Twilight Shadows

Chapter 27

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The puzzle came together, piece by piece, although I haven't solved the whole puzzle. Now I knew that I was one of the half bloods. Immortal. Powerful. Deadly. Yet dangerous.

A scream pierced the air, shortly cut off by a guttural noise. I looked to see what had happened. My father lay dead in front of me. I gasped, and tears welled up in my eyes.

"Father..." I whispered. I looked around me. It was already dawn. All the deadly monsters were stored inside the book. "What happened?"

Then the book began to flip its pages magically, as if it knew my presence. It stopped at a page, and I peered in to look closer. The images started to move, and I saw my father, sucking the last monster inside the book. I instantly recognized it as Typhon, the King of the Monsters.

My heart beat faster, and my head was spinning.

The book showed how Typhon avenged his imprisonment by reforming a snake head at the last moment, and bit my father's neck. Blood poured out, staining the pages, and the images disappeared. I sobbed.

I looked around and decided to go back into the house.

The younger me was crying too. My mother looked sadly at her, and murmured a few words of comforting.

"I'm sorry, Stephanie... I'm sorry to do this." My mother's voice began to waver. She took a shaky breath. "Please... Don't be afraid. It's the only thing I can do to help."

She began to wave her hand magically. A green-blue aura glowed around it, and she pressed her hand against my younger self's forehead. My younger self wiped her tears away, and her eyes glazed over, as if she was blind. She collapsed, and my mother carried her gently. Magnificent white wings sprouted from my mother's back, and she flew out the hut. I followed them.

"I'm so, so sorry Stephanie... It's for the best. When you wake up..." My mother's voice cracked, and she stifled back a sob. "You won't remember me. You won't remember anything."

With that, the vision ended from the crystal, and I found myself tear-streaked in Russ's cave.

~💖~  

After a few sips on sipping on hot chocolate with marshmallows from Russ, I recovered from my painful past.

Are you okay? Russ asked me. I nodded blankly, staring out into nothing. I shuddered and took another shaky breath, hiccuping.

"Russ..." I took another breath. "Where's my mother? She's immortal, so she should be somewhere... Please, I want to know!"

Ah, Stephanie... Russ smiled in front of me. But that's something you want to know. It's not something you need to know. I'm sorry.

"S'okay..." I said, sighing. "My life is so confusing..." I sat up straighter with an electrical shock going through my body. "I need to get back to Joshua. He's going to be SO ANGRY!"

Russ seemed to chuckle. Indeed, he might... Hop on, I'll give you a ride back. I just knew you needed something from me. No thanking, it's fine.

With my little seal flippers, I waddled over to Russ and climbed onto his back.

"I'm all ready." I said confidently. "Let's get back."

~💖~  

With information from the crystal, my life seemed to clear up a bit more. Now I knew about my past, and my true family. But now, I had to focus on finding the nymph.

Suddenly, the Ophiotaurus let out a low moan.

My head, Russ said. It's hurting. It might be a sign from the crystal ball... I need to get back. It won't be that bad if I just delay your return a little, right?

"It's fine," I assured him. "I'm in no rush to get back to that cranky Joshua anyway and receive a lot of scolding..." I rolled my eyes.

Russ looked back at me and smiled, his intelligent eyes gleaming in the dark of the ocean.

Alright then! Russ made a u-turn in the water and propelled him back into his lair in a matter of minutes.

Sure enough, the crystal orb was glowing even brighter than usual. It floated over to us as if it had a mind of its own, and headbutted me off Russ. It floated back to its pedestal.

I followed it, and gazed into its depths again.

How unusual... Russ said, amused and shocked. The orb never lets somebody view their depths twice...

Russ's voice was the last thing that I heard before I dipped into the vision again...

~💖~  

This time, I found myself alone, in a vast empty darkness. I looked around in confusion.

Where am I? I wondered.

"Is there anybody here?" I called out. "Hello?"

Suddenly, the darkness was replaced by lights, and I found myself staring into a full length mirror. The mirror didn't reflect me, though. It was sort of like Snow White, where the mirror would give comments and advice.

"Hello, Stephanie Hazel Johnson." A feminine voice startled me.

I looked at the mirror in surprise. There she was. My beautiful mother, staring back at me with our identical eyes.

"You look just like the day I gave you away..." My mother smiled sadly. "That was one of the hardest decisions I ever made."

"M-Mother..." I whispered quietly.

"Yes." My mother smiled. She reached out her hand and touched the glass. I raised my hand and held her hand through the glass.

"Mother, where are you?" I asked. "All this time... I thought somebody else was my mom..." I looked away and my hand dropped.

"Sweetheart, you will always be my daughter." My mother's voice soothed me, and I looked back at her. "Mother... Who am I? There are so many questions I have, but... I feel that this is the most important question I have."

My mother smiled. "That," She said. "Is something you have to find out for yourself."

My heart dropped. My mother, the only person that I could confide in, didn't answer the question that had been in the back of my head for a long time.

"Okay mother..." I dropped my gaze for just a second, and I looked into her green eyes again. "Where are you?" I whispered.

"I am immortal. I am somewhere between this world and another." My mother smiled sadly again. "I may not be able to see you for a long, long time to come."

Tears started to well up in my eyes. I wiped them away.

The next question that I asked I didn't expect an answer for. "Where's... Noah?" I asked quietly. I usually didn't talk about this topic that much.

My mother bit the inside of her cheek, like I always did when I was talking about a difficult topic. "I've been watching you for a while... And I can't say, dear. I can't say..."

"Alright..." My heart dropped again.

"But, I can tell you this..." My mother took a deep breath like she was about to say something; something that may change my life. "Beware the one who acts like a friend; Trust the one who has no end. Find the light within thyself; One decision will change herself."

The words seem to echo in the room that stretched as far as the naked eye can see.

With that, the vision ended.