Ailene

AILENE ANNABEL DEN DEKKER Copyright © 2023 by Annabel den Dekker Cover Design by Lexie Voloshyna 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 written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. No reference to any real person is intended or should be inferred. To all my loved ones. You know who you are. CONTENTS Prologue I. Shadow Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 II. Darkness Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 III. Dawn Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 IV. Illumination Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Epilogue Acknowledgments About the Author PROLOGUE The sun slowly disappeared below the horizon, sending long tendrils of light through the desert land. A little boy perched on a dune witnessed the spectacle with awe and wonder, even though he’d seen it many times before. Mesmerized by the light, he forced himself to look at the tiny watch around his wrist. Half a minute to go. He counted down the seconds inside his head. Then, right on time, darkness came and swallowed the land. This wasn’t the first time it had happened, but the umbra was always accompanied by such an intense and overwhelming feeling of loneliness that he couldn’t help but gasp. The boy jumped when a buzzing sound broke the silence. Realizing it was his communicator, he sighed with relief and fished it out of his pocket. There was a message from his mother. Lowell, you need to come home. It’s way past your bedtime! Lowell looked around in search of the little light that would lead him back home. Every night his mother lit a torch by the front door so he wouldn’t get lost in the dark, but even so, it wasn’t always easy to find. The wind started to pick up slowly, and a sense of trepidation crept up his spine that perhaps he wasn’t alone out here. His mind went straight to the ghost stories he’d heard about so much. His parents had always told them they weren’t real, but what if . . . The second he spotted the torch, Lowell set off in a hurry. The wind started to blow harder, almost as if it were trying to catch up with him. What if it truly was a ghost? Lowell always talked about how he was dying to meet one, but the thought of it actually happening right now frightened him. What would a ghost do? Would it try to hurt him? Lowell ran as fast as he could manage, his short legs rapidly growing tired with effort. It would only take him a minute or so to get to the torch, yet it felt like hours. When he finally reached it, his heart lifted a little. He only needed to open the door—then he would be safe. Lowell was about to pull his key card from his pocket when something grabbed his arm. He let out a yelp as it yanked him backward. It felt like a hand, but it wasn’t made of flesh and blood—it was much lighter, like air. Lowell tried to shake it off, but its grip only grew tighter. In a futile attempt to get rid of whatever it was, he kicked and punched around him wildly. Another scream escaped his throat when his legs were kicked out from under him and he ploughed headfirst into the sand. Sensing that the presence was now hovering over him, an overwhelming fear enveloped Lowell, but he forced himself to be brave. If this ghost wanted to kill him, he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He jumped up into a fighting position, ready for some action, but his assailant seemed to have already disappeared again. Amused laughter filled the air, and Lowell immediately knew it belonged to his best friend, Hayden. A little relieved, but mostly annoyed, Lowell sighed with frustration. His neighbor possessed an extraordinary ability to control air and loved to use it whenever he could. Mostly to cheer Lowell up but, in exceptional cases, also to tease him. Thankfully, Hayden wasn’t the only one with a special ability. Maybe his friend was excellent with air, but Lowell himself was pretty good at echolocation. Lowell clicked his tongue and listened attentively. As soon as he detected Hayden’s presence, he ran over to him and took a swing but missed. He tried again, but Hayden skillfully caught his arm and twisted it behind his back, roughly forcing him to the ground. He slid his other arm around Lowell’s chest while the boy fought back, biting down hard on his fingers. Hayden cried out in pain. With his adversary temporarily distracted, Lowell took the opportunity to kick backward and hit him right in the groin. Hayden was now moaning in agony but he refused to relent, pressing Lowell hard into the sand. Tears sprang to Lowell’s eyes as an awful pain shot through his arm. “Please stop,” he begged. “You’re hurting me.” But Hayden didn’t stop. In fact, he didn’t even seem to hear his friend begging. It was almost as if he was blinded by rage, which made no sense to Lowell. Hayden was usually so kind and caring, and Lowell hadn’t done anything to evoke such extreme behavior, he thought. “Please, Hayden!” Lowell screamed out. “It hurts!” This finally seemed to snap Hayden out of it; immediately, he released