Destiny in Danger

by Tara Weeks

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m a grown-ass woman and I can look after myself. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll be sure to lock the doors once you leave,” Cassie assured her.

  Selene stared at Cassie, her eyebrow raised, but Cassie was either oblivious to her annoyance, or more likely, choosing to ignore it.

  Marek opened the passenger side door for her, and Selene conceded that she had no choice but to go. She avoided meeting his eyes as she climbed up into the car.

  “Have fun!” Cassie waved enthusiastically as Marek strode around to the driver’s side.

  Selene scowled at Cassie through the window, but that only seemed to make her grin even more. Marek climbed into the driver’s seat and turned to her, his smile setting a flurry of butterflies alight in her stomach.

  “Ready?” he asked, sticking the key into the ignition.

  Selene could only nod, not trusting herself to speak again as a wave of nerves took over.

  Marek started the car and steered them back down the driveway as Selene pretended to be enthralled with the scenery.

  Oh my, he smells amazing…this guy will be the death of me.

  Chapter Three

  Addie

  T

  he woman stared back at her, not appearing to be in the least bit surprised to find Addie standing there—or by the fact they looked exactly alike.

  What is happening? This can’t be real; I must be hallucinating or something.

  “I assure you, you’re not.” The woman spoke.

  Addie’s mouth fell open. “You read my mind?”

  “I did,” the woman replied matter-of-factly as she gracefully moved away from the window and walked over to one of two identical chaise chairs facing each other on the right side of the room. The woman took a seat and leaned against the cushions, looking like a glamourous actress right out of old Hollywood. Addie could only stand there with her mouth open until the woman gestured with her hand for Addie to join her. Addie walked over to the opposite chair and sat down on the plush burgundy velvet. She felt like she was experiencing déjà vu, but she knew that couldn’t be possible. It felt surreal looking at her doppelganger and she looked at anything and everything else except the woman, though she could feel her eyes on her as she silently watched her. Addie stared at the shelves, close enough now to inspect the rows of old books, intricate crystals of all shapes and sizes, and the large glass jars. She felt intrigued by some of the more unusual-looking contents, and while all the jars were neatly labelled, she still couldn’t read them from where she sat. Her gaze drifted over to a framed portrait on the adjoining wall behind the woman, and Addie got to her feet before she even realized what she was doing. She could feel the woman’s eyes on her as she moved, but they both remained silent. Lifting her hand to her mouth, Addie stared at the old sepia photograph, framed in a simple wooden frame on the wall. The photograph was of three women standing side by side, their hands clasped in front of them. They wore severe, high-necked black dresses, with full sleeves and long skirts that brushed the tops of their buttoned black boots. Yet, as Addie forced herself to look at their faces, she knew what she would see. The women were herself, Selene and Cassie. Her eyes looked down to the bottom right-hand corner where the image was dated 1850.

  This can’t be.

  “Of course, it can. It is.” The woman said.

  “Will you stop reading my mind?” Addie snapped as she turned away from the painting. “It’s rude.” Addie stormed back over to the chair and sat before quickly standing back up again, her hands on her hips.

  “Look, I’m sorry for sneaking into the manor. I’m not supposed to be here—like, literally not supposed to be here, in 1920. But something tells me you can help me get back to…well, my time.” Addie declared.

  The woman looked up at her. “What makes you say that?”

  Addie raised her eyebrows. “Let’s see. There’s the fact you can read my mind, the fact you have all this weird stuff on your shelves, there’s that photograph on the wall and you’re not in the least bit surprised to see me. Oh, and there’s also the tiny detail that you look exactly like me. Who are you, anyway?”

  The woman leaned forward, resting her elbow elegantly across her knees. “My name is Adamina Naya.”

  Addie opened her mouth and closed it again, letting the words sink in. The woman just watched her until she could finally speak. “That is not possible. I’m Adamina Naya. You can’t be me—this is 1920…”

  “I am you. I’m also not you. It’s a little complex and not the easiest thing to explain…” the woman started.

  “Well, how about you try?” Addie demanded.

  “First, I’m intrigued to know where are you from? As in what year?”

  “2020.” Addie replied. Despite the woman saying she was intrigued, in actuality, she seemed more focused on her fingernails than by Addie’s answer. “You know what’s happening, don’t you? To me and my friends?”

  “I know it’s frustrating,” the woman finally looked up, “but I can’t tell you anything. You and your friends need to uncover your path for yourselves. If you try to unravel your path sooner than you’re meant to, then the consequences could be dire—catastrophic, even.”

  Before Addie could respond, there came a crashing sound from outside, followed by screams. Addie and the woman dashed over to the window and looked out. There was an extensive section at the forest’s edge that stood blackened and singed with golden embers snaking up what remained of the trees. Smoke blew up towards the windows, making it hard initially for either women to see what was going on, yet as the screaming intensified, Addie knew it was nothing good.

  “How did you come to be here?” The woman asked in a hushed voice, placing her hand against the windowpane as though it would somehow help her see better.

