43 - CLARA

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

" S how her, Anneeta . Show her why you need to be forgiven."

"Tyse!" I'm a little bit shocked at his tone, so I'm not sure what to say here. "What?—"

"Clara. You don't understand. Go on, Anneeta. Tell her."

I look down at Anneeta and find her frowning. But it's more than just a frown, it's sadness. "What have you got in the book?"

"Show her, Anneeta. Show her what you keep inside that book."

Anneeta's frown deepens. Then she takes a big breath, opens the book, and pulls out a piece of paper. She extends her hand, offering it to me.

"What is this?" I take it. "A photograph?"

"My mother."

"Your mother!" I smile at her, but when I glance down at the picture, the smile drops and my heart begins to race. Because it's… Imogen. I look over at Anneeta. "Your mother was…" I look over at Tyse. "You knew?"

He's shaking his head. "I didn't. I mean, she's… not right, ya know? You can see it, can't ya? Her clothes, they're—it's just the whole thing is wrong. She's not addicted to spark, Clara."

Anneeta stomps her foot here. "That's not true! I am so!"

But Tyse points at her. And he's mad. "You're made of spark."

"So is Clara!"

I gasp. "No, I'm not! I mean… I have it inside me but?—"

"You're made of it! Just like me !" Anneeta squeals these words. Like a child. Like any child throwing a tantrum. But with this squeal comes a burst of spark so powerful, it crashes towards me as a wave, nearly knocking me sideways.

And also with this squeal comes the blue light in Tyse's eyes.

"Stop it!" He comes at her, grabbing her shoulders, shaking her. "Stop it right now!"

"You want the augments!" Anneeta screams. "You like them! You miss them! You want them! I'm just giving you what you want!"

He lets go of her and turns to me. "What's her name?" He points to the picture.

I can't think for a moment. My mind is doing calculations—Imogen has been gone for nearly ten years, this child is… not ten. So… what exactly is happening here?

My mind has gone blank.

"Clara." Tyse isn't trying to be mean when he says my name. He's trying to snap me out of my shock. I get this. But it's terse. Like we're in a hurry or something. " Clara !" He says it again. Louder now.

"Imogen," I say. My voice is soft and sad, the complete opposite of his. Because I don't understand what's happening. I don't like what's happening. "Her name was Imogen Gibson."

Tyse turns back to Anneeta, his blue eyes lit up so bright now, he's casting shadows across the room. "What happened to Imogen, Anneeta? Hmm? What happened to her? Tell Clara. Tell her everything or we're leaving right now and you're staying behind."

"You can't go!" This isn't a squeal, it's a loud, echoing shout that comes with vibrations and another wave of spark. And this time, Tyse and I are both blown backwards, crashing into the bed.

I blink, stunned at the sudden violence. And when I look at Anneeta, her hair is standing on end. The room is filled with spark.

Tyse recovers, stands, and offers me his hand. I get up as he points at Anneeta. "You need us."

She crosses her arms and then there is a clicking sound at the door and even I understand what this click means. She's locked it. The magnets, or whatever. And we're stuck until she decides to unlock it.

Tyse crosses his arms too. "We can't trust you. And locking that door, keeping us prisoner, just makes it worse."

Anneeta closes her eyes, takes a breath, and all the static, spark, and light disappears. When she opens them again, I see it.

She's not a little girl.

She's nothing close to a little girl.

And when she speaks, she is calm, and mature, and completely in control. "Fine." The door clicks again. Tyse walks over to it, pulling it open to check and make sure it's unlocked. Because clearly, she cannot be trusted.

He doesn't leave though, just closes the door again and turns to Anneeta. "What happened to Imogen? What happened to your mother?"

Anneeta looks at me, frowning. There is a slight hesitation, but then she just spits it out. "I ate her. When I was three years old. I ate her."

For a moment these words do not make sense. Because I'm picturing this child—this adorable, big-brown-eyed child with missing front teeth—trying to gnaw on an arm while wearing a pink tutu, brown tights, and a Henley.

It's so ridiculous, I laugh right out loud.

"Clara?" There's worry in Tyse's voice. It's warranted. Because I think I'm losing my fucking mind. "Clara?" He grabs my shoulder and shakes me.

"Right. I'm fine. It's just…" I look at Tyse. "She said she ate her?"

"Not like that ," Anneeta growls. "I ate her spark. That's how I live. It's not my fault. It's like eating adventure bars. It's just food to me."

