Authors: Erin Kellison
Shadow Play:
The buzz on Erin Kellison’s
groundbreaking
Shadow
series:
“The search is over for your next book. If you’re looking for a must-read this summer, look no further than
Shadow Bound
… it’s an absolute original.”
—
B & N Book Club
“A highly promising debut!”
—
Romantic Times
“I just love it when I find a debut author who wows me. Erin Kellison has written a mind-blowing first novel, full of fae, death, darkness, wraiths, and, of course, love and romance that triumph overall.”
—
The Good, the Bad and the Unread
“In a word … outstanding …
Shadow Bound
is sure to captivate even the most reluctant readers and keep them turning pages into the wee hours of the morning.”
—
Romance Reviews Today
“
Shadow Bound
is a shockingly good read.”
—
All Things Urban Fantasy
“
Shadow Bound
is Erin Kellison’s debut novel and wow! Just wow. I just did not see this book coming. It’s such a wonderful surprise to open a book not really knowing what to expect and end up completely loving it.”
—
Fiction Vixen
“This book was amazing …. I absolutely cannot wait for the author’s next book in the series,
Shadow Fall
!”
—My Overstuffed Bookshelf
“A rare gift for words.”
—
Southern Musings
“
Shadow Bound
is unlike any other reading experience I’ve had to date. It’s a fast-paced, heart-pounding, gut-wrenching, nail-biting, awe-inspiring thrill ride that will leave you begging for more and more.”
—
Lovin’ Me Some Romance
“This book had me saying ‘wow’… you could almost drink in the words.”
—
Parajunkee
“Other paranormal-romance writers should take note, Erin is the future voice of this genre.”
—
Fiction Flurry
“Ms. Kellison’s debut novel is a hit, delivering a suspenseful and thrilling book that will keep you up way too late just to see what happens next.”
—
Dark Wyrm Reads
“Richly imagined, fast-paced, and engrossing.”
—
Discriminating Fangirl
“From the minute I started reading it I couldn’t put it down. This book takes on a different view of the paranormal, one I hadn’t read before.
Shadow Bound
is a fantastic combination of romance, urban fantasy, and suspense.”
—
The Book Girl
“Ms. Kellison has crafted an intense urban-fantasy tale with just the right mix of romance and suspense. The fast-paced plot takes readers on an emotional roller coaster, and this eerie and dangerous world won’t soon be forgotten.”
—
Dark Faerie Tales
“I was hooked until the very end.”
—
The Books I Read
“A fascinating urban romantic fantasy.”
—
The Baryon Review
“As well as hot romance, Ms. Kellison can deliver scary …. A truly terrifying ride of mystery, action, and the supernatural.”
—
Tina’s Book Reviews
“Dark and brilliant.”
—
Anna’s Book Blog
SHADOW PLAY
A S
HADOW
T
OUCH
N
OVELLA
ERIN KELLISON
ZEBRA BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
Angie Parson grinned when the kids took off up the path to Cathedral Rock, disappearing around a switchback overgrown by catclaw and prickly pear cactus. At six years old, JT’s stride might’ve been shorter than Carter’s, but the kid pumped like a locomotive to keep up with his big brother. Carter was looking at a real contender in a year. He’d better start trying soon.
The sun was overhead, skin scorching, while the temp idled at a dry eighty degrees. The rainy scent of creosote and earthy clay lingered on the trail to the vortex—the swirly icon on the Sedona visitor’s map had interested JT—and the Technicolor contrast of towering red rock and brilliant blue sky dazzled Angie’s eyes. It was a gorgeous day. One for sunscreen, extra water, and dashing up trails out of mom’s sight.
“Not too far!” she shouted, though her boys never listened to first warnings. Firsts were a formality. They knew she meant business around warning number three.
She heard the rushing sound of water. And there, with a deeper breath, she could smell it too—sweet moisture in the desert. She pulled the map from her back pocket and looked for Oak Creek. Nope, they were going in the other direction. Maybe the water ahead was a smaller creek, more like a crick than a mapped tributary of the Verde River. But it deserved another yell.
“Stay away from the water!” Though her boys still weren’t in sight, she wasn’t worried; they knew not to go out of hollering range.
She folded the map and stuck it back in her pocket. Perfect timing. Lunch. Unload some of her backpack weight into their bellies. Play in the water, then back to the campsite.
And around the campfire tonight, broach the topic of the move. Promise that they’d still see their dad and his new wife as much as they wanted. Fact of the matter was, Angie needed the pay raise badly. She had a life to begin again, and her debt anchored her in the past.
