FOURTEEN

Doppelgangers

Mimi kicked off her sandals as she wandered through the party, liking the feel of sand on her bare feet. She didn’t know where Oliver had disappeared to, and thought that she should start looking for him soon, in case he had gotten into some trouble. As far as she could tell, they had arrived at a perfectly pleasant and ordinary New England wedding. It was a strange venue for their quest, but when she noticed a certain dark-haired gentleman dressed in a beautifully tailored linen suit, making his way to her side, she suddenly understood what this was all about.

“Mimi,” the man said, with a rougish smile she remembered so well.

For a moment her heart leapt with joy to see him—her love come back to her—but it was soon extinguished when she looked into his eyes. “I’m not a fool. I know what this is.

You’re not him,” she said flatly. Her words were stronger than her conviction, however, for it was a good imitation. The boy standing next to her had Kingsley’s swoop of dark hair and dark eyes with the mischievous sparkle. He even smelled like Kingsley—like cigarettes and whiskey, burnt sugar and coffee—and the combination made Mimi’s heart beat a little faster. Seeing this double was painful. It only reminded her how long it had been since she had seen the real Kingsley.

How long it had been since he had held her in his strong arms.

How long it had been since he had teased and cajoled her into a smile.

“How do you know? You came down here to get me back.

Well, here I am,” he said with that familiar, flirtatious grin.

“How are you?”

“I’m from here, remember? This isn’t going to play with me.”

“Speaking of play, I know how much you loved our little games,” he said, taking her hand and rubbing her palm. When he touched her, she had a flash of memory—of a bathrobe falling to the floor, and his fangs on her neck… of his body, lean and hard against her.

She shook her head. “I didn’t come down here for some doppelganger,” she snarled.

Not-Kingsley winked at Mimi. “Suit yourself. But you’re not going to be able to keep going downward without your friend. I’m pretty sure we’ve claimed him,” he said, motioning to the terrace, where Oliver was kissing the girl who wasn’t Schuyler.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake! This has gone far enough!” Mimi tossed her champagne glass to the ground and stomped over to give her Conduit a piece of her mind.

“Oliver Hazard-Perry!” she yelled, feeling embarrassed for him. Oliver and the wraith were seated on a lounge chair, wrapped up in a tight embrace, and the heated action had almost reached the “get a room” stage. If Mimi didn’t know better, she would have sworn the wraith was about to stick her fangs in Oliver’s neck. “We need to move on, bud,” she said, shaking him.

Oliver opened his eyes. He looked drugged and dazed, as if Mimi had woken him from a wonderful dream.

He shook his head slowly. “I can’t leave. I’m getting married today.”

“That girl isn’t who you think she is. You know that. I know you do. You’re not an idiot,” Mimi snapped.

“She has no idea what she’s talking about. She never did,”

Not-Schuyler said, with a contemptuous toss of her head.

“Stay here and grow old with me, Ollie. Just like we always talked about.”

“Let him go, siren,” Mimi said.

“Don’t listen to this bitch. I know you hate her. We’ve always hated her.”

Oliver sighed heavily and pushed her away. “No. We didn’t. We never hated Mimi. We might have been a bit afraid of her, or intimidated by her, and I know you pitied her at the last. But we never hated her.” He turned to Mimi. “We didn’t hate you, Mimi. Schuyler doesn’t hate you.”

Mimi nodded as she helped him off the chaise. “I know.

That’s why I provoked it. I thought it would help if this thing said something Schuyler would never say. Come on.”

The doppelganger glared at Oliver. “You dare defy the desires of a siren?”

“Yes,” he said, finding his voice.

The siren screeched her disapproval and dug her claws in-to his arm.

“RELEASE HIM!” Mimi roared, as Oliver tried to pull away, blanching at the sight of his beloved’s face morphing in-to a harridan’s mask.

The siren shrieked in anger.

Mimi removed the needle from her bra so it turned into her sword, and she swung at the harpy. The blade glinted with silver sparks.

The siren hissed and spat acid, but recoiled at the weapon as Mimi thrust it forward. Mimi held the blade at the creature’s throat, and finally it dropped its hold on Oliver, disappearing into silver flame. In a blink, the skies overhead turned black, and booming thunder roared in the distance.

Lightning cracked, and rain began to fall in stinging shards.

The illusion had been broken, melting into the shadows once again.

Oliver and Mimi walked quickly through the scattering crowd back to where the mustang was parked by the entrance.

Mimi rolled up the roof hurriedly before they were drenched.

“You all right? I know it’s a hard one,” Mimi said as she pulled out of the lot. This was only the first test, the first temptation. She knew the path would be difficult, and that Helda would not let go of Kingsley’s soul so easily.

Oliver rubbed his arm where the creature’s claws had dug into his skin. He was beginning to realize that he might have bitten off more than he could chew with this little adventure into the underworld. But it was with relief that he saw they were wearing their old clothes again. The hideous wedding mirage was truly over. “Where were you?”

“They tried to tempt me with some fake version of Kingsley.”

“Why was it so easy for you to walk away from him while I couldn’t?”

Mimi thought about it. “I was… born here. Angels of Darkness were made from the clay that made the underworld.

So I knew it was just a fake. I know their tricks, which gave me an advantage.” There were other signs, too, she thought. The real Kingsley was always unshaven, and the one at the wedding had skin that was smooth and soft to the touch. Too soft.

Kingsley was a glittering knife with a diamond edge, and his skin was rough like sandpaper. Even so, resisting the siren had not been as easy as she made it seem, remembering that when she had first spotted the doppelganger under the trees, she had been convinced that her love had returned to her at last.

“I’m sorry,” Oliver said thickly. “I didn’t know where I was for a moment. It won’t happen again.”

“Good, because you sure as hell don’t want to get stuck down here. Besides, she’s not worth it, you know. She left you,” Mimi said. She hadn’t meant it unkindly; she was only stating a fact. Truly, Schuyler and Jack deserved each other.

They were both disloyal and worthless.

Oliver decided to ignore the dis, and changed the subject.

“What would have happened?” he asked. “If I’d stayed with that… thing.”

“I’m not sure, but it wouldn’t have been pretty.”

Oliver could imagine it. He would have married the siren under the belief that he was living a real life with Schuyler by his side. But little by little, the illusion would fade—not in one quick shot like today, but slowly, over time, the wraith would tire of the charade, and the mask would begin to slip. He would discover he was bound to a harpy, to a monster, that he had shackled himself to a soulless creature who would taunt him day and night, mock him for his doomed love. Thank god Mimi had interrupted when she did.

Besides, he did not want to think of Schuyler in that way.

He did not want to admit that even if he had been cured of the familiar’s kiss, he still loved her. He had loved her before she’d taken his blood, and so that love would always be part of him, whether he was her familiar or not. He strove to hold on to the memory of his happiness for his friend at her bonding, when he had felt strong and brave and generous. He had been able to be truly happy for her then, and the doppelganger had taken that feeling away from him. He wasn’t proud of himself, and he hated himself for succumbing to his dark fantasies. He wasn’t that guy. He had given Schuyler away, had shaken Jack’s hand. Oliver felt as if he had betrayed everyone by giving in to his deepest and most secret desire. Worse, he had betrayed himself. He was better than that.

“You don’t have to apologize or explain,” Mimi said gently. “That test, what you just went through… it was cruel.”

She tried not to think too hard about it, especially since she planned to leave him down here, which meant he was doomed to live exactly that sort of misery for all eternity.

“It doesn’t matter now,” he said, shrugging. “Let’s just find Kingsley and get out of here. Hell isn’t as fun as I thought.

Let’s get this over with.”