Casting Shadows (The Ash Grove Chronicles)

by Amanda DeWees

  A groan came from the figure at her feet, and as he stirred, Maddie saw that his wrists were bound together behind his back. From the way he now started to wriggle uselessly, she guessed that his ankles were as well. Sheila didn’t want him going anywhere.

  “—whose mortal flesh we ready to welcome your infernal form.” She crouched down, laying the paper aside, and took her captive by the chin, forcing him to turn his face toward her. For a moment the light fell full on his face, and then Sheila raised the knife, the blade poised just above his chest.

  Maddie’s breath stopped. It was William.

  Chapter 18

  “What happened then?” demanded Joy.

  Maddie shut her eyes, trying to call up the scene in her mind. “I think I yelled, or made some kind of noise. Sheila seemed to look around and see me—but maybe it was just coincidence. Could she really have heard me? When she wasn’t even there?”

  Joy shook her head, unable to answer.

  “So then she and William started to—to ripple, like a reflection in water, and the next second they were gone. It was like they were never there at all. And maybe they weren’t. I mean, I must have been hallucinating. Right?”

  As soon as she had stumbled out of the underground passage she had called Joy and begged her to come over. They sat on Maddie’s bed, Joy drinking the hot herbal tea she had brought with her but that Maddie hadn’t been able to touch. She was too jittery.

  “I guess this must be what an acid flashback is like,” she said. “But I only tried acid that one time, and it didn’t do anything at all—in fact my date was probably lying and it was probably just litmus paper or something. So I don’t think I can be having flashbacks. So what’s wrong with me? Do I have a brain tumor, like Bette Davis in that movie? Does that mean I’m going to start wearing stupid hats and go blind and hear Humphrey Bogart talk in an Irish brogue?”

  Joy put a hand on hers to stop her drumming her fingers. “Maddie.” Her voice was quiet, but it made Maddie stop dithering and listen. “This is going to sound like a strange question, but could what you saw be something that’s going to happen, but hasn’t happened yet?”

  “Something that—” Maddie blinked at her. “You mean you think I saw into the future? That’s—that’s wackadoo. I’m sorry, Joy, but that makes less sense than a brain tumor.”

  But Joy didn’t get angry. “It’s not so crazy, Maddie. You said it felt real, not like a dream or an illusion. And maybe it was. The thing is,” and she set her tea carefully on the bedside table, “not all the stories about weird things at Ash Grove are made up. Some of them are true. I never told you, but last summer when you were in Atlanta I had a couple of, well, glimpses into the future. It sounds really hokey, I know,” she added apologetically. “But it happened.”

  For a second Maddie really had to wonder if all the drama Joy had gone through because of Tanner had gotten to her. But Joy seemed perfectly calm and reasonable, and she wasn’t nattering about crystals or higher planes of existence or any such crap—not yet, anyway—and she’d never been someone who’d swallow the first tinfoil-hat theory she came across.

  “So what was it like?” she asked, not committing herself. “Not flying saucers and silver spacesuits, I take it.”

  “No, nothing like that. I saw someone who I know hasn’t been born yet.”

  “Cool,” said Maggie, digesting this. She couldn’t believe Joy had kept this from her. “Did they have some kind of important message, or something?”

  Joy shook her head. She had a faraway look on her face. “She didn’t say anything significant. But I realized later that just seeing her was a really important message itself. A personal message, to me—it wouldn’t have meant anything to someone else,” she added, seeing that Maddie wanted to know more. “So maybe this is like that. You’ve caught a glimpse of something that’s important to your future.”

  “To William’s, definitely. The thought of that skanky-ass ballet bitch trussing him up and holding a knife to him! What I want to know is what she was going to do next. Was she going to sacrifice him to this dark lord or whatever she was trying to call up? We’ve got to warn William to stay away from her. He has to know what he’s gotten into. Getting into.” The verb tenses were getting away from her.

  “Hmm,” said Joy. “He may be hard to convince.”

