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

by T. M. Franklin

  “You were raised with gods and goddesses?” Drake asked.

  “Yes.”

  “And Thor and Loki were trying to date you?” Troy asked.

  “Yes.” I felt uncomfortable talking about them with Troy, but I had to be honest with him.

  “So you ran away from them because the gods were trying to date you?”

  “In a sense, yes.”

  “You realize that is every girl’s wish here? They all would kill for a chance to date one of them?” Drake asked.

  “Yes, but they don’t really know them. They don’t know what it’s like.”

  “Are they bad? Is Loki a bad person?”

  He was turning dark. I could feel it in him. “No, they are good.”

  “So why wouldn’t you want to date them?”

  “I told you! I was ruining the balance. I should never have been brought there.”

  “So you came here to start a new life,” Troy said. “But now those things want to kidnap you.”

  “There’s a war starting between the worlds and they wanted to use me as a bargaining chip. They know that the Aesir are fond of me.”

  “We are not fond of you,” Thor snapped. “We love you. You are a Daughter of Asgard and our friend.”

  He had just appeared out of thin air in the living room which spooked Drake and Troy into standing up and preparing to fight. I stayed in my chair and sighed. “Thor, how many times do I need to go over this?”

  He squatted down next to my chair and brushed my cheek with his knuckle. “I don’t care about the balance, Alys. I want you to come home. We miss you. Odin misses you.”

  “Odin knows it’s for the best.”

  Thunder rumbled and lightning sizzled around Thor. “This isn’t the best for me.”

  I ran my fingers through his golden hair, which was longer than usual. “You are meant to be with Sif,” I told him softly as tears slid down my cheeks. “And I am meant to live here on Midgard.”

  “Is it this mortal?” he asked and looked at Troy. “You think this mortal will make you happy?”

  “Whether it’s Troy or another, I don’t know, but I do know that I do not belong on your world.”

  “Repeating it over and over again won’t make it true,” Loki said as he appeared behind Thor with a scowl and stood with his arms folded across his chest.

  I walked to him and stared into his angry eyes. “I know you’re mad at me. You have every right to be mad at me. I lied and ran away without saying goodbye. In my defense, you never would have let me go otherwise.”

  “I’m taking you back,” he told me and grabbed my arm, “You’re going home with me.”

  I reached up slowly with my free hand and placed my fingers against his temple and cheek. “Odin gave me a bit of power when I was younger to try to help me survive you all. I’m going to use it now.”

  “Alys, no!” Thor yelled.

  “What are you doing?” Loki asked as I froze him in place. It wouldn’t last long, but then again this wouldn’t take long to do.

  “Taking some of your darkness back and giving you some of my light. You mustn’t let the light within you fade. You must never let your light fade.”

  “No,” he said in shock and struggled against the spell I had used to freeze him.

  “You must live your life on Asgard and find a wife,” I told him, “but I will live on Midgard and I will be your light no matter who you take as a wife.” I opened the well within him and then opened myself up. The darkness recoiled from my light at first, but after a gentle coaxing it began to flow between us and soon Loki and I were half light and half dark. My body hurt and I felt the darkness trying to take over and consume me, but my light was too great for it to conquer.

  Loki caught me as I fell and cradled me against his chest. “You foolish woman.”

  “It’s the least I could do after all of the times that you’ve saved me,” I whispered.

  “The Dark Elves could come back,” Thor warned Troy and Drake. “They’re susceptible to iron.”

  “How do we kill them?” Troy asked Thor.

  “You can’t.”

  “What?”

  “They’re immortal like us so only we are able to kill them. The only thing you can do is hurt them enough to make them leave. We will be hunting them tomorrow after we speak with Odin.”

  The pain subsided and I was able to stand on my own again. “Loki, can I have a weapon please?”

  “You shouldn’t fight,” Thor argued.

  “You could be far away in a battle and unable to reach me in time,” I told him.

  Loki opened his palm and a sword appeared in it. “This is my blade of darkness. It should cut through them.”

  “You can’t walk around carrying a sword,” Troy told me, “It’s against the law.”

  “I won’t be going anywhere, so I will only have it by my side here and that isn’t against the law.”

  Loki tilted my chin up to look at him. “If you’re in trouble, you call for me, do you understand?” I nodded my head and then he kissed me lightly on the lips. I should have felt bad for Troy seeing me kiss him, but I shoved that thought aside and allowed myself this moment with Loki since there would not be more. “No matter what happens in the future, I will always love you, Alys.”

  “I will always be your light, Loki, no matter what I do here.”

  Loki looked at Troy and said, “You treat her like a Princess, because that is exactly what she is.” He disappeared and Thor walked over to me with a scowl.

  “I’ll be alright,” I told him softly. “This is for the best for everyone.”

  “I will listen for your call. Anytime that you need me, I will be here.”

  “You give me too much,” I whispered to him.

  He kissed me deeply and said, “I would give you the nine worlds if I could.”

  “I will cherish your friendship for the rest of my life.”

