I sat down in my makeshift office in almost complete silence. Axton said he wanted to go out to meet someone today and asked if I would stay put. I told him I would take today to research more into how everything was interlaced and how each piece of my puzzle was coming together with learning more about Kelsie and Dagger. The Underground.
I knew for a fact now that Amy was connected to the Underground.
My laptop was opened up to the news stories detailing assassinations that had occurred all over the world in the past few years.
People around the world had turned up dead by publically rivaling the Underground. Knowing that, I knew that what Axton and I were doing could definitely lead to one of those assassinations. Anxiety swelled up as I read how these people were tortured. How each was killed and seemed to have similar dagger injuries and burns seeming to be originating from some kind of highly focused light beam.
I looked up to see a string that connected to me and seemed to lead out of my office. I felt the tug that I had only felt a few times before. One that led me to the dead.
I couldn't deny the feeling that I was supposed to follow the tug.
I followed the pull out of the house and wandered a bit into the forest before I stopped at a black metal gate. "The Fallen" was written in letters in an arch above it. The fence seemed to stretch for miles on each side of the gate.
I stepped inside and felt the tug pull harder as I faltered. The string was lit up with a bright purple color as it showed me where to go inside. I almost tripped over what looked to be an unmarked white gravestone. I finally noted how there were what seemed like hundreds over the field in front of me.
This was a graveyard.
The string noticed my hesitation and pulled me along to one grave that seemed fresh. I knelt down in front of it and placed my hand against the stone. Blackness took over my vision as images started to play before my eyes.
~~~~
A young girl was running up to a woman in what seemed to be an underground bunker. "Vi, look what I can do!" she cried as she held up a sphere of light to the woman.
"That's beautiful, sweetie!"
"I'm gonna go show Daddy now," the little girl giggled.
"Kelsie, wait for a second-"
~~~~
I watched the woman again as she stared at herself in the mirror. I could see the bags under her eyes as she seemed to get angrier at herself.
"Vi," a small voice called out, effectively snapping the woman out of her trance.
"What is it, sweetie?"
"I had a bad dream."
The woman's eyes softened at the young girl. She walked over and scooped her up before walking her to a bed.
"It's okay, sweetie. I have them too," she said, tucking the girl in before crawling in with her. "Just know that you're safe now, okay? Wanna talk about it?"
"It was scary, Vi. I saw a woman picking me and another girl up and jumping out a window before running away. I couldn't fight back, but I knew the two of us were in danger," the small girl whimpered. "I couldn't protect the other girl and she died. It felt like it was all my fault."
The woman pulled the little one into her chest, guilt written on her features as she kissed her hair. "It's okay, Kelsie. It's not real. You're safe. The other girl doesn't exist."
If I wasn't listening closely, I would have missed the "At least not anymore" comment she said under her breath.
~~~~
It all shifted again. This time the woman is sitting at a table in a room full of people. Her face made it evident that years had passed and she clearly was worn out.
Footsteps sound throughout the room and everyone turns as a young woman walks in. Her face is still mostly obscured by shadows but the room quiets down as soon as she enters.
She sits down across from the woman whose memories I've been following and it's clear that this was my sister.
"Why are you doing this, Vi?" She asks.
"Because I need to save you from becoming him." The last word is laced with poison.
I can only guess that the 'him' she is talking about is the Demon Lord and it is obvious that she hates him with every fiber of her being.
"If you do this then you need to be extremely careful." Kelsie warns her.
"Do you trust me?" Violet asks her.
"Of course I do," Kelsie responds
~~~~
My vision goes dark and I am back in front of the gravestone. I lean forward and read the inscription on it.
Pressing my head against the stone I whisper, "Rest in peace Violet Nash."
Leaving the graveyard I call for a Lyft to take me just outside of the city. I tell him to pull over at the edge of the property we were staying on before stepping out of the car.
I make my way back to the houseAxton and I are staying in. As soon as I step in the living room he immediately notices that something is wrong.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asks, pulling me into his arms.
"Yeah. I just had something really weird happen at a cemetary," I tell him. "Kelsie may not be who we thought she was."
"Why do you say that?"
"I saw her in a vision about someone that I think could've worked for the Underground." I tell him. "She may be working for-"
My vision clouds over and I drop to the floor.
~~~~
I'm standing in a dark nursery. Two cribs are on either side of the room, one white and one black. There is a baby in each and they are sleeping peacefully.
I turn towards the sound of the window opening and see a lady climb in. She grabs one of the babies, wraps them in a blanket and does the same to the other one.
Moving to the window sill she makes sure she can make the jump without harming herself or the babies. She takes one last glance around the room and then jumps to the ground.
~~~~
I regain consciousness with Axton standing away from me in the corner.
