Freddie's Shadow Cards

by Jessica Brody

  “Oh,” Ally said, scratching the cat between the ears. “Of course. Not a soul.”

  “Can I trust you?” Freddie asked.

  Ally scoffed at the question. “Of course you can trust me. I’m an AK. Your secret is safe with me.” Then she went back to kissing and cuddling the cat.

  But as Freddie left the tea shop, she wasn’t feeling as confident as she would have liked. She stepped onto the well-lit pathway that led through campus, her shadow emerging under the overhead streetlamps and following closely beside her.

  The whole way back to the dorm, Freddie couldn’t help wondering, How much can you really trust an AK?

  Ally had better keep her mouth shut, or we’ll both get kicked out of Auradon Prep!

  And things are finally starting to go my way….

  The next Auradonna practice wasn’t until the next day, and Freddie was growing more and more restless waiting. It didn’t help that she still had no one to hang out with.

  Mal was too busy helping Ben prepare for his Auradon royal tour, and Evie was too busy sewing the costumes for the tour’s entourage. That meant Freddie spent most of the day lounging around in her dorm room by herself, shuffling her Shadow Cards while she rehearsed all the parts of the Auradonnas’ competition songs so she could be ready for practice.

  It was a few hours after dinner the night following the big fund-raiser tea party when there was a knock on Freddie’s door. She was in the middle of an especially difficult harmony part from the Auradonnas’ finale song, the one they would sing only if they got into the finals. When she heard the knock, she fell quiet and hid her deck of Shadow Cards under her pillow.

  Freddie didn’t get many visitors, so she wondered if CJ had sent her another message in a bottle…or, better yet, a message in a skull. But when she opened the door, she was shocked to see Jordan standing there.

  Again.

  “I’m beginning to think you’re stalking me,” Freddie said, placing a hand on her hip.

  Jordan ignored her and eagerly pushed her way into the dorm room, shutting the door behind her. Then she started pacing. And rambling. “I told myself the whole way here, ‘Don’t do it. Don’t get mixed up in that stuff. It’s too dangerous. Plus, you’re a genie. You have your own powers.’ But of course a genie can’t make wishes for herself. Ugh!” She pulled on the ends of her pink-striped black hair. “It’s that Snow White and her stupid celebrity show. It’s not fair. She has more equipment. She has assistants. And a marketing team. I’m just me! How can I possibly compete?”

  Freddie stood by the door, gaping at her in confusion.

  Why is Jordan pacing and talking nonsense in my dorm room?

  “Um…” Freddie began, but she was quickly cut off.

  “I almost didn’t come. I mean, I turned around three times but then I turned back around, because Ally said it was fine. But you know, Ally, she can be a little…la-di-da. You know. She gets that from her mother. I mean, the girl followed a white rabbit down a hole. Who does that?”

  At the mention of Ally’s name, Freddie felt her body tense up as a shiver of dread passed over her. “Jordan,” she said warily, “why are you here?”

  Jordan finally stopped pacing and turned to face Freddie. There was desperation in her eyes. Freddie recognized it immediately.

  Jordan took a huge breath and exhaled loudly. “I need to use your Shadow Cards.”

  Do they not know what a secret is in Auradon?

  I thought these AK kids were always bragging about how honorable they are.

  Now it was Freddie’s turn to pace and rant. “I knew I should never have trusted Ally! I knew she’d betray me! I can’t believe it!”

  “Hey,” Jordan said, attempting to calm Freddie down, “chill out. I’m not going to tell anyone. I’m an AK, I can be trusted!”

  Freddie harrumphed. “Yeah, that’s exactly what Ally said.”

  “Well, to be fair, she only told me, and it was only because she saw how upset I was,” Jordan argued. “You see, up until a few hours ago, I had the most popular Web show in Auradon! Then Snow White released footage of Sneezy’s son blowing his nose in Auto-Tune, and her numbers skyrocketed! I have to do something! I can’t let her supplant me like that!”

  “So you want to ask my Shadow Cards how to get more Web show viewers?” Freddie asked in disbelief.

