Page 3 of Lucifer's Mirror

In the dim glow from the nearby streetlights, I see another shiver run through Josh, and I peel off my jacket and wrap it around his shoulders. He snuggles into it, then smiles up at me as though I’m the center of his world. It’s amazing how fast his moods change.

“You’re the best sister ever, Amber.”

I bite my lip. “I’m not your sister.”

His face falls, and guilt stabs at my heart. But he has to understand. I have a place at a college in London, three hundred miles away, and a room in the dorms. A whole new life. And maybe a chance to find out something about my old one. After all, I was found in London three and a half years ago. Before that—nothing. My past is a big gaping void of nothingness. I’m hoping there’s someone out there who remembers me. Though I know the police searched for anyone who might know anything about me. Nothing.

How could that be?

How come nobody missed me? Or came looking for me? Or… These are the questions that have haunted me since I regained consciousness in a hospital in North London.

“You could be my sister if you wanted to,” Josh whispers.

I can’t come up with an answer for that, so I dig into my bag and hand him the chocolate bar I bought for him on the way home. He takes it, smiling again. The roof is damp, but so am I, and we both sit on the edge and dangle our legs over while he eats the chocolate.

A soft meow comes from behind me, and I turn my head as a huge marmalade cat stalks across the garage roof. He rubs himself against me, and a purr rumbles through his whole body. “Hey, handsome,” I murmur, running my fingers through his soft fur. I’ve always had an affinity for animals. They are drawn to me. It’s one of the reasons Pete calls me a freak. There was an incident with a rat… It didn’t end well.

The cat nudges me with his head. I don’t know where he lives, but he showed up a few weeks ago. I’ll be sorry to leave him behind as well. He settles beside me and washes his paws.

“Would you let me go with you if I was nineteen like you?” Josh asks.

“I can’t, Josh.” I don’t want to give him any false hope. “I don’t have anywhere for us to live, and there’s no way they’d let you stay with me.”

“Why? You’re much nicer than Lissa. Why wouldn’t they?”

“It’s just not the way the world works.”

“The world sucks.” He sighs and nibbles some more chocolate. “Is it because you’re going to look for your real family? That’s what Zayne says. And that I shouldn’t pester you because your real family is way more important to you than we are.”

That sounds like Zayne. He’s pissed off I’m leaving. “Not more important. I just want…” I hesitate. I just want to know who I am. Where I came from. Why no one wanted me enough to come looking. I was sixteen—or so the doctors guessed. How could a sixteen-year-old vanish and no one care enough to… My throat closes up a little.

Zayne says I’m being selfish and self-obsessed and… But it’s more than that. Something deep inside me tells me I have to go back. That there’s something I need to do. And maybe once I’ve done it, the nightmares that plague my sleep will finally leave me alone. I don’t remember them, but I often wake up screaming, so I know they’re bad. Then I can come back and make it up to Josh. And Zayne. Be the sister to them that, deep down, I want to be.

Josh’s hand touches my thigh, smearing my faded jeans with chocolate. “I’m sorry, Amber. I didn’t mean to make you sad.” He pats my leg. “Anyway, it’s exciting not knowing who you are. I bet you’re a princess. You’re as pretty as a princess.”

I’ve never thought of myself as pretty. My hair is black, my skin is olive, my emerald-green eyes are slightly tilted, my mouth is too wide, my chin is too pointy. There’s mixed heritage there, but I have no clue what. Zayne calls me a mongrel, but I’m fond of mongrels, so that never bothered me.

Below us, something rustles in the shadows.

I jump, then swallow as I stare down into the darkness.

Chapter 2

Crashing into Trouble

“Whatareyoutwodeadbeats doing up there?” Zayne calls up to us.

The tension seeps out of me. “I wish you wouldn’t creep up on me like that,” I say.

For such a big guy—he’s around six two and broad at the shoulder—Zayne moves really quietly. He’s dressed in his usual uniform of faded jeans, black T-shirt, and black leather jacket. His overlong mahogany brown hair falls over his silver eyes, and he swipes it out of the way. Beside me, my cat friend hisses and leaps to the ground, disappearing into the undergrowth. He tolerates Josh but hates Zayne.

“I heard that creepy Pete is back,” Zayne says.

“Yeah.” Zayne might have moved out, but he still checks up on us.

“He hit Lissa,” Josh chimes in. “And she fell down, and he threw a bottle at me, then Amber rescued me and gave me chocolate and…”

Zayne hauls himself up on the roof and sinks down beside me. “Hey, buddy, I hope you’re not trying to steal my girl.”