  “This isn’t goodbye,” he told me. “I will visit you again.”

  “Thor,” I whispered.

  He put his finger on my lips and said, “I will abide by your decision, but only if I may visit you once a month.”

  I would have to try to make him shorten his time, but for now I nodded my head. “Okay.”

  He kissed my forehead and turned to Troy. “Keep her safe. She’s Asgard’s most beloved treasure.”

  He disappeared and I shook off the lightning sizzling along my body and tried to slow my heart, which was beating abnormally fast.

  “Well, that was interesting,” Drake whispered.

  Troy looked mad and I couldn’t blame him. “If you want me to leave, I understand,” I told Troy softly.

  He stormed up to his room and slammed the door closed. I flinched and felt sad and angry at the same time. The darkness was going to take some getting used to as it tried to take over my feelings and actions.

  “Just give him some time,” Drake told me. “This is a lot to take in.”

  “Thanks, Drake.”

  He left and I went to my room to rest. I had a feeling that the Dark Elves would be back sooner than we wanted them to and I needed to do be ready for them when they came.

  8

  The next day, Troy was gone and when I woke, found Drake watching TV in Troy’s living room.

  “He’s avoiding me, isn’t he?” I asked, my shoulders slumped in defeat. I found a nice guy and now he wasn’t even talking to me.

  “Yeah, but he’ll get over it soon,” Drake said with a smile.

  “Why is he so mad at me? I didn’t lie. I didn’t remember any of that until we were in the movie.”

  “How would you feel if you were in his shoes?” Drake asked me.

  “I wouldn’t be mad at him.”

  “You wouldn’t be upset that two goddesses were vying for the guy you liked? You wouldn’t feel like you had no shot?”

  “I turned them both down and told them I wasn’t going to Asgard,” I reminded him.

  “Yes, but Troy is n
ot a god and feels that he is nothing when compared to beings like Loki and Thor.”

  “I’m not a goddess, either.” He wasn’t making any sense. Why would Troy be upset? I had turned Thor and Loki down. I had told them to go find wives.

  “He doesn’t think he can compete with them. He doesn’t think he will be good enough for you. In his mind, there is a possibility that you will go back with them if they can manage to convince you.”

  “That’s absurd!” I yelled and threw my hands up in the air. “Why are men so ridiculous?”

  Drake laughed and said, “Women aren’t exactly normal or levelheaded, either.”

  I put my head on the table and said, “Maybe I should just leave.”

  “He doesn’t want you to leave, trust me. I’ve been his best friend most of our lives. He’s just trying to deal with all of this right now. Give him some time to work himself out and he’ll be fine.”

  “I need to find a job.”

  “I think I might be able to work on that for you, but I need to talk to Troy and some people at work first.”

  “Really?” I asked excitedly.

  “Don’t get your hopes up; it’s just an idea right now.”

  “I need to figure out some way to repay Troy,” I told him.

  “He wouldn’t want you to repay him.”

  “I have to.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll think of something,” Drake said.

  I stopped talking about Troy and we lapsed into silence as we watched TV. Drake fell asleep so I turned the TV to a cooking channel. Maybe I could learn to cook and that would make Troy happy. If only I could understand their symbols. “Sif, why couldn’t you have given me the ability to read and write their symbols too?”

  “You didn’t ask me for that,” Sif said from across the room.

  “Sif!”

  Drake stirred but didn’t wake up.

  “Thor and Loki told Odin what happened here,” she informed me. “I’m surprised your memories came back without the phrase I set it for.”

  “So, can you teach me to read and write their symbols?” I asked hopefully.

  “You’re certain that you’re staying here?” she asked me softly.

  “Of course I am. You’re the one who has been trying to get me to leave my entire life. Why are you asking me this now?”

  She frowned and said, “Asgard isn’t the same without you there. Thor and Loki are depressed and Odin hardly talks to anyone. Even I miss you. It’s too quiet.”

  I smiled and said, “In time, things will return to normal. You and I both know that this is the proper course.”

  “Alright,” she said with a sigh. She put her hands on my head and after a brief stab of pain, I felt nothing different.

  “Are you sure you did it right?” I asked her.

  She glared at me and put her hands on her hips. “Are you questioning my abilities?”

  I picked up a magazine that I had been looking at the pictures of mainly and gasped when I realized that I could read the articles. “You’re amazing, Sif.”

  “I know. It’s about time you figured it out.”

  I hugged her and whispered, “Watch their backs for me, please.”

  She nodded her head and then hugged me back. “You’ll always be a Daughter of Asgard, Alys. And perhaps, in time, you could come visit there.”

  “I would like that.”

  She disappeared and Drake asked, “Who was that? She was beautiful.”

  “That was the Goddess Sif.”

  “Did she hurt you?”

  “No, she came to grant me an extra ability,” I told him with a smile.

  “What was that?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  I watched the cooking show a bit longer and then went to the kitchen to attempt to make dinner. Drake watched me in silence and only left when Troy came home.

  “Welcome home,” I called as I took down plates and set the table.