A fat line of water cut across her path, followed by a thicker spill that flowed freely across the packed red earth. The rushing sound got louder. The scent was fresh, but strange, making her heart beat with memories her mind couldn’t call to the surface, like when she saw her ex now, so happy and handsome, but loving someone else.
She quickened her speed and used her hard voice. “Carter! JT!”
She rounded the corner and spotted her boys not four paces away. Good. Then she gawked at what had stopped them. In the middle of the path was a wide and tall sheet of water, a transparent blue waterfall. It flowed out of the sky and drenched the dry rocks and path with its clamoring spill. A juniper tree with a twisted trunk grew on one side. A few scattered manzanita trees, too. But visible through the waterfall was a nighttime forest, ancient trees thick, gorgeous, dangerous, and utterly incongruous with the desert during daytime. Shadows moved in the forest of darkness.
Angie broke into a cold sweat. Okay, so maybe there was something to this vortex thing.
She could see JT reflected perfectly in the clear sheet of water, his eyes big and round and a little scared as he stared at the falls, his back to her. Took her a second to realize that Carter wasn’t looking at the waterfall. He was facing her, his back to the falls, but staring at JT.
Inside, she felt herself growing stronger, her focus sharpening. This was danger, and her boys were too close.
She strode forward and grabbed JT around his middle. Picked him up effortlessly, as she hadn’t since he was four. Took a step back from the Otherworldly falls, saying, “Carter, get away—”
But the JT in the reflection wasn’t lifted. He reached out his arms to her with a soundless, “Mom!”
Then who—?
She turned this other boy in her arms. And dropped him on the muddy path when she saw his face. Everything was JT—pool-bleached hair, the shade of his tan, the scab on his nose—everything except its eyes, which were large, tipped up at the outer corners, and all black, like those of a bug or an alien. The creature started crying when it hit the ground. She thought there were words in the sounds it made, but they were like nothing she’d ever heard before.
Carter kept back, near the climb of red rocks, his face ashen.
“Stay!” she yelled at him and darted toward the waterfall to grab JT, the real JT. But she passed right through the water—soaking her, blinding her eyes—only to arrive on the other side of the dirt path, shaking and bewildered.
“JT!” she screamed at the water, and tried again. He was there, in that forest, where that other boy-thing surely belonged. “Come here right now!”
JT obeyed and stepped forward, almost ranging out of sight on the Other side, but not moving back into red rock country. Not nearly. He was so close, but deep down, she knew he was far away from her now. Unreachable.
“No!” she cried again. “Stay right there, baby.” Even though he hated being called baby. “Don’t move. Stay tough, big guy. I’ll get you out of there.”
What to do? Oh, God, please what should she do? What would happen if the waterfall disappeared and took JT with it? How to get him out?
“What happened?” she demanded from Carter.
He shrugged and shook his head, helpless, his eyes going red. “I don’t know. We were running, and then the water came.”
“Did that other boy touch him or grab him?”
Carter shook his head no. Tears streaked down his cheeks. “He just came, too.”
“It’s okay,” she told him. Which was a lie, but at eight years old, he still believed in her powers as a grown-up.
She needed to get help. One of those new-agey people who knew about vortexes? Paranormal stuff was happening freaking everywhere these days. Why had she brought her boys to a place famous for supernatural energy? This was her fault.
No signal on her mobile phone.
But she wasn’t leaving JT. Never. She wasn’t sending Carter back the other way either. Who knew what might be on this path? And then there was that strange boy with JT’s face, rolling in the wet dirt. She had to watch him, too. He was the key to getting JT back. She knew it.
Only one thing left. They’d passed other hikers. People were around, not far. She pulled up all her panic and mom strength into her chest and scoured her throat with a scream for help.
Eleanor Russo looked out of her helicopter window to view the red rock terrain below. It was a short ride from the Sedona airport, but one that awed her. The sudden appearance of a waterfall had swelled Oak Creek to flooding, and roads around the new falls were surging with red clay, bracken, and debris carried along by the current. Cars huddled, skewed, as if gossiping, in a nearby parking lot, having shifted position with the influx of water. Sedona had been spared, as the waterfall site was southwest of the town, but streets in Cornville and Page Springs were impassable. Oak Creek flowed into the Verde River, which had risen, but as of yet was in no danger of cresting its banks. Other environmental impact was yet to be determined. The water was from Twilight, after all.
“There it is,” Cam said when the mobile research station came into view.
From the air the station resembled a giant, segmented insect, with interconnecting sections spreading out from a central command center. Separate military trailers had been parked in a wide perimeter around the waterfall. Each trailer had side wings expanded to allow for maximum internal space, and was raised off the ground to accommodate the rugged terrain.
“You’re going to be fine,” Cam said. “I won’t leave your side. Deep breaths.”