The Book Of Shade (Shadeborn 1)

by Finn, K. C.

  “There’s one more thing,” he continued. “I want to see his coat.”

  It was Lily who led him upstairs to her mother’s wardrobe in the end. The frightened human waited at the foot of the stairs, desperate to be rid of the two abominations invading her home. For her part Lily couldn’t wait to be gone either, back to Jazzy and Novel and the theatre people, who didn’t care if she was human or not. She threw open the wardrobe doors and ripped a whole stack of clothes aside to reveal it: a huge, long overcoat made of real fur. Novel ran his fingers over the fabric gently.

  “This is old,” he mused. “Much, much older than me. Perhaps even older than Salem.”

  “Do you know who the description fits?” Lily asked in a whisper.

  Novel sucked in his lip a moment. “I have a few suspicions, but we’re going to need some help.”

  He stepped over to the bedroom window and put his face close to it, breathing hard on the glass so it fogged over with condensation. With one long, pale finger Novel drew a runic symbol in the patch of breath. Lily knew she had seen the symbol before, but she didn’t have a second to remember where it was from, as a small man in khaki overalls stepped through the window from nowhere at all. He hobbled into the room and wriggled out his bristly moustache.

  “Afternoon Monsieur,” said Gideon Pratt with a bow, “Miss.”

  “I’d like to place an order for a two-way mirror,” Novel said thoughtfully.

  “Time or place?” Pratt asked, getting out a little notebook to jot down the particulars.

  “Time,” Novel answered.

  Pratt sucked in a breath, making his teeth whistle.

  “Ooh. Difficult to get parts this time of year. Could take a month or so.”

  Novel took his roll of money from inside his long coat and waved it at the little man.

  “A fortnight, surely, at most?” he asked.

  “I’ll see what I can do, Sir,” Pratt answered, sparing Lily a smile as she judged him for his shameless greed. “Will there be anything else?”

  “Passage back to the theatre, right now,” Novel replied. He turned to Lily with an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry, but there’s no way I can be surrounded by humans for another four hours to get home.”

  Upon hearing the quiet sobs erupting from the bottom of the staircase, Lily found herself in total agreement with him. Her home life had always been on the verge of this colossal break, and though Lily did feel some relief that it finally arrived, she still felt the deep weight of sorrow settling in her chest. Lily could only nod sadly at Novel, and the windowmaker went to work on their portal at once.

  Mood Killers

  Novel didn’t volunteer any information on what the enchanted mirror would do, but he assured Lily that they would soon know which house of shades she belonged to. In the meantime they continued to practice her powers, expanding her abilities to include learning to control the random gusts of air she was prone to producing when she felt threatened. A nasty sounding email from Professor Havers also awaited her one night to tell her that her last assignment had barely scraped a pass, and she would need to study hard for her final exams in June in order to remain on the Modern History module next year.

  Jazzy was more upset about this than Lily herself and, between them, they buried her in a fine selection of textbooks that she fell asleep on every afternoon, after reading until her eyes felt like they were bleeding. A reading week spent studying both history and shademagic sent Lily’s stress levels through the roof, and Jazzy insisted on taking her out to Guttersnipes to have a break from the two obligations that were driving her insane. It took some persuasion, but on the last night of May, she finally agreed.

  “Can I ask you something?” Jazzy said as they approached the main street filled with pubs and clubs.

  “That sentence never ends well,” Lily replied.

  Jazzy fell silent, but the moment was not to last.

  “You know you said that you had a boyfriend and therefore automatically you weren’t interested in Novel?”

  The words came out in a great long jumble that Lily had to slowly decode.

  “I’m not sure that I actually said that,” she answered, “but make your point.”

  “Well you haven’t seen Michael for like, a month,” Jazzy continued. “You haven’t even come to the IMLS.”

  They showed their IDs at the door to Guttersnipes, and got their hands stamped to go in.

  “And?” Lily said, giving her friend a prod.

