Spoiler
Well now, for those who've read the previous version, well, not much has changed in this chapter 
Chapter 4
The lights were on in every room of my parents’ house. That was definitely unusual; my parents were never up this early. They were both accountants and worked from home.
Riley and I walked slowly up the wooden steps to the home I’d known my whole life. We were going to talk to the parents who had birthed and raised me. Suddenly, I realised there was so much about them I didn’t know. Had they always wanted kids? Why just one? Why have one when they would seclude her all her life? What did they do for fun? How had they met? Why were all these questions popping up now?
On the way over we had stopped at a pay phone and had called David. I wondered if I’d still have a job after this was over; I told him there was a sudden emergency and I couldn’t come in. I was so sorry to do this to him but there was no way I was going into work with the trackers after us.
“You’re stalling,” Riley whispered.
“I know!” I snapped back.
The door suddenly swung open and we blinked as the bright light spilled out of the house. My mother, Cassie Cameron, was standing there, breathing heavily. “I thought I’d heard something! Gabriel, she’s here!”
Mom yanked me to her as my father came barrelling down the hallway. “Shanna! What happened; you scared us!”
“How did you know something happened?” I pushed away from my mom’s bruising embrace. She stepped forward to close the door but Riley suddenly appeared in front of her; she hadn’t seen him in the dark.
She jumped back, startled. “Who are you?” I turned to explain but my father narrowed his eyes and said, voice booming, “I know you, don’t I? You remind me of . . .”
“My father,” Riley said quietly. He turned his head and showed my parents his streak of white hair.
My parents gasped and stepped back. “Ri – Riley?”
It was my turn to gasp in shock. “How do you know his name? What’s going on?”
They ignored me. Urgently, Riley said, “Logan, Cassandra, we need to get out of here fast. They have tracked down Shanna and they’ll be coming here next.”
“Riley, you’ve got it all wrong, my father’s name is Gabriel and my -”
Mom turned to me and said, “Shanna, we’ll explain everything . . .” She hesitated . “There is much you do not know, just be patient.” She turned back to Riley. “Did they touch her? If not, they won’t be able to find her. Have things changed so much since . . .”
“They touched me, Cassandra. The one called Mace and I got into a fist fight. I had just transformed a few minutes before and I had no clothes on to hamper his senses.”
Boy was I getting more and more confused by the minute.
My parents were silent for a moment before my father said, “Riley, follow me, I’ll get you some clothes. Then we have to leave. Cassie, we’ve planned for something like this: get our box.”
And just like that I was left alone. My father and Riley strode down the hallway, took a left at my parents’ bedroom. My mother headed in the other direction to the office. I felt helpless and confused. What was happening to the carefully constructed world of mine? Who were these players in the game of life I thought I knew? I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I brushed them quickly away as I heard my mother hurrying back.
My father and Riley were close behind, my father holding up his old bathrobe. I accepted it gratefully and slipped into it, the smell of sandalwood, my father’s scent, helping to calm my nerves a little.
We ran to our car, climbed in, my father at the wheel. For a moment, no one said a word. Then, my father said, “Riley, are you in touch with a Portal?”
Riley nodded. “Yes, I haven’t had the time to call him up yet; I’ll do it now.”
Riley took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A second later, he was humming a tune I’d swear I’d never heard before. And yet, the soft music pulled at something inside of me. It called to everything pure and innocent within me. A musical promise of rainbows and sunshine. Of fresh green grass, of dew drops in the early morning sun. I shook my head to clear it as the song ended.
“What was that song?” my voice was hushed, a bare whisper.
“It’s something my mother taught me as a child. It helps to clear my head in times of need.” There was something in his eyes as they locked onto mine. Something . . .
“Did you reach him?” my father’s voice was not so quiet.
“Yes, but he cannot be here for at least another hour; he’s transporting someone else.”
“What now?” My mother wasn’t asking anyone in particular and Riley answered.