  “Yes! Please help me. I’m desperate.”

  “How do I know you won’t go off and tell someone else and then, before I know it, the whole school—and Fairy Godmother—knows about my cards?”

  “You clearly have never met a genie. We have a code of ethics. I would never do that.”

  Freddie looked at Jordan, trying to decide whether to believe her. She’d already trusted one AK, and look where that had gotten her.

  “Please!” Jordan begged. “I have to take Snow White down!”

  Freddie smiled. She liked Jordan. She was about as close to a VK as you could get in Auradon. She decided if there was anyone who deserved to use her Shadow Cards, it was sassy Jordan. And who knew? Maybe after that, she and Jordan could be friends.

  Plus—Freddie had to admit—using the cards was fun. She needed a little excitement in her life.

  Freddie pulled out the deck from under her pillow. “Now, you promise you won’t tell anyone?”

  Jordan drew an invisible G over her chest. “Genie’s honor.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  Jordan rolled her eyes. “It means no, I won’t tell anyone.”

  Freddie sighed. “Fine. Come sit down.”

  She smoothed the comforter and spread the cards out in a straight line. Jordan gently lowered herself onto the bed and stared intensely at the cards. “Huh,” she said, sounding disappointed.

  “What?”

  “Nothing, I just thought they’d be…I don’t know, scarier or something.”

  Freddie scoffed. “They’re scary.”

  Jordan shrugged. “-Ish.”

  Trying to ignore the jab, Freddie took a deep breath and held her hands over the cards. She immediately felt her body hum with energy. Her shadow trembled in anticipation of being released.

  “Masters of the Shadow Land, I call upon—”

  Jordan snorted, stopping Freddie mid chant.

  “What?” Freddie snapped.

  “Seriously? Masters of the Shadow Land? That’s just a tad bit corny, don’t you think?”

  Freddie scoffed. “Do you want their help or not?”

  Jordan sat up straighter. “Yes. Absolutely. Sorry.”

  Freddie cleared her throat and restarted the chant. “Masters of the Shadow Land, I call upon your knowing hand. I offer you this sinner’s song, to guide the path she walks upon.”

  Once again, Freddie’s shadow morphed into a dark snake of smoke and slithered ominously over the back sides of the cards.

  “Now that’s more like it!” Jordan said, rubbing her hands together.

  The snake coiled and curved until it formed its question mark.

  “Go ahead,” Freddie said. “Tell the cards what you want.”

  “Do I have to compliment them first?”

  Freddie chuckled. “No, that’s just an Ally thing.”

  Jordan stared at the cards and spoke very clearly. “How do I get more viewers for my Web show so I can put that Snow White chick at number two, where she belongs?”

  Freddie stifled a giggle and they both bent forward to watch the purple ball of light bounce from card to card, finally landing on the fourth card from the left, which began to pulse urgently.

  Freddie nodded toward it. “There’s your answer.”

  Jordan flipped over the card, revealing a picture of a candlelit hallway that seemed to go on forever. Then the hallway started to move as the card came to life. Freddie felt like she was flying down the hallway, floating just inches above the ground. The picture turned left, through a grand arched doorway, and Freddie instantly recognized the room it had entered.

  “It’s the
banquet hall,” Jordan said.

  “And look,” Freddie said, pointing to the depiction of the familiar long table, filled with pastries, eggs, and fruit. “The table is set for breakfast.”

  “Why is the card showing me the banquet hall at breakfast?” Jordan asked with a slight turn to her upper lip.

  Freddie shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “You’re the shadow…whatever…person. Aren’t you supposed to interpret the cards?”

  “Why does everyone keep assuming that?” Freddie asked as she bent forward and looked at the picture again. The card was now frozen inside the banquet hall. “Maybe it’s trying to tell you to film your next episode here. During breakfast.”

  “In the banquet hall?”

  “I don’t know. You’re the Web show…whatever…person. You figure it out.”

