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

by T. M. Franklin

  I couldn’t help it. I knew it was awful, but Melanie had that effect on me. I stared her in the eyes and used her own words against her. “This is a war. What did you expect me to do?”

  She stumbled backward like I’d punched her in the gut. I should’ve let it go at that, but I couldn’t. Knowing Melanie, she’d forget this feeling in a matter of minutes.

  “How does it feel to have someone use the person you care about most as a pawn in their game? Toss around their life like it means nothing?” I stepped forward and ripped the axe from her hands. “Consider this payback for what you’re doing to Avery.”

  I stormed over to the army, leaving Melanie staring blankly at the sand. The army still had Draco’s attention, and Hercules slowly slinked away. For once it looked like we had the upper hand. Draco was surrounded, which meant he couldn’t breathe fire without getting pelted with arrows from the opposite direction. The army was ready and waiting for Bobson to give the order to shoot.

  I swapped the axe for a bow and poison arrow Bobson gave me. He didn’t say a word or even look at me. He kept his focus on Draco and gnawed furiously on his pen. I joined the army, taking a place next to Avery.

  He looked at me and nodded toward Melanie. “I heard what you said to Melanie. You don’t need to fight my battles. And this little stunt you pulled to get back at her—well, let’s just say sometimes you two are so much alike it’s unbelievable.”

  Ouch! I couldn’t believe he thought I’d done this just to get back at Melanie. I did it to save us all, to capture Draco. I was about to say that when I heard something splash into the sea. We all turned to see Hercules swimming toward the castle. Draco saw it too, and without warning he flew over the army and after Hercules. A few of the guys shot their arrows, but they missed.

  “Don’t shoot!” Avery yelled. “We can’t waste the poison arrows. Wait until we can get a clear shot.”

  “Spread out along the shoreline and fire only when you have an open shot,” Bobson said, running past us.

  The boys stationed themselves about twenty feet apart and raised their bows at Draco. The sight would’ve been intimidating for anyone in the line of fire—anyone other than an enormous dragon, that is.

  Draco darted back and forth over the water, searching for Hercules. Good thing the constellations didn’t need to breathe like humans did to stay alive. At least that was what Ophi had said. But Hercules had been underwater for a long time, and I was starting to get nervous. I turned around to ask Ophi about it, but he was gone. He’d been with the rest of the army when they had Draco surrounded, but I hadn’t seen him since Hercules decided to swim to safety. Had he gone after Cerberus?

  Hercules broke through the surface of the water, and Draco immediately dove for him. Avery fired a shot, and it sunk into Draco’s tail. Draco faltered for a second, but he recovered quickly.

  “Your puny little arrows can’t hurt me,” Draco said.

  That was what he thought. The poison arrows would do the trick. But we needed a better shot. One closer to his heart.

  I ran to the water’s edge. “Hercules, swim closer to the shore! And stay above the surface!” I felt bad about using him for bait again, but I didn’t know any other way to get a clear shot at Draco.

  Melanie ran toward the sea. “Don’t listen to her! Save yourself!”

  Avery rushed to Melanie and put his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “Please, listen to Ella. She’s right. We need Draco closer to the shore, which means Hercules needs to swim this way. You brought him here to help us. This is how he can. We won’t let Draco hurt him. I promise.”

  Avery’s words instantly calmed her. Melanie stared into his eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she nodded. I knew Avery was backing me up, but seeing them look at each other like that made me cringe. Hercules was supposed to be Melanie’s guy. She should quit looking at mine.

  Avery smiled and turned toward the water. “Hercules, swim toward Melanie!”

  Melanie walked to the edge of the water. Hercules locked his eyes on her, looking like a lost puppy who’d just found his way home. I didn’t understand their relationship, but at least Melanie wasn’t staring at Avery anymore.

  “Hurry!” Melanie waved him to shore.

  Hercules swam toward her, staying above water.

  “You’re making this too easy,” Draco screeched. His claws extended, and he dove again.

