Chapter thirty one

Amber opens her eyes and smiles glad to see she was back on solid ground again. She looks around slightly shivering as she glances up at the manor in front of her. She quickly tries to hide the fear in her eyes as everyone else begins to stand up. Olivia stands up and looks at her sister and though Amber tries to hide it, Olivia can still feel her sisters fear. She walks up beside Amber and takes her hand in hers. Amber turns and smiles weakly as they start to head towards the manor.

"Hey wait up!" Chris cries out as he stands up.

He helps Lexi and Megan up before running to catch up to Olivia and Amber. The girls stop, waiting on the rest of them to catch up to them.

"Kayla I've got a strange feeling about being here," Terri whispers, grabbing her sisters hand as they catch up to the others.

As they walk towards the manor everything seems to grow darker around them. The only noise they heard seems to be the sound of their own footsteps. There was no wind howling, or ghouls shrieking around them. It was like everything around the manor had disappeared. Before long the only thing visible around them was the manor. A black veil of darkness had surrounded them, keeping them from leaving. Olivia pauses as she reaches for the doorknob, closing her eyes and sighing. She begins to think about the last time she was at the manor.

~

"Girls it's time for supper," Aylana cries out from the kitchen. "Come on girls your father will be home any second."

"Okay mommy," Amber cries out, looking over at her sister and smiling.

Olivia smiles back at her sister. They get up from the couch, leaving the book they was looking at on the couch and walk into the dining room.

"What took you two so long?" Aylana looks down at her daughters and smiles as she sits two plates of chicken down on the table.

"Nothing mommy," Olivia says, quickly digging into her food. The door behind them opens suddenly. As Olivia turns her head she sees her father standing behind her.

"Hey honey how was your day?" Aylana asks, walking over and kissing her husband.

"It was alright. Now what have you two been up to?" He asks, walking over and kissing Olivia and Amber on the forehead.

Amber and Olivia look at each other quickly, an unspoken message passes between them.

"We haven't been up to anything today daddy," Amber replies, looking down at her food.

They sit there in silence as they finish eating. As soon as they are done, Amber and Olivia run out of the dining room and up to their room.

"I have a surprise for you Griffin," she is holding a book in her hands and as she gets closer to him, Griffin notices that it is her spell book. "I made you a copy of my spell book."

"Thanks," Griffin smiles as he takes the spell book from her. Now that I have this book I don't need you anymore. He thinks as he begins thumbing through the pages.

"I think you are ready to learn most of the spells in my book now. You are the first person I have ever really trusted enough to show my spell book to." She wraps her arms around Griffin and kisses him passionately. "I know all of the spells from my book aren't in the copy I made for you but when I feel ready I will show you the rest of the spells."

Before he gets to reply they hear a loud thump from overhead followed shortly by Amber and Olivia giggling.

"What are they up to?" Griffin wonders out loud as he stares up at the ceiling. "I'll go and check it out." He says, kissing Aylana before walking out of the dining room.

On his way to his daughters room he pauses in the living room and walks over to the couch curiously. Sitting on the couch was Aylana's original spell book. He picks it up curiously.

What is this doing out? He thinks, quickly switching his copy for hers.

He opens her book and flips through the pages, quickly looking for the spell he needed. He smiles when he finds the entrapment spell he was looking for. He had seen Aylana use it twice to trap her brother and another girl in a place called the shadow realm.

"What are you doing I thought you were going to go check on the girls," Aylana says, walking into the living room. He quickly closes the spell book and turns around to face her.

"Oh I am," he says, grinning as he looks at her.

He leaves the room then, running up the stairs to his daughters room. As he peaks into the room he sees the two girls rolling around on the floor and laughing.

I have no choice I have to trap them in the shadow realm. He thinks, walking back down the stairs.

~

"Is everything alright sis?" Amber asks as she sees Olivia hesitating to open the door. Olivia sighs as she turns to look at her sister.

"I'm fine Amber I was just thinking about the last night we spent in here," Olivia tells her sister, shivering as she tries to shake away her thoughts.

She wanted to turn and run away from here. She didn't want to see her father again. He had betrayed them, separating her from her mother and sister. He had even made Amber once believe that it was her mother that had locked them in the shadow realm.