  “And I just wondered if you and Novel…” Jazzy screwed up her mouth to stop herself grinning. “If anything had happened.”

  In truth, several things had happened. The Kindred Flame was one thing, and his fierce protective instincts were another. There had been odd connections in the Dreamstate and through the Book of Shade. They had spent a night curled up in bed together, though admittedly they had only been sleeping, and been spotted walking with their arms wrapped close around each other at a strangely early hour in the spring rain. And then there was what Salem had told her, plain as day, with no huge looming counterargument waiting to depose his theory.

  “We’re not like that,” Lily insisted, though she wasn’t sure she completely believed herself anymore. “We just train. Sometime we talk, but it’s mostly magic related.”

  They arrived at the bar just in time to be ignored as they tried to order. Jazzy leant with impatience on the neon surface.

  “But how do you feel when you’re around him?” she urged, the matchmaking instinct showing in her eager grin.

  Lily paused a moment as words came flooding to her lips. Safe. Comfortable. Protected. And maybe just a little afraid.

  “I don’t get all hot and bothered, if that’s what you mean,” she said, but even as the words left her lips, Lily thought of how handsome Novel’s angular face and high cheekbones actually were. “God you’re such a bad influence,” she added, “I train with him every night now. I can’t afford to let thoughts like that into my head, and make everything awkward and embarrassing.”

  Since that very first time when he had frightened the life out of her, things had never been awkward with Novel. Despite not understanding what he was on about half the time, and spending the other half listening to him tell her that she was doing everything wrong, they had never had difficulty in talking or spending huge amounts of time together. Even when they starbathed on the roof in perfect silence, there wasn’t a moment where Lily felt compelled to get away from him. If anything, right now, she always wanted to stay with him and carry on whatever they were doing.

  “You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” Jazzy said with a grin.

  “Shut up,” Lily answered, whistling at the barman to get their drinks.

  A couple of alcopops later, the girls were sitting at a table and chatting about TV when a familiar face made Lily cringe. Michael had spotted them from across the dancefloor and he was making his way over with a grin and a wave. Lily could feel herself sinking into her seat, disturbed by his cheerful disposition. Jazzy only had to follow her gaze to see what the matter was, and in true best friend fashion, she gave Michael the obligatory nasty look as he arrived beside them.

  “All right babe?” he said, planting a small kiss on Lily’s cheek that shocked her.

  “Babe?” she repeated. “I thought we were done with that, what with not speaking for a month and all?”

  “Ah yeah,” Michael replied with a wave. “Water. Bridge. You know how it goes. I miss having you around, so we need to forget all that.”

  “Do we?” Lily asked, remembering how he had accused her of being a rinser.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said, stumbling over his own shoe. Lily rolled her eyes as she realised this couldn’t have been the first watering hole he’d hit tonight. “You and me had good fun. We should do that again, you know?”

  Lily didn’t have the heart to tell him to get lost. He was just drunk enough that he might turn ugly, or even start to cry, and the last thing Lily wanted on her
relaxing night out was a big, embarrassing scene. Michael pulled up a seat for himself and made to speak again, but suddenly he spotted someone over Lily’s head and waved at them, highly enthused.

  “Molly G!” he cried happily.

  Molly sported a party dress that was very different to her usual keep fit style. She leant on the table and looked the three of them over with a big grin.

  “Aw you guys all friends again now?” she checked with a happy nod. “That’s so good to see!”

  “We’re happy-happy!” Michael said, raising his glass and giving Lily a smile that she didn’t return.

  “Cool,” Molly added, then she suddenly snapped her fingers. “I know what I wanted to ask you Lils. Where did your boyfriend get his umbrella? I wanted to get one for my dad. He loves all that vintage stuff.”

  “What boyfriend?” Michael snapped, his glass clanging down hard on the table.

  Lily stammered, unable to stop Molly from continuing.

