Prologue
The following writings are of the testimony given by my buddy Chase, the greatest twelve-year-old detective who ever lived. No other eyewitness accounts can verify his statement, but the validity of his tone cannot be questioned.
The hour was dark and silent. Moonlight came through the open window of Chase’s bedroom. The newspaper clippings of ghost hauntings, alien abductions, and monster sightings covering Chase’s walls now served as the backdrop for shadows cast from the moonlit trees outside.
As the tree branches swayed with the breeze, the shadows appeared to dance on one of Chase’s walls and morph into different shapes—of ghosts, monsters, gargoyles, and even one of Odyssey, the secret agent with whom Chase once fought the forces of darkness. All appeared and disappeared on Chase’s wall and in his mind. They kept him awake, and he should have been asleep hours ago. But as he lay in bed watching the scene on his wall, he noticed one shadow was now moving about his room, unlike the others.
This shadow wasn’t cast from the trees outside, and it moved independently of them. This shadow was from something else—something in his room.
How could this be?
Thoughts flew in and out of Chase’s mind. His bedroom door was closed. His mother and his older sister, Aspyn, were down the hall sleeping in their rooms. And his giant Rottweiler, German, lay in the front room.
Chase was alone.
Or was he?
Chase felt his heart pounding stronger. He calmed his breathing, reassuring himself it was just the light playing tricks on him.
There’s nothing to be afraid of, he told himself. It’s simply nighttime, and it’s simply dark. Nothing is different from the daytime. Everything’s still the same. It’s simply dark—simply dark and . . . silent.
It was silent until . . . a faint whisper of a man’s voice floated through the air.
“Hello, son.”
Chase sat straight up, grabbed his ultrathick eyeglasses next to his bed, and threw them on. It felt like every strand of the short blonde hairs on his head was standing on end.
“Who’s there?” Chase said, glancing around his room.
“A friend,” the voice answered, becoming louder and clearer.
“Wh-wh-where are you?” Chase sputtered. “What do you want?”
On Chase’s wall, one shadow grew large—into that of a man. The shadow came to life, peeling itself off the flat surface and becoming three-dimensional.
The shadow spoke. “I want to help you—to keep you safe.”
A shadow lurking in my room that came to life wants to keep me safe? Not a chance!!
Chase looked around his bedroom for an escape, observing the open window next to his bed. He then glanced at his closed bedroom door before looking back to the shadow. He calculated his bedroom door would be his quickest and safest choice, but he hesitated, worried he wouldn’t succeed.
“I’ll yell for help! M-m-my mom has a gun!” Chase stammered.
“There is no need for violence. I only want to talk, and then I will leave.” The shadow moved back and forth before continuing to say, “Now, tell me—where’s Odyssey?”
Chase’s eyes grew wide. Why is the shadow asking about Odyssey? It had been a month since Chase had last seen the blonde bombshell of a secret agent. “I—I don’t know. I haven’t seen her.”
Then Chase gulped. That voice! I recognize who it belongs to!
It belonged to the faceless Shadow agent he had encountered in that alley in downtown Denver, back when he, Oliver, Jax, and Gio had visited the pawnshop to try to recover a missing pocket watch belonging to Oliver’s great-grandfather. Oliver was never supposed to have taken it from his home, ever, for he knew his mom would kill him if she found out. But he had.
Yes, this was the voice belonging to the mysterious attacker who had set a trap for Chase and Odyssey in the countryside. Odyssey had managed their escape only by blowing up a tanker truck sitting in a construction zone as a distraction.
Chase gathered his nerves and said, “Even if I had seen her or knew where she was, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“Son, I am not the one to fear. You should understand there are larger issues at stake. You need to trust me.”
“Trust you? Then why did you try to kill Odyssey and me?” Chase asked, immediately furious with himself for allowing his voice to shake.
“My sincerest apologies,” the Shadow somberly whispered. “It was a most grievous mistake; we didn’t know you were with her. We would never put an innocent life in danger.” The Shadow slowly moved across the room. “However, have you ever stopped to consider it was Odyssey who put you in harm’s way? She brought you with her—perhaps using you as a cover for her own protection.”
Chase blinked and huffed in disbelief at the Shadow’s remarks.
“It was Odyssey we were after, not you.” The Shadow darted in front of Chase. “Now, tell me, where is she?”
Chase recoiled. “I told you, I have no idea.” He sat up taller in his bed. “What do you want with her?”
“Justice and balance restored. Odyssey is not who you believe she is. She’s nefariously deceiving and is manipulating you for her own ends. She has inflicted serious damage on this world, and I want to stop her from doing any further harm—including harm to you. But for me to do this, I need to know what Odyssey has told you . . . and where she is.”
