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“What do you think our families will say when they see us experimenting with the dark practices? It won't come across as credible. Not only would this whole project be for nothing, but we would also be risking our lives.”
Amara had some nerve...
“Everything we do here would make them suspicious,” I said firmly. “Any of this could have consequences we can't even begin to imagine.”
Bastien stepped closer to the large table. “But Umbra shouldn't be an extra obstacle for us. Besides, I agree with Diana. It's dangerous.”
They'll never understand. Never.
Tuesday, December 9, 1997
Entry 18
At this point, I don't know if I can continue writing. Too much is happening, too many things, and every word I write down is one word too many that could one day become public knowledge.
I will continue to focus on researching Umbra. And maybe someday I will be able to convince them that Umbra is more than that, that we need it in order to move forward.
In one of the Umbra books, I found a note with an address. It leads to an old, abandoned estate called Ravenwood Manor, in the woods behind the shut-down Psychic Fun Fair from the eighties. Someone must have put it there not too long ago, even though the writing on the white card looks like it's from a century ago. I'm going to get to the bottom of this...
I was just standing in front of the fireplace in the Dragonfly Society's secret room, but I just couldn't bring myself to burn this diary. I'll put it here in one of the back shelves in case I need it as a reminder someday, in case I ever forget all of this. The Salma is strong and makes me repress things... I don't want to forget Alice. That's all...
Chapter 66
Julie
My Kind of Illusion
Jay Varton
I must have forgotten to breathe, because suddenly I gasped for air. My hands had started to shake. It had become noticeably cooler around me.
I frantically leafed through the pages, trying to find other entries, but he had actually stopped.
He had actually kept a diary. Just like Alice.
She had meant a lot to him. And he had suffered, just like me.
Gloria had taken advantage of him. She had...
A shockwave washed over me.
She had put the former Domini into an artificial coma. Alice's mother. Amara's mother. My grandmother.
If anyone ever found out about this...
No one would believe us.
Overwhelm spread through me, and I slammed the book shut, held it to my chest, tightly, pressed it against my trembling body.
Something slipped out of the diary and glided to the floor.
With trembling hands, I reached for it.
A piece of paper, old and time-worn.
Parchment covered in writing.
The stories about ghosts. They're true.
