As soon as we get into the car, Annette looks at me with great attention. Her eyes radiate joy, as the upward curve of her lips does. I don't need to ask her why she smiles that way. I know. Seeing her so happy for me is nice and sad at the same time. It is obvious that she truly loves her daughter, who should be me. Will I ever have the courage to confess that hard truth to her? I feel a pang in my stomach just thinking about it. I'm definitely not ready for that yet. I swallow slowly and force myself to keep my face calm.

"I saw what happened in the restaurant a moment ago. She clasps her hands in front of her chin and her smile spreads wider. You're making new friends, Oli! Wonderful!"

"Yes, you could say." I scratch the back of my neck and I try to imitate her happy gesture. "I only talked to one of those girls. Her name is Rebecca."

"That's great! I hope you can keep in touch."

"That's probably going to happen."

My caregiver raises her hand so I can bump my palm against hers. A gesture like that seems harmless, but with me it's not. Remembering what happens when she touches my hands gives me a chill. The hairs on my arms stand up instantly. "Come on, think quickly, don't disappoint her," I say mentally. I bite my lower lip and offer her my fist instead of my palm. She raises an eyebrow, surprised, but her smile doesn't disappear. She quickly changes position and bumps her knuckles against mine in celebration.

"Play an explosive song, please." I inhale deeply and try to project genuine enthusiasm in my voice. "I want to sing with you again."

"As you wish, my captain!" she exclaims and slides her finger across the screen.

It doesn't take even half a minute to find a song that fits my request perfectly. From the moment it starts playing, the singer's strength rubs off on me.

"Shot through the heart and you're to blame. Darlin', you give love to a bad name..."

The powerful sound of the melody takes me by surprise. I've never heard music like this, but I don't dislike it, quite the opposite. I get carried away by the rhythm and before I know it, I'm shaking my head and raising my arms with excitement. Annette sees me out of the corner of her eye and bursts out laughing.

"You always said you didn't like music for old people like me, huh? Well, look at you now! You are a true eighties rock fan!"

I don't know what that grimace means, but it looks funny. I start laughing along with her.

"This is the new me, isn't it obvious? I'm open to trying new things and making changes," I say with mock seriousness.

"Damn, Miss Duncan!" she responds and laughs harder.

Deep down, I know I shouldn't make jokes about this topic. My new identity is something so real that it even hurts. I can't ignore that every day I wake up living someone else's life. What happened to the real Olivia Duncan? Not even I have been able to understand what the event that brought me to this unknown place and took her away was, much less why. But I can't help joking when Annette's eyes light up every time she hears my gags. I feel like I owe her this. I owe her the joy I had with the daughter whom I am unintentionally supplanting.

"I play my part and you play your game. You give love to a bad name..."

The song ends and another one by the same singer immediately begins to play. Despite it being music that I am not used to, I confess that I like listening to it. The rest of the way passes very quickly to the rhythm of rock. The pleasant conversation I have with Annette about it helps me relax. For a while, I forget about the thousand worries I have.

However, when we finally get home, everything comes back to me with the force of a gale. I get out of the car with a slight feeling of dizziness. I tell the lady that I want to lie down and rest and she agrees. I walk slowly so as not to alarm her. My pulse begins to accelerate as soon as I enter my room. I close the door and my heart goes crazy. I can't wait to check out the killer's account. I need to look for more evidence among his videos. There has to be something there that helps Cassie's parents frame him.

I inhale and exhale slowly so as not to decompensate. I know that seeing these things is not going to do me any good. Maybe I'm going to have even more nightmares than I already have, but it's my duty to do this. I try to think of the girl's beautiful smile, the one I only saw in the photograph on the poster. With trembling fingers, I start playing the videos. In the older ones, there doesn't seem to be anything useful. But as I progress, I notice certain strange details that catch my attention.

"What the hell is that!?" I whisper as I pause one of the videos.

