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

by T. M. Franklin

  Phillip knew that Esther Anna’s popularity was not without its drawbacks, especially given the attention and reputation she had now. There was the issue of reciprocity and the fear that she might not feel the same way. Sometimes it was easier to wait and see how things played out rather than seizing an opportunity which would ruin things before anything had a chance to kick off. Not to mention there were more important things at hand and he didn’t want to put the future of the kingdoms at risk for his own selfish reasons.

  Moments had passed and he realised he’d been holding her for some time. He shifted slightly and thought to leave her alone since she needed to get some sleep and recover, but Phillip enjoyed having her this close…and hoped the feeling was mutual. The strength of his attraction to her scared him. Something about her caused his principles to fade, as if her essence or mere presence with its alluring glow interfered with his better judgment. Queen Esther Anna had given him reason to have a rethink of his principles.

  Esther Anna’s eyes were dry now. Her sniffles came in short intervals. “I think I saw something again tonight…”

  “What’s that?” He asked.

  “I don’t know what it was, but it seemed to have been as a result of this.” She pointed at her necklace. “I came into the room and suddenly the necklace was glowing, a bright yellow, and it stopped when you knocked. I don’t know what’s going on. I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me…but I saw it. Clear as day.” Esther Anna was confident it had to do with the necklace. It went along with the voice she heard, the one that asked for help. Now, the glow. She was sure it was all connected.

  Upon further inspection, Phillip tilted his head and pointed at the necklace. “Hey, isn’t that the necklace that…?”

  “Yes. It’s the one.” She replied, quickly. “It’s the necklace I took from Noelle.”

  Present time. Kingdom of Tibethia.

  * * *

  Noelle stared at the woodsman crouched in front of her. He bowed his head in a gesture of respect, but she hardly felt respected at all. Damien had been ignoring her summons and she wanted to know why. It not only showed defiance but a strength like none other, to resist the call. Summoning usually pulled the target from their location unable to resist. The woodsman had done this, not just one time, either. She was getting the feeling that he wanted things to be done on his own terms. It struck her as odd, since he was a creature of the Black Abyss whose sole purpose was to take orders, yet he defied them.

  Prince Hardy’s men hadn’t reported much since they were dispatched to find Esther Anna. Noelle was impressed with the amount of time she’d spent in the fairy kingdom so far.

  “Woodsman…do you have anything new to report?” She asked, as she broke the silence. Noelle hated the silence. “Anything of value?”

  Since he’d arrived, Damien hadn’t said a word. He just knelt there waiting for her to acknowledge him, with a gripe or complaint. He shook his head. “Nothing yet, princess.”

  “Nothing?!” Her nostrils flared in anger. His use of her moniker failed to elicit any feelings of happiness in her and only annoyed her and insubordination was aggravating.

  Damien arched a deformed eyebrow at her, but had no intentions of affirming or repeating himself. “Queen Esther Anna is still in the fairy kingdom. I returned there earlier and it had been reinforced with warding strong enough to stop an army of my kind. They have locked down the entrances and really want to keep all outside forces…out. Not to worry, as I have devised a plan. When she comes out, and she will, I will be ready for her. My tracking spell will lead me to her wherever she is on the face of this earth. The assumption now is that she will run to her home kingdom for reinforcement. The rest will be simple.”

  Noelle eased up and grinned. She felt slightly relieved since she and the woodsman were finally on the same page. It still irked her how easily the queen had managed to slip out of their grasp and evade the numerous search crews. Until now, Fandrela and the fairies were a true mystery. She was learning now just how powerful they really were. Her pursuit of ruling all kingdoms meant keeping the territories in line, and ensuring their loyalty. No one was to challenge her, and that included the fairies.

  Damien mentioned that the fairies rarely interfered with inter-kingdom affairs unless they were directly impacted by such trouble, but even with that in mind, she wanted to ensure they weren’t going to be a thorn in her side. She had her prophecy, her destiny lined up and planned thanks to the dark book. Nothing was to interfere with that.

