Twisted Returns

I feel conceited. Like those celebrities who search their own names.

I open my tenth book of the day. Maybe I'm skimming a bit, but still... It's mostly the same things, over and over.

In every book, I've been skipping over the magic section. I would make me too depressed to read about something I had lost. I still try to point at things, trying to make them come. But I still feel a pang when they don't.

Maybe I should read about my magic. Perhaps there is information on how to get it back. I look in the table of contents and then hesitantly turn to page three hundred forty-two.

The chapter is titled The Ultimate Magic. A picture of me takes up the left half of the page. I'm standing on the Rainbow Bridge, holding sparkles in each hand. I start reading.

Some say that Diana Crystal's magic is merely powerful. They say that she will be bound to the laws of magic, like everyone else.

However, it is also believed that she may be able to defy all the laws. These may be things such as transforming into a different species and also having their magic and weaknesses, such as fairies to witches' wands. It may also be things such as reversing an irreversible spell or curse.

I stop reading right there. The last line replays itself over and over in my head. Reversing an irreversible spell.

----

"Dean!" I shout, knocking on his door. The door opens instantly. I expect to see him standing there, but he's not. I take a few hesitant steps into his room. "Dean?"

"Hey," he says from on the bed. He holds an old book in his hands, as expected.

I blink. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Open the door like that."

"I programmed the door to automatically open for you." He points to a panel next to his bed. "You don't need magic to do it."

"Oh. Maybe I should get that."

"You don't have that in your room," he says. "For security reasons."

"You go in my room and check?"

"No, I read it in one of the books about you. Some people are very thorough with their work."

"Oh." With nothing left to say, I look down. Then I realize I'm still holding a book in my hands, and remember the reason I'm here. "Look!"

"What?" He closes the book and sets it on the night stand.

I sit down on the bed, next to him. I flip to page three hundred forty-two. "Read this."

He reads the paragraphs silently and then looks up. "What about it? This is like every book about you."

"Yeah, but I haven't been reading the magic section until now," I admit. He nods like he understands (which he probably does). "You know what this means, right?"

"I guess. But what do you mean?"

"Reversing an irreversible spell."

I watch his face as he understands what I'm saying. "Dana... It's only a theory. Don't get your hopes up."

"I know but... I have to get my magic back. I have to try," i say. "I know that I'm going to see him again. Our story wasn't done... and we need an ending."

"I don't-" Dean's words are drowned out by the emergency bell. It's so common these days that no one really panics.

"This is an emergency," Marigold says, as if it wasn't already apparent. "The Crystal Palace is under attack. All people in their bedrooms must stay and prepare for lock down. Everyone else, please report to training room 3A." She then repeats her instructions and the bell screeches once again.

"Lock down? I... what?" I almost expect sheets of steel to come down over the door and windows. I watch carefully to see if this happens.

It doesn't. Instead, they melt into the walls, looking like they were never there in the first place. The room gets dimmer, since light from the windows is lost.

Dean turns on all the lights in the room. "Knew this would happen."

"You just know everyone, don't you."

"Maybe."

"But wait... the castle..."

"Yeah?"

"Our friends are defending. They're actually in danger this time."

"Oh no, I forgot about that..." Dean says, frowning. "But they can take care of themselves. And when you think about it, we're in danger too."

"Again, all my fault," I say, lying down on his bed. "Maybe people are starting to blame me, like they should. That's why they haven't taken me to somewhere like a more secure place."

"Or maybe they just want you to blend in," Dean says. "No one would suspect you to be in a bedroom with no one to protect you."

"Yeah, that last part really makes me feel better."

"Sorry." He absently fiddles with the crystal pendant around his neck. And that gives me an idea.

"Terran network," I say, activating my necklace. When it connects, all I hear is silence. "Hello?"

"Won't work," Dean says. "The network is for those who are in war, during the time of an attack."

"Know-it-all," I mutter. I shut off the necklace. I look around the room for some source of entertainment. All I see is piles of borrowed books. "Is this all you do? Read?"

"Pretty much..."

I sigh and pick up a random book, because there isn't much else to do.

----

A few hours later, it finally sinks in.

"Dean..." I say. "Our friends."

"I know."

I cringe at the thought of our friends becoming unrecognizable bloody messes, like those in the village. Can't happen, won't happen.

I don't have to think about it for long, because a loud tapping sound comes from where the door used to be, followed by a crack. The wall breaks, the dust forming in a cloud around the entrance. Dean stands in front of me, protecting me. My heart pounds as we prepare to meet our intruder.

"Dana, Dean," the voice says, coughing. The dust clears a bit and I can see that it's Valerie, holding a giant white key about the size of my forearm.

"Valerie?" I say, wondering why the hell she's here and how she broke the wall like that.

"Marigold sent me. Lorraine has gone into labor."