Magic at Midnight

by Lyssa Chiavari

  This was her last chance to make up with Nabil before he found out she’d been lying to him. Grabbing a peace offering from the dining hall, she made her way to Nabil’s room.

  Once she arrived at his room, she banged on his door. “Nabil, open up.”

  “Leave me alone.”

  Frowning, she leaned against the frame. “Nabil, seriously. I don’t have time for this. Open up right now.”

  “No.”

  A loud sigh escaped her lips. “I can’t believe you’re making me say this, but I’ve brought pie.”

  There was only a moment’s pause before the shuffling of Nabil’s footsteps came near. The door opened a crack, revealing her dear friend with a smile across his face. “Did you say pie?”

  “Let me in, you fool.” She thrust the plate of pie toward him and stormed into the room.

  Kjersi waited as Nabil gobbled his pie. “You act like a starved man.”

  “I’ve missed supper the last two nights,” he said with a full mouth.

  She threw up her hands. “Whose fault is that? I told you this contest was bad news from the start. I can’t wait for it to be over.”

  “Well, someone’s going to Earth,” Nabil grumbled. “And it’s not me.”

  “Me, either,” she said. “Would I be here otherwise?”

  He swallowed and then set down the empty plate. “I don’t understand why you pretend not to get excited about things like Earth, but then as soon as Ronan gets in you’re all over him in what I can only assume is an attempt to try to leave Leo 6.”

  She took a deep breath. “Nabil, no. You’ve got it all wrong.”

  Nabil shook his head, his eyes getting wide. “And Ronan. How can you stand that guy? Kissing up to him just because he has a ticket to Earth?”

  Kjersi’s breath caught in her throat. “Nabil—”

  “If you wanted to leave the mines so much, I could have helped you.” Nabil’s voice got louder, faster. “But you hid it from me, and then when you needed help you went to Ronan instead.”

  “Stop, please—”

  “Seriously, Kjersi.” He was practically yelling at her now. “Why can’t you see that it’s not fair? If you’d just let me take you and your sister to the surface, she’d have a chance. But, no. You’d rather take off to Earth yourself.”

  “Enough, Nabil!” Kjersi exploded. “I was never going to Earth. I wanted to win for Jaala.”

  “She’s—wait, what?”

  “That’s what I came here to tell you. Jaala was supposed to go to Earth. She needed that ticket more than anyone down here. And now—it’s too late.”

  Nabil stood there staring at Kjersi, his mouth open as if he was going to continue arguing with her. Instead, he shook his head. “So you were never going to leave?” he asked.

  “Never.”

  “Then I’ve got something to show you.” Nabil reached into his pocket, revealing a large chunk of Painite. “I was about to use this for myself,” he said, passing her the gem. “But I want you to take it for Jaala.”

  “Nabil,” she whispered, “I—I don’t know what to say.”

  “Just tell me your sister is going to Earth, and I’ll be happy.”

  “Thank you!” Kjersi threw herself into Nabil’s arms, embracing him tight. “If I hurry, I might be able to catch the lift driver.”

  As the door slid open, she called back to Nabil. “Thank you for the Painite. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Promise,” he called after her.

  Before she could respond, Kjersi ran into Ronan in the hallway. “Move, Ronan.” Kjersi scrambled past him trying to get to the lift.

  Ronan grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her against the wall, flashing the knife from the dining hall in his other hand. “Did I hear you say that you’ve got a new Painite?”

  “Let me go.” Kjersi struggled against his grip.

  Ronan leaned in to her face, so close the heat of his breath warmed her cheek. “Tell me, how does a dead girl make it to the surface?”

  Kjersi brought up her knee, connecting with Ronan’s groin. His grip instantly loosened as he stumbled back a step. It was all Kjersi needed to get away. His voice screamed after her as she sprinted down the hallway, toward her room. Just a few steps away, Ronan jumped her from behind and knocked her to the ground.