“I think we could all use a good warm coffee right now. Is there a quiet place we could go?” He glanced at me. “We need to talk.”
* * *
We found a Tim Horton’s nearby, ordered some coffee and sat in a corner, far away from any eavesdroppers. I had bombarded them with questions on the way over but they had refused to answer. My father had told me they needed time to think over what they would tell me. Give them time to perfect their lies?Once seated, I didn’t give them time to relax. “Okay, how do you two know Riley? What does he call you Logan and Cassandra? Why do you all seem to know something I’m not aware of? Who were those guys and why do you call them trackers? What- ?”
My father smiled and held up a hand. “Honey, one question at a time, okay? But first, Riley, will your portal let you know when he’s available?”
Riley nodded, his hands cupping his cup of coffee.
“Okay then.” My father hesitated, turned to my mother.
“Sweetie, there is much we must tell you but we must ask that you keep an open mind here.”
Keep an open mind when that very thing had always been forbidden? Well, I’ll try. I nodded.
“We aren’t exactly what we seem. We do not actually come from here, you see.”
No I don’t. I frowned, opened my mouth.
My father held up a hand. “Please, Shanna, be patient. This isn’t easy for us to say.”
My heart tripped, caught itself, then went on beating smoothly. My parents were rather straightforward people. What was it they wanted to say that was so difficult?
“Shanna, sweetie. We are actually, all four of us, from a land called Rydon.” My mother was obviously choosing her words carefully but with a grim determination in her eyes. I was going to know the truth, the whole truth, so help me God. “It is a magical world whose existence is woven with this one. One cannot live without the other, do you understand?” She didn’t wait for my reply, she pressed on, “Nineteen years ago, right after your second birthday, we were forced to leave Rydon, leave our friends and remaining family, to come here for safety. Until now, we had succeeded.” Her shoulders slumped and my father gently took her delicate hand in his very large one.
I studied my parents curiously. They were a stunning couple. My father with his blond hair and green eyes, wide and protective, complimented my petite mother perfectly. Her brown hair and eyes looked almost exotic when compared to my father’s fair looks. Even if my childhood had not been perfect, I had never lacked for love. My parents clearly loved each other truly, madly, deeply and that love was only surpassed by their love for me. But now, I had to wonder if they’d both bonked their heads somewhere along the way. Had they ever shown any evidence of going daft? Had they begun collecting toe-nail clippings or discarded tea bags? Any thing at all to show they were slowly but surely going mad?
I tried to recall something, anything, but came up with a blank. My parents were and always had been, ordinary, boring people who loved each other and me completely. Granted, I didn’t see them as much anymore because I lived further away but still, I’d have noticed. Right?
My disbelief must have appeared on my face because my father leaned in and said urgently, “Shanna, when have we ever lied to you?”
“As far as I know, never.”
“Okay. Now when have we ever shown sign of having an imagination?”
Okay, he had me there and he knew it. My parents, as I said, were pretty boring except for the million and one peculiar rules they made up for me. But they had never lied or fibbed that I knew of. They were straightforward people who preferred telling –and knowing- the truth more than anything. That was why it had been so hard to go against their wishes the first time I’d gone to the library. But the calling for books had been stronger than my need to obey.
I swallowed. “Never.”
He nodded gravely. “Please keep that in mind while we continue on this path.”
I nodded and my mother picked up where she had left off. “ The reason we fled was to keep you safe. To keep us safe. We are . . .” She raised her chin proudly. “We are Royal Magicals, Shanna, we weave magic as we breathe air.”
I frowned. “What? I don’t ‘weave’ anything at all, least of all magic.”
“Your magic was harnessed as a child and we have kept it harnessed throughout your life. The pull of magic isn’t as strong in this world as it is in Rydon; therefore several years ago, we stopped binding it and you have done well since.”
I stilled. “When exactly did you stop controlling my . . . um- magic?”
