Shadow Play 5

by Vega Lizzie

  While Karly held the phone, Olivia slowly moved her fingers through a series of basic initiation sequences until a tiny ripple of energy pulsed across her fingers.

  Karly gasped as the ripple grew and then changed into a small rectangle of orange tinged light, “What’s it used for?” Olivia looked up catching Karly’s eye with a smile, “A larger version will act as a protection shield.” She hesitated, “It’s to keep you safe.’ Her eyes moved back to her phone, “Chloe, get the idea of…like a Viking battle shield in your head and practice this over and over, even if it doesn’t work for a while. If and when it starts happening, the colors may change to a green or then maybe blue.”

  She looked at Karly again, “That means it’s getting stronger, you’re choosing to get stronger and the shield will match your intentions.” The small panel flared, then split into a dozen more only to rise over Olivia’s hand and create an arching canopy of light over the two of them.

  Karly started to snicker, and Olivia called her on it, “Don’t tease me, I’m not much of a teacher.”

  “I would never tease you,” she said blushing, “but you sound just like your mom. It runs in the family.” She looked up at the lights as they faded, “So pretty.”

  Both girls laughed and Karly had to grab her wrist to steady her hands while filming. Olivia repeated the sequence over and over and they closed with both girls in the frame and a long distance greeting to Chloe. “Bye for now, See you soon.”

  Karly was dumbstruck when they were finished, and Olivia snickered as she saw her friend moving her fingers back and forth repeating what she had just seen.

  “You’re sure this is okay?” Karly asked as she stared down at her hands. Even though nothing appeared at her fingertips, she was excited. Olivia smiled softly, “Yeah, we like having you around. You might have a to practice a bunch.”

  That night, with her mother’s permission, Olivia sent a text and a copy of the video to Chloe. After the first few returned texts from Chloe, Terra and Shannon excused themselves with a suggestion that Olivia not stay up all night on the phone with her new friend in Montana.

  Closing the door to their bedroom, Terra shared Shannon’s smile, “Did you see the look on Karly’s face? Oh my God, so cute. I’ll have to ask her what colors Ollie was projecting.”

  “They are good friends, Terra.” Shannon winked, gently softening Terra’s enthusiasm, “and that’s enough.”

  “You’re choosing to get stronger,” Terra repeated Olivia’s words, “She does sound like you. Just think what she’ll be like when she’s our age.”

  Chapter 38

  The late morning sun gleamed off the wings of the jet as it rolled to a stop at the Helena terminal. Shannon and Terra were quick to call Chloe. After several unanswered texts and a second, then third call going to voicemail, Shannon could hear the anxiety rising in Terra’s voice as they drove from the airport, “Drive a little faster, Shan. It’s not like her to have not sent like four of five texts by now. She was so excited last night on the phone.”

  Shannon was quick to calm Terra’s fear, “I know. Maybe she’s super busy at work.” The minute she said it, she rolled her eyes, “so, did that sound as stupid to you as it did to me?” The comment was meant as distraction as Shannon looked in the rear-view mirror of their rental car.

  Terra continued to stare out the car window, “Busy? A big run on what, animal husbandry books? I doubt it. Can you go faster?”

  Walking up to the school library, Shannon and Terra attempted a playful mood. “Not gonna lie, there are some pretty students around here. We’re just young enough not to be thought of as creepers.”

  “But that’s creepy all by itself,” Shannon snickered, “but it’s good that we have similar tastes should we ever…shhh, quiet now, Chloe’ll freak out.”

  “Not as much as I already have,” Terra agreed, “Uh-oh, she’s not at her desk. It’s getting close to lunch.”

  Just then, the second librarian, looked up to see both Terra and Shannon approaching the desk. At first, she smiled, then looked behind them, “Where’s Chloe?” she asked with a quick grin, “she texted in this morning and said you’d arrived early. I figured she be with you.”

  Terra tried to cover her reaction and it came out as a pained grimace, “We ran late…sure, she’s at home…oops.”

  “Probably getting all ready for a big day,” Shannon added, already turning towards the door, “musta got our wires crossed. Uh, we’ll head over there and get her…yeah, lots to keep track of today.”

