Shadow Moon

By Marilee Brothers

Allie Emerson is hoping for a few quiet months to catch her breath after a summer that included the discovery she is not only a twin and of faery blood, but also destined to play a pivotal role in faery world. School has barely begun when Allie must kiss her hope of a normal year goodbye.

She can't escape her unfinished business with the fae, the Trimarks, or Junior Martinez, who is making it clear he plans to win her back. Signs, portents and whispers are pushing Allie to "find the girl" before it's too late. Hoping her twin can help her solve the riddle of their destiny, Allie uncovers old secrets and begins a cross-country journey that puts her in more danger than ever before. If she succeeds, she may just find the answers that can save everyone she loves.

Marilee Brothers is a former high school teacher turned full-time author. She married her college crush, and they have three sons. Marilee lives in Washington State, where she's hard at work on the next book in the Unbidden Magic series. www.MarileeBrothers.com

• Language: English
• Publisher: BelleBooks
• Release date: Nov 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781611940701

Marilee Brothers

Marilee Brothers is a former teacher, coach, counselor and the author of ten books. Marilee and her husband are the parents of three grown sons and live in central Washington State. After writing six young adult books, Marilee is once again writing romantic suspense for the adult market. She loves hearing from people who have read her books. Feel free to contact her at http://www.marileebrothers.com.Her author page on Facebook is: www.facebook.com/marilee.author and she occasionally tweets @MarileeB. Marilee’s blog is Book Blather, http://bookblatherblog.blogspot.com where she features aspiring and published authors as well as some tidbits of her own.

Book preview

What Reviewers are saying about the Unbidden Magic series . . .

Wry, compelling, heart-warming and just plain fun.

—Aurora Reviews

. . . a funny, witty, charming and downright delicious read!

—http://www.realmsonourbookshelves.com/

A gem of a book. An author to watch.

—YoungAdultBooksCentral.com

Shadow Moon

by

Marilee Brothers

Bell Bridge Books

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead,) events or locations is entirely coincidental.

Bell Bridge Books

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Memphis, TN 38130

eISBN: 978-1-61194-070-1

ISBN: 978-1-61194-058-9

Bell Bridge Books is an Imprint of BelleBooks, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 by Marilee Brothers

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Cover design: Debra Dixon

Interior design: Hank Smith

Photo credits:

Scene- © Sveva | Renderosity.com

Girl © Jason Stitt | Dreamstime.com

Snowflakes © Tiago Fidalgo (DesignFera)

:Ems:01:

The Unbidden Magic Series by Marilee Brothers

Moonstone

Moon Rise

Moon Spun

Shadow Moon

Visit Marilee at www.MarileeBrothers.com

Chapter One

For the first time in months, Anna Starr Emerson, my newly-discovered, long-lost twin was the last thing on my mind.

Picture this: me boogying my buns off at the Peacock Flats H.S. winter formal with none other than . . . are you ready? Cory Philpott! Yeah, that Cory. Pimply-faced, pudgy-around-the-middle, butt-ugly inside and out Cory Philpott, who had once delighted in shaking a can of soda so it would explode in my face and make a mess of my only decent outfit, and then brayed his donkey laugh.

If I’ve learned one thing in my short life, it’s this: people are not always what they seem.

Take me, for example. My name is Allie Emerson and until recently, I didn’t know I had magical abilities. Or that I’d inherited faery blood from both my parents. Or that I had a twin sister. See what I mean? And now, Cory, who’d made my life a living hell for two years until I’d scared him straight, was gazing at me with what could only be described as puppy-dog eyes. Oh, did I forget to mention he was now tall and lean with unblemished skin and blond, non-greasy hair? I know, it sounds like a total lie. But Cory was proof. Miracles do happen.

Last summer, Cory’s father, Deputy Sheriff Richard Philpott had shipped Cory off to a boot camp for obnoxious bullies. He’d come back a new person. I wasn’t as surprised as some of my friends. It’s true, Cory had been majorly annoying. But I knew, deep down, Cory was scared to death. I’d even defended him occasionally.

My best friend and neighbor, Mercedes Trujillo, always said, You know what, girl? You collect strays like those people on TV with a bajillion cats and dogs. Except you collect people instead of animals.

