Ariana grasped my arm as the gates opened. A group emerged. There was Micah, tall and handsome as ever. At his side was his father, who was beaming with pride. The Duke and his son supported a third man between them. It was a very tired, very bedraggled Elias.
“Elias!” Ariana’s voice cut through the cheers of the crowd. She released me and ran toward him. He had barely crossed the border before Ariana threw herself into his arms, almost knocking him over.
“Thank the Seraphim,” I heard Alistair murmur from behind me. He stepped around me and approached the group to help some of Elias’s staff members, who were in no better shape than he was.
Tears flowed freely down Ariana’s cheeks as she kissed every available inch of Elias’s face. Someone brought Elias a stool, and Ariana helped him sit. She wouldn’t leave his side. She knelt beside him with her hand on his leg, as if afraid he would vanish as soon as she stopped touching him. People swarmed around him, asking him a hundred questions about his time in the Sydnian prison. I wanted to talk to him, but it could wait for a time when he was better rested. For now, I would leave him to bask in his freedom.
“Delta.” I turned at the sound of my name. Micah had approached while I stared at Elias, lost in thought.
“That was pretty impressive,” I said. “You should intervene in international affairs more often.”
Micah grinned. Excitement flashed in his blue-green eyes. The king of Barune had chosen to send Micah and his father to Sydna in his stead, fearing that the king arriving in person would be seen as an act of war. Their plan had apparently worked. The Mejors had successfully negotiated the release of all Barune prisoners of war, including Elias and his staff.
Ariana found among her mother’s possessions the contract Nathaniel had signed. When the king of Sydna realized that his son had gone to Horr intending to harm a member of the royal family, he sent a hasty apology to the king of Horr and pulled his men back. His apology included a plan to secure the Horr/Sydna border in an effort to stop the raiders who had been terrorizing Horrid villages for years.
My sisters were back. Elias was alive. Ariana was free from the witch’s influence. At last, my family was complete again. And I would never, ever sign another contract in my life.
Micah stood next to me. As we watched the happy reunion, Micah took my hand in his. When I looked his way, he smiled and gave my hand a squeeze. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, sending shivers of joy down my spine.
Maybe there would be a contract I would be all too happy to sign. Maybe, someday, there would be a marriage contract.
Everything froze. The flags ceased mid-wave in the still air. All of the people around me stood completely still, like statues, some suspended mid-step, mid-word. I saw mist and water overlaying the scene, like two very thin pieces of parchment laid on top of each other.
Before me, Nathaniel appeared. He was whole. There were no more cracks or shadowy patches on his skin. The claws on his hands were gone. He looked healthy, happy even, for the first time.
“Thank you,” he said. “You released my soul from the Horrid Witch. I’m free.” His smile was radiant.
Layni appeared at his side. She watched Ariana and Elias with a wistful smile, soaking in the joy of their reunion. Then she nodded at me.
“Not bad,” she said, with respect sparkling in her eyes.
She touched Nathaniel’s arm. Their eyes met. Understanding flowed between them in the same way it had just flowed between me and Micah. A deep connection full of possibility. Arm in arm, Nathaniel and Layni vanished from my sight to greet the world beyond the gates, together.
Time resumed. This time, I was happy to let it flow forward. I had nothing to fear from time any longer. My family was safe. My soul was restored.
Silently, I repeated the words Layni had once said when she thought no one was listening. “I am the master of my own fate.”
About the Author
L.C. Ireland is a Theatre Arts/Drama Specialist by day and a playwright and novelist by night. L.C. writes plays, novels, short stories, and occasionally dabbles in poetry. It is her goal to provide wholesome and inspiring entertainment to readers and actors of all ages.
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FADING INTO THE SHADOWS
Kelly Hashway
Fading Into the Shadows
When sixteen-year-old Ella Andrews’s best friend, Avery, goes missing, she’ll do anything to get him back—starting with punching the no-brain cop who couldn’t care less about the disappearance.
