Elemental Stalking

Elemental Stalking

Welcome to Freyshire: Book 1

Jen Drapp

Copyright © 2023 by Jen Drapp

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Chapter 1

Iwasn’t a stalker.

If someone saw me right now staring out the window, it may have looked like that, but seriously. Was it wrong to just casually people watch? Then, maybe, find one person to focus on and casually watch that particular person? A little bit more closely? And a little more often?

Okay, it really did sound a lot like stalking.

I couldn’t help it though. I mean, what else was one supposed to do behind the veil? Besides, it was only for one night a month. So…it wasn’t true stalking.

Stalk much, Calina?

I jerked my head around and gave Shani my best ‘are you reading my mind’ face, tilting my head and raising my eyebrow. Are you listening to my thoughts again? I hated when she did that.

She rolled her gorgeous brown eyes. "I didn’t need to. I know exactly what you’re staring at. Or who, I should say." The corners of her mouth curved up into a slight smirk as she came over to the window and peered over my shoulder.

I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, I lied. But I didn’t budge from my spot at the window. It was a hazy view, looking from one realm to another, but after some practice, it wasn’t impossible to see the world of the living from the world of the dead.

Out beyond the veil on the outskirts of the town of Freyshire, lay a tiny cottage. It looked like every other cottage in the old village nestled comfortably above the dark valley. One-story, timber-framed, and surrounded by cobblestone paths that connected to the neighboring homes and the main road that led into town. So, what made this particular cottage stare-worthy?

Shani was right. It was not a what, but a who. And I had no idea who he was. But, for some reason he caught my eye a couple of full moons ago, and I’d stalked…I mean, noticed him since. Every time that I saw him, he was sitting on the back porch in a white Adirondack chair, dark brown and wavy hair a mess, engrossed in a book that he read by the firelight of a nearby lantern.

I’m not sure what it was about him that made me want to keep seeing him. Yes, he was cute and looked to be about my age, but there was something else. Maybe that’s why I looked for him each time I came behind the veil. Every full moon, that is, as that’s the only time my dad invited me here. I think I was hoping to someday solve the puzzle that was this random person. This beautiful human, no less.

Or maybe I was just a stalker.

He is super cute. Have you gone into town to see if he actually exists? Shani laughed and nudged me, before resting her chin on my shoulder.

Shani was my best friend. I’d known her since we were both in diapers and she frequently came to my dad’s place with me. To anyone else, it may have been a little awkward spending the night behind the veil that separates the world of the living from the dead. But what could I say? Shani loved the weirdness and oddly enough, even loved my dad. It didn’t faze her at all that he was the Erlking and liked to go on wild hunts once a month with armies of dead guys. Not even in the slightest. I think she secretly wanted to go on a hunt with him one day and hoped he might invite her if she hung out at his place often enough.

Oh yeah, Shani was one of Set’s daughters. Like, the Egyptian god of chaos, Set. Right. That Set. So, I supposed that she was used to supernatural beings and all-around terrifying dads. The two of us were basically joined at the hip since birth, and she knew pretty much everything about me. Even the stuff I’ve told to my therapist. In hindsight, I probably should’ve fired the therapist and just talked to Shani. It would have been cheaper.

I’m sure he goes to school…works… Shani lifted her chin and shrugged. We could go into Freyshire, and you could take your stalking to a whole new level. See him every day instead of once a month.

That was an idea.

I sighed suddenly wishing that I had put off going to the Academy for a semester. We have to be at the Academy tomorrow for orientation, remember? Going to the village will have to wait until next weekend. Or never, I thought.

Shani and I were leaving for our first semester of college the next day. She seemed super excited about going and being my roommate. I, on the other hand, had mixed feelings.

Especially since her half-sister, Reema, was also going to be rooming with us.

Deal.

Wait, what? I broke my stare down with the mystery boy and turned on my friend. She was now sitting on my bed, scrolling through her phone.

She looked up at me innocently, flashing me her huge smile that she used on her father whenever she wanted something. Next weekend we’ll go on a search mission for your mystery man. She nodded then went back to her screen.

No, Shani, I was kidding. I mean, we can go into town to hang out next weekend but I’m not going on a man hunt. I stared at her for a minute. Shani? Ok? It was just a joke.

Whatever you say. She pursed her lips but didn’t look at me.

I shook my head in frustration. Ugh, she could be so difficult sometimes. Come on, we should get our stuff together for tomorrow and try to get some sleep. Sunrise will be here before we know it.

Shani jumped up from the bed in excitement and paced around the room, going on and on about all of the fun and crazy things we were going to do in college.

It was like the last conversation had never happened.

I tossed a couple of framed pictures of me and my parents into a box and grabbed the few remaining clothing items from my dresser, folding them neatly into my suitcase. I didn’t have that much stuff at my dad’s, but I still was a bit nostalgic as I went through the things that I was planning on taking with me.

I looked around the dusty old chamber that my father had transformed into a little girl’s bedroom. Though the walls were gray brick like the rest of the castle, the tiny pink and purple fairy lights that lined the ceiling, made it feel brighter. He had one of his ghostly servants build a small wooden dollhouse that fit perfectly into the nook in the far-right corner, with a matching nook meant for reading on the left. My bedroom hadn’t changed since I was five, and it wasn’t much, but I was going to miss it.

