Dance of Shadows (39 page)
Authors: Yelena Black
Tags: #Romance, #General, #Fiction, #Performing Arts, #Love & Romance, #Dance, #Juvenile Fiction, #Fantasy & Magic, #Horror & Ghost Stories
Her sister extended her leg, pointing her foot as if positioning herself for the start of a dance. But it wasn’t a dance at all. With some difficulty, she dragged her toe along the floor.
I
. She drew out in a crooked, wobbly letter.
Am
. She drew slowly, carefully, scraping letters into the ground until she had written four words:
I am still here
.
Her sister was almost palpable—her sweat, her tears, her breathing. Unable to hold pointe any longer, Vanessa collapsed. The image faded as her feet hit the rug, but it didn’t leave her.
Margaret wasn’t dead. She was out there somewhere. And Vanessa knew what she had to do.
She picked up the shoes and wrapped them in packing paper, sealing the parcel tight with tape. She slipped it into her suitcase and made a vow. Yes, she would help Justin find this demon. But she was also going to find her sister. And when she did, she would take down whoever was responsible, or die trying.
Ted and Michael at The Inkhouse, my shadows
Ruth, my invaluable red pen
Melanie and Emma, my golden acceptance letter
Michelle and Rebecca, mastermind editors and choreographers
Cindy, Erica, Katy, Susannah, and the Bloomsbury team, the folks behind the curtain
A. F., my leading man
My family, my ever kind and patient audience
Kitty, my own little demon
Without you, this book would never have happened.
Thank you.
Dear Diary
,
I knew it had happened because of the screaming
.
I was in my room, working on my first real English lit paper. (“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. About a woman who goes crazy. Snooze city.) Maddy was at the gym and I was organizing my notes when I heard shouts from outside. At first I ignored them. Someone is always shouting about something in this place, and after a while you do what Josef says: you “block out the inessentials.” But the girls were
so loud
. And when I peered out the window, I saw that it wasn’t just a few girls—half the school was running across the plaza to the studio building. It could mean only one thing—
The Firebird
cast list had been posted
.
I pulled on a sweater and ran downstairs
.
The first person I saw was Justin. He was in front of the bulletin board, practically blocking the list with his body. But then he turned around and saw me. And he wasn’t smiling
.
“Well, well,” he said, and did a slow clap. He stepped aside so that I could read the list
.
I scanned it quickly, then did a double take
.
“I’m so happy for you,” Justin said softly, but he clearly didn’t mean it. And then he walked away
.
Other girls were there, hands bunched in tight fists. Scowling at me. Anna and Chloë were together, as usual, and they gave me stares that were so venomous I thought I might cry
.
“How in the freaking world did this happen?” someone said as I turned away from the list. “She’s a
freshman
. Like … seriously? This is
not
fair.”
And I suppose it wasn’t. Seniors are supposed to land the lead roles. Not freshmen
.
As I walked back to my room, I was full of something: a mixture of fear and anxiety and relief and happiness all swirled into one little ball buried in the pit of my stomach. Would Maddy be happy for me? Would anyone?
WHO CARES? Even now, a few hours later, I can’t stop picturing the top of the list in my head:
Margaret Adler
...........................................................
The Firebird
To read more of Margaret’s diary and uncover clues about her disappearance, visit
www.facebook.com/danceofshadows
Copyright © 2013 by The Inkhouse
First published in the United States of America in February 2013
by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Electronic edition published in February 2013
www.bloomsburyteens.com
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Black, Yelena.
Dance of shadows / by Yelena Black. — 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Vanessa follows her sister Margaret to an elite Manhattan ballet school, not only gaining admission but also earning the lead in a production of
The Firebird
, while trying to uncover why and how Margaret and other lead dancers have disappeared.
[1. Ballet—Fiction. 2. Occultism—Fiction. 3. Demonology—Fiction. 4. Schools—Fiction. 5. Missing
persons—Fiction. 6. Sisters—Fiction. 7. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B5313Dan 2012 [Fic]—dc23 2012016675
eISBN 978-1-5999-0941-7 (ebook)