Ella’s convinced Avery’s been kidnapped, and she tries everything to find him—even fol-lowing a strange shadow to another world where the constellations are real-life figures in the sky. But three star groups have fallen and are destroying the world.
The fallen constellations are not the only enemy. Melanie, the princess of Stellaris, is forcing Ella, Avery, and an army of other kids kidnapped from their world to fight the rogue con-stellations, even as the land is draining away their life. The longer they stay, the more they fade into substanceless shadows—a fate worse than death.
Can Ella save Stellaris before there's nothing left of her and Avery?
1
If I wasn’t afraid of being hauled off to a juvenile detention facility, I would have slapped that cop across his smug little face. My best friend was missing—probably kidnapped, and Officer Bobson was showing no more concern than if we were reporting a lost dog.
“You were the last one to see Aiden?” Officer Bobson said, chewing on the end of his pen instead of writing up the police report. “You went to a party—”
“Avery. His name is Avery. Not Aiden. And we went to a movie.” I struggled to keep control, but my heart was breaking. Avery was like my other half, and suddenly he was gone. “We went to a movie and then came straight home.” Why couldn’t this cop get the facts straight? He either couldn’t be bothered to remember simple details or he was testing me to see if I was lying. I would’ve thought he’d be helpful. I mean, here he was in Avery’s house in front of a bunch of people who were worried sick, and he was acting like he didn’t care. “Shouldn’t you be writing this down?”
Officer Bobson raised an eyebrow at me, but he ignored my question. He gave my parents a quick, can’t-you-control-your-own daughter look and then asked me, “What time did you get home?”
“Midnight or maybe a little after. My mom was waiting up for me, so you can ask her if you don’t believe me.” Honestly, I didn’t think he was playing dumb in order to see if he could catch me in a lie. The guy just didn’t care that Avery was missing.
Bobson narrowed his eyes at me. “And how did you get home from the movies? You don’t look old enough to have a license.”
“We walked. The movie theater is right around the corner.”
“I can’t help wondering what two kids were doing walking home alone at night.” Bobson looked back and forth between my parents and Avery’s. Mrs. Weblow completely lost it and started sobbing into her husband’s chest. She must have blamed herself. I wondered if that was what Bobson wanted. Ever since he’d arrived, the Weblows and even my parents had acted weird. Like they were in a trance or something. I always thought adults were supposed to handle emergencies better than kids, yet here I was the only one questioning this cop and why he wasn’t out searching for Avery right now.
“This is, like, the safest town on the planet. Nothing ever happens here. Everyone knows everyone else.” I couldn’t help defending my parents and Avery’s. I wasn’t about to let Bobson make them feel like bad parents.
“Uh-huh,” Bobson said before he turned back to Avery’s parents. “What time did you notice your son was missing?”
“One o’clock. No, maybe it was ten after one.” Mr.
Weblow’s voice quivered, which was really weird because he was usually such a tough guy. I’d never seen him look scared or even the least bit shaken up. “I heard a noise in the hallway and got up to see if it was Avery. That’s when I realized he wasn’t home. His room was empty, but his bed was unmade, like he’d been sleeping in it. I tried his cell phone, but he didn’t answer. So I called Ella.” He paused to look at me, and my stomach lurched. “When I found out she and Avery had gotten home an hour earlier, I called the police.”
“Yup, sounds about right,” Bobson said, adjusting his hat.
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “How can anything about this sound right?” Something was majorly wrong with this cop. He was beyond insensitive.
Bobson glared at me for a second before addressing Mr. Weblow. “Your son’s disappearance is one of many happening all over the country—probably other countries too. All the same. Disappeared in the middle of the night.” He leaned toward me, squinting like he was trying to see through me. “Want to know what I think? They’re probably in some gang. Taking off like this must be the initiation or something. Any of this sound familiar to you?”
Did this guy think I was covering for Avery? That I’d helped him runaway from home? “Avery is not in a gang. He was kidnapped.” I choked on the word, still not able to believe he was really gone. My emotions were a crazy mix of anger, desperation, and fear.