When Cory had called to ask me to the dance, I was deeply suspicious and said, Sorry, no. Junior Martinez would have been my first choice, but he was thousands of miles away. He’d become a huge TV star in Mexico and was now making movies in the U.S. My former boyfriend, Beck Bradford, had moved on.

It sounds like I have a whole stable of hot guys just dying to take me out. Not true.

Bottom line: I really did want to go to the dance. I still had my Peacock Flats Fruit Bowl queen dress, so why waste it?

After a long silence in which Cory breathed heavily into the phone, he said, Okay, you want me to apologize for all the mean things I did to you.

Actually I didn’t, but it sounded good. That’s right.

Allie, I’m sincerely sorry for all the stuff I did to you. I’m a new man now.

Prove it.

Huh?

I can’t stand bullies, and Cory had been one of the worst. Had he really changed? You used to pick on Mercedes and Manny all the time. Apologize to both of them and it better be real. I want to be there when you do it.

It sounds like I was tormenting him but, trust me, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the stuff he did to Mercedes and her brother, Manny. And, since neither of them had a mean streak, guess who got to defend them? That would be me.

The phone went silent for so long, I wondered if he’d hung up or passed out from shock.

Cory? You still there?

Yeah, he said, with a groan in his voice.

The boy was definitely suffering. Since I believed in karma, I tried—unsuccessfully—not to feel sorry for him. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be going to the dance with Cory.

I’ll do it. Tomorrow after school.

My mouth dropped open. Finally, I stammered, Well, that’s just great, Cory.

The next day, he’d followed up on his promise. He managed a fairly decent apology. Even though he’d mumbled, he looked squarely into the eyes of both Manny and Mercedes Trujillo. Sorry for all the shit I pitched at ya. I’m different now. Okay?

Mercedes, who had the kindest heart in the whole world, was ready to forgive him. Me? I needed more. Could you please be more specific? I said.

Sweat broke out on Cory’s upper lip. Um, like how?

I seem to remember you hurling degrading ethnic comments at Manny and Mercedes. Geez, I sounded exactly like my English teacher, Mrs. Burke.

Cory’s eyes rolled upward as if looking for an answer from above. Mercedes giggled. Manny caught my gaze and winked.

Finally, Cory said, Oh, yeah, I get it. I think. He leaned close and whispered in my ear. I nodded.

Once again, Cory made eye contact with Manny and Mercedes. Manny, he said, sorry I called you a taco snapper. Mercedes, I know I said you were a big-ass beaner. That was wrong of me. Sorry.

Mercedes flung her arms open. Cory leaned forward from the waist and allowed himself to be hugged, even though he looked extremely uncomfortable. Manny and Cory shook hands. As the impartial judge, I watched it all, trying to decide if he really meant it. But then, he looked at me with those puppy dog eyes and said, Was that okay, Allie? After that, I couldn’t turn him down. I just hoped and prayed he wouldn’t revert to form and slip ice cubes down the front of my dress.

So far, so good.

Still moving to the music, I looked across the gym and spotted Mercedes with her new boyfriend, Gilbert Valencia. Total opposites, they made a cute couple. Mercedes was short and fluffy with a permanent smile. Tall, thin and geeky, Gilbert was so smart he was in advanced everything.

The gym was packed. Cory and I were getting more than our share of curious glances. Hmm, what could they be thinking? Fortunately, I knew exactly how to find out. The moonstone pendant hanging from a silver chain around my neck wasn’t just a pretty piece of jewelry. It had a number of functions. Some were still a mystery. Lucky for me, I’d mastered the one I needed.

Yep, it’s true. I could read minds. Normally, I saved that particular skill for something more serious. Something like, does this person want to kill me? Not this time, though. I just wanted to have a little fun.

Executing a spin, I clapped a hand over the moonstone to keep it in place and moved it a couple of clicks to the correct setting. Now, every time I formed an unequal triangle with two other people, it would create an energy vortex, and I’d get a little peek inside their heads.

Instantly, a wave of dizziness washed over me. My arms flew out, and I staggered back a few steps to keep from falling.

Cool, Cory said, copying my moves exactly. New dance, huh?

