“Sebastian, I have no idea how the visions work. Clamora said she wasn’t even sure why I am allowed to see them,” I answered honestly.
“Maybe you have to try to focus on them really hard,” he continued as if I hadn’t even spoken.
“Sebastian, I don’t think it works that way. I honestly don’t even think I am supposed to have visions . . .”
“Wait, what?”
“I don’t think I was ever supposed to have visions.”
“Why do you think that?” he asked as his eyebrows pulled together in confusion.
“Think about it, Sebastian. Whoever is helping Hades is someone important. If Zeus or the other gods have no idea who it is or why they are helping him, then they would want their most valuable weapon, which would be me, to know what was going to happen before it happened so I can try to stop it. What if none of their thoughts or minds are safe from each other but mine is? I don’t know. I could be way off.” I shrugged, suddenly feeling foolish.
“It makes some sense. But there is something about your theory that doesn’t make sense.” His mind was working through the problem, trying to find the solution.
“Well, why else would Clamora have no idea why I have visions? Obviously it wasn’t supposed to happen. What else could have caused this to happen?” I asked him.
“Your sister,” he answered then stood up immediately and began to dress.
“What do you mean my sister?” I questioned.
He ignored me and motioned for me to get dressed as well. Once I was finished, he put the fire out and we left the cabin. My heart fell a little flat as we walked toward the car. Our small vacation was over. Stupid visions. I was really starting to hate them, but I loved that I could use them to my advantage. We climbed into the car and drove away. Silence filled the air as we headed in the direction of home. The last of the sun’s golden rays shone through the trees, casting beautiful shapes as we sped down the road.
Almost
two hours later we arrived at a fancy hotel I had never seen or heard of before. Sebastian parked the car and hurried me inside. I was about to ask where we were when he hurried us through the door and up the elevator. Pulling a key card from his pocket, he opened the door to room 517. We stepped into the room and all time stopped. Clamora was talking animatedly to a girl with long brown hair, shifty green eyes, and overly pale skin—just like mine. My knees started to buckle.
Soft pillows cradled my head and I stared at the ceiling, questioning my sanity. Could I see ghosts now too? Did they age in the afterlife? Groaning, I turned to look at Sebastian. His eyes were grim. They had been hiding something from me. But why? What was it? Was my twin still alive? I started to get up so I could pace the room and drill them with questions, but Sebastian shook his head at me, telling me to stay seated.
“We need to talk to you before you officially meet her. But I need you to understand that no one could know about this. Not your parents or siblings. Not even you. Not until we knew the time was right. This is that time . . . ” Sebastian trailed off.
“What did you guys do?” I questioned softly.
“I saved her. I knew from the spirits that we needed her to help you, to help all of us. They never said why. Just that it was important,” Clamora answered.
“Okay, just explain to me what happened. Please?”
They both nodded, and Sebastian started to explain. “Like you were told, your sister and you were both extremely sick when you were born. She died, and when souls return to the afterlife they learn of all the past lives they have lived. She saw that you never truly got to live, so she gave you a piece of herself, a piece of her soul. You became healthy instantly. Your parents were concerned and very confused about what had happened. They searched for medical answers, and when that proved fruitless, they searched for a psychic. As you know, they found Clamora. She told them what had happened, what they could expect to see from you as you grew. You were going to be able to heal faster than anyone, have heightened senses, and have strange behaviors that they might not be able to understand. You did not disappoint. However, after your parents visited Clamora she was visited by spirits. There were many, and many of them were important.” Sebastian stopped talking and allowed Clamora to continue.
“The spirits were many. Some were Native American chiefs; others were supernaturals who had passed. Each said the same thing: Save the twin. She was needed to help us understand certain pieces of the puzzle. She would help you. We don’t know with what—only you two can figure that out. Anyway, I told Sebastian what I had been told. We left immediately. After some searching, we found her grave. I had to get access to her body, so we dug her up. Being careful, we put everything back in place and left quickly. Once we returned to my house, I began the ritual to find her spirit. It took a while. But I finally found her and pulled her out and into her own body once more. She looked like a brand-new child. I raised her carefully, taught her to control certain abilities that she possessed, and made sure she stayed as hidden as possible. At times it was a struggle. She wanted to know you, to know her real family. But I told her it was not possible, not then.” She stopped talking and waited for me to respond.
I wasn’t sure whether to be angry, nervous, or excited. My twin was alive. Something told me that this was wrong, that this wasn’t supposed to be happening. Maybe I was just weirded out at the fact that my sister was alive. After all, I thought she had been dead this whole time. Thinking about each word that I was going to say, I sighed softly. “All right. Let’s figure this thing out.” Clamora nodded once at my response, and my twin reappeared out of thin air. Literally.
It was definitely going to take some getting used to. Looking at her, I felt like I was staring into a mirror that had a mind of its own. I smiled softly at her. I didn’t even know her name. Sure, I had known I was supposed to have a twin my whole life, but my parents never really explained and never let me near her grave. They never even told me her name. I wanted to ask her so many questions, just like I knew she wanted to ask me so many too. Without thinking, I stood up and walked to her then hugged her tightly. How could Sebastian and Clamora keep her from me? How could they keep the fact that she had been alive all this time away from me? I wanted to cry and hold her and talk, then cry some more. Who knows, maybe part of me had always known she was okay.
After a long hug, I let her go and sat down on the bed. Neither of us knew how or where to start, so we sat in silence for a moment. “I, uh, wow. Sorry, I honestly never thought I would be meeting you,” I stammered. “Thank you, by the way.”
