Celeste
He was her mirror image. Now the mirror has cracked.
Celeste and her identical twin brother, Noble, are as close as can be -- until a tragic accident takes Noble's life. It's a loss that pushes their mother, a woman obsessed with New Age superstitions, over the edge....
Desperate to keep her son "alive," Celeste's mother forces her to cut her hair, wear boys' clothes, and take on Noble's identity. Celeste has virtually disappeared -- until a handsome boy moves in next door, and Celeste will risk her mother's wrath to let herself come back to life.
Body Double
"We've come to say our final good-bye, Noble," she told me, and she nodded toward the open grave.
Why was she calling me Noble?
I stepped up to the grave.
The scream that began inside me nearly blew out my eardrums, because I did not utter it. Nothing that had happened to me before and nothing that had happened to me since will ever clap thunder as loud, singe the sky with fire as hot and bright, burn through my heart, or capture and hold my breath as long as this.
There in the grave lay my brother, Noble... dressed in my clothes, wearing my shoes and my amulet.
She had somehow taken it off me during the night and it wasn't until that very moment that I noticed I was wearing his talisman instead of my own.
I did feel like I was gazing down at myself.
"Good-bye, Celeste," Mommy whispered.
Black Cat
She hid her true self. Now the truth will be revealed.
Living a life of lies under the thumb of her widowed, spiritually-obsessed mother, Celeste has been forced to take on the identity of her dead twin brother, Noble. She's almost forgotten what it's like to be Celeste -- except for the one thing that keeps her sane: caring for her darling daughter, Baby Celeste. But when Celeste's mother marries a kindly neighbor, a new breed of poisonous secrets and vicious enemies will force Celeste to do what she must -- to survive the darkness....
Fully Revealed
"Dave, can you hear me? Do you understand what I'm saying? You're very ill. You've got to get to a hospital right now. I'll take you, okay?"
His head shook in tiny, almost incremental motions from side to side and his lips moved a little, but he did not speak.
I reached down and found his hand under the blanket. It felt cold. Desperation seized me. I had to make him understand what was happening to him.
"Dave, listen to me," I said. "Baby Celeste is really your granddaughter. I am not Noble. Noble is gone and has been for a long time. I'm the real Celeste," I said, the tears streaming down my cheeks now. "Baby Celeste is my daughter, mine. Don't you see? Don't you understand what that means? You've got to get well. You haven't lost your whole family. You haven't."
He was looking up at me, but his eyes were still quite dull, his face unmoving.
I let go of his hand and slowly brought my fingers to my shirt. Although he continued to look confused and dazed, he didn't turn his head away as I began to unbutton my shirt and lift the strapping that flattened my breasts....
Child Of Darkness
She grew up in the shadows of lies. Now the past will come to light.
As a child, she was Baby Celeste, the one thing that kept her mother in touch with reality. But now her mother is in an institution, and sixteen-year-old Celeste Atwell is alone in the world. Adopted by a wealthy couple, Celeste has everything a girl could desire: designer clothes, luxury cars, even a handsome boyfriend. But her indulgence may come at a steep price -- because the secrets hidden within her new family are too dangerous to keep under wraps....
Darkness Falls
At the top of the stairway, the housekeeper turned, her eyes narrowing as she peered into my face.
"I knew it. It was a sign, a warning. You brought it into this house, the evil eye. I must drive it out before it does even greater harm," she said, then turned and started down the stairway.
"Brought... what?" I cried after her. "What are you talking about? What evil eye did I bring into this house?"
She paused and looked up at me, a wry smile on her pale lips.
"You know," she said, nodding. "You know."
She continued down the stairway and didn't look at me again until she reached the bottom. Then she turned, looked at me, made the sign of the cross and walked away. A cold feeling passed over the back of my neck and then, like a melting icicle, dripped and ran down my spine.
I spun around, and he was standing there.
Noble.
He had returned and he was more than simply a memory, more than merely a projection of guilt or fear.
