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“We both know you were the mastermind. Virginia was only a pawn in your scheme,” I shouted. We were on the edge of a large subdivision. Maybe if I screamed loud enough one of the neighbors would hear and come to my rescue.

“I bet you never even told her why you wanted Merlin out of the picture,” I muttered when Dash continued to stare down at her claws without even acknowledging my precious accusation.

“Virginia had her own silly reasons for what she did. She didn’t need to know mine.”

“Tell me,” I demanded, kicking my feet out before me to appear like more of a threat. “I deserve to know.”

“You deserve nothing!” Dash hissed. “And you will get nothing except what’s coming to you!”

With that, she leaped toward me. Rather than unleashing a storm of magic, she sliced a claw against my cheek. I instantly forgot the dull ache in my shoulders in favor of the sharp sting that took over. I screamed out in pain, but the movement in my facial muscles only made it hurt that much more. A drop of fresh blood rolled down my cheek and fell onto my shirt, leaving an ugly red stain.

Dash ignored my misery as she floated back to the ground and studied her blood-tipped claws, green eyes wide with wonder.“Huh.Well, that explains a few things.”

“What things? What’s going on? Why are you doing this to me?” I cowered against the tree, which seemed to please the evil black cat.

She paced back and forth for a moment before turning toward me once again.“My blabbermouth assistant already told you more than you need to know, but I’ll let you in on one last little piece of knowledge.”

Dash looked back over her shoulder at Virginia, who was still trapped in soundless torment.“Look at her. She’s currently living her worst nightmare.”

And I knew from the frozen mask of terror on Virginia’s face that Dash was being truthful with me now.

I shuddered, hating that the truth was scarier than a lie. Why else would Dash have revealed this to me?“What is it?” I sputtered, groping for words, willing to do anything to keep the conversation going. “Spiders? Clowns? Great White Sharks?”

Dash smiled.“That’s the beauty of illusion magic. I don’t need to know. The magic finds the fears, the desires, finds whatever I need and latches right onto it. Virginia was a fool, but it was even easier to convince her to fall in line when my magic probed her heart and found what I needed.”

“You’re an illusion witch?” I gasped. I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but it certainly sounded scary.

Dash smiled at me again.“The very best that ever lived.”

“I know why Virginia wanted to get rid of Merlin, but why you?” Strangely, I was beginning to wish that Dash would turn back into the ornery policewoman. This new feline version was much, much worse.

She shook her head.“Ah, ah, ah! I have no need to reveal my plot to the likes of you. I only told you about Virginia so you’d know what was about to happen to you and fear it all the more.”

I met her eye, unwilling to cower in fear any longer.“You’ll never get away with—”

But Dash cut me off by loudly clicking her tongue twice. As soon as she did, the whole world melted away, leaving me trapped in a sea of endless black.

Noooooooo!

23

“Hello?” I cried into the echoing void, but no one answered. Unnerved, I stumbled forward, unable to feel the ground over which my feet moved. I couldn’t feel anything, not even the cool metal which had previously bound my wrists.

A pinprick of light appeared on the horizon, and I rushed toward it, desperate to get out of this dark place. I still couldn’t bring my hands forward despite not being able to feel the cuffs on my skin, which resulted in my waddling more than jogging toward my destination.

As I moved closer, the tiny light pulsed and expanded, and out stepped Merlin in all his Maine Coon glory. Instead of normal shining green, his eyes were deep black, lifeless, soulless.

“I didn’t choose you. I got stuck with you,” he sneered, addressing my secret fear head-on.

“No, no. It’s not true,” I said, recalling our earlier conversation. I hadn’t been his initial choice, but he was very happy that we’d ended up together.

“You’re lying,” I bit out.

And with that, the false Merlin burst into a puff of smoke and floated off into the darkness.

“You were an illusion,” I told myself. “Just an illusion.”

I’d called the imposter cat on his lie and he’d left me alone. I just had to remember to find the truth. Hopefully it would set me free from this awful place.

Another pale flicker of illumination appeared to the distant right, so I stepped toward it, bracing myself for what I might find there.

A tall man’s silhouette appeared. I couldn’t make out his features but recognized him as soon as he spoke.Harold.

“You may not have killed me, but it’s your fault I’m dead,” he told me with great anger.

What could I say to that? I couldn’t deny the part I’d played. This accusation was perfectly true.

Harold kept going, feeding my guilt, making it grow bigger and bigger.