“For what?” Her voice was like a soft bell. It was so sweet sounding.
“Saving me . . . ” I trailed off.
“You would have done the same thing for me if the whole thing had been reversed,” she said, smiling sweetly at me.
“Do you still remember your time in the afterlife?” I asked, curious.
“Yeah, I do. I don’t really talk about it much. It makes me feel like I am giving away the big secret to those who don’t quite know about it, ya know?” She smiled again.
“I definitely get it. I am going to ask you a question that is going to seem a little strange, and I will totally explain it after you answer it,” I told her.
“Okay, ask away,” she answered in the bell-like voice of hers.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“RemyAnne Venice. But everyone calls me Remy for short.” She smiled again.
“That’s really pretty. Is that the name Mom and Dad gave you?” I asked, curious again.
“Yeah. Clamora thought it would be a good idea to have me keep the name. She didn’t want to confuse me too much when I was younger.” Remy waved it off.
“Oh, that’s pretty smart. I guess I should explain why I asked now, huh?” I asked her. Once she nodded, I answered. “Mom and Dad told me about you, sort of anyway. They never told me what your name was or let me visit your grave. I think they didn’t want me to wonder why it was you and not me, ya know? I tried to sneak away to find it a few times, but they always found out before I could find it. I didn’t even know the cemetery.”
“I could see that. What are they like?” she questioned enthusiastically.
“They are pretty great. They worry a lot. I scared them a lot when I was a kid too. I think they always thought I was going to get sick again. I don’t know. But we look nothing like them or Alexandier, Micheal, or Amelia. They all have blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and this super-gorgeous tan skin.” I watched her eyes go a little sad when I explained them to her.
“Are you sure they are our parents?” she asked me nervously.
“Yes. How could you ask me something like that?” I was a little upset that she could even ask me or think something like that.
“Sorry. I, just, the way you explain them—it doesn’t sound like we are related to them,” Remy replied awkwardly.
“It’s okay. Everyone in school always asked me that when they first saw the differences between us.” I looked down at my hands.
“Oh. I really am sorry. I didn’t know . . . ” she trailed off.
“How could you? Hey, how did you do that appear out of nowhere thing?” I asked her to change the subject.
“Oh, that? It’s something I’ve been working on for a while now. It took a lot of practice to be able to do it. I’m sure I could teach you how, if you wanted.” Her voice was so soft and sweet when she phrased the question.
I smiled at her. “Sure.”
We talked for a few more hours, asking questions that weren’t exactly personal—some got close, but not deep enough. There was something weird about knowing I had been lied to my whole life. Granted, my parents had absolutely no idea, but Sebastian could have told me before. It was like an atomic bomb had been placed in my lap. Everything was going to be that much more confusing and complicated now. Was she even stable since she was missing a piece of her soul? Sebastian let me lean on him as we walked to the car. Remy wanted to meet our parents and family, but I didn’t think it was a good idea, at least not yet. I needed to feel that they would be safe before they were introduced. Safely in the car, I closed my eyes until Sebastian touched my arm.
“I need to tell you something.” Sebastian’s face was serious. I sat straight up and waited for him to continue. “Remy isn’t exactly the most stable. She wasn’t before, either. I mean in the past life before this one, when you were Amaryia. But it’s worse now that she is missing part of her soul. AubrieAnna, I am not telling you this to upset you, I just need you to understand that if you feel there is something off about her, there is. I don’t believe she would ever harm you or anyone you cared about. But I cannot be sure about it.” He watched me diligently, waiting for me to yell at him and tell him he was wrong, that there was nothing wrong with her.
“How come you can’t be sure? Haven’t you been around her a lot?” I asked.
“I have not. Clamora wanted me to watch you. She knew Remy wasn’t going to be a major issue unless you found out. I was around you more than your sister,” he answered shyly.
“Well then. I guess I just don’t need to know about anything,” I replied bitterly. “Just take me home. I want to sleep in my bed. Alone.” I spit out the last words.
“I understand.” His words sounded hurt. I wanted to apologize, but I felt like I couldn’t. He had lied about two major things. What else had he lied about?
“You know, I want to apologize for my words, but I can’t. You lied to me about Remy—well you kept it from me—and you never told me about Clamora wanting you to watch me. It bugs me. And I don’t like it. Langdon lied to me, and he kept things from me.” I turned from him, letting him absorb what I was saying.
“Do you know how badly I wanted to tell you? How many times I wanted to just walk up to you before you even knew who I was and tell you everything? God, AubrieAnna, I really did want to tell you. I hated leaving you in the dark, but Clamora said that it was necessary until we figured some other things out first.” Sebastian looked down at his lap in shame then shook his head before continuing. “If you really want to know if I am telling you the truth, do that thing where you reach into my mind or whatever it is. See what lies there.”
“Sebastian, I don’t want to have to dig through your brain. It doesn’t sound very pleasant, and I don’t really know how that thing works anyway. It’s something that we should work on together, making it stronger so it comes naturally. But I don’t want anyone to know about it. Not even Clamora.” I reached out and grabbed his hand. Smiling at him, I said, “I love you, more than anything.”
Chapter 13
Freshly showered and exhausted from the evening’s events, I crawled into my bed and cuddled close with Helios. The large cat sniffed me before deciding I was okay. When I got home I had reached down to greet him and he hissed and growled at me. Curious as to why, I asked Sebastian what was wrong and he explained that my scent was off. Apparently my twin’s scent had rubbed off on me and was strong enough to make my cat angry with me. So I figured if I wanted to cuddle with my cat, I had to shower to make him believe I was all right again.