Gloom's Whisper

by Sela Croft

  While soaring through the air, I gazed down at the city below. The wind against my face helped to calm me, and the shimmering glass buildings distracted me. By the time we reached Noah’s home, I felt prepared to have the conversation I needed to.

  I had to decide what to do about Rosamon. I wanted to go back to Caros and find her, but couldn’t ask Logan to abandon his city again. I considered going alone.

  When Kaida landed in front of the tower Noah called home, I crawled off her back.

  “I’ll wait for you here,” she told me. “I don’t think I’d make it up those tightly wound stairs.”

  I nodded and patted her on the neck. “I won’t be long,” I said, then made my way up the winding staircase.

  The door was slightly ajar. Puzzled, I pushed it all the way open. “Noah!” I called out, then looked around. I searched the rooms. It wasn’t until I made my way to the door again that I saw it.

  There was a note on the table with my name at the top. I scanned the message. Noah had already left. I balled up the note, then stomped down the stairs.

  “He’s gone,” I said, then tossed the balled-up piece of paper at Kaida’s claws.

  She eyed the paper suspiciously, before turning her attention back to me, with a confused expression in her eyes.

  “He figured out where Rosamon is and went to look for her,” I said. “Why didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t he ask me to go with him? What is it about the men in this realm that makes them think that they can keep me in the dark about everything that’s going on? I’m not completely useless, you know. I mean, Amalia wants me for a reason, right?”

  I stomped on the crumpled paper and huffed.

  “It’s who they are, Callie,” Kaida said, calmly watching as I continued to throw my mini temper tantrum. “It’s who they had to become.”

  “You’re making excuses for them.”

  “Maybe…but it’s the truth. With the war, and the spell that made them who they are, it’s in their nature to protect. They were created to fight. They had to become what they are to defend what they love. They don’t think when it comes to those things; they act.”

  “Sure,” I said with a shrug. “They’re supposed to be knights or whatever. And that’s sweet and all. But I’m not from this realm. I’m from a place where people talk about things. They talk before they act. Noah should know that. I mean, it’s his fault I’m here in the first place. He should have the courtesy to fill me in on what’s happening.”

  I sighed. “I just don’t get it. Rosamon and I are supposed to be special. We’re at the heart of all that’s happening. So why won’t anyone tell me what is going on?”

  Chapter 39

  Callie

  Kaida silently watched. I was overwhelmed. With Amalia’s confusing messages still ringing in my ears, I wanted more than anything to have just one answer to the endless questions.

  “I want to know if Rosaman is okay.”

  “That’s curious,” Kaida, shifting her weight around. Her wings fluttered and smoke puffed from her nostrils. “How did Noah figure out where she is?”

  “Beats me,” I said with a shrug. “He said that he’s been feeling connected to her recently.”

  “How is that possible? Did he say when it started?”

  “He was rambling on before,” I said. “When we were in the woods and the Wild Hunt was attacking us, he said something about how drinking my blood allowed him to connect with my sister.”

  “That’s very strange,” Kaida said. “Why would that happen?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, throwing up my hands. “I don’t know how anything works around here.” Each time I had one thing figured out, something new came along. I had no idea how I’d ever get used to this place.

  “There has to be something about you,” Kaida said.

  “That’s what everyone around here keeps saying. But I don’t know what it could be.”

  “Would you mind if we tried something? I think I can help you figure out where your sister is.”

  “Really?” I said, with frustration melting away and excitement building in its wake.

  Kaida lowered herself to the ground again. “Jump on, and I’ll explain while we travel back to Logan’s home.”

  I did as she asked and during the trip she transmitted her thoughts to me. “I think there’s a special sort of connection between you and your sister.”

  “That’s not really news to me,” I said. “We’ve always been strangely connected. It’s a twin thing, I guess.”

  “What if it’s more than that? What if there’s something else going on there?” Kaida hesitated. “I think that I can tap into your connection with her. You’d have to allow me access to your mind, though.”

  “You don’t have that already? You’re talking to me in my mind.”

  “It’s a two-way street. Right now, I can communicate with you. But you have to communicate back.”

  “How do I do that?”

  “You’ll see.” She landed in my room.

  I climbed off her back and raced around to face her. “What do I do?”

  “Just keep your eyes on mine…and think.”

  “About what?”

  “Rosamon.”

  I pulled up a memory of my sister. Looking deep into Kaida’s black eyes, I let the memory fill my mind. The room around us began to shift and I wasn’t there anymore. I was in my memory. “This is the room, where Rosamon and I grew up.”

  “You can look around now,” Kaida said. “It’s okay. The channels of communication have been opened.”

  Hesitantly, I turned to look around the room. It wasn’t the way I’d left it the last time I’d been there. It was the way it had been years before that. Toys were strewn across the floor instead of clothes, and crayons were scattered across the desk instead of makeup. I heard giggles coming from down the hall. Then I heard my squeaky, youthful voice. “Rosamon, I give up. I can’t find you.”

  There was another bout of giggles, when my sister jumped out from her hiding spot. “You always give up too quickly.”