  The librarian smiled, “You know, she adores you two. You’re like the family she never really had. You’re gonna steal her from us, aren’t you? She’s already talking about moving to the Cities.”

  “Uh-oh,” Terra turned and grabbed Shannon’s arm harshly, “We screwed up. We gotta go

  Leaving the library, they made their way back the car, Terra was beginning to hyperventilate. “Do you want to go by yourself? I could shadow as back up…wait,” she hesitated, “I could just travel and get there now. I’m worried.”

  “Me too,” Shannon subtly shook her head, then sighed awkwardly, “probably won’t be necessary,” she said calmly, “take a deep breath and in a second take a casual look to the end of the parking lot. There’s a blue pickup truck, I saw it at the airport too.

  Terra’s pained smile returned. Pretending to point across the campus, she took a quick glance across the parking lot, “There are twelve blue pickups. Are they that bold or just stupid? Why not just send up a flare to say howdy? I’m gonna go kick somebody’s ass.””

  Shannon held a fixed grin, “Nope, let’s not get…ah shit, this might be bad. Let’s get over to her house.” She took a deep breath, “I’m trying not to freak out. This changes our plan. Call Eliza…wait. Let’s get to her house first.”

  As the car jerked to a stop in Chloe’s driveway, Terra jumped out and raced around to the back door as Shannon went to the front. After one knock, Terra opened the front door from inside. There were tears in her eyes. “She’s not here, but…something bad has happened. Really bad.” She looked down the block to see the pick up truck edge out from the intersection, “they’re parked around the corner.”

  Shannon sighed and quickly went inside with Terra. A kitchen chair was overturned in the living room overturned and morning breakfast dishes were strewn across the linoleum floor. Shannon and Terra both saw the note that was stuck in the wall with a kitchen knife. Reaching with a trembling hand, Terra was already scolding herself, “We put her in danger just knowing her. Goddammit.” She tore the note off the wall and handed it to Shannon, “Darien’s got her. They’ll call with a meeting place. That’s not strawberry jam on this paper…fuck.”

  Shannon glanced at the reddish-brown streaks on the paper at the bottom the hastily scrawled note and her heart jumped to her throat. She grabbed Terra, putting her arms around her, “I’m sorry. This is my fault…all my fault, but let’s think for a minute.”

  Terra pushed her back, “No it’s not your fault. It’s mine. I had to get her all fired up about magic. I just shoulda left…” She stopped and took a breath, shaking her head as her emotions spiraled up into anger. “No. Fuck this. They want to play hard ball. I’m in.”

  “Take a breath,” Shannon shouted, then put her hand to her face, “I…I’m sorry.” Tears began to flow down her cheeks, “Just think…use that whip smart head of yours and we’ll figure this out. They are probably out there right now, watching the house. It’s important how we react. We can cross the casual meeting with the sheriff off our list.”

  “Or are seen reacting,” Terra said quietly, “This blows.” She bent down and pick up the note from Chloe, “Let’s wait a couple of minutes and I’ll storm out of the house and get in the car. You come out after I honk the horn…on the second honk. Yell at me a little, I’m…” Terra stopped, holding up her hand, “Nope, I’ve got a better idea, I’ll be right back. I just want to see who we are dealing with.” She put her hand forw
ard, then turned to Shannon, “I promise. I mean that.”

  Shannon nodded, pulling out her phone, “I’ll make some calls.”

  As Terra disappeared, Shannon’s first call was to Marcus, “Hi Bud. Go back to the first list from my Dad. Search everyone and make sure it’s as annoying as hell. I want them to know we are up to something.”

  “Shannon?” Marcus cautioned, “what’s happened? Why are the gloves off?”

  “Nicely put. Chloe has been kidnapped and a meeting has been called.”

  “A trap, maybe?” he asked, “what’s Terra’s mood?”

  “A notch below thermonuclear but she’s thinking this through. Chloe has…is part of the family now. She’s like a sister to Terra. Probably Ollie, too. God, I wish she was here right now.”

  “Um, yeah…about that…” Marcus cleared his throat, “you trust me, right?”

  “Absolutely. What have you done?” Shannon’s right eye began to twitch in anticipation of his answer.