It was hard to believe that I was moving out on my own. I paused for a moment, letting out a deep breath as I listened to Shani talking nonstop in the background. Tomorrow marked the first day of the next chapter in my life. It was kind of crazy. Surreal even. And that was saying something since I was currently standing in an old bedroom in a castle behind the veil.

Are you even listening to me?

Shani’s voice brought me back to the task at hand and I returned to putting things into boxes. Yeah, I was just thinking about how insane it is that we are going to college. Tomorrow. I feel like we just graduated from junior high.

I know! Shani started talking a million miles a minute again and I walked back to my window to take one more look at my mystery guy before it got too late, and he went inside.

Pressing my forehead against the cold glass, I smiled seeing him run a hand through his dark hair and smiling a bit at the words he was reading. I then wondered what he was reading. What he was thinking.

I knew he couldn’t see me out there in the blackness or through the veil, for that matter. It was not something a human could see. But then he looked up from his book and his brown eyes seemed to stare right back at mine. His brow furrowed, and he listed his head as if trying to make out something in the distance.

I lifted my hand in a sort of wave and I immediately felt like an idiot.

He can’t see you, Calina.

His eyes continued to hold mine for another moment, and he slowly closed the book on his lap, still staring in my direction.

Could he see me?

Oh my gosh, you’re so obsessed!

I jumped and looked back at Shani. He’s looking at me…it’s like he can see… I let my sentence die and waved her over to the window, but when I looked towards the cottage again, he had already gone inside.

She got up and stood next to me. I don’t see anything. She put her hand on my shoulder. Let’s go to bed. I’m exhausted and we have a big day tomorrow.

I nodded but didn’t take my eyes off of the cottage still wondering if he had really seen me. He probably just saw an animal or something and it happened to be in this direction. No one could see through the veil without my dad’s approval. Especially a human.

Right?

Chapter 2

St. Anne’s Academy was located deep in the dark valley under a cover of a dense pine forest, far away from everything and hidden from Freyshire. Well, hidden from the humans there, anyway. The problem? It was located deep in the dark valley. Far away.

From everything.

Getting to the school was a feat in itself. I had been told how bad traffic sucked in the city, but nope. I could have guaranteed that it had nothing on forest traffic. When was the last time a human from Freyshire got stuck behind a pack of lazy hellhounds?

Exactly.

But once the forest thinned and I laid eyes on our destination, the annoying traffic suddenly seemed worth it. Plus, Shani was doing the driving since my dad wouldn’t let me bring my car until after he had one of his ghastly servants rotate the tires.

I leaned my head out of the window of Shani’s expensive little BMW letting my mouth hang open as we neared the enormous campus. It was as if we had driven into another world or traveled back to another time. Tall oak trees lined a mile-long drive up to the Academy, giving it one of the grandest entryways I had ever seen.

The main building towered above the rest, and it reminded me of a 15th century Tudor palace. Large brown bricks made up the foundation and it held an almost country-like charm with floor-to-ceiling windows and large verandas atop the two-story bump-outs along the entire front side of the building. The smaller buildings that dotted the rest of the campus were separated from the main house by vast gardens and stone paths.

I felt like I should have been dressed for a king’s court and suddenly became overly self-conscious about my khaki shorts and tank top.

Wow. This place is amazing! Shani’s half-sister, Reema, spoke up from the front seat. She swore that she had called ‘shotgun’ when we were packing up this morning, but I heard no such thing.

Reema pulled down the car vizor and flipped open the mirror. She dabbed at the sides of her glossed lips and fluffed her straight black hair. She was beautiful like Shani with the same thick jet-black hair and cocoa-colored eyes. But Reema’s skin was a lighter shade of caramel than Shani’s. I had always been jealous of their bronzed skin tones.

Watching Reema from the backseat, I thought about what my own make-up looked like. Or lack thereof. Shani said I didn’t need it, but I still wore some. A little.

I leaned to the left and caught a glimpse of myself in the rearview. My porcelain skin looked even paler in the afternoon sun that came through the windows, and my dirty blonde hair made me appear even lighter. But I suppose I did have nice eyes. They were my mother’s eyes. Hazel with little green specks in them.

Shani stuck her tongue out at me in the rearview mirror and we both laughed at each other’s reflections. I hadn’t even noticed that she had parked the car.

You two are so immature. I can’t believe we are actually the same age, Reema scoffed and rolled her eyes then gracefully exited the car as if she were stepping onto a red carpet. She even looked to both sides as if expecting paparazzi to rush her at any moment.

Shani and I both mocked Reema to each other’s reflections and giggled again. Then Shani’s expression turned serious. She nodded, probably more to herself than me. Ok. Let’s do this. She heaved a sigh then must have noticed me chewing on my nails in the rearview. What’s wrong?

I took a break from my nervous nail biting and gulped. What if coming to St. Anne’s was a bad idea? I mean, was it such a bad thing to go to Freyshire College? We could have still had fun at a normal school.

Shani spun around in her seat to face me. We talked about this. We aren’t normal and going to Freyshire College would have just meant another four years in hiding. We can actually be ourselves at St. Anne’s. You’ll see. This new freedom to really get in touch with our…special talents is going to be amazing.

I guess you’re right.

Of course I am. Shani grinned at me and patted my knee. Now, come on. I don’t want to be late.

The three of us made our way along the paths that winded around the main building and through what appeared to be a fairy garden, then circled the student union to the auditorium. I was afraid we would get lost, but it was pretty hard to ignore the groups of water nymphs and purple Faeries all clutching large welcome packets who walked in