  Avery shot an arrow into the fleshy area right above Draco’s wing. Draco spun in the air and shrieked in pain. Hercules stopped swimming and stared up at him. For a moment, I thought the poison had paralyzed Draco’s wing, but he twisted his head around and ripped the arrow out of his body. He spit it into the water and recovered his balance. He inhaled and breathed fire at Avery. I pushed Avery aside, knocking him into Melanie. They toppled to the ground in a heap. I landed next to them and immediately yanked Avery to his feet in case Draco had any thoughts of trying that again. But Draco zeroed in on Hercules and dove for him.

  I readied my bow, waiting for the perfect moment. Hercules splashed toward shore, practically drowning out the sound of Melanie’s panicked cries. Draco’s eyes lit up, and his mouth opened wide. I couldn’t ask for a better target. I shot the arrow straight into his mouth.

  The sound Draco made was worse than a dying cat. He spun in the air once before crashing belly up into the water. The waves engulfed Hercules for a moment, but he resurfaced closer to the shore. Melanie and Bobson rushed to him as he stumbled onto the beach. Avery shot Draco with another arrow, which sunk into his chest. If my arrow hadn’t done the trick, that one surely did. Draco lay unconscious, floating on top of the water.

  The army erupted in cheers. The guys high-fived and smacked each other’s backsides—something I’d never understood. I mean, how did that translate to “Good job”? Melanie threw her arms around Hercules’s neck and cried on his shoulder. Bobson walked away from them, and I couldn’t blame him. Everyone avoided looking in their direction. Their relationship was too weird, and watching them felt like intruding on something really personal.

  “The job’s not over, men,” Bobson said, rounding up the guys. “We need to tie up Draco and drag him out of the water. I’m not about to let him recover while we’re celebrating like a bunch of girls on the beach.”

  The guys groaned—probably more about being called a bunch of girls than having more work to do—but they followed Bobson to the trees where they’d left the rope.

  “What about Cerberus?” I called after them. “Did you see him in the woods?”

  “Yeah, we saw him,” Bobson yelled back to me. “He was tracking something, sniffing the air. He didn’t so much as look at us.”

  “I’ll get him back.” Hercules whistled. Not a normal whistle. A high-pitched one.

  I stared at the trees and saw something moving through them. Cerberus emerged with Ophi following closely behind him.

  “So you did go after Cerberus,” I said once Ophi was in earshot. “But why? We could’ve used your help.”

  Ophi wrinkled his forehead. “You guys had the upper hand with Draco, and we couldn’t exactly leave a hellhound on the loose. I figured it was a good time to catch up with him before he got too far away.”

  “Yeah, well we sort of lost that upper hand pretty quickly.”

  Ophi pointed to Draco lying in the water. “Looks like you got it back.”

  I nodded. “Where did you find Cerberus? And what made him run off? He left Hercules to fight Draco on his own.”

  “He’s attracted to the scent of death. You know, having been a guard dog for the gates of hell and all,” Ophi said as if it were completely normal. “He definitely smelled something in those trees. Must be a dead animal nearby.”

  For the first time in what seemed like forever, I allowed myself to think about the other guys, the ones we’d lost. I hoped it was just a dead animal Cerberus had smelled.

  Cerberus ran right to Hercules and sat next to him in the sand. Hercules scratch
ed his heads—all three of them. As the army headed into the water to retrieve Draco, they stared at the hellhound. I could tell they were dying to meet Cerberus, but it would have to wait until Draco was tied up.

  “That’s amazing,” I muttered. “He really is submissive.”

  “Actually, you’re the one who’s amazing.” Avery walked up behind me. I was surprised he wasn’t helping the rest of the army. “You fired the arrow that knocked Draco unconscious. You saved Stellaris. And thanks to you, we’ll all be going home soon.”

  I felt my cheeks blush, and I turned away. “I saw an opportunity to take Draco down. That’s all. Nothing big. Besides, you got three shots on him, including the final one to his chest.”

  Avery shook his head. “I don’t think that last arrow was even necessary. Your shot to the throat was awesome. There’s no way he would’ve recovered from it. I don’t even know why I fired that arrow into his chest.” He shrugged. “I guess I wanted to get the—”

  “Last word, so to speak?” I laughed.

