by Sela Croft
“You have a point there. But I’ve had enough surprises, so I won’t ask you to do that.” I proceeded to detail the images and feeling as best I could. I sensed that Kaida understood without seeing my drawings.
“I’m glad you’ve told me.” Kaida adjusted her wings and a puff of smoke came from her mouth. “It must be difficult for you. Is there more to tell?”
Since she’d been so understanding, I poured out my worst fear. “I feel like I’m changing. I’m turning into…something. And, at the same time, that something is coming at me, somehow.”
Kaida was quiet.
“I realize that makes no sense at all.” I sighed. “Which is why I’m so upset.”
“Considering what you’ve been experiencing, your feeling is to be expected. It’s certainly not uncommon.”
“How do you know?”
“I’m a telepath…so I often feel that thoughts are being thrown at me. It happens on a regular basis…just comes with my ability to listen to minds.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” I said. “But I suppose that must be true.”
“Sometimes I don’t even feel like the dragon I really am. It’s odd, but with such perceptions my inner self seems different. I get flashes of images from other minds that imbue into mine. And it’s impossible to make sense of it all. It makes me feel changed, or like I cannot stay centered. Thus, I don’t feel like myself.”
I laughed. “I’m not laughing at you, Kaida. I’m just relieved to hear you say that. I don’t feel so alone.” I stroked the dragon’s neck. “But if anyone heard us talking, they’d think we were crazy. It just seems funny, I guess.”
Kaida blinked her eyes and nuzzled against my hand. She went back to being very dragon like. But I felt better. She’d managed to ease my fears.
Chapter 9
Callie
Since the day my sister had disappeared, I hadn’t been back to Astoria except in illusory form. On the morning we intended to go, I had butterflies in my stomach. The prospect of going home was exciting, even if the trip might be dangerous.
Shadowland had protections against humans entering the realm. Rosamon and I had slipped through with assistance. At the time, Amalia had wanted us for her own purposes. She had violated the rule and drawn us in.
I wondered what it would be like going the other direction. Traveling from one dimension to the other wasn’t something I was used to. It was a thrill to realize that I could do so—with Logan’s help, of course. First, Noah surrounded us in mist and transported us to the top of the mountain. It was the same mountain where I’d arrive in the realm.
I gazed down on Crystal City, marveling at how much had happened. The city of glass gleamed in hues of blue and gold. It was breathtaking, and I missed it already. I wanted to go back to Astoria, but I didn’t want to leave my new home behind.
Logan took the lead with me by his side. Noah put his arm around Rosamon. It would be the hardest on her, since she was still human. Amalia, Morrigan, and Natasha could have gone on their own, but transported with us, instead. It was important to stay together.
Before my trepidation got the better of me, Logan moved the group through the shadows. It was much as I remembered. The motion was out of my control. I couldn’t have stopped it, if I’d wanted to. The shadows deepened, then…
We stood in the abbey not far from the alcove where Rosamon had vanished, so many weeks before. It occurred to me that I didn’t know how long it had been. Time seemed very different in Shadowland, and with eternal night, measuring the passing of days was impossible.
Rosamon rushed over and hugged me. “We’re home…at last.”
A feeling of melancholy overtook me. I had missed the town and our parents. Standing in the church was quite nostalgic. “I got you back, just like I promised.” I smiled at my sister. “Now, I just have to make it permanent.”
I couldn’t decipher the look on Logan’s face. It was the first time we’d been together in the human world. The situation was reversed. Since I’d known him, I’d had to adjust to his people and his kingdom. For the first time, he had to adjust to mine.
Yet I couldn’t forget that I was a vampire too. His people were mine, in that sense. And I couldn’t stroll around Astoria, greeting old friends. It wouldn’t take much for someone to notice my glowing eyes and sense that something was amiss.
“We better get on with it,” Morrigan said. “This isn’t old home week. We have a mission to accomplish.”
Logan took charge and gave instructions. It appeared that he had connections in the outside world, humans to do his bidding. I’d had no idea that his influence reached that far.
The humans met us outside the church. It made sense to have a human chauffeur and accomplices. The rest of us could sit inside the van without being seen.
It was a cloudy day, as most were in Astoria. Even so, we wore protective eyewear. As vampires, we could be in the sunlight, so long as it wasn’t too bright, or we weren’t out too long. But protective gear was required.
Only Noah didn’t need it. I didn’t ask why. There was something different about him. I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t wear glasses; he hadn’t worn them in high school either—when I’d thought he was human.
Our parents had talked about the place Rosamon and I had been born and told us all they could of our life before adoption. I’d relayed that to Logan, so he ordered the driver to proceed south toward the Northern Oregon Coast Range, many miles from where we’d lived with Ian and Emma.
As the van rolled along the highway, I felt rising anticipation about what we would find. This was unknown territory, because I didn’t have many early memories. My recall was mostly of the period after the adoption. My infancy and very early youth had been inaccessible. Emma hadn’t been able to tell us much, since she hadn’t met Rosamon and I until after the car crash had taken our birth parents.