  “That magician guy who wears all the cool retro clothes. I saw you cozied up with him the other morning at the station?” she said it like Lily would need reminding. “Off for a naughty weekend eh? Nice one.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Michael shouted. “You don’t mean the one with the white hair?”

  Molly looked shocked at his tone, clearly none the wiser to anything that had gone on. She just nodded.

  “I knew it,” he raged, turning and pointing a finger at Lily. “I bloody knew there was another guy!”

  “Don’t even start with me,” Lily began sharply. “You’ve got it all wrong and even if you didn’t, it’s not your business, because we’re over.”

  He got that same ugly look he’d had when they had argued at the dorm, and Lily couldn’t stand another moment of the sight of him. She marched across the dancefloor, weaving in and out of a crowd of people and fully intending to get out of the club as quickly as possible.

  Until she saw the pack of shadehunters surrounding the exit.

  The five cloaked figures were spreading out amongst the half-soaked teens, and looking around as if they were absorbing the details of the scene. Not wanting to look out of place, Lily receded back into the dancers and mingled right towards the back of a mob of twerkers that she hoped would draw the hunters’ eyes away from her. Her heart caught in her throat as she wondered whether they would be able to feel her powers if she were to pass them and try to leave.

  A hand grabbed her wrist gently and she turned to shake it off, shocked to find Novel’s pale eyes boring into her own with desperate worry. He looked stupendously unlike himself, dressed in black jeans and a grey hoodie, which was pulled up over his bright hair to conceal it under the coloured lights of the club. He took one of Lily’s hands and put it on his shoulder, making her do the same with the other, and then the illusionist slowly began to move with the beat.

  “Try not to look so scared,” he said in a low tone. “They’ve never seen our faces. If we don’t cast any magic, they won’t know who we are. We’re students. We’re dancing. Just like normal humans do.”

  Lily levelled her expression and slowly started to step to the beat, noticing Novel’s feet were already moving with his usual precise syncopation. He put one hand on her waist and pulled her closer, so he could speak quietly into her ear.

  “How did you know I was here?” she asked, feeling his lips bump her earlobe on occasion.

  “I was tracking them,” he replied. “They’ve been scouring every club in town tonight.”

  “Not a good sign,” Lily exclaimed in a strained whisper. “Don’t you think that means they’re know that they’re looking for a student?”

  “Possibly,” he replied, “but think of how many students there are in Piketon. We’re quite safe. Just keep dancing until they move along to the next club.”

  Lily gripped his shoulders harder.

  “I don’t feel safe,” she said.

  The beat changed as the DJ altered the song, and Lily caught sight of one of the shadehunters about two feet behind Novel. He had rounded the whole club and was now surveying the dancefloor. She gasped, and in the same moment, Novel pulled her close against his body again, forcing her shocked expression to fall, hidden against his chest. She could feel his whole frame twisting to the new baseline as her body sank into his, her legs trembling a little as she tried to follow his steps.

  “Salem and Baptiste are both outside,” he murmured, his soft lips resting against her forehead. “You know I’d see this whole club go up in flames before I let them get you.”

  Novel turned her so she couldn’t see the hunter and instead she caught sight of Michael, who still at the table with Jazzy. He was staring, furious and open-mouthed, whilst Jazzy watched with a tiny smile creeping into the corner of her lips. Lily straightened up against Novel’s body and gave him a smile, replacing her arms around his neck.

  “You’re right,” she said gently. “We’ve got to act natural.”

  They swayed together to the new beat and Lily felt a strange rush as she concentrated for the first time on their bodies being so close together. Michael was quite right to be outraged at the way Novel’s perfect dance moves kept them in a well-practised v-frame, their hips sidling against one another until Lily pulled him close again by his neck. Novel’s unsmiling face was twitchy and nervous as it got nearer to her own. He’d seemed cool and confident when he was the one pulling Lily closer, but now that she was reciprocating the motion, confidence was slowly draining from his pale face.

  “Didn’t have you down as a fan of the Bieb,” she murmured.