  “So then, I’m to wait even longer?” Noelle asked. It’d been some time since they spoke while she drifted into her thoughts. She wondered why he was still here, since he’d come in without a summons, as if, perhaps, he’d been waiting a dismissal.

  “Yes. We must wait now. Patience is a virtue I must beg you to employ, your highness.”

  The way he spat out the last words. She looked at him, but his head was still bent, with his gaze set on the floor. Something was different with him, she noted. “I’m not exactly a paragon of virtues, woodsman. But sure. I understand.”

  With a deep bow and a salute to the princess, Damien stood up and turned to take his leave.

  “Wait.” The princess blurted out her call in the nick of time, before he disappeared. She bit back for a second, considering not saying any more. However, she needed to know, since the question burned in her mind since he’d arrived. “Hypothetically speaking. Is it possible for one such as you to resist a summoning?” She did her best not to accuse him, and kept her tone light for that purpose.

  He looked mildly amused by her inquiry. “Your highness, what would be the point of doing such a thing? It’s against our nature. We are to appear when called, and most of the time, we don’t have a choice in the matter.” A shadow of a smile played across his lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Is there a reason for asking, princess?”

  Noelle nodded at his answer, but hardly accepted it. It was rather evasive and he’d turned the tables on her to unveil her suspicions, which only stood to show that he was hiding something. Such hubris…It was not becoming of him, a servant to her, who wouldn’t exist in this realm if she hadn’t summoned him. Noelle noticed his sudden change of attitude. It was hard to miss. One way or another, she was going to find his hidden agenda. Her plan needed to go off without a hitch, and if he was going to stand in her way, she wouldn’t have it. The wedding, the transference, and the death of Esther Anna were lined up on her own plans, that way she could go on to rule the kingdoms as she saw fit.

  She decided she would continue to observe Damien and not jump to hasty conclusions, at least not aloud. Things were still working in her favour and that was what was most important. Not to mention he had shown his loyalty by coming in to report his findings, or lack of any findings, after all. “No. That’s all for now.”

  Damien bowed and disappeared.

  Noelle would need to start in on wedding plans. It had to be perfect, just like she was. Nothing else would do.

  Present time. Fairy Kingdom of Fandrela.

  * * *

  “Esther…Anna. Queen…Help me. Queen Esther Anna! HELP!”

  Esther Anna’s eyes shot open and she sat up. Her ears were on alert too as she listened carefully for the voice that disturbed her. The room was silent and all she could hear was the soft whisper of the wind. She’d sat up too fast and was disoriented for a moment, and a dizzy confusion made her head throb. It took her a beat to figure out where she was, on the comfortable bedding that had lured her into sleep just hours before.

  The voice didn’t return. She thought maybe something in her dream might have startled her, but she had no recollection of anything that might have occurred in her dream prior to jumping awake. Esther Anna listened again and looked down at her necklace. It wasn’t lit up, though after the last episode during which she’d seen the necklace glow, she’d almost been tempted to remove it. Phillip had recognised this necklace belonged to Noelle made her wonder if the pri
ncess had anything to do with its glow, but then she worried it might have been set with a tracker. If that were the case, Noelle would have found her by now and it might have made her escape a lot trickier.

  Esther Anna lay back down and closed her eyes in an attempt to get back to sleep.

  “Esther… Queen Esther Anna. Help me!”

  Her eyes flew open. She stood at the foot of her bed and when she caught sight of the source of the shrill voice, she gasped. There was a young woman standing there, hovering about a foot off the ground. Esther Anna closed her eyes and shook her head, as if to refresh her sight and confirm that she was seeing this all correctly. The necklace she wore was glowing, that yellow glow, but she wasn’t terrified. She was petrified. Have I been found? She wondered, as she staggered back. The yellow glow from her necklace was also around the young woman. They were connected.

  “Wh…who are you?” Esther Anna asked.

  The girl swooped down closer and when she tried to speak, she could not hear her.

