Shadow Whispers: The Light Keepers Trilogy, #3

By Bettina Melher

There are fates worse than death…

Victoria and her family are desperate to move on with their lives and put their dark memories behind them. But just because things appear calm doesn’t mean the dark shadows are not there—in fact, they are closer than ever before.

This time, Victoria must risk everything and fight a battle that she can’t afford to lose—a battle which may very well be her last.

Shadow Whispers is the final book in the Light Keepers Trilogy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bettina Melher
• Release date: Jun 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386139508

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

From the top of the stairs, the lower level of the house looked even darker than it should be. There was only silence—a silence that Natalie was now all too familiar with. It was the silence of the shadows.

The little hairs on the back of Natalie’s neck stood up. She felt the tingling on her skin as a chill ran through her body. She could almost taste the danger—feel its presence in the house. But Natalie forced herself to take another step down the stairs. Slowly, she descended deeper into the darkness. Her eyes adjusted to the nearly nonexistent light.

Familiar surroundings came into view. Her eyes were drawn towards the lightest thing amongst the dark shapes and shadows that resembled the living-room furniture. Vera. Her arms, unnaturally light in colour against the dark, lay flat by her sides.

Natalie moved closer. Vera’s eyes were closed, but even in the dark, Natalie could see that they were moving rapidly beneath their lids. Above them, her forehead shone with perspiration.

There was no telling just how long Natalie stood there watching Vera, but suddenly she saw her eyes open. She stared at the ceiling, seemingly unaware of Natalie’s presence so close behind her.

Vera propped herself up and sat at the edge of the couch. She got to her feet, swaying a little from side to side.

Natalie wanted to go to her; to look her in the eyes and help her. She had a gnawing feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong. But somehow Natalie was unable to move, unable to make a sound. She could only watch as Vera walked out of the living room and towards the front door.

She took the car keys that were hanging on the wall and then unlocked the front door with her other hand, stepping out into the warm summer night.

From the living room, Natalie could hear the car’s engine come to life and could see the soft glow of the headlights as they washed through the curtains.

Then they were gone.

And so was Vera.

*

Natalie woke bathed in sweat. She tried to swallow but her mouth was too dry. She wiped the sweat off her face and blinked. The glow of dawn was bathing her room in a deep orange. She thought about staying in bed, rolling over and trying to fall back asleep, but sleep was long gone now. Her mind burning with the same memories replaying over and over again. Natalie got up and stood by the window to look out into the face of another day. The heat was already building outside.

Natalie changed out of her nightdress and into a pair of shorts and a singlet. There was a childish glimmer of hope each night she went to bed: that all of this had all been one very long dream. But each morning she woke, it proved that it had all been too real.

The question that plagued her since that terrible day: was Vera still alive? Somewhere, somehow? Could it be possible that she was waiting to be rescued?

Her body was taken, and from everything that Natalie had learned about magic—whether it was using the powers of the light or the dark was irrelevant—once a person was claimed by the shadows, whether by a demon or any other malevolent entity, the body always remained. So, where was Vera’s body then?

Natalie dried the stray tears and looked at herself in the mirror. Her old room was scarcely furnished, but the dresser with the mirror on top, her single bed, and the rocking chair in the corner had remained. Perhaps deep down Alison had known that her daughter would return one day. As Natalie inspected her face, she noticed that she had aged considerably since arriving in Blackheath. Dark circles rimmed her eyes; the events of the last few weeks had added another five years to her age. The fight against the coven of black witches had taken its toll on all of them, but losing Vera had shattered Natalie more than any of the others. Perhaps not even Magda felt the loss that Natalie was going through. Vera had been like a sister to Natalie; she had been her best friend since the day Natalie had arrived at Karst Springs. And now she was gone. Dead. And it was all because of Natalie. She had accepted Vera’s offer to join her on her journey back home. She had allowed her to do the channeling. She was the one who had gone upstairs to sleep instead of staying beside her, protecting her the way any other sister had done.

Natalie clutched the edges of the old dresser and bowed her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, praying for the vicious cycle of her own tormenting thoughts to let her be.

I’m so sorry, Vera… I’m so sorry, she sobbed under her breath.

The pain in her locked jaw intensified. She drew a big breath and looked up at the ceiling before meeting her own reflection in the mirror again.