  “I just hate not being able to find you.”

  “Don’t be silly, you’ll always find me.”

  Just before we burst through the door, my memory shifted. We were at the abandoned church. Cobwebs hung from the rafters, and the setting sun cast a spooky glow around the room that we loved so much.

  We were seated in one of the pews. It was clear that the memory was more recent, as we looked like we did in the present. My face was in my hands and my shoulders shook. Rosamon had her arm wrapped around me and she spoke in hushed tones.

  “What’s going on?” Kaida said, as we looked on from the back of the church.

  “It was a bad day,” I said, inching closer to hear better. “I had too many of those.”

  “It’ll be okay,” Rosamon said softly. “Soon, we’ll be out of here. None of these people will matter in a few years.”

  “A few years feels like an eternity,” I said. “I just wish we could go somewhere completely unlike here…somewhere special.” I’d been so naïve then.

  “We will go somewhere special. You just wait,” Rosamon said. “One day, we’ll look back at all of this and miss it.”

  “I won’t,” I said and shook my head.

  Kaida asked, “Do you miss your life back home?”

  “No,” I said, then turned to face her.

  Kaida seemed to fit in that place. Even though she occupied a large portion of the space in the back of the church, she seemed to be part of it. I’d always felt that place had magical qualities. Perhaps that made her belong.

  “I only miss her.”

  “Focus on your sister,” Kaida said.

  As I let the sorrow of being separated from my sister consume me, the church around us disappeared and Kaida disappeared with it. I didn’t feel panic at her absence. I didn’t feel that she was missing.

  Spinning around, I noticed that I was in a chamber—a tower, perhaps. All around me were
mirrors. They hung on the walls and reflected my image back at me. Catching a glimpse of myself, I wanted to jump back. But I didn’t.

  A lock of blond hair fell into my eyes, and I realized that I was seeing through my sister’s eyes. I let go of my apprehension, and let Rosamon’s essence become mine. She paced the room.

  “Noah will come,” my sister said to one of the mirrors. “Hopefully, he’ll arrive safely. It’ll be any time now…it has to be.”

  I felt her panic and sensed her pain. The floor under her feet was cold, but she found comfort in that. It helped to soothe the racing of her heart. I noticed a plate of half-eaten food on the edge of her bed, and a pile of books tossed about the floor beneath it. I wanted to get a better look at what they were, but she turned away.

  It was as if she had anticipated and had been prepared for the violent shaking of the room. She raced back to her bed and pulled her legs to her chest. The plate of food crashed to the ground, but she didn’t seem to care.

  “Please hurry, Noah,” my sister whispered.

  Rosamon was scared, but not because the building was shaking. She was scared, of what was causing it.

  Chapter 40

  Logan

  After the meeting with my brothers, I headed toward Callie’s room. She’d experienced the animosity of my brothers, so I wanted to talk about that, to ease the cut of their criticism.

  I’d returned home to disaster. Shadowland was in crisis and I needed to come up with the solution. There were some trying to usurp my power, and others questioned my ability to lead.

  The closer I got to Callie’s room, though, the further those concerns drifted from my mind. The thought of seeing her flooded me with emotions. Each time I was separated from her, I longed to be at her side again.

  I loved her. How much I loved her, though, was still something I was coming to terms with.

  Throwing open the door to her room, I expected to find her waiting for me. I would rush up and embrace her, let the experience of being close soothe my inner turmoil, for as long as I dared to allow it.

  The scene that played out was very different than the one I’d imagined.

  “Kaida,” I shouted, and I rushed up to my dragon. “What happened?”

  Callie was on the floor, her body convulsing. I dropped to the ground and took her in my arms. I began to shake, with fear that gripped my chest.

  “I was trying to help her,” Kaida said. I sensed worry in her words. “We were exploring her mind, trying to find her sister. But I lost her.”

  “What do you mean lost her?” I held Callie tightly, and attempted to wake her from her unconscious state.

  “We were working to form a connection with Rosamon. I wanted to help her, because she’s suffering so much. She needs to know where her sister is.”

  “She’s still in that state?” I asked, looking up at Kaida. “She’s stuck in the trance?”

  Kaida nodded.

  “Bring me in,” I commanded.

  “Logan, I’m not sure…”

  “Do it!”

  Kaida‘s eyes met mine. I stared into the blackness, letting the connection work through me. The shared consciousness hit me, transporting my mind from the safety of my home. Where it transported me to, though, I wasn’t sure.

  All I saw was darkness, and the ground shook beneath my feet. I stumbled forward, with my arms outstretched, as I called out. I could feel Callie. She was close, but I couldn’t find her.

  “Callie!” I called. “Please…come back to me.”

  She didn’t answer. I sensed her fear building, then the shaking became more violent. I heard glass break, then a voice call out. It wasn’t Callie’s voice.

  “Hello?” I tried to scream, but my words were lost amid the chaos that filled the darkness.

  “Please, hurry!” the voice cried.

