Chapter 23:

Getting in the big white pick-up truck, we started heading North toward the Lichts. After about ten minutes, we arrived at the Lichts' house. Knocking on the door, Metalla opened the door.

"Hi, Metalla. We need to talk to you about the Dunkels. Something happened," I said, holding back the tears.

"What happened?" Feuera said from the couch in the main room.

"I will tell you later. Where is Mei?" I asked, still a little shock up.

"I am right here," Mei said, coming through the hallway doorway. "What is wrong?"

"We were just at the Dunkels' house, and something weird happened," I said, sitting down on the couch.

"What do you mean by weird?" Feniks asked, getting closer to us on the couch.

"Well, we were doing homework. Then after a while, I had this weird feeling. Then… I was in a dream state that brought me back to when Mom was alive," I said with tears running down my check.

"How did you get out?" Feniks asked, giving me a hug.

"The mom said Eve instead of Belle. My mom would never call me Eve. I was and am her little Belle," I said, leaning into Feniks' hug.

"Does the guy that had the spell on you call you Eve?" Mei asked.

"Yeah?" I said, a little confused as to what that has to do with anything.

"Did he know that your mom died?" Mei asked.

"Yeah? Why does that matter?" I questioned.

"The boy put a spell on you called Schlafen. Schlafen is a gold magic. It puts people in a trance. Well, a trance might not be the right words. It is like you are sleeping and in a dream that is your best dream ever," Mei explained, with a face that had no expression to it.

"But I thought that you said that the gold magic was gone," I questioned.

"Technically, it is gone. But since your mom was the last one to use it, she never liked the idea of the magic going away, so she taught a few people some of the spells," Mei said with a slight smile.

"But how did Raven and Baer know them? Mom never knew them, so she couldn't have taught them," I said.

"Your mom taught Morgana and Diera. I bet that they taught Vogela, and they taught the children." Mei guessed.

"Is that the only thing my mom taught them?" I asked, not wanting any other surprise to my life.

"I think so, but Ellen kept a lot of secrets from us," Mei confessed.

"That is understandable. Well, thanks for the help. I want to go home now. I am really shocked up and just want to be in a safe environment," I said, heading for the door.

"Eve. before you leave, I want to ask you something." Mei stated.

"What is it?" I asked.

"How did you get out of the trance?" Mei asked.

"What do you mean? I told you that I noticed the difference in what Mom would say, and then I was back in the room," I said confused.

"Yeah, but the only way to get out is to make a physical connection with the world. So how? Did you touch something?" Mei inquired.

"No. I told you everything. I did get Sly out by touching him," I said, getting her off my case.

"Yeah, but still. How did you get him out when he didn't touch you?" Mei asked.

"I don't understand your question," I questioned.

"Well with Schlafen, the only way to get out is by making a physical connection with the world around you. So, if you are telling us the truth, then there must be another way. Could you teach us?" Mei asked.

"How can I teach you something that I don't understand? The only explanation is that maybe Mom taught me something about gold magic. You know, maybe like since she knew I was going to go through this complication, she taught me how to solve my own problems," I guessed.

"That sounds like something Ellen would do," Dad added in.

"So, can I go home now? I want to feel safe for a little bit," I said.

"Yeah, of course, you can. Thank you, Eve, for telling us this," Mei said.

"Yep, thank you. Bye, now," I said.

Getting back into the truck, I started to cry and fell into Dad's arms. "It is okay, sweetie," he said as he stroked my back.

"I want to go home, and things hope that things will be different," I cried.

"I do too," he said, as we drove home.

Arriving at the house, I went straight to bed. Once I was dressed and ready for bed, there was a knock at the door. It was Sly.

"Hey, sis," he said as he came into my room.

"Hey, Sly. What do you need?" I asked with a yawn.

"I wanted to check up on you. How are you doing with all this?" he asked as he sat on my bed.

"Honestly… I am scared. How are we supposed to make a choice like this? This is everyone's lives we are dealing with here," I said honestly to him.

"I know, Sis. But we are doing it for the greater good."

"What is the greater good?" I asked, angry at him and my situation.

"That is something no one knows but we have to believe. Come on, Sis. Mom knew you could do this; that is why she allowed this to happen," he said with a smile.

"Mom didn't allow it. She died," I said, holding back some tears.

"I know, but she knew something was going to happen to her that would cause her to leave you. So, she trained you your entire life," he explained, giving me a hug.

"Yeah, Mom was always the smartest person in the room," I said, embracing the hug.

"See. So, you just need to have faith in what Mom told you. You just need to believe," he said.

"I wish you would stop saying that. You know Mom would tell me that before she left every time," I said sadly.

"I know. But I want to be the big brother in this situation," he said in a prideful way.

"Thanks, Sly. Now could you leave me alone. I want to go to bed," I said, shoving him out of my room.

"Okay, see you in the morning, Eve," Sly said, giving me a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

Once Sly left, I finished my bedtime routine and was just about ready to go to bed when there was another knock at the door. "Sly, I thought you were going to let me sleep." Then I opened the door; it was John. "Oh, sorry, John. I thought you were Sly."

"That is okay. If I knew you were going to sleep, I would not have come over. I will let you go to bed," he said, so sweetly.

"Oh, no. It is okay. Come on in. What is up?" I asked with a big yawn.

"I wanted to check up on you since your little experience with the Dunkels," he said, staying at the door.

"Well, it's kind of sucked. But at least I learned about the Dunkels and the Lichts. Well, at least a little bit more," I said with another yawn.

"No, I want to know… how you are?" he asked.

"I am fine," I lied.

"Don't lie to me," he said, reading me like a book.

"I am scared and worried about what I am going to do on my birthday," I confessed.

"It is okay. You know that we will always be here for you. Well, I will let you go to bed. Night, Eve," he said, about to shut the door.

"Hey, John. could you stay with me tonight? I am scared to be alone, right now," I confessed.

"Sure," he said willingly.

And with that I lay down in bed next to John. He had one arm wrapped around me and the other for my head to lay on. It felt so comforting to be there with another person. "Thanks," I whispered as I drifted asleep with golden lights flashing before my eyes in my dreams.