katiewalkergevedon

CHAPTER 1 Shadows aren’t known for killing, but that’s never stopped them before. Years have gone by since Meira would have ever admitted to being afraid of the dark. But for the last two weeks, every moment she closes her eyes, she sees them. Every night; crimson, daunting eyes, the shade of blood. Perhaps that’s why she finds herself checking every corner as she hurries down the street. She pivots just enough to peer behind her, desperately hoping to shake the feeling of being followed. As she does, she finds nothing. Absolutely nothing. Which only makes her feel worse. A Tuesday, two years previous, was the last time she felt this way. Even then, the unbearable cycle started the same way. At least that’s what she tells herself. The shadows have returned. The signs are all there. They have been for two days. Icy cold that pierces her skin like needles. Horrible, haunting eyes that steal every bit of sleep she longs for. Beads of sweat run down her neck making her shirt uncomfortably drenched while she’s not even moving; it’s all there, clear as crystal. And in her eighteen years of life, this is the most real the shadows have ever felt, the closest she’s ever sensed them. I have to get home. Only another block to go, she tells herself. Meira’s steps quicken and she hurries towards her next turn. The last one. Then she’ll be home. Finally approaching her turn, she doesn’t give herself the chance to overthink before quickening her pace into a steady run. She’s so close, so near the apartment. I’ve gotta tell them. They have to know. They have to get out of here; it’s the only way to keep them safe. One more building to pass. She approaches a streetlight and attempts to catch her breath. Something about the overhead illumination brings a moment of comfort, of security. If only she had a cellphone, she could just call them, get them ready to leave. Once certain she’ll be able to make it the final stretch, she takes one step just as the light goes out. Her eyes dart back and forth, welling with tears as she scans the dark, empty street. Her hand grabs at her chest, curling her shirt into her fingers like the pressure will steady the rapid beat of her heart. She turns back towards her apartment, towards home, and— Meira sees it. In the corner of her eye, she sees it. The shadow. Only a handful of paces away, right beneath another extinguished light. She can’t look away. Every nerve in her body is shot, frozen. She’s standing completely exposed and in the open as she stares. Every part of her begs to flee, to scream, to call for help. Something. Anything. Come on, dammit, she forces herself to think. But as the shadow approaches, traveling closer and closer, she remains utterly frozen. She knows what she’ll see next. The crimson eyes that haunt her dreams, the ones she’s feared her whole life, the ones that have kept her from a moment of rest for weeks. Closer, closer, when— “Oh, excuse me, miss,” she hears. Meira shakes her head and a dizzy spell comes full force, nearly dropping her to her knees. A person. It was just a person, a man in a dark coat, walking right by her. Her body jolts, and she’s not even certain she’s the one calling the shots or if it’s adrenaline taking over, but she runs. As fast as she can until she’s reached the doorway to their walkup. Without skipping a beat, Meira races up the steps until she’s reached the third floor. As she walks down the seemingly endless hallway, she drops her head into her hands, repeating, “They’re not here, they’re not here, they’re not here,” the entirety of the walk. Meira approaches the door and reaches for the handle. A deep voice, one she’s never heard before, whispers from behind, “I’m here.” Meira feels the blood rush from her head. “Who was that?” She shouts. Every hair on her body stands, and her skin crawls beneath her clothing. Her muscles shake, and her knees threaten to give out from the nerves rushing through her. She frantically looks all around, but finds nothing. Not a single soul on the floor with her. Her muscles ache from trembling, and she realizes just how uncomfortable her completely drenched shirt feels against her skin. This has to stop. She can’t take much more of the paranoia. Meira throws open the door and slams it shut, resting her head against the doorframe while she securely locks all three bolts. “Where’ve you been all night?” Meira twists to find the mirror of her voice, if not slightly higher pitched than her own. Her twin sister, Colette, sits with her legs crossed on the couch looking back up at her with concern etched into her expression. To her right sits Gran, such a frail and small woman, looking confused and worried. “I—I just, I was…” She struggles to find the words, to find what she knows she needs to say. You have to keep them safe, have to protect them, have to— Colette approaches. She comes close, too close, and studies Meira with her blue eyes that Meira envies. “What’s wrong?” She opens her mouth once again, waiting for the words to come, but then she looks to Colette. Really, truly looks at Colette. Her sister, the student body president and swim captain on their school’s team, the golden child both at home and at school. But beneath the light of their doorway, all Meira sees are the harrowing dark circles that shadow her sister’s eyes. A frown line graces her forehead. Frustration settled into every pore, and the downward curve of what’s normally a radiant smile. A flash of a blackened shadow stalking towards her intrudes her thoughts. Their former apartment in Phoenix housed one additional room and a proper dining room, which is exactly the room Meira remembers seeing it last. The blood red eyes peering back at her through the smudges in the glass, her body frozen as fear ripples throughout her, watching the devastation on her sister’s face as their grandmother removes them from yet another house. Her body shudders at the thought, and her eyes shut in protest. The squeezing brings a subtle ache to her temple. It’s been two years since the last move, since the last sighting. The shadows have never stayed away for that long, never allowed her such a