Read Eternity's Wheel for Free Online

unknowingly. I’d led them to her.
    Simply put, I had ruined her life.
    â€œShut up! You’re lying. Why would they be after me? They started coming after you showed up in my house that day. They must be after you!”
    â€œThey were, but now they’re after us . You have to trust me. Look, look at me! We could be twins!”
    â€œYou’re just one of them, trying to . . . to do whatever weird magic crap they do, to take my place!”
    â€œNo, Josephine, listen!” I told her my full name, my birthday, my mother’s and father’s names and birthdays. I told her where I went to elementary school and what my favorite dessert was. From the look on her face, I could tell everything I said was true for her, too. “If I was trying to take your place, first of all, why would I be a boy , and second, why wouldn’t I be living your life right now? You’re obviously not. You haven’t even been home, have you?”
    â€œNot in months,” she admitted, though the gun was still pointed at me.
    â€œSo why would I come find you?”
    â€œTo lead them to me,” she said, but she sounded less certain.
    â€œNo,” I said, as forcefully as I dared. “I’m trying to help you. I am you, you from a different world. And you are me, from this world.”
    â€œAnd those things?” she asked.
    â€œThose are the bad guys,” I said. “I know it’s a simple explanation, but we don’t have time to get into it. I promise I’ll explain on the way, but we can’t stay here. They can sense us, and they’ll find us eventually. You have to trust me.”
    She just looked at me, indecision plain on her face. I could almost read every thought as it went through her mind; after all, I knew what I’d be thinking, if I were in her shoes. I knew what I had thought, when all of this had first happened to me.
    â€œThe alternative is staying here, on your own,” I said. “Not being able to go home, not being able to trust anyone . I promise, you can trust me.”
    Her lips twitched, twisting into something halfway between a snarl and a grimace. Her chin trembled, just for a second, and she started to lower the gun.
    I heard a faint, cheerful pop behind me, and Josephine’s eyes widened. So did mine, as I realized what was going to happen. I shouted, “No, wait!” as she raised her gun and fired, the sound loud enough to temporarily deafen us both.
    I darted forward, not even turning to see if Hue was okay.Josephine was taking aim again. I grabbed her wrist, turning it and jabbing my thumb into the soft tissue below her scaphoid. She dropped the gun, her other hand clenching to a fist, which she swung clumsily at me. She didn’t have a quarter of the training I did. I had her in a hold immediately, despite her struggling.
    She may not have had my training, but she was definitely used to fighting for her life. She brought a knee up, though not into my groin as I would have expected. Instead, she tried to bring her foot down hard on my instep. I barely avoided it, tightening my grip on her as I looked for Hue.
    The little mudluff was bobbing up and down in the air, alternating between a spooked shade of white and a confused blue-gray.
    â€œHue, are you okay?” I asked, more than a little anxious. I’d once seen him take a laser bolt and come out mostly unscathed, but . . .
    â€œI knew you were one of them,” Josephine spat, still struggling.
    â€œI’m not, and neither is Hue. He’s a friend of mine, and you almost shot him.” The mudluff was spinning slowly, as though to prove to me that he hadn’t been hit. I didn’t see any marks or discolorations on his surface, which was a small blessing.
    â€œHe looks like a demented balloon,” she said. “And I’ve seen weirder from those . . . other things. How was I supposedto know he was a friend of yours? I’m still not sure