Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances

by T. M. Franklin

  Audrey laughed, holding up her hands. “No way. That was all you.” She linked her arm with Ava’s, turning to lead her back to the house as Caleb fell in on her other side. “You know that. You could feel the link, right? The connection between you and the ball?”

  Caleb watched Ava consider the question. It was a unique feeling he’d heard described by those with telekinetic ability, but since he didn’t have it, he couldn’t truly understand the link. The closest thing he could compare it to was the visualization necessary for a shift, but he often wondered if it was the same.

  “I did,” Ava admitted. “It was a like a thread, almost. I could see it—kind of a string of electricity pulling it toward me. I could feel it, too, like it was tied to my wrist.”

  Audrey squeezed her arm, pleasure evident on her face. “Yes. Exactly. You’re coming along very well.”

  “Good thing,” Caleb interjected. “Because we’ll need to leave tomorrow.”

  “What?” Ava asked. “Have the Protectors given up?”

  “Not exactly.” Caleb frowned. “Honestly, it doesn’t look like they’re going to, so we have to go to Plan B.”

  “Plan B?” Audrey repeated.

  “Balaam.”

  “Ah.” Audrey nodded. “Well, he is the best mimic there is.”

  “Mimic?” Ava looked between them in confusion. “Who is Balaam?”

  Between them, Caleb and Audrey explained Balaam’s unique ability and how he could help distract the Protectors long enough for Caleb and Ava to get out of the area. They would have to use conventional transportation—Audrey’s car to the border, followed by a train to Ontario—because any use of power would send an alert to the Council. Caleb didn’t dare shift. Such a use of power would be like sending out a beacon—his imprint pinging on any Protector’s radar within seconds.

  “So, he just has to touch me?” Ava asked. “And he can mimic my . . . energy or whatever?” She waved a hand in the air to illustrate her thought.

  “It’s a very rare ability,” Audrey replied.

  “But will he be safe?” Ava bit her cheek nervously as they walked into the house. “What if they catch him?”

  Caleb smiled at her concern. “They won’t. Balaam can shift better than anyone. They’ll never get closer to him than he wants them to. Believe me. He’ll be fine.”

  “I have to admit, I’m going to miss you two,” Audrey said with a sad smile, patting Ava’s arm as she walked into the kitchen to put the kettle on. “I’ve gotten used to the company.”

  Ava blinked hard as if fighting back tears. “Will I ever see you again?” she asked.

  Audrey laughed. “Oh, I’m sure you will, dear. Once this whole thing is settled—” Gasping unexpectedly, her eyes flew to Caleb’s and the color drained from her face. He tensed, stalking to the window to peer out at the darkening backyard.

  “What is it?” Ava asked.

  “How did they get so close?” Caleb said at the same time.

  Audrey rushed over to join him, glancing at the little computer pad in her pocket. “I don’t know. The cloak’s in place.”

  “Who?” Ava asked, panic rising as she realized the answer to the question. “Protectors?”

  Caleb nodded stiffly.

  “But, how did they find us?” she asked. “I thought they couldn’t see through the cloak.”

  Caleb turned, grabbing her hand and dragging her through the house. “Get your things,” he ordered. “We’re leaving now.”

  Audrey rushed after them up the stairs, digging through a desk drawer, and throwing items into a little bag. Ava raced into her room, adrenaline rushing through her, and her backpack flew into her hands.

  “Easy,” Caleb said soothingly. “Don’t get too emotional.”

  “Easy for you to say,” she muttered, reaching out to catch the toothbrush and toothpaste that sprang through the bathroom door.

  Audrey met them in the hall. “Here,” she said, handing Caleb the bag. “Some money and R-cubes to help you get where you’re going.” She tossed him a set of keys. “We’ll keep them busy as long as we can, but you know they’ll be on your tail. You’ll probably have to ditch the car and shift.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Caleb said as they hurried down the stairs. Shouting from the backyard made his hair stand on end. They were so close.

  Gunfire.

  More shouts.

  “Caleb?” Ava asked weakly.

