Dark Realms

by Kristen Middleton

  Tyler turned to stare at my reaction as a beautiful girl, her long blond hair glowing slightly as the light receded around her, stood before us. When I looked into her eyes, they stared back with the wisdom of someone much older than the teen standing before us.

  “What?” I asked in disbelief. “What just happened? Am I dreaming?”

  The girl chuckled and then curtsied. “Hello, my name is Trixie.”

  My head was spinning. “What are you?” I whispered.

  She giggled again and clapped her hands. “I’m a Shape-shifter, silly.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I must have fainted because the next thing I knew, they were both staring down at me and I was looking up at the clouds.

  “Are you okay?” asked Tyler, grabbing my hand and helping me up.

  I was a little dizzy and my mouth dry. “I think so,” I croaked.

  “I can’t stay very long, Tyler,” said Trixie, looking around anxiously. “Like I’ve told you before, it’s really not safe here.”

  “Okay, Trix. Thanks for showing yourself to Kendra.”

  She nodded and then turned to me. “I’m so glad that they found you.”

  I put my hand on my chest. “Found me? What do you mean?”

  Tyler smiled, sheepishly. “She doesn’t know yet.”

  Trixie covered her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  “What’s going on here?” I asked, taking a step back. “What don’t I know?”

  “I’ll explain everything tonight at my mother’s shop. Right now, we’d better get you back to school.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Do you really think I’ll be able to get through this day normally after everything I’ve just witnessed here?”

  “You’re going to have to try, Kendra,” said Tyler. “It’s too dangerous to keep you out of school any longer, and you have to act like nothing’s happened.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me? Too dangerous? What in the heck are you talking about?”

  Tyler grabbed both of my hands as Trixie slipped back into the woods. “Just like I showed you here, everything is not as it seems. There are others at school that can’t be trusted. When we return, you have to act normal and don’t tell anyone of the things I’ve shown you. Tonight, I will explain everything, and I promise you, it will make more sense. Just trust me, okay?”

  “I… I guess. This is just so crazy. Tyler, seriously, I feel like I’m dreaming. Wait a second,” I said, pulling away from him. “Is it that potion your mom sold me? Was it some kind of hallucinogen or something?”

  “No, of course not,” he answered, looking wounded.

  I rubbed my forehead. “Okay. Fine. I’m sorry I said that, but you have to admit, this is some pretty intense stuff you’re laying on me.”

  “I know.”

  I sighed. “So, what do we do now?”

  “We need to finish out the day and then tonight, after school, I’ll explain everything.”

  “Won’t it be easier if you just told me now?”

  He shook his head. “No. I have something to show you. It’s the only way you’ll truly believe what I have to say.”

  I mulled this over and nodded. “Okay. Well, then, let’s go back to the school and get this day over with. I’m dying to find out what all of this is about.”

  He took my hand in his and led me back towards the school. When we reached the school grounds, I stared at the building and bit my lower lip. “I just hope we don’t get detention for ditching class.”

  “Believe me, the teacher won’t even notice we weren’t in class when I’m done with him.”

  Sure enough, when we returned to the school, Tyler spoke to Mr. Henry in private for a couple seconds and the teacher seemed to have forgotten that we’d missed most of the class. We then snuck back to our seats with the other students watching in disbelief.

  “Where did you go?” whispered Amy.

  “Uh, left my homework at home,” I mumbled, not wanting to get into it with her.

  She motioned to Tyler. “What – and he left his home, too?”

  “I don’t know. We just arrived at the door at the same time,” I whispered. “I don’t know what’s up with him.”

  When the bell rang at the end of class, several students got up and then did a double-take when they looked at me. It was then that I realized in horror that I had never bothered to check my makeup after crying. The mascara was probably smeared all over my face. I probably looked like a clown.

  “I’ll meet you in Math,” I whispered to Tyler, who was also staring at me oddly.

  “Uh, Kendra…”

  “Math class!” I called back as I bolted out of the classroom.

  When I stepped into the bathroom, I grabbed some paper towels and turned on the faucet, to dampen them. As I raised my head to look in the mirror, my jaw dropped.