  He flipped her over, pinning her to the floor with his knees as he rifled through her clothing with one hand while holding the knife against her neck with the other. “Your entire family has always thought they were so special. My father told me all about the time your father found the Painite and won the president’s approval, and how your father threw it in my father’s face. He was as arrogant as you are, but now it’s my turn to shine.”

  “Let her go, Ronan.” Nabil’s voice came from behind Ronan, out of Kjersi’s line of sight.

  Ronan shook his head. “You don’t realize what she’s got. Ah-ha!” Ronan cried out as his hand landed on Kjersi’s pant pocket, against the lump of Painite. He pulled it out of her pocket, away from her body, and lifted it into the air. “It’s mine!” Ronan cried. “I’m going to Earth.” He climbed off Kjersi’s bruised body and flashed the gem at Nabil.

  “Give me that!” Nabil cried out. He lunged at Ronan as Kjersi scrambled out of the way. The two boys tumbled to the ground together, a mess of arms and legs, before Nabil managed to get the upper hand.

  Kjersi slid herself up the wall into a standing position, her legs shaky from her fall. She ran a hand to her chin and found a small cut where she’d been nicked by Ronan’s knife. The sight of blood on her fingers as she drew them away made her gasp.

  “Nabil, careful!”

  But it was too late. A scream escaped Nabil’s lips at the same time Kjersi called out her warning. She watched in horror as her best friend’s body stiffened against Ronan’s frame, and then crumpled as Ronan pushed him off.

  “Guards!” Kjersi screamed. “Someone, help!”

  Ronan’s eyes were wide as he got to his feet, blood staining his clothes where Nabil’s life had spilled out onto him. He scrambled down the hall, running away from the body and toward the lift.

  “Nabil,” Kjersi cried, kneeling next his limp body. “Nabil, answer me.” She cradled his head in her lap, trying to wipe away the dust from his face as she willed his eyes to open. “It’s going to be okay; just hang in there.”

  But Nabil didn’t answer. His face lay slack where her tears fell onto his skin. His torso was dark where the blood had seeped through his clothing. Ronan had killed Nabil and now Ronan was gone—and so was the Painite. Everything was wrong. This wasn’t how things were supposed to end.

  Kjersi stumbled from Nabil’s body. She knew she had to put distance between them. The knife was still there, and she was the only one here. The guards would come soon, and then she’d be questioned and probably locked up. Jaala would be left alone to die. She couldn’t let her sister die alone.

  Stumbling to their room, Kjersi stopped and looked at Jaala. Her sister’s body had withered away to bone, barely a spark of life left under the shriveled skin. Kjersi couldn’t take it anymore: the loss, the hopelessness. Maybe Jaala had been right. Maybe having hope was better than not having it at all. She curled up on her bed and let the tears fall.

  “Don’t cry, sister,” Jaala’s muffled voice said from her side of the room. “I’ll be gone soon, and you won’t have to worry any longer.”

  “I’m so sorry, Jaala,” Kjersi said. “I tried to get you to Earth with some Painite Papa had left us. I got you in, I really did. But someone stole our last piece and has gone to take your place.”

  “I thought you didn’t care about Earth,” Jaala said, her voice nothing more than a wheeze.

  “I don’t.” Kjersi kneeled at her sister’s bedside. “That was for you, not me. But now Nabil’s been killed and soon I’ll lose you too.”

  “You’d never go?” she asked.

  Kjersi shook her head. “I could never leave you.”

  Jaala was
silent a moment, her breath pausing as she raised a hand. “Kjersi, reach under my bed, along the bottom of my mattress.”

  Kjersi didn’t argue; her sister too weak to ask again. She ran her hand under the thin cotton padding until it bumped against something hard.

  “What’s this—?” Kjersi paused as she pulled out the largest Painite she’d ever seen. It fit perfectly in the palm of her hand.

  “Papa left us both some Painite,” Jaala said. “Will this be enough to win the contest?”

  “Jaala,” Kjersi said, standing. “Why didn’t you give me this before?”

  She coughed out a half-laugh. “Because I knew you wouldn’t go, and I knew I’d never make it.”

  Kjersi shook her head. “You of all people should know you still have to try.”

