The Shadow Beasts: The Sunclaire Chronicles

by Eleanor M. Byrne

  “Fine,” Emily muttered as she stalked to the kitchen. The kitchen was small, yet with perfectly aligned kitchen utensils above the counter and organized shelving. It only had room for two people at the most and even then would be a tight squeeze.

  So James was coming over again. James. Why did it seem everyone liked James? He was not someone whom she enjoyed. Sure, he was a star athlete and a good student but he definitely did not have the best grades when it came to his attitude. “Aunt May, you know that James can really be so annoying and …” Emily began.

  “Emily,” her aunt chided. “Get to cutting the vegetables, please.” The smell of broth wafted through the apartment, filling every space. "James is going to be here any minute!" Emily groaned as she went to the drawer and got out a knife.

  “Why do you always invite him here?”

  “You both were good friends in middle school. I know that you're not talking anymore, but I don’t want to see that. Once, you and James were so close and it hurts to see you have so many problems fitting in. “

  Her aunt leaned against the counter where Emily prepared the broccoli. “The thing is, he doesn’t bully you. And I feel like your school isn’t protecting you.”

  Her aunt grabbed a small floret of broccoli and popped it into her mouth. “So I was hoping to talk to him about it all. Maybe he can say something. Get the other students to stop being mean to you.”

  Guilt shot through her. Her aunt was only trying to make her school life better. Normally every day, she would come home upset because of something a fellow student said to her. Her aunt never said anything about Emily’s stressed appearance but Emily could tell that she knew. The constant cycle was draining on Aunt May, too, and she didn’t blame her for acting this way. She only wanted the best for Emily; her aunt took her responsibility very seriously.

  A little later that evening, James was casually seated at the dining table near the wall of the living room. Emily could barely stand to look at his innocent face as he charmed and laughed along with her aunt. It was nothing like the way he acted when he was in the high school. She tried avoiding James in the halls whenever she could. He behaved coldly toward her, almost disinterested.

  However, sometimes they would bump into each other at different points in the school day and actually even shared a class. James barely acknowledged her. Emily remembered back to when James was a quiet skinny boy and they first began to attend middle school. So much had changed in the past few years.

  “Hey, Em!” James said as she entered the room to set the table after chopping the vegetables. He was the only one who called her by that nickname. “It really has been a while since we talked.” He smiled at her, his perfect white teeth flashing in the light of the lamps in the room.

  James was tall with a lanky build and had blond hair and bright blue eyes that seemed to hold untold jokes. His eyes also seemed to hold something in reserve, something deeper and hidden from all the people around him.

  “Well, then, if you want to talk to me, maybe you should try it in Spanish class. Maybe you haven’t realized it, but you and I are in the same class.” She spoke a little louder than she intended.

  Frustrated that she was being distracted by his interest in her, she could feel her temper rising. She couldn’t believe that he was talking to her in a tone that sounded like they were best buds when they most definitely were not. He had changed too much. James used to be so reserved, yet now he acted like he owned the world.

  It had all started during the summer before freshman year of high school. He grew taller, stopped using glasses, and he started working out and swimming at the lake every day. Away went that sweet boy and in his place was an annoying idiot. Everyone at school seemed to like him and he was smart and good at sports. The truth, though, was that he made his name by using people for his own purposes in school. Not everyone could see, but Emily was very observant. James even had the principal wrapped around his finger. He wasn’t only intelligent; he was canny.

  No one did anything about it or seemed to mind because he was the school’s top athlete. People forgave a lot, Emily learned, when there was something in it for them. James made the athletic department look good. He was a major reason that the school was always mentioned so glowingly in the local and regional newspapers. That’s just the way it was.

  Aunt Mary entered the room with a frown on her face, carrying a large, steaming bowl of pasta with peppers and onions along with a pot of vegetable broth. She guessed that her aunt must have heard her rising voice.

  “No arguing in this house!” Aunt May shook her head slowly back and forth.“I hate to see such old friends fight.”

  The three of them were silent as they began to serve themselves from the dishes on the table and eat. Her aunt had become an expert cook and had learned so much about herbs over the years that each meal was delectable.

  Still, concerning the things that were part of Emily’s everyday life, Aunt Mary was unaware of so much that it frustrated Emily. James and Emily hadn’t even spoken a full sentence between them in the high school’s hallways. He looked away and ignored her when the other students pushed her around. She understood why her aunt made assumptions about their friendship, but Emily had a life that did not include him.

  “ Friends?” Emily spat out.”Do you think we’re friends? Well, I don’t see any friends here.” Emily grimaced as she pushed away from the table and walked out of the room. Over her shoulder, she called back, “I am not hungry, Aunt Mary. The food seems to be very bitter today.”