  “Uh, through a portal. I was down in a cavern being chased by…”

  “Brenner…” the woman gasped as the smoke cleared and they could see the chaos below.

  “That’s him!” Addie cried as they saw the man below, hurling fiery orbs at the party goers below.

  “Didn’t you lock the portal behind you?” The woman turned and asked her.

  “Huh?” was all Addie could say.

  The woman sighed and grabbed Addie by the arm and pulled her away from the window. “You have to lock the portal behind you, especially if you’re being pursued by someone—or something—you don’t want to follow you. You led him straight to us.”

  “You know that man?” Addie asked as she let herself get pulled into the middle of the room.

  “Unfortunately, yes, though it has been some time since we’ve gone head to head. He’s an evil warlock of the worst kind. He’s supposed to be forever banished from this realm. It should have been impossible for him to return,” the woman explained rapidly, turning her head toward the window as the house shook under the weight of some kind of explosion, followed by further screams.

  “You must leave before it’s too late. If he finds us both here, together, the consequences will be astronomical.” The woman stopped and lifted a chain that hung around her neck, revealing a key attached to it that had previously been hidden within her dress. “Take this.” She placed the key and chain into the palm of Addie’s hand and wrapped her fingers over it. “You need to create another portal if you want to get out of here. I will try to buy you as much time as I can.”

  A crashing sound came from below, within the house, and the woman pulled Addie into a tight embrace. “Take care of each other. For all our sakes.” Releasing Addie, the woman turned and hurried out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

  “Wait! I don’t think I can create another portal!” Addie called out, but the door remained closed. Addie looked around frantically, not knowing where to start as the crashing and screaming moved through the house beneath her, while outside seemed eerily quiet. Her thoughts suddenly diverted to Jove in the cavern and how he’d helped her create the la
st portal. She felt a flutter in her chest at the recollection.

  Addie Naya! Now is not the time!

  Holding out her hands before her, she tried to focus on those feelings and use them as energy to create a new portal. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the violent sounds rapidly approaching, and when she opened them, Addie gasped when she saw it forming before her. It moved slowly at first, but quickly expanded the more she focused on it. There was a large crashing sound from the hallway and several jars and books fell from the shelves, crashing to the floor around her, but Addie held her focus. As soon as it was large enough, Addie crossed her fingers and leaped through it. The last thing she heard were the sounds of the woman screaming.

  Chapter Four

  Cassie

  W

  ith her back against the closed front door, Cassie listened to the sound of Marek’s car leaving. She felt grateful to have some time to herself to absorb everything that was happening—and do a little more digging on her own. Looking down at the owl in her hand, she turned it over, wondering how it could have possibly come off the shelf. She decided it warranted further investigation as she walked back over to the bookshelf in the living room. It didn’t take long to see its previous resting place, due to the dust-free circle left exposed. She replaced the owl and ran her hands over the edge of the shelf. As far as she could tell it was straight, so she didn’t think it had somehow slid off. She poked it with her forefinger, trying to determine how much force it would take to expel it onto the ground. When it didn’t move, she pushed it with her palm, and only then did it topple to the ground. Cassie stared down at its ruby-red eyes as though they were in a standoff, before she picked it up and put it back on the shelf.

  Like everything else that was happening around them, Cassie had no explanation for what had happened, and she resolved herself to dealing with one issue at a time. Walking over to where they’d left the photos, Cassie sat on the rug beside the box. She picked up a bunch and started flicking through them again, slowly shaking her head.

  This is so bizarre. These women look exactly like us—how will that ever make any sense?

  As she continued to flick through them, Cassie noticed that several had been taken in the same room. Peering at the images, she thought the room looked like part of the manor, and yet it didn’t look like any of the rooms she’d seen so far. Holding a slightly larger photograph up for a closer look, she inspected the image of three women again, looking exactly like herself, Selene and Addie. In this image they were wearing vintage dresses with feathered headpieces and long pearl necklaces. She initially thought they might have been dressed up for a themed party, but when she turned the photo over, the date was New Year’s Eve, 1920. The three women sat together on a beautiful-looking chaise lounge as they posed, unsmiling, at the camera. Cassie thought the image looked like it belonged in some vintage Vogue magazine. Forcing herself to focus on looking for clues, she noted there was a bookshelf along the wall to their left—only partially in shot, but just enough for Cassie to see that it contained books, and what looked like some large crystal clusters—but the rest of it was excluded from the shot. Over to the right side of the photograph, Cassie could see the last third of a circular window, and she frowned as she looked at it.

  I would recall seeing a circular window in the manor—wouldn’t I?

  Scrambling to her feet, Cassie jogged towards the front door and pulled it open. She continued to the other side of the driveway before turning and looking up at the manor. Scanning the building, she concluded there were no circular windows like the one in the picture. She ran back inside, closing the door behind her, then jogged through to the other side of the house and out into the garden. Looking up at the house, again she could only see the large rectangular windows that she’d seen from the front.

  But I’m sure those photographs are from within the manor. More damn questions and no answers!