  “We all want the best for you because we know that’s what you want for all of us. I know how the distance from here has bothered you from the start.” He was quiet for a minute and Shannon began to worry both about him and that Terra had yet to return. She suddenly confessed to him, “I just wish we had more people, just in case. Insurance, you know?” All she heard was silence on the other end of the line.

  “Sorry,” he said, “I just sent a couple of texts. It’s gonna be okay.”

  “Just a couple,” Shannon added, mostly talking to herself, “it would make me feel better. I wish more were coming.”

  Marcus snickered at her comment just as a text alert sounded from Shannon’s phone, “That will be Ollie,” he chuckled, “She just landed at the airport with Tess. The whole family is on their way, super low profile, of course. Planes, trains and automobiles but Liam took the bus, something about weird luggage. It was supposed to, um, be a secret until everyone got there.”

  Terra appeared suddenly in front of her and Shannon grinned, “Terra is back.” She looked at her phone, “And yes, that was Ollie. Thank you, buddy, I appreciate it.” She gave a thumbs up to a curious but stern -looking Terra. “She’ll be glad to hear this. Keep me posted if any responses are um, cranky.”

  Holding out her phone to Terra, more texts began to ring out. As Terra looked at Olivia’s text her eyes welled up, “My God, Shan,” she gasped, “Robin, Issac and Liam…everybody is coming.” Her eyes went wide, “Iris is coming, Ollie will fli-” She stared as a final number popped onto the screen and she looked at Shannon, “Elin is coming too? What the hell?”

  Shannon was shocked, “Um, also news to me, but I can think this through a little further now. Since Darien has taken Chloe…” her jaw set angrily as a smile filtered slowly across Terra’s face. “your army has assembled. We can kick some cowboy ass.”

  “Maybe,” Shannon interjected, then interrupted her own thought, “yeah…probably.”

  “The pick-up boys,” Terra began as she nodded her agreement, “and they are only boys for sure, talked about the meeting at a parts store by the mall. Plus, there are three or four groups of them. A familiar name came up, Shan. You’re going to want to call your Dad.”

  “Miller?” Shannon asked and Terra shook her head at how casually Shannon acknowledged that there was a turncoat working at the restaurant.

  “When did you figure that out?”

  “Maggie took me aside when we were here. She’s had her suspicions and she’s seen him around town with…well, it’s not that big of town, right? I’m not really worried about him.”

  “Let’s just get Chloe back,” Terra sighed, then shot a look to Shannon, “what if you could make the town really small?”

  Shannon shook her head, “I’m sorry?”

  “Can you find Chloe? Can you bridge to her?”

  “I’ve never done it on purpose,” she shrugged, “I, uh…I was really worked up…I was thinking of Olivia and then, it was weird, I thought of Robbie.” She glanced across the living room, “I gotta try. I’ll need something of hers.” She grasped her hand into a fist as Terra’s eyes locked onto her, “The fountain pen.”

  As Terra scanned the room, Shannon jumped up, “She came out her room with it. Nightstand or dresser drawers.”

  Walking into Chloe’s sparsely furnished bedroom, both Terra and Shannon came to a halt. Sitting on the floor by the closet, Chloe had her bags packed. With the impromptu plan, Terra’s emotions had begun to subside but the second she saw the bags, she broke down, “Oh God, what have we done…Jesus, Shannon, if anything happens to her...”

  “Stop it,” Shannon snapped, and Terra corrected, “The room isn’t trashed, so they maybe didn’t see this stuff. There,” she pointed to the nightstand to a small spiral-bound notebook folded over on something.

  Shannon gently lifted the cover to reveal the cherished pen, “Got it.”

  As they inspected the pen, Terra looked next to Chloe’s bed to see small photo stuck into a larger frame and her tears started to flow, “How do we do this to people?” She lifted the picture from the frame to show Shannon.

