Seb and Tara were in the tapestry room, discussing the strange epidemic.
"It's pretty bad," Tara muttered darkly. She needed more Bogmoor tea. Without it she could barely function. "What are we going to do?"
Her stepbrother shook his head. "I don't know."
The Everine lifted her head sharply. "What's wrong?"
He sighed. "I just got chewed out by Ryder, and worse, he was right," was his rueful reply.
Tara frowned. "He's usually pretty chill. What happened?"
Seb buried his head in his hands. "Apparently I broke Miranda's heart after Sorsha became sick. And he's right…I didn't even think about her this whole time."
She slid an arm around him. "You've been busy," Tara consoled.
"With Miranda," Seb railed. "If I hadn't spent so much time with her…"
Tara poked him gently. "Don't be self-centred. Bella yelled at me for the same reason."
He turned to her. "Truly? What about?"
The girl sighed. "I thought I was being nice. I asked her about Ryder, then when she wanted to know why I wanted to know, I said it was because she was my sister."
Her inflection stuttered a little at the end. Seb tried to smile. "If you said it like that, no wonder," he replied gently.
For a moment they paused with companionable silence.
"We're a pair of egotistical brats, aren't we?" Tara finally said.
Seb hugged her. "Yeah, but we're learning. Isn't that what counts?"
Bella was an awful mood after Tara left her room. When someone else barged in, she turned and screamed, "GET OUT!"
Miranda and Ryder froze. "Whoa," Miranda attempted to insert some levity. "Someone's been having a worse day than me."
Bella noticed her eyes were puffy. "What happened?"
Her eyes were as shiny as dark glass. "Your brother broke my heart," she replied in a chilly tone. "That's all."
Ryder put an arm around Bella. "And you? Did you fight with your sister?"
Bella sighed. "Yes. She's so self-absorbed! She has to know everything about everyone, and I've just about had enough."
The two Canadians exchanged a gaze. "So have we," Miranda said with a hint of menace.
Bella's eyes lifted. "What do you mean?"
Ryder held her hand. "We have a plan, but you don't have to help if you don't want to, Bell," he informed her.
Bella knew revenge was wrong, but her heart won over her head. "I'm in," she smiled. "As long as they suffer."
Miss T was brewing more Bogmoor tea at the library. While empty, she checked her pendant.
Still purple, it changed to a strange light, glowing ominously. Pulling a dusty book from under the table, she held the pendant against it, revealing letters that glowed in the dark. A strange language, Miss T had no problems reading it.
"Save or sacrifice is the choice's hold
O pale must be worth more than gold,"
Miss T read. However, there was more to poem then Tara had found out.
"Ringing admirers will ride in from the dark
Brightening stars consumed as the mark
Venerable and broken, the circle must align
Or face the wrath of the Shadow's sign
Three had started the great wheel
Three must finish their sisters' appeal.
The life must be given, the price will be paid
O pale's worth mustn't be mislaid."
The librarian suddenly felt a presence behind her. Turning, she saw a short figure in a dark cloak. But as she tried to focus on her, the more it seemed it was made from wisps of darkness.
"Ling?" Miss T questioned suddenly.
The darkness extended a hand, offering a turquoise bracelet with string.
"Friendship forever," the strange being hissed. "Always."
The hand crushed the bead. "Broken promises…always linger. Always fester."
It was Ling, or an impressive illusion. Her strange eyes glowed purple. The wisps that made her kept Ling indistinct, ethereal.
"Why are you here?" Miss T was terrified. Ling didn't have violet eyes.
The strange spirit recoiled its appendage.
"Vengeance," it whispered. "Betrayal."
Though Miss T couldn't see, it seemed to smile.
"Death on the wind."
Tara had gone to the library to pick up her Bogmoor tea when she noticed the glowing windows.
Running inside she saw…Miss T, in the grasp of some dark creature.
"No!" Tara pulled out her golden thread. "Stop!"
The Shadow turned, reaching for her as she quickly wove a Celtic knot, a sign of protection. The thread glowed, causing the dark being to pull away, repulsed.
"Fool," something hissed. "You protect your problem."
With that the Shadow disappeared.
Miss T and Tara shared a warm cup of Bogmoor, both trembling. Each didn't say anything at first.
"What did you find?" Tara questioned.
Miss T laid a hand on the tome.
"A poem in an ancient tongue," Miss T seemed far too old. "A prophecy of this time. I'll write what I remember, but if I risk looking at it again…"
The Everine tapped the cover. "This is the dark lore that released May's Shadow." It was a statement, not a question.
Miss T didn't bother denying it. "My pendant has magic blessed by the wise women of Ireland," her fingers kept shaking. "It reveals falsehoods and hidden truths. That's how I knew you were a Supreme. And that's how we found the dark lore."
Tara wanted to, but she didn't ask. She felt the old woman's heart couldn't take much more excitement.
"Rest," she insisted. "I'll stay with you tonight."
The family was fine with her snap decision as they were preoccupied with a problem of their own.
"Where is she?!" Rob kept screaming.
The "she" in question was Bella. Miranda, Ryder, and Bella had left sometime during the afternoon, and still hadn't returned.
"I'm sure she's fine," Fiona kept trying to calm him down. Usually it was the other way around, but right now, Rob was making a scene worthy of a freakout.
Suddenly, Bella opened the door, entering calming. "Where've you been?!" Her parents cried, hugging her in relief. Rob held his little girl tight in his arms.
"I'm fine," Bella protested mellowly. "I'm sorry. We got lost, and we were trying not to fall into the bog, so we took the long way around."
Checking her over, Rob frowned. "Why are you so relaxed? I haven't seen you like this in months."
Bella smiled, her eyes almost glassy. "I just had some proper fun, that's all."
Almost waltzing back to her room, she hummed a strangely enchanting tune, just as Miranda and Ryder slipped in.
Exchanging secret glances, Jake and Ludo witnessed their smirking expressions.
What was going on?
Seb was in his room when someone barged in.
"Hey I'm working!" He spun to find…
"Seb, I thought I was allowed whenever I wanted," Miranda spoke icily. "Before Sorsha came back into the picture. Or was she really out of it at all?"
A chill settled down his spine. "Miranda, I'm sorry…"
She pushed him roughly. "You better be. You think I wanted to become the other girl? For a second, I almost thought Evermoor evolved into a better place. Turns out I was wrong. You're simply being more sneaky about it."
Seb grabbed her wrist as she tried to leave. "Miranda, if you'll just let me explain-"
"Get your hands off me!" She roared. "OUCH!"
A roar seemed to fill the room. Seb was standing, unsure of what happened, while Miranda clutched her hand, rolling on the floor. "You assaulted me too?!" she was shocked. "I should call the cops!"
Miranda stood with difficulty, crawling away from Seb.
"Stay away from me!" She was crying. Suddenly all the blood left her face and her eyes turned to a dark purple.
"Do that again and I'll have your head," she spoke in deep voice, one that couldn't be natural. "Understand?"
Hypnotized, Seb barely nodded assent.
Miranda seemed to reclaim herself and left to ice her sore joint. The boy was confused about what had occurred, but at the back of his mind a thought pushed itself through his subconscious.
Seb's lamp had a strong illumination, but he had never seen her shadow.
Smoke drifted around Miranda's room as she chanted in a dead language, constructing a potion in what could only be described as arcane arts. Tara shifted in her sleep, sensing something wrong.
But she was too far. The manor had been left unprotected, and now, a dark cloud consumed the town.