The Demon Hunter (22 page)

“Looks great, Rodrigo.”

“Thank you, sir. I love the music,” said Rodrigo wistfully, as if he could hear it now.

“Me, too,” said Oliver truthfully. In honor of Waning Sun, the full
Melancholia
was being performed. Since the entire piece was over two months long, the performance had begun weeks ago, and would culminate Friday night at the Darkling Ball, with the unveiling of the newest movement. Oliver was actually looking forward to hearing it, especially since he played cello himself.

“It will certainly be a grand night,” said Rodrigo.

“Yeah,” Oliver replied quietly. Rodrigo didn't know the half of it. Oliver wondered what he would think, what everyone at school would think if they knew about Oliver's prophecy, and about the Anointment. Only members of Half-Light knew of Oliver's destiny. Would his classmates, teachers, Rodrigo even, think differently of him? Would it make him a celebrity again, as he'd briefly been last winter, when everyone thought he'd only befriended Emalie in order to torment her by killing her cousin? Oliver was glad they didn't know; it would make things even harder, he guessed. He already felt guilty enough about wanting to undo the prophecy.

Oliver entered his classroom. He was the first to arrive in the candlelit room, and went immediately to his desk. As he sat down, he caught a familiar scent, felt a twinge of excitement, and reached under the desk. Sure enough, something was wedged between the desktop and the metal bar.

It was a key chain: an empty ring attached to a tiny black plastic square. There was a curved space at the top of the square that revealed the edge of something inside, made of clear plastic. He pinched and pulled, revealing a small magnifying glass.

Leaning over, Oliver held the glass over the desk, close to the wood surface. The spot he was focusing on was blank, but changed when Oliver whispered: “
Segretthh
…” a Skrit word meaning “secret.”

Charred lines appeared in the desktop, making words so tiny that the magnifying glass was necessary for reading them. Emalie had created this device as a safer way of passing notes than regular paper. Only Oliver or Emalie's voice could activate the message. What Oliver read now caused a ripple of worried excitement:

it's ready. meet at Dean's. 4 A.M.

It
was the Portal. Finally, he would find out for sure if his parents were alive.
And then what?
Oliver thought.
Am I really going to go find them? What good will that do?
He had no idea. All he knew was that if they were alive out there somewhere, he desperately wanted to know them, and well, that was that.

Oliver blew on the words and they disappeared in a small cloud of ash.

Moments later, the rest of his class began piling into the room. Theo and his friends immediately leaped up to the ceiling, where they formed their upside-down circle to joke and flirt and make fun of the others entering, like Berthold and Carly. Even Seth took some abuse, Maggots making a joke about his hair even though it was the exact same curly blond that it had been for years. No jokes came Oliver's way, thanks to Theo, he guessed, and so he settled back into his seat and waited for the long school night to be over.

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About the Author

Kevin Emerson once competed in a beauty pageant and lost (probably because he was wearing a suit of armor). He is the author of twelve novels for teen and middle grade readers, including the Atlanteans series, the Exile series, and
The Fellowship for Alien Detection
. He is also a guitarist and drummer in two bands: Northern Allies and the Board of Education. Emerson once appeared in a Swedish television commercial, knows that bow ties are cool, and also knows that Pinkie Pie is the best MLP. He lives with his wife and two young children in Seattle, where the damp, gloomy nights inspired Oliver's story.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2009 by Kevin Emerson

Cover design and illustration by Connie Gabbert

ISBN: 978-1-4976-0205-2

This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

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