The Faerie Games

by Michelle Madow

  The Faerie Games

  Dark World: The Faerie Games 1

  Michelle Madow

  Dreamscape Publishing

  1

  Selena

  I’d always hoped my sixteenth birthday would be the moment I came into my witch powers. That was the way it worked in books and movies, right? You turned a certain age, something important happened, and then BAM.

  The magic ignited.

  Since I lived on an island full of supernaturals, I should have known better. That wasn’t how our magic worked. Yet, as the only supernatural on the island that still showed no sign of any magic, I held onto the hope that maybe on this birthday, something would change. I mean, my biological mother was one of the most powerful witches born in the past century.

  So why was my magic nonexistent?

  No one knew.

  I sat in my room in the castle after the party, surrounded by my presents. But I was only focused on the invitation in my hand. It was from the mage Iris—the event coordinator on Avalon—asking me to apprentice by her side for the next two years.

  It pissed me off.

  A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I could tell it was my best friend, Torrence, just from the pattern of the raps.

  “Come in,” I said, dropping the invitation onto my lap.

  Torrence waltzed into my room, her long auburn hair flying behind her, and situated herself on the end of my king-size bed. “I knew you were pissed about that one,” she said, glancing at the invitation.

  “Can you blame me?” I huffed. “Iris is just trying to give me something to do instead of the magic classes I’m barely passing every year.”

  I would have failed my magic classes if it weren’t for the written portions of the tests. Because I understood magic theory perfectly well.

  Magic practice, on the other hand, was a different story.

  It was impossible to practice magic when my magic didn’t exist.

  “Yeah,” Torrence agreed. “It sucks.”

  One of the things I loved about my best friend was that she never sugar coated anything.

  I picked up the invitation again and glared at it. As I did, a buzz started from my toes, growing up through my body until it reached my hands. My insides felt like branches of a tree igniting, crackling and popping with electricity.

  I gathered the electricity until it was buzzing below the surface of my skin and sent it flying out at the piece of paper in my hand.

  In my mind, the paper burst into flames and turned to ashes.

  In reality, nothing happened.

  “You’re staring at that invitation like you expect it to spontaneously combust,” Torrence said.

  “That’s what I just tried to do,” I said. “I felt the magic. It wants to come out. It’s just… stuck.”

  I shrugged, because this was nothing Torrence hadn’t heard before. I’d told everyone about how I could feel the magic inside, wanting to come out. But when the other witches asked me what my magic felt like, they told me it sounded nothing like what their magic felt like when they performed spells.

  I didn’t think they believed me.

  So I’d stopped talking about it. To everyone except Torrence, of course. Sometimes it felt like she was the only person in the world who still had faith in me.

  “There’s no spell I’ve heard of that makes anything spontaneously combust,” she said simply. “But if you feel like your magic wants to do that, then hey, it’ll be cool to see what you’ll be able to do when your magic makes an appearance.”

  I was grateful that Torrence held out hope that my magic might emerge someday. But I nodded in agreement, since I also knew there wasn’t a spell to make things spontaneously combust.

  Then I threw the invitation into the fireplace.

  Once satisfied that it was burned to a crisp, I leaned back into the mound of pillows behind me, still staring into the flames.

  “So…” Torrence said, and I turned my attention back to her. Her green eyes glinted with the look that I knew only meant one thing. Trouble. “The collectors’ edition of Pride and Prejudice I gave you wasn’t your real birthday present.”

  “It was a great present,” I said, since it was. “But now you have me curious. What’s my ‘real’ present?”

  Torrence smirked and lifted her hands, chanting a spell I knew well. A sound barrier spell. Her purple magic swirled out of her hands, shooting up to the ceiling and soaring down along the walls as the spell locked into place. The purple disappeared, and now anything we talked about while she maintained the spell wouldn’t be overheard.

  Each room in the castle already had a sound barrier spell around it, but we liked to be careful. Just in case.

  I leaned forward in anticipation. “So?” I asked. “What is it?”

  She reached into the sleeve of her sweatshirt and pulled out a vial full of bright red potion.

  My eyes widened at the sight of it. “Transformation potion?” I looked to her, to the potion, and back to her again. I didn’t need her to nod to confirm what I already knew was true. “What’s it for? And where did you get it?”

  Transformation potion was one of the hardest potions to create. Only the most advanced witches could brew it. And once it was brewed, it expired after twenty-four hours. So it wasn’t something that was kept in storage.

  “I made it, using my own blood,” she said. “So you can transform into me.”

  2

  Selena

  “Why would I want to transform into you?” I asked, confused.

  Nothing against my bestie. She was awesome. But as much as I admired and appreciated Torrence, I didn’t want to be her. I was perfectly happy being myself.

  Except for my missing magic. But that couldn’t be fixed with transformation potion. Transformation potion would make me look like Torrence on the outside, but I’d still be me on the inside. Missing magic and all.

  “Other than your magic igniting, what’s the one thing you want most in the entire world?” Torrence asked.