  Troy didn’t answer me and walked up the stairs to his room. A little bit later I heard the shower turn on. I put the food I had made in bowls and set them on the dining table and then poured us each a glass of water and set that on the table too. I ran upstairs and changed into the dress Troy had purchased for me and braided my hair as neatly as I could and then ran back downstairs.

  I was just pulling the cake out of the oven when Troy came downstairs. “Dinner is ready,” I informed him. He walked into the kitchen and stared in shock at the dining table. “I hope it tastes good,” I told him. “I followed the directions, but it was my first time making it.”

  “You made this?” he asked with shock as he looked at the food.

  I nodded my head.

  He looked over at me and his eyes widened, but he didn’t comment on my appearance. I tried to hide my hurt feelings and sat down at the table. Troy sat down and took a deep breath. “It smells really good.” I smiled proudly and watched as he made his plate and took a bite. “This is really good.”

  “Thank you,” I said with a smile. “I worked really hard on it.” I made my own plate and we ate in silence for a bit. “How was your day?” I asked him softly.

  “Fine.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Where’s Drake?”

  “At home. I asked him to give us some space tonight so that we could talk.”

  Troy set his fork down and scooted his chair back a little bit to cross his arms over his chest. “Talk about what?”

  “Everything,” I whispered.

  “I don’t really know what to talk about or where to start,” he said and looked at his plate of food.

  I had to talk to him now or I would lose my nerve. As much as I was terrified of his response, I had to find out what he was thinking. “I lived on Asgard my entire life. I came here because a mortal shouldn’t live there. A mortal should live here. I made my choice to leave Thor and Loki and my father, Odin, behind. I came here to make a fresh start for myself. I’m sure everything came as a big surprise to you, especially since most people here don’t believe in the Gods anymore. I’m sure seeing Thor and Loki kiss me and say those things was upsetting to you, just like it was upsetting for me to see you and Tara kiss. However, I’m not dating them and never was, just like you heard me tell them. I am going to live here on Midgard and make my own life. If you don’t want me to live here, that’s fine. I will find somewhere else to live. If you don’t want to be friends anymore…” I took a deep breath to calm the emotions just saying these things caused, “…then I understand. I hope that isn’t the case, but I will not force you to do anything or force you to let me stay here. I may not have been raised here, but this is my rightful home and I will find a place whether it’s with you or not.”

  “Where would you go?” he asked me.

  I shrugged. “There are homeless shelters for women that I could go to. I’m sure that I could find something out there. Or I could live in the wilderness for a while. I’ve been trained to survive in the mountains.”

  “You’re going to live in the mountains?” he asked me doubtfully.

  “If I have to.”

  “And if I told you that I wanted you to stay here?” he asked.

  I smiled. “Then I would stay here and try to find a way to repay you.”

  “You don’t have to…”

  “I know I don’t, but I owe you and that’s that. So before you decide, let’s eat dessert and have one last happy night together, okay?”

  He nodded his head, but now he was scowling. I put the frosting on the cake while he finished eating and then set the cake on the table. “You made this?” I nodded my head. “Where’d you learn how to do this?”

  “I was granted the ability to read and write as a final boon for moving back here. So, I followed the directions in the cookbook you have. I wanted to make what could be our final night together a memorable one.”

  I cut the cake and handed him a slice of it. He ate it and I tried to eat mine, but only managed to eat half because it was
very sugary. I started cleaning the table, but when I reached for his plate, he grabbed my hand and stood up. “Are you sure that you want to live with me?” he asked. “I’m going to go back to work and I’ll be away a lot. We might not see each other that often.”

  “This is your choice. I’ve already made mine,” I told him in as steady of a voice as I could manage.

  He slid his arm around my side and pulled our bodies together. “I couldn’t bear to see you leave. I would chase after you just like I did that night. I meant it when I told you that your past didn’t matter to me. I just needed a day to clear my head and wrap it around everything that had happened.”

  “So, I can stay?” I asked hopefully.

  He kissed me deeply and said, “You can stay with me as long as you like.”

  “That’s a bold offer. What if you end up disliking the new me?”

  “Will you go out to dinner with me tomorrow?” he asked me.

  “Sure, where are we going?” I asked happily.

  “No, I mean will you go on a date with me?”

  “A date? Like boys and girls do?” I felt shaky all over. Living together and kissing occasionally was one thing, but to be an official couple…

  “Yes, a date as a couple.”

  “You want us to be a couple?” I asked breathlessly.

  He smiled and said, “I do.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say at first. This was shocking and exciting and amazing. “Yes, I’ll go on a date with you.” He kissed me again and I felt tingly all the way to my toes. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. “Does this mean you like me better than Tara and Stacy?” I asked him.

  “It means that I like you better than every woman on Earth.” He told me and kissed me again.

  We walked to the living room and sat on the couch kissing until I fell asleep with him holding me. Everything felt like it was falling into place and I felt happy. Part of me mourned Asgard and my friends, but I had hope that I could visit again once the balance was returned.