Behind the man, I see several dolls sitting. They are quite large, appearing the size of four or five-year-old girls. They all wear plain dresses and masks that resemble human faces. Those masks seem to be made of the same material as the clown's. But the most disturbing thing is not that. Through the eye holes in the mask of one of them, I swear I see movement in the pupils.

"That was my imagination, it didn't happen," I say quietly.

I play the video again at a lower speed. I focused my attention on that peculiar doll. This time, I not only detect movement, but a flash of fear in her eyes. Is it possible that the dolls are not really just decorations? What if they were real girls? I drop the phone and cover my mouth with both hands. An anguished cry nestles in my chest, but I suppress it. I'm shaking.

"I've already started, I have to finish," I whisper, scared.

I pick up my phone again and continue with the task. I have two or three videos left to finish. The minutes that pass while I look at it seem eternal. My head hurts, I feel nauseous and want to cry. But I can't stop, not now that I might find the key I need. As soon as I finish playing the most recent one, I let out a long sigh and massage my temples. On the one hand, it's a relief to have finished, but on the other, the taste of defeat sours my palate. A teddy bear is not enough to frame that man. The remaining evidence lives only inside my mind. What I am going to do?

"There has to be something, anything," I implore.

When I pick up the phone again, Clown from the Vault's latest post appears suggested. My stomach is in knots knowing what awaits me. Still, I swipe for the video to start playing. Once again, I focus on the stage and not the masked man. Near the end, my eyes widen. I see different clothing among the dolls. There's nothing special about it at first glance, but for me it's exactly the piece I need.

I open the Internet browser and, as Annette showed me several days ago, I type a few keywords into the search bar. I look at the images of Cassie among the results it returns and I almost scream in horror. I just confirmed my terrible suspicions. I dig my nails into my palms to minimize some of the stress I feel. In the photo I saw on the wall this morning, the girl was wearing a dress identical to the one the doll in the video is wearing.

"The dress and the bear are the same." I scrape a couple of nails with my teeth. "I know that the voice, the laugh and the mask are too. That's Cassie's killer! I have to call her parents!"

I take out the strip of paper that I kept in my pocket a while ago. I start dialing the number immediately. However, I stop halfway. If I make this call from here, Annette might hear me talking, I think. I had visions of a murder after absorbing the victim's soul. How could I explain such a thing to her? And, not satisfied with that, I am about to point out a culprit trusting in the veracity of what I saw. The risk I am going to take is great, many things could happen. I don't want to implicate her, so I rush to solve the problem.

With great care, I raise the window of my room. The wood creaks a little when moving, but I don't think the noise can be heard from far away. The open space is very limited. A bulky person wouldn't fit through this. I'm not even sure I can pass, but I have to try. I put the phone in my pocket and stick my head out the opening. My shoulders immediately protest as they collide with the frame. Great! This is going to be more complicated than I thought.

I position myself so that my shoulders are diagonal to the window. The space is longer than it is wide, so those centimeters could make a difference. Pushing myself with my legs, I do a small jump to the side. Half of my body is outside the room. I smile satisfied, because if my shoulders fit, the rest will also fit. I don't have big hips or thick legs, so it will be easier now.

A few writhes and moans later, I fall sideways in the backyard of the house. I stand up and dust off my clothes. I analyze my possibilities as quickly as I can. The fence that surrounds the property is not very high, but it is fenced with electrified cables. Annette told me that after what happened to me, she decided to improve the security of the house. I look at the juniper tree in the corner and sigh. Climbing it would be an option if there were no cameras focusing on it. Apparently, escaping from here without alerting the lady is not an option.

I huff in frustration. The only alternative I have left is to close the opening and speak very quietly. That way, my voice won't be heard from inside the house. Before I lower the window, I take a pebble and place it on the sill. This way, it won't close completely and I'll be able to lift it from here later. It would be ridiculous to have to go knock on the door because I allowed the window to close.

Once the stage is set, I sit on the ground. I inhale and exhale deeply to calm myself. I clear my throat a few times. I'm still not sure what I'm going to say or how I'm going to do it, but that's not going to stop me. My hands shake as I dial the number in the paper. I press the call button and a chilling sensation runs through me. The wait for a response is very short. On the second ring, I hear a woman's voice.