I kept doing it so he wouldn’t feel bad. Actually, it worked out well. As we carried on, waving our arms and staggering, we created space between us, and it didn’t take long before I was moving in and out of triangles. I began to pick up snippets of thoughts. Some nice. Some, not so nice. Most of the not-so-nice comments were from girls. Like, Corey’s so hot! What’s he doing with her? Isn’t that the same dress she wore when she was Fruit Bowl queen?

That’s the thing about reading minds. You find out stuff you’d rather not know. I’d just decided to abort my mission when I saw Caitlyn Roger. Caitlyn, a tall, slender blonde, was smirking as her gaze roved from the top of my head to the toes of my thrift shop shoes peeking out from beneath my Fruit Bowl queen dress. Caitlyn’s hair was styled in an elaborate up-do. A number of curly tendrils, stiff with spray, cascaded from the piled up hair and framed her face.

Did I really want to know what was floating around in Caitlyn’s shallow brain? Of course I did. I maneuvered into position and heard the following: Allie is such a skank! I heard she was doing it with Junior Martinez and now she’s with another guy.

Really, I had no right to be angry. I’d been rummaging around in Caitlyn’s mind, uninvited. But I was. Mad as hell. I sucked in air and tried to calm down. First off, I was not a skank and second, I definitely wasn’t doing it with anybody. I shot a slitty-eyed glare at Caitlyn and her hair exploded. The artfully arranged up-do burst free from its invisible anchors and shot upward, standing on end as if she’d stuck a fork into an electrical socket. Swear to God, I didn’t mean to. It just happened. My anger apparently triggered another of my magical abilities. TKP. Telekinetic power.

With a shrill scream, Caitlyn stopped dancing and started flapping at her hair like she was shooing away invisible flies. Everybody stopped dancing and stared at her, eyes wide with disbelief.

Corey said, Whoa, look at that chick’s hair.

I moved the moonstone back to its original setting and said, Maybe there was a power surge. Actually that made no sense, but Corey nodded his head and looked at me like I was the smartest girl ever.

When the music stopped, a bunch of her friends gathered around Caitlyn and Cory said, I’ll get some punch and cookies.

Since it was probably a good idea to move out of Caitlyn Rogers’s immediate vicinity, I nodded and pointed at the back wall where all the chaperones were lined up. I’ll go say hello to Mr. Hostetler.

At the mention of our principal’s name, Cory blinked nervously. He’d spent most of last year getting reamed out by Mr. Hostetler. I placed a hand on Cory’s arm. It’s okay. I’ll tell him you’ve changed.

Cory blushed. Thanks, Allie.

Frowning, Mr. Hostetler pushed away from the wall when I approached. How ya doing, Allie? I was surprised to see you with Cory Philpott.

Mr. Hostetler, I said sternly. People do change. You know that, right?

He thought about it for a while. Sure do. Me and my wife, for example.

Mr. Hostetler and his ex-wife were making an effort to get back together. That left my mother, Faye, without a boyfriend, since she and Mr. Hostetler had been dating. Personally, I was relieved. The whole idea of my mother and my principal as a couple struck me as totally unnatural.

Like he knew what I was thinking, Mr. Hostetler leaned close and lowered his voice. How’s your mother?

I waved a hand. Oh, she’s fine. She’s out with her girlfriends tonight.

I didn’t want Mr. Hostetler to think my mom was sitting home, crying over him. In spite of my casual tone, the thought of Faye, the Queen of Bad Relationships, prowling around looking for a new boyfriend made my blood turn to ice.

It’s not like she hadn’t been home earlier to get me prepped for the big dance. She did my hair and then snapped pictures of Cory and me, all decked out in our fancy clothes, just like a regular mom. And, she’d made arrangements for me to spend the night with Kizzy.

Mr. Hostetler looked bummed. So she’s moved on. He sighed. Well, that’s probably a good thing.

I squirmed, trying to think of something to say unrelated to my mother’s love life. Finally, I spotted Cory approaching with a bunch of cookies in one hand and two glasses of punch in the other. He sidled up to us, like he wanted to offload the goodies and then make a run for it.

Cory Philpott! Mr. Hostetler boomed.

Cory jumped about a foot in the air. I grabbed the punch before it could slop onto the floor.

