Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances

by T. M. Franklin

  Throwing my notes down, I ran out of my room. As soon as I was outside of the door I felt something snap in my mind, like a thread breaking, and the images were gone. My breathing started to even out. This is stupid! Stop it right now, I said sternly to myself, not believing I was doing this again. Maybe I was reading too much stuff, and Isaiah was right, I was scaring myself. I took a deep breath and walked back into my room. I was glad to see Bess still sleeping soundly. I hadn’t woken her.

  I picked up all my papers and put them in the desk drawer. I made up my mind that for the rest of the summer they would stay right there. I climbed into bed, and turned off my light.

  Sleep was a long time coming that night; when I finally did fall asleep, I had nightmares. I found myself wandering through the halls of Tucker Hill. There were pictures on the wall of people I didn’t know, but who looked familiar to me. This should have been calming, but for some reason, it terrified me. I woke just as dawn was breaking in a cold sweat, with a scream rising in my throat. I caught myself just in time, before the scream escaped and I woke everyone in the house.

  I climbed out of bed, knowing that sleep would elude me for the rest of the morning. I really knew that I was done researching this house now. It was affecting me while I was awake, as well as making its way into my dreams. “Yes, I am done with this,” I whispered.

  I took the other novel I had bought the same day and went out onto the back porch to read. I curled up on the swing, and lost myself in its pages, glad for the distraction from my dreams of last night. Suddenly I heard the phone ringing; I got up, and made my way inside the house. I picked up the phone, wondering who would be calling so early. “Hello?”

  “Good morning, Elizabeth.” I didn’t recognize the voice, but it sent a shiver down my spine. The familiarity in the tone made it sound like he knew me.

  “Who is this?” I asked, tensing, as I waited for him to answer me.

  “I believe that you are doing some research on Tucker Hill, is that not correct?” he asked.

  “Who is this?” I asked again, the irritation dripping out with each word.

  “Someone you will want to know. I can tell you a lot about Hyattsville. My name is Jeremiah.”

  “Jeremiah, I would like to know how you got my name and phone number.” I was really uneasy now. I thought to myself that maybe someone was playing a cruel trick on me. I could feel my anger rising.

  “No, Elizabeth, this is no joke. I think you really need to meet with me so we can talk,” he replied, in a very quiet tone.

  “Sir, thank you for your interest in helping me, but I don’t think that I’ll be taking you up on your offer. I’m done doing research on that place,” I snapped.

  “Elizabeth,” he said with a sigh. “We will be talking soon. It is for everyone’s best interest. Good day, my dear, I will be in touch again.”

  The phone went dead. My heart was racing as I rushed down the hallway to my room, and I threw my book onto the bed, grabbed my shorts and shirt, and headed for the bathroom. I showered, and was dressed before anyone else was up. As I walked into the kitchen, my mind was racing. All I could think of was talking to Isaiah about the phone call from this Jeremiah person. I hurried through breakfast, and asked Mom if I could use the phone.

  “Hey, sorry to call you this early, but can you talk?” I knew my voice would give me away.

  “What’s wrong, Elizabeth?” he asked a second later It was nice to know that there was someone who could tell from my voice that something was wrong.

  “Last night, I dreamed about the house,” I whispered. “Then, this morning, a man called and told me that he could tell me about Tucker Hill. Isaiah, he knew my name!”

  “How did he get your name and number? We haven’t told anyone about our research,” Isaiah said. I could hear the concern in his voice.

  “I know that! Why do you think I am so upset? What am I going to do?” I felt like crying.

  “What did you say to him?” Isaiah asked. His voice didn’t sound as calm and soothing as it usually did to me.

  I told him everything I could remember about the brief phone conversation. He listened without interrupting me.

  “I don’t know, Elizabeth. Maybe we should tell your mom?” He sounded just as worried as I felt.

  “No! We can’t tell anyone. I’m more worried about Mom getting upset that I’m looking for supernatural phenomena than anything else. She will be so upset with me for wasting time like that. We have to keep this between us for now, you promise me, Isaiah,” I said, rather sternly.

