by Joshua Khan
“At least he’s not alone. My father enters the Dreamtime. To get to know…his son.” Lily shook her head. “But he doesn’t tell me what he finds there, and I don’t ask.” She drew out a bone pin from her hair and reset it, removing the white curls from her face.
“You gonna leave your hair like that?” asked Thorn.
“We thought it would return to black by itself, but it hasn’t.” Lily swept her hand over her white locks. “Now I quite like it.”
“I thought Mary wanted you to dye it,” said Thorn. Actually, she’d done more than ask. He’d heard the pair of them, Mary and Lily, shouting at each other all the way down to the stables. At least that hadn’t changed.
“There is no more hiding, Thorn. I am a witch. And I’m proud of it.”
“The witch queen,” said Thorn. “They’re proud of you, too, Lily.”
“Not all of them.” Lily sighed. “Gehenna’s an ancient place, Thorn. It’ll take people time to get used to the changes.”
Thorn spotted a servant lurking by the doorway. “Looks like they need you back at the Great Hall.” He turned to escort her.
“Wait, Thorn.” She took his hand. “Let’s not go in quite yet.” She shooed the servant away.
“But…”
“But what, Thorn?” She stepped closer.
Thorn shrugged. He didn’t know what to say. “Things get so busy. We don’t have time to, y’know, see one another and stuff.”
She tightened her grip. “You and I will always have time.”
“What happens next?” asked Thorn, aware of her closeness.
“This happens.” Lily held out her hand. “Are you ready?”
He hesitated. “You’re not going to do something…magical to me, are you?”
“No, I’m going to do something much, much worse,” she declared. “I’m going to teach you to dance.”
“Oh. Uh…”
She grinned, hand still out, waiting.
Thorn took it, most reluctantly.
And they danced.
So ends our second trip to Castle Gloom. It wasn’t just me that brought you there, and I’d like to take a page or two to mention a few other members of House Shadow.
At the high table is my agent, the unstoppable Sarah Davies of the Greenhouse Literary Agency. She helped lay the first paths through the kingdom, and I’d be totally lost without her.
Alongside her is editor-in-awesome Stephanie Lurie, and her companions at Disney • Hyperion. Stephanie helped turn Lily into the darkest of princesses, and Thorn into the boldest of scoundrels.
As great as the Six Princes are my family. My wife, without whom Shadow Magic wouldn’t even exist; my youngest, who named the series; and the eldest, who was my first reader and guide in what did and didn’t work within Castle Gloom. Then there are Ruth and Alison, surely the greatest of nobles within this realm, and my father and sisters, dukes and duchesses all.
Finally, there’s you, my great and wonderful readers. The feedback I’ve had to my little dark book has been most pleasant (and unexpected!). It seems there are more than a few who believe bats are the next BIG THING. It is your voices that fill the halls of Castle Gloom with cheer and life, and for that I am forever in your debt.
And on the subject of next big things, what do Thorn and Lily (and Hades) have left to do now that Gehenna is at peace?
Well, there is trouble brewing south, in the Sultanate of Fire.
Burning Magic takes our heroes to the vast desert kingdom, where they must aid an old friend to defeat a new enemy….
Also by Joshua Khan
Shadow Magic
JOSHUA KHAN is the author of Shadow Magic, the predecessor to this book, which School Library Journal called “the kind of book readers will find hard to put down” in a starred review. He was born in Britain, a land filled with ancient castles, dark forests, and tales of legendary heroes and fantastical monsters. He has visited King Arthur’s grave and stood at the ancient oak where Robin Hood once gathered his Merry Men.
So, his head stuffed with magical stories, it was inevitable that Joshua would want to create some of his own. Hence Shadow Magic and Dream Magic.
Josh lives in London with his family, but he’d rather live in a castle. It wouldn’t have to be very big, just as long as it had battlements. Follow him on Twitter @WriterJoshKhan. And to find out more, go to www.joshuakhan.com.