by Kayla Krantz
Dungeons and Demons
Kayla Krantz
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Dungeons and Demons
Copyright © 2020-2021 Kayla Krantz
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews—without written permission by the publisher.
Cover by Maria Spada
Edited by Fire Quill Publishing
First Edition January 2021
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020902402
https://authorkaylakrantz.com/
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Epilogue
About the Author
Also By Kayla Krantz
“And at once I knew I was not magnificent.”
-Bon Iver
1.
SHAWN WILLIAMS PUSHED the glasses up the bridge of his narrow nose and dashed down the stairs. Years of going to school predominated his mornings, and yet he still somehow always managed to be late. In the living room his sister, Penelope, and one of his mothers, Lottie, were waiting for him. At eight in the morning, his other mother, Nicole was likely already on her way to work. She lived by the philosophy “The early bird gets the worm.”
Ironic considering that Shawn had probably never been early for anything in his life.
“Late again,” Penelope said, voice a singsong rhyme.
“I know, I know,” Shawn said and snagged his checkered backpack from its place on the end of the couch. “But I’m ready now.”
Penelope smiled, curling her fingers to study her pink nails as she waited for him. “C’mon, Randall. We’re wasting the morning away.”
Randall. That was her nickname for him, and hers alone. If anyone else called him it, he would’ve been angry, and most likely wouldn’t have talked to them much anymore. From his sister, it was a term of endearment, but it hadn’t always been that way. Shawn had been adopted into Penelope’s family, a fact that stood out like a sore thumb. While they had dark hair and blue eyes, he had orange hair, brown eyes, and freckles. The first time he had met his soon-to-be family, he was five or six, not old enough to have many memories of his life before this one, but at the same time, old enough to ensure that he was grateful for being here.
When Lottie and Nicole had decided to bring him home, Penelope had been venomous. She was only a few years older than he was but wasn’t happy about the idea of suddenly having to share their entire lives. They bickered a lot in that first year, but their beautiful sibling rivalry had blossomed into something that almost resembled friendship, and he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
The nickname was a reminder of everything that they had gone through so far. A reminder that he was in the place where he belonged. Part of him was very aware of the fact that he could be living a different life, one where he had never been adopted. One where he had never been loved.
Lottie gave them both hugs in turn before the pair rushed out of the house to Penelope’s waiting car. Shawn hurried into the passenger seat, throwing his backpack to the floor beneath him as he relaxed. Her car always smelled sweet, like vanilla or cinnamon, yet he never saw her clean it.
“Excited for Halloween tonight?” she asked him as soon as they were on the road.
Shawn bobbed his head, staring absently out the window. He liked Halloween, but at fifteen, he was starting to feel as if he were too old for the entire concept of trick or treating. Instead, he and his buddies had made other plans. Or at least his best friend, Jack, claimed he had made plans for them.
“You know I’m too old for it,” he said at last, fingers tapping his knee casually.
Penelope pursed her lips. “That’s nonsense. There’s no such thing as being too old for Halloween. I love it.”
Shawn rolled his eyes. Every year she picked some revealing costume or other. Mama Lottie and Mom Nicole had fought her on it a few years back, but Penelope was a rebel, and so her costumes had persisted, getting progressively more revealing the more that their moms protested. Shawn was pretty sure they hoped she would grow out of the phase on her own, but Shawn wasn’t so sure she would. After all, he knew a different side of her than they did, the side that only siblings confide in one another.
“We’re different people,” he said at last.
“Fair enough,” she said, turning the steering wheel slightly before she said, “Well, I plan on going out tonight.”
Shawn raised an eyebrow. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Whenever the Moms go out, I’m in charge of watching you, that’s why,” Penelope said, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear. “It’s their date night tonight.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“I was invited to go to a party, and I want you to come with me,” she said.
“That’s ridiculous,” Shawn said, studying her over. She didn’t normally want to spend time with him so suspicion was his go to emotion.
Penelope laughed. “Come on. It’s better than us both sitting at home bored to death of each other. People kill to go to their first high school party. Are you really telling me you’re not even a little curious?”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Parties...aren’t really for me,” he said. And it was the truth. He enjoyed the peace and quiet of an evening with his friends more than anything.
“Tell me all about your big Halloween plans then, stud,” she drawled, and Shawn could hear the irritation. He knew what that tone meant—she would do what she could to wear him down, to get him to do what she wanted to do. She had a plan and wouldn’t stop until she saw it through.
“Tease me all you want, I’m not going to crack and go out just because you say so,” Shawn said. “Now, I don’t know exactly what Jack’s got up his sleeve, but if I know him, it’ll be a new dungeon for D&D.”
“Such a nerd,” Penelope said, laughing as they entered the school parking lot.
Shawn shrugged as the car came to a halt. “I am what I am.”