Officer Bobson smirked. “Trust me. I’ve seen this sort of thing before. Troubled kids always wind up in gangs.”
How could this cop talk like this, and in front of Avery’s parents? Mr. and Mrs. Weblow looked horrified. They had to know Avery wouldn’t do something like that. I couldn’t let Officer Bobson make them think differently.
“Avery is not troubled,” I said, my voice shaking with the threat of tears. “You just don’t want to be bothered—”
“Ella, please,” Mom said, grabbing my arm. “Show some respect.” She lowered her voice and glanced at Avery’s parents. “At least for Mr. and Mrs. Weblow’s sake. They’re worried enough about Avery. They don’t need you making this any harder on them.”
I couldn’t even look at Avery’s parents. If I did, I’d cry. I stared at my fluffy green slippers and swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat. Why didn’t anyone else see that Officer Bobson wasn’t very concerned about Avery? He should’ve been trying to help, but instead he was asking me ridiculous questions. I shouldn’t be the only one freaking out right now. Unless they were all freaking out so much they actually believed this guy was their best shot at finding Avery.
Mom was busy apologizing to Officer Bobson for my behavior. “She’s very upset. She didn’t mean anything by it. This isn’t like her at all.”
I’d meant it all right. I’d never hit anyone in my life, but Officer Bobson and his total lack of feeling made me want to make an exception.
“Avery is her best friend,” Mom continued, blinking back tears. “They grew up together. They’re practically like brother and sister.” She sniffled. “We’re all beside ourselves right now.”
Bobson glared at me as he continued to chew on his pen cap.
“That’s a filthy habit, you know,” I said, using the opportunity to think about anything other than the awful hollow feeling in my heart. “There are millions of germs on that pen.”
Bobson took the pen out of his mouth. “I can think of plenty of things that are a lot worse than germs.” He put the pen in his pocket and popped a piece of gum into his mouth. I turned away, repulsed by his almost perfect impression of a cow chewing grass.
Mom and Dad would no doubt insist on staying with the Weblows for a while, at least until the police left. I’d had enough of Officer Bobson, and I knew I couldn’t sit around drinking coffee and staring at the door, hoping Avery would walk through it. I had to do something.
“Mom, I’d like to go home,” I said. “I need to be alone for awhile.”
She dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “I’ll have your father walk with you.”
I shook my head. We lived next door. I didn’t need an escort. It wasn’t like someone would try to kidnap me with police lights flashing in the next driveway over. “No, Mr. and Mrs. Weblow need you guys here. I’ll be fine.” I could tell she was about to protest so I added, “You can watch me through the window if you want.”
Mom sighed. “Call me the second you get inside. And lock the door behind you. Your father and I will be home in an hour or two.”
I nodded and said goodnight to Mr. and Mrs. Weblow. Neither of them said a word. They were still in shock, and I think looking at me made them miss Avery even more. So I understood how difficult it was for the Weblows to be around me right now. I was about to walk away when Mrs. Weblow hugged me tightly, dripping tears on my pajama top. I felt the full weight of her fear, and it made me wonder if I’d ever see my best friend again. Mom had to practically pry Mrs. Weblow off me. And not a moment too soon. I was about to fall apart.
I ran out of there as quickly as I could and kept up the pace until I was inside my house. As I was shutting the front door behind me, I saw Dad standing in the Weblow’s driveway. He’d watched to make sure I got home safely. I gave him a little wave and phoned Mom. Even though Dad had seen me walk into the house, Mom would freak and think something was wrong if I didn’t call her like I’d said I would.
“Did you lock the door?” Mom asked, no hello or anything.
“I’m locking it right now.”
“Both locks?”
“Both locks.” I’d always thought it was silly to have two locks on the door. This town was ridiculously safe, but now…well, I was kind of glad we had the extra lock. I wasn’t scared really. Just shaken up about Avery. God, Avery, where are you?