  She walked down the hall that led to her room and slammed the door. Hard. She flung herself onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling. It seemed that she would never relax, but finally, she fell into a restless slumber, a heavy sleep that brought vague and nameless threats of oncoming danger.

  Chapter 3

  James looks back behind him as he stumbles through the streets. His drenched clothes drag him down with their weight. He knows something is following him but he did not expect it to be this creature. A large shape leaps from behind him as he rounds the corner. It was getting closer. Pain shoots through his chest every time he takes a step. Damn! He thought he had lost it, whatever it was, in the local park. James looks around wildly. No one is around to help! No, he shouldn’t call out for help as that would put humans in danger. He didn’t want them to be dragged into this. Only the wind and the snarling of the creature is heard on the empty street. The houses are dark, with no light in their windows. The roads are empty of cars, with no movement except for the lashing rain and wind. James looks one more time over his shoulder before pushing himself to move on, ignoring the screaming pain that tears through his body.

  Emily woke up to the sound of banging on the door. She groggily opened her eyes and looked at her alarm clock on her table next to the bed. Three a.m. Emily staggered from the bed and opened her door. Her aunt already was in the living room talking to someone who was standing in the front doorway.

  Emily quickly rushed into the living room to her aunt’s side. James was standing there, shaking, his face pale and moist with sweat and rain. “What is happening?’ she cried. “James, are you alright?” Looking at him, she saw that the dripping water from his clothes caused a puddle to form around him. It looked as if he had fallen into a pool.

  Aunt May glanced over at Emily .“Go get your backpack and fill it with a change of clothing. Grab your toothbrush.” Her aunt looked around the room quickly. “We are leaving now!” Her aunt’s tone made it clear that she was not to be questioned.

  Emily looked into her aunt’s face and saw something she had never seen. It was fear.

  Was she still dreaming? Her own sense of dread caused Emily to stand rooted at the spot. It didn’t make any sense! Had James done something? Was he in trouble? And what did that have to do with them?

  Emily crossed her arms stubbornly. “Wait! Wait, wait, wait! I need answers. Why are we...”

  The window exploded as something large and powerful smas
hed through the glass of the large front window and flung itself into the living room. Screaming, Emily flung up her arms to cover her face. Glass shot through the room digging into the walls and furniture. She felt something warm begin to run down her right arm.

  She looked wildly around. Her mouth gaped as she saw the thing that had crashed through the window. The animal was a large wolf-like creature, larger than any canine she had ever seen. Glossy black fur spiked its entire back and body and its red eyes glowed. Saliva dripped from its massive, bared teeth.

  Her aunt shoved Emily behind her. “Go, James, and take Emily with you!” she yelled over at James. He stood beside her with a slash cut down his face from the exploding window.

  “No!” Emily shrieked and she ran towards her aunt. “You can’t fight this thing!”

  James grabbed Emily. She yanked herself away from his grip. He then grabbed her wrist hard, pulling her toward the door.

  “Emily, this is no time for fighting! We have to get to the portal!”

  Emily finally stopped struggling against James and they both bolted toward the apartment door. James pushed her out and ran close behind. Emily paused just for a moment to look back at her aunt and the beast who were circling each other, their eyes flashing. They looked, both of them, almost bloodthirsty with glee.

  As they reached the complex’s entrance they bumped, hard, against two figures. Before she could apologize, James steered her out the door and into the streets. As she looked back, before the lobby door closed, she could sense the strangers looking after them from under their hats. The two people gave off a still, eerie presence that made Emily shudder as she stood with James to catch her breath. Why were those people still staring after them?

  James and Emily began running through the now darkened streets. Emily tried to slow down every now and again, but James’s grip on her wrist was far too strong, forcing her to maintain a fast pace. Looking back along the streets to see if she could make out her apartment windows, she realized that already they had gone too far to see much beyond what lay around them. It was all darkness.

  The sky was covered by heavy clouds and the streetlamps that shone down on the sidewalks seemed to only dimly glow with the faintest of light. Shadows hung heavy all around them, seeming to thickly reach out towards them. Emily stopped short when a black shape seemed to fill out and form itself into a tall, human suddenly before her.

  For a moment it looked as if the figure were looming near the opening into an alleyway. She ran on and passed the alley’s mouth. The dark form was gone. She must have imagined it. It had been nothing but a shadow, playing tricks on her mind. Yet, she felt herself becoming even more unsteady, both in her gait and in her sense of what was real, and what was not.

  James stopped short in front of her, breathing hard, sending her crashing into his back.

  “Hey!”

  “This. This is the place to open up the portal.”

  A portal? What was he talking about? How was that possible!? Is he crazy? Taking an involuntary step away from him, she considered running down the street, getting away from this madness. It was probably safer to be on her own than to follow this crazed person.

  “Come on! We need to get to safety.” James pulled her urgently to the entrance of the building now in front of them.

