“Did you know I was watching you before?” Cheryl asked.
The Lady nodded.
“Then why didn’t you tell Rafe?”
“Because I’ve decided to help you instead.”
“And why is that? Do you know me?”
“Yes, I know you,” the Lady whispered. “I’ve decided that … it’s time I make amends for the wrong I did to you long ago.”
“Long ago? What are you…?”
“There is so much history. So much time has passed us. I wanted to believe I could change my own mind, but … it’s like I’m forever poisoned. Forever doomed to fail you.”
Cheryl took a step forward. “Your voice is so familiar. You remind me of my mother.”
“Our mother,” Lady Glowshark corrected.
“Huh?”
The Lady raised her fingers to the back of her mask, and detached it. As it came away, Cheryl was stunned to see the face behind it belonged to her sister, Sophie.
But she was thirty years older.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Oh my God!” Cheryl gasped. “What is happening? This is crazy. This is –”
“Don’t be like that,” Sophie said. “Surely nothing should shock you that much with all you’ve been through.”
Cheryl shook her head. “Well, what am I supposed to think? I mean – how does any of this make sense – I’m sorry –”
Cheryl sat down on the ground, trembling.
Her sister approached.
“I’ve seen your future. I’ve seen what becomes of this world. I tried myself to correct it when I found out about this place. Changes were made. But not enough to keep certain things from happening.”
“Well, I’m sorry,” Cheryl said. “You’ve lost me. I don’t know –”
“Please,” Sophie said, touching her shoulder. “It will all make sense soon. Try to be strong. I know you always were.”
Cheryl sighed. “So what’s behind that door?”
“It’s a teleportation device unlike any other,” Sophie answered. “When the witches designed it, it was supposed to be a simple portal between here and the otherworld. Somewhere along the way they made a mistake and now … we have this thing. Without it … Synrith would still be alive.”
“How?”
“Rafe’s been using it. He went back and altered things to ensure he was victorious against the dragons. At first I allowed him because he was my first love, and well, he and I…”
“What?”
“We murdered Jet. Wiped out the dragons. I know none of that’s happened yet. I’ve come here from the future, as you can see. Rafe was supposed to come as well, but for some reason he stayed behind. So now I’ve been with his younger self. Giving him all the power…”
Cheryl stood up. “You want to send me back don’t you?”
Sophie nodded. “It’s always been leading to this. It’s you who has the power to save Synrith, and stop the terrible tragedies that will occur.”
“How am I supposed to do that exactly?”
Sophie moved behind Cheryl and unlocked the door. She opened it a little.
“There’s a computer here that I can input your coordinates. Time, date, location. In case it doesn’t work, or you make a mistake when you go back, you will still be able to reach me here, if you know how to get here.”
“I wouldn’t,” Cheryl said. “I mean, I don’t.”
Sophie patted her shoulder. “You ask around. You’ll find a way back here.”
Cheryl frowned.
“In any case, I’m sending you back twenty six hours so you can stop me from being kidnapped by Jet. You know, the first time.”
“Well, how does it work?”
“When I’ve punched in the coordinates, you can step into the light. And it will happen from there. Your other objective would be to find Synrith and tell him everything that’s occurred.”
“And then what?”
“And then stay with him,” Sophie urged her. “Be in love. Be happy. He will keep you safe.”
“How do you know if you haven’t seen it?”
“Who says I haven’t?” She plucked Hylee’s ball from her pocket. “Ask your last question before you go. You’ll want the answer, whatever it is. It might just be truthful.”
“Is that what you did?” Cheryl asked. “Is that how you’ve seen what happens to me if I do this?”
“I don’t know,” Sophie shrugged. “Yes and no. I’m rooting for you anyway, sis.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
What lies inside his heart? How did the world appear through his eyes?
What did she really mean to him?
Cheryl wanted to know before she saw Synrith again. She pictured him standing there with her overlooking the beach. Whispering in her ear that he loved her. Was that the truth? Or was it a lie?
Even if that was supposed to happen somewhere in the future, she still couldn’t know if he was telling the truth. She couldn’t see inside his mind. Sophie was urging her to ask the ball the question – perhaps to find out what she could do to prevent the tragedies from occurring.
None of that mattered to Cheryl. She only wanted to know one thing.
Did he really love her?
Cheryl handed the ball back to Sophie. “There’s only one person I need to ask. And it’s not some silly crystal ball.”
Sophie accepted it reluctantly. “Be careful of him. When you see him now, you won’t have met before.”
Cheryl blinked. “Don’t underestimate him.”
Sophie turned to the computer on the wall to punch in the coordinates.
Cheryl moved closer to the swirling mass of light.
“Do you think everything’s going to be alright?” she asked her sister. “Seriously?”
“You tell me,” Sophie replied.
All of a sudden Cheryl felt her feet being sucked up from the floor, and she fell backwards to be consumed by the portal.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Cheryl’s eyes opened. She was awake.
