Chapter Twelve: A Tale of Shadows (Part 2) "She didn't tell me all of it, so I don't know the whole story. All I know is that something, or someone, would come into her dreams and ask for help. She began to listen to it. At the time, she didn't tell me because she knew I didn't believe her. But I know now that the person in her dreams was the Shadowlord, though he's also called the Shadowed One. He was growing tired of being confined to the Shadow World, and wanted to extend his reach to our world." Me and Bishop both gasped. If the Shadowlord/Shadowed One made it to earth, there wouldn't be anything but darkness and shadows. Though, didn't James say that this was earth, just a dark version? "So," James continued,"that was, and still is, his plan. He planned for Opal to help him." "How come he couldn't just come through a portal, like us?" I asked, feeling as if I had missed something obvious. "Can you tell me where the portal you came through was?" James asked. I thought about this. I didn't know where the portal was. Come to think of it, the second me and Bishop climbed out of it, it was like it never existed. Unless... "The portals only work one way?" I blurted out. James nodded. "People are able to enter the Shadow World, but are unable to leave it." "So that's why you couldn't come back." I said. He nodded. "I haven't been able to leave-" "Or maybe it was because you didn't want to come back." Bishop interjected. I awkwardly glanced at Bishop. I knew she was mad that he said Aunt Opal (which I was trying not to think about) was our real mother, but that didn't mean everything he said was a lie. And while he didn't really have any proof, it was possible Aunt Opal was our mother. The similarities. The fact Mom never mentioned a father. I didn't know really what to believe. But I knew one thing. Even if Mom wasn't our real mother, she definitely loved us. I was sure of it. It had to be true. (Continue Below)
"That's not true, Bishop. I wanted to come home." James said. "How did you come here though? Through Aunt Opal's portal?" I didn't know what to call Aunt Opal. But since Bishop clearly didn't even think it was possible, I decided to go with "Aunt". James hesitated, then nodded. "Did you know that it would take you here?" Bishop asked. "I... did. It wasn't always there. Opal... created it." "Aunt Opal... created a portal?" Bishop said, sarcasm leaking out of every word. I couldn't blame her. How could Aunt Opal, a normal human, create a portal? To another world? "Yes. I told you that the Shadowed One wanted her help. He wanted her to build a portal that worked both ways. A portal he could use to enter our world." "How could Aunt Opal build a portal?" I asked. "I don't know this for sure, but I believe that the Shadowed One... gave Opal some of his powers." "Aunt Opal has powers?" "The Shadowed One can give people powers?" Both me and Bishop asked at the same time. "Yes, I think he did. The Shadowed One has no connection to our world, so he could not create a bridge to connect our worlds. But Opal had some of his powers, a connection to his world, and, of course, she's from our world, so he believed she could create a portal." "So you're saying, the portal in Aunt Opal's attic, was the one she created?!" Chapter Thirteen:
