Catching Shadows, Jillian Cline [10 best novels of all time .txt] 📗

then they both were on their way across the street to the shop. Just above the door was a sign that Mavon failed to notice before. It said in bold letters ‘Lilia’s and Marcus’s artifact’s’ in an arch between to iron bars. As they reach the door Amelia stopped suddenly. Looking at her, Mavon cocked her head to the side.
“What is it?” She asked. Amelia shook her head.
“I forgot my purse in my car. Let me go get it.” She raced of before Mavon could respond. Mavon lifted up her hands helplessly and sighed while rolling her eyes.
She pushed open the door and step through. She gave a little gasp as scents surrounded her and artifacts filled her sight. She stood there, taking in the room. “Can I help you?” asked a voice. Mavon turned her head towards the counter where a woman stood there with another costumer. The woman had dark skin just like the boy she and Amelia saw walk out the store though she was shorter and rounder in the middle. She had a loose green silk shirt on that belled around the wrists were a lot of bracelets’ clung there. She had long black hair and silver earrings that brushed her shoulders.
“Um… I don’t know.” Mavon looked about the room again.
“Well, don’t just stand there. Move around and look at anything. And if you need anything l will be here and so will my son when he gets back.” The woman said turning back to her costumer before her. Mavon nodded and moved to the rows of shelves to the left. Mavon studied a piece of purple fabric and reached up about to touch it when a hand caught hers.
“This is Persian silk. If you touch it, you’re going to have to buy it.” A male voice said in her ear. She stiffened and pulled away from the person. She turned around and found she was standing in front of the guy who was walking out of the shop just a few minutes ago.
Mavon glanced at the fabric and smiled. “What are you smiling about?” He asked also turning to take a look. “It’s not Persian, but Roman silk.” The guy looked at the fabric even closer. Just then the door opened and Amelia pranced in.
“Hey May, where is your-” She stopped speaking when she saw the guy who was now looking at her, apparently annoyed. Mavon brushed pass him to Amelia. “Stop gawking,” Mavon hissed in her ear. “Fly’s will fly in your mouth.” Amelia closed her mouth, but a smile tilted up on her face. “I don’t care about fly’s, but something else…” Amelia studied the guy closely as Mavon shook her head. “Oh my, here we go again. I’m going to walk away and pretend I didn’t just here what you said.” She turned on her heal and her eyes caught the guy’s. She pointed at the fabric. “Trust me, it’s Roman. If it were Persian it wouldn’t have been thinly woven.” Then she disappeared behind a few shelves.
Looking at interesting things all around her, Mavon pulled out her IPod and slipped one of the ear pieces in her ear the scrolling through her playlist. Her thoughts came back to her about her dream. For some reason it was bugging her, like a buzzing noise in her ear. Mavon scrunched up her face, really hearing a buzzing noise. She looked down at her IPod and saw that the thing wasn’t even playing. Soon fixing it she looked back up to see the yin-yang sign before her. It was surrounded by two different colored dragons: one blue, the other red. Their wings were spread as if to fly, but their nails were dug into the sign, their bodies arch as though to protect on comers. They had black beady eyes that boar into each other, preparing for the kill.
Feeling as if she was about to be sick, flashes of images dance into her vision. A clock, a key, knifes, blood, torn flesh, Gods and Goddesses, black on white. Confusion engulfed her every being. “Ah… Amelia? I gotta go. My dad’s-“ She stopped speaking and closed her eyes. She didn’t have a dad anymore since he disappeared years ago. “My mom will over work herself if I don’t get back there to stop her.” Turning around the corner she saw Amelia was flirting with the guy. Mavon’s eyes widened.
“Alright. Do you want me to walk you to your car?” Their eyes met and Mavon shook her head.
“Nah, I know how to seek my way back to my car. Plus you look… occupied at the moment.” Amelia smiled at her but the guy’s eyes were on Mavon as she turned and walked out of the store.
That night Mavon crawled in bed and pulled out a green notebook and wrote down her entry:
I don't know where to start. I feel like my life is spinning out of control at the moment and I can't think strait. Mom continues her late night work and has finally fallen asleep just moments ago, and dad... Well he's still missing. I can feel him alive, I know that sounds crazy, but it must be that father daughter thing, right? I don't feel safe anymore. I keep having dreams but as soon as I wake up I have a faint memory of falling, the smell of acid, and hands catching me. Maybe dad's stories are now seeping in.
Also, today I went into town just like every day, but there is a new store there and a really cute guy who works there. I don't know his name, but it doesn't even matter. What guy would like me? Plus Amelia has already set her sights on him anyways and no one says no to her. I guess my hormones are out of whack, maybe because of stress or it's almost my time of the month. Or as a few guys like to call it: Code Red. Please. Like a guy would know how we work.

