The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 153

CAULDER

The longer the silence went on, the more I began to panic. If I couldn't link Remy, maybe I could reach her through our magic, like we had done before. I closed my eyes to focus on reaching out with my magic. I started searching for Remy's essence, but before I got very far, the creature screeched, its rage filling the air.

I scrambled to my feet and stood before the billowing shadows whipping everywhere. It was rearing to attack, and I had to stop it. I lifted my hands to create a barrier, but a tendril hit my hand, interrupting my concentration. My skin was stained with dark shadows where the creature hit me, and it felt like ice was filling my veins.

I tried to create the barrier again, but the creature tried to attack me. This time I rolled out of the way prepared for the attack. At this rate, I wasn't going to be able to put the barrier back up.

Ginger shifted in front of me. "I'll distract it. You get that shield up now."

I didn't question her, because I knew we didn't have the time. I scurried to my feet again. I started creating the barrier, but without Remy, it was taking longer than last time. On top of that, the creature was attacking everyone around it, making it harder to create the barrier, since it wasn't contained in a singular spot this time.

"Remy, I need you," I tried to link again. I felt desperate as the battlefield turned to chaos. People from both sides were being attacked, and the screams echoed all around us. We were losing this fight, and it wouldn't be long before the creature killed everyone. Ginger was doing her best to send magic attacks at the creature to distract it. Her attacks hit, but they didn't appear to be doing much damage. It did enrage the creature, and it started focusing its attacks on her, just like she wanted. She dodged the attacks by shifting around. It was keeping the creature in a more confined area, and it gave me enough time to create the barrier again.

It was almost finished, but the creature seemed to realize what I was doing and turned its attention to me. It completely ignored everything Ginger was doing, despite all of her efforts. I knew I should move, because if I didn't, its attack would do serious damage. However, I was too close to finishing the barrier. I couldn't afford to move.

The tendrils were about to hit me, but Ginger appeared directly in front of me instead. The tendrils shot right through Ginger's chest as she used her body to shield me and save my life. My chest collapsed as I saw Ginger crumble before me.

"No!" I screamed, fueling my anger into my magic. I needed to finish this barrier now so Ginger could get help.

Another flash of light filled the field, but this one didn't have an explosive force behind it. It blinded me just like the other one, and this time when my vision came back, Remy was standing on the field with Blade next to her, only it didn't look like Remy. Her hair was redder and brighter, and her skin had an unearthly glow to it. Her eyes were the most drastic, though. They looked like beams of light shooting out from her eyes.

Everything about the way she looked and felt unsettled me. She felt like Remy and a completely different person at the same time. Her magic made the air so thick, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I was frozen, unsure if I should run to her side or run away from her. Blade's eyes met mine, and I only saw concern in them. He didn't move either, just waiting for Remy to do... something.

The creature was the first one to break the stillness, since everyone was too enraptured by Remy's appearance and overwhelming energy to do anything but stare at her. The darkness lunged for my sister, and it swirled around her, blocking her from my view. This was enough to get me moving again.

I rushed towards her, throwing my magic at the creature, desperate to protect her from the creature swarming her. My attacks seemed to do nothing against the darkness filling the air around me. I felt weak and pathetic and didn't understand how I was supposed to help Remy. I rushed forward, ready to jump into the darkness with her, but before I could get close enough, the shadows started getting sucked in towards her.

When the air in front of me cleared up a little, I saw the darkness pouring itself into Remy's mouth. Blade was knocked to the ground, staring up at everything, unable to move. I wanted to attack the creature, but Remy was too close, and I didn't want to hurt her, so I stood there, frozen with indecision.

Then, it was too late. The creature had entirely entered Remy, and she stood there, emitting both light and darkness. She was frozen, staring up at the red moonlight.

Finally gathering his senses, Blade stood up and reached for Remy. He was shocked back, landing on the ground with a thud. I rushed to his side and helped him to his feet.

"What do we do?" I asked. "We need to help her."

"Whatever's happening won't let me get close enough," Blade said. "But I know Remy is still in there."

"What happened to make her like this?" I asked. "Did you trigger the prophecy?"

Blade paused. "I'm assuming so. We marked each other, and she was in this excruciating pain. For a brief moment, I saw her eyes turn red, and then this happened." He motioned towards her.

"Her eyes turned red?" I repeated. Blade nodded. "That's it. That's why everyone wanted Remy and not you."

"Excuse me?" Blade asked. I could hear the offense in his voice, but surely he knew Remy had been more of a target than he ever was.

"When you marked her, you shared your vampire DNA with her. Vampires have the ability to change humans into vampires, unlike sorcerers and werewolves who are born like that," I started to explain. I hadn't thought about this before, but now it felt so obvious. "So Remy was the only one of the two of us who could change into having all three genetics," Blade concluded.