  “What did you say?” The apparition seemed friendly, but Esther Anna kept her guard up. She couldn’t help but notice the girl’s lack of wings, and her legs ended in a wisp of smoke.

  “Help….me! Can….hea….me?” The girl’s voice cut through the air, but only some of her words came through.

  Esther Anna’s eyes widened as she heard the girl’s voice come through. She nodded and gestured with her hands that she was able to hear her. “Yes? I can hear you, but only partially. W-What are you trying to say, and who are you?”

  “An…Ca..ly. My name…Anah…ly.”

  Her eyebrows furrowed. Why couldn’t she hear her clearly? The eerie glow of her necklace pulsed slightly. She thought this was all a dream; It didn’t seem real at all. She took a deep breath and listened again.

  “Carly. My name is Anah Carly.”

  “Anah Carly?” She repeated. “Your name is Anah Carly.”

  The girl lit up with excitement as she nodded, and the glow from both her form and the necklace was brighter than ever.

  “Okay. Anah. What are you doing here? Are…are you a ghost?” Esther Anna asked.

  The girl shook her head and spoke, and the glow around her dimmed significantly, the light in tune with her mood. She seemed rather upset. “I used to work as a maid in the palace of Tibethia. I worked for Princess Noelle Lapointe.”

  As she said this, Esther Anna’s shoulders fell. She remembered that night vividly, when she saw that maid hanging upside down over the tub. Precise cuts…so much blood. This girl’s story didn’t have a happy ending.

  “I was in her room cleaning. She suddenly came in and dismissed the guards. She touched my head, and I lost consciousness. When I came to, I was tied. I was hanging upside down over a bathtub and the princess stood there with a knife in her hand. I screamed for help. I worked in the palace long enough to know that sound carried down the halls—but somehow, no one could hear me. No one came to my rescue. I don’t know how long it all took…but it felt like an eternity…”

  Esther Anna’s head bowed slightly in sadness at the girl’s story. She felt an ache in her body as if she could feel her pain.

  “Then she cut me. She drained my blood into the tub and proceeded to bathe in it. I think she used it in a spell…a ritual, to maintain her youth. I don’t know how, but I was trapped inside the necklace… your necklace… and have travelled with it ever since. I tried many times to call out to you, but you couldn’t hear me.”

  The queen nodded, mournfully. It irked her to know that Talia wasn’t the first victim of Noelle’s evil schemes and spells, and she felt terrible for the spirit of Anah Carly, for having suffered the same fate. Not to mention, her soul was trapped inside the necklace…It made her sick to think about what might have happened to Anah if she hadn’t taken the necklace from Noelle. Her spirit would have been lost, wandering forever. Noelle probably didn’t notice that it was missing at all.

  She took a deep breath in and exhaled heavily. It was strange that Esther Anna was able to accept the presence of spirits faster than she could with magic—but she was also prone to believing in being watched over by her mother and brother, so ghosts and spirits weren’t too far off for her beliefs.

  The thought of Noelle killing the young women for their youthful blood disturbed her. Her father was a kind and loving man, yet his daughter had turned out to be so evil.

  “That’s not all.” Anah Carly said.

  The queen arched an eyebrow. There’s more?

  “Yes…” Anah Carly nodded, though she still seemed grim over it all. “After she was done with me, she did something else. The princess healed the wound she inflicted upon me and she chanted…she spoke words I didn’t recognise, a spell, perhaps…and then she cut me loose. There was a secret space inside her room. A room within a room, a table etched with strange inscriptions and markings. My body was placed on that table…and then, she left.”

  A room within a room? Esther Anna raised her eyebrows. Why murder someone and then heal their corpses? Did Noelle keep her other victims there?

  It was as if the girl had read her mind.

  “I was the only one in the room. For days, she pored over her book and she sent word that she was in search of various artefacts the book dictated and she offered to pay handsomely for it. A boy from the kingdom helped her. She hypnotised him and wiped his memory clean of any task she had for him. Even though I was considered dead, I was able to get a good look at the book as she read it over my body. I was well-maintained, as if she was purposely keeping me in the best shape possible.”

