by Rain Oxford
However, we were surprised to receive a second invitation, this time from Darwin and Amelia themselves. It was a wedding invitation.
Devon,
Amy and I decided that planning a wedding was driving Mum crazy and we were tired of it, so we’re getting married on the winter solstice. Bring a date, because otherwise, we’ll make fun of you for being sad.
See ya there!
Your best friend, Darwin
Epilogue
Veronica felt sharp fangs sink into her calf and shouted. A second set latched onto her arm. This time, she knew better than to scream. Devon was silent; he knew what they were. She reached out instinctively to control the mind of whatever beasts were attacking her, but all she felt was the impenetrable wall around her brother’s mind.
How can I not sense them? She could control even the simplest-minded creatures. She knew this place had to do with demons, and that Henry had opened a doorway into it. She knew it was called the shadow pass.
And she knew she couldn’t open it to get out by herself.
Two long, thin hands wrapped around her ankles and pulled suddenly. She fell, but the ground was softer than dirt, like she was landing on a bed of rags. She smelled rotting flesh and gagged, almost glad she couldn’t see anything. Then the creature started dragging her.
She kicked and thrashed, but couldn’t loosen the creature’s grip. She hadn’t been prepared to fight something she couldn’t control.
And then a bright light formed above her. Her first thought was that Devon was trying to leave her in the darkness. She started to turn to see what monstrous creature had been dragging her, but it was gone. The light was blinding and hurt her eyes, so she closed her eyes and reached towards it for Devon. She knew that she wouldn’t survive if she was left behind.
To her shock, a hand met hers and pulled her into the light. A moment later, she was somewhere new.
She was alone in a forest at night, with thick snow on the ground. The air was thick and heavy, unnervingly similar to the air in the dark place, but it was even colder. She shivered. The cold filled her chest in a way that made her want to stop breathing. It felt like loss and depression was invading her body.
But she had nothing to lose.
There was something very creepy about it. Even the trees looked sinister. Strangely, objects like jewelry and children’s toys littered the ground. Ten feet in front of her was a mirror, floating in midair a few inches off the ground.
It was a full-length mirror that would fit on a closet door. Instead of reflecting her, however, it showed her a dark bedroom. In the distance, she saw another mirror. Veronica approached the closer mirror cautiously, aware that there were no sounds in the forest. That bothered her, but not as much as the cold.
Veronica circled the mirror. It wasn’t propped up by anything. For the thousandth time since she learned of it, she wished that she had her grandfather’s intuition.
Devon took it for granted because he never used it to its full extinct. She knew what it could do, and now that she knew about the keys, she knew how to get it. Her grandfather had books that she couldn’t find before, but all she had to do was kill an old wizard and there would be nowhere on Earth that was off limits to her.
She faced the mirror again. Although she had no idea where she was, she knew she wouldn’t get where she wanted to be by standing still. She reached for the surface of the mirror… and it was like touching the surface of water. She stepped forward and her hand sunk further into the room. It was a doorway, only it was much more pleasant than the shadow pass.
“You won’t find what you want in there,” a voice said behind her. She spun so fast that her foot slipped in the snow and she had to catch herself on the frame of the mirror. It was as steady as a wall.
Standing before her was what looked like a little girl. However, even without her grandfather’s intuition, Veronica knew it wasn’t actually a little girl that she faced.
The girl looked about twelve and was slender with long, black, braided hair and emerald-green eyes. Although she wore a simple white sundress and was barefoot, she didn’t shiver. Her face was soft and innocent, but her eyes revealed power and knowledge that made Veronica want to run.
Veronica tried to read the child’s mind, but it was completely blocked. She wondered if this was one of the demons she heard about in Henry’s mind and wished she’d had more time to learn about them. This was the second person she had ever encountered whose mind she couldn’t read. It was unnerving. She still wanted to know how Devon had learned to block his from her.
“Hello. I’m Veronica.” Veronica couldn’t tell whether this innocent-looking person intended to kill her, but she was pretty sure the girl was the one to save her from the shadow pass. Thus, she would be nice until she figured out what the child wanted from her. “Who are you?”
“I’m Alice. Let’s play a game.”
About the Author
Rain Oxford is a teacher who has been writing stories since she was twelve. She attended Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan. Some of her interests include magic, psychology, and ancient history. When she’s not creating worlds, she enjoys reading, playing the piano, or photographing exotic wildlife.
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/rainoxfordauthor
Website: rainoxford.wordpress.com
Amazon Page: amazon.com/author/rainoxford
This book was made with 100% recycled electrons. If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review. Thanks for reading!
Books by Rain Oxford
Elemental 1: Dark Waters
Elemental 2: Hungry Earth
Elemental 3: Furious Flames
Elemental 4: Insidious Winds
Elemental 5: Soul Guard
Elemental 6: Revenant’s Call
Elemental 7: Forbidden Alchemy
Abyss of Shadows 1: Hunting Shadows
Abyss of Shadows 2: Whispering Shadows
The Guardian 1: The Guardian’s Grimoire
The Guardian 2: The Dragon’s Eyes
The Guardian 3: God of the Abyss
The Guardian 4: The Demon’s Game
The Guardian 5: The Wizard’s War
The Sorcerer’s Saga 1: The Sorcerer’s Quest
The Sorcerer’s Saga 2: The Wizard’s Secret
The Sorcerer’s Saga 3: The Raven’s Curse
The Sorcerer’s Saga 4: The Dragon’s Price
The Sorcerer’s Saga 5: The Hero’s Peril
The Sorcerer’s Saga 6: The Wolf’s Heart
Casters of Syndrial 1: Book of Names
Casters of Syndrial 2: Sword of Draskara
Casters of Syndrial 3: Curse of Sekhmet
