Chapter 4

She was running through a forest, it was dark and damp outside. The sky was crystal clear, the stars were big and beautiful.  Her lungs were burning as she ran faster than she ever had before, and her legs were screaming for her to stop aching in places she never knew were possible. But she couldn’t stop.  She had to find it.  Something was calling for her, but she had no clue as to what is was.  All she knew was that she couldn't stop running. The urgency of the matter pushed her faster and faster. Further into the forest. Further to what was calling her. Something she desperately had to get to.

Wait. She knew this forest.  It was the one behind her home.  She looked down and noticed that she was wearing full leather fighting gear. Gear that she knew she didn’t own, hadn’t even seen in stores nearby.  She’d seen similar outfits in the books in her mother's store but that was it. The books she loved to page through over and over again. Never getting tired of the imagery and stories. What was going on with her?  Where in the heavens was she running to? And why in the middle of the night?

It was then that she saw it.  The moon shone so brightly that she couldn’t miss it. An opening to a large cave in the forest.  She’d never seen that cave before, but she should have as she’d spent so many years exploring the forest. So many years exploring with Caleb. Playing games without a care in the world.

Leah slowly and quietly entered the large newly found cave, careful not to make a sound. The last thing that she wanted was to announce her presence to anyone who might be inside. She had no idea what she was walking into.  The cave was narrow and damp. She could feel the cold seep up through her shoes and a little shiver ran up her spine.  She had no light to guide her way and, unable to stop it, she felt fear rising up inside her.  But just as it started rising it changed. It was as if an unnatural strength in her began to grow.  Her actions were not her own.  That was not her that she knew.  She didn't dress that way, inspecting once again her fighting gear.  She sure as hell didn't act that way. Forging head first into a cave where she knew not what awaited her.  She ran from danger, not towards it.

She walked for what felt like ages as the cave twisted and turned. Leah made a mental note of her route so that she would be able to find her way out again. The walls were filled with moss and squished beneath her touch. The smell of earth attacked her senses. And the feeling she felt beneath her hands made her uncomfortable. Where were they going and what would they find? All of a sudden the narrow entrance of the cave opened up into a dimly lit cavern. No more moss beneath her touch.  

It took a short while for her eyes to adjust after the dark passages she had just followed. But it soon subsided and she was able to see clearly again.  She could see, and she noticed that there were almost fifty candles lit around inside the great big cavern, no breeze to extinguish them, no breeze to announce her entrance.  Now that her eyes had fully adjusted, she saw that the cave was completely empty, except for something that was in the middle of the cavern. It glowed brighter than all of the candles put together. Its glow almost blinded Leah.  She couldn't make out exactly what it was.  She would have to go closer for a better view, but she would need to be extra careful. She still had no clue what was going on and someone could easily be hiding in the shadows, for there were many of them.

She crouched into a battle stance and surveyed the cavern.  It surprised her that she knew what a ‘battle stance’ was.  She could usually barely walk without falling over, let alone fight like a soldier!  She waited a while and saw that nothing moved, nothing stirred, there seemed to be no one else in the cavern but her and the glowing item in the middle, one step up from the ground.

She slowly eased closer to the middle of the cavern, still surveying her surroundings. Knowing that there was something there that she needed to see for it called to her. There was some sort of altar there, made out of clear crystal, which seemed to glow from within. A brightness she had never experienced before.  The altar stood high, taking Leah almost up to her waist. Leah noticed with interest that the altar was in the middle of some sort of symbol on the ground.  It was a Pentacle.  Again she wondered how she knew that the symbol was a Pentacle.  She had a flashback to her mom's store with its many books where she’d heard her in the background explaining what a Pentacle was to a customer.  The Pentacle was a Pentagram surrounded by a circle. The symbol surrounding the altar intrigued Leah and made her mind’s cogs work overtime.  But that was not what stopped Leah’s heart. Looking up from the pentacle, her attention was drawn to the altar and its contents. Her heart almost stopped when she saw it.  Or should she rather say when she saw her?  There was a woman lying lifeless on the altar.

The girl never stirred as Leah moved closer. Her eyes didn’t even flutter. She lay lifeless as beautiful as an angel dressed in her pure white dress with her hands at her side.

Leah carefully inched closer to the woman's side so that she could get a better look at her.  As soon as she saw the girl’s face, her breath caught, her heart threatened to stop beating and her legs went weak. She had to fight to keep standing.  How can this be?  Her mind was racing, trying to make sense of what was going on.  It didn’t make any sense.  The stranger on the glowing altar was the splitting image of Leah. From her straight long black hair to her slightly slanted closed eyes.  But how?  This could not be possible. Leah’s mind must be playing tricks on her. It must all be her imagination.

With care, Leah leaned forward and checked for a pulse on the girl’s wrist.  Thank goodness that she found one, even though it was faint, it was there. She took hold of her left hand and it was then that she noticed something on the girl’s palm.  The glowing alter showed her that there was some marking on her palm.  That’s when she felt it again, just like in her mom’s store. The pain!  Excruciating pain!  She was convinced that her hand was on fire.  Looking down she noticed that the symbol on the girl’s palm was glowing white and so was hers. It felt as if they were connected in some magical way.  On looking closer she noticed that the other girl’s symbol was different from the Crescent Moon symbol on her hand.  The stranger’s symbol was that of a full moon with a half moon on each side.  Leah’s brain was fuzzy but she still needed to know who this stranger was and why she looked exactly like Leah. It was as if she was looking into a mirror. The image burnt into her eyes and she felt uncomfortable and intrusive as if she shouldn’t be there in the first place.

Leah faintly heard a girl’s voice whispering something in her head.  Looking down at the stranger’s mouth she could see that it wasn’t the other girl speaking because she could see that her lips weren't moving and her eyes hadn't fluttered, not even once. Through all of the searing pain and magical connection, she just silently lay there like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince’s kill. But this was no fairytale, this was a nightmare come true.  ‘Help me, Leah!  Please!  Don't leave me!  Don't you remember me?’ The voice kept repeating those lines in Leah’s mind. Leah put her hands to her ears and shook her head. She needed the words to stop. But they just kept coming.