Mr. Hostetler said, You drive real careful when you take this young lady home. Ya hear me?

Cody glanced over at me before answering, Yes, sir.

He looked so nervous, I felt sorry for him. Let’s go find a place to sit down. See you Monday, Mr. Hostetler.

When we got a few steps away from the wall, Cody put an arm around my shoulder and squeezed. I’m glad you didn’t tell Mr. Hostetler my dad won’t let me drive yet.

No problem. You should have mentioned Charlie and the limo.

Cody relaxed and smiled. Yeah, I should have.

When my friend, Kizzy Lovell, found out Cory couldn’t drive, she’d insisted on sending her driver, Charlie, to pick us up. He’d take us home as well. Kizzy was an elderly lady, at least fifty or sixty, who had never learned to drive. She had tons of money and paid Charlie to drive her around. Oh yeah, Kizzy’s the person who gave me the moonstone. The moonstone, with its magical qualities, has taken me to places almost impossible to describe. Boundless, aka faeryland, for one.

At the stroke of eleven, everyone poured out of the gym. Charlie pulled up, jumped out of the car and opened the back door for us. When the laughter and rowdy comments started, I realized Cory still had enemies.

Whoa, Philpott, look at you!

Your daddy hire a limo for you?

Maybe he should have picked you up in his cop car. You and your trailer trash girlfriend could ride in the back.

I brushed off the comment about my living arrangements and focused on Cory.

Eyes flashing with fury, he stepped aside to let me in the back seat and turned to face his tormentors. Back off!

A tall, slim man dressed in the brown uniform of a county deputy stepped between Cory and the taunting crowd. Startled by his sudden appearance, I looked around for his car. No car. Still muttering, the boys who’d been bugging Cory backed away. The man spun to face us, and I gasped. Tall and skeletal, he had gray eyes flecked with gold, high cheekbones and long, white-blond hair pulled back and fastened with a rubber band. He smiled briefly, revealing an extraordinary number of small pointed teeth. I glanced over at Charlie, who, other than glaring at the crowd, didn’t seem bothered by the man’s appearance.

The strange-looking deputy placed a hand on Cory’s arm. Get in the car, lad. Forget about those gents.

Still stiff with anger, Cory slipped in beside me. Charlie shut the door and hurried around to the driver’s side. As we pulled away, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Another disaster averted, at least for now.

We rode in silence for a while before I asked, Who was that guy? A new deputy?

Cory’s brows shot up in surprise. You talkin’ about Jim Simpson? Nah, he’s been around for ages.

Jim Simpson? I knew Jim Simpson, and that person was not Jim Simpson. I sighed. Weird stuff was happening again. No big surprise. Story of my life.

Chapter Two

At first, I tried to make Cory feel better. We’ll see who’s laughing when it’s those guys sitting in the back of your dad’s cop car . . . right, Cory? I patted his arm.

But he just snarled, Yeah, and turned to look out the window.

Finally, I gave up and stared at the back of Charlie’s head. Then a funny thing happened. The closer we got to Cory’s house, the more he loosened up. He scooted a little closer to me and began to squirm around on the big bench seat. All at once, he lunged at me like a great white shark going after a sea lion.

I jumped about a foot in the air. Then it hit me.

OMG, he’s trying to kiss you good night, Dummy.

It wasn’t like I was dying to make out with Cory, but I figured one little pity kiss wouldn’t kill me. I also knew it was up to me to make it happen. I positioned my lips about two inches from his and smiled. Not exactly subtle, but I figured Cory needed encouragement after my reaction to the lunge.

He took the hint, cupped my face in his palms and gave me the sweetest, the most innocent kiss. It was like getting kissed on the playground in kindergarten, a huge relief because I didn’t want to feel what I felt with Junior or Beck.

The first thing I saw when we broke apart was Charlie grinning into the rear view mirror. He pulled up to the curb in front of Corey’s house, jumped out and opened the door, still smiling. When Cory scrambled out, I heard Charlie say, Way to go, man.

Cory leaned back into the car. Thanks for going to the dance with me, Allie. I had fun.

Me, too. See ya Monday. I was trying to strike the right note here. I liked the new Cory and hoped the makeover would last, but I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. I had a feeling he wanted to be more than friends.