  They pushed through the heavy doors, cobwebs and thick dust everywhere. Emily gagged. She tried to avoid bumping into the walls as they ran past a dilapidated desk that was pushed against a corner. The halls were dark and smelled damply of mold.

  James stopped by a set of stairs that reached above into darkness. “We are going to take the stairs,” he ordered. “The elevators probably don’t work and if it comes down to fighting, we will have more open space on the stairs.”

  What fight? Does he mean to fight that creature? A blood chilling howl interrupted her thoughts. It sounded extremely close, just outside the building. She noticed then that James had already begun running up the stairs without her.

  “Hey! Don’t leave me behind!” Emily quickly ran behind him up the staircase.

  “Well, hurry up! You don’t want to fight the creature here, do you?”

  “You want to fight that creature!?” She stared at him with a shocked look as they both stood listening for a moment on the stairs. “Who in the right mind would do that!? “ she yelled. “ Are you insane? Do you want to die!?” She couldn’t believe she had to state the obvious.

  “ I mean, did you see the size of that thing? It was huge!” She stretched out her arms to emphasize the size of the creature.

  “Don’t worry, Emily, I am trained to fight these creatures. They are from the House of Soul Sealers.” James said this calmly, not seeming to be affected in the least by her concerns.

  Soul Sealers? She thought the term sounded ...familiar. She gasped as she realized where she heard it before. That name is in the book that I am reading, she thought. The Shadow Beast mentioned a guild of some sort that had the ability to control the souls of the dead. The creature, that wolf-like thing, in a way was a puppet. A beast that could be controlled.

  She was out of breath as they reached the last floor. Instead of pulling the door that opened into the hallways, James opened the door that looked as if it led outside. Cold icy winds gusted through, hitting Emily’s face, forcing her to close her eyes for a brief second. The wind whipped around tangling her long reddish hair. She heard the doors below bursting with glass and metal. She could hear the heavy wet painting of something climbing the stairs from below.

  “I hope that is the wind.” Emily's voice faltered as she heard it getting louder. Oh, God. Please don’t let it be that creature!

  James looked at Emily and with a strange grin, he said, “That is no wind. You know, this is reallygoing to be so much fun.” His eyes sparkled with eagerness.

  A loud howl behind them made them spin around. The creature was suddenly before them, looking massive. The beast had a fresh long cut along its flank. Had her aunt done that? When it stepped closer towards them, Emily saw that an ear was also gone and the deep gash was bleeding heavily.

  “Emily, take this.” Taking her hand into his, James shoved something like a beaded necklace or bracelet into her palm. He gave her a nod. “Now, you need to throw this in the air and yell ‘Open’. You do that while I keep this puppy busy.”

  The wolf-creature snarled and hurled itself towards James and Emily, foam flying from its mouth. Closing her eyes, she waited to feel the jaws of the creature clamp around her. She felt herself turning inward, but the snapping jaws never landed. Emily opened her eyes to see a dark figure standing in front of the creature with two long curved swords.

  “Open up the portal, Emily!” Aunt May yelled at Emily, not taking her eyes off the creature.

  Too shocked to do anything else than what she was told, she flung the necklace up into the air. “Open!” she shouted hoarsely.

  She waited for something to happen. Like a bright light or a big vortex, something to show her that it worked. Nothing happened. Emily watched the necklace fall to the ground. Despair swept through her as she thought that they were going to die.

  She then noticed that a strange light was growing brighter and brighter from beyond the staircase and it seemed to be coming from the streets below. At first, she thought it must be a huge truck, but she had never heard any sound like that. Was it the portal? If so, why was it on the ground and not up on the roof? That would have made more sense.

  As if anything could be seen as making sense. There was no way down except for the stairs. But the creature and her aunt were blocking the way.

  “The portal is on the street, and since the door is blocked…” James’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. He looked wild and powerful as he glanced over at the door to the roof.

  Emily realized what he meant. “No. No, I am not going to jump off this building…”

  Emily’s protest was cut short as he swept her off her feet and ran through the door, sprinting across the wi
de-open rooftop towards the edge of the building.

  “Are you nuts!? We can’t survive that fall.”

  She struggled to escape his grip before it was too late.

  “I don’t want to die!”

  Emily felt the roof disappear and the street rushing up to meet her. Her scream mixed with the creature’s angry howl. It had stayed behind on the building roof. Her aunt was still up there! Emily felt a harsh jolt. Then everything went quiet as the darkness closed in.

  Chapter 4

  Emily woke up, engulfed by a splitting headache. Groaning, she tried to sit up. I am definitely not in the city right now, she thought. She lay back onto the soft grass. She looked up at the many tall trees surrounding her. The grass felt soft and cool between her fingers and a light breeze moved through the trees.

  “So, you are finally awake, Em,” James spoke from behind her. “You okay? It is always the hardest the first time a person uses a portal.”