  “I should’ve known I couldn’t win when it comes to you. You always get the last word or laugh or whatever.” He smiled and touched my cheek with his gloved hand.

  I met his stare, not quite knowing what to say. I was still trying to get used to our new relationship—whatever it was.

  “I concede defeat.” He bowed before me. “You are the reigning queen of every fight.”

  I laughed and shoved him in the shoulder. He fell backward onto the sand. “You have slain me, my lady,” he said, doing a really bad impression of a dying knight.

  The army was in the water, tying the rope around Draco, but a few of the guys looked in our direction.

  “Knock it off.” I laughed again. “The guys are staring at us.”

  Avery grabbed my arm and pulled me down on the sand next to him. “So?” I got lost in his eyes again. I loved that feeling. The feeling that nothing could go wrong because Avery and I were together.

  He leaned in close to me and took off his helmet.

  My heart lurched, and I felt sick to my stomach. “Ave—” I couldn’t find the words. My breath was caught in my throat, making it almost impossible to speak. My world was crashing down right in front of my eyes. Avery’s face was blotchy. Not black and blue blotchy. Fading, shadowy blotchy. “No.” I choked on tears.

  He pulled away, looking hurt. “Sorry, I thought you—I mean, after we kissed in the training room I thought—”

  I shook my head. “No. It’s your face.” The words were painful on my tongue, but I forced them out. “You’re fading.”

  He raised his hand to his face, first touching his cheek and then his nose. I saw the terror in his eyes as he stood up and removed his armor piece by piece. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks as I watched him reveal one fading limb after another.

  Avery, my Avery, was barely visible.

  19

  “I told you to take your armor off once in awhile!” I threw myself at his chest, which was about the only solid thing left on his body. “Why didn’t you listen to me? You promised me I wouldn’t lose you!” I grabbed the front of his shirt, squeezing it in my fists. I wheezed uncontrollably, unable to get air into my lungs. Avery was fading into nothing, yet I felt like I was the one who was dying.

  He wrapped his arms around me, although without his armor on, I couldn’t feel them. The entire army raced over to Avery. Everyone stood, mouths gaping open in disbelief. The guys looked horrified, and they each began to check if they were still totally visible. Bobson walked over and gently pulled me away from Avery. I was about to scream at him to get his slimy paws off me when he grabbed my left wrist.

  “Oh no, Ella.” Avery stared at my hand. He looked more worried than when he’d seen his own fading body.

  I was afraid to look at my hand. It felt fine, but I didn’t know if I’d somehow hurt it when I’d shot the poison arrow. Had some of the poison dripped onto my hand? Were my fingers discolored? I took a deep breath and forced myself to look.

  My fingers and hand were discolored. They didn’t have any color to them at all. No disgusting poisoned patches of darkness from Serpens’s venom. Just all shadow. I knew my hand hadn’t looked like this moments ago when I was firing arrows at Draco. I’d started to fade, and it was happening quickly.

  I bent my fingers, wiggling them back and forth. They felt the same.

  “I can still feel them. How is that possible?”

  Avery moved closer to me. “That’s how it is. I had no idea I’d gotten so much worse. It doesn’t hurt to fade. It doesn’t feel any different at all.”

  I couldn’t completely agree. It did feel different. It felt like I was dying, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  The others had finished searching themselves. They were all fine. The sighs of relief that spread through them were almost deafening. Now they stared at Avery and me like we were anomalies.

  I met Avery’s eyes. He was terrified, and I hated seeing him like that. I knew he wouldn’t look out for himself now that I was fading, so I had to do it for him. “We have to get you home right now. I’ll be okay for a little while longer, but you definitely need to go.”

  “I’m not going without you. I can make it until—”

  I turned my back to him and stormed over to Melanie. She’d been watching us from about ten feet away, but she hadn’t said a word or shown any concern.

  Cerberus let out a low growl, obviously sensing my hatred for Melanie. I shot him a look that was nothing short of “Just try me.” Hercules patted Cerberus’s heads to calm him.