{~&~}

Mavon woke up screaming when she heard a beeping noise. Heart pounding, she saw it was just her alarm clock. Groaning, Mavon rolled over and turned off her alarm clock. She sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. Crawling out of bed and stumbling into her bathroom she had a tingling numb feeling in her body. Reaching the sink she turned on the tap and splashed water in her face. The tingling was retreating now, leaving a bitter heat slightly compressing her from head to toe. She rolled her shoulders and neck while reaching for the edge of her clothing.
After her shower and getting ready Mavon patted down stairs expecting her mother to be up and working, but ending up with a cold, darkly dim lighted, empty room. Confusion embedded her features and mind as she walked into the kitchen. On the table was her breakfast, now cold, and a note resting beside it. Curiously, Mavon surge forward to the table and dropping her backpack on the table alongside some things that came in the mail. Mavon looked down at the note and frowned.

Bug,

Sorry I didn't get to see your face when you woke up. I made you breakfast though and I can't wait to see you when I do get home which I might, once again, be late for dinner and mother daughter time.

All kisses,

Butterfly

Mavon sighed and set the paper down on the table again. Picking up her plate she set it in the microwave for a few minutes. While that nuked, Mavon walked into the living room to get her laptop out of her bag. She slid her hand into the mouth and came into contact with the small thing and pulled it out. There was a little thunk

on a spot on the ground by her feet. She cocked her head to the side, then knelt and reached out to the spot only coming up with a necklace. Since there was barely any light she when into the kitchen, ignoring the ding of the microwave. Mavon turned on the light so she could look at what was in her hand, only to find nothing. Was this it? Was she finally losing her mind?

No, not on the first day of school.

Gathering the courage to move on and forget about the whole thing she gather her breakfast, threw it in the trash, gathered her things and her car keys and hit the road.


Markus stood on the lawn of the school. The first thing coming to him was the smell of fresh grass and the sight of a hundred, probably even more, students crowding the school's grounds. A kid passed him, leaving behind a retching smell of body odor. Markus drew back a little; surprised the kid didn't own deodorant. The other thing that caught his attention was the girls. Short vibrant skirts that barely covered the butt and low cut tank tops with long hair pulled up in a pony tail. All the girls around here wore heavy makeup, Markus noticed. Fake-faces he liked to call them. Even the Goths and stoners wore the same things only in black or darker colors. No guy's wore pants but shorts with tennis shoes compared to the thick high-heels or flats or flip-flops. Is this what rich people ware all the time?

Markus thought to himself.
A car pulled into the parking lot with music bumping out of the car. The car door opened when it was parked, and there she was. Getting out of the car was the same girl he saw yesterday, only this time she looked different. She had on tight black leggings on that was tucked tightly into black leather thigh high laced up boot with little heel. She had a black tank top on that was covered in a dark green see through off shoulder top. Her long black hair was pulled up into a long thick braid which was showing off a great deal of her collar bone. Around her neck was a silver dragon choky. Its body wrapped around there looking smug and somehow ready to kill at the same time while its beady red eyes gleamed in the light. Her look was complete with long earring that brushed her shoulders that had strands of peeled metal that ended with yin-yang signs and a matching charm bracelet that also had