It wasn’t long before we arrived in the town of Seaside. To the west was the ocean and to the east was state forest. I peeked out the window and spotted the beach. It brought back memories of running through the sand and splashing in the water.
But we dared not get out, for fear of being recognized.
The humans went into town and discreetly asked around. They returned to the van with information. Sadie and Bramwell Mayfair had lived with their children on a property in the hills, at the base of the forest. The driver started up the van and headed that way, with Logan directing him.
Rosamon sat beside me, looking out the windows. She whispered to me when she recognized a location or remembered something that we’d done as children. My sister’s recall seemed to be much better than mine. But then Natasha had been assisting her in reverie, so that made sense.
Noah held Rosamon’s hand but didn’t comment. Amalia, Natasha, and Morrigan were unusually quiet. But they seemed alert and I judged that they were tuning into perceptions of the environment. Then the van stopped, and I gazed at the others.
I had no insight to offer. This was the place I’d spent my early years, but I barely remembered it. I’d have to rediscover it, just like the others would see it for the first time. My pulse hit a staccato beat, before I stepped out of the van. A narrow stone path led to the porch of a cottage.
My flashes returned, but the images seemed to have something to do with our early life. The swirling scenes were of things Rosamon had recently described to me, after one of her reveries. My sister had relayed stories of our early life. And she’d described the cottage, when it had been well maintained and alive with family activity.
Logan took my hand then we walked up the path, with the others behind us. It looked like the cottage had been deserted for some time. The path had weeds sprouting between the stepping stones. The shrubs were untended. The property was completely overgrown with vines creeping up the exterior walls.
The cottage was on a hill, surrounded by trees that offered protection from wind. The structure was partially hidden by all the greenery. I was anxious to see in
side, unsure if the interior would show as much sign of neglect as the outside.
I realized too late that the cottage wasn’t completely without protection.
A pack of monstrous black dogs with huge teeth and claws sprung from the undergrowth, where they’d been hiding. I recognized the barghest from encounters I’d had with others of their species in Shadowland. The nightmarish combination of lion, goat, and dragon terrified me.
But I was no longer a human to be gobbled up without a fight. A glance at Rosamon told me that she was with me on that. Within a split second of spotting the Fae creatures, my sister and I countered the attack.
Much to my surprise, I was able to combine my power with Rosamon’s. I grabbed her hand, then together we cast a spell commanding the vines and other vegetation to hinder the beasts in their attack, deflecting their ability to claw and bite. It was enough of a distraction to allow our vampire protectors to intercede.
Barghest weren’t anything new, although I doubt any of us expected to see them in Oregon. Morrigan aided Natasha and Amalia to kill the beasts before they could rip out our throats with their claws. Logan held the humans back. Clearly, they were no match for the magical creatures.
The beasts uttered deep moans when fatally wounded by vampire magic, then laid still on the ground. Morrigan immediately turned toward the humans and swirled her hands while chanting. The humans got in the van and left without comment.
“I daresay there was no way to explain what they saw,” the sorceress said. “I wiped their memory of it and replaced it with the knowledge that they were done here, so needed to return home.”
Logan wielded his telekinesis and tossed each of the beasts into the forest, where wolves would no doubt make a meal of them—provided the meat of the beasts tasted good. Then we cautiously resumed our approach to the house. The wooden door was warped, and the hinges squeaked. Logan pushed the door all the way open and it creaked with age. He went inside, then motioned for the rest of us to follow.
Chapter 10
Logan
The others followed me into the quiet cottage. I walked into the living room and noted that it was pristine, in contrast to the obvious neglect of the outside. Callie stayed close to me, looking around. Rosamon and the rest of the group meandered about, taking it all in.
It struck me that the place appeared cared for, but that made no sense. After the car crash, it would have been logical for another family to buy the home and move in. But there was no sign of occupancy; it was a bit creepy.
Callie gazed at the items that must have been familiar to her: the sofa, the stone fireplace, the coffee table and other items. The furniture was cozy and comfortable looking, but not noteworthy in any way. Yet the sight seemed to captivate her.
“It’s remarkable,” Callie said. “I can’t get over it. I barely remember what I did here, as a youth. But the surroundings are just as they were. I somehow recognize that.”
“So, no one else moved in?”
Rosamon moved closer to her sister. “We were so young that we weren’t told a lot. A five-year old doesn’t think to ask that. All we talked about was our parents and how we wanted them. But not about the house where we’d lived.”
Callie glanced at her sister. “Other than to beg to go home. At least until we’d adjusted to our new home.”
“This has an off feel,” Natasha said. “The only perceptions I’m getting are of when your parents were with you, nothing after that. That’s unusual.” She headed toward the hallway. “I’m going to look around.”
The others drifted away too, leaving Callie with me. “It seems like time stood still…but that’s not possible.”
That’s the sense I had, too, but couldn’t substantiate it. “What makes you say that?”
“It’s just that it feels like I didn’t leave at all, like this is the very moment when I was last here.” Callie looked at me. “It’s spooky.”
“Could everything in this house have been frozen in time?” I took Callie’s hand as the thought was chilling. I’d have to check with Morrigan about this; she may know if it was possible to make time stop for more than a decade.