  “Let’s go,” he growled, grabbing her hand as they ran to the garage.

  Ava looked back to see Audrey watching them sadly before turning and heading toward the back of the house. “Audrey!” she shouted. She turned to Caleb. “She’s not going to try and fight them?”

  “She’ll do what she has to,” he said grimly. “Audrey has a lot of power. She’ll hold her own.” He stopped at the door, listening for a moment before opening it. “Come on.”

  Caleb grabbed Ava’s backpack, throwing it and his bag into the backseat as Ava got into the dark sedan. With a deep breath, he hit the garage door opener, throwing the car into gear and peeling out of the driveway at top speed.

  Ava gripped the door handle, looking over her shoulder, desperate to catch a glimpse of Audrey. “Can you sense her?” she asked frantically. “Is Audrey all right?”

  “I don’t know,” Caleb grunted, spinning around a corner. “There’s so much Race activity, it’s hard to pinpoint anyone. God, they’re everywhere,” he muttered under his breath as the pulled out onto the highway. A few moments later, a blue pickup appeared behind them. “Too late. They’ve found us,” he said grimly, pushing the speedometer to the limit. Ava watched the blue truck closing in.

  “They’re too fast,” she shouted.

  “Grab the bags,” Caleb ordered, his eyes scanning the road for any other traffic. He spied an empty field about a mile ahead. “Hurry.”

  Ava did as she was told, holding them tight to her chest as she watched the blue truck grow larger in the back window. “What are we going to do?”

  “Shift,” Caleb said. “Come closer.”

  “Shift?” she gasped. “From a moving car?”

  “We don’t have a choice,” he shouted, throwing an arm over her shoulder. “This is gonna be rough. Hold on tight and close your eyes.”

  “Caleb—”

  “There’s no time!” he shouted. “Just hold on!” He leaned forward, and Ava wrapped her arms around him. Caleb gunned the engine, steering for the empty field. “Here we go,” he warned.

  The next moment, a jarring crack rang through the air, and they fell to the ground, the impact tearing her from Caleb’s grip. The world spun around them, then Caleb realized they actually were spinning, or rather rolling down a muddy hill in a dense forest. Ava shrieked then grunted as a thick tree root stopped her descent. Caleb’s body flew past her, finally coming to rest with a splash in an icy puddle at the bottom of the hill. He groaned, pushing himself up on his arms.

  “Are you okay?” he called up to Ava.

  She pushed herself to a sitting position, leaning against a mossy tree trunk. “I think so,” she said after a moment, breath still heaving. “Just got the wind knocked out of me. You?”

  Caleb nodded, getting to his feet and frowning down at his wet and muddy clothes. He spotted his bag under a bush and hefted it up onto his shoulder before climbing up to Ava, holding out his hand. “We need to keep moving,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time before they center in on us. We need to get to that train.” He swayed a little, dropping down on a knee.

  “Caleb!” Ava exclaimed, holding him tightly to keep him from plummeting down the hill again.

  “I’m okay,” he mumbled. “But I need . . . cubes.” He curled up on the frozen ground, and Ava scanned the area frantically for her backpack.

  “Where is it?” she muttered, peeking under bushes as she followed the path of her descent down the hill. She’d been holding it when they shifted, she was sure of it—but who knew how far away it had been flung when they
crashed?

  Ava took a deep breath, closing her eyes and picturing the bag.

  Caleb moaned, and she jolted slightly, her concentration lost for a moment.

  “Hang on, Caleb,” she encouraged him, closing her eyes again. She held her hands out in front of her, working through the visualization as Audrey had taught her. But after nearly a minute with no result, she huffed in frustration. It had seemed so simple at the safe house. She thought back to when they were trying to leave, how things just flew into her hands. Caleb had said she needed to calm down, but it was as if the adrenaline only heightened her focus.

  Maybe that was the key.

  Ava closed her eyes again, but instead of trying to clear her mind, she tried to recapture those last moments . . . the panic . . . the fear.

  The gunshots.

  Audrey.

  Caleb, eyes wide.

  The blue truck closing in.

