Beyond the Pale: A fantasy anthology by Nancy Holder, Kami García, Saladin Ahmed, Jim Butcher, Jane Yolen, Heather Brewer, Rachel Caine, Gillian Philip, Peter Beagle
Authors: Nancy Holder, Kami García, Saladin Ahmed, Jim Butcher, Jane Yolen, Heather Brewer, Rachel Caine, Gillian Philip, Peter Beagle
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leaving them empty, hollow
shells? Panic set in and Dax gasped for air. Layers and layers of the cave
floor and walls peeled away until Dax could see what they were peeling away
from—and it wasn’t black rock. With horrified understanding, he realized
that there was no cave. The creatures were the cave.
Thousands, maybe millions of shadow monsters, out to replace the people
of the world. Dax’s heart raced. Beside him, Jon screamed as the shadows closed
in.
The floor shrank until there was only an island of shadow left. It
trembled wildly beneath their feet.
Dax whipped his flashlight around in desperation. On a low part of the
cave ceiling, he saw a flash of color, something brown and familiar.
He scooped Jon up in his arms and said, “Hold on tight.”
One of the shadows whipped forward, snatching the flashlight from Dax’s
grip. It threw the light down, smashing it to bits, leaving them all in
darkness. The shadow monsters swarmed closer to the boys, and just as a long
shadowy tentacle reached for Jon, Dax leapt toward the familiar sight on the
low cave ceiling and clung to the hole in the floor of Jon’s closet with the
tips of his determined fingers. His biceps burned, but he pulled himself up
until he was waist-high into the closet. “Jon, get off now! I’m falling!”
Jon scrambled from his brother through his pitch black room to his bed,
drenched in sweat and tears, crying for his brother to hurry, hurry before
those monsters got him.
Something wrapped around Dax’s ankle and pulled hard, but there was no
use. It pulled him back down into the cave, the tips of his fingers only barely
clinging to the wood.
He was going to fall. And once he did, those things would suck every
bit of his essence away.
A beam of light suddenly shined down into the hole and the creatures
backed off. Dax looked up. Jon was holding a flashlight he must have retrieved
from the kitchen. Dax pulled himself free from the hole, his muscles burning.
He collapsed onto the floor of Jon’s closet and hugged his brother, trying to
quench his tears, but the danger wasn’t over. There was still a hole in the
closet floor. It was still dark.
Whispers drifted up from the hole until they were filling the room. Jon’s
flashlight flickered out, as if it couldn’t stand up against the growing
darkness. Dax picked up his brother and ran for the door. They had to get out
of there, away from the darkness, into the light.
The bedroom door opened and their mother flipped the light switch,
bathing the room in incandescent light. “Where have you boys been?! Your father
and I have been worried sick!”
Dax panted, his heart settling some into a more normal rhythm. He
looked at the closet, at the perfect, unbroken floor. Jon ran across the room
and jumped into his mother’s arms. Dax couldn’t help but notice that the trail
of dust was gone, the Jon-thing’s connection to him broken at last.
Holding Jon, placing kisses on his cheeks, their mom crossed the room
and opened the heavy drapes, letting sunlight inside. It was morning. Had they
really been gone that long? It had felt like minutes, maybe an hour, but
certainly not several hours.
She turned back to Dax with a concerned look on her face. “Dax? Is
everything okay? We were so scared that something happened to you both.”
Dax slowly nodded his head, even though everything was about as far
from okay as it could get, and looked from the closet to the sunny day outside.
Out the window, he could see the neighbor kids playing soccer. To any onlooker,
it would seem like an ordinary, normal day.
He turned back to his mom and released a relieved sigh. “Yeah, mom.
Everything's fine. We just—“
As she turned around, Jon peered over his mother’s shoulder at Dax, who
froze. Jon smiled and offered a wave.
Shadows lurked in his eyes—the darkest that Dax had ever seen.
EVEN HAND
~
by Jim Butcher
Editor’s Note: Fans of Jim Butcher’s Dresden
shells? Panic set in and Dax gasped for air. Layers and layers of the cave
floor and walls peeled away until Dax could see what they were peeling away
from—and it wasn’t black rock. With horrified understanding, he realized
that there was no cave. The creatures were the cave.
Thousands, maybe millions of shadow monsters, out to replace the people
of the world. Dax’s heart raced. Beside him, Jon screamed as the shadows closed
in.
The floor shrank until there was only an island of shadow left. It
trembled wildly beneath their feet.
Dax whipped his flashlight around in desperation. On a low part of the
cave ceiling, he saw a flash of color, something brown and familiar.
He scooped Jon up in his arms and said, “Hold on tight.”
One of the shadows whipped forward, snatching the flashlight from Dax’s
grip. It threw the light down, smashing it to bits, leaving them all in
darkness. The shadow monsters swarmed closer to the boys, and just as a long
shadowy tentacle reached for Jon, Dax leapt toward the familiar sight on the
low cave ceiling and clung to the hole in the floor of Jon’s closet with the
tips of his determined fingers. His biceps burned, but he pulled himself up
until he was waist-high into the closet. “Jon, get off now! I’m falling!”
Jon scrambled from his brother through his pitch black room to his bed,
drenched in sweat and tears, crying for his brother to hurry, hurry before
those monsters got him.
Something wrapped around Dax’s ankle and pulled hard, but there was no
use. It pulled him back down into the cave, the tips of his fingers only barely
clinging to the wood.
He was going to fall. And once he did, those things would suck every
bit of his essence away.
A beam of light suddenly shined down into the hole and the creatures
backed off. Dax looked up. Jon was holding a flashlight he must have retrieved
from the kitchen. Dax pulled himself free from the hole, his muscles burning.
He collapsed onto the floor of Jon’s closet and hugged his brother, trying to
quench his tears, but the danger wasn’t over. There was still a hole in the
closet floor. It was still dark.
Whispers drifted up from the hole until they were filling the room. Jon’s
flashlight flickered out, as if it couldn’t stand up against the growing
darkness. Dax picked up his brother and ran for the door. They had to get out
of there, away from the darkness, into the light.
The bedroom door opened and their mother flipped the light switch,
bathing the room in incandescent light. “Where have you boys been?! Your father
and I have been worried sick!”
Dax panted, his heart settling some into a more normal rhythm. He
looked at the closet, at the perfect, unbroken floor. Jon ran across the room
and jumped into his mother’s arms. Dax couldn’t help but notice that the trail
of dust was gone, the Jon-thing’s connection to him broken at last.
Holding Jon, placing kisses on his cheeks, their mom crossed the room
and opened the heavy drapes, letting sunlight inside. It was morning. Had they
really been gone that long? It had felt like minutes, maybe an hour, but
certainly not several hours.
She turned back to Dax with a concerned look on her face. “Dax? Is
everything okay? We were so scared that something happened to you both.”
Dax slowly nodded his head, even though everything was about as far
from okay as it could get, and looked from the closet to the sunny day outside.
Out the window, he could see the neighbor kids playing soccer. To any onlooker,
it would seem like an ordinary, normal day.
He turned back to his mom and released a relieved sigh. “Yeah, mom.
Everything's fine. We just—“
As she turned around, Jon peered over his mother’s shoulder at Dax, who
froze. Jon smiled and offered a wave.
Shadows lurked in his eyes—the darkest that Dax had ever seen.
EVEN HAND
~
by Jim Butcher
Editor’s Note: Fans of Jim Butcher’s Dresden
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