Chapter Four: Mirror

Kiera and I stood opposite one another, both of us stiff and awaiting the other to make a move or say something. The sky was still painted in black, silver stars glowing animatedly as they witnessed our growing discomfort. A cold gust of wind sliced across the open expanse of land, and I felt goose bumps form on my arms and legs. I wanted to hug my torso for warmth, or to at least make some sort of sound so as to ease the gradual rise in anger.

One move and I would be dead within a split second. Kiera was seething with an unrecognisable anger, her entire being burning from the inside, out. Her green eyes were sparkling with hatred, and her pale white skin appeared to glow around the edges. I wasn't positive whether this was my imagination or whether it was actually happening. Either way, the subtle change in Kiera's body was beginning to unsettle me.

Silence fell upon the two of us, and I remained motionless, studying how still my sister was. I was drinking in the differences between us, attempting to remind myself of how she was supposed to be dead - that there was no way she could have survived that incident. No matter how desperate I had been for her to miraculously emerge from the woods that day; I had known it would never happen.

Yet here she was now. Proof that wishes could come true...or nightmares were born.

Kiera's long black hair was like the night, itself. It glistened in the luminous moonlight, and made it appear like waves gently caressing the air around it. Her mass of straight black hair cascaded down her back, ending just below her chest. Her eyes were almost glowing an emerald green, sparking with burning hatred and the crackle in her eyes only confirming my fears: She still blamed me for her unfortunate passing.

The differences between us ended there, though. Besides the different length in hair and our eye colour, we were the same. It was almost like I was an echo of her. Kiera always had been the dominant one out of the two of us, and this had truly shown during our time together. I was always abiding by Mother's rules set down for us, whereas Kiera was always breaking them, dragging me along with her so as to share the punishment.

Sometimes it almost felt as if I could one day glance at a mirror, and Kiera's reflection would be there rather than my own. It was a growing fear, I was certain. A fear that one day Kiera would return and replace me, gaining her revenge on me for having killed her.

Eventually, when the moon began to descend and a small sliver of light began to appear along the horizon, I opened my mouth and said, "How long do you intend to stand there?"

Kiera's lips quirked upwards into a sly smile, one full of anger and determination. Almost like she was in on a secret and it involved me - a secret which would result in my own demise. Just like I had kept the secret of her demise.

"So impatient," she finally responded. There was a hint of amusement to her tone, and the smile on her pale face was genuine. But, in the next second, the smile faded alongside any hint of amusement. "Just like always, sister. You never could stand around and wait for the fun to begin."

I frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Kiera laughed. "What? You don't like my sense of humour?"

"It's not humour when the other person isn't laughing," I said angrily, gritting my teeth in frustration. "Stop playing games with me!"

The light faded from her green eyes, and a flash of violet briefly replaced them. A gasp left my lips, and I stumbled back a few steps, but not before Kiera managed to say, "Oh. But my dear, sweet sister. The game's only just begun."

A low rumble sounded in the distance, and when my head jerked upwards towards the sky, my eyes widened in surprise. During Kiera and I's brief discussion, the black cloak identified as sky was overrun by storm clouds; grey and ominous as they rolled in. Flashes of light lit up the sky enough for me to notice the missing form of my sister, and the low rumble of thunder rapidly ensued.

I stumbled back another few steps, and looked around me for some sign of movement. It was hard to distinguish trees from bodies, rustling from whispering, and shadows from them. Everything was obscured from view until I was virtually blind, the only source of light coming from the sky as lightning briefly lit up the world like a halo.

The sound of laughter echoed around the open expanse of land, and my head snapped to the left in surprise. Rain had begun to pour down on me now, soaking me through with their heavy bodies, and further discomforting me; reminding me that my sister appeared to influence the weather as easily as she did breathing.

"So...controlling the weather!" I shouted, attempting to be heard above the roaring of the thunder, the dark clouds rapidly moving in this direction. "That's new!"

Kiera laughed again, and just as a bright flash of light forked down to the ground not far from this location, lighting up the world, I saw a dark figure appear before me out of nowhere. The emerald green eyes glowed eerily in the dark, her pale skin glowing unnaturally, and her body shaking uncontrollably - like she was under a spell.

My mouth was open as I attempted to inhale oxygen. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe, and the ferocious noise of the storm clouds was unbelievable, a crescendo of screaming sounding before me. Such hatred rang out at the same time as the flashes of light, the rumbling of the dead trembling around me. It was almost as if the dead belonged to the thunder and lightning, their souls attached to the clouds above me, and with each roar and flash made by those clouds, the dead would also cry out in sorrow.