He was there!
He was her mirror image. Now the mirror has cracked.
Celeste and her identical twin brother, Noble, are as close as can be -- until a tragic accident takes Noble's life. It's a loss that pushes their mother, a woman obsessed with New Age superstitions, over the edge....
Desperate to keep her son "alive," Celeste's mother forces her to cut her hair, wear boys' clothes, and take on Noble's identity. Celeste has virtually disappeared -- until a handsome boy moves in next door, and Celeste will risk her mother's wrath to let herself come back to life.
Body Double
"We've come to say our final good-bye, Noble," she told me, and she nodded toward the open grave.
Why was she calling me Noble?
I stepped up to the grave.
The scream that began inside me nearly blew out my eardrums, because I did not utter it. Nothing that had happened to me before and nothing that had happened to me since will ever clap thunder as loud, singe the sky with fire as hot and bright, burn through my heart, or capture and hold my breath as long as this.
There in the grave lay my brother, Noble... dressed in my clothes, wearing my shoes and my amulet.
She had somehow taken it off me during the night and it wasn't until that very moment that I noticed I was wearing his talisman instead of my own.
I did feel like I was gazing down at myself.
"Good-bye, Celeste," Mommy whispered.
Black Cat
She hid her true self. Now the truth will be revealed.
Living a life of lies under the thumb of her widowed, spiritually-obsessed mother, Celeste has been forced to take on the identity of her dead twin brother, Noble. She's almost forgotten what it's like to be Celeste -- except for the one thing that keeps her sane: caring for her darling daughter, Baby Celeste. But when Celeste's mother marries a kindly neighbor, a new breed of poisonous secrets and vicious enemies will force Celeste to do what she must -- to survive the darkness....
Fully Revealed
"Dave, can you hear me? Do you understand what I'm saying? You're very ill. You've got to get to a hospital right now. I'll take you, okay?"
His head shook in tiny, almost incremental motions from side to side and his lips moved a little, but he did not speak.
I reached down and found his hand under the blanket. It felt cold. Desperation seized me. I had to make him understand what was happening to him.
"Dave, listen to me," I said. "Baby Celeste is really your granddaughter. I am not Noble. Noble is gone and has been for a long time. I'm the real Celeste," I said, the tears streaming down my cheeks now. "Baby Celeste is my daughter, mine. Don't you see? Don't you understand what that means? You've got to get well. You haven't lost your whole family. You haven't."
He was looking up at me, but his eyes were still quite dull, his face unmoving.
I let go of his hand and slowly brought my fingers to my shirt. Although he continued to look confused and dazed, he didn't turn his head away as I began to unbutton my shirt and lift the strapping that flattened my breasts....
Child Of Darkness
She grew up in the shadows of lies. Now the past will come to light.
As a child, she was Baby Celeste, the one thing that kept her mother in touch with reality. But now her mother is in an institution, and sixteen-year-old Celeste Atwell is alone in the world. Adopted by a wealthy couple, Celeste has everything a girl could desire: designer clothes, luxury cars, even a handsome boyfriend. But her indulgence may come at a steep price -- because the secrets hidden within her new family are too dangerous to keep under wraps....
Darkness Falls
At the top of the stairway, the housekeeper turned, her eyes narrowing as she peered into my face.
"I knew it. It was a sign, a warning. You brought it into this house, the evil eye. I must drive it out before it does even greater harm," she said, then turned and started down the stairway.
"Brought... what?" I cried after her. "What are you talking about? What evil eye did I bring into this house?"
She paused and looked up at me, a wry smile on her pale lips.
"You know," she said, nodding. "You know."
She continued down the stairway and didn't look at me again until she reached the bottom. Then she turned, looked at me, made the sign of the cross and walked away. A cold feeling passed over the back of my neck and then, like a melting icicle, dripped and ran down my spine.
I spun around, and he was standing there.
Noble.
He had returned and he was more than simply a memory, more than merely a projection of guilt or fear.
He was there!