  “I’ll go if you promise the trip won’t be a waste.”

  Kjersi leaned down and scooped up her sister’s frail body. It barely took any effort. Her tiny bones were so fine, Kjersi was afraid she’d break before they got to their destination.

  ♛

  The lift driver hesitated only a moment until Kjersi thrust her palm full of Painite into his face. His eyes didn’t leave the rust-colored gem, blackened from the dust of the mines. But Kjersi kept it close to her and Jaala, whom she cradled in her arms the entire way.

  She strode from the lift to the office doors, knowing she’d find Nabil’s killer somewhere on the other side. As she entered the pristine white office, an alarm blared from the speakers in the ceiling. She stormed straight to the doors of the president’s chambers and kicked at the door.

  “Hold on,” the secretary cried out. “You’re not allowed in here!”

  “Trust me,” Kjersi said, flashing the fist of Painite at the woman. “He wants to see this.”

  The secretary stepped back, typing furiously on her screen until the large doors finally opened. Inside the office, next to the president’s desk, Ronan crossed his arms.

  “My piece is larger than the first two,” Ronan gloated to Kjersi. “Looks like I’m the winner.”

  “He’s right, my dear,” the president said, not peeling his eyes away from the gem as he washed away its last remnants of mine dust. “It’s only larger in the slightest, but still a winner nonetheless.”

  Kjersi set down Jaala in the chair across from the president’s desk and turned to the two men. “If there’s time, 930410 has one last entry.”

  The president remained focused on the Painite in the glass of water. “930410?” The president’s eyes narrowed. “I thought I told you never to return to the surface.”

  “Are you sure?” Kjersi asked, lifting her palm, revealing the ball of Painite. Ronan gasped, and the president jumped from his chair, toppling it over behind him. “My word—it’s beautiful—where did you—just amazing!” The president cried out his approval, crawling over the top of his desk to take the Painite from Kjersi. “Of course there’s room for 930410, of course there is.”

  “This isn’t fair!” Ronan pounded a fist against the president’s desk, leaving a black mark of dust in its wake.

  The president turned toward Ronan, eyes narrowed as he ran a finger along the black mark on his desk and raised it to his face. A frown crossed his lips as he turned back to Ronan. “Take him away!”

  Two guards burst from a hidden door behind the president’s desk, grabbing Ronan on each side. He fought against them as they dragged him from the office. “And run a test on that blood on his shirt,” the president called out. “I imagine we might find it links to someone in the mines. Can’t risk losing miners—not when we’re finding all of this Painite!”

  He turned toward Kjersi. “Now say your goodbyes. The rocket leaves soon!”

  Kjersi turned and kneeled in front of Jaala, carefully embracing her sister so as not to hurt her. But when Kjersi pulled her sister close, Jaala slumped forward with the same slack that Kjersi had felt just moments before with Nabil in her arms.

  “Jaala,” Kjersi cried. “Jaala, please answer me.”

  “Come, 930410,” the president called, now standing at the door behind his desk. “The rocket is this way.”

  “But she’s gone.”

  The president looked behind Kjersi and scrunched up his nose. “Oh, dear. Just terrible. I’m so sorry for your loss. But this is your last chance, 930410. Are you going to Earth, or not?”

  Kjersi kissed Jaala’s cheek and then rose from her sister’s side. “You don’t understand—she is 930410.”

  “Impossible,” the president said. “You are. We read your birthcode when you come into this office.” He motioned to the goggles on top of her head. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s who the winner is. So is that your number or not?”

  Kjersi’s hand moved to the goggles. Jaala’s goggles. She’d never swapped them back. To the president, she was 930410. She was the winner.

  “Hurry up and decide,” he urged. “The countdown is about to begin.”

  Kjersi took one last look behind her at the dark trail Ronan had left on the white carpet of the president’s office. Even Jaala’s frail corpse was a sharp contrast to the surroundings of the surface dwellers. Up here reminded her of everything she despised about Leo 6. But could she ever return to the mines without Nabil or Jaala?

