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

by T. M. Franklin

  Melanie’s bedroom door was closed. Crap! I couldn’t turn the knob with my fading hands, so I reached up with my foot and put the heel of my shoe on the knob. I pushed the rubber sole down and, thankfully, the knob turned. I leaned my shoulder into the door, putting all my force behind it. The door swung open, and I tumbled into Melanie’s room. Getting up was more than a little awkward. I wasn’t sure how to do anything without the use of my hands.

  Back on my feet, I blew a strand of hair out of my face and looked around the room. Melanie had holed herself up in here for days. Half-eaten trays of food, empty glasses, clothes, and books were strewn across the bed and sitting area—yes, she had a sitting area in her bedroom. If not for the books, I would’ve thought someone had thrown a raging party in here. I bet plenty of kids back home were throwing great Fourth of July parties. Was it the Fourth of July yet? I’d completely lost track of the days, not that time worked the same here anyway. I promised myself that if I did make it out of here alive, I’d celebrate Independence Day as wildly as the other people in my town. I’d even lead the freaking parade.

  Melanie screamed, snapping me out of my thoughts. I couldn’t waste time. My eyes fell on the food tray by the bed. A fork. I could make Cerberus want to bite Draco by provoking him, poking him with the fork and making him angry.

  I walked over to the food tray and tried to pick up the fork. I held onto it for a second before it slipped through my barely visible fingers. It grossed me out to put my mouth anywhere near where Melanie’s had been, but I didn’t have a choice. I bent over the plate and grabbed the handle of the fork in my teeth. I ran back to the orb room, knowing I’d been gone way too long. Draco could’ve strangled Hercules by now.

  Melanie glanced at the fork in my mouth and looked horrified. “Tell me you didn’t go get a snack while I’ve been fighting with Draco!”

  I rushed over to the orb, pushing past her. I knew I looked like an idiot with a fork sticking out of my mouth, but did she really think I went out for a snack? I couldn’t even hold a fork. How would I use it to feed myself? I leaned over the orb and poked Cerberus with the fork. I got him right on top of the head, which would’ve been great if he didn’t have two other heads to attack me. I moved over, trying to poke his side, close to Draco’s tail. Cerberus barked and lashed at the fork with all three sets of teeth.

  “What are you doing?” Melanie swatted my shoulder. “How is that helping? Attack Draco, not Cerberus!”

  I knew Draco wouldn’t even notice if I pricked him with a fork. His scaly body couldn’t be harmed by something so small. It had to be Cerberus who attacked him. Three heads beat one fork. I bent down and jabbed Cerberus in the hip. He reached for the fork but got Draco instead. Draco let out a screech and loosened his grip on Hercules.

  Hercules’s eyes widened as he slipped lower in the sky. I wondered where he’d end up if Draco let go of him. When the constellations were in their correct positions in the sky, they were held there by some invisible force—probably something the gods had used to imprison them. But what if they weren’t in their positions? Would they fall from the sky? Or float off into space?

  “Get ready to grab Hercules,” I whispered to Melanie, clenching the fork in my teeth so it didn’t fall to the floor.

  “What?” she yelled back at me. “I’ve never tried to move the constellations with my hands. I don’t think I can.” So much for keeping Draco out of the loop.

  I poked Cerberus again, making him dig his teeth into Draco’s body once more. Draco started snapping his jaws at Cerberus, and I didn’t need the fork anymore to provoke the fight.

  I turned to Melanie, letting the fork clatter on the ground. “You’re a god. Or at least you will be one. You can do this, Melanie. You have to. For Hercules.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes, and her jaw dropped. “But what if I can’t?”

  “Hasn’t all this shown you what you’re capable of? You’re more powerful than you give yourself credit for.” It was almost painful to say it, but Melanie was powerful, and she needed to learn that before she put anyone else in danger.

  She nodded and reached toward the orb with a shaky hand.

  “Do you think you could—?” I pointed to the fork on the floor.

  I felt like an idiot as Melanie grabbed the fork and held it out so I could bite it again. “On three,” I said between clenched teeth.

