“How do you know about that?”
“Elijah came to visit us.”
“What!” Jorja’s head jerked up. “You let that demon into your house? After what he did to us? To our family?”
“We didn’t have a choice, Jorja. If we didn’t help him, Julie would either die or become a vampire. Either way, the chosen ones would be no more. We would have no future!” Josi cried, pointing to her and Jami. “We couldn’t let her die.”
“I know, but it’s Elijah! He deserves to be vanquished for all he’s done to us! Not to mention he’s derailed my search for…” She trailed off, averting her gaze to the floor, scrounging through the pockets of one of the ogres lying on the floor at her feet.
“Your search for what?” Jasmine asked, her eyes narrowing as she studied Jorja. “You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”
“I—”
“You know, just because I don’t have my memories, doesn’t mean I’m an idiot!” Jasmine snapped. “You’re hiding something. I know you are. What are you hiding?”
“Better yet, what are you looking for?” Josi asked, as Jorja scrounged through the pockets of the Ogre.
“This!” Jorja cried, showing them the long, gold key in her hand. “The key to the weapon room! It’s what I’ve been looking for ever since I got here. We’re going to need weapons if we’re going to save Josslyn.”
“Wait. Josslyn’s… here?” Jami asked, suddenly not sure if she should be thrilled or angered at the mention of her mother. “Where is she? Does she remember us?”
“Oh, she remembers who you are alright,” Jorja said, smiling as she thought of Josslyn. “And boy, is she one pissed off woman! You should have seen her when she got stuck here with me. All she wanted was to get back to you, but this place had other plans. Not to mention the Ogres, giants, vampires, and Gargoyles roaming around here.”
“Gargoyles? Did you just say Gargoyles?” Jami asked, her mouth dropping open. “But I thought they scared demons away!”
“They’re supposed to be, but it seems that they’ve struck a deal with Elijah and the underworld. So now… they’re evil.”
“No surprise there,” Jasmine muttered. “It seems evil surrounds us.”
“You’ll remember more about that, once we get you your memories back,” Josi said, patting Jasmine on the arm. “So, where is Josslyn?”
“Captured by the queen,” Jorja said, turning and zigzagging through the pile of monsters lying on the floor around them. “She and I have been trapped here for months! She’s quite the riot, and definitely has a temper, but I haven’t seen her since the earthquake.”
“Earthquake?”
“Oh yeah. It was the worst earthquake I’ve ever seen, and I lived in California for a while. It created a huge crack in the ground, and from the other side I saw a huge mudslide headed right for Josslyn. I only heard about her being captured by the queen, by a few of the Ogres talking.”
“Who is this queen?”
“How the hell should I know?” Jorja asked, shoving open the large doors in front of her, trudging down the bright, red carpet. “Do I really have to explain everything?”
“Yes you do!” Jasmine cried, hurrying after Jorja. “Like you still haven’t answered my question. What are you hiding? Who are you searching for? And I still don’t get how you and Josslyn kept your memories!”
“Maybe because we’re the strongest?” Jorja asked, shrugging, as they rounded the corner.
“None of us are stronger than the other!” Jasmine cried.
“How do you know that?” Jorja asked, glancing over her shoulder. “I thought you lost your memories.”
“I have, but things keep coming back to me piece by piece,” Jasmine said. “And I remember someone saying that we are the strongest together. I think it was Sky. Sky. Oh my God! Sky! How did I forget about him?” she asked, stopping in the middle of the hall. “Where is he?”
“Safe,” Josi said, as they hurried down the hall. “And worried about you.”
“Sounds like him,” Jasmine said, chuckling. “Wow! Just look at this castle,” she said, gazing around. “The last time I was in a castle was…”
“On Halloween,” Josi and Jami said in unison.”
“You know about that?” Jasmine asked, staring at them. “How?”
“Jessi, when she restored Sky’s memories. Plus, I think there was something in the book about it.”
