Beyond Her Final Breath (Book 1- Shadowland Duology) | Wattys2015

.Chapter Twenty-Four.

A couple of days passed with no new leads on the Evelyn mystery. They tried everything from Sage's magic to relentlessly scanning the school's gossip column. 

Things between Sage and Nate became more and more tense as more days passed. Everyday with Sage not knowing whether or not her brother was a murderer pushed them farther apart. 

Evelyn hovered around them when they were researching, not once ever saying a word. If she picked up on the tension between the two, she never mentioned it. Most of the time, she sat in Sage's old rocking chair- quiet. 

FInally, just as the sun began to rise Sunday morning, Sage bolted out of bed. Evelyn sat in her corner, watching Sage with sad eyes. 

Sage didn't glance at her. Her mind was abuzz with an already forming plan, and her hands shook as she tugged on her pajama pants. 

She pounded against Nathan's door, not caring that her grandma was asleep on the couch downstairs. There was rustling on the other side, and the door swung open. 

Nathan stood barefoot and bleary eyed, wearing nothing but a pair of plaid boxers. 

He ran a hand down his face. "What is it?"

"We scryed into Evelyn's past and came to a dead end, right? Well I think we've been going in the wrong direction." Her cheeks were flushed with excitement, and she fiddled with the band of her pants. 

Nathan ushered her into his room, shutting the door behind him. "What in the world are you talking about? And you do realize it's," he glanced at his clock, "5:30."

She wove her fingers together. "All this time we've been focusing on using magic on Evelyn, but it hasn't really worked. The solution is simple: instead we should be focusing on you."

"Why would we focus on me?" Tangled strands of the last remains of sleep muddled his head, the gears beginning to turn. 

"Because maybe we could cross you off our-" She paused, a heaviness settling in the space between them. 

"Alright. Let's do this."

Sage's eyes widened. "Well not right now. I need to do some research and figure out what to do."

"Can't we just do the same thing we did with Evie?"

"I- I don't think it's safe to use on someone... alive."

"Oh."

"Well I should let you get back to sleep." She began to back out of the room. "Sorry to wake you."

"Wait!"

Sage paused, her back already facing him and her hand on the door knob. 

He took a steadying breath. "If I knew anything... I'd tell you."

She looked over her shoulder, and their eyes met. He realized that beneath her attitude and mass of curly hair that Sage had grown up. 

"I know," was all she said, and then she was gone. 

|<>|

Sage was becoming desperate. 

Her various spellbooks that she had snagged from her grandpa lay in precarious piles around her room. Sage was surrounded in them, the top of her ponytail barely visible behind them all.

She thumbed through the pages of an o black book, the scent of musk and mildew coming off the pages. Each page held something more terrifyingly amazing then the last. 

One page had a sketch of a creature inked on it. The creature had feathered haunches tapering into feline paws. A forked tongue slithered out of a hooked, razor-sharp beak, and it's eyes almost appeared to be watching her. 

She shuddered and flipped the page. 

Gothic calligraphy lined the top, bordered by quick inkings of a pentagram. Sage ran her fingers over them, and a dark chill passed over her like storm clouds rolling over the sun. She jerked back. 

Slamming the book shut, she took a pen out from behind her ear and crossed out a word in a notebook. She chewed on the end, wondering which book to search next. 

"You should check that one."

Sage startled, forgetting that Evelyn was in her room. She followed Evelyn's pointing finger to a small journal lying on top of her dresser. 

It seemed insignificant to Sage when she was pillaging her grandpa's library. It was almost nothing compared to the other more impressive books. She had just added it to her pile without a thought. 

She slid off her bed and picked it up. The book was only slightly larger than her hand, and it was bound in blue-stained leather. The pages were kept shut with a simple silver clasp. 

Thick tan pages fanned out, falling open in the center of the book where the pages had been sewn in. 

Strangely familiar handwriting met Sage. 

She frowned, trying to remember where she had seen it before. Shaking her head, she flipped through the pages. 

There were numbers resembling dates on the top of each page. With shock, Sage realized that it was a journal. Her interest peaked, and she took the journal to her bed. 

From the corner, Evie watched on. 

|<>|

Are u busy later?

The text came in around noon. The phone buzzed as soon as it recieved the text from Sandra, pulling Nathan's attention to it. 

No, why? he sent back. 

A few minutes later...

Wanna go costume shopping?

Nate stared down at his phone, unsure how to respond. Should he go out? There was no reason to stay. He was useless to Sage until the ritual, and the tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife. 

He typed his response and sat the phone on the stand next to his bed. He pulled on a pair of jeans from a couple of days ago and tugged on a shirt. 

It was time to meet up with Sandra.

A/N: So how do you guys feel about Sandra? Let me know in the comments below! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Vote/comment/follow.

-Sophia ^_^