The Magic Within: Shadows of Two Worlds

Chapter 60 ~ Ella

     The next morning, I woke up to another batch of texts from Thomas. The others were still asleep. I tried to clear the notifications without reading them, but three words caught my eye. I love you. I nearly started crying. He still loves me! Unless... he is just saying that. Maybe he's like Jake. Maybe he just wants to get us captured. Maybe... I squeezed my eyes shut then opened them. Slowly, I unlocked my phone and read all of his messages. The texts started out normal enough, but my eyes steadily widened more and more until they were practically bursting out of my skull.

Ella, we heard what happened. Are you okay? Please tell me you are okay.

I still love you. In fact, I think I love you more now that I know.

Please talk to me, baby. I need to know that all of you are alive.

I really need to tell you something. Please call me. I love you.

You know what? I will have to do something to catch your attention.

Screw the Hybrid Hunters. I refuse to let them check my phone.

Ella, the truth is...

Chris and I have magic too.

I have fire powers, like Jamie. I'm not a hybrid, though. My mother can transform into any animal. She can understand them too. My father has mind control magic. It's kind of hard to explain. We aren't quite sure who I got my fire powers from. Chris is a shadow dragon hybrid. Ever wonder why his eyes are purple? Now you know. I understand you might not believe me. I will send you a video for proof. It is a great risk, but it is worth it for you. I'm not like that asshole, Jake. I could never betray you.

     Then there was a video. Sure enough, Thomas had balls of flame in his hands. Chris had magnificent wings and he teleported around through the shadows in the room. A scream of delight escaped me. Jamie bolted upright and looked panicked for a moment, before realizing that I was smiling. Without saying anything, I showed her the video. She started grinning too. We shook Amelia and Lilly awake. "What's going on?" Lilly asked, worried. We showed them both the video. All four of us started cheering. Two of our best friends also had magic. That made six of us. "What are you waiting for? Call him!" Amelia said. I picked up my phone and dialed his number. "Thomas! I love you." "Ella," he said, relieved. "Oh," I started. "Call me Amy just in case. Jamie is Kate, Amelia is Lydia, and Lilly is Scarlett. Our police officer friend changed our appearances and got us fake IDs." Thomas chuckled slightly. "Seems like we have a lot to catch up on." I smiled. "Oh! Is Chris with you?" Then, I heard Chris' voice. "Yeah. You're on speaker." I grinned and waved the others over, putting my phone on speaker too. "I hate to be a downer, but we probably shouldn't keep communicating this way. It's too risky," Chris said. "We know." Lilly said. I could tell that wheels were turning in Thomas' head. "I have an idea. As you all know, my family is rich. I swear I'm not trying to brag. Anyway, my parents are always really nervous, so they have a stash of items for if our magic gets discovered." Jamie looked skeptical. "How could those things, though?" She asked. "That's the risky part," Thomas said. I raised an eyebrow. "Thomas... we don't want to put your family in danger too." He sighed. "This shouldn't, since your appearances are different. We have a beach house in Delaware. We have protective spells over it. It would be suspicious if we missed school, so Chris and I could always meet my parents there during the Thanksgiving break. You could come and probably stay for a while. Sure, the Hybrid Hunters have been keeping an eye on us. If they ask where we are going, I'll say that I'm going home to visit my parents. They will assume I mean West Virginia." I glanced at the others. They looked as hesitant as I felt. "Thomas. This isn't safe for you. It's only a matter of time before the Hybrid Hunters find us with a Rastreador. Even if they can't get into the beach house, they will know that you are helping us. You two and your families will be targeted as well." Chris sighed. "Please let us help you. Thomas knows what he is doing." Amelia snorted. "Does he? I love you when I say this, but you aren't exactly the most responsible person." Thomas was silent for a moment. Chris picked up the slack. "Imagine for a moment that Jake wasn't the one that called the Hybrid Hunters. If he called you and offered to help, would you let him?" Even though he didn't voice it, I could tell the question was aimed towards Jamie. "Of course not! It would be no different-" Chris cut her off. "I know when you're lying Jamie." My sister looked shocked. "I don't know what you mean," she mumbled. Finally, she gave in. "Fine! I would let Jake help. Are you happy now? Are you glad that, if this imagination was reality, I would trust Jake more than you? Does that really surprise you? I thought I could trust him with anything. I thought our friendship would last forever. I thought he was perfect for me. I was stupid. I was naive. I was wrong. I was always right before. Ella will agree with me on that. I was always a perfectionist. I was never wrong. But then Jake proved me a fool. I suppose Jeff did too. We got sweet, perfect revenge. This is so different. This isn't a simple matter of cheating. This is getting us enslaved or killed. There is no revenge. There is no making him regret it. There is no making him feel as hurt and betrayed as we feel." We were all silent for a moment. Then Chris spoke. "That means you're coming." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact. Jamie suddenly smiled. "Yes." A single thought crossed my mind; Since when has Chris known Jamie better than I do?