"Hello?" she says with a hint of nerves.

"Are you related to Cassie?" I ask at a barely audible volume.

"I'm the mother. Do you know anything about her? Please tell me, I beg you! I'm not going to ask you to tell me your name. This call will remain confidential. Just tell me what you know, for mercy's sake..."

The desperate tone in which she makes this request moves me. I take another deep breath before resuming the conversation.

"Check out the latest videos from the tiktoker who calls himself Clown from the Vault. I can't say for sure, but I saw a teddy bear and dress identical to the ones Cassie was wearing in the photo on the poster. Also, in the room where he records, there are some very strange dolls. His content is disturbing.

"What do you say the name of the account is?"

"Clown from the Vault. I hope this helps you find your daughter."

"Regardless of who you are, thank you very much for calling. Nobody had done it. You're the first person to tell me anything about Cassie."

The woman's voice breaks into a sob. My vision quickly becomes glassy. I feel the moisture tickling my cheeks.

"I hope you can regain your peace soon, ma'am. Good bye."

Before the mother thinks about answering my farewell, I hang up. Every beat of my heart feels like a painful blow. My hands are sweating, my breathing sounds labored, and I lack saliva in my mouth. I don't know if what I just did was incredibly brave or extremely stupid, but I don't regret it. Helping and serving citizens are the priorities of the Gildestrale army. This nation is not mine and its inhabitants are not my compatriots, but they are people. That's all that matters. If I can be of service to them, I will not hesitate to do all I can.

I stand up too quickly and it makes me dizzy. To stabilize myself, I put one hand on the wall and raise my right arm. I regain my balance in a few seconds. Just as I begin to lower my arm, a human silhouette appears in my field of vision. Her presence wouldn't faze me if I were looking at her with the eyes in my head. Unfortunately, it is not that way. The blue eye in my palm is as open as the pair on the sides of my nose.

"No! Please, not again," I whisper.

There is a soul sleeping next to the trunk of the juniper tree. Again, it is a girl. Judging by the size, her age must have been similar to Cassie's. Just like her, she has a large cut that bleeds in the middle of her neck. My breathing becomes noisy and everything spins. That clown is the one who is killing these little girls! No! Pure rage and helplessness invade me. I feel a strong desire to tear his life away in the same way he has done with these poor little girls. However, that's not up to me. My reason for existing are souls that need liberation.

With no time to waste, I spread my legs and bend my knees a little. This position will give me better balance in case I get dizzy. I inhale through my nose and exhale through my mouth. When the heartbeat finally slows down, I place both open hands in the direction of the tree. I close my eyes and focus on awakening the energy of the goddess. Her bluish light flickers more strongly this time. My body temperature rises suddenly. I feel the tickling of hundreds of beads of sweat on my skin. Despite this, I do not lose focus.

"Absorbere mørket, ta bort det onde," I invoke in a low but clear voice. 1

The mouth on my left hand opens at that moment. I hear the squeal that precedes absorption inside my head. I swear I hear my name right before my mouth starts to inhale. The cold air that it produces around me stabilizes the body heat that was almost suffocating me. I watch the specter pass through the cavity in my hand in silence. Despite the pain I feel in my chest, today I can stand. There is no retching or signs of dizziness. At the end of the task, the mouth murmurs. What seemed like an unrecognizable noise to me the first time I heard it, today is a message that leaves me speechless.

"Gudinnen leter etter deg, Olivia," the deep voice says. 2

Seconds later, both the mouth and the eye in my palms close. I feel cold right now, but, inside my heart, the flame of hope now burns. I'm not as alone as I thought. Gildestrale did not turn her back on me. I don't know how or when it will happen, but the goddess will come for me. I will trust that promise.

*The verses that appear in this chapter were taken from the song You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi.

Translation of the cited phrases into English

1. "Absorb darkness, remove evil."

2. "The goddess is looking for you, Olivia."