"Get it together," she told herself, her voice shaking.

The living room was flooded with the morning sun. As Natalie descended the stairs, she avoided looking at the couch on which Vera had lain on not so long ago. It had been the last time that Natalie had seen her friend; at least, the last time that she had been herself. The forces that had guided her to leave in the middle of the night, the very same evil force that had caused her to willingly lie in the centre of an inverted pentagram, surrounded by the members of a dark coven—that had not been Vera.

Natalie gathered her thoughts and forced herself to focus on the task of preparing coffee. She tried anything to keep herself distracted enough—at least this way her family didn’t see how much she truly suffered inside.

It wouldn’t be long before Alison, Victoria, and Liam would join her in the kitchen, and although Natalie had wished for nothing else but to be reunited with her family, surrounded by them around the clock in the hopes of making up almost an entire decade that they had been robbed of, she still cherished the time she had on her own.

Natalie settled at the dining table and sipped on her coffee. She looked outside to the garden, which Alison had kept immaculate over these years. She really did have a green thumb.

The aroma of the coffee and the beauty of the morning were not enough to distract Natalie from her dark thoughts. She still saw her face, almost as if it had been etched into her very eyes. And it would forever haunt her.

The high priestess of the coven, Annabelle, had had Anyana’s energy within her during that ceremony, only Natalie didn’t know how or why. Perhaps she would never know. Anyana’s trace had disappeared, and since Natalie, Victoria and the others had fled the clearing they hadn’t seen any of the coven members since.

Magda had kept an eye over them—assuring Natalie that all the black witches were without their powers. The dark lord had punished them.

But Alison was right. Just because they were without powers now didn’t mean that they would not seek revenge for Natalie and Victoria stopping them from opening the gates.

On the other hand, Natalie was the one who should be seeking revenge. She felt a need to avenge Vera’s death. Only Natalie couldn’t, and knew that she never could. Attacking a human being, with or without magical powers, no matter how evil that person may be, went against everything that the light keepers stood for.

Although Natalie knew that she was not allowed to make them suffer for what they had done, that didn’t mean that she wasn’t allowed to fantasise about it.

She often wondered if she would perhaps coincidentally see them somewhere, or if one day they may decide to come knocking on their door. She didn’t yet know exactly how she was going to react. Would she be able to compose herself? To look into those cold, evil, heartless eyes of Annabelle’s and not take her life for Vera’s?

Killing Annabelle is not what is going to bring me back, Natalie.

Natalie almost dropped the mug from her hands. She froze, unsure if she had heard Vera’s voice in her mind or if perhaps it could really be true. Slowly, she set the mug down on the table, her ears alert and praying that her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. She turned around. There was nobody else in the room with her.

Natalie was certain that she had heard Vera’s voice. It was hers. She would recognise it anywhere.

She wanted to call out her name, but was afraid. Afraid that Victoria or Alison may hear her and find out the truth about her inability to cope with losing Vera. Afraid that Vera wouldn’t answer, but also afraid that she would.

Natalie’s heart sank as it caught up with her rational mind and realised that Vera was not here. It had merely been her own mind.

Natalie knew that if she didn’t snap out of this, her own thoughts would drive her crazy.

Good morning, sweetheart!

Alison had her arms around Natalie’s shoulders before she could even turn around. She kissed the top of her head and then her forehead.

When Natalie turned to face her, Alison’s bright smile vanished.

Are you okay?

Natalie nodded and forced a smile. But there was no fooling her own mother, even after spending all this time apart.

Alison didn’t ask any further, and Natalie was glad for that. There was no need to ask. Alison knew exactly what it was about.

Alison sighed and rubbed Natalie’s shoulders.

It will get easier, trust me…

I know, Natalie lied. She didn’t believe that it would get easier… If anything, she felt like it was getting worse.

Without another word, Alison went into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee.

Can you believe that Victoria is leaving the nest? she asked.

Despite everything, Natalie had to smile. She appreciated her mother’s efforts to change the subject, even if it was with a question which they both had already discussed.

I know, Natalie said, appeasing her mother. She’s a woman now. I guess we all leave the nest eventually.