  “But we’ve got to at least try!” She couldn’t believe Joy was balking. “Look, you weren’t there, and maybe I didn’t do a very good job of describing it, but it felt like he was really in danger. I don’t think Sheila was going to just stick his finger and make him her blood brother. That knife meant serious business. And I don’t think she was just pranking him, either.” Remembering it was getting her wound up again. William needed to be told right away.

  “Was there anything to give you an idea of when this might be happening?” asked Joy. “So you can narrow down a timeframe?”

  “Well, it’s not like they were holding up a newspaper with the date and year.”

  “Don’t be bitchy, Mads, I’m trying to help. How were they dressed? Parkas and gloves? Shorts and sandals?”

  “Uh, jeans, I think. William was wearing some kind of a dark shirt. I didn’t get a good look at it. Sheila was wearing something green, a sweater I think, with some kind of pattern on it… something white… snowflakes! A Christmas sweater.” Her voice was triumphant.

  “Good. That means you have some time. Have you told anyone else about this?”

  “No, you’re the only person I thought would take me seriously. I’m so glad you’ve had this happen too, so you know I’m not crazy.”

  “Oh, I’ve always known you were crazy. You just happen to be right about this one thing.” Then she grew serious again. “How would you feel about talking to my dad about this? He may know what this thing is, this entity that Sheila was calling up. He may be able to tell you how dangerous it is and how to protect William.”

  “Your dad? Seriously?” There was just no telling with these bookish types. Maddie would never have guessed that he was into arcane lore. “Well, sure, I guess. But right after that I’d better talk to William, to warn him.”

  Joy began the process of getting herself on her feet. Like everything else, it took longer now that she was so big. “Just be careful how you put it, Mads. You don’t want to sound like you’re just ragging on his girlfriend.”

  Ugh. She was probably right. “I’ll try,” she said, but secretly she was disappointed that she couldn’t use the chance to tell William just how many ways his current paramour was a heinous bitch. It might not put him in the most receptive frame of mind.

  When she arrived at Dr. Sumner’s office, she could hear him in conversation with someone else. “Come in,” he called, and when she opened the door she found Dr. Marzavan—Mo—sitting opposite him.

  “What can I help you with, Maddie?” asked Dr. Sumner, and she hesitated.

  “It’s kind of personal,” she ventured, and Mo stood at once to go.

  “I’ll let you two have your privacy. We can talk more later, Steven,” he said, and shut the door behind him. Maddie took the chair he had vacated. She didn’t have a choice: every other horizontal surface was covered with books or file folders or piled-up papers and exam books.

  “How can I help you?” asked Dr. Sumner.

  “Well. This is a little weird, but Joy said that you were the right person to talk to about—about seeing into the future.”

  His expression changed from polite attention to alert interest, like a scholarly beagle on the scent. “By all means, I’ll do my best. Tell me what you’ve experienced.” He got out a legal pad and ballpoint pen, and took notes as she related her experiences in the theater building.

  “I guess the main thing I’m wondering,” she said after she had described what she had seen, “is whether I can change what’s going to happen. Is what I saw fixed, or—or just a likely scenario?”

  He set down the legal pad and sat back in his chair, tapping on his chin
with one forefinger.

  “I wish I could tell you for sure, Maddie. It could be that it’s just the probable outcome of events that have already been set in motion, or it could be a fixed point.”

  So, basically what she had said. “But even if it’s something I can’t prevent, I can try to be there to change what happens afterward, right?”

  He spread his hands. “I simply don’t know. I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on manipulating time and changing threads of events, but it’s almost all still in the theoretical stage. It’s possible that you can change what happens—after what you saw, if not before—but the consequences might be frightening. This event may be something that has to happen.”

  She stared at him with a growing sense of hopelessness. “But why would I have been shown this if I can’t do anything about it?”

