“Piper?” Wasn’t that Kassie’s sister’s name?

Kellie nodded. “Yeah. She was Kassie’s twin sister. She left to go to her boyfriend’s place one night, but didn’t make it there. No one has seen her since and that was months ago.”

I remembered the pain in Kassie’s eyes. It was hard for me to imagine having a sister, let alone losing a twin. It must have been so hard for her.

“Kassie was devastated, but was determined to find her when the police came up empty-handed. We tried to help her.” Kellie’s eyes misted over. “After… After she was gone, we tried so hard to find out what had happened to Piper, but we still don’t know. We wanted to do it for Kassie’s sake, you know?”

I felt the sting behind my eyes, but blinked a few times and shook it off. I didn’t even know Piper.

“Who were the others you mentioned?”

Her eyes widened. “I can’t believe no one has told you yet. There have been other people going missing, especially over the last few years. It’s not just here in Angel Falls. It seems to be more widely-spread.”

“Surely the cops can find some of these people.” They would have to have found at least some of them.

“None of them have been found. No one knows what’s going on.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “The strange thing is, Sophie isn’t a Descendant.”

My stomach sank. “What’s not being a Descendant got to do with it?”

“All the others that have gone missing are Descendants. It’s like someone is rounding them up or something. Sophie doesn’t fit the pattern. She’s a Normal.”

Jericho cleared his throat and all eyes snapped back to him. “I’m sure the authorities are doing everything they can to find Sophie. I’m sure she will be found alive and well very soon. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time.” I was sure he didn’t believe what he just said about her being found alive and well, but it was important to keep everyone calm. “Now, is there any other business before we finish today?”

There were hushed conversations, but no one was getting up to talk. I looked out at the crowd and spotted Blake Pierce looking right at me. My breath hitched and I looked away. I didn’t know whether to be flattered or creeped out.

Jericho wrapped up the meeting and we all headed back to our cars with everyone talking about the possibility of the portal being open and what could’ve happened to Sophie.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Everyone was throwing theories around at dinner about all the things that were discussed at church. They all had their own ideas, but my mind wandered. Knowing the portal was only less than an hour’s drive away filled me with excitement. I wanted to go and see it.

“What does the portal look like?”

Tracy stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth. “They won’t let anyone near it, but I’ve seen photos. It’s a circle of flowers that sparkle, even in the dark of night.”

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“So, it’s on the ground?”

I had been picturing a big ring standing vertical on some sort of plinth. I watched too many sci-fi movies.

Kaydan smiled as he cut up his roast pork. “Yeah. Where do you think the myth of faerie circles came from?”

“Oh. Yeah.” I hadn’t thought of that. “Don’t they say that if you walk into a faerie circle, you are transported into the faerie realm?”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“Wow. I would never have guessed that there was any truth to the myths.”

“You better start believing. The world is full of all sorts of shit you’d never imagine in your wildest dreams.”

Every time I thought I understood things, someone would throw another spanner in the mix. Would I ever catch up?

Once we’d cleaned up after our meal, I found a couple of text messages from Mum and my stomach sank. She was asking how my day was going, but I couldn’t answer. I still couldn’t believe that she knew I was a Descendant and just covered it up, or that she’d gotten someone to block it all from my mind.

Tracy called me. “Time to learn some magic.”

I didn’t want to do this right now. I sighed. Might as well get it over with.

When we’d made ourselves comfortable on the cushions, Tracy told me to clear my mind, but that was impossible. I had so many questions tumbling over each other. The portal. Sophie. Piper. Other missing people. Poor Stan and his horrific injuries.

Concentrate! I kept my eyes closed and tried again.

“Take deeper breaths. Hold each breath for four seconds before releasing it.”

That helped, but it still took a long time to push away all of my thoughts. I finally managed it. For a while, anyway. I reached that state a few more times, then Tracy asked me to look at the smoky green crystal sitting on the coffee table in front of me. It was pretty, but the colour wasn’t as intense as a ruby or sapphire.

“This crystal is fluorite. It’s great for mental enhancement. It helps you to focus. Lift it up and place it in your left hand. Now put your right hand over it. Concentrate on the crystal and feel its energy. Can you feel it?”

“Yes. I think so.” It seemed to be emanating from the centre of the stone. Whoah…

“Good. Pull on that energy. Slowly pull some of it out and let it flow into your hands. Draw it up your arms and into your chest. Can you do it?”

I did what she said and I could actually feel it travelling up my arms. I couldn’t believe it was actually working. “Yes. It feels strange.”

“Now let it spread out all over your body. It will help you to concentrate and your mind will be more alert. Can you feel it?”

“Yes.” It was the weirdest feeling, but it felt good.

I opened my eyes and the details in the room became sharper somehow. It wasn’t that it improved my eyesight, but I noticed things that were just background stuff before. The books on the shelves. The brand name on the TV. The pictures on the walls depicting naked women in garden settings. They looked like some Normal Lindsay pieces. That was fitting when his art gallery was somewhere here in the Blue Mountains.

“How do you feel?”

“Everything is… clearer.”

“Yes.”

I frowned. “How? I’ve never had this sort of thing happen with a crystal before.”

“You used your magic to draw out the energy that was inside the crystal.”

“Oh. Okay.”

She smiled. “Now, put it down on the table and lift it with your magic. Concentrate and lift it up and hold it in place.”

It took a few tries, but I finally did it.

“That’s it. Keep it up till I tell you to put it back down.”

I kept eye contact with it so I wouldn’t slip up, then once I thought I couldn’t hold it any longer, she told me to put it down — slowly. Gently.

“That’s great. After the day we’ve had, I really wanted to get you to put it all out of your head and still do this. This is a very important skill to have. You need to be able to concentrate under any and all circumstances so you can still use your magic. You need to be able to defend yourself.”

What? “Defend myself?”