My mother looked puzzled, hesitated, then said, “A little over six years ago, why?”
The dates corresponded. Six years ago was when I began itching for magic, fantasy. For something above and beyond educational works. At first, I had thought the itch would go away but it soon became a rash that spread throughout my body and mind until I had only one coherent thought remaining; magic, magic, magic . . .
“I . . .” Didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know how to say it. How do you tell your parents that you lied to them, that you have been lying to them for years? Although, they had been lying to me too. Ironic, really. Well, I was going to be straightforward too, then.
“I hate to burst your bubble, Mom, but you never should have stopped harnessing my . . . uh, me.” How odd a word, ‘magic’. “About the time you did, I started dreaming about magic and fantasy. All kinds of situations and stories. I wrote them down when I woke because for some strange reasons, I remembered everything.”
My parents paled.
“Then I could see these scenarios, if you will, like I was wide awake. I thought, walked, talked, magic. I couldn’t think of anything else, it was devouring me from the inside, the need, the want for magic, for magic worlds and situations.”
I glanced at them and halted, appalled by how alarmed they looked. I swept my gaze over Riley who was regarding me with steady eyes. I pressed on. “One day when I was supposed to go to the Museum, I played hooky and went to the library instead. I spent the day there.”
That confession felt like the weight of the world had lifted from my shoulders. It came crashing back down though when I say the look of despair on my parents’ faces. What had I done? “I found that the day of reading hadn’t been enough. If possible, I craved it more.”
“That’s why you wanted the night shift; so you could read without us knowing about it.” My father had understood quickly.
“Yes. At first.”
“What?”
“I had kept the notes of all the dreams I’d had for the past year and I began writing them on paper. The pages turned into chapters and sooner that I would have thought possible, I’d written a book.”
“Please don’t tell me you had it published.” My mother’s voice was full of anguish.
I was taught not to lie, so I didn’t reply. But Riley did. “She had it published.”
My mother’s eyes snapped open.
“That’s where I come in. We were looking for all three of you, we had been for years. One of us would come here on a regular basis, trying to find something, anything about one of you. We weren’t stupid; we’d figured you had changed names and we tried several alternatives in this world’s computer databases. Nothing for years, so we started spacing our visits.”
He glanced around the table, my parents and I were hanging onto his every word. “A few months back, it was my turn to come around and check out the sites and for some reason, I’d decided to try your full names. It didn’t work for you two,” he gestured to my parents, “but I had one hell of a surprise when I typed up ‘Shayna Cambridge’ and came up with a match. A novelist.”
“Wait a minute - ”
“Let him finish.”
“I could find no information about this author, she was completely unknown. Even her agent didn’t know anything about her; only where to reach her and that, only on paper.”
“And I chose her because she was highly recommended for her discretion,” I said. Had Julie Banning betrayed my trust?
Riley seemed to read my thoughts. “She didn’t tell us anything. We had . . . other ways of finding the information.” He smiled slightly. “We traced Shayna back to Shelco and we decided to infiltrate the work place to find as much as we could. They didn’t need any employees and the only way we found in was as night shift guard dog.”
“That’s why Quinn ended up on weekends!” Light bulb flashed in my mind.
Riley grinned. “Yes, we convinced the owner that I desperately needed this job for psychological reasons and he was good enough to let himself be convinced.”
“Let me get this straight,” my father said. “You followed the trace for Shayna to Shelco where you met Shanna, the night shift clerk, right?”
“Right.”
“You were only taking up this shift to have eyes and ears in the store if someone inside happened to mention anything about her.”
“Right again.”
“So when did you find out that Shanna was actually Shayna?” My father’s smile was widening at the irony.
“Only this morning. I had already begun to have my doubts because of her name and the fact that she typed away at her laptop all night . . .”
“Laptop?” my mother interjected.
“Well, I bought it with the money I made from the books.” I stamped down on my irritation. They were treating me like a child.
