“A what?” Celine asked, confused by the word she was unfamiliar with.
“Prank, like a joke,” he answered.
“It isn’t a joke. You two are far too interested for it to be ah, what was it you said? Prank?”
“Yes, prank, and believe me, it is no doubt just that,” Michael said, dismissing it with a wave in the air.
“You aren’t telling me the truth,” Celine began.
Damien hit Michael in the arm. “I think this is when we’re supposed to give her the letter.”
“Letter?” she asked.
Michael held a finger up as he gave Damien a hard stare. “Can you give us a second in private?” Taking Damien aside, he said, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Didn’t you listen to what Josie said before we left? She said give her the letter in the library two days before her birthday, that has to be now. Maybe that’s what will get her to give us the book. Maybe she’s telling us she doesn’t know about it because she doesn’t trust us.”
“Okay, okay, right, yeah I remember her saying that. Okay, well, here goes nothing,” Michael said, removing the letter from his jacket. “Celine, this letter is for you.”
“For me? From whom?”
“The same friend who informed us about the book. She insisted you would be the one to give it to us, so we thought you would know about it.” He handed her the letter.
Celine opened it, breaking the wax seal and unfolding it, reading with interest. It was penned in handwriting that looked similar to hers and in her native French. Her eyes grew wide as she read.
Dear Celine,
You should be receiving this letter two days before your sixteenth birthday. Events have already been set into motion that cannot be undone; they must run their course. Unfortunately, this means that your life will be drastically and fundamentally changed. I realize that this may sound insane but I cannot explain it any further, you must accept this as the truth and trust me.
You will witness things that you shouldn’t at your tender age and be asked to do things no one should be asked to do. It is vital, Celine, that you do NOT give in to Duke Northcott. You must resist him with every fiber in your being. Do not trust him, or Teddy or even your sister, Celeste. You can trust Michael and Damien. It is also crucial that you retrieve the Book of the Dead from Duke Northcott and give it to Michael and Damien. After this, you must help them return to their own time. They are not from your time, Celine, which I’m sure you already suspect. Once they have the book, you must open a time portal for them to return. While this may sound impossible, you will have the strength to do it, you have learned much from Aunt Genevieve, use what she has taught you and what is told to you below.
Be safe, Celine, take care, and know that you will survive.
What followed was a set of instructions to open the time portal. The letter was unsigned. She set her jaw and looked at the both of them. “Is this some kind of joke? Prank?”
“No,” Michael said, peering over the top of the letter. “What does it say?”
Celine pulled the letter close to her, folding it and slipping it into a pocket in the folds of her dress. “Things that shouldn’t be said, that shouldn’t be known, that couldn’t be known. How do you come to be here?”
“We came in the carriage with you,” Michael answered.
“Enough pranks,” she said, using her newfound word, “you must answer some questions and you must be honest with your answers. How did you come to be at my father’s house?”
Michael and Damien exchanged a glance. Michael gave Damien a questioning glance. “Time to lay it on the table,” Damien said, then turned to Celine and began, “as unbelievable as this may seem, we’re from another time, the future. We know someone there who told us she knew a lot about you. She said that you’d be able to give us a book she needs, The Book of the Dead, she said she needs it to get rid of that Duke guy. He’s in our time, too, and he’s being a really, really bad guy there and hurting many people. We need your help. I realize it sounds crazy, but it’s the truth.”
Celine stood pondering for a moment, then said, “I believe you. But I know nothing of this book. From the letter, it looks as though it may belong to Duke Northcott. Perhaps his room would be the best place to search?”
“Oh, okay, that makes perfect sense, but there is no way we can search for it in there, if he catches us I don’t want to find out what he’ll do to us. From what I gather, this book is extremely important, and undoubtedly important to him,” Michael said.
“Yeah, I agree, sorry, I’m just excited that everything is out in the open and we can at least be normal with you,” Damien said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“You’re right, if my feelings are correct, he is not a good man. But perhaps I can help you search there. I can distract him. He seems intent on speaking with me alone. I can arrange it so you can have some time to search. Perhaps tomorrow morning? I can suggest that we take a walk together.”
“No,” Michael said shaking his head. “No way, he’s dangerous, at least where we’re from and you got a bad feeling from him, there’s no way we will let you do that.”
“I’m not sure I can avoid it, and besides, I will control the situation as much as I can, make sure we are outside where other people can see so I cannot be in any danger.”
“We’re not sacrificing you,” Michael insisted.
“You are not, I am sacrificing myself. As I said, I am not sure I can avoid his advances entirely. Perhaps when I’ve made myself clear
