AlecDarkness engulfs me, but it's not the type of darkness that accompanies the absence of light. It's a different kind, a darkness that envelops me in a pool of sensation. I float in it, suspended in an abyss.My eyes close and I feel a rush of vertigo. I'm spinning, spinning faster and faster.Finally, a burst of light overwhelms me, and I land on a soft surface. I open my eyes and take in my surroundings. I'm in a room with stone walls. The ceiling is high, and there are torches hanging from it. The flickering flames cast eerie shadows across the room, and on the other side of the room is a wooden door.I get up, my muscles aching from the fall, and survey my environment. Besides the torches, there is nothing in the room. No furniture, no windows. Nothing that suggests this place is anything but a prison.I try to remember how I got here, but it's hard to think straight. All I remember is a small, golden coin. I reached out for it, and then... I ended up here.My footste

Heather"So? What's the plan?" I cross my arms and stare Professor Stills down.We've been at this new safe house for almost twelve hours, students packed into a small cottage with our one teacher. It's ridiculous that we haven't made a move yet.Especially since we just saw the Silver Hunters take Winter's Aunt Nora. Are we seriously going to sit around waiting for them to do who-knows-what next?My teacher blinks at me. "The plan is to stay put. Stay quiet. Stay out of trouble."I drop my arms. "Are you kidding me?""Why would I do that?" He returns to his phone and makes another call.Again, no one picks up.He spent the night calling numbers and having no one answer. Each time he doesn't get a response, his frown deepens.I can’t believe this. Nora and Professor Stills and those other teachers risked their lives to save me and these other students when the Silver Hunters were tracking us down. And then Nora put herself on the line so that the rest of us could escape th

WinterClimbing off the boat, I tether the rope to the dock. Damon climbs out behind me, and we take in the town. It's early morning, gray and with a light mist."Come on." I hurry down the pier. We need to find a place to hide. Who knows how many Silver Hunters are still in this area.Damon hustles to keep up. "I still can't believe this. I mean, it's amazing. Alec is alive.""Something like alive." I touch his necklace hanging around my throat. "Remember, my dad said he's not alive, and he's not dead."Damon is quiet, his brow knitting in that way that suggests he's deep in thought."What?" I ask.He stops at the street and turns to face me. "Your dad said that you can use the coin to save Alec.""Yeah." I sigh in frustration. "Problem is, I have no clue how to do that.""Can I see it for a second?"I hesitate, but then realize how silly that is. I can trust Damon. He put himself on the line for me and Alec in that pocket dimension, and even though he also went in there

WinterI crash into the ground, my butt hitting it first. The spinning is gone, and I blink at my new surroundings.It's dark here, with dead-looking trees all over the place. There's space between them, almost like some kind of fruit orchard.These trees definitely don't grow fruit, though. They look incapable of growing anything.Getting to my feet, I take a shaky breath. Damon was right. His ritual worked.That or it just killed me, and I'm walking around the afterlife, unable to return to Earth.Slowly, I creep through the trees, following the path of least resistance. A light fog covers the ground, and it's beautiful in a strange, ominous kind of way."Hello?" I call. "Alec?"Something moves out of the corner of my eye, and I whirl around. There's nothing there, though.My heart races. I swear I saw something.Maybe I shouldn't be walking around this place, calling out his name, drawing attention to myself.I start walking again, this time only using my eyes to hunt

WinterSpinning around, I survey the mist just as someone emerges from the thick gray. It's a young woman, only a few years older than me. She looks freaked out, her red hair hanging loose around her face and her green eyes wide."Hello?" she asks cautiously, stopping a few yards away. "Are you... are you a human?"Not quite. I don't know what I am, really. Just that I'm some kind of supernatural with really unpredictable powers."Human" is a close enough description in this context, though, with wisps floating around.I nod, my heart racing. I'm not used to seeing other people out here. "Yes," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "Who are you?"The woman hesitates before speaking. "I'm Lucy. I was out here on a camping trip with my friends, but I got separated from them. I don't know where they are."I feel a pang of sympathy for her. She doesn't know she's dead, does she? She must have been killed while on her camping trip--maybe from falling down a cliff--and now she thin