Flame Shadows Novels & Stories

TENSION IGNITES Lila. The silence between us lasted less than an hour. I had claimed the bedroom and tried to settle in, but the storm outside kept growing louder. Then the lights started flickering. Once. Twice. On the third flicker, everything went black except for the warm glow of the fireplace in the living room. “Great,” I muttered, pulling on a thick sweater. “This just keeps getting better.” I walked out to find Marcus already stacking more wood beside the fire. The cabin felt smaller in the dark, the walls closing in with every gust of wind.

Kelvin shouted. That gave me hope. Yes, a reason to live and survive. I opened my eyes and let the Flame rise. Silver-blue light surrounded me. The shadows paused. They hissed, afraid and filled with unknown signals. “Back off!” I shouted almost immediately. I raised my hand and released a burst of the Flame. Off. The light exploded outward, pushing the shadows away from me. Some of them vanished. Others kept coming toward my direction. “There’s too many,” Kelvin said. “We need to find a way out of here.”

Its presence pressed against my mind, oily and invasive. Storm-born, it hissed, voice slithering directly into my skull. You chose the flame. You could have ruled. Lightning exploded from my palm before I consciously decided to move. The shadow screamed—not a sound, but a vibration that rattled my bones—as it disintegrated into ash and smoke. Elara didn’t flinch. She stepped forward as the next shadow lunged, her hand lifting gracefully. “Burn,” she whispered. Fire bloomed—not wild, not consuming, but precise. White-hot threads wrapped around the creature, constricting until it collapsed inward, imploding into nothing.

“What do you need?” “Fire. As hot as you can make it. These things are made of shadow…light and heat should hurt them.” Understanding flashed across her face. She raised her hands, and flames erupted from her palms. Not the sickly green of shadow fire, but clean orange and yellow flames that crackled with life magic. The shadow creatures shrieked as the fire touched them, their forms dissolving like smoke in a strong wind. “Marcus!” I shouted next. “Physical attacks won’t work, but can you disrupt their forms? Scatter them so they can’t solidify?”

She’s great with her magic and has a deep knowledge of plants and how to use and grow them. Ezekiel had stronger shadows, barely weakened by her flames. He and Shay would give us tips on when best to shoot her flames and where. Apparently, there were certain weak spots inside a shadow. I needed to find the spots that looked the lightest, ones that seemed more gray than black. If I shot my flames there, the shadow would disappear. It seemed simple enough, but most of the time, the shadows were so fast, there was no way for me to hit it before it hit me.

“Bold, Moonborn. I like that. Very well… let us see if fire can truly dance with shadow without being consumed.” He moved again, this time faster, the shadows moving with him, circling her like predators. Elara countered, twisting her fire into blades, whips, and shields, each one interacting with the shadows in unpredictable ways. Sparks flew, illuminating the courtyard in flashes of gold and black, the torches flickering as though afraid of the power being unleashed. ---

A blood-curdling scream tore through the air as I plummeted from the skyscraper, blacking out before I hit the ground. "Lily." The camera lingered mercilessly on my mangled form. The voice was unhinged with madness. "You're finally going to die. Don't blame me. Blame yourself for being so vile. "You knew damn well I loved Shane, and you still went ahead and married him! "In this world, only I am meant to love him! Everyone who'd try to take him from me should die!" The screen quaked, the view flipped, and there was Joanna's twisted face, filling the big screen. The footage cut off abruptly.

He tugged at my hand, leading me to the swimming pool. It was winter, and the water was freezing. The moment I stepped in, the cold pierced through me. But when I saw the pleading look in his eyes, I kept searching, diving down again and again. However, there was nothing. I looked up and asked him, "Luca, are you sure you dropped it here? I can't see anything. What does it look like?" "It's a small golden car. Please, Aunt Shannon. I'm begging you." Clenching my teeth, I dove back into the water. I didn't know how long I had been searching when I suddenly heard Vivian's voice. "Luca, what are you doing here?"

I envy her sometimes, just a slither of her confidence might have changed how my world just got turned upside down on me. “Who’s ready for shots!” Freya slides a tray with eight shots on it onto our table. My eyes fly to her and go wide. I am the world’s biggest light weight, I hardly drink on a normal girls night out let alone take shots! What on earth is she trying to do to me! “Easy girl” Freya says as she eyes me with a wicked grin and evil laugh. “It’s just two shots, nothing crazy you’ll be fine!” I absolutely was not fine.

A guard puts his hand over her mouth, muffling her growls but it is too late. “Shit,” I growl. I quickly leap to my feet just as dozens of shadows from the trees on the mountain. I lift my hands and flames burst in a circle around all of us. The shadows stop at the edge of the circle, crouching down and watching the fire with fascination. “Draco! Draconem!” one says. I recognize the deep whispering voice and allow the flames to slowly fall. “Myrka?” I ask and all the shadows leap upwards.