  “I can’t find her,” I said, spinning around. “I can’t find…”

  My words were cut short when something took hold of my arm. The phantom grasp was firm, and pulled me away from the sounds of the voice I was trying so desperately to reach. I fought against its hold, freeing myself momentarily, just to have another presence cling onto me.

  “Kaida!” I yelled. “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know.” It appeared that my dragon was struggling against whatever presence was locked in the suspended consciousness with us. “It’s as if something is preventing us from reaching her.”

  “I won’t let anything keep me from her!” I fought against the onslaught of phantoms that dragged me farther from her.

  In a physical fight, I would have been able to overpower my attackers. But, mentally, I was already weak. My heart and mind pulled me in different directions. My inner conflict lessened my resolve.

  “Fight for her,” Kaida said. “It’s what you have to do.”

  “I’m trying!”

  The phantoms battered me, relentlessly.

  Every time they struck, I tried to strike back. But they were too quick. Each blow they delivered was followed by another, and another, until I felt as if I couldn’t take the beating any longer.

  “What’s stopping you?”

  “I can’t be who she needs me to be.” A blow landed in my gut. I leaned forward with a jolt of pain rushing up my side.

  I couldn’t help Callie and lead my people, too. I couldn’t be the prince and the man she deserves. “I can’t do it all!”

  “Then do what your heart is telling you to do,” Kaida said. “Go after her, Logan!”

  “Callie!” I cried, throwing out my hands.

  The phantoms around me retreated into the darkness.

  “Logan?” I heard her reply as she appeared in front of me—a small light in the haunting darkness that continued to hang around us. “What are you doing here?”

  Callie took a step in my direction, but the space between us stayed the same.

  “What’s going on?” she said, with a puzzled look.

  “You’re trapped in a suspended reality.”

  “Are you trapped, too?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What should we do?”

  “We need to wake up. You have to come back with me.”

  “But my sister,” Callie said, glancing over her shoulder, as if she were seeing a vision the darkness kept hidden from me. “I can’t leave her.”

  “You have to, Callie. You have to come back to me.”

  “She’s alone. I can’t leave her…”

  As she spoke, she retreated farther into the darkness. I tried to reach out to her, but pain radiated through my side, causing me to collapse to the ground.

  “Callie, please…come back!”

  The darkness melted away and Kaida pulled me out of the suspended state.

  “No!” I yelled, trying to hold onto the connection.

  “Logan, you’re hurt. I had to bring you out.”

  I looked down at my arms to find that she was right. Gasping, I stared at the dark bruises. I hadn’t experienced a mental battle like that one before. One strong enough to leave behind the marks of my struggle.

  “But, she…”

  “She what?” Kaida said, staring down at Callie.

  I gazed at my love, and when her eyes fluttered open, I sighed with relief. Wrapping my arms around her, I held her close, refusing to let her go.

  Chapter 41

  Logan

  Just as I began to settle into the embrace, Callie wiggled out of it. Taking my hands in hers, she pushed herself to her feet. There was an urgency in her movements, a determination that showed in each subtle gesture. “I found Rosamon.”

  “You did?” I asked, sharing in her moment of joy. “That’s wonderful.”

  “It is,” she said. “Well, sort of. The princess is holding her in that awful place. There are mirrors everywhere and she’s all alone. We have to go to her, Logan.”

  She began to walk toward the door, but I tightened my hold on her hand.

  “Now?” I asked, pulling
her back to me. “We just got back.” And I still had much to do, so many problems to solve.

  “You need to rest, Callie,” Kaida said, her voice filled with remorse. “I shouldn’t have allowed that to happen. I can’t believe I lost you in there. I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” Callie said and patted her on the neck. “If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have figured out what I did. I had to go to her. I had to experience what she is experiencing. It helped me find her.”

  “Kaida is right, though,” I said, wanting to keep Callie from going. “You need to rest.”

  “I’ve rested enough,” Callie said. “I have to find her, Logan. I can’t keep waiting around like this.”

  She had a point. I’d asked her to wait, too many times. I longed to help her, to go with her. But I couldn’t abandon my city, again. I was needed there.

  It was obvious that I couldn’t give Callie the assistance she needed, and still rule Shadowland. The conflict was driving me crazy, and it was time to address it. My city was on the brink of utter chaos, divided and in a state of unrest. What I did going forward would determine the outcome.

  Kaida’s voice echoed in my head. “You’ve already made your decision.” She was communicating with me only, reminding me of the struggle I faced trying to pull Callie out of the suspended state of consciousness.

  I looked down at the bruises on my arms. Callie’s eyes followed mine. “What happened?” she asked, her violet eyes laced with concern.

  “It was nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “Nothing I wouldn’t go through again.”

  Callie stared at me. I looked in her eyes and allowed her scent to fill my nostrils. My doubt vanished. I could no longer rule my realm, because she had my heart.

  Ever since she’d walked into my life, she’d had control of me. My need to protect her came above all else. From the moment I’d given in to my feelings for her, my world had become about her.

  “Logan,” she said softly. “I have to find her.”

  “Yes, you do. And I will help you find her. I swear on my life that I will do everything I can to aide you in your quest.”