Chapter 9: Mara』s
Choice
The sisters held
their breaths. Marie pushed on the door and it swung open. At first, the inside
was dark, but Morgan summoned her light and it illuminated the dingy brick wall
of a dark hallway.
「Better close the
door, just in case,」 Marie said in a whisper. She pocketed the keys. 「Keep your
voices down.」
Morgan rubbed her
hands, and the light expanded to show the entire hallway. They were standing in
the middle, and at either end they could see the brick give way to steel
bars. You
check the one on the left, Morgan communicated to Marie. I』ll check this one, and she started to walk toward the
right. Marie took Mina』s hand and led her down the hall. 「Stay back,」 she
whispered in Mina』s ear. She wanted to check first: who knew what other person
they could be holding in the cell. Luckily, they had the cover of Morgan』s
light, which, as far as Marie knew, only Mara and themselves would be able to
see.
Marie peeked into
the cell at the end, her heart racing. It was empty. She sighed a breath of
relief and took Mina』s hand toward the other end, where Morgan was already
motioning for them to come over.
「Mara!」 Now that
they knew the other cell was empty, Marie spoke in a normal voice. Mara was
slumped in the corner of the cell, inside which Morgan had already lit up a
warm floating ball of flame. She was still in her tattered wedding dress. The
train–now smudged gray with dirt–splayed out at her feet like an accordion, and
her sleeve was falling off her shoulder. The blood stains, which earlier had
gleamed bright red, had faded to a dull brown. Her head leaned limply against
the corner.
Mara lifted her head
weakly and looked at her sisters, rubbing her eyes against the sudden light.
「What are you doing
here?」
Mina grabbed onto
the bars and stuck her head between them. 「We came to save you! We know you』re
innocent!」
Marie was already
inspecting the lock, searching through the key ring for one that would fit.
Mara stood and
walked slowly toward the bars. She reached her sisters, and took Mina』s face
gently in her hands. Up close, they could see that her eyes were swollen red,
and tear streaks lined her face.
「How did you get in?
Why–」
「It』s a long story,」
Morgan said. 「But we』ll have plenty of time to explain when we』re all safe at
home.」
「She』s right,」 Marie
chimed in. She was jiggling with a key in the lock. 「But we are going to need
you to help us leave. There』s a guard somewhere outside, and even though he
should be distracted we』ll need you help us erase our footprints so there』s no
trace of anything happening.」
The key jammed.
Marie pulled it out and tried another one.
「You shouldn』t have
come,」 Mara said. 「It』s far too dangerous.」
「Don』t worry about
us right now!」 Morgan looked impatiently at Marie, who was trying another key.
Mara pulled herself
to Marie, reached her hands through the bars, and held her hands. 「You』re not
going to find the key there,」 she said. 「I heard them talking earlier. There』s
only one copy, and the sheriff has it.」 She sank to the ground and sat with her
back against the wall.
「Okay,」 Morgan
looked at Marie, seeking her approval. 「There』s no choice then. I』ll just have
to melt it.」
Marie looked firmly
at Mara』s slight figure on the ground and nodded. 「Go for it.」
Before Morgan could
even take a step, Mara shook her head. Her chest shook with it, and a fresh
stream of tears surged into her eyes. 「Thank you so much,」 she said. 「You know
how much I love you and care about you so much. But I can』t go. I…」 She wiped
her face with cloth from her dress. 「I won』t.」
Morgan, Marie, and
Mina gathered around her, sitting on the floor.
「You have to,」 Marie
said. 「I know you』re grieving right now and can』t really think straight, but
you have to trust us on this one. We don』t know what is out there, what kind of
powers it has, or what it wants.」
Mara shook her head
again, sobbing into her arms. 「I』m so sorry,」 she said. 「I hate that you guys
risked all this to get to me. But I』m not leaving.」
Morgan』s face
crumpled into a tight ball, and Marie could see she was doing all she could to
keep from bursting out. She opened and closed her mouth. 「But why?」 she finally
asked, tugging on Mara』s dress.
Underneath their
feet, the ground trembled lightly. Marie turned around in an instant, looking
toward the door. But there was no one there.
「Don』t worry,」 Mara
said. 「It』s just me. It』s been happening all night. I can』t help it.」 Marie
turned around and took Mara』s hand. She had never seen her big sister like
this. She had always looked up to her self-control, especially her ability to
command her powers and use them only when absolutely necessary. Never in her
life had she seen Mara completely unable to hold them in.
「You know no one is
blaming you, right?」 Marie said.
Mara closed her
eyes. 「It doesn』t matter what people think now. It』s not about that. I never
should have put him in danger like that. I should have told him, the minute I
even thought of marrying him what I….what I was.」 She gasped for air and sobbed
out. 「What I am.」 The ground jolted.
Morgan looked at her
sister, and tears spotted her eyes. 「You really loved him, didn』t you?」
Mara swallowed and
nodded. She breathed deeply and turned towards her sisters. She looked them
straight in the eyes.
「Honestly, I don』t
care what happens to me now. All I know is I don』t want to get anyone else
hurt. And the more straightforward everything is, the less trouble there will
be. Even if they say I』m guilty…If I go quietly, maybe they』ll leave you guys
alone.」
They sat in silence.
Marie scanned her thoughts for any ideas to persuade Mara, shaking her head and
squeezing her sister』s hand.
Then, as if an
invisible hand had closed in the air, Morgan』s flame was suddenly extinguished.
The cell plunged into darkness. What the–but before Morgan
could finish her thought, the door swung open. In the empty frame, the sisters
could see the orange glow of fire flickering outside the windows. Morgan and
Marie got to their feet, shielding Mina and Mara behind them. Dull gray light
issued into the hallway from the outer room.
Slowly but steadily,
a tall, dark shadow stepped into the frame.