Chapter
One
The cool wind pushed at Gabriel’s back,
shoving him like a bully. Its force bounced off the tree-covered valley and
swirled colorful leaves all around. Gabriel stumbled, unable to rip his eyes
away from the black, beckoning shadow slithering toward him like murky fog.
Except it wasn’t a shadow for long.
The dark mass transformed into Dane—the man
Gabriel wanted, needed to find. A mix
of relief and fear rocketed through him. Gabriel had to tell Dane that the
daughter he searched for, Tahlita, was in Gabriel’s home-town of Willow Creek. He
wanted Dane and Tahlita to get back to their
home in Valta. Then everything could really
be normal—no more Zeverons or otherworldly creatures skulking around Willow
Creek or neighboring cities. That stuff was just crazy. But Dane was also an
old friend of the evil Duke Malgor. Who knew what mood he’d be in?
Dane’s tall, lean body towered over
Gabriel, his face twisting into a half smirk as the blustery wind rattled his
black bifocals. He held out one long, boney finger and curled it towards
Gabriel twice. Dane opened his mouth to speak, but only a loud groan shot out.
Gabriel gulped. He knew it wasn’t really Dane. It had to be a dream of the
shadows from Valta. Evil shadows just like these had swallowed his friend Brent
whole when they were in there, and had transported Brent to Duke Malgor’s
castle. Still, Gabriel couldn’t peel his gaze away from Dane’s bulging eyes.
What if it was Dane in front of him right now? Gabriel had been home from
saving Valta a whole three weeks already. He needed to know where the portal
was that Cedric had used to escape Valta. He couldn’t wait any longer for
Cedric to cough up the information. He liked having that kind of power over
Gabriel and his friends too much. It made the slimy worm feel big. If there was
any possibility of the dude in front of him really
being Dane, then Gabriel needed to tell him about Tahlita, reunite them, and
get them blasted back to Valta where they belonged.
Gabriel stepped closer to Dane, ready to
spill about Tahlita, when something wet slapped against the back of Gabriel’s
neck, stinging him. “Ahh!” he hollered, thinking the shadowy form had finally
gotten him with its acid-like tentacles.
I’m
a goner.
Another zinger zapped Gabriel’s earlobe,
just as Dane mouthed his name, “Gabriel.”
Gabriel dug his feet into the dirt, leaves
swishing around his ankles. He tried to stay on the ground, but it felt like he
was floating toward Dane. Something wet trickled down the side of Gabriel’s
neck.
When the third zap struck him, Gabriel
slapped his hand against the sting. Dane’s face twisted, contorted, and changed
shape into … what?
Gabriel blinked as the sound of laughter
filled his ears. He stared at the place where Dane once stood—and where his science
teacher Mr. Roswell now blurred into place. Mr. Roswell shook his head in
exasperation.
“Gabriel,” Mr. Roswell said. “Welcome
back to the land of the living.” He held up a gloved finger oozing frog guts.
Another round of laughter followed.
Gabriel gave his head a shake, finally realizing
where he really was—not back in the
Valley of Shadows facing Dane. Nope. He was in the middle of sixth grade science
class studying the anatomy of a frog.
Or he was supposed to be studying the anatomy of a frog. Instead, Gabriel was
the mockery of the classroom.
Perfect.
Just perfect.
“Sorry,” Gabriel mumbled, straightening
himself up in his seat while trying to extinguish the burning in his cheeks. The
laughing, and the swirl of freshly stewed frog guts in the air, made him feel
like he was about to puke. Thankfully Mr. Roswell turned his attention back to the
deceased frog.
Gabriel caught the eye of Piper, who
pasted that pitying look across her face again. So what if he fell asleep in class
for the second time this week? Wasn’t he still the hero who helped save the
dying land of Valta, like, only three weeks ago?
Seriously.
Gimme a break already.
He wondered where Brent was and hoped
he’d throw out one of his usual one-liners to take the heat off of him, but Brent’s
seat was empty. He’d probably taken a bathroom break, or more likely, a snack
break considering Brent’s never-ending hunger issues.
As Gabriel lifted his gaze from Brent’s
empty desk, his eyes locked onto Tahlita. She shoved a strand of her stringy,
dark-brown hair behind one ear, freeing her hazel eyes from their usual hiding
place, and narrowed them in on him.
Gabriel swallowed back the lump in his
throat. Maybe she was like Princess Evangeline and could read thoughts. Did she
see into his daydream? As awkward as that made Gabriel feel, maybe it would be
a good thing. Maybe seeing her father, Dane, inside Gabriel’s dream would
trigger a memory in her. When Gabriel, Piper, and Brent tried talking to
Tahlita, the girl denied knowing anything. Said she had amnesia or whatever—not
that Gabriel even believed her. Maybe she just wanted to get away from a crazy family
life. Having Dane as a father might not be the best thing. Then again, Tahlita
was about as prickly as a porcupine herself. Living with Dane couldn’t have
been that bad.
With that thought, Tahlita rolled her
eyes at him, shook her head, and twisted around to face the window where the
wind rattled its hinges.
Strange.
Gabriel jolted in his seat as something
small, sticky, and wet struck the back of his neck.
Again.
Except this time he knew it wasn’t those stupid, menacing shadows.
He slapped his hand against his skin and
pried free a foreign object clinging to him like dead weight. Peering down into
his hands, he saw the culprit—a spitball!
Gabriel groaned. He knew exactly where
to look to find the spitball-slinging offender. Twisting around in his seat, he
shot a glare at Cedric. A few desks back, Cedric sat gnawing on the chewed-up
shell of a hollowed-out pen. A sly smirk crossed Cedric’s face and he winked.
The creep actually winked.
Gabriel
gritted his teeth and sighed. Yeah. Getting the crucial information about Dane and
the hidden portal to Valta out of Cedric would be like Batman making friends
with the Joker—not exactly an easy task.
