up about Kaine were making her suddenly unsure of just how much she really knew Kaine. Or how much of what I know is true… Lord Robert had managed to instill some doubt in Crystal at their last encounter, but up until now, she had been able to deny it, easily.

Daniel opened his mouth and Crystal shoved the ice pack into it. She knew that if Daniel began to question Kaine as well, Crystal would really start to have doubts.

Amanda pushed her way into the small white tent. She looked around and scowled. “OSHA would have a fit about this place…”

“Hi, Amanda,” said Crystal.

“Hi, Crystal,” she turned and helped usher Sam through the tent flap. He was nursing a bloody gash on his head.

“What happened?” Crystal asked.

“The Ferris wheel smashed into our skybox,” Amanda said, leading Sam over to a folding chair and sitting him down.

“Jesus, did you have your seatbelts on?” Crystal asked. The look Amanda shot her was not a happy one.

“Mmmmhhhmmuuuhhhrrr” Daniel said.

“Daniel, get that ice pack out of your mouth,” Amanda chided him. “It’s unsanitary.”

Crystal removed the pack and Daniel said, “Why did the Ferris wheel hit your skybox?”

Amanda answered as she grabbed a bottle of iodine off of the folding table next to the chairs, “The Ferris wheel is swaying like a drunken munchkin in the wind, they actually shut down the skybox ride until they could resolve the problem. A lot of people got hurt, but most of them are over at the Ferris wheel. So I came over here to see what I could on my own. Did you know they’ve only got one medic on duty? Shameful…”

Sam hissed as Amanda dabbed an iodine soaked cotton ball against the cut.

Crystal said, “That looks pretty ugly.”

“Yeah,” Amanda answered. “Where’s Kaine?”

“I sent him to win me a stuffed animal at the ring toss,” Crystal said. “He’s in time out for punching Daniel.”

“Damn he’s going to be there a long time. Why did he punch Daniel?”

Daniel began to answer, but Crystal shoved the ice pack back in his mouth and Amanda took the hint; she didn’t want to know.

The tent flap opened again and this time, Austin walked in, apparently speaking to someone behind him, “What the fuck were you thinking?” He was holding a hand to his nose.

Troy came in next, cradling his elbow. “I wasn’t thinking your nose would have a sudden, magnetic attraction to my elbow!”

“It says, ‘keep your hands and arms inside the ride at all times’ for a reason, dumb ass!”

“Hi guys,” said Crystal.

“Hi,” both boys said in unison.

Troy looked at Sam, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Sam said, “I could ask you the same thing…weren’t you supposed to take my sister on a date tonight?”

“…Oh, fuck.”

“Daniel, get that ice pack out of your mouth; it’s unsanitary,” Austin said.

“Okay,” Amanda announced, clapping her hands, brusquely. “Girl chat.” She grabbed Crystal’s arm and dragged her out of the tent.

Outside, the air was charged with the puzzled energy of the crowd, moving all around them in the brightly lit carnival.

“Now will you believe me?” Amanda asked.

“We don’t know anything yet,” Crystal insisted. “Nothing Kaine has said or done tonight has lead me to believe we’re in more danger than we were before.”

“You mean besides punching Daniel?”

“Notwithstanding, the incidents are unrelated,” Crystal said, firmly.

“If you say so…” Amanda said. “But I still have this feeling…and I just figured something out. How come, if Kaine had beef with Lord Robert, he can’t take the man on himself? What does he need us for?”

“Maybe he can’t take on Lord Robert,” Crystal said.

“Come on, Crystal,” Amanda said. “You’ve seen him fight, he’s not exactly helpless.”

“Yeah, but…”

“And another thing,” Amanda said when Crystal failed to complete her sentence. “Why would he need to convince us to show up here tonight, huh? Do you think he knows Lord Robert is here?”

Crystal looked at directly at Amanda. “Do you know if Lord Robert here?”

Amanda raised an eyebrow, “Have you seen him? Or do you think I’m going crazy, because to be honest, either option seems plausible.”

“Well don’t check yourself into the loony bin yet. I saw…visions, really bad ones. But nothing tells me that Lord Robert is here, or that anything will happen tonight,” Crystal said. “And nothing tells me Kaine is out to get us.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Amanda said, dangerously. “That’s the last thing I need.”

“Shit, I forgot you could read minds,” Crystal said, trying to keep her voice light. The two girls found themselves engaged in a tense stare-down.

Troy poked his head out of the tent. “Excuse me, I couldn’t help but overhear…did you say Lord Robert?”

Amanda released Crystal from her icy stare to pat Troy’s head, soothingly. “Don’t worry dear, go back inside.”

Austin poked his head out too. “Did you say Lord Robert?” He turned to Troy, “Did she say Lord Robert?”