  “Oh, my God,” I whispered, staring at my sister’s reflection.

  ~~~

  I was still trying to compose myself when the door opened and another girl walked into the bathroom. I looked up and recognized her from the bus.

  “Hey, Kala,” she said, reaching into her purse. She took out a tube of lipstick and put some on her lips.

  I raised my hand and touched my face.

  “Kala, you okay?”

  Oh, God, she really thinks I’m Kala.

  Our eyes met in the mirror. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine.”

  “You just looked a little pale there for a second,” she said.

  “I’m fine,” I said, staring back into the mirror. There was no way that I could tell her who I really was; she’d never believe me.

  The girl fluffed her hair and then turned to leave when she gasped in horror. “Oh, my God! Watch where you’re walking, someone left a pair of underwear on the floor!”

  When I looked down, I wanted to die of shame. The panties I’d been wearing had slid right off, and I hadn’t even noticed.

  “Oh, wow,” I mumbled, my face bright red. I stepped away from them. “I can’t believe that someone just left them here. Gross, huh?”

  “Yeah,” she said, scowling. “Very gross. Look, I’ll catch you later.”

  “Yeah, later,” I mumbled, picking the panties up as soon as she left the bathroom. I quickly tossed the underwear into the garbage can and then turned back to my reflection, still unable to believe what I was seeing.

  “Kendra?” called Tyler, knocking softly on the door.

  “I’ll be out in a minute!” I called.

  He opened the door.

  My jaw dropped. “Tyler! What in the heck are you doing? This is the girl’s bathroom.”

  He took off his sunglasses and stepped inside. “Right now, everyone thinks it’s closed for repairs.”

  I took a deep breath and turned to face him. “Well, the potion worked.”

  He stared at me hard for a few seconds and then nodded. “It appears that way.”

  I turned back towards my reflection, still shocked that the thin person in the mirror wasn’t Kala, but me. Funny thing was, I had mixed emotions.

  “Uh, that dress is going to slide off soon if we don’t do something about it.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, I need to go home and change. Can you get me out of the school unnoticed?”

  “You’re still asking me questions like that after everything you’ve seen?” he answered with a sly grin.

  I licked my lips. “I guess I’m still trying to figure out if this is a dream.”

  He sighed. “It’s not. Sorry.”

  I nodded.

  “So, um, you don’t seem very happy about losing the weight,” he said, coming up behind me. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

  “Yeah, but…”

  He grabbed my hand and pulled me around, so that we were facing each other. “Kendra, you were perfectly fine before you took that potion. So you weren’t a size two, who gives a crap?”

  “Everyone –”

  “Not me,” he blurted, his cheeks turning slightly pink. �
�I didn’t care. I thought you were pretty enough before.”

  This time, as his eyes burned into mine, my pulse went on overdrive, and I felt an overwhelming desire to press my lips to his.

  “Are you doing something to me?” I whispered, as his vanilla scent washed over me.

  “Like what?” he whispered back, his face moving closer.

  “Making me want to… kiss you?” I squeaked.

  He touched my cheek with his fingertips and I could barely breathe. “No. I’m not. Not this time.”

  I still wasn’t sure if I believed him. “Could you… close your eyes for a second?”

  His eyes twinkled in amusement but he did what I asked.

  And nothing changed.

  The butterflies were still whirling around in my stomach as if they were desperate to escape and I wanted nothing more than for him to like me the same way I liked him. I swallowed hard, staring at his lips, wondering what it would be like to kiss them.

  “Kendra?”

  My cheeks warmed. “Uh, okay. I guess this is all me,” I admitted.

  He opened his eyes. “It’s both of us,” he whispered, pulling me into his arms.

  I closed my eyes and waited, hoping that he was about to do what it looked like he was about to do.

  “Can I kiss you?” he murmured.

  Please…

  “Yes.”

  His lips were warm and soft as they pressed against mine. I slid my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, deepening our first kiss, which had to be the most amazing in the history of Bayport. It was sweeter than I could have ever imagined and I never wanted it to end.

  “We have to go,” he whispered, pulling away after a few more seconds. “Although, I never thought I’d enjoy being in the girl’s bathroom this much.”

  I blushed.

  He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door.

  “How are we going to be able to skip the rest of the day without getting caught?” I asked.

  “You forget who you’re talking to,” he said, smiling smugly. “I’ll handle that part.”

  ~~~

  The halls were clear when we left the bathroom. Just when I thought we were in the clear, someone stopped us near the front exit.

  “Excuse me?” snapped Ms. Johnson, one of the hall monitors. As usual, she looked very bitter about her career choice. “Where are you two going?”

  Tyler removed his glasses and smiled. “We’re going away. You can forget about seeing us.”

  The woman looked like a zombie. She nodded and walked away.

  “Okay, how do you do that?” as we walked out the door.

  He shrugged. “It’s a gift.”

  “I guess,” I said, laughing. “Is that why you’re always wearing those sunglasses?”

  “Partly, but the truth is that people are always staring at my eyes even when I’m not trying to do anything; it’s a little unsettling.”

  “Well, your eyes are intense. But in a good way.”

  He smiled.

  “So, Tyler, have you always had this ‘gift’?”

  “I have,” he replied. “I’m an Enchanter.”

  I laughed. “What’s an ‘Enchanter’? It sounds like something from a Disney Movie.”

  “It’s hard to explain. Let’s just say I can manipulate people or things for special purposes.”

  I swallowed. “So, is that like magic?”

  “In all honesty, yes, I do dabble in the art of magic.”

  “Oh.”

  He smiled wickedly. “Does that make you nervous?”

  “No, for some insane reason, I feel really safe with you. It’s just still hard for me to believe in magic.”

  He raised his arms in the air. “Magic is all around you, Kendra. When you open up your mind you will discover things far beyond your own imagination.”

  “Okay, Merlin,” I answered, smiling wryly. “I’m starting to get the point.”

  A sudden screech of tires startled us both.

