Break the enchantments. Find the truth. Ignite the revolution. A century ago, the Enchanters defeated the evil Lord of the Underwo...

Feature Fiction || Flynn Nightsider and the Edge of Evil by Mary Fan


Break the enchantments. Find the truth. Ignite the revolution.

A century ago, the Enchanters defeated the evil Lord of the Underworld, but not before he’d unleashed his monsters and ravaged the earth. The Enchanters built the Triumvirate out of what remained of the United States, demanding absolute obedience in exchange for protection from the lingering supernatural beasts.
Sixteen-year-old Flynn Nightsider, doomed to second-class life for being born without magic, knows the history as well as anyone. Fed up with the Triumvirate’s lies and secrecy, he longs for change. And when he stumbles across a clue that hints at something more – secrets in the dark, the undead, and buried histories – he takes matters into his own hands.
Before long, Flynn finds himself hunted not only by the government, but also by nightmarish monsters and a mysterious man with supernatural powers … all seeking him for reasons he cannot understand. Rescued by underground rebels, he’s soon swept up in their vision of a better world, guided by a girl as ferocious as the monsters she fights.
 But as the nation teeters on the brink of revolution, Flynn realizes three things.

The rebellion is not what it seems.

Flynn himself might be more than he seems.



And the fate of the world now rests in his hands.


Excerpt


Flynn looked up in time to see one of the library’s floating lanterns crash down. Shocked, he jumped out of the way. It smashed onto the table in front of him, spilling shards across the marble surface. The sound of glass shattering filled the air as more lights fell, until shadows swallowed the library. “What the hell?”

A hideous, otherworldly cackle echoed through the dark library, reverberating against the bookshelves. Flynn swallowed hard. It had to be another specter. Only specters had those creepy, unearthly voices. Worse, it seemed to have undone the magic keeping the lanterns suspended. But was it an escaped classroom spirit this time? Or another anarchist attack?

Either way, he had to get out before the specter found him. He glanced at Brax, who was vaguely visible in the pale moonlight shining through the window. Before he could say anything, the table flew up from the ground. It crashed through the window, but the shards remained suspended in the air. Flynn stared, cold sweat breaking out on his brow. The glass’s knife-sharp points floated toward him and hovered dangerously close to his face.

Now he was certain this wasn’t one of the mild-mannered specters Williams usually summoned for demos. This was a full-blown malevolent spirit, the kind that fed on terror, craved human screams, and delighted in the warmth of fresh blood. This meant that either the anarchists were attacking again, or the specter—like the wraiths from the previous night—had grown more powerful than the perimeter.

Whatever the case, he was done for. The specter would send those shards tearing through his body, and that hideous cackle would be the last thing he’d hear before falling into the Netherworld. Flynn clenched his jaw, doing his best to shove down his fear. Fear only made specters stronger, and he wasn’t about to give it one more advantage. There had to be a way out of this. He wished he could run, but the specter was near, invisible but watching, and a single movement could cause it to strike.

The shards vibrated as they drew back like a hundred glass arrows poised to fly from taut strings. Flynn stared back at them, and a powerful sense of defiance outshone his fear. Come get me, then.



About the Author



Mary Fan lives in New Jersey, where she is currently working in financial marketing. She has also resided in North Carolina, Hong Kong, and Beijing, China. She has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember and especially enjoys the infinite possibilities and out-of-this-world experiences of science fiction and fantasy.
Mary has a B.A. in Music, specializing in composition, from Princeton University and enjoys writing songs as much as writing stories. She also enjoys kickboxing, opera singing, and exploring new things–she’ll try almost anything once.