The Hollow Veil
The first time Lila saw the shadow, it was clinging to the wall of her bedroom, writhing like oil in water. She’d been ten, her mother’s voice echoing from the kitchen—*Don’t stare at the wall, Lila. It’s just the light.*…
Young Adult
Magical teen adventures and other stories
Read MoreThe Hollow Veil
The Hollow Beneath
The air smelled like rust and wet stone when Lila first saw the hole. It yawned in the earth behind the abandoned mine, a jagged mouth swallowing the late afternoon light. She crouched, fingers brushing the damp soil, and wondered…
The Hollow Bones
The air smelled of rust and pine when Mira found the first bone. She knelt in the dirt, her fingers brushing the jagged edge of a femur, and wondered if it had been there since the mine closed in 1947.…
The Hollow Tide
The salt air bit through Clara’s jacket as she stepped off the creaking dock, her boots crunching over gravel. The harbor lay still, its surface a sheet of oil, reflecting the bruised sky. She hadn’t been back in six years—not…
The Hollow Veil
The first time Lila saw the town, it felt like a painting frozen in time—too still, too perfect. The air smelled of damp earth and distant woodsmoke, and the narrow streets seemed to hush as she walked them. She didn’t…
The Last Light of Summer
The air smelled like burnt sugar and damp earth as Mara tightened her grip on the rusted gate, its hinges groaning like a wounded animal. The sun hung low over the horizon, casting long shadows through the skeletal trees that…
The Last Lightkeeper
Mira’s fingers trembled as she traced the rusted hinges of the hidden door, the salt air thick with the scent of brine and something older—something metallic, like blood dried to dust. The lighthouse had always been a tomb, its spiral…
The Hollowed Hour
The salt air clung to Mara’s skin as she climbed the lighthouse stairs, each step a creak of memory. The beam swept across the darkened shore, painting the rocks in silver streaks. She hadn’t meant to come here, not after…
The Last Light of Summer
The attic smelled of dust and forgotten things. I’d never been up here before, not really. Mom’s voice echoed in my head—”You’ll find what you need when you’re ready.” But I wasn’t ready. Not for this. The boards groaned beneath…
The Hollow Veil
The air smelled like rust and wet earth when Lila found the journal. She’d been digging through the attic of her grandmother’s house, searching for old photos, when her fingers brushed against the leather cover. It was cracked, the edges…
The Hollow Veil
Mara’s boots crunched over frost-brittle twigs as she followed the narrow path, her breath a pale cloud in the predawn air. The forest around her was a cathedral of shadow and silence, branches skeletal against the indigo sky. She hadn’t…
The Last Lightkeeper
Mara’s boots crunched over gravel as she climbed the hill, the wind tugging at her jacket like a desperate hand. The lighthouse stood ahead, its white stone weathered to a dull gray, the glass of its dome shattered in places.…
The Tide’s Whisper
The salt-kissed air bit at Clara’s cheeks as she trudged through the tide-puddled dock, her boots squelching with each step. The journal had been hidden beneath a loose plank, its leather cover cracked and brittle. She pried it free, fingers…
The Tides of Solstice
The salt air bit into Lila’s cheeks as she traced the rusted hinges of the abandoned lighthouse, its silhouette jagged against the storm-churned sky. She’d found the key last week—dangling from a frayed leather cord beneath a loose floorboard in…
The Silent Signal
The salt air clung to Mara’s skin as she adjusted the rusted dial on the antique radio, its wooden casing groaning under her fingers. Static hissed from the speaker, sharp and metallic, like a thousand needles scratching at her eardrums.…