Echo Soul Seekers

on the Day of the Dead, when she’s forced to pay her respects to the Bone Keeper. And I think we both know Leandro will forgive me well before then. He’s always favored me. Has plenty to learn from me, whether he wants to admit it or not. In the end, this is no more than a speed bump—my life remains right on course. While yours, on the other hand, is anything but.” He gestures toward my bleeding, wounded neck. “You know that’s going to leave a scar, right? Yet another way they’ll be able to tell us apart. When you think about it, it’s really quite funny—the more you tried to become like me, the more you set yourself apart. If anyone failed tonight, brother, it’s you .”
    I allow my eyes to drift closed, relishing the reprieve. But it’s only a second later when they’re open again, and I’m wiping my bloodied hands over my jeans. Gazing around a world returning to its former beauty, knowing it’s Daire’s doing.
    The legacy she left us.
    The least I can do is make sure it continues.
    Cade’s right.
    He’s not suffering. Has never known a single moment of it.
    I’m the one who lost everything.
    Took a risk by gambling my soul—only to lose it along with everything else that meant something to me.
    But that doesn’t mean I can’t turn it around—make things right once again.
    That doesn’t mean I can’t make one last bid at redemption.
    I heave a shallow, ragged breath, hoping it’ll fortify enough to sustain me. Allow me to do what’s most needed.
    Then I stare at the spot near Cade’s feet—willing it to me, but it seems my magick has abandoned me.
    Left with no choice, I make the leap and dive toward him. Watching as he dances out of my reach. Wrongly assuming I’m diving after him.
    But I’m not.
    Not by a long shot.
    There’s only one way to make up for what I’ve done.
    Only one way to remedy all the wretchedness and ruin the Richters have wrought.
    I reach for Daire’s athame—the one Cade used against her, still wet with her blood—and grasp hold of the hilt.
    Only one way to end this—and I’m the only one willing to do it.
    I raise the blade high, my gaze never once leaving Cade’s as I say, “Turns out, you were right all along. We’re connected in ways I never would’ve imagined.”
    Reveling in the mix of horror and understanding that crosses his face.
    Frantically lunging, though the move comes too late.
    I’ve already swung the knife down.
    Already jammed it straight into my gut.
    The act scored by the sound of Cade screaming—Coyote yelping as though I struck him.
    My vision blurred by a great spray of blood.
    My blood. Cade’s blood. It’s one and the same.
    Watching as my brother—my twin—the one I entered the world with, crumples to the ground, as I collapse right beside him.
    They say when you die your whole life flashes before you—but all I can see are visions of Daire.
    Daire laughing.
    Smiling.
    Daire lying beside me—cheeks flushed, looking at me with a gaze filled with love.
    My fingers curl around the small golden key, as my eyes slide shut, determined to take the images with me.
    Cade and I exiting same as we entered—together, yet alone.

 
    The Soul Seeker Series Continues with
    mystic
    Coming May 2013

 
also by alyson noël
    Everlasting
    Night Star
    Dark Flame
    Shadowland
    Blue Moon
    Evermore
    Dreamland
    Whisper
    Shimmer
    Radiance
    Cruel Summer
    Saving Zoë
    Kiss & Blog
    Fly Me to the Moon
    Laguna Cove
    Art Geeks and Prom Queens
    Faking 19
    Fated

 
    About the Author

    ALYSON NOËL is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Immortals series, the Riley Bloom series, and seven previous novels for St. Martin’s Press. She lives in Laguna Beach, California, where she is at work on her next book. Visit her on the Web at www.alysonnoel.com .

 
    This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
    ECHO. Copyright © 2012 by Alyson Noël, LLC. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
    www.stmartins.com
    Cover design by Elsie Lyons
    Cover photographs: girl © Herman Estevez; cave © Glen Allison/Getty Images; snow © gigello and ARENA Creative/Shutterstock; texture © stock09/Shutterstock
    ISBN 978-0-312-66487-9 (hardcover)
    ISBN 978-0-312-57566-3 (trade paperback)
    ISBN 978-1-250-01578-5 (e-book)
    First Edition: November 2012