  Jordan tilted her head. “Hmmm. Well, there is really good light in there. And I’ve always wanted to do an ‘Inside the World of Auradon Prep’ special. I guess I could give it a try. It can’t hurt, right?”

  Freddie nodded. “It definitely can’t hurt.”

  “Okay, I’ll do it!” With renewed energy, Jordan jumped off the bed and sashayed into the hallway, but not before calling out, “Thanks, Freddie. Ally was right about you. You’re pretty cool.”

  Freddie felt her lips twitching as they fought to break into a smile. She couldn’t help feeling a twinge of excitement at the compliment. She kind of liked that Jordan thought she was cool. But she also didn’t want to get a reputation for being friends with AKs, so she quickly schooled her face and mumbled, “Yeah, well, don’t tell anyone that, okay?”

  You know, I kind of liked helping Jordan and Ally.

  Wait, is Auradon Prep making me soft?

  The next morning, Freddie woke up to find she had completely slept through breakfast and was late to her History of Auradon class. She bounded out of bed and pulled back the curtains, blinking against the too-bright light that streamed through the windows.

  Freddie liked to sleep in complete darkness, because it reminded her of home, but it was hard with all the windows around Auradon Prep. So she’d had to fashion some black curtains to block all the sunlight.

  She got dressed in a hurry, barely bothering to do her hair, and ran out of the dorm toward her classroom. But when she arrived, she found Jordan standing in front of the classroom door, waiting for Freddie with her arms crossed.

  “Where have you been?” Jordan demanded. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

  She sounded mad. Freddie wondered if something had gone wrong with the Web show and Jordan was going to blame her for it.

  So she steeled herself and went on the defensive. “Look, whatever happened with your Web show, I’m not responsible. I have no control over what the cards—”

  “What are you talking about?” Jordan interrupted, hands on her hips. “Of course, you’re responsible.”

  Freddie balked slightly. “I mean, yes, I’m the shadow huntress, but that doesn’t mean you can blame me for anything.”

  Jordan cocked an eyebrow. “Shadow huntress? Really? That’s what you’re going with?”

  Freddie huffed. “The title is a work in progress.”

  “Well, whatever you are, you’re not getting out of this. I know you VKs don’t like to get compliments or whatever, but you deserve just as much credit for this success as I do.”

  Freddie opened her mouth to argue before realizing what Jordan had just said.

  Wait a minute. Success?

  “What?” Freddie asked.

  Jordan’s eyes lit up. “The episode! It’s a huge hit. You haven’t seen it yet?”

  Freddie shook her head, and Jordan whipped out her phone and turned it around so Freddie could see the screen. “I uploaded it right after breakfast and it’s already gone viral.”

  Jordan pressed play and Freddie’s eyes were glued to the screen as she watched Ben—King Ben—eating what looked like a bowl of porridge without using his hands. The white gooey breakfast was all over him—on his face, down the front of his shirt, even in his hair.

  “What is this?” Freddie asked with a chuckle.

  Jordan beamed with pride. “So, I was going to just shoot some footage around the banquet hall—you know, like Auradon Prep kids studying before class, and eating pastries, or whatever. But then Ben and Chad got into this hilarious porridge-eating contest. They challenged each other to see who could finish their bowl first without using any hands.” Jordan let out a hoot of laughter. “Everyone in Auradon is loving it! It’s a celebrity exclusive! I’m almost at a million views and it’s been up less than an hour. And look at all these comments!”

  Jordan swiped up on the screen, and Freddie read some of the things people had written about the video.

  He’s definitely his father’s son!

  Hilarious! #BeastJunior

  King vs Food. Awesome!!!

  “Isn’t it great?” Jordan asked. But before Freddie could answer, Jordan turned the screen back toward her and hit refresh. “Another hundred new subscribers! Your cards are genius. They must have somehow known this was going to happen.” Jordan seemed to notice something on her phone and her smile fell. “Oh, no. We’re late. We’d better get to class. But we have to hang out later so we can talk more about this. Okay?”

  Freddie nodded. “For sure.”