Looking around I notice that there is some sort of barrier around me. Tapping on it I find that it responds like my shadows normally did. I push on it with both my arms and it doesn't budge.
Sitting legs crossed, I let the shield sync to my breathing. It expands with every breath I take in and retracts when I breath out. Staying in my position, I motion to let Axton know that I am okay.
Reaching deep inside myself I find the invisible tether binding me to this shield. I tug on it and try to let it take the shield down but all it does is expand the shadows even farther. A few tentacles sprout from the edges and from a dome over the already strong shield.
My breath catches in my throat before I manage to calm myself down some. 'These are my powers and I am the only one who can control them. They don't control me. They will bow to my whims and do what I say,' I think.
Taking a deep breath in I push my arms out and the shield falls. Fresh air rushes in and I pass out.
~~~~
Groggily, I open my eyes to see that I am laying in bed.
Axton must've moved me here after I passed out.
Carefully, I pull some shadows from the room and they come at my command. I let them flow for a minute before forming them into different shapes. Trying to create one of my daggers, I find it can be created much easier than before.
The only problem is I feel like I did when I was a child. My power is still there but it's extremely hard to access. At some points it feels like it is almost slipping away from my grasp.
No matter how hard I try to surround myself with shadows, they won't come. The shield that surrounded me earlier seemed to be a one time thing. I reach to where my phone sits on the nightstand and begin researching a meta gym in the area.
Eventually I find one only a few miles away. It's still pretty far outside of Atlanta and I'm pretty sure it's so no metas blow up the city.
I pull up Kelsie's contact and stare at the screen for a few minutes. Should I call her? Should I not? Does she know how to use her powers? What if she sees me struggle with mine?
Thoughts race through my mind a million miles a minute. I don't want her to see me as weak but she might be able to help me. We're twins so we must have the same power, right? If we do then we can help each other. Maybe I could tell her what I'm doing in Atlanta and she could help me.
"No. That's crazy," I say out loud. "She would never get into a fight that doesn't involve her."
I sit in bed for a few more minutes, messing with a few shadows, before calling Kelsie. If I don't do this I'll never know about the meta side of her.
She picks up after a few rings.
"Hello?"
"Hey Kelsie. It's me."
"Oh, hey Serenity. What's going on?" She asks, concern evident in her voice.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to go somewhere with me," I tentatively say.
"Yeah, that sounds like fun! Where is it?"
"Umm, it's a place called Smith's. It's a few miles outside of Atlanta and is kinda like a gym. Would you be interested in coming?"
"I've heard of it! When do you want to meet up?"
"How about in thirty minutes?" I ask. "That way we both have plenty of time to get whatever we need."
"Sounds good! I'll see you soon."
"Okay! Bye."
"Bye." She hangs up the phone and I hurry out of bed. Turning on the shower I grab a pair of leggings, a sports bra, and a T-shirt and place them all on the bathroom counter.
Standing under the hot water I wash my hair and body before stepping out and getting dressed. I pull my hair up into a loose ponytail and fill up a water bottle before hopping in the car and heading to Smith's. Scanning the parking lot I don't see any sign of Kelsie which makes sense because I am a few minutes early.
A Tesla pulls into the parking lot and parks a few spots to my right. I get out of my car and head towards the door, keeping my eye on it the entire time. The door opens and a head of familiar black hair appears. Her short hair falls perfectly around her face. Locking her car, Kelsie makes her way towards me and wraps me in a hug.
"So what's with wanting to come to this place?" Kelsie asks me as we walk in.
I pay for my entry and respond while I wait for her to do the same. "I needed to test myself since I'm in a new city and figured this is the place to do so."
"Well if that's what you want. Do you want to try hand to hand stuff?" She tentatively asks. "I mean only if you're okay with it."
"Let's try it. What's the worst that can happen?" I shoot a cheeky grin her way.
~~~~
Turns out the worst that can happen is Kelsie putting me flat on my back in less than a minute.
A groan escapes my mouth as she pulls me off the mat, laughter coming from her.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't think you would go down that fast," She manages to say between laughs.
"Me either." I rub my back. A bruise is sure to be there tomorrow. "Guess I'm not as good as I thought I was."
"What if I showed you how to use your power to your advantage in a fight?" Kelsie recommends.
"That would be great! How do I do it?"
"Use it where no one is looking. If you're going for my face and want to get me to the ground, try using it to pull my leg out from under me. Okay?"
"Let's try it."
We take our positions and resume our fight. Several of the people in there stop what they are doing to watch us. I try doing what she recommended several times but she always dodges it or I can't seem to get my powers to do what I want them to. Finally, I go for her right leg and when she tries to stop me I create a small stream of shadows to tie around her arms and pull her down.
"There you go! Let's keep trying this but I won't hold back anymore."
A smile crosses my face. "I don't expect you to."