  “I didn’t say that. It’s an interesting philosophical question, actually, whether attempting to change the future would just bring it about in a different way. There’s that classic story about the appointment in Samarra—”

  Screw philosophical questions. “What you’re saying is, there’s no reason for me not to go into this loaded for bear.” Seeing that he was on the point of more equivocation, she stood up to go. “Thanks, Dr. Sumner. I won’t take up any more of your time. I’m going to the Army-Navy store to get my Lara Croft on.”

  Before he could ask who that was there came the sound of running footsteps, echoing in the hallway. Then the office door was flung open without so much as a knock, and Mo burst in.

  “You’re still here,” he said, wheezing slightly. His haste had evidently winded him.

  “Yes,” said Dr. Sumner, puzzled. “Is there a problem?”

  “Maybe. Maybe a big one.” Mo braced one hand against the corner of the desk and tried to catch his breath. He wasn’t built for speed, thought Maddie in some amusement, and then he caught her eye.

  “Maddie, have you been with Dr. Sumner since I left you?”

  “Yes,” she said. It was her turn to be puzzled. “The whole time.” It had only been about ten minutes, maybe less.

  Wheeze. “And he didn’t leave, even for a moment?”

  “Not even for a second. What’s going on?”

  Mo turned a grim look on Dr. Sumner. “We need to talk. Right now. Council business. Call Eleanor.”

  Dr. Sumner’s eyes widened, and he reached for his desk phone. As he punched in numbers and waited for the other end to pick up, Mo gestured for Maddie to go.

  “I’m sorry, but I have to talk to Dr. Sumner on urgent business,” he told her. “You can catch up with him later, all right? Thanks.”

  He didn’t even give her a chance to reply. Before she had finished forming the words “All right” he had practically shoved her into the hallway and shut the door in her face. She heard the sound of the lock turning.

  Weird.

  But it didn’t concern her for long. Her mind was already returning to the issue of arming herself to face Sheila. A knife, definitely, so she’d be on equal footing. Mace wouldn’t hurt. Rope, or handcuffs? And would they sell a stun gun to a teenager? Maybe she could get one online. One thing she knew for sure: she was not going to let that she-demon hurt William.

  * * *

  Joy and Tanner were having—not an argument, exactly, but an uncomfortable discussion, when the call came that would turn everything upside down.

  “I thought we were going to sell your jewelry on Craigslist,” said Joy, trying not to sound plaintive. “And put the money toward the wedding, and the stuff we need for Rose.” But when she had gone to fetch the jewelry from the box of things to sell, it was gone.

  “I changed my mind, that’s all.”

  “But why?” When he didn’t answer, she sat down on the futon in defeat. “I wish you’d told me,” she said. “Now I’ll have to email that guy and tell him the gold chain isn’t for sale after all. He’ll think I’m an idiot.”

  “I’m sorry.” He sat down next to her. “I should have taken down the listings myself. I didn’t mean for you to find out.”

  That was hardly comforting. She took a breath to steady herself. “Does this mean you don’t want to go through with the wedding?”

  “Of course not!” He sounded genuinely shocked. “Why would you think that?”

  “Well, I know those things remind you of the old days and being on the A list. Why else would you want to keep them unless you’re missing being a celebrity?” She picked at the stitching on the futon cover, afraid to look at him for fear she’d see confirmation in his eyes.

  “It has nothing to do with that. I just have my reasons for not wanting to go into everything right now.” He put his arm around her. “Can you just trust me on this?”

  It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. But she couldn’t stop thinking of Sheila’s words. Tanner was giving up so much to be with her. Maybe it was selfish of her to hold him back.

  Her cell phone rang before she could answer him. “We have a serious situation,” said Dr. Aysgarth. “I need you and Tanner here as soon as possible.”

  “Why? What’s happened?” Her mind went immediately to thoughts of something terrible happening to her father. But the answer stunned her.

  “There is a shapeshifter on campus.”

  Chapter 19

  Less than twenty minutes later they were in the council chamber with the others the principal had called. Joy and Tanner sat together next to her father, Joy gripping Tanner’s hand as adrenaline hummed through her. At last the other shoe had dropped. The invader in the kitchen was back, but this time not for her. And at last they could be sure it hadn’t been working on the council’s behalf.

