Shadow Hills

by Anastasia Hopcus

  “We’re already on top of it.” Zach smiled.

  I laid my head on his shoulder and looked out across the campus below. In the nearby teachers’ cottages, I could see that some lights were on. No doubt they had been disturbed by the sirens. But farther out, the dorms were still dark. Now that things were calming down, I felt drained, like I was recovering from the flu. I let out a little sigh as Zach smoothed my hair back and lightly kissed my temple.

  I couldn’t wait for this to be over so I could go back to Devenish and Kresky Hall. Back home.

  A deputy was coming toward us, leading a handcuffed Tripp over to the parking lot full of police cars. Tripp stared at me, the hate in his eyes burning my skin like lye. My stomach recoiled inside my body, making me feel as if I might throw up.

  “If you think you got the bad guy, you’re wrong,” Tripp hissed as he approached me. “You just made things worse for yourself. Not a good time to show your hand. Not at all.”

  “Come on. Move it.” The deputy pushed Tripp forward and past us, but he couldn’t keep Tripp from turning around to flash me a smile. A smile that froze me to the very core.

  “Don’t pay attention to him.” Zach took hold of my chin and turned it so I was gazing into his soft blue-green eyes. “He’s completely crazed right now. Nothing he’s saying means anything.”

  I nodded silently and glanced over at Chief Bradbury, who was embroiled in an intense conversation with Zach’s dad. I wanted to get out of there. I wanted it to be over. After a few minutes, Grant shook Bradbury’s hand and came back to where we waited.

  “Looks like you’re done, at least for now,” he informed us. “They’re going to put some extra security on you kids for a while, but besides that, things should be relatively normal.”

  It seemed almost anticlimactic.

  “But what about Brody?” Apparently, Zach didn’t feel this was sufficient either. “What are they going to do with him now?”

  I laced my fingers through Zach’s. His concern and fierce loyalty made him even more incredible. I’d always had that kind of support from Athena, and I had felt its absence when she was gone. But now there was at least one person who understood and accepted all the strange and varied facets of me, even if I never told another living soul about my newfound powers.

  “That was one of the things the Council discussed tonight. They’re going to put Brody with a family where he’ll be safe.” Mr. Redford placed a calming hand on his son’s shoulder.

  “Great, more guardians. That’ll really help him with his trust issues.”

  “Actually, I think it will. He’s with your mother and Corinne over at the Council office right now, finalizing his future living arrangements.” Grant smiled. “He’ll be moving in with us immediately.”

  “What? Really? He is?” Zach sputtered.

  “I hope you don’t mind.” Grant laughed.

  “Of course not.” Zach grinned, but in the next moment his smile fell away. “Does that mean Mrs. Carr—”

  “She’s resigning from her teaching job at Devenish, but as for the legal stuff, I’m not sure if they’re bringing charges against her. She owned up to the affair with Tripp.” Grant rubbed the back of his neck the same way Zach did whenever he was embarrassed. “But she still claims that she knew nothing about her husband’s murder.”

  “Maybe she didn’t.” Zach shook his head. “I still can’t believe Tripp would do that. Murder his friend. Betray us.”

  Grant massaged his temples.

  “Look, I’m not saying your uncle had the right to do what he did, because there are no excuses for his actions.” He took a deep breath. “But, that being said, he did it for your grandfather. He always thought I gave up on Dad too easily. Now the Council is going to sentence Tripp to have a procedure …” Zach’s dad stared down at his feet. “They’ll both be like that, stuck in Oakhaven. Tripp will be locked up the rest of his life.” Grant’s expression was pained. It wasn’t identical to my situation, but his sibling was being taken away from him, too, and I knew what that felt like.

  I shifted uncomfortably. It was weird watching such an intimate exchange, but I didn’t want to make things more awkward by getting up and leaving.

  “Tripp told me that he was going to try an experimental treatment on Dad. I said I didn’t want any part of it and just let it go at that.” Grant shook his head. “I was the oldest. Tripp was my responsibility. I knew something was wrong when he sent Trent to warn me away, but I thought he was using an untested drug or classified research information. I should have made sure. If I had been there for him, maybe he wouldn’t have been so easily swayed by the offer the Banished made him.” For the first time I could see the resemblance between Corinne and Grant. The intense, sometimes misguided, family obligation.

  “Dad, come on, you know that’s not true. Tripp may be younger, but he’s an adult. He’s the only one responsible for his actions.” Zach paused. “And you know Granddad would never have wanted to get better by hurting other people.”

  “Yeah.” Grant nodded slowly, like he didn’t quite believe it. “Listen, I thought maybe tomorrow you could take the morning off from school, and we could go visit your grandfather—while he’s still doing better.” Mr. Redford’s voice was hollow, and I realized he had lost more than a sibling tonight. He had lost the last shred of hope for his father.

  “Is he going to start … reversing?” I could feel Zach’s energy pulling into him like a tide. There was coldness against my thigh where a minute ago his own had warmed it. I pressed my palm tighter into his.

  “Hopefully not too quickly, but yeah, eventually he will go back to the way he was before.” And then he will get worse. The unspoken words hung in the air in front of Grant, as palpable as if they had been written there. “Why don’t you walk Phe back to her dorm, and then you can meet me at the car.”

  Zach wrapped his arm protectively around my shoulders, and we made our way back to the campus. We were both quiet as we walked. I was exhausted, but still somehow electrified. Not in the way I was when I touched Zach; this was coming from inside myself. I had controlled a primal force tonight. I had awakened the dead, jolting them with words like jumper cables. Words that I wasn’t even sure of their meaning.

  Whatever they meant, those words had changed everything. My life was never going to be the same after what had happened here tonight. As much as I wanted to try to go back to being normal—whatever that was—I knew it was impossible.

