Twilight's Spell

by Sela Croft

  “Callie, I’m so glad I found you,” Noah said, then wrapped his arms around me.

  I wiggled out of his hold, shocked to silence. I took three shaky steps back, doubting it was really him. His easy smile threw me off. It looked like him. The amber eyes, dark brown hair, broad shoulders, and strong jaw fit.

  “Who are you? Are you a Fae disguised as a friend from my past? Did you come here to kidnap me?” Logan’s words of warning came to mind, and I feared this was an evil creature, disguised as an old friend to lull me into a false sense of security.

  “What…it’s me…Noah. I can’t believe you’d think I was Fae.”

  I eyed him suspicious. “I’ve been warned that there are things out there that want to take me.”

  “The Fae can’t get inside the city,” Noah said, with a twinge of fear in his voice. “Unless something has changed.” He glanced around the room, as if to be sure there was no danger.

  “If you’re really Noah, then tell me something only he would know.”

  “Your name is Callendra Mayfair, and you have a twin sister named Rosamon,” he said. “You’re both adopted. You lost your parents a long time ago in an accident. You hate high school and find the other students there dull and self-indulged.”

  “More.”

  “The day before summer vacation, you had a run in with Devin Harper in the courtyard. He stole your lunch and I got it back for you.”

  It was true. Devin, like most of the other boys in our class, enjoyed picking on me. He’d criticized my appearance and taunted me constantly.

  “Noah,” I said, then took a step toward him.

  We embraced, and my fear dissipated. Noah had looked out for my sister and me. It seemed that anytime we needed him, he’d been there. Many times, it had been as if he’d appeared out of thin air.

  “Wait,” I said, stepping back. “How is it that you’re here?”

  “I came looking for you.”

  “But how did you know I was here? And before, when I mentioned the Fae, you seemed to know what that meant.”

  I scanned my memory. At home, Noah had been able to move faster than the eye could follow. He had the amber eyes and the marble-hard body. Could it be?

  “Noah…are you a… a vampire?”

  He nodded.

  “All this time, you’ve been one of them. You’ve been lying to me.”

  Noah shrugged. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”

  “I don’t care. Tell me the truth then, about what you’re doing here.”

  “I came to find you, and to help you find your sister.”

  He looked around the room, as if expecting my sister to come bounding around the corner, her blond hair bouncing around her shoulders and her characteristically cheerful smile spread across her face.

  “Where is she?”

  “You tell me,” I said. “You’re one of them. You should know this place better than I do.”

  “You mean, Rosamon isn’t here with you?”

  “Do you see her anywhere? I’ve been trying to look for her, but your fearless leader has me trapped here in his floating mansion. He refuses to let me leave.”

  “Logan Bayne? You’ve spoken to him?”

  “He’s the one who told me about the Fae and the war and the other details you so cunningly left out during the last few years we’ve been friends.”

  “Oh, Callie,” he said, shaking his head. “This is bad. Did you say that the Fae have been able to access the city?”

  “I don’t know. I still don’t even know what a Fae is. All I know is that Logan was all upset about something with his sister earlier. Then he rambled on for a bit about how they might be coming for me next.”

  “Natasha?”

  “Yes. And see? You know everything about this place. All that useful information would have done me a lot of good, a few days ago, when I got sucked into this strange dimension, by the way.”

  It wasn’t like me to become angry with Noah. He’d been good to me back home. But knowing that he’d withheld so much valuable information frustrated me. If I’d known half of what he’d already known when I got trapped in Shadowland, I would have been able to spend more time trying to find my sister and less on working to figure out what was going on.

  “I’m sorry, Callie. I should have told you before. But I couldn’t…. I didn’t know how…”

  “What were you doing in Oregon, anyway?”

  “I was sent…” His voice trembled, and he glanced at the ground. “I was sent to look out for you and Rosamon.”

  “Look out for us?”

  “I think I’m the reason why you’re here, Callie. I think I did this, or at least, I had some part in it. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know they would do this. I…”

  I lifted my hand to cut him off.

  “You mean to tell me that you knew that someone or something in this realm wanted us? You knew that we had some link to this place, yet you didn’t think to mention that…give us a heads-up, at least?”

  “I swear, Callie. I didn’t know that this would happen. I didn’t know what my purpose for watching you was. I only knew that it was my duty. I didn’t mean for all of this to happen.”

  “Well, it did. And now, we’re trapped here, and I have no idea where my sister is.”

  Chapter 45

  Callie

  The mist cleared from the room, but my mind was still in a fog. What I had to hold onto—my security, my home, my memories—suddenly felt as empty as my lungs. I gasped for breath, trying to piece it all together, but the more I tried the more confused I became.

  With each new bit of information, the puzzle seemed to change shape. Each new clue led to more questions. Each new encounter meant more uncertainty. And the one person I had trusted to swoop in and make things better confessed that he was the reason why I was in this entire mess, in the first place.

  Noah sighed and walked across the room. He hovered near the couch for a second before turning to look at me.

  “I was misled, Callie,” he said.