  “I promise, but if he calls again, I think we have to tell.” I could hear the hurt in his voice.

  “I know. But for now, let’s just wait and see. I’m sorry I was so short with you for a minute. The phone call just upset me.” I suddenly felt drained from the fear that was rushing through me. “Do you think we can postpone the visit to your house today?”

  “It’s okay. I can let Mom know. Do you want me to come over today? We could hang out, or go to the park, if you like.” His voice was back to that soothing tone that I so loved to here.

  “Hold on, while I ask.” Placing my hand over the phone so I didn’t hurt his ear, I shouted, “Mom, may Isaiah come over for awhile today?”

  Mom stuck her head around the corner, nodding her head, yes. “Of course he may, Elizabeth.”

  “She said yes. So I will see you in a bit then?” I heard my voice waver a little, and knew that he would hear the fear.

  “Yes, I’ll be there shortly.” Something in the tone of his voice unnerved me. I hung up the phone feeling shaky; I think I would have felt much better had he thought it was nothing to worry about.

  I went into my room and decided to change into my best sundress, the blue one Isaiah liked on me so much. Just doing something so simple made me feel much better.

  When Isaiah arrived, we went out back and sat on the porch. I noticed Samuel didn’t come with him again.

  “I guess Stacy and Samuel are still fighting?” For some reason, this made me sad. I wanted my friend to be happy, and dating Isaiah’s brother was something that had made her happy.

  “I think they have decided to call it quits. I really haven’t talked to him about it. Have you talked to Stacy?” The look on his face told me he was hoping I would be able to shed some light on what was happening.

  “No, she hasn’t said anything, and I don’t want to pry. When, and if, she is ready to talk I will listen.”

  “That’s how I feel,” he said, as he took my hand in his. “I swear, Elizabeth, how can you be so much colder than the air around you?” He put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close.

  “I’m not cold, Isaiah.” I laughed. I snuggled closer, loving how his arms felt around me.

  “I ask you because you always feel cold to me.” He looked at me and reached over to gently touch my face with his hand. “Do you have any idea who could have made that call? Maybe it was someone from the library.”

  “You know, it could have been. We were asking questions the second time we went. Remember we talked with that mail librarian? Maybe it was him?” The thought made me feel so much better. Maybe I mentioned something to him about Tucker Hill, and I had just forgotten.

  “Well, I still think if he calls again we should tell someone. I don’t like that he called you.”

  I sighed and closed my eyes, wanting to just sit there and let everything from the outside world stay far away from both of us.

  We spent the rest of the morning hanging out on the porch. By early afternoon, I had put the incident into the back of my mind. Just after we finished lunch, Stacy came over.

  “Hey Elizabeth, hey Isaiah, what’s up?” she said as she flopped herself down in the grass, sighing.

  “Nothing much, just hanging out. Are you okay?” I asked, knowing she wasn’t, just from the look on her face. Stacy was always a bit dramatic when it came to her relationships.

  “I think Samuel is really mad at me. He hasn’t called m
e in a few days.” She glanced over at Isaiah as she said this, and I knew she was fishing for news from him.

  “Stacy, he thinks that you are mad at him! Why don’t you give him a call? Elizabeth, can you give me something to write with so I can give Stacy our phone number?”

  I hurried into the house, and got a pen and piece of paper. Isaiah wrote the number, and Stacy snatched it out of his hand and took off around the house.

  “I guess she is going to call him,” I said, looking over at Isaiah, grateful that he had told her. I hated when Stacy was so upset.

  “I guess so,” Isaiah replied, and we both laughed. “I’ve never seen anyone move so fast.”

  “I really hope that they can work things out.” I knew Stacy would call me, or come over later to tell me all about her call to Samuel. “It will be time for dinner soon, do you want to stay?”

  “I would love to stay longer, but I had better get home. I’ve been here a long time already. I will call you later.” Isaiah stood, and took my hand. “Do you want to walk me to my car?”

