crackled and a tiny spark flew from his skin. Frowning, she pulled her hand back.
"I didn't hit your friend. She fell," Gael said. "It's freezing out here. Come on, let me take you home." Gael reached for me and yanked me up by my arm, sending a pang of pain through my already aching body. Dragging me behind him, he took a few slow steps toward her, his blade still lingering near my neck. Who was the girl? Where did she come from? And most importantly, why did she look like me? I couldn't make any sense of the whole situation, and yet I could tell something wasn't right. Gael wasn't here to help me—or her. Not when he wielded a knife. I opened my mouth to warn her when she turned her gaze toward me, and I saw something there. A flicker, like that of a television set with bad reception. For a fragment of a second, the girl's face seemed to shift, only to turn back into my spitting image. Lost for words, I closed my mouth again and remained silent.
"You're cold," Gael said. "My car's nearby. I'll drive you back to the house."
"Thank you," she whispered. "It's freezing out here." Her gaze moved from Gael to the knife in his hand, hesitating again.
"You're coming with us," Gael whispered to me. "We wouldn't want you to freeze to death." The girl didn't comment. "You lead the way," Gael said to her. She nodded grimly and started walking.
Gael's hand clasped around my elbow as he guided me forward. His other hand still held on to his knife, knuckles turned white. Walking back to the house would've been the better choice instead of trekking through the woods, and yet Gael seemed to move us away from it. The farther we trekked, the more I knew we were in danger, but could two women take out a guy with a knife? I had never been particularly strong and she didn't look like a bodybuilder either. I knew if I ran he'd catch me in a heartbeat, what with my spinning head and my frozen body that could barely move. Time to come up with a plan, and fast, before something bad happened. I peered around me for a weapon that I could use. Maybe a large stone or a thick branch to knock him over the head with. If I could swing a guitar, I sure could swing a branch to take down a guy.
"Over here." Gael pointed to a large black vehicle that blended into the night. A gust of wind blew the scent of incense and lavender into my face. I followed Gael down the incline and stopped in my tracks. Behind the vehicle was a large circle with stones set up to mark the edges. In the middle, branches and dried herbs formed a large nest, like that of a bird.
"What the—" My voice caught in my throat as the guy knocked me to the ground, then grabbed hold of my long hair and dragged me to the middle of the circle. I let out a shriek and tried to grab hold of his wrist to push him away.
"Did you really think I'd fall for your cheap trick, witch? All those months playing your friend weren't for nothing," he hissed as he pushed me to the ground. Tiny gravel cut through my PJs and grazed my skin. I tried to crawl away but he grabbed hold of my leg and pulled me back in, twisting my ankle in the process. It was the same one I twisted while running away from Devon not long ago. I cried out in pain as tears filled my eyes.
"Hey, I'm Sofia. Let her go," the girl shouted.
"If you're Sofia, why don't you enter the circle?" Gael's tone betrayed his arrogance. Anger rose inside me, making me want to slap that grin from his face. The girl lunged forward only to fall back as soon as she hit the invisible barrier around the circle. Gael laughed. "No? Didn't think so. Because only the real witch could enter. Whatever you are, you're no match for me."
The girl growled, and for a moment her face began to flicker again as she lunged forward, throwing herself against the invisible shield around the circle, only to be thrown back. I could see the frustration on her face, the frown lines on her forehead, the rage in her eyes. She kept circling the invisible shield, throwing herself against