At midnight, Kizzy and I were drinking cocoa in her kitchen. She wore a turquoise silk robe that matched her eyes. Her hair was unbraided and fell in soft waves across one side of her face, concealing the scar high on her cheekbone. The scar was a vivid reminder of the time she’d been beaten almost to death by a Trimark trying to get his hands on the moonstone.

The silver streaks in her dark hair caught and held the light, reminding me how much Kizzy had aged since that incident. A swell of almost unbearable sadness rose in my chest. How much longer would I have Kizzy in my life? She was more than my friend. When things got bad at home, Kizzy was my sanctuary, my safety net. I couldn’t imagine life without her.

Her remark a split second later jolted me out of my gloomy thoughts. Did your young man kiss you good night?

I felt my cheeks warm up. I can’t believe you’re asking me that.

I’m not dead yet. Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be sixteen. When I didn’t answer, she said, Well, did he?

Other than my embarrassment, I had no good reason to lie. I looked into Kizzy’s sparkling eyes and nodded. Yeah, he did. Nothing big, but it was okay.

Apparently satisfied she’d extracted all the information I was willing to give, Kizzy moved on. What about the search for your sister? Any news?

I lifted my hands in a helpless gesture. "It’s like she’s disappeared without

Reviews for Shadow Moon

[iamindeed · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this, the fourth in the series: we are returned to the more “normal” life of Allie – working her way through the puzzle, and getting herself out of scrapes, usually of her own making. Also, Allie seems to find a bit more of herself in this installment, while the continual changes, questions, action and incessant attention from a flurry of boys seem to occasionally get her down, even as readers may find that exhausting.

With a new mystery to uncover, and a missing sister to find as part of the prophecy, this seemingly near never-ending quest and story is making a welcome return to the original premise of the story. With more of the ‘original’ Allie on view, her sharp wit, her caring, and the occasional (and not necessarily PC but wholly real feeling) descriptives used for friends, this installment has drawn me back into the fun adventure that highlights this series

While not delving into the background on the creatures and evil that they encounter, the sense of importance to fulfilling the prophecy and maintaining her friendships is never far from the surface throughout this installment, making this a fast-paced and fun read.

I received an eBook copy through NetGalley for purpose of honest review for the IOB Tours. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

[ljldml · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I could not put this book down. The only bad part about this book is that it ended! I'm literally left hanging....What happens to Allie? I have a thousand different visions of how this is resolved in my head. I know Marilee Brothers is such an amazing author, none of my visions will be correct. She will come up with something unique and exciting! This is the most current book in an incredible series. A truly unique series of paranormal beings. A believable heroine, full of teenage doubts and, at times, questionable self esteem. Allie 'find herself' in these books. We see her grow and mature throughout the series. She begins with "Can I do this?" and by book 4 she's thinking "Bring it on"! She meets all sorts of people from all walks of life. She has friendships with close buddies and experiences a few boy/girl relationships along the way.As I said, a marvelous series. Each book is better than the one before it. I would recommend you read in the order written, to get the full impact of these amazing stories.

[rhonda1111 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Shadow Moon by Marilee Brothers 4 STARSWell I now have read the first 4 books in the Moonstone series I have learned their is a 5 and that will be the end. Hope it comes out soon can't wait to read it.The story lines keep your attention and I did not want to stop reading the book.Allie has found out she is a twin and sets out to find her twin. She has been told to find the girl and save the world by summer solist.A fae is showing up and only Allie and her father can see him. Junior is back for the holidays.Thier is a weird preacher that is riling everyone against the supernatural world even though he is a dark fae. He threatens Allie and her family. Also on the preachers side is Carmen and a rich person backing him. They also have a singer and using her Sammy. Sammy and Allie have a connection too.This series has been fun to read. The books don't have seens you want to skip over because of content. They have good characters and bad characters and some where bad but have changed for the better. Friends that stick by and help each other through tough times.I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest review from Netgalley.Feb.,2012 PUB Bell Bridge Books

[janarose1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In the fourth book of the series, Allie discovers that she has a twin sister. The prophecy dictates that she has to find her twin so that they can both save the world. The plot moved very slowly, and nothing really happened until the last 40 pages or so of the book. Overall, I was a bit bored with the plot development.