I was being drenched by the rain of the dead; each droplet splattered against my body and soaking me in unbearable cold. Cold fingers wrapped around my arms and legs, unseen by normal people, but definitely there as I glanced down. My eyes couldn't identify them, but it felt so real! I could feel those pale white hands wrapping around my arms and legs, as they dragged me down to the ground, hoping to sink their teeth into my flesh.

A scream of horror left my lips at the prospect, and I wildly lashed out at nothing. Those un-dead hands rose up from the ground, invisible but there. How could they exist when I could not see them?

"Oh! I forgot to mention something," giggled Kiera, a manic laugh reaching my ears as she approached me. Her eyes were wide but contained no love or adoration. In fact, she reminded me of the storm above us: Hollow yet filled with an uncontrollable wave of anger. Eventually she would crack and the waves of hatred she had safely coiled inside her would break out, rushing forth with such vehemence that nothing would survive.

"What?" I snapped, spitting out rain as it entered my mouth. The water was cold and slimy, unlike anything I had ever felt before. It was almost as if this wasn't real rain, for when had rain ever been slimy and unbelievable cold?

Kiera spread out her arms, as if addressing more than one person. "When I died, I met more than one person. These are my friends," her eyes turned dark, "and they don't like you."

I opened my mouth to scream out for help or something that would save me, but the hands which I couldn't see and hold onto were forceful. They coiled around my wrists and ankles, my arms and legs, and attempted to drag me down through the ground. It hurt to feel my skin stretched and torn, blood no doubt oozing from thin cuts in my skin. I wanted to scream but couldn't remember how. I wanted to cry, but forgot what crying really was.

"Kiera!" I gasped, my eyes wide open as I collapsed to the ground. The rain continued to pour down on me, drenching my soaking body and somehow paining me as it cooled against my skin. Each droplet of water turned icy upon making contact with my skin, eventually reaching the point of burning. It was such an intense cold that I wanted to shriek!

A sigh sounded somewhere nearby, and then I saw two booted feet placed in front of my face. I knew who they belonged to, and looked up at the looming figure of my twin, her eyes cold and heartless as she stared back. Like she no longer recognised me as a sibling, or anyone she had ever met before.

"What?" she demanded, impatiently placing one hand on her hip. Her black hair hung in thin tendrils, curling at the edges as the rain began to alter it. She had never looked more deadly or beautiful, and that frightened me.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, coughing as more rain poured into my mouth, practically shoving itself into my body where it could no doubt inflict more pain on me.

What was the water really? Why were these beings attacking me? And why was Kiera so angry? She was alive! Could she not move on and be happy?

"You killed me, Terra! No matter what you want me to think, I know what happened, and I won't let you get away with it!" The force of her words was like a sharp blade penetrating my skin. It sliced deep into my body, drawing ruby blood and causing a wave of pain to wash over me.

"You really think I murdered you?"

Kiera glowered at me, pure hatred on her face. "I don't think. I know."

Tears blurred in my vision, and my body sagged against the ground as I weakened with every passing second. The fight had gone out of me - abandoning me and leaving me to sink deeper into the void.

"I'm going to kill you, sister," continued Kiera, a cruel smile forming on her lips. "I apologise for taking so long to regain my human form, but as you might have guessed by now, being dead doesn't exactly provide me with the strength required to do so." Her smile widened even more. "Lucky for me, I'm not exactly normal now, am I?"

"What are these creatures?" I demanded, attempting to overcome the cold feeling seeping into my body. The droplets of water had turned harsher and colder, their small bodies exploding on my own body, creating wave after wave of ice-cold pain.

Kiera laughed harshly. "Surely you know that by now, Terra. I thought their song was warning enough of what they are and do."

I frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

She sighed in disappointment. "I think they should explain, don't you?"

A flash of brilliant white light exploded into the area, and I winced as it penetrated my eyes. My arms went up to cover my face, and as soon as the flash had faded, my arms removed themselves to reveal the empty space where Kiera had once been. There wasn't even a dent in the grass to suggest she had ever stood there, further worrying me about what had happened during the time of her death.

It wasn't normal for someone to die and then return. Especially not for them to return as an older version of themself! What had happened to Kiera? Who were the creatures who so happily aided her? And what did they want with me?

Shakily, I got to my feet and glared out at the night sky. The moon was half obscured from view due to the rapidly moving clouds, preventing light from beaming down and lighting up this land. It was too dark to see properly, and though I knew that Kiera and her friends had no difficulty in making things out I, however, was incapable of possessing such a luxury.

The hands which had been clinging to my body and weighing me down began to disappear, and a sigh of relief left my lips. I wiggled my ankles and wrists, attempting to encourage the steady flow of blood to those deprived areas. A faint stab of pain had begun to form on my hands and feet, my blood rushing to supply those almost dead pieces of skin, and creating an uncomfortable pins-and-needles feeling to rise up.