"Everything will be alright we are stronger then we used to be Olivia," Amber takes her sisters hand in her own as she opens the door to Griffin's manor.

"Are we really stronger Amber, don't you feel this place changing us?" Olivia cries out at her sister. "I'm scared of what is going to happen to me, to you if we don't get out of the shadow realm soon."

Amber pulls her sister close, letting her lay her head on her chest as she cries.

"We are going to help free you guys from this prison."

Megan gives the girls a warm smile as she looks at them. Amber starts to say something else but before she gets the chance to Chris and the others catch up to them.

"So are we going in to save Sara and Julie?"

Lexi looks at Amber and Olivia hopefully. Olivia looks in through the open doorway and shivers again. Something felt wrong to her. She didn't know what was wrong but she could feel a strange magic coming from deep inside the house.

"Of course we are going in," Amber says, dragging her sister into the house before she had time to object.

The others follow them into the house cautiously, not exactly sure what to expect. As soon as they are all inside the front door slams shut.

"Amber something isn't right can't you feel the dark magic being used?" Olivia whispers, looking over at her sister terrified. Amber shakes her head no as she stares into Olivia's eyes.

"Let's just find Julie and Sara and get out of here," Kayla didn't like being in the house, there was some strange, ancient magic lingering in the house.

"Amber you said you escaped from here before so where would griffin be keeping the girls?" Chris asks, looking at Amber and Olivia strangely. Something about the way he was looking at them made Amber and Olivia shiver with fear.

"The bedrooms Griffin was keeping me and Julie in are on the second floor, come on," Amber takes another look at Chris before leading them all up the stairs to the second floor. Amber pauses in front of the first door they come to. She reaches her hand out slowly and opens the door. "This is the room I was kept in." She whispers as she looks around the small room.

Olivia places her hand on her sisters shoulder, causing Amber to turn and look at her. Olivia can feel her sisters fear as she touches her shoulder.

"Which room was Julie being held in?" Olivia asks, pulling her sister away from the room she had once been trapped in.

Amber doesn't say anything, she just points on down the hall to the very last door.

"Guys doesn't anyone think it's weird that we haven't seen Griffin yet?" Megan whispers as they walk on down the hall towards Julies room.

"Yeah I would've thought he would have been waiting for us or something," Lexi whispers back to Megan as they pause in front of another closed door.

"This isn't the room you said was Julie's so why did we stop for?" Terri notices that Amber was staring at the closed door strangely.

"There's something moving around inside," Amber whispers, looking around at the others. "Whatever is inside is being held in there by some kind of boundary spell." She says to no one in particular, reaching her hand out towards the door only to have it repealed back.

"Is somebody out there?" Everyone quickly turns around, staring at the closed door behind them. Olivia looks at the other room one last time. Whatever was behind that door wasn't a good thing, she could feel the ancient power. "Please let me out of here." The voice cries out breaking Olivia from her thoughts. She shakes her head before walking away.

"Michael is that you?" Lexi cries out, walking across the hall to the closed door where the voice had come from.

She reaches her hand out, pressing it against the door cautiously.

"Lexi is it really you please help me get out of here," Michael says.

Lexi leans closer to the door, reaching down and grabbing the doorknob and trying to turn it. She soon realizes that the door is stuck and sighs.

"Michael how long have you been here?" Lexi asks, trying to pull the door open.

She gives up quickly, letting go of the doorknob and backing away from the door.

"I've been trapped in this room for a day and a half now. Please get me out of here."

"Hang on Michael we will find a way to get you out of there."

Without saying a word Megan slips back down the hallway and back downstairs. She returns quickly holding two knives in her hands.

"Michael before I get you out I want you to promise me that its really you and not the guy that tried tricking me and Lexi earlier," Megan says, standing in front of the door.

"It's really me look what happened earlier wasn't my fault. Griffin used a spell to control me."

She looks back at the others for a moment before raising one of the knives. She wedges the knife in between the door and the wall by the doorknob. She then uses the other knife to pry the door lock over. The door pops open easily and she smiles when she sees Michael.

"Michael!" Megan blushes slightly, smiling as she looks at him. "It really is you how did you end up trapped in here?" She asks, looking at him curiously.

Michael walks over to the open door, pausing at the doorway. For a moment he looks to frightened to walk through it. He takes a deep breath and steps through the doorway nervously, closing his eyes.

