Page 2 of Unbound By Shadows
They walked into the visitor center, which to Selene’s relief was buzzing with voices. Children were laughing as families milled around waiting for the next walking tour to start. Selene loaded up on brochures, including a hiking guide to the curiously named Gentlemen’s Swimming Hole. After they picked up keys to their historic guesthouse accommodations from the visitor center clerk, they took the last two spots on the tour.
The library was everything Selene had hoped for. From the charming red roof outside to the delightfully musty smell of old books inside, it was like taking a time machine back to 1882. She was even allowed to flip through a few books while wearing cotton gloves.
While Selene was engrossed in an old schoolbook, Cass pointed her camera and called out, “Hold it right there. Smile!” Selene obliged.
But when Cass quipped that she looked like she was in her happy place, her smile fell. Her sister didn’t mean to strike a nerve. To Cass and Evan, the library was a fun place their big sister took them on nights and weekends when they were children. They were lucky to grow up with a branch across the street and even more fortunate that it was staffed by kind librarians who didn’t comment on their lengthy visits. Selene and the twins all loved reading, but for Selene libraries were also an escape from the chaos of home.
After the tour, Cass and Selene lingered outside each of the historic buildings for more photos. When it grew dark, they went to dinner at Rugby’s only restaurant, the Harrow Road Cafe. It was a bright, airy space with dark beams stretching across the peaked ceiling and wooden booths polished shiny as church pews.
Cass looked down at the menu. “Ooo, do you want to split a piece of pie?”
“No, thanks,” Selene said. Cass was the type who could eat anything she wanted and stay lithe as a supermodel, whereas Selene had inherited their mother's curves. “I’ll just get a salad.”
“You’ve become as boring as Kevin,” Cass said before squeezing lemon juice into her iced tea. “What is the great Kevin P. Norton doing this weekend?”
Selene paused. Trying to make her voice sound casual, she said, “He’s on tour as the opening act for another band. It’s a huge opportunity for him. He’s playing all his original songs. Great exposure.”
Selene twirled the straw in her ice water, hoping her sister didn’t notice she was hiding something. She wasn’t ready to tell Cass that after a year of dating, Kevin had told her he wanted to “press pause” on their relationship while he was on tour. He needed a break to refocus on his creativity, he said. It wasn’t about her; he just needed some freedom to explore without boundaries. Although Selene was deeply hurt, she agreed because she wanted to support his career aspirations. Also, she didn’t like to argue. She had helped Kevin pack up his things and wished him well, assuring herself that things would go back to normal once the tour ended.
“And he didn’t drag you along?” Cass said. “How will he survive?”
“Don’t start.”
“He should pay you to be his manager. How long is the tour?”
“Eight weeks. I’m just managing his social media while he’s gone.”
“He can’t handle all of his 102 followers on his own?” Cass said with a laugh.
“Give it a rest, Cass,” Selene said. “Although he doesn’t always show it, he is appreciative.”
Cass made a dismissive sound. “Except in the bedroom.”
Selene’s face grew hot, and her mouth tightened. She knew she should never have confided to her sister that her sex life was as exciting as a deflated balloon. “Do we have to get into this now?”
Cass shrugged. “I just don’t think he’s the best fit for you.”
Defensively Selene asked, “Who do you think I should be with then?”
“I always hoped you’d end up with someone more… wild.”
Selene shook her head. “No. That’s one of the things I like about Kevin. I don’t have to walk on eggshells around him like we do with Mom. He’s never yelled at me, he doesn’t drink, and I always know where I stand with him.”
“Yeah, but guys like Kevin are a dime a dozen in Nashville. When we were growing up, you used to always like men who were a bit out of the ordinary. Like, remember how I had a thing for Tom Cruise in the movieLegendbut you had a huge crush on the devil?”
“His name is Darkness. Lord of Darkness,” Selene said, referring to the demonic character in the classic ’80s fantasy film. “And so what? Horns are sexy.”
“If you say so,” Cass said, running a hand through her blonde bob. “I don’t know. I just don’t want you to be with someone that dulls your sparkle, you know what I mean?”
“I’m in my thirties now. Sparkle is overrated,” Selene said. Although she loved reading stories about wild adventures andfascinating people, she liked to keep her life small and manageable. Focusing too much on her own desires had always led to more drama than she cared for.
It was just past 4:30 a.m. when Selene dressed in the dark, pulling on jeans, a T-shirt, and a hoodie to fight the slight chill in the air. Cass wanted to photograph the first rays of sun rising over the Clear Fork River, which required a short half-mile hike starting at the Laurel Dale Cemetery. When Selene laced up her hiking boots, she wondered if Rugby’s odd quiet would be even more pronounced in the wee hours before dawn. But as they stepped out on the porch to lock up, she realized Rugby after dark was anything but silent.
There was a faint buzzing, like static from a dead phone line. It was not a peaceful chorus of insects and cricket chirps, but a low-frequency drone. Selene turned her head left and right, trying to determine the direction it was coming from, but it draped over the whole area like a shroud.
The treetops swayed in the wind. An owl hooted to her right, and she startled. At her sharp intake of breath, the wind changed direction, marking her with a gust that whipped her hair around her shoulders before she ducked into the car.
Cass insisted she heard no buzzing, and they argued about it as they drove the two-mile journey to the trailhead. The road leading into the cemetery was narrow, and the trees lining the road swayed as the car crunched over the gravel. Eventually, the narrow path opened to a wide meadow and small parking lot.