  I looked at him, and wondered why he was leaving already. He hadn’t mentioned anything to me when he had come that he had to be home early. “Okay, that’s fine.”

  I walked him to his car, wondering if something was wrong.

  “Elizabeth, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before you asked me to stay. I want to go by the library, and see if the man is there that we talked to. I want to see what he says to me.” He held up his hand before I could protest. “I don’t want to take you until I make sure of something. I’ll call you later.” He gave me a quick kiss, jumped into his car, and was backing out the drive before I had time to say anything in protest.

  Great, now I have to sit here and wonder what he is doing until he calls me tonight! Thanks, Isaiah. I could feel my anger rising. I stormed into my bedroom, and grabbed my notebook and the book on Hyattsville, determined to find out more information and make notes to go back to the library. I would either get Mom to take me, or make Isaiah. Now I was determined to find more out about Tucker Hill. Isaiah excluding me from his search for information, like I was someone who couldn’t take care of herself, was making me really mad.

  The next thing I knew, the phone was ringing, I shoved my stuff in the desk drawer and headed for the living room. When I walked around the corner, Mom was just turning to let me know Isaiah was on the phone. “Thanks, Mom.”

  I took the phone, and walked into the laundry room.

  “Hello,” I said, rather curtly.

  “Elizabeth, the man who called was not the librarian.” Isaiah’s voice was not much more than a whisper. I knew he had hoped our mystery was solved.

  “What?” Suddenly, I wasn’t so mad anymore. It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. Fear rose inside me again. “What are you talking about? How do you know?”

  “Well, I asked him if he remembered me being there with you a few weeks ago, asking some questions about reference books on Tucker Hill. He said he did. He told me that the same day we were there, a man came in, and asked him questions about us. Elizabeth, he said he doesn’t remember what he told the man. He said the man thanked him, and had a rather strange smile on his face. When he walked away, the librarian said he looked down, and he was holding your information you gave them for your library card in his hand. He doesn’t even remember getting it out.” Isaiah sounded really worried now.

  “Why would he do that? Why would he give out my information to someone? Why would that man want to know my information? Isaiah, how did he know we were looking up information on that house?” I felt chills go down my spine. “Do you think I’m in trouble here?” My thoughts were racing, and I knew that I was asking the same questions over and over, but fear was coursing through me, and I could feel myself losing control.

  “I don’t know. But I think we need to try to find out who he is. If he calls again, you need to ask him questions. We need to figure out what he wants.”

  “Okay, if you think I should do that I will. Maybe he won’t even call again. Do you think it would be better if we went over to the library again?”

  “NO!” Isaiah said sharply. Anger flared in his voice. “I don’t think we need to go anywhere near that library until we know who he is.”

  “Isaiah, what are you really worried about? Did you find something out that you’re not telling me?”

  “No, it’s just that I’m really worried about who this guy is, and why he called you. Isn’t that enough, Elizabeth?”

  Even though I was scared, I had to smile. Isaiah really likes me. The smile on my face was growing, just hearing the worry and care in his voice. “Yes, it is. I’ll be careful. If he calls, I’m going to write down what he says. It may help us learn something about him. Isaiah, once this settles down, I do want to do some more research. Maybe we could go to the library in Hyattsville?”

  “I think that will be fine. Listen, I have some things I have to do tomorrow morning. Could you ask your mom if it is okay if I come over later in the afternoon?”

  “Sure, hold on, and I’ll see.” I set the phone down, and went out into the backyard. Mom was working in her garden. Looking around at it always made me smile. Mom had the greenest thumb of anyone in the neighborhood.

  The gardens were always so lovely—there seemed to be something blooming all summer. I loved seeing her working in the soil. She always had the most peaceful look on her face.