I stayed close to Callie as we investigated the house. If all time had truly stopped inside these walls, it was a new expression of blatantly powerful sorcery. It made me suspicious.
Callie led me into the kitchen then went over to the refrigerator. She stared at some crayon drawings held to the door with magnets.
She’d recently shared with me that flashes of imagery had haunted her. The sketches in her notebook were mysterious. The violent nature of the scenes was alarming.
I wasn’t surprised when Callie said, “These drawings…some of them are right out of the visions I’ve had. My flashes included scenes like these.”
“That is amazing,” I said and looked over her shoulder at the childhood drawings.
“But there are some things that I don’t recognize.” Callie squinted at the colorful scribbles.
Some of the pictures featured things that Callie didn’t consciously know anything about or what they meant, if they had any significance at all. And I didn’t have any insight to offer; all were unfamiliar to me.
Yet it made me wonder what kind of power Callie may have possessed without realizing it, even as a small child. She’d sketched scenes from her mind that weren’t from anything in her real life, whatever real meant anymore.
A cry from Rosamon in another room sent us racing off to find her. I heard her voice down the hallway, then discovered the others were in a bedroom with her. The instant Callie stepped inside, she gasped and rushed over to her sister.
I stared as the scenario played out.
Rosamon’s eyes were a big as saucers and Callie’s hand was over her mouth.
“Tell Logan what you told me,” Noah said.
Rosamon didn’t take her eyes off the woman before her. “It’s our mother Sadie.”
“Only she’s not moving,” Callie said.
On close inspection, I saw a lifelike form of a woman sitting in a padded chair. She had blondish hair and hazel eyes. Rosamon looked vaguely like her. But the astounding thing was that she appeared to be the same age she was at the time of the car crash.
“She looks the same as the last time I saw her,” Rosamon said, still riveted on the woman.
Callie took a step closer but didn’t reach out to touch her mother.
Then Morrigan approached and waved her hand toward the woman—actually, through the woman. “It’s a hologram.”
“How long do you suppose it has been here?” I said.
“From the look of it, for quite a while, maybe a decade.” Morrigan crossed her arms and studied the apparition.
“But why?” Callie said, voicing the very question going through my mind.
“That is what we need to figure out,” Natasha said. “This is a key to the puzzle.”
Rosamon finally glanced away and Noah put his arms around her.
“What do we do now?” Callie said. “It’s highly distressing to know that someone created this image of our mother. It couldn’t have been for any good purpose.”
“No, it has an evil feel about it,” Natasha said.
I shuddered to think what the purpose might have been. “Let’s discuss this and decide what to do. If this hologram of your mother was created so many years ago, maybe it’s been here ever since you were adopted.”
“But why?” Noah said. “This is upsetting to Rosamon and Callie. Is that the point? Did whoever created this intend to scare them?”
“And why so long ago?” Natasha said. “That could only mean that the perpetrator expected the twins to see this hologram of their mother. So, we have to ask who would desire that and why?”
“We are missing the obvious,” Morrigan said. “This is powerful sorcery, the likes of which I haven’t run into often. There is only one powerful sorcerer I know of, who is connected to the twins.”
“Seth…” Rosamon whispered but loud enou
gh that she was heard.
“This is really weird,” Callie said. “I still don’t understand what he wants.” She looked up at me. “Do you?”
“No, I don’t.” I looked at Morrigan. “But we need to figure out how to break this spell. Because it appears that the power that created this hologram, also left this home suspended in time.”
“I noticed that, too,” Natasha said. “It’s as though the very air we breath in here is suspended, that by being inside we’ve been transported into the past.”
“It’s not so much that we have moved into the past, as that the house hasn’t moved into the present,” Morrigan said.
Noah put his arm around Rosamon. “Well, we need to undo this magic. If it’s Seth, then it only allows him to proceed as planned. We must do all we can to block him.”
Chapter 11
Logan
“This hologram is revelatory,” Morrigan said. “It has made me aware of something that I hadn’t fully considered before.”
“Whatever it is, please share,” I said. “Because the rest of us are in the dark.”
Morrigan stared at the image of Sadie. “I see it all. I’m sure that this is how it happened.” She paused. “It was Seth’s plan, all along. He intended to procreate and have twin daughters with his sorcerer blood, for one reason. That was how he could escape the prison.”
No one said a word.
“Think about it,” Morrigan said. “He was physically detained in that cage. But there was no way to completely block his power. Some of what he achieved is awe inspiring. Or, it would be, if it wasn’t so dastardly.”
“You’re speaking in riddles,” I said.
“It’s not a mystery anymore,” Morrigan said. “The biological parents were Sadie and Bramwell, but it was Seth who impregnated her.”
“From his cell?” Noah said.
“Precisely,” Morrigan said. “Even you played into his hand, Amalia.”
Amalia shook her head. “I dread to think how.”
“You drew Rosamon into your land and Callie followed. But don’t think for a minute that it wasn’t what Seth wanted all along. Or that he didn’t know about it.” Morrigan looked at Callie.