period of uninterrupted peace. Perhaps that’s why Denver has felt more like a home than she’s ever known. Like a broken record, the cycle of the hauntings replay exactly as it has countless times before. Shadows that lurk in the night haunt her, fill her head with thoughts of gloom and death, as if she’s the one causing such horrors. She alerts Colette who then alerts their grandmother, and within an hour they’ve gathered just enough food, clothes, and belongings to make it to the next city before the sun rises. Even with the current apartment’s creaking floors and chipped paint, and a kitchen that barely allows enough room to warm a pot of soup without knocking into something, this is the closest thing to what Meira would consider a home. She couldn’t remember the last time they had spent more than one year in the same place. As she takes in her sister before her, Meira recalls their conversation upon the last move. Recalls Colette looking her in the eye, telling her she was okay with needing to move yet again, only to hear her sobbing the entirety of their first night in this very apartment. Along with the following five nights, too. She would have rather Colette drove a knife through her heart than hear those sobs. Another move can’t happen. Not because of her. “I was just on a run, that’s all.” Which isn’t entirely a lie. Colette looks Meira up and down. “A run for hours, ever since school let out?” A knot twists in Meira’s gut, but she holds her stare until Colette says, “Sounds exciting.” As Colette floats towards the kitchen, her long black hair swaying with each step as it hangs to her waist, Meira exhales a low, deep breath. The knot only squeezes tighter. Meira watches her sister, thanking her past self for getting a haircut. Take away their outward dress and the lack of hair maintenance on Meira’s end, the only other factor preventing them from being told apart is the brighter shade of blue in Colette’s eyes versus Meira’s own silver. If it weren’t for the other things, Meira questions if even she would be able to tell themselves apart. “Why didn’t you let us know when you’d be home?”

Shadows of Siphons // Young Adult Fantasy // 99,000 words Assignment 1: The Act of Story Statement Keep family safe while discovering potential within. Assignment 2: The Antagonist Plots the Point Within this novel, there are two antagonists, one being the main focus while the other lurks in the background. Griffin is a Vogullon, a dark, shadow-like human turned demon and subordinate to the Darkness Wielder (the “big bad”). The Darkness Wielder found him on the streets, nearly at death, and bestowed a fraction of his power on Griffin. After restoring his lifeforce, the dark energy allowed Griffin the ability to shift from his human body into one more demonic with black, bat-like wings, crimson eyes like blood, and skin covered with patchy green scales. He is one of hundreds of Vogullon, but is who the Darkness Wielder tasks with stalking the protagonist from a young age to capture and bring her to him so he can claim a power she unknowingly wields. Over the eighteen years he comes close to capturing her but is unsuccessful. Griffin learns of the protagonist’s capabilities and breaks free of his shackles from the Darkness Wielder to claim that power for himself. He aims to bring the same pain, suffering, darkness, and humiliation to mankind that was bestowed upon him in his mortal life. He allows his greed to consume him and attacks the protagonist in broad daylight, something he was forbidden from doing while under the Darkness Wielder’s control. Assignment 3: Conjuring Your Breakout Title -Shadows of Siphons -Destiny Written in Shadows -Irreverent Shadows Assignment 4: Deciding Your Genre and Approaching Comparables Young Adult Fantasy My first comp title is Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. Set in our modern, present day world, the protagonist finds herself surrounded by ancient magic and shadow creatures that hunt her, as well as others. She learns she has a power she was unaware of before. She also must uncover the secrets of an underground society which does not accept her, eventually discovering she’s tragically one of the main parts of that society. Similar themes include: self-discovery, facing one’s destiny head on, grief, uncovering and learning to control a hidden power. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is my second comp title. The protagonist is discovered to have an uncovered and incredibly desirable power, one that the antagonist seeks to claim as his own. The antagonist wields shadows and plays a direct role in the protagonist’s journey to discovering her true potential. The story also includes volcra, shadow creatures that were once human, that feed off dark energy. Similar themes include: light and dark as opposing forces, the allure of power, and self-control. Assignment 5: Core Wounds and the Primary Conflict A young woman, after years of running, is filled with guilt after watching her friends become flooded with ancient magic and are now tasked with protecting the world from a shadow demon, all because of her. Assignment 6: Other Matters of Conflict: Two More Levels Inner Conflict - Meira is driven by fear and anxiety, as her whole life has been spent running from humanoid shadows of the night that always appear to want something from her. Her grandmother packs her and her twin sister up any time Meira reports a sighting and takes them across the country to a new place. This happens frequently, and so often that Meira has lost her sense of belonging anywhere. After the shadows are revealed to be real and attempt to take her away, she finds her sister and friends are flooded with ancient elemental magic, and it’s entirely her fault. The others are taken to a magical facility to hone their magic. Meira is also dragged along, but she’s forbidden from seeing the others. And while they are being put on a pedestal by those around them for their magic, Meira is ridiculed and dismissed as a threat. Because of all this, and the numerous characters who express their strong disinterest in her being there, Meira struggles