  “I know how that feels.”

  “You have every right to be mad at me. I don’t blame you. I would be mad at me. I am mad at me.”

  Noah paced before finally taking a seat. Even sitting, his body was rigid. He looked uncomfortable in his own skin, something I hadn’t expected from him. He was normally confident and relaxed, so in control and steady.

  Yet he had a reason for discomfort. He had been a vampire in a world of mortals. He was from a realm where his kind ruled. The trivialities of high school couldn’t have mattered to him, or had any true impact on his life.

  “I’m mad at everything right now,” I said and crossed the room.

  When I reached where he was sitting, I stood with my arms crossed over my chest and stared down at him. I didn’t know what else to do. It was as if I was seeing him for the first time. I replayed memories in my head and felt foolish for not figuring it out sooner.

  The day at the river, when my sister had fallen in, he’d been at her side before I could even begin my clumsy descent down the tree, where we’d both been perched. The night at the abandoned church when he’d sensed danger that neither of us felt... He’d been one step ahead.

  I glared at Noah. “Why us?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “For someone who accepted a duty to look out for us, you don’t seem to know much about it.”

  Noah looked up at me. I could tell my tone hurt him. He’d experienced my frustration before, usually directed at the other boys in our class. But he hadn’t been on the receiving side of it. Neither of us had expected him to be.

  I lowered my guard a bit and sat down next to him, leaving distance between us. I was still angry, despite my willingness to hear him out. “What exactly do you know?”

  “I know that this is bad,” he said. “All of this is very bad.”

  “I knew that the second I came face to face with a vampire for the first time—or what I thought was the first time, at leas
t.”

  “Logan?”

  “Yes, Logan.”

  “Yeah, he’s intimidating. And he has enemies throughout the realm. Enemies that want you and your sister.”

  Logan’s words replayed in my mind. His sister’s prophesy of the girl with the violet eyes had been something I preferred to see as a fluke. Although, I had the sinking feeling that there must be more to it.

  My voice came out as barely a whisper. “What do they want with us?”

  “They didn’t tell me. At least, they didn’t tell me everything.” Noah seemed hesitant to continue, which made me doubt whether I wanted to hear the rest of what he had to say. I scooted closer to him and waited.

  “It is believed, by some, that you and your sister possess the ability to… well, to destroy Shadowland. They wanted to you here to bring down Crystal City.”

  I shrunk back, the statement alarming. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me, and the room began to spin. Noah reached out to steady me, but I pulled away from his touch. Getting to my feet, I shook my head. It was all so unbelievable.

  “That’s crazy. That’s just crazy. What could Rosamon and I have to do with this place? All of this is ridiculous. It’s a dream, right? I’m dreaming.”

  I rambled and paced the spacious sitting room. Noah pushed himself up and followed behind me, but not making any move to reach out to me.

  “I’m going to wake up in my bed and tell Rosamon and we’re just going to laugh about this whole thing. I know it. This can’t be—”

  “It is,” Noah said. “This is real. This is happening, and I’m so sorry.”

  My thoughts went back to Logan, and what he’d told me. His concern for me and my safety, his insistence on keeping me locked away in his home—it hadn’t been bred out of a place of rage as he’d so often presented it. It had been genuine.

  He’d been honest with me the whole time. He’d been open and vulnerable, and all I’d done was frustrate him more. He was the only one, who had been honest with me.

  “You’re sorry?” I asked, glaring at Noah. “You knew this would happen and now you’re sorry it did? That’s even more hilarious than hearing that my sister and I hold the key to the future of an entire realm we didn’t even know existed, until two or three or however many days have passed since we got here. Why is it always twilight here? How do you know how many days have passed? How long have I really been here?”

  “Callie, breathe.”

  “How long have I been here, Noah?”

  “Four days.”

  I spun around to face him. “My sister has been lost out there for four days.”

  My anger melted, replaced by a wave of sorrow. My dear sister was alone, afraid, and as confused as I was. I wasn’t sure if she knew about the vampires, or about the Fae and the war, plus the role we were supposed to play.

  “I wonder if Rosamon is eating and sleeping, or how she’s taking care of herself.”

  “I wish I could tell you,” Noah said. “I really do. I wish I could take this all back.”

  “I know you never meant for this to happen.”

  Noah shook his head. “I never meant to grow attached to both of you. I didn’t expect to care for you the way I do.” He paced and mumbled. It seemed as if with each utterance, my sister’s name was repeated.

  “I didn’t mean for this to happen to her, Callie. You have to believe me. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Rosamon.” Noah’s face flashed with sorrow and he turned to look at me.

  “I’m responsible for you—both of you. I accept that this is my fault and I would do anything to take it back. I would do anything to have her here.”

  The sincerity in his words was not lost on me. I could feel his pain. He cared for her as I did. He worried for her the way I did. But there was more in his tone, and his look of desperation. There was heartbreak in his eyes.

  I should have seen it before. Noah was in love with my sister.

  Chapter 46

  Callie

  “We have to find her, Noah,” I said, then stepped forward to take his hand.