  Our backyard is one of my favorite places. Mom had this amazing azalea garden under the trees. She hauled all the rocks for the garden out of the woods in an old baby carriage, because she didn’t have a wheelbarrow. I knew it had to be tedious work for her, but just from the look on her face I can tell that every bit of it was worth it to her. She looked so peaceful and lost in thought that I hated to interrupt her. “Mom, would it be okay if Isaiah comes over tomorrow afternoon? He wanted me to ask you.”

  She looked up from pulling a stray weed out of her azalea garden. There was a small streak of dirt on her face. “Of course it is okay, Elizabeth. He is the politest boy I have ever met. Ask him if he would like to stay for dinner. I think I will plan a cookout for tomorrow night.”

  “Thanks! I’ll ask him.” I hurried back in, picked up the phone and told him what Mom had said.

  “I would love to stay for a cookout. I’ll see you around one tomorrow, if that is a good time with you.”

  “Sure, see you then.” As I hung up, I thought how much I had to look forward to tomorrow.

  I was just walking out of the kitchen when the phone rang again. I turned back, and a very strange feeling settled itself in the pit of my stomach. Somehow, I knew that the person on the other end of the phone was Jeremiah.

  I slowly walked over to the phone, picked it up, and said, “Hello?”

  “Hello, Elizabeth.” The voice was silky smooth—musical, in fact. “How are you doing today?”

  “Hello, Jeremiah. What do you want?” I asked as pointedly as I could, trying to make my voice sound uninterested in what he had to say. I was desperately trying to remember what Isaiah had told me to ask him.

  “I just want to talk with you, and answer your questions. You have been dreaming about the house, haven’t you?”

  “How do you know that?” I whispered, panic starting to rise up in me again. Who was this man, and how did he know about Tucker Hill?

  “Elizabeth, please don’t be afraid. I’m not trying to scare you. I’m trying to help you answer some of the questions that you’ve had lately. I’m someone that you will want to know. You see, I’m a descendant of Robert Clark, the man who built Tucker Hill. I live there.”

  “You are?” Suddenly the panic subsided, and the questions started flying into my head. “Did someone tell you I was asking about your home?”

  “Elizabeth, I want to wait until we are face to face when I talk to you. I don’t want to scare you, or have you think that I’m someone you need to worry about. I want you to look into my eyes, so that you will se
e I’m telling you the truth.”

  “I don’t know. Why can’t you tell me now?” I was stalling, trying to think of the right questions to ask. My mind seemed to be going everywhere at once.

  “You know why. You have to see someone’s eyes when they are talking to you. You find that the best way to size someone up, and know what they are telling you is the truth. I’m the same way.”

  My heart was pounding. How is it that he seemed to know what I was thinking! I wanted to hang up the phone and call Isaiah now, but part of me was intrigued by what this stranger was saying, and by his voice. “What else do you know about me?”

  “That you have always felt a bit out of place, like you belonged somewhere else, maybe even in another time. I understand that, too,” he replied.

  For some reason, as he talked, my fear started to subside even more. I could almost feel his words weaving into my soul, telling me that here was a person who I could trust. “Where and when do you want to meet, Jeremiah?”

  “How about tomorrow, at the Hyattsville Library? I could be there in the early afternoon if you like.”

  My heart lurched. Hadn’t I just asked Isaiah about that this morning? Was this man somehow listening in to my conversations? I made a mental note to ask Isaiah what he thought. “I think that I can arrange that. What time?”

  “Why don’t you meet me there about two o’clock? Do you think Isaiah can have you there by that time?”

  “I was going to ask my mother to let me take the car tomorrow. Did you want him to come with me, for some reason?” I did my best to keep my voice as steady as I could.

  “I just thought it would make you feel safer, if he came with you. You don’t know me yet; that is all.”

  “Maybe I will ask him to come.” I could feel the relief flood through me. Even though this man said he was trustworthy, I didn’t want to take any chances.

  “That’s fine. If you don’t come, I will assume it was because you couldn’t get a ride. If that’s the case, I will contact you again, and we will set up an alternate meeting place.” He cleared his throat. “Until tomorrow, then. I look forward to meeting you in person.”