  “One. Two. Three,” Melanie counted.

  I jabbed the fork into Draco’s eye while he was distracted by Cerberus. His cries were so awful I felt like my eardrums would explode. I covered my ears, not that it did much good. Shadows don’t exactly block sound waves. Draco writhed in the sky, and Hercules dropped out of his grasp. He and Cerberus fell into Melanie’s hand, which was somehow in the orb.

  I turned to see her staring in disbelief.

  “I saw my father do this once.” Her chest rose as she breathed heavily. “His hand was in the heavens, and he squeezed a black hole until it disappeared.”

  “Please, no more squeezing,” Hercules said with a small smile.

  A tear rolled down Melanie’s cheek, and she smiled back.

  I sighed, relieved Hercules was okay, and said, “I guess your powers are coming more quickly than you thought.”

  She moved Hercules and Cerberus into their place in the sky and opened her hand so they could step out.

  Hercules stared at her. “I’ve always been able to see your powers. You’re going to be a wonderful god, and you’re going to figure out how to save Stellaris. I know it.”

  I thought the compliment would go to Melanie’s head, but she looked confused.

  Cerberus growled and licked his wounds.

  “Cerberus, I’m so sorry for hurting you,” I said. “I didn’t know what else to do to get you to attack Draco. I couldn’t just ask you to bite him because he would’ve heard me and attacked you first. Besides, I thought the fork would annoy you more than hurt you.”

  “His injuries are from Draco, not you,” Melanie said.

  “Still, it’s my fault he got hurt.”

  “He’ll be fine, Ella.” Hercules patted Cerberus on his heads. “You did what you had to do. Sometimes that means someone innocent gets hurt.”

  I knew he was trying to get me to sympathize with Melanie for putting all of us in danger, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to forgive her yet. One day, maybe, after I was safely back home, but not right now.

  “Can we get Ophi to heal him?” I asked Melanie.

  Hercules nodded at Melanie. “You know what to do.”

  She reached into the orb again and plucked Ophi and Serpens out of their place. Scorpius tried to sting Melanie, but she was too quick. I would’ve loved to see Melanie’s father squeeze Scorpius like he had squeezed the black hole. I felt a twinge in the back of my leg, and I twisted around to see the mark from Scorpius’s stinger. To anyone else it would look like a dark birthmark, but to me it was a constant reminder of my own death.

  Melanie moved Ophi and Serpens over to Cerberus, carefully holding them in the sky beside the dog. Ophi worked his magic, and almost instantly Cerberus stopped whimpering. He licked Ophi with all three of his tongues. Even Serpens got a lick or two, and Ophi laughed as the snake recoiled.

  “Gross,” Serpens hissed. “Dog breath!”

  I almost laughed, but then I remembered how Serpens had tried to kill me. The memory of how his tongue felt on my elbow when we’d first met sent chills down my spine.

  “This beats hitching a ride on a meteor,” Ophi said as Melanie returned him to his position in the sky.

  “It does make my job of protecting the heavens a lot easier.” Melanie smiled. “And it helps in other ways too.” She reached out to touch Hercules, and instead of resting her hand on him, she was able to run her fingers through his hair.

  Her new power would change their relationship. They wouldn’t have the sky between them anymore. Seeing them together made me think of Avery. He should’ve been on his way back to the castle. />
  “I’m going downstairs to wait for Avery,” I said, but Melanie didn’t hear me. She was too wrapped up in Hercules. She had the power of the world in her hands, and I couldn’t even use mine. It didn’t seem fair.

  I walked down the steps and into the sitting room. I was exhausted, and the couch looked so inviting. I flopped down, resting my head on the arm of the couch. My eyes closed instantly. I rolled onto my side, and hair fell across my face. Since I couldn’t exactly brush it away, I shook my head instead. But a few strands caught on my eyelashes. I opened my eyes and saw my hair wasn’t brown anymore. It was grayish black—nothing more than a shadow.

  I propped myself up on one elbow and stumbled to my feet. I ran to the mirror on the wall. My breath caught in my throat. My hair was completely faded, and so was my right shoulder. I had to get home. Fast!