  It wasn’t even about the things that had gone on—Mr. Carr’s death, the book from Sarah, the ritual. It was me—who I was fundamentally at my core. I had a power. A power I could feel strumming through my nerves and muscles and skin. A power as real as that possessed by any of the Brevis Vitas, though mine probably wasn’t as scientifically explainable. Hell, I didn’t know if it was explainable at all.

  I felt more strongly than ever that I was supposed to be at Devenish. My sister had been called, and I had fulfilled her last wish by coming here. Now I belonged to Shadow Hills. I was needed here. I didn’t know what for, but for the first time since Athena’s death, I felt focused, like I had a purpose. There was a reason I was still alive.

  I had a destiny: that I was sure of. Now I just needed to figure out what exactly my destiny was.

  Though maybe I’d hold off until tomorrow. It was way past curfew, and I still had a beautiful boy to see to before I could go to sleep.

  Acknowledgment

  A HUGE thank-you goes out to Meredith Kaffel, my talented and consistently amazing agent, for loving Shadow Hills and for never tiring during the search to find a perfect home for it. This book would not be a reality without you and your impressive commitment to it. I owe you so much that I don’t know how I will ever manage to repay you.

  To the wonderful group I have had the pleasure of working with at Egmont—especially Super Editor Greg Ferguson, Regina Griffin, Elizabeth Law, Alison Weiss, Robert Guzman, Nico Medina, and my copyeditor Nora Reichard—your advice,
editing, and general wisdom has been immeasurably helpful. This is the best publishing house in the world and I’m so glad you decided to publish Shadow Hills. Go Team Egmont!

  I also want to thank Russ Galen—who, whether he intended to or not, became an invaluable mentor—for taking me out for coffee. You gave me the encouragement I needed when I was at my most discouraged. That three-hour talk is the reason this manuscript didn’t end up in my recycling bin. I also want to thank you for the most critical critique I’d gotten thus far in my publishing journey. It was what helped me whip Shadow Hills into shape, and I truly believe I would not have landed a wonderful agent like Meredith Kaffel without your straightforward (and some might say, blunt) words. I will be forever grateful.

  I’m only here because of my parents, Candace Camp and Pete Hopcus, who let me follow my own path. I know it must have been scary when I decided to go to L.A. instead of college, but I don’t think I could have written this story if I hadn’t had those experiences. There were many points in my life when other parents would have been disappointed, but you always believed in me, even when I wasn’t so sure that you should. Thank you for all your support. And, Dad, I will always be overjoyed that you read and loved Shadow Hills despite the fact that you are about as far away as you can get from its target audience. Your faith in me means more than you will ever know.

  To my love, Brent Barker, who inspired the romance that winds through this book: I never had any interest in writing a love story until you became a part of my life. I felt a connection the very first time I saw you walk by as I sat on the steps outside Griffin. That connection has lasted through the years and continues to grow stronger every day. You are my Nick Charles, and I hope to forever be your Nora.

  And these acknowledgments wouldn’t be complete without a thank-you to Jessica Wooldridge and Brittani Beitman-Nearing. You are the best friends a writer could have. Jessica has been unflaggingly excited to read every story I’ve handed her, and she was the first person (well, other than myself) to fall in love with Zach and Phe. She read close to every version of Shadow Hills, and Brittani filled in to read the others. They were the first fans of this book and they supported me all through the stressful selling process. You two should get awards for gracefully putting up with my publishing-induced mood swings.

  And, finally, I’d like to acknowledge the many great teachers I’ve had through the years, even the ones who were not technically teachers. Particularly Kat Candler, Terri Weiss, and Marco and Diane Perrella: you may not have taught me writing in the traditional sense, but in your own ways you taught me how to craft a story. I also want to say thank you to Adam Wilson for trying to awaken my (still dormant) love for math and for bringing me to The Griffin School, where I got to work with the spirited Elizabeth Miller, who taught all of her students to think for themselves, and the sweet Pam Arthur, who practically let me design my own reading curriculum. It was during this time that I discovered the still-inspiring books Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas and Foxfire by Joyce Carol Oates.

  There are so many more people that I owe great thanks to, but if I included them all here, Egmont would be forced to publish another novel just for my acknowledgments. Please know that even though you might not be on this page, you are in my heart.

  ANASTASIA HOPCUS wrote her first book in the second grade. It was titled Frederick the Friendly French Ferret and was seven pages long. During high school she wrote numerous short stories and started (but never finished) three screenplays, all as an alternative to doing actual schoolwork. At the very wise age of twelve her career ambition was to drive a Mack truck, but when that didn’t pan out, she tried acting, bartending, and being a receptionist in a dojo before finally returning to writing. Anastasia loves horror movies, Joss Whedon, obsessing over music, and British accents. She lives in Austin, Texas, and Shadow Hills is her debut novel. You can visit Anastasia online at www.anastasiahopcus.com.

  EGMONT

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  First published by Egmont USA, 2010

  443 Park Avenue South, Suite 806

  New York, NY 10016

  Copyright © Anastasia Hopcus, 2010

  All rights reserved

  www.egmontusa.com

  www.anastasiahopcus.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Hopcus, Anastasia.

  Shadow Hills / Anastasia Hopcus.

  p. cm.

  Summary: Enrolling in the New England boarding school after her sister’s mysterious death, sixteen-year-old Phe Archer uncovers a secret that could answer all her questions, but could also cost her her life.

  eISBN: 978-1-60684-236-2

  [1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Boarding schools—Fiction.

  3. Schools—Fiction. 4. Massachusetts—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.H7716Sh 2010

  [Fic]—dc22

  2009041168

  CPSIA tracking label information:

  Random House Production • 1745 Broadway • New York, NY 10019

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

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