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Today we're featuring Of Dreams and Shadow by D.S. McKnight on Get Hooked at The Literary Nook!
Author: D.S. McKnight
Publisher: Stone Bay Press
Pages: 286
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Format: Paperback/Kindle
Purchase at AMAZON
We live. We die.
Is there anything more? Jenna
Barton is about to find out. After
moving to the coastal North Carolina town of Parson’s Cove, Jenna has unwittingly stepped into
the middle of a mystery involving a missing child. Unfortunately, the predator is still on the
loose and Jenna has become his new obsession.
With a little luck and a bit of paranormal help, Jenna might survive.
Prologue
June 17, 1997
Details…they
were the making or breaking of any plan and he
felt sure
that his plan was perfect. He surveyed the yard one last
time, slid
back into his hiding place and waited. It wouldn’t be
long now.
She would open the door and come out to play as she
did every
morning: swinging, pulling her wagon, playing with her
doll. Only
this morning would be different, this morning would
be special.
Laying in her wagon was his gift, a
necklace he had taken from
his
mother. He was certain Sarah would love it. A door slammed,
pulling
his attention from the wagon to the patio where the little
girl
stood.
“Big…black…bug’s blood,” she said slowly.
And then, looking
rather
pleased with herself, she continued a bit faster, “Big, black
bug’s
blood, big black blugs blug, blig black blug’s blug.” Shaking
her head,
she stepped off the patio, “I don’t like bugs anyway…well,
maybe
ladybugs…and butterflies,” Sarah added as a swallowtail
fluttered
by.
Sarah found herself following the
butterfly’s trail, stopping
when it
lit upon a flower and continuing on as it once again took
flight. “Come back butterfly,” she called as the
butterfly
flitted from
place to place, always just out of her reach. The
tinkling
sound of her laughter floated across the yard to his
hiding
place. He couldn’t believe his luck. It seemed that fate
was
lending him a hand as the butterfly fluttered ever closer to
the wagon.
Just a little further, sweet Sarah.
She stopped, looked up at the butterfly
as it changed course,
then set
off in the opposite direction. He clinched his fist. Fate,
he
thought, is like a fickle strumpet. But patience on the other
hand,
was
quite the virtuous lady. Damn. He hated virtuous ladies. And
strumpets…they
weren’t any better.
The swallowtail, perhaps tired of playing
the game, circled
around and
carried Sarah back toward the wagon. Its flight was
now one of
purpose. It had nectar to collect and flowers to pollinate
and a
curious little girl was a hindrance. The butterfly, however,
didn’t
need to worry. It had lost Sarah’s attention. She had seen the
gift.
Picking up the silver chain, she watched
as the blue stones
glistened in
the sunlight. It was the most beautiful thing she had
ever seen.
Sarah slid the necklace over her head and ran back to the
house
calling out for her mother.
Liza Jones opened the door. “Is
everything okay, Sweetie?”
Sarah lifted the pendant. “See what I
found.” Her voice dropped
to a
whisper, as she looked over her shoulder. “Do you think a fairy
dropped
it?”
Liza shook her head. “I don’t know about
a fairy, but someone
certainly
did.” She put out her hand. “I think maybe you should
give the
necklace to me. We don’t know whose it is.”
Sarah’s lip began to tremble. “But I
found it and it’s so pretty.
Can’t I
please wear it for a little while? I won’t lose it.”
Liza smiled as she touched her daughter’s
cheek. She hated
telling her
no. “Okay, as long as you’re careful. But when we find
out who
owns it, no tears.”
“No tears, Mommy,”
Sarah agreed. “I promise.”
Liza closed the door, her mind already
going over the phone
calls she
needed to make. She felt certain that one of the neighbor’s
children
had been exploring in their mother’s jewelry box.
Smiling, Sarah whirled around and set off
for the swings. Her
soft
caramel curls, caught in a ponytail, danced about as she skipped
across the
backyard. She hoped her mommy couldn’t find the owner
of the
necklace.
As she sat in the swing and pushed off
with her feet, Sarah
noticed
her shadow. It moved along the sand, stretching out just as
she did.
Higher and higher she went, her shadow following below.
Taking a
flying leap from the swing, Sarah sailed through the air,
landed on
the soft grass and toppled over. Giggling, she righted
herself.
Her shadow did the same. And so the game of chase began.
Like a small rabbit, Sarah scampered
across the lawn, her
little feet
swiftly changing course. Sometimes, depending on the
direction
she was going, Sarah noticed that she was being chased by
her
shadow. Other times, she was doing the chasing.
The slamming of the neighbor’s back door
didn’t go unnoticed.
Boys!
She
thought to herself as she wheeled in the opposite direction,
making
sure to avoid the fence. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw
the
neighbor boy peeking over the pickets.
As she neared the back of the yard, Sarah
slowed to a walk,
sat down,
and leaned against a large boulder, her shadow all but
forgotten.
She fingered the silver chain before carefully lifting the
pendant.
Blue stones surrounded a small crystal, reminding her of
the
flowers that grew in her mother’s garden. “Buttercup, Poppy,
Forget-Me-Not,”
Sarah recited her favorite nursery rhyme, “These
three
bloomed in a garden spot—” her soft voice trailed away to
nothing as
the sensation of being watched rolled over her.
Sarah lifted her eyes from the necklace
and glanced toward the
wood line,
looking for anything that seemed out of place. Seeing
nothing
out of the ordinary, she continued to search the yard,
looking
for the source of her discomfort. She paused, realizing that
the only
place left to look was behind her. The hair on her arms
began to rise as did the instinctual feeling to run to safety.
Slowly,
she turned
her head to look over her shoulder. Her eyes rested on
the dark
figure standing behind her right shoulder.
“Shadow?” she asked in a bewildered
voice.
“Who else could it be?” hissed the
childlike apparition as it
took
position between Sarah and her house. A ragged whimper
wrenched
from deep in Sarah’s throat, her eyes darted, looking for
an escape
but seeing none. From across the fence, the frightened
eyes of
the neighbor boy found hers, his small hand waved for her
to run.
“Mommy!” she cried out, her eyes welling
with tears.
“Thy mother hearest thou not, sweet
Sarah,” the specter hissed
as it took
a step closer to the child.
Sarah’s mind told her to flee yet her
body refused to move.
Tears
streamed down her face. The shadowy figure looked over
its
shoulder at the house. Satisfied, it turned its attention back to
Sarah.
Cocking its head to the side as though in thought, Sarah’s
silhouette
paused for just a moment before lunging and engulfing
the child.
Sarah had no time to scream. She was gone, swallowed
by the
blackness that was the shadow. The dark figure of the little
girl
stretched upward and outward as it shifted into the dark shape
of a man.
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