The Eternal Garden by Jordanna Jade

Author:Jordanna Jade [Jade, Jordanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-12T22:00:00+00:00

23

In the marshlands of Aquiline was the body of a dead girl. Her eyes were wide open, staring straight up at the sun where it hung in the middle of the sky. They were glassy and cold, empty and eerie. It was the first day of summer, and Emily Robertson looked exactly as she did in Erica’s worst dreams.

Her imagination had run wild after her sister’s disappearance. Everyone around her said that Emily had run away, that she’d always been a rebellious spirit and she would never have been satisfied with life in the city. It was that thought that Erica’s parents had comforted themselves with, though she’d known better. Emily hated being alone, it was why she grew so many of her own plants, why she surrounded herself with legions of friends. She never would have run away unless someone else was accompanying her, and every one of her friends and plants had been accounted for.

Something terrible had happened to her. Erica knew that better than anyone.

She’d opened her eyes to the marshlands after jumping into the split, and after realising Wren wasn’t with her, had wandered it in search of him. She hadn’t found him, but she had found Emily—which could only mean one thing.

The split was taunting her.

Kneeling beside the body, she felt hollow as she looked upon her sister. There was something not quite right about the way Emily looked. It had been ten years since Erica had last seen her, and age had dulled the memory of her face. Her features were undefined and blurred, like a faded photograph. If Erica looked quickly, she could be fooled, but closer inspection made it obvious. The blue of her eyes was muddied, the shape of her nose generic, her splayed hair all different tones of brown.

“I’m sorry, Emi.” she said to the body. “I’ve grown up though. This isn’t my biggest fear anymore. You should try again.”

The body twitched. Emily’s eyes blinked. Erica stood back as she rose like a puppet, jerky, unnatural. Her head remained tilted at an angle.

“It’s not enough to realise that this isn’t real.” she said. “You need to face up to the truth, or I’ll keep you forever.”

That was the trick to Voidra splits. Reading from their visitor’s memories, they stole from them to paint over their naturally blank canvases. Break the spell, and they would grant their power to the human who had succeeded. Fall victim, and they would never let go. They were clingy things, and Erica supposed it made sense. When they were empty to begin with, of course they desired whatever would give them life.

She smiled at the shambling form of her sister. “I’ve accepted that I’ll never know what happened to Emily. I’ve accepted that she might be dead, and that if she is, I’ll never find out. Even if she isn’t, I can’t chase her anyway. I gave up that right for my power. Is that enough for you, split?”

Emily tilted her head to the opposite side.

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