My parents lost what colouring they had regained. “Books? As in more than one?”
I gulped. “Yes. Four.” I said hastily, “What I don’t get, Riley, is why you were looking for Shayna Cambridge in the first place?”
All eyes turned to me. “Isn’t it obvious?” Riley said softly. “Your real name, the name you were given at birth, is Shayna Cambridge.”
“Your name . . . Real name . . . Shayna, Shayna . . .” The words resounded in my head. I had only wanted a pen name, and I had chosen my own? My real one? Wait a minute. That meant that the trackers could get to my parents because of me! It was my fault, they had found me through my own fault!
My hands began shaking and I wrapped them around my coffee cup but it was empty; it no longer held any warmth. I looked up at my parents, thinking of how lucky I was that I had gotten to them before Blondie and Baldy did. What if he had tasered them? What would I have done without them? I had nothing, no one else. They had made it so it would always be us three. It was to protect us, yes, but it also made for a solitary existence. A friendless, neighbourless life. What would I have done without them? Natalie was great but these people were the roots of me.
My mother’s lips curved into a small smile. “How ironic all this is. Because of your upbringing, you hid yourself from us but you ended up being your true self without even your own knowledge.” She shook her head sadly. “We should have told you Shanna but do you understand we were doing this for your protection? If we had told you a few years ago that you were a magical descendant from another world, what would you have said?”
The corner of my lips lifted. “Nothing. I would have run for the phone and had you two locked up.”
My father laughed. “You probably would have.”
Riley suddenly pressed a hand to his temple, closed his eyes and hummed that beautiful song again. I closed my own eyes and let myself be swayed by it, let it envelop me like a warm blanket . . .
“He’s on his way,” Riley declared and I opened my eyes. “He’ll meet us out back.”
My parents rose quickly, as did Riley who, in a show of gallantry rarely seen these days, pulled back my chair to let me up. I grinned up at him. “Good boy!”
Riley burst out laughing and we followed my parents out. I noticed how thick and shiny his hair was and much like with dog-Riley, I had to hold back the impulse to touch him. What was it about him? What made him so compelling to me?
“Travis!” I heard my mother’s excited voice and we hurried to catch up with them.
“Mr. Porter . . . Um, I mean, Travis?” I was astonished to find Riley’s owner here. “How do you know my parents?”
“These are your parents, Miss?” He pulled his cherry cigar out of his mouth and hugged my mother tight before holding out a hand to my father. He pushed Travis’s hand away and pulled him into a bear hug.
“It’s been too long for a simple handshake my friend. How have you been?”
“We’ll talk it over when we get back.” He glanced around. “I’m a bit nervous staying around here after what’s happened tonight. Let’s head home first.”
I saw a look of wonder on my mother’s face. I realised that we both had a different meaning for the word ‘home’. I glanced around the parking lot of the coffee place with a sense of panic creeping up on me. This was home. To me, anyway. My four companions might be from somewhere else, but this was all I remembered. I was raised here, had known only here. The panic was seeping into all available slits in my body until it began squeezing my heart. I didn’t like change. I was comfortable with my easy but boring life. I was about ready to leave Shelco because of the money I make from my book sales, and that was a huge change for me. But this? This was even bigger than simply quitting a job.
Riley took my sweaty hand in his. “Shanna, breathe. It’ll be okay. You don’t have to leave this place forever but we need you now. Once this is all over, you can come back.”
I took a deep, steadying breath and relaxed my bruising grip on Riley’s hand. I glanced at him. “You promise?”
“I promise.”
); you introduce them and refer to them initially by their aliases, but then Riley calls them by their real names, and it just gets confusing for readers like me who can barely keep track of the main characters' names, let alone the supplementary people. I don't know if there's some way you could stagger the revelation of their fake names to a little bit later in the chapter, so that I have a good idea of who has got a real name and whatnot. 