  Looking back at the president’s hidden steel door, she knew what she had to do. She was the one girl on this wretched planet who’d sworn she’d never leave. A life in the mines was all that she’d ever known. But she’d made a promise to Jaala, and that was the only way Kjersi could keep her sister alive.

  Turning back to the president, she nodded and walked through the door. Inside the hull of the rocket, Kjersi could see the dark skies through the telescreens in front of the pilot seat. It was just as Nabil had described. Kjersi took her seat, her gaze focused on the vast darkness that enveloped the stars. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the darkness patiently waited for her in her new home in the skies.

  About the Author

  From her home in the land of living skies, Melanie McFarlane writes fantastical stories that span from hope to tragedy, showing that the human spirit can persevere even in the darkest of times. Connect with Melanie at www.melaniemcfarlane.com for free short stories and swag.

  Books by Melanie McFarlane:

  The Missing Guardian (The Descendants, Book 1)

  The Mer Queen’s Daughter (The Descendants, Book 2)

  There Once Were Stars (Dome 1618, Book 1)

  Here Skies Surround Us (Dome 1618, Book 2)

  Summoner Rising

  Solstice Spell

  a retelling of The Nutcracker Prince

  ♛

  CLARE DUGMORE

  Clara Birch stood in the queue to get into Sugar Plums nightclub, her legs shaking and her body shivering. But it wasn’t due to the freezing December weather, or the ballgown she had on. Clara was trembling with anticipation, hoping the fake IDs she and her best friend, Marie, had would hold up to inspection.

  Sugar Plums was the place to be in the city in the lead up to Christmas. Every year on the solstice, they held a masquerade ball, and Clara had been longing to go ever since she’d been old enough to notice the posters and signs for it around town.

  As she grew from a toddler to a child and then a teen, she became increasingly jealous of her older sister, Louise, who could go to Sugar Plums. Now, Louise was at home with a young baby, and Clara saw this as her time to shine. It didn’t matter that she still had dolls hidden away, or that she daydreamed of meeting Prince Charming. She could have both. She could be grown-up like Louise but still play the make-believe games she loved.

  She and Marie had been planning this for months. She’d been saving her pocket money and birthday money to put toward the price of a ticket and a dress for the ball. After school, she and Marie had used the computers at the local library to acquire fake IDs and order their tickets. It was all she’d ever wanted—to attend a ball like the ones in the fairy tales she loved, and perhaps even… Clar
a shook her head. It was a silly daydream. Handsome princes didn’t come riding along on white horses to rescue fair maidens.

  Clara just hoped the IDs would do the trick. She was almost seventeen, but still over a year away from legally being allowed into nightclubs, bars, and pubs. Though she thought with the right makeup and clothes that she looked much older than her age. It was time to put that theory to the test.

  As another patron was admitted into the club, Clara and Marie shuffled closer to the entrance. She could already hear the music coming from inside—festive and lively. It made her heart soar, and she desperately wanted to dance. This time of year was always so magical. The city’s Christmas lights were twinkling, sparkling snow blanketed the ground, and the seasonal music from inside Sugar Plums added to the merry atmosphere.

  Eventually, she and Marie reached the front of the queue, and a bouncer dressed as a toy soldier in a red jacket with black trimming said, “Tickets and IDs?”

  Clara and Marie handed them over. The bouncer inspected them for a moment, comparing the pictures on the IDs to the girls in front of him, then nodded his head.

  “In you go, ladies,” he said, handing the items back.

  The girls grinned at each other and entered Sugar Plums.

  If Clara had thought it was festive outside, inside was like a Christmas shop had exploded. Tinsel, baubles, fairy lights, and other decorations covered every available surface, as an LED hub shone green and red lights across the darkened room. Somewhere above, a snow machine produced fake snow that was enhanced with glitter and fell in sparkling flakes to the floor.

  “Oh my God, this is amazing,” Clara squealed, grabbing Marie’s hand and dragging her into the center of the dance floor.

  All around them were women in elaborate silk ballgowns, and men dressed in the finest suits, complete with tails and cravats.

  “Can we get you girls a drink?”