Fateful Signs (Ballad of the Seer, Book Three)

Chapter 10 - A New Clue

By the time that Lily parked in the lot at the beach, over an hour had passed. She had gotten stuck in traffic because of road work. Unsurprisingly, Duncan and Tally were nowhere to be found. She wondered how long they had stayed. Duncan would've waited for her forever. Tally, on the other hand, was more practical than that. She wouldn't want to risk getting captured. Lily doubted the woman put much stock in the threats made to Agent Howard. Lily didn't care, though. As long as Tally did her part and kept Duncan safe.

Just as Lily was about to get back in the car, she saw Duncan's necklace hanging on a post by the path that led down to the shore. She rushed to grab the necklace; a stone circle hung on a leather cord. It belonged to his father. It was a way for Duncan to keep him close while they were searching for him. It was a sign from them - from Duncan - letting her know that they had been here. And now she had a way to search for them.

Lily removed her shoes and headed down to the beach, where she could perform the spell. She dug a small pit in the sand and laid the necklace in the center. She grabbed a nearby stick, looking around to make sure she was alone, and cast a simple spell to light it on fire.

Saying the words of the lost and found spell, Lily dropped the flaming stick into the pit. The fire flashed green. Lily saw three images: a street name, a building, and a red door. It was the most specific set of directions she had ever received from that spell.

She grabbed Duncan's necklace and hung it around her neck, next to her family's silver locket. There was a strange heat when the two touched. It wasn't uncomfortable, just odd.

Next, she kicked sand into the pit to cover the burnt stick, which reeked of magic, in case the guardians didn't heed her warning and came after them. On her way back to the borrowed car, she twisted the infinity ring on her ring finger, around and around, keeping in mind those three images. When she closed the door on the car, just before starting the engine, she felt a vision coming on. It was startling at first, as she rarely had visions while awake. Which meant this one was strong.

Seated behind a beautiful mahogany desk, decorated with a Tiffany lamp on one side and a bouquet of peonies on the other, was Lady Camilla Lancaster van Horne, with her pale blonde hair fixed in tight curls. She wore a cream-colored tweed suit and a string of pearls around her neck, with matching earrings; the very picture of what one would expect of modern nobility, as Camilla claimed to be - although, the validity of that was still in question in Lily's mind. "Does Sebastian know that you're here?" Camilla asked, looking straight at Lily.

Upon hearing those words, Lily's understanding of the vision became clear. She was seeing through her doppelgänger's eyes again. It was the first time in days that she had experienced a full on immersion into the copy's head. She had had a few momentary glimpses during sleep where she could hear a snippet of a conversation. She chalked it up to a residual connection from Sebastian having used her body like an incubator for his twisted Bride of Frankenstein experiment. However, it had been a month since they were separated. Lily thought that the connection must surely weaken at some point. If so, she had yet to reach it.

"He does, actually," Lily's evil twin said.

Camilla's lips formed a barely perceptible polite smile. It did not show in her eyes. Lily could see how uneasy the clone made Camilla. Lily wondered what it was like to stare into the face of an exact duplicate of the person that she had betrayed for selfish, arrogant goals. "Well, what can I do for you?"

Lily-lite crossed her legs and pulled up on the top of the leather boots that rose above her knees. The ring on her index finger caught her tights and snagged, leaving a small hole open. She placed her hand over the tear and within seconds her magic had mended it. "Sebastian sent me to get a progress report about Lily."