  Her heartbeat increased as she pictured the battle they’d left behind. Bodies falling . . . shouts . . . screams . . .

  Caleb moaned behind her again, and Ava threw her hands out in front of her.

  The backpack landed in her arms with a soft whoosh.

  She exhaled in relief, and hurried back over to Caleb, digging out the jar of cubes and popping two into his open mouth. When he didn’t immediately chew them up, she shook his shoulder, realizing he’d fallen asleep.

  “Caleb, come on,” she said gruffly. “Chew and swallow. We’ve got to get out of here.”

  Caleb blinked sleepily but obediently chewed up the cubes, and then two more, his eyes already gaining focus as he sat up, rubbing his head.

  “You okay?” Ava asked.

  He nodded, chasing the foul-tasting cubes with a drink from a water bottle before handing it to Ava. “Are you hurt?” he asked as she stowed the water bottle, picking up her bag and standing slowly.

  “No, nothing serious,” she said. “Probably going to be a little sore, though.” She looked around. “Any idea where we are?”

  Caleb pulled out his phone, checking the GPS. “A few miles from Sioux City,” he said. “We’ll need to walk until I can get my strength up to shift again.”

  “I thought you said shifting would draw too much attention.”

  Caleb shrugged. “We don’t have much choice now. Without a car, we’re sitting ducks.” He checked his phone again and pointed back up the hill. “There should be a road up that way. You ready?”

  Ava frowned and followed behind him as they trudged up the hill, grabbing branches to keep from slipping along the way. They picked their way through a rough path between the trees and eventually came out at the side of a two-lane road and turned right.

  “You feeling better now?” Ava asked.

  Caleb nodded, popping another cube in his mouth as they walked down the center of the road. “Yeah. Few more of these and we should be able to try shifting again.”

  Ava turned around, walking backward for a moment. “Maybe we can catch a ride,” she remarked. As if on cue, a semi came around the corner toward them. They hurried to the side of the road and threw up their thumbs, smiling widely.

  “Show a little leg,” Caleb suggested.

  Ava snorted. “You show a little leg.”

  In the end, neither one needed to bare any skin, because the semi pulled over just ahead of them, the driver smiling widely as Caleb pulled open the passenger door.

  “Need a lift?” he asked. “I’m going as far as Lennox.”

  “That would be great,” Caleb replied, holding the door as Ava climbed in and settling down next to her.

  “Looks like you had a bit of trouble,” the driver said, eyeing their muddy clothes.

  “Yeah,” Caleb said. “Tried a shortcut and got a little turned around.”

  The driver laughed. “That’ll happen around here.” He shifted gears, pulling back onto the road. “They call me T.J.,” he said.

  “I’m Caleb. This is Ava.”

  “Nice to meet you,” he said, rolling down his window to spit.

  Caleb pulled out his phone to check his e-mails. Spotting one from Bel, he opened it quickly, his jaw tightening as he read it.

  “What is it?” Ava whispered.

  With a surreptitious glance at T.J., he shook his head once. Ava frowned, grabbing the phone before he put it in his pocket. She read through the e-mail, her face blanching.

  Caleb didn’t have to read the words again to see them in his mind.

  Safe house compromised. Seized by Council. Reports of casualties, but no idea how many. No word from Audrey.

  Ava looked up at him, blinking back tears. “No,” she whispered.

  Caleb took the phone and tucked it back in his pocket, swallowing thickly. “Not now,” he said quietly.

  “Everything okay?” T.J. asked, concern on his face.

  “Just some bad news from back home,” Caleb lied, avoiding Ava’s eyes. “Sick family member.”

  “Ah, too bad,” T.J. replied. “Always tough to be away at a time like that.”

  “Yeah,” Caleb agreed. “Yeah, it is.”

  Between three hitchhiked rides, six shifts, and a couple of handfuls of R-cubes, they made it to the border in a little less than four hours. The last driver left them in the parking lot of a truck stop as he went in to get something to eat. They offered some gas money, but he refused, wishing them luck and waving as he walked away.