Suddenly, my dream comes back to me. The one I was having before the knock on the door. I saw them all come here. One by one. "What happened to the others, Anneeta? What happened to Marlowe, and Mabel P., and Lucy, and Mabel S., and Piper, and Brooke? Did you eat them too?"

Anneeta lets out a long sigh. "I didn't know they were your friends. I didn't even know it was wrong. All I knew is that I needed the spark."

"What about Haryet, Anneeta? What happened to Haryet?"

Anneeta shrugs. "I don't know. She didn't come to me like the others."

"The others came to you?" Tyse bends down and places his hands on her shoulders. "Tell the truth now, Anneeta. There are no secrets if we're friends. You can't lie and you can't hide things. We need to know everything."

Anneeta nods. But then she looks up at me. "They just came to me. They were sleeping when they arrived. And it's not even like I had a choice. When I need the spark, I need the spark." She shrugs with her hands.

"You didn't eat me, though. How come?"

"Because I'm not hungry for it. I don't need it yet."

Tyse stands back up and paces the room, rubbing his hands down his face. Both Anneeta and I stay quiet as he does this, but I'm just starting to get impatient when Tyse looks at me. "Pack a bag. We're leaving."

"What?"

" No !" Anneeta squeals again. But this time, there is no spark display. She respects him. Maybe even fears him. Because she has her emotions under control. "You can't go!"

"We have to." Tyse isn't looking at Anneeta. "I didn't tell you last night because we were… having a good night, ya know? You were happy, and you had fun, and I didn't want to spoil it. But they know a Spark Maiden came through."

"It wasn't me!" Anneeta yells. "I swear on myself that I didn't tell them!"

I'm confused for a moment, but then I figure it out and look at Tyse. " She's the god?"

He nods. "She's the god. A new one, I guess. They're trying to grow a new god for the tower and they needed Spark Maidens to get her to mature."

"That's why they kept ringing the bells." I look at Anneeta. "They were feeding you."

"And when you say ‘they,' Clara," Tyse continues, "you understand that the ‘they' is Stayn and all those men who were at the party last night? They let some things slip. They don't know it's you, not yet. But they've been thinking about it all night now. And I've got a nine AM meeting on Monday morning. What do you think he wants to talk to me about? We need to get the fuck out of this city today. Like right now."

"You can't leave!" All of Anneeta's bravery disappears with these words. And part of me understands that she's not a child, she's some kind of god. And she's very in control and not at all confused and conflicted. She knows what she needs—the spark. And she knows the tower is the only place to get it, so she's stuck here.

At least she was, until I showed up.

But she plays this part of innocent child very well.

"Tyse!" Anneeta walks over to him, looking up. He is a tower compared to her. "You don't understand. We are something together." She points to me, then herself, then Tyse. "We are the Looking Glass."

"What?" That's Tyse.

"What?" That's me.

Tyse bends down again, placing both hands on her shoulders. "What do you know about it?"

She looks him in the eyes. "I know everything. I'm a god, remember?"

"Then explain."

"The Looking Glass is a way to see things. It covers all worlds at once. That's where you come in. You're the overlay, Tyse. Because you're the augment."

Anneeta directs her gaze to me. "But the overlay is only visible inside the spark. That's you. You're the spark."

Then she points to herself. "But you have to have a god to interpret the symbols. I'm the only one who can read it. So you see, to have a Looking Glass you need all three of us. Once those men figure out that we're the Looking Glass, they'll come for you. For both of you. Because they will already have me. I'm trapped here. It's much easier to find an augment and a Spark Maiden than it is to grow a god. They will never let you go if they have me. They will always have hope. They will hunt you until the ends of the world and they will never stop."

Tyse and I are both silent. Because we understand this is probably true.

"But if you take me," Anneeta continues, "to the right place, then they will lose all hope and they will give up."

Tyse sneers. "Right place, huh? And where, exactly, is this right place?"

Anneeta smiles at Tyse. "A place you already know. A place with a god who will let you in."

"Delta?" Tyse is shaking his head. "You want us to take you to Delta and give you to my old god?"

Anneeta shrugs. "He's not a little boy. He doesn't eat spark anymore, he makes it. And he will let us in because you belong to him. You'll always belong to him. There is no one in Tau City who could hurt him and that means if we're under his protection, there is no one in Tau City who could hurt us ."

Tyse huffs. "Your plan has a critical flaw in it, little god. You can't leave the tower."

"But I can." Anneeta smiles at me. "All Clara has to do is feed me along the way."