YA Fantasy Showdown: Bree Despain Presents Jace vs. Daniel

aka The *Real* Reason Daniel Didn't Go After Grace The Night She Found Out What He Did

I just saw this on twitter and laughed...so here you go, Mundie Moms...Bree Despain's Short Story:

Daniel clutched at his moonstone necklace, gripping it so tight the porous rock bit into the tender scar in his palm. He’d punctured his hand only moments before to show Grace how he could heal his flesh over with just the power of his own concentration. But really, he’d done it to feel the pain. To feel the cutting of his guilt. And because he’d wanted to scare her.

She ran. She knew what he was now—she knew what he’d done—and she ran. Just like he knew she would. Just like he’d wanted her to.

But that’s not what he really wanted, was it?

Grace blamed herself now for what Daniel was—for what he’d done three years ago. But that wasn’t true. Not at all. He needed to tell her that. Stop her from running. Wipe that look of anguish from her face.

“Wait!” Daniel shouted. He let go of his moonstone and darted out of his basement apartment and up the cement steps into the yard. “Stop, Gracie, please.”

He was too late. She was already driving away, the taillights of her car flashing brighter as she paused momentarily at the 4-way stop at the end of the street. And then she was gone.

Daniel heard a small gasp. He looked up and saw a girl he recognized from school, staring at him from across the street. A small white dog pulled at the leash in her hand. Her cheeks flushed pink and Daniel remembered that he was shirtless. The girl pulled a cell phone from her pocket and started texting as she hurried away with her yapping dog.

Daniel shook his head. He could go after Grace. Chase her down. Stop her before she got home. He was fast enough, no doubt about that.

But as Daniel took the first step to go after Grace, his sensitive ears picked up a swooshing noise, like metal slicing through air. His muscles tensed and he jumped sideways, just as the metallic flash of a knife went sailing by. The point of the blade nicked his neck. It was a small cut, but it burned like acid.

Silver. Daniel barely had time to process that thought before another blade came flying at his throat. He jumped out of the way just in time. The dagger lodged in the trunk of an old aspen tree in the yard.

“Where the hell . . . ?” Daniel cast about in the moonlit yard, searching for his invisible attacker.

“Well, if that’s your destination of choice, I’ll be happy to send you back there,” a voice said as he noticed a shadowed figure leaning against the railing of the porch. His arms crossed in front of his chest. The light from the porch lamp glinted off a silver blade—longer than the others had been—in one of his hands. “That’s where Downwolders belong after all.”

“Down . . .what?”

“Downwolders? Demons? Scum of the Earth?” The guy with the sword took a step closer. The light from the porch illuminated his blonde hair. Weird tattoo-like markings painted his arms.

“Who are you?” Daniel wiped at his burning neck. His fingers came away sticky with the blood that trickled from the silver-caused wound. It would take a while to heal. “What do you want?” He wracked his brain, trying to remember if he’d crossed this stranger before—Daniel had crossed a lot of people in the last few years.

“Jace.” The blonde guy uncrossed his arms and held his sword in front of him. “As for what I want, that’s easy. You. Dead.”

You can read the rest of Bree's Story here. It's so very good! And then be sure to vote for who you think would be the winner, here. As Mundie Moms, we kind of know who would win, don't we?? But what a treat on a hot summer's day -- thanks Bree!!