  Frowning to herself, Cassie strode back into the house, but as she was about to enter the living room again, she heard the creak of the front door open.

  Don’t tell me that’s Selene back already. Poor Marek.

  Yet, as she walked out into the foyer, there was no one there. As she stared at the open door, her heart skipped a beat and she questioned whether it had been such a smart idea to stay in the manor on her own.

  Don’t be ridiculous. Get it together, Cassie. You probably didn’t close it properly when you came back inside. You were in too much of a hurry to find a stupid window that doesn’t exist.

  As she reached out to close the door, a loud bang sounded from behind her, causing her to jump.

  “Oh, come on!” Cassie yelled, more annoyed than scared, and she stormed back into the lounge room. On the middle of the floor was an enormous book; she looked at it curiously.

  Surely that can’t be responsible for such a loud bang?

  Cassie walked over and went to pick it up, surprised to find that it weighed a ton. She needed both hands to retrieve it and was stunned to find that the cover of the book was made from a thick metal. She opened the book to find that the pages toward the back were glued together, and a small section was cut out of the middle, resulting in a little hiding place—which was empty.

  Swearing under her breath, Cassie closed the book and looked for the place on the shelves it had come from.

  Well, I’ll be damned…

  Standing on her tiptoes, Cassie peered up at the gap between two books. On the sliver of wall left exposed by the missing book, was an old iron lock.

  I wonder what’s on the other side.

  Chapter Five

  Selene

  M

  arek tried to make conversation as he and Selene drove toward town by asking Selene a couple of questions to which she only responded with single-syllable answers. Selene felt like all the charm and social skills she’d relied on her whole life had vanished, leaving her feeling self-conscious and nervous—two feelings that were entirely foreign to her.

  You’re being rude. Poor Marek is just making conversation.

  Deciding to change track, Selene thought by asking Marek the questions, he’d be forced to do most of the talking.

  “Do you have a girlfriend?” she blurted, groaning inwardly as soon as the words left her mouth.

  What the hell is wrong with you?

  Marek flashed her a quick look, his eyebrows raised, before he burst out laughing. “Direct. I can appreciate that. The answer is no, I do not have a girlfriend.”

  “Oh.” Selene replied, swallowing thickly.

  There was a brief silence before Marek elaborated. “I did have. We’d been together since high school and I thought she was the one. That was, until I found out she cheated on me. Repeatedly. I’ve been single since.”

  “I’m sorry, that’s awful.” Selene turned and looked at him, wanting to reach out and touch his arm, but forced herself to maintain restraint. “So that was fairly recent then?”

  Marek shook his head. “It was a couple of years ago now.”

  “What?” Selene yelped before instantly regretting it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound…I don’t know…that just seems like a long time to be single for someone so…so…”

  “So?” Marek prompted and Selene felt her face flush, knowing she’d backed herself into a corner. “I just meant you seem really…nice.”

  Marek grinned at her, sending her heart in a flutter. “Nice. I can take that. I think you seem nice too.”

  “Really?” Selene asked incredulously and Marek erupted in laughter.

  “Well, you’re a little prickly and not the easiest person to get to know, but what can I say? I’m up for the challenge.”

  Selene placed her hand over her mouth while she stared out the window, trying to hide her smile. She felt like a giddy schoolgirl around him, which annoyed her, and the constant butterflies she felt in his proximity made her feel nauseous. Even without looking at him, she couldn’t escape the wa
y their closeness made her feel. It was as though every part of her felt electrified and on edge—though it wasn’t unpleasant. It was exciting—and scary.

  Stop it. He must be at least ten years younger than you! You’re being ridiculous. Besides, there are far more important things to focus on.

  What unnerved Selene most of all, was that she was used to being in control. Calm. Collected. Yet when she was around Marek, she felt anything but. It was all she could do not to sigh with relief when he finally pulled the jeep up in front of the pub. She actually hoped there were other patrons inside, so she wouldn’t feel so alone with him. Marek got out of the car and Selene almost fell out in her hurry to get out before he could open the door for her. Instead, she ended up falling straight into his arms. She looked up into his eyes, surprised by how blue they were up close—like a cloudless, afternoon sky. Marek grinned at her and her heart felt like it was doing somersaults in her chest. Clearing her throat, Selene righted herself and pulled away before putting some distance between them. Marek just continued to smile as he waived his arm out before him, gesturing for her to lead the way.

  As soon as Selene opened the door, she felt repulsed by the smell of stale beer and fried food but felt determined not to stand out like a sore thumb. Sure, it was nothing like the five-star restaurants and glitzy venues she was used to frequenting, but she reminded herself the whole reason she’d taken a trip in the first place was because she wanted a change of scene.

  Can’t get much more of a change of scene than this.

  Once inside the pub, Selene hovered, unsure what to do next. She almost jumped out of her skin as she felt Marek’s hand on the small of her back, and she looked up at him in surprise.

  Wow, he really is tall. How did I not notice that before? And the way his blond hair always looks like he’s just run his hands through it. I know I’d like to…