Prolouge

Prologue

May 1999

The slamming of the large stain glass door broke the grey haired

lady from her trance. She leaned against the pristine kitchen counters and

watched her teenage grand-daughter skip across the foyer. The girl

dropped her school bag and twirled across the floor obliviously. Rachel

Anderson let out a deep sigh, and gently nudged the small wooden

jewelry box on the counter.

“There really is no way around this,” she told the small yellow tabby

cat curled up at her feet. “I knew this day would come eventually and all

the signs are telling me it has.” The cat answered by lifting its head and

giving her a soft meow. “I sure am going to miss her,” Rachel whispered

“Shayne, can you come here a minute, honey?” the old woman

called.

A girlish giggle answered her as Shayne Anderson Burdette

appeared in the farm house style kitchen, as if she had simply floated out

of the living room. She was tall and slender with the muscular body and

grace of a powerful dancer. The eighteen year-old absentmindedly

wrapped her long red curls around her finger. Her bright emerald colored

eyes danced above her lovely rounded Irish cheek bones. Rachel

couldn’t help but smile, her granddaughter wasn’t a baby anymore; she

was a lovely young woman.

“Do you need something, Grandma?”

Rachel’s smile widened. Shayne was such a sweet, kind-hearted girl.

She could be a bit flighty from to time, but you could never have met a

more honest soul. “I have a gift for you.”

The elderly lady handed Shayne the handmade walnut box, which

resembled an old fashioned cigar box. Shayne practically bounced with

excitement as she examined the treasure. She carefully ran her hands

across the ornately carved initial before she opened it. Her fingers

lovingly traced the large monogrammed A, before she ran them around

the beautiful ivy border that surrounded the lip.

Shayne opened the box carefully, not to damage the fragile hidden

hinge. Her hands trembled as she gently lifted the locket from the purple

lining of the box and placed the container on the counter. The locket was

a large teardrop with a pear shaped purple stone seated in the center. At

the top point was a small round orange gem that reminded her of the sun

setting behind a raindrop. Below the grape colored gem, two round

raspberry colored stones were set symmetrically on each side of a

slightly larger light pink oval. The stones were bound together with

delicate silver filigree and finished with a large bail.

Light seemed to radiate from the colored stones giving off a faint

glow. It reminded her of how sunlight appears, if it is filtered through

stain glass windows. A deep sense of satisfaction welled up in Rachel. “I

knew you would like it,” she whispered.

Tears sprang to Shayne’s eyes. “It is so beautiful, thank you,” she

said breathlessly.

Rachel reached out and squeezed Shayne to her body in a huge hug

as the girl began to slip the locket over her head. “I love you, Shayne.”

her grandmother told her. “Remember who you are, and protect the

chain!”

Those words rang in Shayne’s ears as the world started to spin. The

earth seemed to tilt sideways as she felt herself fading into the blackness.

Her knees wobbled from under her and she was falling…