Chapter 20 · Void Mirror

"Don't touch me." Kane drove his elbow back, but the thing wearing his face caught it before the strike landed.

Its fingers locked around his wrist. Cold shot up his arm. Not skin-cold. Grave-cold. The kind that crawled under bone and pulled at the black mark wrapped around his soul.

The mirror behind him showed a different Kane.

That Kane was on his knees, hands braced against cracked glass, while a silver thread tore out of his chest and disappeared into the reflection.

"Let go," Kane snapped.

The other Kane smiled. "You said that the last time you lost."

Kane twisted hard. The thing matched him move for move, like it had stolen the answer before he asked the question.

His shoulder slammed against the mirror.

Pain burst across his back. The glass did not crack. It flexed beneath his coat like something breathing.

"You know what happens next," the reflection said. "You run. You bargain. You hand over another piece. Then you tell yourself it was the smart play."

"You're not me."

"No?" The reflection leaned close. Its breath fogged the glass between them.