  I bolted from the room and straight to the front door. It was closed over, but the latch wasn’t clicked. I kicked it much harder than necessary, but it felt good to be able to use one of my limbs. To feel something. I wanted to run for the portal, pound my feet against the ground just because I still could. But I wasn’t leaving without Avery and the guys.

  Where was everyone? I could’ve walked to the hills and back twice by now. I looked out over the hill, scanning the beach and the surrounding trees. No one was there. Had they gone to check on the Stellarians Ophi brought back from the dead? I whipped my head around and looked out onto the town. Figures were moving around everywhere, carrying wood and tools. They were rebuilding their homes.

  None of the people were wearing armor, which meant the army wasn’t with them. But where else could they be? The constellations were back in the sky. The danger was gone. Everyone should’ve been getting ready to go home.

  An awful feeling came over me. Had the guys begun to fade? Was Avery fading away again? I swallowed hard, trying to keep myself from panicking.

  I ran back into the castle and up the stairs. The door to the orb room was still open. I walked inside to see Melanie talking to Hercules, laughing as if none of this had ever happened. What about punishing Draco? What about sending the army back home?

  “What are you doing?” It came out more as an accusation than a question.

  Melanie jumped. She had obviously forgotten all about me. “Ella, you startled me!”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” My voice dripped with sarcasm. “But while you’re reveling in your new powers and what they mean for your relationship with Hercules, the army is missing and I’m fading away into nothing!”

  Her eyes rose to my hair and then fell to my shoulder. She hadn’t even noticed them when I walked in.

  “You’ll be going home soon enough,” Melanie said. “You and the army have done well, and your work is almost finished.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “What do you mean almost finished?”

  “Melanie,” Hercules said, his voice soft and pleading.

  She put her hand up to the orb, silencing him, but almost instantly she lowered it and turned to face him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

  She was apologizing to him? She should’ve been apologizing to me. I was the one she was killing!

  “Look at her,” Hercules said. “You can’t ask her to—”

  “I’m not asking her to do anything. There’s no negotiation.”

  I was completely confused. “What’s not up for negotiation?”

  Melanie cupped her hands, lacing her fingers in front of her. “The constellations have all been returned to the heavens, and that’s great. But my parents are still missing. Draco took them somewhere. Somewhere the other constellations can’t see from the sky. You and the army must find them and bring them back to me. Only then can you return to your home.”

  “You’re crazy! Do you see me? What’s left of me that is! I’m barely here anymore. You almost killed Avery, and even now, he’s not safe. He’s going to fade faster since he never fully healed—or whatever you call it.” I shook my head. “I’m not going to let you kill him. Or me. Or anyone else for that matter. We’re done. I’m going to find the army, and I’m going to make Bobson open the portal.” I turned and headed for the door.

  “And how are you going to do that?”

  I stopped, but I refused to face her. “By force if necessary.”

  “Force?” Melanie laughed. “You can’t use your hands. What are you going to do? Kick Bobson in the shins until he agrees to take you home?”

  “Melanie!” Hercules yelled.

  I wheeled around on her. “I will make you pay for this. And unlike you, I keep my promises.”

  “What promise haven’t I kept? I said I’d return you to your home after you found my parents. You haven’t found my parents yet, so I am under no obligation to let you go.”

  “And how will you make Draco pay for hurting Hercules? Or Scorpius for all the trouble he’s caused? You forgot all about them thanks to your new power.” I shoved her aside with my good shoulder, which ironically was the one with stitches. Only the stitches were gone. They must have healed when Ophi brought me back to life. I stopped in front of the orb, right by Hercules. “You were wrong. She won’t be a great god. She doesn’t have it in her. She’s got the wrath thing down pat, but the whole showing mercy aspect of the job is beyond her.”

  “I’m being a leader, Ella,” Melanie said. “Stellaris and its people need my parents back. I’m sorry if you can’t see it that way.”

  “Being a leader doesn’t mean using other people to do your work for you. Get out there and find your parents yourself!”