  Shannon only sighed, “From outside the restaurant that day, she must have taken a picture of us before we went in to see Dad.” Her breath caught and she sighed heavily, also on the verge of tears, “I know how she felt about seeing us like that. It only makes me…”

  Shannon stopped as she saw Terra staring down at the frame where the picture nestled, “Shan, look at the frame. This is really old.” Terra ran her fingers over the undulating curves of the frames base, “She never mentioned this. It’s almost the same design as the pen.” Terra stared at the old photo, “It’s from one of those old one-hour photo shops. It’s not at all like her picture of us,” Terra sniffled, as her fingertips glided gently over the picture of the little girl. “So pretty. She’s like six or seven years old.”

  Shannon took the frame from Terra’s shaking hands, she quickly commented on its’ weight, then turned the frame over, “Like a photo from her father’s desk?” she asked quietly, “from their prospecting days.” Taking her fingernail, she twisted one of the tabs that held the cardboard backing in place, “It’s bulged out, like if you stack too many pictures in one frame.” Swiveling the remaining tabs away from the back, Shannon removed the back panel. Her head jerked to Terra, “Watch the door. We can’t have those idiots barging in here. Not with this.”

  In her hand, she held a tightly compressed piece of fabric. Made from the same material as the shroud that concealed the crystal inside the pen, Shannon sat on the edge of Chloe’s bed and carefully flattened the small sheet on her thigh as Terra darted down the hallway to peer out the front door. She quickly returned, “Still at the end of the block.” She looked at the markings on the fabric then squinted to read the inscription. She drew back, eyes wide, “In tempore inter mundos… provoke…crescere. Oh God, Terra. This is it.” She held up the fabric to show her the words, “in the time between worlds, call forth the bridge of souls,” she read, “cross to claim the crescent. There’s more to the incantation.”

  “The bone circle,” Terra whispered, “we’ve got to get the bone circle.”

  “We can’t have this,” Shannon shook her head, “This…is Chloe’s…”

  “It’s already five thirty,” Terra said, turning away, “How long until sunset?” She turned back to Shannon, “How long do we have until dusk, until lightland?”

  Shannon only shook her head, “I don’t understand.”

  “There’s something out there, Shan. Something on the other side of that pit. It’s not for Chloe, I don’t think it ever was.” She stepped forward to put her hands firmly on Shannon’s shoulders, “This is for you. Think. Have you seen anything in your dreams that resembles this?”

  “Not this,” she answered quietly, “not in this way for sure.”

  “We need to be at the bone circle as the sun sets,” Terra said quietly, “you do the incantation and get whatever the hell is out there, then we
get Chloe. If it’s a power, you use it.”

  “What if it’s a weapon?” Shannon came back, her voice still quiet.

  Terra took a deep breath, “Then it’s leverage to use against Darien until we find out why you are meant to have it. None of this is a coincidence anymore. Your father? Your family, this is how it is meant to be. We’re supposed to be here.”

  Shannon nodded with a weak acknowledgement, “I don’t always know how…”

  “It doesn’t matter, Shan, you always do your best. Starting tonight, we have help.” Terra looked out the window, “How much time do we have before it gets dark?”

  When no answer came, Terra turned, “Shan…how much time?”

  Shannon’s eyes were fixed on the photograph of Chloe as a little girl, “we try so hard to please them and what do we get in return?” Her jaw was tight and as Terra reached out for her, Shannon caught her hand, “Get Chloe’s overnight bag,” she instructed calmly, “pick the thing that is most personal, something that you know would be special to her.”

  Terra jumped to the bags set by the door. First, she grabbed the smallest bag, then hesitated and chose the middle of the three suitcases. Opening it, she grabbed a school sweatshirt, then tossed it aside. Seeing the soft colorful fringe of something peeking out from the side of the bag, she gasped, pulling the old scarf out of Chloe’s bag, “her picture, Shan. Show it to me.”

  Terra quickly compared the worn and threadbare scarf to the one that Chloe was wearing in the old photo. She looked at Shannon, “No coincidences,” she said as her eyes filled with tears, “she is supposed to be with us.”

  “Take the scarf,” Shannon directed, “here is her pen and photograph. I have an idea. Sit here. I’ll be right beside you.”

  “What…” Terra wondered as Shannon gathered up the scarf and held it to her face, then did the same to Terra, “what are you doing? Oh, it smells like her, that little lavender scent.”