"Griffin summoned me back here after I told you to run. He had my own father lock me away in that room," Michael explains as he opens his eyes, grateful to be free once again. "Megan I couldn't harm you. I can't harm any of you."

Before anyone says anything else Megan wraps her arms around him and gently kisses him.

"I know Michael," she tells him, kissing him again. As they kiss Megan can't help but to see everyone else turning away quickly or looking at the ground. She suddenly realizes that there is a person missing. "Where is Chris?" She asks, noticing that he had disappeared suddenly.

"He was just here," Lexi says, looking around the hallway for him.

Her eyes pause on an open door at the end of the hall. The door to Julie's room was now standing wide open.

"If he went to Julie's room its too late. Griffin already took her away. He said something about preparing for the ceremony," Michal tells them, looking down the hall towards Julie's room. What are you up to Chris? Michael wonders as he turns back to look at everyone else.

"Do you know where he took her Michael?" Amber asks as she walks over to where he is standing.

"No I don't know where he took her. The only thing I know is that Griffin was talking about a park," Michael tells them, looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of any more help."

"Its okay Michael," Amber smiles kindly at him as she speaks.

"I think I know where he took her," Olivia says, her voice slightly above a whisper as she speaks. "There was a park that our mom used to take us to."

"Can you take us there?" Terri looks over at her hopefully.

"I think so," Olivia replies as she walks towards the center of the hallway.

As everyone begins to gather around her she closes her eyes. She begins thinking about the park her mom used to take her and her sister to. Take us to the park. She thinks, waiting on the darkness to form around them and lift them up into the air.

"Something's wrong we should have shadow travelled by now," Amber says, looking towards her sister nervously.

Olivia opens her eyes and looks back at Amber disappointed.

"Why can't any of us shadow travel?" Lexi whispers as she looks around. Everyone seemed to be just as confused as she was.

"Something is preventing us from shadow travelling," Olivia shivers as she continues to feel the ancient magic flowing through the house.

At first she thought it was just being used to keep whatever Griffin had locked up from escaping. But as she quickly learns the dark magic was keeping them trapped in the house as well.

"Griffin must have trapped us here. Now we have no way of helping Julie or Sara."

Terri grips her sisters hand tightly. Kayla pulls her sister closer, hugging her as she looks towards Olivia and Amber.

"How are we going to get out of this house?" Kayla asks, desperately trying to hide the fear in her eyes.

"I don't know but there has to be a way to escape."

Olivia turns away from everyone as her eyes begin tearing up. Amber senses her sisters fear and turns to comfort her.

"Everything will be alright," Amber whispers, rubbing Olivia's back gently.

"No it won't, this place is changing us. Our powers are fading. Soon we won't be much use to anyone!" Olivia cries out, turning around to face her sister. Olivia lays her head on Amber's shoulders as she begins sobbing.

"Guys I hate to interrupt but there is a door opening down the hall."

Michael points down the hall at the door Olivia had stopped in front of earlier.

"Not just a door. Look all of the doors are starting to open up. We need to find a way out of here now," Lexi cries out, watching as a dark figure begins to walk out into the hall.

"They still can't get out of the rooms the spell being used to trap them is still holding," Suddenly an idea pops into Amber's head and she smiles. "I think I may have an idea. As soon as the boundary spell trapping everything inside this house is down we should be able to escape."

"So all we have to do now is wait until the spell disappears and hope we are free?" Megan shivers as she looks around.

Several more figures are standing in the doorways of the open rooms, waiting patiently to be free.

"Yes as soon as the spell is gone and these prisoners are freed we will be able to shadow travel and hopefully get to Sara and Julie before it's too late," Amber tells them, smiling as she looks around.

All she could do now was pray that her plan worked otherwise she feared what would happen when the prisoners became freed.

"Let's just hope that by the time we are finally able to get to Sara and Julie it won't be too late," Olivia mumbles as she looks at the ground. I just hope that wherever you are Sara, you are safe. She thinks.

She is pulled away from her thoughts when she watches as one of the prisoners slowly begins stepping out into the hall, forcing himself through the boundary spell keeping him inside the room. With the boundary spell still in place none of them could shadow travel. She had to think of something to do quick.