  “My job is to protect the orb in their absence, and that means I must send others to find my parents. Which is exactly what I’ve done.”

  “What?” But as soon as I said it, I understood. The army hadn’t come back to the castle because they were searching for Melanie’s parents.

  “You’re wasting time. Sagittarius can lead you to the others. Help them find my parents, and I’ll honor my promise to send you all home.”

  I waved my arms in front of her. “Look at me! I don’t have long before I’m all shadow.”

  “Then you better hurry,” she said with a straight face.

  “And what if I fade before we find them?”

  “I suggest you find them before you do.”

  26

  I was helpless, fading, and backed into a corner. I couldn’t do anything to stop Melanie, and fighting with her was wasting the little time I had left.

  “Sagittarius, where are the others?” I asked, keeping my eyes locked on Melanie’s.

  “They’re by the portal, but—”

  “Fine. I’ll meet them there.” I stormed over to the door. Sagittarius mumbled something, but I didn’t want to listen to him or anyone else right now. I wanted to get away from Melanie and away from the orb. But when I reached the stairs I stopped and yelled, “If it were my parents who were missing, I’d find them myself instead of sneaking extra time with my boyfriend! Some daughter you are. I can just imagine how much you are going to suck at ruling this place one day.”

  I ran down the stairs and straight out the front door, but I didn’t head for the portal. I turned right and ran toward the town. Only a thin covering of trees separated the hill with the castle from the people of Stellaris, so I reached it pretty quickly. It was almost unnerving how much the town reminded me of Independence. It was set up with a big square in the middle. The town hall, bank, post office, and a cute little diner faced the center of the square where a broken-down gazebo sat. Ivy traced along the lattice and onto the ground. I was sure it had been really beautiful before the rogue constellations destroyed it. Most of the windows in the buildings were shattered, and the town hall was scorched beyond repair.

  People were scrambling all over the place, carrying wood and tools. They all looked alive and on a mission. It was amazing how good coming back from the dead could make a person feel. Everyone was busy rebuilding their homes, so no one paid much attention to the almost faded girl runnin
g around like she’d lost her mind. And I was glad they didn’t notice me because I needed to steal a vehicle. Something to get me to the portal faster.

  I spotted the same little girl from earlier—Bethany—riding a bike. I was sure she’d let me borrow it, but I worried about what would happen if my feet faded while I was riding it. I wouldn’t be able to pedal anymore. Plus, I had no way of holding on to the handlebars. I kept looking and spotted a delivery van. A man was getting out of it carrying a clipboard. The company name on the side told me it had been stolen from Earth too, but that didn’t really matter right now. The van would be perfect, especially since the guy left it running with the door wide open.

  I stumbled into the driver’s seat, awkwardly using my one still visible elbow to climb up. Finally situated, I breathed a sigh of relief before I realized the van was a stick shift and I’d never driven anything but an automatic. How was I going to handle a huge delivery van, twice the size of any car I’d driven, that had manual shifting? But as I checked the dashboard I noticed it was an LCD screen. It looked a lot like my dad’s navigational system. I worried it was a touch screen like my dad’s, but a mechanical voice said, “Destination, please.”

  “Um, the portal by the boulders.” I didn’t know what else to call it.

  The driver’s side door slammed shut, making me jump, and the LCD screen showed the mapped route. Avery had said the Stellarians enhanced our bows and arrows with magic, and they’d obviously done the same to this van.

  “Trip time is approximately four minutes,” the mechanical voice said.

  Four minutes? How fast did this thing go?

  The van took off like it was in the Indy 500. Thankfully, my automatic seatbelt clicked into place before I was hurled out the window. Stellaris didn’t have paved roads, but the van had no trouble maneuvering through dirt, grass, or sand. And it was kind of nice not seeing roads everywhere. It left a lot of room for nature, which was actually beautiful. The forest, the beach, the valley and hills, even the desert sand. As much as I hated to admit it, some things in Stellaris were far superior than in my world. Of course having Melanie for a leader was definitely a point in the negative column—no, make that a thousand points.