GIRL TALK

I walked through the Center hallways, blinking against the white. The place was empty. I kept expecting to find bodies, but it was pristine, abandoned. I stood in front of my unit, then walked through the door without it opening. That was strange.

She was already there, sitting on my purple couch. “There you are.” She smiled pleasantly at me. We definitely had the same eyes, but her lips were a little wider than mine. She looked like she was a few inches taller, too.

“Why aren't you on fire anymore?” I asked. “And, hey, that's mine!” She was wearing the zebra print dress.

“Oh, chill out.” She rolled her eyes.

“Where's the fire?” I looked down at my wrist--mine was gone, too.

“It's right there.” She gestured toward the corner, where the liquid flames pulsed and shimmered, spherical with constantly shifting edges. I held out my hand toward them. For the first time I realized they were beautiful. I wanted them.

“You can't get them yet,” she said. “Have a seat.”

I sat down on the far end of the couch, narrowing my eyes. I knew I should be scared of her. I wasn't. “What is this?”

“A dream, you dork.”

“Oh.” I frowned. Weird. “Are you going to kill me?”

“I might have earlier, by accident. Sometimes I get carried away.” She flashed an impish grin. “It's kind of hard not to get lost in the rush. But now that I know who you are, I would never.”

“Who are you?”

“Oh, sorry. I'm Vivian.”

“You killed my best friend. I thought I'd have nightmares.”

She shrugged. “That wouldn't be very nice of me, coming in here and scaring you. I just want to talk. I've been trying to get through to you for a while now.”

“So, wait, you're really here? Where am I?” What had Lend's dad given me in those pain pills?

“You don't know anything, do you? We share a soul now, so I thought I'd drop in, introduce myself properly.”

“What do you mean we share a soul?” I glared at her. “I don't want to share anything with you; I've got my own soul!”

“Seriously, chill out. You're so tense. We share a soul, not your soul. I borrowed some from Reth when he brought me here; he had a ton in his hand, which was weird; usually you can only pull from the chest. I wanted to see if I could drain him--I've never done a faerie before, they won't let me touch them--but he pulled away before I could get much. Man, that was a nice trip.”

“Wait, he gave you some of the fire stuff too? I hate it! It burns like crazy!”

“You must be doing it wrong. It's the greatest feeling ever.”

I shook my head. We were getting off topic. “What are you?”

“Tsk-​tsk, so rude. We're the same thing.”

“We are not the same!” She was getting on my nerves. Even in my dreams no one would give me a straight answer.

“Don't be stupid, Evie. If I'd known you would be so pissy, I wouldn't have come. I guess you don't want answers after all.”

I knew I should be sad or angrier, but my emotions seemed removed. The fire in the corner kept distracting me. I wanted to watch the flames, touch them. It was all I could do to keep my eyes on Vivian. “I don't want anything from you. You killed my best friend, remember?”

“No, not really. Who was it?”

“The mermaid.”

“Oh.” She looked puzzled. “She was your friend?”

“Yeah.” My eyes drifted to the corner. They weren't like flames, exactly, more golden and wavering. Almost like this great shade of nail polish I had once. But on fire. That didn't make any sense. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind.

Vivian shrugged. “Sorry. But I was doing her a favor.”

“A favor?” I couldn't look away from the corner now; I didn't want to.

“Giving her rest. Some peace. Don't you think the weight of all those millennia would be heavy? Besides, those things aren't supposed to be here. I'm just letting them go. Releasing them, if you will.”

“Oh,” I murmured distractedly.

“It's what we're supposed to do, you know,” she prodded.

“Oh?”

“It would be more fun if we were together. Could be a sisters' thing.”

I stood up. I had to touch it, see what it felt like.

“You can't have them yet.” She sounded annoyed. “Besides, those are mine. We'll get you some of your very own, soon. And then you won't be cold or alone. Aren't you tired of being cold and alone?”

I could touch it now, if I just reached out my hand. “What is it?” I lifted my hand and, knowing I would get burned but not caring, plunged it inside.

The fire scattered, swirling around and past me. I turned to Vivian. She was the glowing, brilliant figure again. “Told you. You're empty. I'll help fill you.”

I nodded, tears in my eyes. I wanted that. I didn't want to be empty anymore. Vivian walked closer to me, all heat and light, then cocked her head. “You've got to go. I'll talk to you soon.” I could feel her smiling underneath the flames, and then everything went dark and cold again.