SHADOW ORIGINS (PAPERBACK)

Black clouds pushed up Shadow Harbor’s coast as Reed Moore hurried through the town’s neatly laid-out streets. She wrapped her colorful cardigan tighter around her when the wind began to whip off the angry sea. White caps smashed against the nearby docks, and the harbor bell clanged fiercely in the distance. 

She rounded the corner as thunder rumbled overhead. A streak of lightning ripped through the sky, its jagged edge disappearing behind the large building across the street. 

Reed raised her eyes to the massive gothic library. As large raindrops created splotches on the sidewalk, she swallowed hard, forcing her feet to move her forward.

She jogged up the stone steps and pushed through the revolving door, shoving a lock of her red hair behind her ear. Her wet shoes squeaked across the penny-tile floor.

“Good morning, Ms. Moore,” the attendant behind the desk said.

Reed offered her a fleeting smile and brief wave before she hastened through the stacks to the back corner of the main floor. With a flick of her wrist, she smacked her keycard against the reader and pushed through the door into the Hall of Librarians. 

She slowed as she passed her own portrait and caressed the brass plate bearing her name. She drew her lips into a thin line before she hurried past the other paintings in the hall and descended the stairs.

Her keys jangled as she shoved them into the lock on the metal door at the bottom and turned. She waved the keycard in front of the reader before she tugged the thick door toward her. She stepped inside, her shoes clanking off the metal grating. The door banged shut behind her with a resounding boom.

She sucked in a breath, wrapping her fingers around the metal railing as she stared out over the archive filled with dark, dangerous, deadly magic. Shelf upon shelf upon shelf of it. 

She protected it. Alone. 

She descended the stairs leading to the smooth cement floor below and hurried over to a monitor. A shimmy of the mouse woke the device, and she tapped around on the keyboard before slapping the “enter” key. 

A list of items populated on the screen, their green letters shining against the black background. 

The ringing phone startled her, and she smacked the escape key before she picked up the line.

“Reed,” she said into the receiver as she pressed it to her ear.

“Hi, Reed,” Director Higgins said. “Glad I caught you in.”

“What’s up?” 

“We have a green-level asset retrieval if you’ve got the time.”

Reed stared at the blank screen, studying her distorted reflection in it for a moment. “Sure. Give me the details.”

“Great,” Director Higgins said.

She grabbed the sticky notes next to the keyboard and a pen and jotted down notes as the director of Shadow Harbor’s library branch passed them along.

“Magician’s teapot.”

“Where?” 

“Grayburgh. Being used at a tarot card reader’s shop on Spell Street.”

Her charm bracelet jangled as Reed scrawled the address onto the pink paper, while the director rattled off a description of the object. 

She listed a few words as she formed a picture of the item in her mind. “Any side effects to be aware of?”

“Not unless you drink from it,” Director Higgins said. 

1. Shadow Origins (prequel)
2. Shadow Beasts
3. Shadow Charms
4. Shadow Lord
5. Shadow Moon
6. Shadow Omens
7. Shadow Curses
8. Shadow Witch
9. Shadow Legend