Twyla walked behind Luna as she aimlessly guided them through a series of twisting dark tunnels. They were lost. But don't tell Luna that, Twyla had learned that the hard way. She had tried texting Alix for a little psychic insight but apparently cell phone companies did not work within the belly of the beast. So, she shoved her hands into pockets of black jeans and decided to enjoy the ride. They had yet to see another living soul during their little expedition, including those creepy hooded figures from her memory.

There was one rat they had seen but he too looked to be dead.

Truly, Twyla could think of worst ways to spend her Saturday evenings than milling around the Hamptons version of Haunted Mansion. A normal Saturday was usually spent lying on her bed, blasting the sweet Symphonic melodies of the Gregorian Rants and the occasional Marilyn Manson song for some mortal spice. Those were the days when Miss Jameson cruelly separated Laurel from Twyla and forced her to join her book club. Laurel swore it wasn't the worst way to spend her day, as they always had dainty finger sandwiches to snack on and she was fortunate enough to sit next to Mrs. Scott who told elaborative stories about her younger days. Apparently the old bat had been a former American spy, a long lost Moroccan princess and a Brazilian model. She also went into lengthy details with Laurel about her adventurous love life before old age settled in, but Twyla tuned out at that part.

Every time Laurel was dragged off somewhere with her mother, Twyla couldn't help but think: better you than me. However, in the closed confines of her room, where nobody could see her brief moments of vulnerability, she would curl into a tight ball and try not to cry. Every time the sensation overwhelmed her, she would mock herself. Call herself a baby, pathetic and any other word that could cut through her heart. Of course, only the sensation of loneliness could leave her so destroyed, as it was the one feeling that remained most constant during her childhood.

Sneaking a glance at Luna, Twyla shook her head and bit back a smirk. Maybe snooping through the Delphi mansion wasn't her favorite thing to do, but at least she wasn't alone anymore.

"You know, it'll be pretty pathetic if we end up dying because got lost in the catacombs of this house. I'm pretty sure the Delphi will feel cheated if they spend years searching for us, only to find us lying dead in basement from starvation," Twyla mused monotonously.

"Oh, be quiet. I know where I'm going," Luna snapped back and squared her shoulders.

"Really? So, you do this often- breaking into the mansion and walking through the creepy secret passageways like it's a stroll through the park?"

They turned down at a new tunnel. Twyla had lost count what number this one was. She had another sharp  comment on the tip of her tongue, but Luna abruptly stopped moving and Twyla walked into her shoulder. The two glared at one another before Twyla caught a glimpse of the chamber that lingered beyond Luna and her eyes went wide. Furrowing her brows, Luna briefly wondered what was wrong with her sister before she turned around herself and saw what had captured Twyla's attention.

The second chamber was not at all like the first.

The walls were covered in a thick, twisting ivy and a series of vegetation that grew from a small stream of water droplets from the ceiling. A thin layer of water covered the stone floor, looking almost like the glass display cases that lined the walls. The cases were cluttered with an assortment of glittering, ancient relics. Twyla glanced at Luna only to see that her sister was no longer standing beside her, but running over to the cases. Cursing under breath, Twyla tiptoed through the puddles, carefully keeping the backs of her jeans from getting wet.

"Twyla! Look!" Luna's hands were planted on the glass, her eyes were filled with wonder. She looked like a kid marveling at the animals in the zoo.

Despite her general apathy, Twyla found herself interest piqued at the mention of the book that seemed to bet at the center of all of their problems. Her first thought was that it didn't look like much. It was much smaller than the book from the other chamber, and it was old- that could be seen from the deep ridges and cracks in the leather binding. The pages looked frail and yellow but there was a essence of magic that clung to those withered pages. Two crescent moons were engraved on the cover, their outlines were painted scarlet and sapphire.

The jewel hanging around Twyla's neck pulsed.

"Break it," Luna ordered. She took a step away from the display case, her hands placed on her hips.

"Are you crazy? It could be cursed or attached to a trap."