“Ahh. You’ve been reading up on our family,” Jasmine said, laughing. “Come on. We gotta go get these weapons.”
“Well, I’m glad someone’s catching on,” Jorja muttered.
“Oh, stop being such a spoil sport, Jorja,” Jami said, rolling her eyes. “I know we’re in a time crunch here, and that Josslyn’s in trouble, but you could at least give us a minute to catch up on everything. Plus, look at this castle! It’s…”
“Dark,” Josi said, crinkling her nose, as she gazed down the hallway. Staring at the dark, gray, rocky walls surrounding them. “Look at this. This place looks like it was made from the ground up! And the walls… are they made of rock?”
“Do they look like rock to you?” Jorja asked, pointing to the wall, to where a set of eyes were staring at them.
“Ahh!” Jami jumped back, her eyes widening. “Is that… a skull?”
“It’s not the only one,” Jasmine said, staring down the hall, at the bones surrounding them. “This castle has been made out of humans!”
“You do know what Ogre’s like to eat, right?” Josi asked.
“Humans,” they all said in unison, shuttering. “Gross!”
“I think they went this way!”
The shout sounded behind them, and they all turned, ducking through the doorway to their right. Watching as an Ogre and giant raced by.
“Where? Where are they?”
“Down there!”
“We have to find them! If he finds out that they’ve escaped… he’ll kill us!”
“Elijah?” Jami asked.
Jorja nodded. “He doesn’t want us around, for his coordination. It’ll defeat his main goal.”
“What’s that?”
“Get rid of all of mankind.”
“What!”
“He wants all the humans gone,” Jorja told them. “But it gets worse. If he’s crowned leader of the underworld, Julie will become his queen, and she’ll never come back to us.”
“How’d your meeting go?” Julie asked, glancing up from the book she was reading, as Elijah walked into the room. Bastard. He’d lied to her. Taken her memories. Made her forget her sisters!
“Not good,” Elijah said, taking a seat next to her, and leaning in close. “What are you reading?”
“Just a book the doctor gave me,” Julie said, holding a hand to her belly. “But I’ve got news, Elijah. I just got back from the doctor… and I’m pregnant!”
“You’re what?” A smile spread across Elijah’s face. “Oh, Julie, that’s wonderful news!” he cried, leaning forward to cup her face in his hands. He brushed a kiss across her lips. “I am so excited! Our family is growing!”
“Talia can’t take everything from us,” Julie said. “So, what happened at the meeting? With the cloaks?”
“How do you know about the cloaks?”
“I had a visit with one of the sears,” Julie said, her eyes narrowing. “You lied to me Elijah.”
“Julie…” Elijah trailed off, suddenly not knowing what to say. What could he say? He had lied to her. “I’m sorry, but when we wed, everything changed. I couldn’t exactly just flick switch.”
“So instead, you decided to keep my sisters a secret from me,” Julie said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Even though you knew exactly what had happened. You knew about the separation of the dimensions. Tell me. Was the time we spent together a lie too?”
“Of course not!” Elijah cried, leaning forward. He reached his hand out, wrapping his dark fingers around hers. “Julie, being with you these last several months, learning
everything about you, your quirks, your likes, your dislikes. That corner of your mouth that quirks up whenever you think something is funny. I fell in love with you, Julie, and I am so in awe of you. Of everything you have been through.”
Julie stared at him, not sure if she should believe him. “So, what happened? At the meeting?”
“Let’s just say that we don’t have to worry about the cloaks anymore.”
“Meaning you killed them?” Julie asked, frowning. “Elijah! That could get you into a lot of trouble!”
“I couldn’t do what they asked,” Elijah whispered. “They told me I had to kill you, Julie. I couldn’t kill you!”
“But Elijah, you have wanted this for so long!”
“I thought I did,” Elijah whispered. “But now that I’m this close to it, I’m having doubts. What if I’m not a good leader? What if I’m wrong? What if separating you and your sisters was the wrong way to go?”