  I led him back to the couch, where we both sat with a plop. I was exhausted mentally, physically, and emotionally from the whirlwind of the last few days.

  And it was clear that he’d spent the time apart worrying and trying to find us. “She’s okay,” Noah said. “She’s safe for now.”

  My spirits lifted. “You know that for sure?”

  He nodded.

  “How can you know?”

  “She has to be.”

  Noah’s answer didn’t tell me much. I wasn’t certain if it was an attempt to comfort himself, as well, or if he knew something more that he wasn’t telling me. I decided against asking. The way he looked conveyed that it was the latter, and whatever he wasn’t telling me was something I didn’t want to know.

  Hearing that my sister was safe was the first piece of good news I had received since arriving in Shadowland. I wanted to hold onto it for a little longer.

  I had a feeling that bad news was in surplus around this realm. So if holding onto a shred of good news, for a little while, meant I could relax, I was going to do that.

  “Would you like me to take you home?” Noah said. “I can take you back to Oregon.”

  “You can do that?”

  “Yes. And you’ll be safe there. Those that want you won’t be able to reach you.”

  Part of me wanted to jump at the offer. But more than going home, I wanted to be reunited with my sister. Those that wanted me wanted her also.

  “Who wants me?”

  “I can’t tell you that,” Noah said. “It wouldn’t be safe for me to say.”

  My anger surged, along with frustration. “What about any of this is safe, Noah?”

  “There are forces out there that you don’t know about,” Noah said.

  “Because no one is telling me about them.” I slammed my fists down on the couch. “Everyone expects me to just accept the fact that I can’t know and move on. But I’m not going to do that anymore. I’m not going to just sit here and act like everything is okay. I demand to know. Tell me all that you know, and don’t skip any details.”

  Noah sighed and looked away to avoid my accusatory stare. “All I know is that it is believed your sister and you can help in the fight against the vampires.”

  “You’re a vampire.”

  “The ruling vampires.”

  “Why would anyone want to take down the ruling vampires?”

  “There is a lot about our land that you don’t know.”

  I prepared to show my annoyance, but his glance stopped me.

  “I know it’s not what you want to hear. You’ve been told that same thing so many times, and no one has provided you with any further information. The simple reason for that is because we can’t. I can’t, at least. I don’t know what Logan has or hasn’t told you…”

  “He’s told me more than you.”

  “And that’s his choice. This is his war. It’s not mine.”

  “You’re fighting it.”

  “I’m trapped in it, just like you. This is all bigger than both of us.”

  “And yet, I’m supposed to have such a huge impact on all of it that everyone around me seems to understand but won’t explain.”

  “Logan knows about you and your sister?”

  I flinched slightly. “He knows about me.”

  “He still doesn’t know about Rosamon?”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t told him.”

  “You are guilty of the same thing you accuse us of.”

  It was strange hearing him talk like that. It was how Logan talked. It wasn’t the usual, laid-back atmosphere we’d shared in the past. I was going to have to let go of all of that—yet another part of my past that would remain history, as I moved forward with a future I didn’t understand.

  “I wasn’t sure I could trust him. I’m not sure I can trust anyone now.”

  My tone carried the accusation clearly. I could
see it affected him. He seemed to struggle to keep his composure.

  “I know I’ll have to work to regain your trust,” Noah said. “I’m willing to do that. I just want to fix all of this, and I want to make it right. Let me take you back to Oregon. At least I can make up for something.”

  “Take me back, just so you can sleep better?”

  “I won’t be sleeping, until we find your sister.”

  “What you mean to say is you won’t be sleeping at all, because you’re a vampire.” I looked at him. “How can I trust you when you’ve been hiding who you are from me, all this time?”

  “What do you want me to say? I’ll say or do anything I can to make this up to you.”

  “Tell me the truth. Please, Noah. For once, just tell me the truth.”

  “The truth is you’re in grave danger here. The truth is I will do everything I can to get your sister back. The truth is, you need to leave now while you still can.”

  Chapter 47

  Callie

  The thought of leaving Shadowland was tempting. Returning to Oregon meant leaving this strange realm that held such terror. It also meant leaving everything I’d discovered. If I went home, I would have to leave all this behind.

  I wasn’t sure what I’d be returning to.

  All I’d known before had been a lie. My only friend had been my friend, because it had been his duty. My sister wasn’t in Oregon; she was lost in Shadowland.

  My destiny—if that’s really what all of this could be called—would be forgotten. I would just be the weird girl, with no social skills to speak of.

  In this realm, I could make a difference. I’d been brought here to do that. Yet, I wasn’t certain how I could.

  It seemed everyone had an answer for that but me. I thought back to the humans I’d met, the friends I’d made. They needed me and needed someone to speak out for them. I had the chance to do that.

  Logan had listened to me. Yet I didn’t know if convincing him to change things was possible.

  Images of Sienna and Gretl flashed through my mind. Memories of my conversations with Bernadette about her family. Dawn, the silent, fearful cleaner in training—she could have a life, a future that meant more than submitting to the vampires.