"Twyla this isn't the Temple of Doom... and we need that book." Twyla chose to ignore her sister's snippy response. They needed think this out, create a plan, devise a strategy-

Her thoughts were disrupted by the sound of a thousand shards of glass falling to the ground. Thousands of enraged reflections stared at her as the glass pooled around her combat boots. Looking up, she blinked and saw her sister standing over the now destroyed case with a brass candelabra in hand.

"Don't touch that!" Twyla pulled the candelabra out of her sister's grasp and smacked her hand away from the spell book.

"Why? It is ours and now this whole thing can be over and we can save mom." Twyla felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she turned several shades of purple.

"Nothing is ever that easy!" Her voice came out in a strangled scream, like a kettle that had been kept on the burner for too long.

A chill ran down Twyla's spine as a deep, haunting voice chuckled behind them. The twins spun around, their hearts nearly fell from their chests as Nikolai Delphi appeared from the shadows, his purple cloaked guards stood behind him, as silent and deadly as ever. Twyla blinked, hoping the image before her was just a mirage created by her fear but it was not. Nikolai Delphi was a frail, elderly man, who dressed like a history professor from the 1940s with his plaid blazer and patched elbows. He held a gold pocket watch in hand, a chilling smirk crawled onto his withered features as he stared at the time.

"Record this time Jeffery, 11:45," A notepad and feathered quill appeared out of thin air beside one of the many guards. He furiously scribbled down the time before the pad disappeared once again. "This will be known as the time the Delphi returned the Moon Goddesses to their place of resting."

"How did you-"

"Know?" Nikolai raised one thick grey brow. The nearly translucent skin on his face, creased into several deep wrinkles as he flashed Luna a large Cheshire grin.

"My dear, I have known since you stepped onto my property. Your disguise, though amusing, did nothing but waste my granddaughters energy. You can change your external shells but you can never rid yourselves of the power that runs from your blood."

"Then why would you let us get so close to the book," Twyla was gritting her teeth so hard, she was surprised thy didn't shatter.

"Why should expend valuable energy by kidnapping you and dragging you down to my lair, if you were going to do it yourself?" Nikolai deadpanned.

Though she hated to admit, Twyla knew he had a fair point. She wanted to be angry at the old geezer who stood before her, grinning like impervious madman but really she could only be mad at herself. She said it herself: nothing was ever that easy.

Luna.... Twyla hissed in her mind. Luna's eyes flickered over to Twyla for a brief second before focusing back on Nikolai and his guard. I'm going to think that means you can hear me, Twyla continued, I'm going to get us out of hear, I promise you but I need you to grab the book while I create a diversion. Luna's sapphire eyes brightened at the chance to escape, she offered Twyla a quick tilt of her head. Twyla understood the message loud and clear: NOW.

"I'd love to stay and catch up- actually, wait- I wouldn't. So, I think we're going to go," Twyla unfurled her fists. A wicked smirk curled her lips as the adrenaline of potential fight raged through her veins.

Nikolai's eyes widened as he saw the blood in her veins glowed, her pale skin began to illuminate, as if she were a flashing sign in Vegas rather than a normal girl. Two guards stepped forward, their hands itching to strangle the young goddess but before they could blink, their bodies flew through the air and their heads smacked off of the stone wall.  The other guards watched from under the safety of their hoods as the blood of their peers dripped from the wall.

Stepping in front of her sister, Twyla sunk into protective stance and curled her lip at the guards. Luna cradled the book close to her chest, she too was illuminating, as was the spell book in her hand. She reached out and grabbed Twyla's shoulder but a strange electrical shock ran through her body, setting her nerves on fire. A sense of power too great for any mortal bounds slowly began to seep into her body. The torturous sensation lasted for a minute but felt much longer. When the feeling finally dissipated Twyla and Luna found themselves growing weak and their vision grew dark.

The last thing Twyla saw before her vision blacked out was Nikolai Delphi's Cheshire grin.

**I am so sorry for the delay... and I'm also sorry about that cliffhanger. We only have a few more chapters until the end of the book and until we learn who the mysterious they is. I can promise you, this is someone we've already met and I'm very excited for it to be revealed. Really, it wouldn't be one of my books without a little bit of mysterious and the occasional twist. I'm curious what you guys think will happen next, you guys always come up with the best theories. Thank you again for reading and putting up with my slow updates.
XOXO,
Ro.**