  “To be allowed off of Avalon.” I didn’t have to stop to think about my answer. “But my parents won’t allow it. You know the rules. They won’t let me—”

  I cut myself off, the pieces clicking together as I stared at the bright red potion in Torrence’s hand.

  “They won’t let you off the island,” she completed my thought. “But I can come and go as I please. Like I do every weekend when I visit my mom in LA.”

  “You really think it would work?” My eyes widened, my heart racing with excitement and anticipation. “That I could pretend to be you and leave the island? Just like that?”

  My entire life, my parents had drilled it into my mind that I’d never be able to leave Avalon. My mom was an Earth Angel—the only one in the world, and she was the leader of our island.

  So many people on Earth—demons and supernaturals alike—would come after me if I stepped foot off this island. They’d want to take me and use me as leverage against my mom. Combined with the fact that my magic was non-existent, giving me no way to defend myself, it was too risky for me to leave.

  Which meant I had to stay here. Forever.

  That was a long time. Especially since because of the island’s magic, once we reached our mid-twenties, we stopped aging and became immortal.

  I held out hope that at some point in the future, Earth would be peaceful enough that I’d be allowed to see it myself. But until that time came, this island was all I’d see and experience.

  I loved Avalon. I had a great life here. But even though I loved it, I still wanted to see the world.

  And right now, Torrence was giving me that chance.

  “I know it’ll work.” Torrence’s eyes sparkled with mischief again. “Yo
u know me better than anyone. If anyone can convince my mom that they’re me, it’s you.”

  “Maybe,” I said, since it wasn’t a terrible idea. “But we’ll need to practice.”

  “There’s no time for that,” she said. “It has to be this weekend.”

  “Why?” I asked. “I mean, I know the potion expires after twenty-four hours. But you created it once. Couldn’t you create it again?”

  “Of course I can create it again.” She tossed her hair over her shoulders, like it was silly of me to even ask. “But along with expiring after twenty-four hours in the vial, the potion will only keep you transformed for twenty-four hours after drinking it. And you know the deal I made with my mom when I was accepted onto Avalon.”

  “You can attend the academy here as long as you visit her every weekend.” I was the one who’d suggested Torrence offer her mom that deal when her mom was hesitating about letting her go to school here. Torrence and I had clicked the moment we’d met, and I hated the idea of her not being able to stay. Having her here five days out of seven was better than nothing at all.

  “Even though it’s Friday, I was able to stay tonight because there was no way I was missing your birthday,” she said. “Which means my visit home will be cut short this weekend. I head back tomorrow. Well… you’ll head back tomorrow. As me.” She pressed the pads of her fingers together, like a conniving villain in a superhero movie.

  My head spun with excitement… and with all the possible ways this could go wrong.

  “What’s up?” Torrence asked, dropping her hands back down to her sides.

  She knew me well enough to know I’d have questions. And knowing her, she’d already thought about what I’d ask and what the answers to those questions would be.

  “A bunch of stuff,” I said. “Firstly, thank you. This gift is amazing.”

  “I know.” She smiled proudly.

  “But how will I get to LA? I have no magic. I can’t teleport.”

  “I’ll teleport you straight to my room,” she said. “I always drop my stuff off there first, anyway. Then I’ll pop back to LA the next day and take you home.”

  “Okay.” I nodded, since that worked. “But I can’t do magic, and the transformation potion won’t change that. Won’t your mom wonder what’s up if I need to do magic and I can’t?”

  “My mom’s always telling me I should rest my magic more so I’m fresh and ready for the school week.” Torrence rolled her eyes. She loved using her magic, but preferred using it for personal use instead of for classroom exercises. “Just tell her there’s a big test on Monday and that you’re resting your magic so you’re ready. She’ll be thrilled. That’ll be your reason for coming home earlier on Sunday, too. You need to study for the test.”

  The test that didn’t exist.

  “All right.” I nodded again, liking the sound of this more and more. “But what about me? And by that I mean the lack of me here on Avalon. People will notice if I’m gone. Especially since my parents’ big anniversary dinner is tomorrow night.”

  “Easy.” Torrence shrugged. “I’ll create another transformation potion tonight, using your blood. It’ll be ready by tomorrow. I’ll drink it and take your place while you’re gone.”

  “So we’re swapping places.” I sat forward, unable to help laughing at how crazy this all was. It was also perfect. Because if any two people knew each other well enough to swap places and pull it off, it was me and Torrence.

  “Exactly.” She smiled again. “You in?”

  “I am,” I said, since how could I not be? The possibility of twenty-four hours off of Avalon was the most exciting thing to happen to me since… well, it was the most exciting thing to ever happen to me. “But what happens if we’re caught?”

  I already knew the answer to that.

  Anyone caught trying to get me off Avalon would be accused of treason. There were no set punishments for anything here—punishments were decided on an individual basis. But treason wouldn’t be taken lightly.

  “Are you doubting that the potion will work?” She raised an eyebrow in question.