  “I’ve limited this meeting to the core members of the council,” Dr. Aysgarth announced. “Except for Joy and Tanner. I’ve asked them to join us because of their recent past experience with what may be the same creature. Because of the very nature of the invader, it’s difficult to know when he or she is among us. The more people at this meeting, and the more tangential their relationship to the council, the greater likelihood there is that the shapeshifter will be able to infiltrate. I’m attempting to minimize that risk.”

  That explained why so few were gathered there: just the principal, Mo, the Brodys, and Joy’s father.

  “What exactly has happened?” asked Gail. “How do we know it’s a shapeshifter?”

  “Something wearing Steven’s likeness was rifling my office earlier this afternoon,” said Mo, folding his hands on the table. “When I challenged it, it tried to laugh it off, then hightailed it when I tried to take a photo with my phone. Before you ask the obvious question, yes, I did get a good look, and no, it wasn’t just a close resemblance. It looked exactly like Steven. Its shirt was a different color—light blue instead of white—but otherwise it had the details correct, right down to the blue cable-knit sweater vest.” He gestured at Steven, who was wearing that very vest.

  “How did you know it wasn’t Steven, then?” asked Jim.

  “He had just come from speaking with me,” said Joy’s father, heavily. “He left when a student arrived for a conference. Apparently Mo went straight to his office, where he found the—the other me.”

  “I tried to chase the impostor down,” Mo continued. “I lost him almost immediately, though.” He made a rueful face. “Had no idea how out of shape I was. I then ran to Steven’s office as quickly as I could. He—Steven—was still there. The student he was with said she’d had him in sight the entire time, which includes when I saw the impostor in my office.”

  Joy was still thinking about the vest. It was a favorite of her father’s; Joy’s mother had knitted it for him. It wasn’t something anyone could just walk into a store and buy. She whispered to Tan, “The clothes it wore when we saw it—are they missing?”

  He reflected a second, then shook his head. “The man-whore pants are still in my closet. It must have found duplicates.”

  Or found a way to break back into the house and replace
them, which was doubtful, given the protective measures he and her father had taken. Joy raised her hand, and Dr. Aysgarth nodded permission to interrupt.

  “Is it possible this thing can replicate clothes along with the rest of someone’s appearance?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, maybe what looks like clothes are actually part of the thing. The creature itself. So it can look like it’s wearing whatever it thinks the person it’s impersonating would wear.”

  “Like T-1000,” said Jim, and a couple of heads nodded.

  “Like what?”

  “In Terminator 2,” said Jim. “You’re probably too young to have seen it. The newer terminator could mold itself into any person’s likeness, including their clothes. But we’re not talking about a machine here, are we?”

  “The fake me got injured,” Tanner remembered. “Its nose started bleeding. I don’t think a machine would do that. Maybe it’s more like Mystique, in the X-Men.”

  “We’re getting away from the point here,” said Mo, probably impatient with the unfamiliar references.

  “No, it makes a difference,” said Gail. “The more we know about it, the better chance we have of stopping it.”

  Dr. Aysgarth gave a decisive nod. “Our priorities are these: First, how to identify it. Second, how to capture it. And third, why it stole the remains of the succubus.”

  The breath left Joy’s body as if she had been kicked in the stomach. Tan’s face went white.

  “She—it’s gone?” he choked.

  Mo put up a restraining hand. “We don’t know for certain what happened, Tanner.”

  “Well, why the hell not?” Joy demanded, not even trying to keep her voice down. “It’s kind of a big deal!”

  “If the shapeshifter stole the succubus’s remains, then yes, potentially it’s a big deal.” The gravity of Mo’s voice showed that he wasn’t taking the matter lightly, and Joy subsided, even though her heart was flailing against her ribs. “The thing is, we haven’t established just when they went missing. It might not be connected to the appearance of the shapeshifter.”