“Elijah.” Julie sighed, leaning forward. “You were born to be a leader,” she whispered, stroking her fingers along his stubbled cheek. “You were born to rule the underworld, and even though I don’t understand your reasons for lying to me, I love you, and I promise you I will be with you every step of the way.”
“Even if it means never seeing your sisters again?”
“Even then,” Julie said, holding a hand to her stomach. “Because you and this baby are my family, Elijah. For better or for worse.”
“What do you mean they’re not in this world?” Jessi asked, her mouth dropping open as she looked from Jade to Sky. “Where are they? What world are they in? Where are my sisters?”
“Jessi, you know there are other worlds out there, don’t you?” Jade asked, taking Jessi by the hand and pulling her toward the window.
“Of course I do! We found you in another world!”
“Then look up at the sky, Jessi.”
“Why?”
“Just look at it,” Jade said, sighing as she fought back a grin. Man, the girl was feisty! “Tell me, what do you see?”
“Stars. Lot of stars. Just like every night when I look up at it.”
“But they’re not just stars, Jessi. They’re other worlds, just like the one we’re on right now.”
“That myth is true?” Jessi asked, staring at Jade in disbelief. “But I thought they were just balls of gas!”
“That’s what the scientists tell you, but we know differently, because we are the chosen ones,” Jade told her. “Each star up there, it’s a different world. A different planet. Different, but very similar to our own. I never knew that was true either, until I was sucked into another world.”
“You mean on Halloween?”
“Precisely.”
“But who would send my sisters to another world?”
“Elijah,” Sky said, rising to his feet and walking across the world to stand next to them. “He’s threatened by us, Jessi.”
“Then why did he come to us for help?”
“Because he didn’t have any other choice. He needs Julie, for his plan to succeed, and he needs to keep us separated for everything to go according to plan.”
“What’s his plan?”
“To bring anarchy to the world,” Jade said. “It’s what every demon wants. More power. A chance to wipe out all good magic, plus, he loves chaos. He loves turmoil. You saw that in the underworld. He feeds off of it, and if he is coordinated…”
“Julie will be lost to you forever.”
The deep, masculine voice sounded behind them and they turned, staring at the large man in gold robes as he appeared before them in a reign of gold lights.
“Liam?” Sky’s eyes widened as he recognized the God. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you,” Liam said, crossing his arms in front of his broad chest and narrowing his eyes. “You’ve been a hard one to track down, Sky. I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
“Why?”
“All Gods and angels have been forbidden from teleporting. It makes it too easy for the dark and black angels to find us. We’ve lost so many of our kind already, we can’t lose anymore, which is why I need you to come with me. We’ve found a sanctuary for us remaining. A place, we will all be safe until order is restored.” He glanced over at Jade. “Until you and your sisters are reunited.”
“I’m trying, Liam,” Jade said, staring back at the God. “It’s not exactly an easy task. We’re scattered throughout the world.”
“I’m well aware.”
“And you expect me to just leave them out here… alone?” Sky asked, staring at the God in disbelief. “Liam, I can’t just leave them! They’re my family!”
“And you know just how I feel about that,” Liam said, turning his attention back to Sky. “But that is beyond the point. Right now, what I need, is for you to stay safe. This isn’t a request, Sky. It’s an order, from the great God, Zeus himself. The world is crumbling, Sky. People are dying. Witches are dying. Gods are dying. Even angels are dying. Nothing is as it should be.”
“And of course, you think the best course of action is to hide, rather than fight, right?” Sky asked. “I don’t know how you Gods live with yourselves. We have a greater duty to the people of this world. To our charges. We should be out there helping them!”
“Sky—”
“You know, Sky’s right,” Jade said, interrupting Liam before he could go on a rampage. “You Gods preach and preach to us about our calling. About protecting the innocent. About protecting this world, but I never see you Gods helping out. You’re so content, living up in the heavens, protecting yourselves that you forget about everyone down here on earth. Well I for one, am not going to stand by and just let this damned demon destroy the world I love! The city I love!”
