Flicker, Fade, Soar

by Zoe Wynns

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to my mom for her just plain awesomeness. Thanks for reading my edits, giving me friendly feedback, and always pushing me to try new things, in writing and out of it.

  Thanks to my dad, of course! He was the one who convinced me that Tribe of Curable Souls sounded way better than Tavern of Curable Souls. I agreed in the long run, though I keep saying Tavern accidently when I tell people about my story!

  Thanks to Luna Hou for being the best editor that ever walked the face of the planet, at least to me. She gave me feedback and critiques about this book so nicely that you’d never even know I messed up! Luna, you are great. Thank you so much!

  Thanks to all my friends and family for giving me promises to download this book once it has been published, and giving me buckets of support along the way.

  Thanks, guys! You pushed me to be my best, and let me know when I truly wasn’t. I know, I know, everyone says this, but I truly couldn’t have done it without you.

  Now turn to the next page for some exclusive goodies!

  EXCLUSIVE: The Elias Page. What really went on in his head when Rose dropped him? Find out now!

  Elias:

  It all worked out in the end, I suppose. I had Lily, and Lily had me. No hard feelings between Rose and I, and now, after it all happened, five years later, we’d even managed to be friends. But, and I could never tell Lily this, every time I saw Rose with Josef, the embers of a fire of jealously rose inside of me. Was it wrong to want Rose, even now?

  I didn’t know, and that’s what worried me.

  Rose didn’t understand. I didn’t try to shrink when that huge rock was hovering over our heads. Shrinking was just a natural thing for me. I’d only been working for a couple weeks on my power, OK? I didn’t quite have the shrinking/growing on command thing down yet.

  And when Nicole died so abruptly, Rose was majorly upset! I knew it would be the perfect time to comfort her and make her realize who the right one was for her, but Josef got to her first. If Josef had left well enough alone, Rose would have been comforted ten times more by me. She would never think about Nicole ever again, I would have her so peaceful!

  They all say I’m so sweet, I look like a baby/angel, blah blah blah. Well, guess what? I’m older now. My curly hair has straightened out. My innocent look has developed into the look of a teenage boy-going on man. My sweet nature has stayed the same, but I’m allowing myself to think thoughts now that would never have entered my mind five years ago. Like how I’d love to wipe the knowing smile off Lily’s face when she told me why it was good I didn’t get together with Rose because it would never work out, we were both too sweet, and whatever else she said after I zoned out.

  So, looks like I’m with Lily, and Rose is with Josef, at least for now. But watch out, Josef. I’m coming for you. There are years and years to figure all this relationship stuff out, and I plan to make good use of those years. I like you, Lily. And I can tell that you really like me. But every time I see Rose’s deep, gray eyes and chocolate brown hair, a little something inside of me awakens. I will have her someday.

  But in the meantime, I’ll go on being everyone’s sweet little angel that looks nothing like an angel anymore. But someday soon, this angel is growing wings of fire.

  And I sure hope Josef is ready for that day.

  FAQ on the next page!

  Frequently Asked Questions… Answered!

  **Spoilers**

  Q: Why did Elias and Rose fall out?

  A: Rose did at first want to be with Elias. But her questioning started when Josef saved her from the rock. Elias just shrunk and did nothing else. Rose knew she needed a brave boy to balance out her shyness, and Elias just wasn’t that boy. Through the rest of the book, she struggles between choosing the two boys, and she decides to lean more towards Josef when it seemed Elias has his sights set on Lily to be more than friends. Also, their relationship could never work out, all their arguments would just go like, “I don’t know, what do you think?”

  “I don’t know, what do you think?”

  So Rose makes her final choice of Josef. A good choice, I say! 

  Q: Can you explain Invisible Paralysis again, and how Rose survived it?

  A: Invisible Paralysis is a condition where a Super cannot control when they turn on and off their invisibility. The Power Core, a small organ near the brain, controls the Powers for all Supers (and all non-supers too!). When the Power Core senses that the Super that it is inside of cannot control their Power, the Power Core works extra hard trying to help the Super control it. But no organ can survive overworking, and the Power Core is no exception. Unless the Super trains extra-hard to learn how to turn their invisibility on and off, their Power Core will get over-exhausted and die. Once their Power Core has died, the Super will start feeling hopeless, and they will die within the day.

  Rose survived this because she found a Power Core transplant. This means that a person who died during the battle (Nicole. Sorry, warned you there were spoilers!), had her exact same age, and her same gender, and her Power Core was still usable. Ms. Walker knew how to transplant Power Cores from one place to another, and so Rose survived on Nicole’s Power Core, losing her power of invisibility, but gaining the power of Flying!

  Q: Will there be a Sequel to Flicker, Fade, Soar?

  A: Of course! The author (me) is going to participate in Nanowrimo, a contest where authors try to write 50,000 words in November. I will likely finish the sequel, which main focus will be on Nikki, Rose’s little sister, during the contest, or soon afterword’s. That book should be posted on IBook’s just like Flicker, Fade, Soar. It is unnamed so far, and might be free, might be a dollar. We’ll see!

  Keep watch! This book should be updated when a title is available for the sequel.

  I hope you enjoyed Flicker, Fade, Soar!