  “Oh crap,” mumbled Tyler, staring at the dark blue Volvo. “Here comes my mom. She doesn’t look happy.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “What in the devil is going on?” asked Rebecca, as we slid into the backseat of her car.

  “Um, let’s just say Kendra took the potion we sold her, lost a little too much weight, and therefore, we had to leave.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about,” she said, glancing back at him with a scowl.

  He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Well, dear mother, what are you talking about?”

  “Do you not recall how I warned you to stay low? I specifically told you not to perform any kind of magic. That includes, ahem, ‘Persuasion’. I heard from the grapevine that you’ve been using it quite a bit at school.”

  I wondered who the grapevine was but was too timid to ask.

  He shrugged “Well, it needed to be done. Someone was hurting Kendra’s feelings.”

  “I’m certainly proud of you for defending Kendra’s honor. I just don’t think it’s very safe to be using your powers, especially right now.”

  Tyler didn’t say anything, although I was dying to ask why it wasn’t safe.

  Rebecca changed the subject. “So,” she said, smiling back at me. “You lost a little weight. Feel lighter on your toes?”

  I snorted. “Actually, I feel as if this is all a dream.”

  She laughed. “Wait until we tell you the rest. You’re going to feel like you’re on another planet.”

  I folded my arms under my chest, which was also smaller, unfortunately. “Okay, you are both really freaking me out.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Rebecca. “It may seem freaky, but somehow, I know you can handle it.”

  I was glad she had faith in me, because I wasn’t so sure of anything anymore.

  ~~~

  Rebecca reopened the store and I followed Tyler into the back storage room again. For some reason the entire room seemed much more ominous than before.

  “My mother wanted to explain everything to you, but I talked her into allowing me. She’s not always very subtle, and truthfully, I’m better at these things.”

  “Forget being subtle, Tyler, just explain away,” I said.

  He pointed to my dress. “Are you sure you don’t want to slip into something more… comfortable?”

  I was definitely drowning in the dress.

  I raised my arms. “I don’t have anything to wear. Here or at home.”

  “Good thing you have a twin sister then.”

  “Won’t help me at this moment,” I said, pulling up one of my straps.

  I thought about Kala, she was going to freak out. We were now more identical than ever before and I still wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

  “Wait, I have a better idea,” said Tyler, removing his sunglasses. He furrowed his eyebrows and concentrated on my dress.

  Within a few seconds, a shimmering light began to radiate from my dress and I watched in awe as it began to slowly shrink, until it hugged my body like a glove.

  “Um, can you take it out, just a little?” I gasped. It was so tight; I thought it was going to rip with every breath I took.

  His cheeks turned pink. “Sorry. My bad.”

  The dress loosened up a bit and I suddenly realized that he’d wanted it a little tighter.

  I smiled wryly. “I guess you’re not complaining about my new figure either.”

  Tyler’s face turned serious. “You looked good before, Kendra. In fact, I think you’re perfect at any weight. I thought I made myself clear on how I felt earlier.”

  I thought about our kiss and my heart felt like it was growing out of my chest.

  I liked this Enchanter.

  I liked him a lot.

  And he didn’t even have to put a spell on me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Um, so what is it that you wanted to show me?” I asked, clearing my throat. The electricity in the air between us and was intense.

  “Oh, tha
t’s right,” he said, putting on his sunglasses.

  I pointed. “You don’t have to wear those all the time, do you?”

  He removed the sunglasses and folded them. “Sorry, I guess it’s a habit.”

  “I just think it’s probably good for your eyes to take them off now and then. You know, rest your peepers a little bit.”

  Okay, so that sounded kind of lame. The truth was, I really just wanted to see his dazzling eyes.

  He smiled. “Well, I never really considered ‘resting my peepers’, unless I’m going to bed at night. But I’ll take your advice.”

  I nodded. “It must be difficult to see indoors when you’re wearing them anyway.”

  “Actually, I can see much better than the average person. In fact, I can see things others can’t.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh? You can’t see through clothing, can you?”

  “Do you really want to know?”

  “Yes,” I said. “I’d like to know if you can see…”

  “What you’re wearing underneath?” he asked with a wicked grin.

  Then I remembered in horror that I wasn’t wearing my panties and I quickly lowered my hands over my pelvis. He noticed this right away and raised his eyebrows.

  “Tell me,” I demanded, my cheeks burning.

  “Fine, I can’t tell what you’re wearing under your clothing.”

  I released a sigh of relief.

  “Unless, I try really hard,” he said and then threw his head back and laughed when he saw my horrified expression.

  I marched over and swatted him on the shoulder. “You are so… bad!”

  “Ouch!” he laughed, again. “You wanted to know.”

  “Are you two okay back here?” murmured Rebecca, peeking through the door.

  “Yes,” said Tyler. “I was just going to find the picture.”

  Picture?

  “Okay. I’ll be out here if you need me,” she said, walking away.

  “I’ll be right back,” said Tyler, walking toward the back of the warehouse. “Don’t touch anything… please.”