“Jade, you need to find your sisters.”
“Oh, I’ll find them,” Jade said, grabbing her jacket off the chair and shrugging into it. “And I’ll do it, fighting these damned demons and putting Elijah where he belongs. Jessi, come on.”
“Where are we going?” Jessi asked, hurrying after her, glancing over her shoulder at Liam. “Is that really a God?”
“Yes. You saw them before, Jessi. In the underworld.”
“Yeah, but that was only for a second! He’s scary looking!”
“His bark is worse than his bite, and he and his fellow Gods, are not ones we like very much.”
“Why?”
“I’ll explain later. Right now, you and I need to go kick some demon ass!”
“Did you say, get rid of mankind?” Josi asked, her eyes widening as she stared at Jorja. “Is that even possible?”
“Of course it is,” Jasmine said, the shadows in her memory starting to come to the surface more and more. “It’s what every demon’s goal is, isn’t it? And without us there to stop it—” she suddenly let out a cry, a sharp pain stabbing her in the chest. “Oh my God! Ouch!”
“Jasmine!” Jami rushed forward, wrapping her hand around Jasmine’s arm. “Jasmine, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Jasmine panted out, gripping Jami’s hand, staring into her concerned, blue eyes. “I feel something. Someone’s pain, right here!” she stabbed a finger at her heart. “Something’s wrong. I think…” she gasped, her eyes snapping open. “It’s Sky!”
“You remember who Sky is?”
“Now I do!” Jasmine cried. “It’s like I needed a shock to remember everything, and now I do! But how? How are we connected?”
“You love him,” Josi said, grinning. “Isn’t that the strongest connection of all?”
“And you did hold his heart in your hands,” Jorja added. “That might have connected you.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s in trouble! We need to get back to our world! I need to know he’s okay!”
“We’re trying,” Jorja said, peering out into the hallway. “But it’s not like I can magically snap my fingers and we’re back in our world.”
“I wish Jade were here,” Jasm
ine muttered under her breath. “At least she can teleport.”
“Hey! I’m doing everything I can to get us back to our world!” Jorja snapped. “Give me a little credit, would you?”
Jasmine stared at her a moment. “You’re not a social worker, are you?”
“What?”
“Back at the house, where Josslyn and I met you, where we found Josi. You said you were their case worker. You’re not, are you?”
“Of course I am!”
“No you’re not. If you were, you wouldn’t lose your temper so easily. I know, because I went to school and majored in social work, and am now going for my law degree. You need patience to be in that line of work, and you do not have any patience!”
Jorja sighed, lifting her hands in surrender. “Okay. You got me. I’m not a social worker.”
“Then who the hell are you? Are you even really our sister?”
“Seriously? You saw the book, Jasmine! You know I am.”
“Then why did you lie to us?”
“Because it’s who I am!” Jorja cried. “I’ve been lying my entire life, Jasmine! And I needed to know if I could trust you, so I could ask for your help.”
“Your help with what?”
“Finding my daughter.”
“What?” Jasmine, Josi, and Jami all gasped the word at the same time.
“You have a daughter?”
“She’s missing?”
“Where is she?”
“I wish I knew,” Jorja said, blowing out a long breath, letting her guard down for the first time in three years, and letting herself remember that night. “I miss her so much! I wasn’t the best mother, I admit that. I was gone more times than I was home, but when those men broke into our apartment that night three years ago, it was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through in my entire life.”
“What happened?”
“They held me at gunpoint, and told me that if I ever told a soul what happened, they would kill Jordyn. So I kept quiet, and instead, searched for them myself. But I haven’t been able to get any leads on them. She’s just gone!”
“You know, you could have just told us,” Jasmine said, her heart breaking for what Jorja must have gone through. “We would have helped you!”
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