She cried out in pain, a wave of electrical currents flowing through her body. Her head ached. She was thirsty. Tired.
She felt like she’d been punched in the face.
After sitting up, she saw that she was in her bedroom and it was night time. One of her pussy cats, Hoot, brushed up against her and meowed. He was hungry for food.
Cheryl yawned and got to her feet. She opened up the cabinet opposite her bed and withdrew the box of dry biscuits. She emptied it into their bowl, and her other cat Sniffy came in to join in on the meal. She patted them and then walked out into hallway towards the mirror.
She observed herself in the mirror. She was wearing a green dress that didn’t belong to her, and she looked roughed up as though she’d been out all night. Was she drunk? No, she didn’t think so. Then why couldn’t she remember what she’d been doing…?
Cheryl splashed water on her face and then rubbed it with a towel. Something was very peculiar about all this. She was missing something important…
She walked out into the living room and surveyed the area. Everything looked normal. No sign of uninvited guests. No objects misplaced or unexpectedly appearing. Cheryl sighed. She sat down on the couch and wondered if she had to work tomorrow.
Headlights. Through the window.
She heard a car driving out the front of her house and up her driveway.
Who could that be? At this hour…?
Cheryl looked at the clock on the wall. It had just gone after midnight.
And then in an instant, she remembered everything.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The night was hers.
Hers and her dragon’s.
Tonight she’d had before and she knew everything that would happen if she didn’t do anything to stop it. Sophie with Synrith. Cheryl with Jet.
It could happen, but this time it wasn’t going to.
Quick thinking, Cheryl grabbed her spare keys out of the drawer and managed to get outside and hide in t
he darkness of her garden before her past self made her way up the porch and to the front door. She heard the nurse’s tired sigh as she came home from the most exhausting double shift ever, and she didn’t even lock the front door as she stumbled in and allowed herself to fall on the sofa.
Cheryl darted around the side of the house now that the coast was clear, and opened the door of her car in the driveway. She got inside, locked the door, and keyed the ignition. Before her past self could figure out what was happening, she pulled out of the drive and sailed off into the shadowy roads.
It was too late to stop Jet from carrying off Sophie. Perhaps if she had gotten here earlier she would have been able to stop it, but the older Sophie must have realized that wasn’t the route to follow. If she was able to get Sophie free from the dragons and vampires after all, then what reason would Cheryl have to truly meet with Synrith?
This was meant to be. The destiny that never happened.
She knew exactly where his castle lair was, and she was on her way there at full speed.
Sophie mightn’t be there when she arrived. As it was, the past Cheryl was probably receiving her call now, as she was walking home, being stalked by Cassandra’s brother Cado. The drive from Cheryl’s house to the castle wasn’t that long. Not for this time of night.
Not for how fast she was driving.
She turned it over in her mind. What she would say to him when she saw him again. Would she run into his arms? Would she just burst out crying? He had to know. He had to remember her. In some fashion. He wasn’t an ordinary man, and he wasn’t an ordinary dragon.
And they had never been together that way.
Not in the way she wanted. Craved. Needed.
The excitement was driving her nuts.
It was just after twelve thirty am when Cheryl reached the base of Synrith’s skyscraper castle. She pulled into the underground car park, and left the car behind to proceed to the side entrance.
There were several security guards posted around this area. They looked her up and down a bit which made her feel a little anxious, but didn’t stop her resolve to press ahead. She approached the reception area and spoke to the man behind the desk.
“How may I help you?” he asked politely.
“I’m here to see Master Synrith,” Cheryl said proudly.
“Do you have an appointment?”
Cheryl shook her head. “No. But it’s urgent and he will want to see me.”
“Your name?”
“Cheryl Thames. Sister of Sophie.”
“I’ll tell him you’re here.”
Cheryl smiled giddily and walked over to the waiting area, which was empty.
She sat down in the hard plastic chair and twiddled her hands about.
Breathe deeply, she thought to herself. In and out. In and out.
So much adrenalin. So much panic. So much rush.
She wasn’t forgetting anything, was she?
Ten minutes later two security guards moved towards her. “You wish to see Master Synrith?”
“Yes,” Cheryl said eagerly.
“He will see you for five minutes,” the guard explained. “Then you must go as he is very busy.”
“That’s fine,” Cheryl beamed.
They went into the elevator. Cheryl eyed which buttons the guards pressed carefully. She was wary of this being a trap of some kind. Just in case.
But the guards pressed the correct floor and up they went.
Once outside the door to his office, they stopped and gestured for her to enter. She did so, closing the door behind her.
Synrith was standing by the window. He was dressed in his dark green suit and his hands were in his pockets.
“Cheryl Thames?” he called out to her.
“Yes,” Cheryl said walking over.
“That’s far enough.”
He turned.
His face was of grave concern.