with a lack of belonging within this “world” despite being the sole reason that she and the others are there to begin with. Scene - In a scene where Meira sees her sister and friends for the first time in weeks, after being isolated from them, a side character who despises Meira rips her apart from them and tells her to “go where she belongs.” After some arguing and the other characters leave her, as she feels they always do, she replays the character’s words in her mind and states that she would go where she belonged if she knew where that was. Secondary Conflict - Meira’s secondary conflict revolves around our sorcerer, Ryder. Ryder has known Meira and her sister since they were children, so upon his arrival, she anticipates their relationship to be the same as it has been; friendly, warm, genuine. Instead, she is met with a version of Ryder she’s unfamiliar with; one who is cold, standoffish, and can wield magic she had no idea existed before. She attempts to ask him questions about the things happening around her, but he is more concerned with the other four with magic. Upon arriving at their facility, Ryder casts Meira to the side and tells her he cannot help her. As the story progresses, Meira attempts to confront Ryder multiple times, growing frustrated and angry when she’s met with indifference. He even goes as far as to tell her he won’t speak to her as it’s for her own safety, which she doesn’t believe. After her own previously unknown powers awaken, she finds information on Ryder and thanks to her paranoia, believes him to be working with the villain. Ryder then informs her he’s going to take her away from where they are, separating her from those she cares about, which she believes is a way to keep her from stopping his plans to harm the Elementals. Scene - While looking for someone, Meira stumbles into Ryder’s office and finds missing pages of a book highlighting that the Elementals, our four characters with magic, were the ones who created the villain long ago. These pages were previously missing from books she found, and upon finding them, she’s immediately suspicious and wants to know why he is hiding them. She also finds notes within these pages with details about how the villain’s creation came to be, how it happened, and she starts to believe he’s hoping to recreate this process and that he’s secretly working with the villain. Ryder appears, and when she calls him on it, he responds by saying she doesn’t understand what she’s talking about, immediately followed by his announcement that he’s sending her away, permanently separating her from her sister and friends. Meira protests, but he gives her no choice, and then proceeds to tell her he has one reason for being in this world, and it’s to protect the Elementals from anyone, her included. Assignment 7: The Incredible Importance of Setting There are three main settings throughout the novel. The story begins in downtown Denver, Colorado in modern day. We see Meira’s apartment; a tiny apartment with creaking floors and chipped paint, a kitchen so small only one person can properly fit at a time, and a dining room table and three chairs as the only real furniture. With the constant moving, they hardly have anything big to take with them, and anything accumulated within the time frame of being there is often left with the exception of the clothing they can fit into one or two bags each. Meira’s grandmother, the caretaker of her and her twin sister, has just enough money to help them survive, so technology is not a luxury they possess though it is present in the timeframe we’re in. It’s night time and incredibly dark, which makes Meira even more paranoid, as all the signs of seeing the mysterious shadows that haunt her are all around. The second setting within our story is the setting found within a majority of the novel and comes following the catalyst events. Our sorcerer uses magic to transport our characters to Brooklyn, NY, and we find ourselves in a secret facility surrounded by followers of the Elementals. The magically warded facility is called the Center, and is one of our east coast locations for the Elemental’s Legion. The Center is a massive hexagonal training arena with halls leading down each side of the main arena. In its center we see multiple boxing rings and walls lined with weaponry the Legion uses in order to train and prepare to fight the Darkness. The ceiling is glass and allows the only access to the outside world, which later shows the dark clouds of the Darkness Wielder rolling inward as it closes in on the Center. All over the room Meira sees shields and banners with a golden six pointed star. Each member of the Legion, Meira included, wears gray and silver training suits with this symbol present, representing the elements. The Elementals wear similar suits but where there are silver accents on the Legion’s suits, the Elementals wear gold to match the symbol around the Center. Within the hallways around the hexagonal arena, each hall leads to something; sleeping quarters, the infirmary, the cafeteria. One hallway houses the Elementals and only captains or those of higher status are permitted to enter. This hall houses not only the living quarters for the four Elementals, it has an individualized training arena for each Elemental. The one we see most often is the water arena. This room is large and has pearl white walls and floors and water everywhere. The high ceilings are made of glass much like the main arena. Streams flow through the room and surround a central area for the water wielder to practice and train. Upon leaving the Center in the final leg of the novel, we return outside to the streets of Brooklyn, NY. The skies are dark and filled with black clouds that unnerve all below. Those clouds roll in and out of view as the fight with the antagonist persists, with them being more dominant as our protagonist is “losing,” and seeming to disappear as she is “winning.” All around we see destruction and debris from the Darkness, sirens from cars sound all around, and fire burns along multiple storefronts and buildings. Many structures are nearly flattened by the final battle.