Alison looked at Natalie, her eyes speaking the very thing she couldn’t say. Natalie had already left the nest once, although it had been against her will, and it had turned out to be Nan’s biggest secret.

Alison shook her head as if to shake away the memory of what had happened, and how it had happened. She looked down and stirred her coffee.

At least she won’t be alone. I’m actually glad that she’ll have Liam by her side. I wasn’t too excited about her having a boyfriend so early, but Liam is a good guy.

Natalie agreed and joined her mother, taking a seat on a bar stool on the other side of the kitchen bench.

Yeah, Liam is great. I’m happy for them, but I don’t want to see her go yet. I’ve missed so much, and now she’s leaving… just when I return, our family is pulled apart again.

Alison gave her a crooked smile. We’ll still have each other. And don’t worry, we’ll be making all kinds of excuses to visit them at least once a month.

They laughed and Natalie was grateful for her mother’s ability to lift the mood.

Let’s take our coffees outside and soak up some vitamin D. What do you say?

Natalie nodded, knowing that a little sun would help hide the colour of sorrow on her face.

The sun was warm, and even soothing, despite herself. Alison leaned back in the reclining chair and closed her eyes. Natalie tried to do the same, but as soon as she closed her eyes, she saw Vera’s tortured face. Guilt washed over her. How could she possibly relax in the garden after what had happened to Vera?

Mum, she said, turning to face her. Alison’s eyes fluttered open. "Have you ever heard of a soul being claimed together with the body?"

Alison huffed and gave her daughter a pitiful look. Sweetheart, we talked about this. Vera is gone. For good.

Natalie could feel the tears beginning to well in her eyes. She couldn’t stand hearing the truth. She was clinging on to something that wasn’t there—a glimmer of hope that perhaps Vera was still alive.

When Natalie didn’t speak, Alison continued.

Don’t you think that Magda, you, or Victoria would have sensed her presence if she were still around? I know that it’s difficult to accept, but she is gone. The shadows took her, and trust me, the last think she would have wanted you to do now is to make yourself sick by obsessing about this…

I know… Natalie croaked, fighting the tears.

It’s over now…hopefully all of it, Alison said, and Natalie knew what she was referring to.

Anyana had disappeared without a trace, another thing that was also keeping her awake at night.

Alison leaned over and took her daughter’s hand into hers. I think we just need to trust that we’ve finally found peace… Even the dark ones haven’t bothered you or Victoria since. They’re powerless. Perhaps they know that they’ve got no chance if they were to attack us. So, yes… I believe that we can breathe easy now, and just enjoy each other’s company.

Natalie wiped at her eyes and smiled. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe Natalie had gotten so used to living in fear that she needed it even if there was no longer a reason for it. But even if Anyana and the dark ones were to never bother them again, Natalie still wished that she had proof that Vera was no longer suffering. That her soul had found peace…

Alison jumped to her feet. Come on. This isn’t doing us any good. We need to get our hands busy baking some muffins.

CHAPTER 2

It was done. The date was final for when Victoria and Liam would start their first day at Swinburne University.

Liam looked up from the laptop where Victoria was standing next to him, his eyes gleaming. He put his arm around her lower waist and pulled her closer. She leaned down and they kissed.

They were both grinning from ear to ear.

We’re officially in! Can you believe it? he asked.

Victoria shook her head. No, I can’t.

It was now only a few weeks until their first day of university, which meant that they had to be living in Melbourne a couple of days beforehand at the latest. The only problem was neither of them had a part-time job yet, nor had they found a place to stay.

But they still had time, and Victoria believed that the right apartment would pop up that would be just perfect for them. She would be lying if she didn’t still have mixed feelings about their move, and on top of that the stress of starting at uni. Her time in high school had been an unpleasant one to say the least, and she feared that she might struggle to fit in again. But at least she had Liam by her side. Even though they wouldn’t be attending the same classes they would see each other every day and would live together. Liam had decided to go for a computer science degree majoring in software development, and Victoria had chosen an arts degree, which allowed her to combine her two interests: history and writing. Her choice had mostly been based on the fact that an arts degree offered the most flexibility.

But Victoria’s excitement for her future with Liam was also laced with sadness and some guilt. She wanted nothing more than to spend time with her family, to make up for the precious years they had lost together, but life went on—there was nothing they could do to turn back time. If they