“She said Lord Robert,” Troy confirmed. Anxiety drew tight lines across both boys’ faces.

“Don’t worry,” Amanda insisted. “It’s girl chat, now go back inside and put ice packs on. Austin, your nose is all swollen…”

“And Troy, please make sure Sam’s cut stays clean,” Crystal said. “Go, on now, shoo.” Both boys tucked their heads back in the tent.

“What happened in the visions?” Amanda asked.

“Did you say visions?” Troy asked, poking his head back out. Amanda put her hands on Troy’s head and shoved him back in the tent, forcibly. Crystal heard something crash.

“About death,” she told Amanda. “Vivid ones…” she shivered. “I saw us dying.”

“Did you say dying?” Austin asked.

“GET BACK IN THERE AND STAY IN THERE!” Amanda roared. Austin’s head disappeared, quickly.

“Did you see Lord Robert killing anyone?” Amanda asked, critically.

“No…”

Sam stuck his head out and from the strained look on his face and the whispered promptings from Troy and Austin inside, the girls knew he had been forced to do this. “Troy and Austin want to know if you said killing,” he groaned.

“Tell Troy and Austin to stop eavesdropping,” Crystal snapped.

Sam disappeared, but was back shortly. “Troy and Austin say they’re not eavesdropping, they’re casually overhearing,” he deadpanned.

Amanda stuck her head in the tent and screamed, “TELL TROY AND AUSTIN TO MIND THEIR OWN DAMN BUSINESS!”

Austin and Troy yelled back, “WE HEARD YOU!”

Sam stuck his head back inside the tent and Amanda pulled her head back out. She looked very short on patience, but not yet at the murderous point.

“What else did you see?” she asked Crystal.

“I saw all of us dying, but I didn’t see Lord Robert killing anybody. I saw Kaine strangling me,” Crystal said, deciding to forgo any dramatic pauses, lest she be interrupted.

Amanda opened her mouth to say something, but both Austin and Troy stuck their heads out at the moment.

“I’m sorry, this time we were eavesdropping,” Troy said.

“But we think it’s important to tell you that we saw a vision too with all of us dying and Lord Robert talked to us and…”

“And Austin doesn’t know how to pronounce nemesis…”

“Shut up Troy. And we saw the Ferris wheel toppling over and Lord Robert said we would meet him soon.”

“That’s all we wanted to tell you,” Troy said.

“Bye,” said Austin and both boys ducked back in the tent.

Amanda and Crystal stared at each other and then Amanda put her head back in the tent, “Get back out here, you bastards! Explain yourselves!”

Crystal seized Amanda’s arm, drawing her attention. “We can’t jump to conclusions,” she said.

“Why the fuck not?” Amanda asked. “We all had visions of us dying. I’m not keen on sticking around here anymore.”

“Well, look, we don’t even know if the God damn Ferris wheel will fall,” Crystal was cut off by a long metallic groan followed by a crash as the Ferris wheel tipped over on it’s side. “Well fuck,” she finished, crossing her arms over her chest.

All four boys poked their heads out of the tent to see what the noise was. Troy checked his watch and then punched Austin in the shoulder.

“Pay up, bitch,” Troy said. “I was right.”

“Damn it,” Austin growled, forking over two bucks. All around them, people had also stopped to stare at where the Ferris wheel had been standing.

A voice came over a loudspeaker, “ATTENTION. PLEASE EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY. ALL QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IN WRITING TO THE CARNIVAL CORPORATION. YOU CAN PICK UP THE ADDRESS AT THE GATES AS YOU EXIT THE PARK, THANK YOU.”

“Now what?” Daniel asked as most of the crowd began to file past them on their way out.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Crystal asked. “We have to find Kaine.”

“It seems more obvious to me to get the hell out of here,” Amanda said.

Crystal turned to her and started to say something about responsibility. But then an image of Amanda cradling Sam’s severed head flashed before her eyes.

“You…do what you have to do,” Crystal said. “And I’ll do what I have to do.”

Amanda opened her mouth, but her eyes flickered and she closed it again. The two girls stared at each other and Crystal felt the gap between them widen. But now was not the time to cry about it. Crystal turned and set off into the park. Daniel followed her.

“No, Daniel, go with Amanda,” Crystal said. “I’m sure she’ll give you a ride home.”

“The only place I’m going is with you,” Daniel said, firmly. Crystal stopped and looked at him. His eye was all red and puffy, giving him a decidedly goofy, lopsided look. But the look in his eyes wasn’t the least bit goofy.

Crystal nodded, “All right.” She held out her hand and the liquid warm rush of her scepter materializing filled her arm. Daniel reached into his jacket and whipped out his feather fan.

“Let’s do this thing,” he grinned, holding the fan like a samurai warrior.

Crystal wished she were as confident as Daniel sounded.