  Caleb turned to Ava cautiously. She’d been quiet ever since she’d seen Bel’s e-mail, and he’d been watching her while trying to mask his worried expression.

  “You hungry?” he asked. “We could get a sandwich or something.”

  Ava shook her head. “I’m fine.”

  They walked toward the border crossing, and Ava shot him a curious glance. “So, what’s the plan for getting across the border?”

  He smiled. “Keep walking.”

  They got in line behind a group of people walking across the border, and Ava could see a couple of buses and taxis waiting on the other side to pick up whoever might need a ride. She hitched her backpack up higher on her shoulder, unsure how Caleb was going to deal with the whole passport issue, but when they reached the border guard, he pulled out a couple of passports from his back pocket and handed them over with a smile.

  “How long are you going to be in the country?” the guard asked in a bored voice.

  “Just a few days,” Caleb answered. “Sightseeing.”

  The guard nodded. “I’ll need to look in your bags.”

  “Of course,” Caleb replied, opening his messenger bag. Ava propped her backpack up on the table and unzipped it, wondering how she would explain the jar of gray Jell-O inside. She glanced at the contents and blinked at the very obvious butt of a gun tucked under her extra jeans. She shot a panicked look Caleb’s way, simultaneously shoving the gun deeper into the bag with a mental push.

  The adrenaline really did help.

  The guard looked through Caleb’s bag without saying a word, then reached for Ava’s backpack. She held her breath, but just as the man peeked through the gap in the top, Caleb brushed his fingers over his forehead and whispered, “You’ve already checked it. It’s fine.”

  The guard blinked twice, then straightened and shoved the bag back toward Ava. “Enjoy your stay,” he said, stifling a yawn. “Next!”

  They picked up their things, and Ava fought the urge to break into a run, instead matching Caleb’s easy gait.

  “Well, that little trick certainly comes in handy,” she muttered as they approached a cab.

  Caleb grinned, winking at her as he pulled open the door.

  Fifteen minutes later, they stood waiting for the train to Winnipeg. From there they’d catch a bus into Ontario to Kenora, then north to the small town of Red Lake—about twenty miles from the Guardian Colony. Caleb told her the Colony would send someone to meet them there, since there was obviously no public transportation to a city in the middle of nowhere that didn’t actually exist.

  Ava tried
to smile at that, but she found she just couldn’t.

  The e-mail from Bel had hit her hard. She was worried about Audrey and about the Guardians who’d been assigned to protect her at the safe house. Ava hoped that they’d been able to escape, but the fact that Audrey was out of contact made her sick to her stomach.

  Reports of casualties.

  First the Jordans—then Audrey and the others. The curl of guilt twisting in her stomach made her nauseous. The idea that these people had been hurt—maybe given their lives—just so she could be safe?

  It was all too much.

  She glanced at Caleb as he played with his phone, checking the train tracks every now and then. He was surveying the area and trying to look casual about it, but she knew he was nervous, as well. The two of them against the Council and all of their minions?

  Ava was only beginning to understand the dangerous odds they faced.

  And it could all still be for nothing. They had a long way to go before they got to the Colony—and who was to say they wouldn’t lead the Protectors there, as well? And what if something happened to Caleb?

  Ava shivered. She couldn’t bear the thought.

  She cleared her throat. “Any news?” she asked quietly.

  Caleb shook his head. “Not from Bel . . . or Audrey. I got an encoded e-mail from the colony, though. Someone will meet us in Red Lake tomorrow.” He glanced up, his face softening at Ava’s tense expression.

  “Don’t worry,” he said softly, taking her chilled hand in his warm one. “I’ll keep you safe.”

  Ava smiled weakly. She had no doubt he would do whatever he could to keep his word. She was beginning to doubt, however, that he would survive the effort. So many had already suffered for her.

  How many more would have to?

  A gust of wind preceded the train pulling into the station, brakes screeching as it came to a standstill. Passengers piled off the opposite side of the platform, and Caleb squeezed her hand. She looked down at where their fingers linked, the familiar warmth of his palm comforting.

  But she didn’t deserve comfort. Not when so many more were suffering.