Chapter 30: The City Under Siege

Maya's POV

I stared at myself standing twenty feet away, and my brain totally shut down.

"That's not possible," I whispered.

The other Maya smiled sadly. "Hi, Maya. I know this is confusing."

"Confusing?" I squeaked. "There are two of me! How is there two of me?"

"Because," the other Maya said, walking closer, "I'm you from the scenario where you went back to medieval times with Damien six months ago. I've been living in the past, trying to find a way to save everyone in both time periods."

My heart stopped. "You mean there's a timeline where I already made the choice to go back?"

"Several paths, actually. Maya, every time you make a big choice, reality splits. There's a path where you stayed in the present, one where you went to the past, one where you gave up your magic, one where you became a full-time witch, and hundreds of others."

Damien stepped forward with his sword ready. "How do we know you're really Maya and not some trick?"

The other Maya looked at him with such love and pain that I felt it in my own chest. "Because I know that you have a scar on your left shoulder from when you fell out of a tree when you were seven. And I know that you sing old songs when you think no one is listening. And I know that you're afraid Maya will get hurt because of you, just like everyone else you've ever cared about."

Damien dropped his sword. "You're really her."

"I'm her," the other Maya confirmed. "Just six months older and a lot more tired."

"Wait," I said, my brain finally starting to work again. "If you went back to the past, how are you here now?"

"Because the timeline split caused a weakness in the time barriers. I've been jumping between different versions of this moment, trying to find one where everyone lives."

Marcus stepped forward. "How many timelines have you seen?"

The other Maya's face went dark. "Forty-seven. And Maya, I have to tell you something terrible. In thirty-nine of them, you die trying to save everyone. In six of them, Damien dies. In one of them, Elena dies. And in the last timeline..." She took a shaky breath. "In the last timeline, we save Portland but the magical explosion spreads to other towns. Millions of people die anyway."

I felt like throwing up. "So no matter what I choose, people die?"

"People die," the other Maya said. "But Maya, there's something Grandmother doesn't know. Something I learned by living in the past."

"What?"

"The family magic isn't cursed. It's not bad or destructive by nature. Grandmother has been wrong about everything."

Elena stepped forward. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I've spent six months in medieval times using our magic to help people. I've healed the sick, stopped wars, brought rain to drought areas, and made life better for thousands of people. The magic itself isn't the trouble."

"Then what is?" Marcus asked.

The other Maya looked straight at Grandmother, who was still invisible but we could all feel her presence. "Fear is the problem. Grandmother, you're so afraid of the magic being used for bad things that you never let yourself see all the good things it can do."

Grandmother's voice filled the air around us. "I've seen the good things, Maya. I've also seen them turn bad. Power always corrupts eventually."

"Does it?" the other Maya challenged. "Because in the timeline where I stayed in the past, Damien and I ruled his country together for six months. We had more magical power than any masters in history. Did we become evil tyrants?"

Silence.

"We didn't," the other Maya continued. "We became better people. We learned that real power isn't about ruling others. It's about taking care of them. Grandmother, you could have been the biggest force for good in magical history. Instead, you've become exactly what you were afraid of - someone ready to kill innocent people because you think you know what's best for everyone."

I felt Grandmother's anger like a cold wind. "You foolish child. You've only had power for six months. Wait ten years. Wait fifty years. Wait three hundred years and see how much good you still want to do."

"Maybe the problem isn't the magic," I said, suddenly understanding. "Maybe the trouble is living too long with it. Grandmother, you've been alive for three centuries. Maybe you're just tired and sad and lonely, and that's making you think the worst about everything."

"Don't you dare pity me," Grandmother growled.

That's when something clicked in my brain. "You're not trying to destroy the magic to save people. You're trying to destroy it because you want to die, and you're too afraid to die alone."

The quiet that followed was so complete I could hear car alarms going off in the distance.

Then Grandmother appeared in front of us, and for the first time, she looked old. Really, truly old.

"You don't understand," she whispered. "You can't understand. I've watched everyone I ever loved die. My parents, my friends, my husband, my children's father. Everyone. I've been alone for two hundred years, and I can't take it anymore."

Elena stepped forward. "Mother, you're not alone. Marcus and I are here."

"For now," Grandmother said. "But Elena, you'll grow old and die, and I'll still be here. Marcus will grow old and die, and I'll still be here. Maya will grow old and die, and I'll still be here. I'm tired of being the only one left."

"Then give up the magic that's keeping you alive," Marcus said softly. "You don't have to take everyone else with you."

"I can't," Grandmother sobbed. "I've tried for fifty years to find a way to die, but the magic won't let me. It keeps healing me, keeping me young, keeping me living against my will. The only way to break it is to destroy the entire magical race."

My heart broke for her. I could see it now - not an evil witch, but a woman who had been trapped in sadness and loneliness for centuries.

"There is another way," the other Maya said softly.

"What way?" Grandmother asked desperately.

"You pass the load to someone else. Someone who wants to carry it. Someone who won't be alone."

The other Maya looked at me, and I knew what she was asking.

"Maya," she said, "one of us has to take on Grandmother's eternity to break the spell that's trapping her. But whoever does it will live forever, watching everyone they love grow old and die."

I looked at Damien, my heart breaking. If I took on eternity to save Grandmother and everyone in Portland, I would have to watch Damien age and die while I stayed young forever.

"I'll do it," I whispered.

"No," Damien said instantly. "Maya, I won't let you condemn yourself to that kind of loneliness."

"It's the only way to save everyone."

"There has to be another choice."

That's when the other Maya smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was the saddest smile I'd ever seen.

"There is another choice," she said. "But Damien, you're really not going to like it."

"What choice?" he asked.

The other Maya took a deep breath. "We both take on the fame. Maya and I blend back into one person, and that person lives forever with you."

"How is that possible?" Elena asked.

"Time magic," the other Maya said simply. "Maya, if we join our magical energy from two different timelines, we'll have enough power to make Damien immortal too. We can both live forever together."

My heart leaped. That sounded great. Too perfect.

"What's the catch?" I asked.

The other Maya's smile became even sadder. "The catch is that making someone immortal against their natural lifespan takes a life sacrifice. Maya, to save Damien, Grandmother, and everyone in Portland..."

She paused, and I could see tears in her eyes.

"One of us has to die permanently. Not just in one universe. In all times. Forever."