“Sister of Sophie Thames?”
“That’s correct.”
“Sophie Thames who lied and manipulated and stole from me.”
“I’m not here to do that to you,” Cheryl said, sensing his anger. “I’m here for a much different purpose.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What does this visit of yours bring with it? Who are you working for?”
“Working for? No one.”
Synrith’s eyes squinted. “My sweet bleeding heart,” he whispered. “You’ve come to assassinate me.”
“What?” Cheryl shrieked. “No! Here me out –”
Synrith went to his desk and produced a large green sword. “Come here. Come here, I dare you. Vampire scum.”
Vampire –?
“I saw this,” Cheryl whispered. “I was hiding in a closet. You came after me this way.”
Synrith gave her a mean smile. “More lies. More manipulation.”
He jumped across the room and swung his sword at her.
Using her lightning reflexes, Cheryl jumped high into the air and over spun over his head. She fell back to the ground, jolted.
This wasn’t the welcoming she’d expected.
“Please, Synrith,” she protested.
“Shut up,” he yelled at her.
He ran at her, slicing every which way her path.
She was moving fast enough to dodge his swipes but she already grew tired. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“No,” she gasped. “No, no, no. You’re supposed to love me.”
Backed up against the window Synrith’s blade struck it, shattering the glass in a million tiny pieces. He went to grab hold of her throat with his fist, but instead of that, Cheryl grabbed hold of his arms to balance her.
Then she fell through the window, dragging him with her.
…
Life…
Death…
Love…
The seconds passed in harrowing slow motion. All this time. Between what was said and done and felt. He hadn’t loved her.
How could he?
His eyes, so angry and enraged. His cheeks clenched, his forehead strained.
He couldn’t see her. He couldn’t see anything.
“Didn’t I mean something to you?” she whispered as they fell.
Then his eyes seemed to widen. The hatred and anger drained.
He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her to his body as his dragon wings broke away out of his back.
“I just remembered you,” Synrith purred in her ear. “And to me, you mean the world.”
PART FIVE
CHAPTER ONE
“It’s like we knew each other a long time ago,” Synrith said as they glided back up to the top of the building. “Except we’ve never met each other at all.”
Cheryl clung to his chest for dear life. She hoped his newfound analysis wouldn’t cause him to drop her.
“You’re like a dream I haven’t had yet,” he said as they approached the broken window. “A dream I’ve been looking forward to. And it’s only now that I’m falling asleep…”
They flew into Synrith’s office and their feet landed safely on the carpet.
She stepped away from him but still he didn’t want to let her go.
“Tell me what it is,” he insisted. “How are you doing this to me?”
“I… I…”
“You what?”
He touched the side of her face. She felt herself melting. Standing on air.
“I’m from the –”
“Silence,” Synrith whispered. He pulled her mouth towards his and kissed her deeply.
She was now lost. Like she was about to forget all the things that Synrith didn’t remember because they hadn’t happened yet.
His pressure against her only increased. An arm behind her back. Fingers at her cheek.
Lips drawing in the breaths of life…
So much danger stood in front of them. But she couldn’t deny him for another moment longer.
CHAPTER TWO
First he forced her right hand behind her back. Then her left. From the
desk he produced some elastic wire and proceeded to bind Cheryl’s wrists together. This move from him completely caught her off guard, as just a moment he had been kissing her. It didn’t seem like a natural progression.
“What are you doing?” Cheryl mumbled.
His reptilian eyes glided over her. Then he grabbed at her waist and pushed her to the floor.
Cheryl hit it with a jostling thud. Synrith walked to her and put his feet in between her flailing legs.
The pair stared at each other.
“What is this?” Cheryl asked once too much silence had passed.
“Our moment of reckoning,” Synrith replied.
Cheryl attempted to shift away from him, but he then placed his foot over her belly. Not letting her go anywhere.
“What?” Cheryl said, feeling annoyed. “Do you still not trust me?”
“Just stay right there,” Synrith said.
He stepped over her and walked towards the door back out to the corridor. Cheryl sat up and saw him stop in front of it. His finger went to the light switch.
Darkness.
He walked back to where he had been standing in front of Cheryl before, the lights from the city radiating out the window behind him.
“Before me, you are powerless,” Synrith stated.
That not true, Cheryl thought. Not in the slightest.
“Say it,” Synrith whispered.
“Say what?”
“Tell me you’re powerless.”
Cheryl got up to her knees and broke free of the wire behind her, with a mild surge of strength. She flexed her wrists now free in front of him.
“If you need me to lie to you,” Cheryl said, “then you’re the one who’s powerless.”
Synrith turned away from her. He walked towards the window and looked out of it.
Cheryl rose from her place on the floor. She hoped she hadn’t upset him.
“Take your clothes off,” Synrith said.
Cheryl stared at him. The command was far too cold for her. Too … certain. She began to wonder if he really did know who she was after all.
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