Hallowedspell Vimp Series Book 1: Without a Shadow

By Julie Steimle

When her father said that a vampire bat had dropped her on his lap on Halloween 14 years ago, Eve McAllister always thought it was a joke. Until today. She had a great family, after all, with parents and brothers and a sister who loved her.
But her reflection began to vanish. Then her shadow. And she started to see tiny invisible daemons everywhere that no one else could see or hear.
Always in need of sunscreen, with canines that needed filing down every year, Eve has every reason to worry that this Halloween would change everything forever.
Would have to choose between blood or ice cream?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312337220

Book preview

Hallowedspell Vimp Series Book 1: Without a Shadow

Without a Shadow

HallowedSpell: Vimp Series Book 1

Copyright © 2014 Julie Steimle.

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-312-33722-0

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the context of reviews.

Lulu.com

The characters, events, and locations portrayed in this book are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Without a Shadow

If you think strange occurrences are only for books, then you have lived a very sheltered life. I had thought I had lived a sheltered life myself, only to be thoroughly proven wrong on the morning before Halloween.

Morning

Eve! Eve! Get up! You’ll be late for school!

My mother had a voice that could carry over the ocean if she wanted it to. Normally she didn’t have to yell.

I rolled over and blinked at the sun creeping through the curtains and sighed. Usually I didn’t have a problem getting up in the morning. Usually I went surfing before school—yet in the frigid waters of October my mother wouldn’t allow it. I could have still gotten up on time, I mused as I sat up and pushed off the covers, but lately I had been staying up way past my bed time, finding it very hard to fall asleep.

Getting out of bed, I dropped to the floor and said a prayer, knowing that if my sister saw me she would sneer and call me goody-two shoes. She’s sort of been jealous of me since we were kids—but then I was adopted right around the time she was born so I can’t entirely blame her. I looked nothing like the family of blondes; and my parents and two older brothers have always treated me somewhat like a novelty. She was probably right now reveling in the fact that I had slept in and was getting yelled at, when it is usually the reverse.

Eve! Hurry up! My mom’s voice rose with a tint of worry.

I hopped quickly on my feet, jumped to the dresser and yanked out my school clothes. It was easy enough to find. My room, unlike my sister’s, was always neat and orderly—which made my sister doubly irritated since my mother would occasionally compare us and ask why she couldn’t be as good as me. Ick. Comparisons. Invariably they always made my sister hate me more, or they made me feel like some kind of alien that was too abnormal for words.

Eve! Don’t make me come up there! Her pitch was now bordering on exasperation.

Coming! I called back. I grabbed the feminine clothing necessities I needed and yanked my bedroom door open, nearly flying to the bathroom and into the shower. After one hot steaming rinse off, I almost slipped on the damp linoleum when I got out again, but I grabbed onto the sink and braced myself. The mirrors all fogged up. And though I wiped them vigorously, it did no good. I couldn’t see myself. I wondered groggily at the vision of the reflected back wall as the mirror fogged up again.

Hastily drying every last bit of me off, I grabbed my much-needed bottle of sun block and smeared it on my arms and face, reading the bottle to make sure it was not going to make my skin break out. One brand did just that, and I had seriously considered just getting sunburned instead. I have a skin condition, see, not unlike albinism where my skin is super sensitive to sunlight. SPF 40 doesn’t cut it usually, and I have to re-apply lotion around lunch. I coated my legs, especially the backs of them. The last time I neglected them I couldn’t kneel down for a week.

I always felt slimy after I coated myself with the sun block. Dressing can be a problem when my skin is so sticky. I suppose that is why I prefer loose fitting tops and pants.

Eve! I could hear my mother calling through the door. I opened it, yanking the bath towel off my damp black hair with a polite smile. My mom shook her head at me, worry on her face. Eve, this is the third time this week. What’s wrong with you lately? You used to be the first up.

I shrugged and hung the towel back on the rod. I’m sorry, Mom. I’ve just been having trouble falling asleep lately. I paused, and added with a mischievous smirk, Maybe if you let me surf again in the mornings I can get up earlier.

She huffed and then shook her head at me—actually smiling at my hardly masked attempt to go back on our agreement.

Nice try, she said, turning with an armload of laundry she had taken from the bathroom hamper and walking to the door. Glancing at my white shirt, and not yet tied tie, she added, Don’t forget a sweater today. I know you aren’t as sensitive to the cold as the rest of us, but please take care of yourself today. Your lips were nearly blue yesterday, and you didn’t even notice.

I bashfully nodded, knowing there was no way around it. She was right, of course. I never knew when it was wise to wear a jacket, and often my hands would be deathly cold because I never felt the need to put on gloves.

And don’t forget your sunglasses. My mother handed me my pair just as I was walking back to my bedroom for my shoes. I must have left them downstairs again last night.

I took them from her, stuffing them into my shirt pocket. Sunglasses are also a must. My eyes are mildly sensitive to the sunlight. Most albinos had pink irises, but mine were a definite shade of orange, a genetic fluke. The doctor said that I needed to protect my eyes as blindness was probably in my future. However, I also noticed that my eyes occasionally looked red, especially when my blood sugar was low. I usually wear my sunglasses to help my teachers feel more comfortable around me. Of course I have to keep a doctor’s note on me at all times to prove I am not breaking any school rules. I’d get color contacts, but Mom’s against them. Too expensive, she said.

My mother tapped her foot, folding her arms impatiently while I put on my socks and shoes and grabbed a hairbrush to comb out my wet black hair. My sister glared at me from the