  As she followed Jordan into their history classroom, Freddie felt a swell of pride rise inside her. Her Shadow Cards had done it again. Not only had they gotten her a spot in the Auradonnas and rescued Ally’s party and saved Jordan’s Web show, now it seemed they might have solved her little loneliness problem, too.

  Wow. Those cards really are magic.

  And I know how to use them like a pro.

  By the time the last class of the day let out, everyone was talking about Jordan’s Web show. It had gotten over two million views since Jordan had posted it that morning. At lunch, Freddie even saw a table full of students attempting to impersonate Ben’s porridge fiasco with their bowls of soup. And every time she saw Jordan around school, someone was congratulating her on her brilliant episode.

  Freddie was feeling proud of herself. Not only for what she’d done for Jordan, but obviously also for what she’d done for herself. Her first Auradonnas practice was in less than two hours!

  Ally still hadn’t told the group about their new member. She insisted they wait until Freddie’s first rehearsal, claiming it would be better to announce it to the group while Freddie was there and could show off her singing chops.

  As she walked back to the dorm from her Remedial Goodness 101 class, Freddie slipped her hand into her pocket and ran her thumb affectionately over the deck, like she was saying thank you.

  She couldn’t believe she was actually going to be singing with the number one a cappella group in all of Auradon! She was one step closer to her big dream of becoming a famous jazz singer. She could already feel the bright lights shining down on her on that stage. She could already hear the roar of the crowd. She could already—

  BAM!

  Freddie must not have been watching where she was going, because she tripped over a tree root and landed on the grass with an “ooph!”

  “Oh, dear,” someone said with a cheerful voice. “Are you all right?”

  Freddie peered up to see Headmistress Fairy Godmother standing over her.

  “Yes, I’m fine.” Freddie nervously jumped to her feet and slipped her hand into her dress pocket to check for the cards.

  But the cards weren’t there.

  Panicked, Freddie glanced around her, spotting the deck right next to Fairy Godmother’s feet!

  Her heart started to race. If Fairy Godmother saw those cards, everything would be ruined! She’d confiscate them for sure and probably kick Freddie out of school! Then Freddie would never get to sing in the Auradonnas!

  She needed to distract Fairy Godmother with something so she could bend down and scoop up the cards without her noticing.

/>   What I wouldn’t give for a sidekick right now, Freddie thought, missing CJ more than ever. CJ would know what to do. She’d run into Fairy Godmother. Or pull the fire alarm. Or make a loud—

  CRASH!

  Freddie and Fairy Godmother both looked over to see Carlos’s dog, Dude, running wild through the campus with Carlos chasing him. Dude had just knocked over a table of supplies that the nature club had been setting up.

  Freddie moved quickly, using the distraction to bend down, scoop up her cards, and return them to her pocket.

  “Carlos!” Fairy Godmother said, turning to join the chase. “I told you to keep that dog on a leash!”

  Freddie breathed out a sigh of relief and continued toward the dorm. But just before she walked through the front door, she felt someone’s hand on her arm.

  “I need to talk to you,” he said.

  She turned to see it was Carlos. He was completely out of breath, but he had Dude clutched under one arm.

  “Okay,” Freddie said. “So talk.”

  Carlos’s eyes darted back and forth suspiciously, like he was afraid of being followed by spies.

  “Not here. Come with me.” He led Freddie away from the dorm, across the tourney field, and into a small shed that was filled with uniforms and tourney sticks. He placed Dude on the ground, and the dog started to sniff around.

  “What is this place?” Freddie asked.

  “It’s the tourney shed. Look, Jordan told me what you did for her.”

  Freddie felt her stomach swoop. “What?”

  “She told me you helped her. With your Shadow Cards. Dude! I didn’t even know you’d brought them with you.”

  Dude perked up his head at his name. Carlos laughed. “Not you Dude. Her dude.”

  Dude’s head tilted in confusion.

  “Never mind,” Carlos muttered.

  Freddie’s teeth instinctively clenched. “Jordan! I swear those AK kids cannot keep a secret.”

  Carlos laughed. “I could have told you that. Anyway, I need your help, too.”