  I stopped inches from Melanie’s face. “Bobson needs to take Avery home right now.” I knew she wouldn’t let me go too. She still needed me to help her get the constellations back in the sky. “I’ll stay and help you, but you have to let Avery go.” I locked eyes with her. “This isn’t debatable. He goes home this very second, or I’m through with you and Stellaris. I won’t help you anymore. Even if it kills me.” I squeezed my fading hand into a fist, hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

  Melanie’s eyes dropped to my hand for a split second before she looked past me at Avery. Her face remained blank, but her eyes were a different story. I didn’t doubt she had feelings for Hercules, but she had feelings for Avery too. “Bobson, take Avery to the portal. Everyone else, make sure Draco is secured until we can find a way to return him and the others to the heavens.” She took a step forward like she was going to say something else to Avery, but Hercules grabbed her hand. He stared at Avery in a way I’d only ever seen one other person look at him before. Gabe. Hercules didn’t like Avery for the same reason Gabe hadn’t liked Avery. Because Avery had attracted the girls they liked. Hercules obviously sensed Melanie’s feelings for him, and he didn’t like it any more than I did.

  Melanie lowered her head. “Thank you for all your help, Avery. I won’t forget it. Stellaris and its people will be forever grateful.”

  Avery didn’t say a word, probably not wanting to make things any more uncomfortable. But Melanie stood there waiting for some sort of response, so he gave a small nod.

  “Good luck.” Melanie turned to Hercules, and they headed down the beach toward the castle.

  “I’m going with you,” I said to Bobson. “I want to make sure Avery gets home before—” I couldn’t finish the sentence. Surprisingly, Bobson just nodded. Maybe he did have a soul after all.

  Avery and I held shadowy hands the entire way back to the portal. Somehow our fading limbs had no problem holding on to each other. It reminded me of two ghosts walking hand in hand.

  Bobson opened the portal, but he blocked the entrance. “I can’t let you go any farther, Ella. I’m not going to risk losing you. You’re our most valuable recruit now that we’re losing Avery.”

  Avery shook his head. “She’s been your most valuable recruit since the moment she got here.” He smiled at me.

  Bobson turned his back to us, giving us some privacy.

  I touched Avery’s cheek with
my good hand. “I’ll be home soon.” I shrugged. “Who knows, maybe we can hit a late movie.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, maybe.”

  I stood on my toes and kissed him. Thank God Avery’s lips hadn’t faded. We held the kiss for a long time, not wanting to let go of each other. Finally, Bobson cleared his throat, and we pulled away.

  “We don’t have much time,” Bobson said.

  Avery smiled, his eyes lingering on me. I knew he hated leaving me in Stellaris, but I had to make him go. I nodded in the direction of the portal. He moved toward me in a blur and kissed me again. Before I could react, he turned and disappeared through the portal.

  My lips tingled, and it took all my might not to run after him.

  “Go back to the castle,” Bobson said. “I’ll meet you there after I get Avery home. I’m sure Melanie wants to start working out a plan to send the constellations back before Draco recovers.” His eyes dropped to my fading hand. “And before you get worse.” He stepped through the portal, closing it behind him.

  My mind spun with a mix of emotions. I already missed Avery, but I was relieved he’d made it home in time. I was worried about my fading hand and wondered how much of me would fade before I got home. And even Bobson had me confused. He was almost being kind, and I had to remind myself I didn’t like him. A few moments of kindness couldn’t make up for kidnapping. Still, it was hard to hate him right now. The only thing I was sure of was I was done crying. I needed to deal with my feelings another way. So I ran.

  My feet pounded against the sand, and my legs moved so quickly they felt like rubber. The sensation was freeing and painful at the same time. I pushed the pace until my body was on autopilot. Not even superfast Melanie would’ve been able to keep up with me. I reached the hill and tore up it faster than I’d thought possible. I would’ve sprinted right up to the castle doors if a flash of white in the trees hadn’t caught my eye. I slowed to a walk and peered through the trees alongside the castle. Serpens and Scorpius were still tied up tight, but Ophi was with them. He hadn’t heard me come up the hill, which was surprising since I was breathing so heavily.