  “I’m a performer,” he replied, with a hitch in his usually deep tone, “and there’s not a rhythm put on this earth that I can’t dance to.”

  It was true. Despite his obvious growing nerves, Novel’s feet were always perfectly placed. Lily caught sight of Michael storming off past the edge of the dancefloor, and the shadehunter who had been behind Novel was now nowhere to be seen.

  “Are they still behind me?” Lily whispered against Novel’s face.

  Their foreheads came to touch, and a single spark reminded them to keep their distance from that genuine contact.

  “They’re regrouping at the exit,” he replied. “You know, your little human boyfriend won’t be happy about this.”

  “I don’t have a little human boyfriend anymore,” Lily answered with another grin. She felt his hands tighten at her hips.

  “In that case, let’s keep dancing,” Novel breathed back. “We’ll give the hunters some time to get out and move along.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Lily rested her head on his chest again, this time finding all kinds of comfort and warmth in his touch. Jazzy was giving her a very intrusive double thumbs up from their table, which she attempted to ignore, but even the mere thought of what Jazzy had already assumed gave Lily a little chill.

  JUNE

  The Two-Way Mirror

  Novel left painfully abruptly after ensuring that Lily and Jazzy had made it safely back to Wellesley Dorm. He advised her against going out again at night to public places, but made no attempt to physically touch her in any way after they had broken from the dance. For a brief moment, Lily had let herself believe that Lemarick Novel was actually into her, and now she found herself coming down from that particular cloud at record speed. By the time she was ready to attend her next night of training, Lily had worked herself into a nervous frenzy, certain that she would embarrass herself in front of him if she even seemed remotely friendly after their languid dancing at the club.

  Her nerves were overtaken by a whole new set of problems when she arrived to find Novel and Salem bickering in the sitting room. Sparks were quite literally flying, and ricocheting off the walls as Novel, tightly wound up, spoke through gritted teeth to his father. The older shade, for his part, simply relaxed with his usual salacious grin. Salem was spread across the sofa in that same short dressing gown with his legs wide apart, and Lily mercifully noted he had th
ought to put on boxers underneath it.

  “If you feel that way, then by all means be free to go out there and get yourself killed,” Novel griped. “I shan’t stand in your way.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Salem cooed, his eyes sparkling as Lily gingerly entered the room, “Hello sweetheart. Lemmy’s sure got a treat for you.”

  ‘Lemmy’ clearly didn’t appreciate his nickname as a bolt of lightning hit the space directly between Salem’s legs, singeing the old sofa with a vicious black scorch. The older shade gathered himself and sat upright quickly. Even Salem knew when he had pushed Novel too far.

  “A treat, Novel?” Lily asked, being sure to ignore Salem and use her mentor’s proper name. She sat down on the other sofa beside the illusionist, and he seemed to regain a calmer disposition.

  “The mirror I ordered has arrived,” Novel explained. He snapped his fingers at Salem. “You’re finished with it.”

  It was not a question, and Salem suddenly looked a little less willing to give a cheeky reply. He fished what looked like a large-ish compact mirror out from his silky pocket and let it float in a wide arc until it reached Novel’s waiting hand. It was coated in the same ornate bronze patterns that adorned the mirror in Novel’s dressing room, and sat about the size of a DVD disc in his hand. Novel pushed the compact open with a click, revealing two mirrors within the clam-like shape. Their elbows bumped gently as Novel handed the open mirror to Lily.

  “I did have it the right way up until he got his hands on it,” Novel said, shooting another dark look at Salem. If it was a signal for him to leave the room, the older shade was clearly pretending not to notice it. “Take a look into the top one first, see if you see anything from your past that you recognise.”

  “My past?” Lily repeated. Novel gave a short nod.

  At first, Lily only saw her own face, frowning at the collection of freckles that were already threatening to take over her skin despite summer having only just begun. It was after some hazy moments had passed that she was able to look straight through her own reflection, training her eyes in a kind of illusion as the mirror deepened into a whole new scene.