An echo of laughter teased me as it flew on by, passing my ears and then fading somewhere else. I spun around, whirling too fast and slipping on the wet grass, collapsing to the ground and shakily rising again. A puff of air left my lips, and I flattened down my now soaked tank-top, attempting to fumble around for any sign of Kiera.

My entire body was shaking in cold and fear as I glared out at the night. Goose bumps had formed on my arms and legs, and I couldn't stop vibrating like a phone! My teeth were chattering together, and my skull was throbbing with a dawning headache as the cold settled in. It seeped through the pores in my skin, and first created a numb feeling to my skin. I had to hop up and down to feel them, and yet this sensation was rapidly switching to pure agony. With each shudder made by me, a horrible ache shattered through my body and caused me to grit my teeth even more, a groan of protest coming from my jaw.

From life to death, we all must fade.

From where I had been huddled on the spot amongst the blades of grass, my head snapped upright, and my mouth hung agape in horror of the song. Recognition snapped in my head, and a gasp left my lips as I hugged my frame that much tighter for comfort.

There was more than one person singing the song, just like the first time I had been introduced to such a song. Each word was sung with cruelty, anger and longing. I found myself shivering even more vigorously, but all thoughts of the weather and how cold I was had been abandoned. By now, I was furiously aware of those...beings surrounding me.

No one escapes the hands of the Fade.

"Shut up," I whispered, water dripping off of the ends of my hair. It hung in thin drapes around my head, droplets of water running down my body and falling off of the edges, plunging to the blades of grass and fading from view.

Where a soul must die and leave this land...

Before I could stop myself, I had scrunched my eyes shut, willing the voices to fade away like they said in their song. I didn't want to be haunted by their memories and pain. All I wished was for Kiera to remember me as her sister, not as her murderer. I had never been her murderer, and it pained me that she would even accuse me of such a horrendous crime.

My fists were clenched by my sides as I concentrated on ignoring the song. But it was to no avail, for the next sentence sprung into my head, as if I had thought of it myself.

The Fade will welcome them to our land.

"Go away!" I screamed, opening my eyes and battering blindly at the air, desperately attempting to claw and connect with someone or something. I wanted to feel their bodies in my hands, and to know that they were real rather than just figments of my imagination! I had to know they were there!

"Open your eyes, Terra," spoke Kiera, her voice like salt placed on an open wound. Pain sizzled through me, wiping me of my sudden spurt of energy and leaving me drained.

My eyes warily surveyed the land, expecting more surprises and dangers to leap out at me. "What are you talking about?" I asked drily, too tired to put up much of a front.

When would the nightmare end?

Kiera's face came into view only a few inches from my face, and there was a cold smile on her blood red lips; the colour of stained roses. The colour of her blood on my dress, hands and hair. "Surely you've not forgotten what made us so special."

I stiffened as I realised what she was hinting at, and I felt my heart thud harder than necessary in my chest. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She grinned, exposing bright teeth. "Oh, I think you do. Considering you were the one who confided in me about your...abilities, I think you know perfectly well what I'm referring to."

A cold draft of wind brushed lightly against my skin, drying it from where the droplets of water had forever flooded me. I wasn't as drenched as before, though a brand new cold had settled in on me. Where my clothes had been battered and soaked to the bone, they now clung to my body, and the cold air did little to warm me up. In fact - it made me colder.

"What does that have to do with opening my eyes?" I demanded, angrily flicking my hair out of my face, and narrowing my eyes in disgust of the monster before me. All the love and care she had had for me was gone, replaced by a burning desire to gain revenge. Revenge for her death.

Revenge on me.

Kiera sighed and rolled her eyes - a gesture I hadn't believed she was capable of. "We're not human. We never were, and we never will be. The body you have right now isn't yours, and it doesn't belong to you. Once you've accepted this and decided to take on your powers for the rest of your life, that body," she prodded my stomach with her index finger, a smirk on her face, "will shatter like a mirror, and reveal your true form."

A mix of emotions filled my head as I processed what she was saying to me. The fact that she expected me to believe the lie she was telling me was absurd, but when had Kiera ever lied to me? Even now, when she was out for vengeance, she had never lied to me. She had given me the cold hard truth, and I was going to be a fool to dismiss that.

My eyes averted from Kiera's glowing green eyes and towards a different point in time. I didn't want to accept what she was saying because it had to be wrong. I had always believed I was human. To think otherwise was silly.

Kiera has never told me a lie, though, I thought grimly, my lips forming a line.

"Open your eyes, Terra," pleaded Kiera. When I looked up at her face again, I saw that the facade was gone, revealing my twin's true emotions. She was earnest when she was asking me to open my eyes and to accept what I was. But I couldn't tell why she would want me to do so. I assumed Kiera had gone through such an alteration for she looked inhuman, sounded inhuman, and was far crueler than I had ever deemed she could be.

