Little Ghost - Pt 4

An East Arcadia Tale

We are nearing the end of July and wow, what a month it’s been on my end. Grad school is in full swing, and my workload for the summer is a bit heftier than I originally expected. I’ve always loved being in school and learning, though, so I haven’t minded. I made a lot of plans for my substack and author socials this summer that I’m finding I’ve had to put on hold for my course load, and I am sorry for that. I hope you stick around with me during this busier time!

I’ve never been one to write serialized fiction, and this is the first time I’ve attempted it for something as long as a short story, rather than small snippets. While I do enjoy writing them, my editing brain is never truly, completely off. Each installment, I go back and take a deeper look at Kylie and Ryker, their power, their back story, and their place in East Arcadia and its lore.

Kylie’s story is important to me for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is she’s a character very dear to me. She’s loosely based off the personality of a friend of mine, but her story is one I’ve worked on for some time, and it’s starting to come together. If you go back, there are some minor tweaks (we’re talking a couple line edits and formatting details) in parts 1-3 that I’ll go back and edit into the prior posts to reflect the full, most current version of the story; and as it nears its close, I may republish it later with a full set of edits. It’s also possible her story finds its way into Rivals & Retributions. I haven’t decided. Regardless, I hope you enjoy diving back into East Arcadia this week!

Image by Pája Janča from Pixabay.

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Suffocating stillness smothered the room as I stared at Ryker’s motionless body. Devoid of life in every way save for his heartbeat, his blank stare still penetrated to my soul. Though I’d never admit it aloud, I preferred Ryker as he was—full of life. Brimming with it, in fact. In part because he fed from others’ emotions to fuel his magic, but also because it was simply his personality. This empty shell horrified me in a way I couldn’t voice.

“Ryker?” My voice came out in a whisper, and I wondered if Mara and Tyler were asleep or if my panicked attempts to fix him would draw their attention.

Nothing. Not even a blink when I said his name over and over. My fingertips slid over the warmth of his skin and a shudder ran through me, pulsing deep at my core. Lust was a dangerous emotion to a Phantom, and I wasn’t sure how far my nature would go in its attempts to urge me to quench the desire. The contact of my skin against his hadn’t sparked any life in his gaze, though.

I tightened my grip on his shoulders, drawing myself forward as I inspected him for signs of weakness in my own alien web of magic. With more force than I intended, I gave him a rough shake. Then another. Still nothing. Chewing on my lip, I turned over ideas to snap him out of it.

“This isn’t funny, Ryker.” Staring into his blank eyes, I briefly entertained the idea that he was faking. Didn’t he like to play jokes on people at school? “Answer me.”