  Esther Anna felt the suspense rise in her gut and she swallowed uncomfortably. Noelle didn’t fully kill her, but she kept her preserved. She was preparing some sort of ritual, and Anah Carly’s body was an instrument in that.

  “I believe she’s planning to transfer her soul and consciousness into my body. I’m so scared that her preparation for the initial phase of the ritual is nearly complete. I can’t be sure.”

  “How do you know all this?” The queen asked.

  “I don’t know my Queen. I think it’s quite possible that when she healed my body, she healed it rather well. I feel its pull every now and then. It wants to be united with me again. The spell she did seems aimed at keeping any other soul from inhabiting my body. But I feel the pull, even now, I can feel the call. Also, because of the connection, I can hear dealings that go on within the palace. But it’s not very strong as the spell keeps trying to severe the connection permanently. Holding on is getting to be difficult.”

  All of this was overwhelming and rendered Esther Anna speechless. There was no way she could have anticipated that Noelle planned to inhabit a new body. But why? The answer came easily and she felt somewhat foolish for even asking. Anah Carly was a beautiful woman. Even in the spectral form, she displayed such beauty that Esther Anna could not deny. Though a little older than Noelle’s current form, her plan was to take the body of another young woman due to her own vanity.

  Esther Anna wondered what would happen to Anah Carly’s spirit. Perhaps she would be trapped as a spirit forever—or maybe even pulled into an afterlife if she overstayed her welcome on earth. Her thoughts on the matter poured into her mind, and as was the standing trend, there seemed to be questions or theories without answers.

  What would Phillip think? She couldn’t wait for daybreak to speak with him.

  “Anah, during your time in the palace, did you ever encounter a demon? He has wolf-like features, and glowing red eyes. A towering creature who carries a lot of weapons. He’s rather deformed and ferocious. Terrifying too. He chased after me before I…I accidentally found this place.” Esther Anna omitted the part about Phillip’s news that the same demon who’d hunted her had tried to penetrate the barriers to the fairy kingdom. He was determined to find her, but the wards were too strong.

  The girl’s eyes lit up with immediate recognition and as she responded, the necklace glowed bright. “I know him, your highness! His name is D
amien. The princess summoned the woodsman from the Black Abyss specifically to hunt you down. I fear him, your highness. The princess’ control isn’t absolute…”

  There was a weight to her words that was lost by Esther Anna, but still, she nodded. There was so much to learn about the world of magic and she struggled to remember it all if she was to survive her current mission. The mention of the Black Abyss was something new, and Esther Anna noted it was something to research. As questions began to rise in her mind, she noticed that the floating girl was starting to fade away.

  “My body’s call grows stronger, my queen, and I can’t resist. I will be back as soon as I can.”

  “Yes. I’ll speak with you soon, Anah.” The queen nodded to bid her farewell, but the necklace glowed once more.

  “One last thing before I go, your highness.” Anah stood before her with a weaker glow than before. “The Princess…She has him. Princess Noelle has Adam.”

  7

  Present time. Kingdom of Tibethia.

  * * *

  Swirls of mist appeared all over the mirror, and Noelle observed it with a small level of disinterest.

  Noelle’s prisoner was strong. He had been able to break his confines and make himself visible on several occasions, but this was not easy. She grew bored watching it, but his face gradually appeared in the reflection. He looked even angrier than he usually did Noelle felt her interest piqued slightly. She’d always wondered the circumstances that had warranted his meeting with the queen. He had assumed the role of her brother so seriously that he even retained the shape even after she let him know she knew exactly who he was.

  Maybe it’s time to get the full story… she thought to herself as she walked towards the mirror. A small smile played across her lips, one of cunning and pride.

  “So, you show up again. When will you just give in to the mirror? You keep fighting, and while that’s certainly admirable, it’s an effort in futility. You know that… don’t you?” She pouted, though it was all for show. “Adam, wasn’t it?”