Penelope jutted out her bottom lip, bobbing her head. “Love the confidence, but seriously. Think about it, okay?”
Shawn nodded but knew he wouldn’t. There was nothing to think about. He didn’t want to go, and all her begging wouldn’t change that fact. He didn’t trust the invitation, didn’t trust that there wasn’t some kind of prank on the other end of it.
As soon as she was parked, Shawn hopped out, feeling the sunshine on his face. The quicker he could get away from her, the sooner he could start to relax. His gaze studied the other cars and students in the lot for familiar faces. The breeze blew, ruffling his spiky hair. It was unusually warm for October, and he attributed that to Indian Summer.
He didn’t wait for Penelope as he crossed the parking lot. She wasn’t the type of sibling that was embarrassed to be seen with her youn
ger sibling, but he didn’t like to be seen with her. It wasn’t a fault of hers, but it was no secret that Jack had a crush on her. The knowledge was more than enough to make Shawn squirm with awkwardness when they were in the vicinity of one another.
He glanced over his shoulder, but Penelope was already crossing the parking lot in the opposite direction, most likely to meet up with her boyfriend. Shawn blinked, relieved as he scouted through the crowds for his friends. They waited by the door, Jack waving him over as soon as they made eye contact.
Shawn wasn’t popular by any means, but his group of friends was solid consisting of Jack, Milo, and himself. Jack, he had known since he had been adopted. As the son of one of his mother’s friends, they had been inseparable. With his bulky frame, narrowed blue eyes, and baggy black pants, Jack intimidated a lot of people, and Shawn liked that about him. As a skinny kid with pressed khakis and glasses, he imagined he’d be an easy target for bullies, but Jack’s presence was a safeguard even though in reality, he was a teddy bear.
As soon as Shawn merged into the group, he smiled at Milo, the newest addition to the group. Shawn had met him when he moved to the town around four years prior.
“Plans on for tonight?” Jack asked, adjusting his bag on his shoulder as he took his place beside Shawn.
“Not sure. Penelope is apparently in charge of babysitting me tonight, and she said she’s going to a party,” Shawn said, dragging out the last few words to exaggerate his horror. “She wants me to go with her because apparently misery does love company.”
“Dude, aren’t you too old for a babysitter?” Milo asked, taking off his sunglasses as they went into the school. With his albinism, the sunglasses were a requirement for seeing in the bright morning sun.
“Yeah, I am,” Shawn said with a huff.
“Don’t take it to heart,” Jack said, waving his hand. “You know how parents are. They’re probably just worried because it’s Halloween. The only holiday where people are told to cause mischief.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Shawn murmured, but he didn’t feel much better. To him, it felt like they were determined to baby him forever. After all, once they acknowledged he was growing up, they could never go back. “But I don’t think a party is exactly what they were hoping for either.”
“Well, if you can’t get out of it, what if we just go with you?” Milo suggested. “We can play in the basement or something. Or maybe there will be some woods around the place to make it even spookier.”
“Hey, yeah! That could be better actually,” Jack said, rubbing his hands together. Shawn winced, nearly seeing the thoughts flying through his friend’s mind. “I’ll tweak a couple of my monsters, and it’ll be like a Halloween edition,” Jack added. He was so excited that Shawn nearly felt bad for the next words out of his mouth.
“Wasn’t it supposed to be that already?” Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Sure, sure, but there’s nothing frightening about my basement. I mean, there’s spiders, but like everywhere has spiders so that’s not special. The woods though, there’s potential there.”
“You sound crazy when you talk like that,” Milo said, chuckling softly.
“Good. It’s having the intended effect,” Jack said, doing his best evil villain laugh.
Shawn laughed with them, stopping only when they reached his locker. He opened it, switching his books around. Jack leaned his shoulder against the wall nearby, and Milo stood near the center of the hallway, attention focused on the other end of the corridor. Shawn closed his locker, and when he noticed the look on his friend’s face, he drew his eyebrows together, turning to see what he was looking at.
Rhys Rivera. The new kid. He walked with his shoulders hunched and his hood up to cover his usually messy brown hair. He hadn’t been at the school long, maybe two or three days, but there was something about him that stood out. Something about him that made him hard to approach.
On his first day, Shawn had tried to talk to him, but Rhys had said nothing in response. He hadn’t even bothered to remove his hood as he continued to stare into his locker without a word. Shawn had eased himself away from the conversation, or lack of, but ever since then, Shawn went the other way when he saw him coming.
“What do you think he’s all about?” Jack asked, tilting his head as he watched the boy stop and turn his locker combination.
“Don’t know,” Milo said, casting a glance to Jack. “But he’s definitely someone the counselor should keep an eye on.”
“Agreed,” Shawn replied.
2.