  “No,” I said. “You’re one of the best witches on this island. I’m sure it’ll work.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “I’m just trying to think everything through,” I said. “So we don’t make any mistakes.”

  “No one will notice that we’re not who we say we are,” she said. “I can be you. You can be me. No one knows that I know how to make transformation potion, so they won’t think this is even a possibility. Everyone on Avalon will be too focused on your parents’ anniversary celebration to be paying attention to me. My mom’s used to my mood swings, so she won’t notice anything different with you. And it’s only twenty-four hours. What could possibly happen in twenty-four hours that would get us caught?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, my stomach doing somersaults at the realization that this was going to happen. I was going to see the world beyond Avalon. Sure, it would only be a sliver of the big world out there, but it was still more than I ever thought possible.

  “We’d have to mess up badly to get caught,” she said. “And we’re not going to do that. You’re going to see LA, and you’re going to have a great time. No one will ever know you were gone.”

  “I guess.” I did my best to squash down the worry in my stomach.

  This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Was I really going to say no because I was scared?

  Hell no, I wasn’t.

  So I buried the worry so deep that all I could focus on was my excitement. “You definitely win the prize for best-present ever,” I said, nearly squealing with anticipation.

  “Told you so.” She beamed. “Now, give me your hand so I can take your blood. Transformation potion isn’t the easiest thing to make, and I need to have the second vial ready by tomorrow.”

  3

  Selena

  The next day, Torrence teleported back into my room right after lunch. She had bags under her eyes and her hair was in a messy bun at the top of her head, like she hadn’t slept all night. But she dropped her bag on the trunk at the end of the bed, reached in, and pulled out two vials of bright red potion. One was marked with a T, and the other was marked with an S.

  “Two vials of transformation potion,” she said, handing me the one with the S on it. “As promised.”

  Despite looking tired, she sounded as excited as ever. She pulled off her clothes, revealing her skintight, black academy uniform underneath. The academy uniforms were spelled with special magic that would mold with shapeshifting. I was already in mine.

  I uncapped my vial and held it up for a toast.

  Torrence did the same.

  “To the best birthday present ever,” I said.

  “To twenty-four hours of adventure.” Torrence smiled and clinked her vial with mine.

  We brought the vials to our lips and drank them at the same time.

  The transformation potion tasted sweet, like raspberry, and it fizzed on my tongue. The fizzing quickly expanded down into my throat, into my stomach, and out toward my fingers and toes.

  Torrence blurred in front of me, the lines around her body becoming hazy. Her auburn hair turned blond, she became shorter, and her sharp green eyes turned violet.

  She’d transformed into me.

  “Whoa,” Torrence said, looking at me. “That’s sick.”

  I moved to stand in front of my full-length mirror. Sure enough, it wasn’t myself staring back at me.

  It was Torrence.

  I reached up to touch my cheek, watching as Torrence’s reflection in the mirror mimicked my movement.

  “It worked,” I said, surprised when the voice coming out of my mouth wasn’t my own. It was Torrence’s, although her voice sounded slightly different from inside her head. A bit lower pitched.

  “I wouldn’t give you a birthday present that didn’t work,” she said. “Now, are you going to change into my clothes or what? Because you only have twe
nty-four hours as me, and the clock started ticking the moment you finished that potion.”

  Once I’d changed into Torrence’s clothes, she teleported me into her bedroom in LA. She had a pink comforter, a shelf full of kids’ books, and matching pink, frilly drapes.

  It was a bedroom for a ten-year-old.

  “I guess you haven’t redecorated since coming to Avalon?” I asked with a laugh.

  “Nah.” She shrugged. “I’m not here that often, so oh well.”

  This was so weird. My best friend looked like me… but she still had that wicked glint in her eyes. My eyes. Although I was sure I’d never looked as mischievous as that.

  “Don’t do anything too crazy while you’re pretending to be me,” I said. “No flirting with guys or anything like that. Got it?”

  The last thing I wanted was to get back home and have to deal with any drama Torrence left in my wake.

  “I promise I won’t do anything crazy, like flirting with guys.” The sarcasm in her tone made it clear she didn’t think flirting was crazy, although I knew she’d keep her word and respect my wishes. “But I’ll totally plant some seeds in Reed’s mind that’ll make him interested in me.”

  “Of course you will,” I said, since there was no way of stopping her. Torrence was doing a lot for me this weekend. If she wanted to have her fun and plant seeds in Reed’s mind, then that was what she’d do.

  “He’s not married yet,” she said. “He’s still fair game.”

  Suddenly, she jerked her head to the side, instantly alert.

  Now that we were both quiet, I heard what she’d already picked up on.

  Someone was walking down the hall.

  “That’s my mom,” she said quickly. “I gotta blink out. Cya tomorrow!”

  I didn’t have a chance to say bye before she teleported out of her room.

  A few seconds later, Amber—Torrence’s mom—knocked on the door. At least I assumed it was Amber, since that was what Torrence had said.