Shoving all that she had said aside for the moment, I looked at my sister and said, "What are you? And what are those...beings that follow your every command?"

Kiera's eyes danced as she continued to stare at me, and her lips curved upwards into a grim smile. Like she was ashamed to admit the truth because of my own take on it. Then, like she had done before, she spread her arms out wide and declared, "Why, we're the Fade of course! Beautiful, immortal and powerful forever!"

I took two steps back in surprise, and felt my eyes dart to the trees not too far behind me. The moon was rapidly descending, the grey clouds were moving away, and the rain had stopped. Morning had arrived, and a fresh new day was about to begin. The lake was not far from here - the place where everything had gone downhill, and one twin had emerged from the woods alone. I didn't want to become a Fade, but I was sure my blood was already mingled with theirs. All I had to do was accept my powers, and the truth would reveal itself.

"Sister, Kiera," I said, anxiously. I licked my lips in hesitation, and darted another apprehensive glance behind me, aware of how easily angered Kiera could become. "I don't think the Fade is good for us. I mean - look what's become of you. You're meant to be dead, and yet-"

"Here I am," she interrupted for me, her eyes narrowed in anger, and her voice bitter as the words came out. "Right? That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?"

I have a small, frightened nod, and took another two steps back.

Kiera laughed harshly, all joy gone from the moment, and a darker look taking its place. Her green eyes flashed violet, and this time I felt her power course through her. It was far stronger than I had anticipated, and as she summoned that power from deep within her, I knew she was looking for a fight.

One in which I would most likely lose.

"You're playing with fire, sister. And those who play with fire get burned." Kiera's eyes burned bright red for a split second, and in that small moment in time, I noticed the faint flickering of flames, burning bright and true in her eyes. But as soon as I blinked, they had disappeared like they never existed, and Kiera's entire body erupted into flames. Her body burned as one great flame, her arms and legs easily defined as small wisps of fire, and her eyes a burning green.

A gasp left my lips before a ball of fire sped towards me from Kiera's seething form. I managed to narrowly avoid being singed and dived for cover, rolling to the ground and collapsing in a heap on the wet grass. A groan left my lips, and I looked up from my place in time to see Kiera's body whirl around and alter form until she was back to normal. Her eyes glowed an emerald green, her entire body shaking with hatred as she stared down at me.

"Is this how you want to play?" she demanded, clenching her hands into fists and her body steadily beginning to rise from the ground, her feet hovering above the grass like she was an ethereal being.

Maybe that was what being a Fade was. But I was sure there was a strict difference between the two. The biggest difference being that a Fade no doubt had aid from the dead.

I crawled to my feet and looked up at my sister, her hair tumbling down her back in long, elegant waves. I hadn't realised until now that she was wearing a body-suit, made out of the finest black fabric. It clung to her body and ended at her neck, just below her head. Her head, hands and feet were the only visible pieces of skin I could see, and for a split second, I had a brief flash of what she could have been like: Laughing and happy, dressed in beautiful dresses which complimented her figure, and gave her a light I hadn't seen in years.

"Yes," I said with regret, bowing my head momentarily, and allowing a single teardrop to escape my hold. There, it trailed down my cheek and dropped somewhere below me.

Kiera grinned evilly. "Very well, then. Let the games begin!" Her back suddenly arched in the air, and a gasp of pain left my sister's lips. Rather than take the opportunity to run and avoid being killed, curiosity forced me to witness what she would look like in her true form. The body she wore wasn't hers, as she had calmly stated that my own body wasn't mind.

As I watched, Kiera's body subtly changed again. Her long black hair adopted strange golden highlights, and her eyes appeared brighter than ever; a finer emerald colour than before. Her skin had paled until it was noticeably like paper - pale white, as if she had been sculpted from the finest marble. A dark glow had formed around Kiera's body, and though it was barely there, I identified it as the glow I had often felt surrounding me as well.

The most noticeable change I could identify on Kiera's person was on her back. There were two wings which sprouted from beside her shoulder-blades, and another two mirrored just below them, ending in the middle of her back. They looked very much like wings fairies had - of course, fairies didn't exist, and it was hard to believe that the Fade would possess such miracles. Yet there they were, two beautifully elegant wings sprouting from her back, transparent and yet patterned like a butterfly's.

"Impossible," I murmured, gazing longingly at Kiera's wings, and wondering how she had come to grow them.

Kiera's head snapped back to place, and her wings beat in a rhythm in order to keep her in the air. Her emerald eyes glowed in amusement and anger. "Now, dear sister...you die."

Before I had a chance to react, she lashed out at me at an unknown speed. And it was then that I realised just how tainted she had become.