THE DAY PASSED just as any other. Shawn sought out Jack and Milo, but for the most part, he was alone. When the final bell rang, Jack and Milo gathered around Shawn’s locker, watching him exchange his books.
“So we have word on the official plan yet?” Jack asked.
Shawn shrugged, thinking again of Penelope and her strange request. “I need to talk to Penelope again,” he said. “I’ll let you know as soon as I do. One thing is for sure though, either way, we’re going to play Dungeons and Dragons so bring your A game.”
“Hell yeah,” Milo said, smiling as he slid his sunglasses into place.
When they stepped outside, Rhys shuffled past the group so close that his shoulder bumped into Jack’s with force.
Jack held his hands out to either side of him. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going, huh?”
Rhys looked at him over his shoulder but didn’t stop moving. His dark eyes, were icy, enraged, and chills went down Shawn’s spine.
“Woah,” Milo said, looking to Jack. “I don’t think he likes you.”
“Somehow, I can live with that,” Jack said, reaching up to rub the shoulder that Rhys had hit.
Shawn saw Penelope’s car pulling toward them through the crowds, and he waved to Jack and Milo, the incident with Rhys already forgotten. “Talk to you guys later, okay?”
“See you, man,” Jack called.
Shawn didn’t look back as he climbed into Penelope’s car. When the door closed, her eyes stayed on the road, not even sparing a glance to him, and Shawn had a rock in his stomach. Her lips were pushed out into a pout that told him she’d had a bad day. “What’s wrong?”
“Got into a fight with Ethan,” she said.
“That sucks. About what?” Shawn asked.
“Men just think they know everything,” she seethed, pushing the gas with such force that the car screeched as it peeled out of the parking lot.
Shawn’s heart beat harder in his chest at the chorus of angry honks and shouts that she received. From the side mirror, he could see just how closely she had cut it. Penelope didn’t seem to notice.
“That mean your party plans are off?” he asked, not knowing why he was poking the bear.
Frowning, Penelope took one hand off the steering wheel to bunch up her hair. “I don’t know, alright? We didn’t exactly talk evening plans in the middle of arguing.”
“Geez, don’t have to bite my head off. I need to know for me since apparently we’re stuck together tonight in case you forgot.”
Penelope waved a hand. “No, I didn’t forget. As long as you don’t tell the Moms, you can go do whatever nerdy plans you’ve got set up. I won’t rat you out.”
Shawn perked up then. “Really?”
“Really,” she said. “I couldn’t care less about being a good daughter.”
If he wasn’t so happy to have gotten his way, he would’ve been concerned. “You’re the best,” Shawn said though really, he wondered if he would’ve still felt like that if her and Ethan hadn’t gotten into a fight. Maybe Ethan is the best for making this happen, he mused.
Penelope tightened her grip around the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white, and Shawn was very glad that she couldn’t read his mind. She might’ve changed hers. When they arrived back home, Shawn tumbled out of her car, eager to be back on solid ground. Penelope wasn’t the best driver on an average day, but when she was emotional, it was chaotic. Th
e first thing he did once he got inside was to scoop up the phone and dial Jack’s number.
“Hey, dude, good news. I’m free. No party. We can go to your place if you want.”
“Good, good,” Jack said. “This pleases me, but I think we should stick with the woods. I have some really good ideas.”
Shawn smiled. “You were really serious about the forest setup, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, it’s just so spontaneous. Especially today,” Jack said. “I can’t believe I never thought of it before.”
“Anywhere you want to go, dude.”
“Anywhere, you say?” Jack asked, voice raising in an interested tone. “Cuz this might take us to the cemetery.”
“A cemetery on Halloween? You’re going to pull out all the stops, aren’t you?”
“That’s the plan.”
3.
SHAWN WAS UNUSUALLY excited the rest of the day. Halloween wasn’t traditionally a holiday that he enjoyed. There were too many bullies, too many pranks, but today, everything seemed as if they were working in his favor. The day was his to control. He couldn’t wait until the sun started to go down so that he could meet up with Jack and Milo. Jack had sounded so excited at whatever he had cooked up that Shawn knew it was going to be good.
Shawn was able to hold onto his excitement, even through Penelope’s icy attitude. After getting off the phone with Jack, he went into the living room where his adopted sister sat on the couch, channel surfing. He made a move to go straight to his room when he stopped. If their situations were reversed, he’d want her to show some sign she cared.
“Are you okay, Penny?” he asked, hand resting on the banister at the base of the staircase.
She sighed, turning the television off before she stood to her feet. “I’ll be fine, but for now, I don’t want to talk about it. Trust me. When you finally get a girlfriend, you’ll understand.” Her words were harsh, but there was a smile on her face that usually accompanied her teasing.
“Hey, now! Low blow. I was trying to help,” Shawn said, holding out his hands, but he was joking too.