"And it caused this reaction." I watched Remy carefully. It explained why I could still feel Remy's presence, even though she didn't seem like the person I was used to.

Her body started to shake, a scream escaped her lips. It sounded like two people screaming at the same time, one coming directly from her and one from the creature. They were fighting over control over her body internally, and whoever won the fight would determine what future would become a reality.

Seeing her in that pain, I couldn't stand there and watch any longer. I shouted after her and ran towards her. Even though Blade had been forced away, I was determined to reach her. If she was forced to choose the path of light or dark, I needed to be by her side to help her in whatever way I could. The moment I touched her, I felt a shock jolt through my body, and I was flung to the ground.

My entire body ached, but I got up as fast as possible. This time I shifted to Remy with my arms already outstretched. I clasped my hands around her body, determined to stay here this time. I felt the jolt run through my body once again, but this time I wasn't sent flying. The pain in my body grew more intense the longer I held onto her, but I wasn't going to give up.

"Remy! If you can hear me, I'm not going anywhere. Whatever happens, I'll be right by your side. Twins forever, got it?" I could hardly hear myself over the roaring magic that flowed around Remy, so I wouldn't be surprised if she couldn't hear me, but I had to keep trying. I hoped she could feel me through our twin bond.

I sent my magic outwards and encouraged it to wrap around Remy, searching for where her mind was in all of this mess. She had always been there for me, and in more ways than other people realized, Remy was a part of me. I knew who she was, and if anyone could reach her, I knew it was me.

-

REMY

To say I didn't feel like myself would be an understatement. I didn't recognize the person standing in front of me, looking through the mirror. Wait, this wasn't right. There were no mirrors around here. I had been in the forest with Blade. I saved him. We were on track to live our future together. We just had to defeat that creature. And Draven. And stop the war.

My head felt foggy, and the last few minutes were a blur. Now, I was standing on the battlefield, looking at all of the destruction around me. It was my fault. I could have stopped all of this from happening in the first place. If I had been stronger or brave enough to go with Draven, no one would have died today.

It was my fault. All my fault.

The darkness surrounded me, and I felt myself slipping. Pain, fear, and guilt replaced any other emotions, and I felt like that was all my future would ever hold. I would never get the happy ending Blade and I had wanted. "Remoria. You've welcomed me."

That voice. I knew that voice. It belonged to that creature, only it didn't scare me like it once did. It sounded like the voice of reason. I had been foolish to ignore it before. It already knew the worst of the world, so it knew how to wade through the desperation and pain that came from failing and losing. It would be my savior.

"Good. Come to me, child."

I took a step forward, but then I felt a different pull. This one was warm and comforting. It was everything that creature wasn't. I turned, trying to figure out where that sensation was coming from. It felt better than the cold darkness I was currently wading in. "It's a trick," the voice said. It was angry now. It didn't like that I had stopped walking.

"Hello?" I called out, trying to figure out what the other presence I felt was.

"Remy!" That was Caulder. Where was he? I couldn't see him anywhere. There was only darkness.

I took another step in the wrong direction, and the creature screeched in frustration. I ignored its pleas for me to return to it.

The world changed around me, taking shape and twisting as it tried to figure out what to look like. It settled on two worlds, one light and one dark. I was standing on a line in the middle of the two of them, able to see all the possibilities.

When I looked to the right, I saw my pack destroyed. Everyone was dead, including my parents, Ginger, Caulder, Harper, and Blade. No, I saved Blade, so why was his body mangled and bleeding? The world burned on that side, and there was no one left. Except me. I was there with a crown on my head. I was in charge of everything. I was responsible for everything. I was everything and nothing at the same time.

"Remy, don't go that way," Caulder said.

I looked to my left, and the world was so bright I felt almost blinded by the emotions on that side. Caulder stood in the middle of it, reaching out to me. He held his palm open, waiting for me to join him. That side of the world was nice and warm. People were happy and smiling. There were shadows still lingering in the background, and I could feel them lurking, waiting for the right moment to strike, and there was something about that that terrified me.

"With me, you'll always know what's going to happen," the creature said to me. It was standing in the dark world, and it had taken the shape of a person, but it looked like that body was made of shadows. After a moment, I realized it was in the shape of my body. "Don't listen to it, Rem," Caulder said. He took a step forward, and the creature hissed at him. "It just wants to use you. I know life isn't always easy, and it's often scary. Even if we win this battle, there's no telling what that will mean for our future, but at least we will live through it together."

"With me, you'll have all of the power in the world. You'll be able to stop people from dying. You'll even be able to bring people back from the dead."

"Lies," I whispered as the creature tried to convince me to join it. For a brief moment, it had been tempting, but I could see it for what it really was. "Caulder is right. You just want to use me. I don't need you, and I don't need powers like that."

I took a step towards Caulder, and I took his hand, choosing my own future.