“I love you, sweetie,” Mom said, bringing me back to reality.
“I love you too.”
When I hung up, I got the crazy idea to try Avery’s cell. His parents said they’d tried about a thousand times, but maybe Avery didn’t want to talk to them. Thanks to caller ID he could easily avoid their calls. Maybe he’d answer for me. I clicked on Avery’s contact photo and held my breath as the call connected. It didn’t even ring. It went straight to voice mail.
“Hey, this is Avery. Leave a message. And if this is Ella, I probably just saw you. What could you possibly have to tell me?”
The phone shook in my hand. We laughed about his outgoing message all the time. But now it wasn’t funny at all.
“A-Avery,” I choked, swallowing hard. “Where are you? I’m really worried.” I didn’t know if I should mention the police, so I settled for, “Please, call me. Please.” I didn’t want to hang up. I wanted to keep replaying his message over and over, just to hear his voice. Finally the line went dead. I blinked the wetness from my eyes and raced upstairs to my room.
I slumped into my desk chair and turned on my laptop. I searched the Internet for disappearances in my town. Officer Bobson had said there’d been others from all over the country. Yet we hadn’t heard anything about them. That was strange because Independence was a small town. Normally news traveled quicker by word of mouth than by newspaper. The last time I’d woken up with a zit, the only person who wasn’t talking about it twenty minutes later was the Neatwaters’ newborn baby.
Still, I figured there had to be some mention of the kidnappings in the papers. Some clue where my best friend was. The local newspaper was running stories about the big Fourth of July fireworks show. The articles covered the front page. As if fireworks were even newsworthy. The people who lived in Independence took the town’s name way too seriously. The Fourth of July was bigger than Christmas around here.
I decided to move on to the state editions of the newspapers, thinking maybe they’d cover actual news. I checked neighboring towns too. I searched for hours and found nothing. No kidnappings, no kids reported missing. Had Bobson made it all up because he was too lazy to write the police report? As much as I didn’t like him, I didn’t think any c
op would stoop that low. I mean, they’re supposed to help people. Still, it didn’t make sense. But it wasn’t like I could check every paper in every state across the country. The other missing kids must not have been from around here.
Finally, my eyelids got heavy, and I crawled into bed. I lay on my side, looking out the window next to my bed. I couldn’t see any flashing lights, so I figured the police car was gone. Good riddance, Officer Bobson. I stared up at the stars, trying to make out the constellations, until I drifted off to sleep.
I woke up about forty minutes later, clutching my pillow. I’d had a dream about Avery being taken by some big creature with a huge mouth that didn’t stop chomping its teeth—like those windup chattering teeth they sell in gag shops. Only these weren’t funny. The clock on the nightstand read 4:15. I wondered if my parents were home. I crept out of bed and down the hallway. Their bedroom door was cracked open, so I peeked inside. Mom and Dad were sound asleep.
I shook my head. “Nice, Ella. You’re sixteen and still need your mommy and daddy when you have a bad dream.”
I walked into the bathroom and held my hair back as I splashed cold water on my face. I grabbed a hand towel to dry off and almost didn’t recognize my reflection in the mirror. There were dark circles under my eyes, and my normally pin straight brown hair was completely disheveled. I reached for my brush on the counter when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow move across the hallway.
I jumped, still shaken up about Avery. “Mom?” I called, dropping the towel in the sink. “Dad? Is that you?”
No answer. I got chills. I was tired, but I wasn’t crazy. I’d definitely seen a shadow. A thought popped into my head, causing me to grip the sink. What if whoever had kidnapped Avery was in my house? What if I was next? Avery had been taken while his parents were asleep. The same thing could be about to happen to me. I tiptoed to the door and took a deep breath before peering into the hall. The shadow on the wall hesitated at the end of the hallway. It looked like a man’s shadow, tall and thin. Way too thin to be my dad. But not too thin to be Avery!
Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances Page 36