“What she’s told me? I don’t know what you’re talking about, and no—I don’t trust you.”
“Of course, you should trust no one,” the Shadow said, his voice unruffled. “And naturally, you are afraid at this moment. I come to you in the darkness—a shadow. However, the darkness has much beauty.” The Shadow appeared to change forms, shimmering as the clouds drifted through the moonlight. “Odyssey comes to you in the light. She is beautiful, for certain. She promises everything you want to hear and casts doubt upon me. But she isn’t telling you everything. She’s using you for her own purposes—perhaps to get to me.”
“Using me?” Chase raised his eyebrows. “I’m no one special. She wouldn’t do that.”
“You underestimate her. Odyssey desires power for herself and will stop at nothing to gain it. I must end her before it’s too late; otherwise, she will doom this world.”
The Shadow moved over to where a piece of blank paper lay on Chase’s nightstand. With the tip of his shadow finger, the Shadow imprinted three dots on it, spaced out and arranged in a triangle. The Shadow handed Chase the paper. “Has she asked you about this?”
Chase took the paper, held it up, and adjusted his glasses. It was difficult to see in the moonlight. “No.” He looked back at the Shadow.
At that moment, a sniffing sound came through the crack beneath Chase’s door. A low growl followed.
Chase and the Shadow stopped their conversation as the growling turned into loud barking. Then Chase’s Rottweiler, German, started frantically scratching on the other side of the bedroom door, trying to enter.
The Shadow recoiled, glancing toward the noise, then back at Chase. “Look again. Are you sure?”
“No, I’ve never seen that. Honestly.”
A shout from Chase’s mom came at once. “Germ! What is it, boy? Chase, are you okay in there?”
Chase kept quiet.
The Shadow pressed against the wall next to the window and began to disappear. His voice fading, he said, “Keep alert, son. Odyssey’s not who or what you think she is. Pay attention to what she asks you to do. You’ll see for yourself in time.”
The door of Chase’s bedroom flew open, and the Rottweiler sprang into the room, barking.
“Chase!!! Sunshine, are you okay?” Chase’s mom called, entering the room right behind the dog.
The Shadow vanished with the moonlight dissolving behind the clouds. German, still barking, pounced to the wall where the Shadow once had been. He started sniffing the ground, searching for the now missing intruder.
“Germ! Germ, settle down!” Chase’s mom commanded, flicking on the light switch. “What’s going on? Are you all right, Chase? What’s gotten Germ going?”
Chase looked blankly at his mother. “There was a shadow of a man in my room.”
“What?!” Chase’s mom shrieked. She immediately scanned their surroundings, then focused her eyes on the dancing shadows from the trees outside. She sighed. “Sunshine, it’s only shadows from those moonlit trees blowing in the wind.” She walked over to the open window by his bed. “But I’ve told you before what worries me . . . with you being on the ground floor and leaving a window open, a predator could easily enter during the night! Let’s try to keep it closed from now on, okay?” Chase’s mom closed the window and locked the latch.
“Mom, there was a shadow of a man in my room!” Chase asserted. “He even spoke to me.”
“Oh? And what did this . . . this shadow say?”
“He asked me about . . .” Chase trusted his mom but hesitated to tell her everything. He looked at the paper on which the Shadow had imprinted the three dots. The dots had vanished, just like the Shadow! “I don’t know,” he mumbled, now uncertain.
Chase’s mom sat down next to him and brushed his messy blonde hair. “Chase, you just had a bad dream, that’s all.”
“Mom, do you . . . do you believe me?”
Chase’s mom sighed. “I believe you have a fantastic imagination—so much so that what you imagine can seem real to you! But I think you’ve become a little too obsessed with paranormal investigating, and it’s affecting your sleep now. Maybe cut back on it for a while.”
His mother’s remarks brought to Chase’s memory visions of Odyssey, their adventure together, and the fact that he was the only one who had seen her and the Shadow. Chase eyeballed German, who was whining and still sniffing around the room.
“Mom, do you think Germ can see and smell things we can’t?”
“A dog’s sense of smell is far superior to ours, and they can also see better in the dark than we can. Dogs also have a heightened awareness, making them excellent protectors.” Chase’s mom kissed him on the forehead, then stood up while tightening her robe. “Would you like Germ to stay with you for the night?”
“Yes.” Chase nodded.
“Nothing’s going to come close to you with German here in your room,” she chuckled. “Good night, Sunshine.” She began to walk out of the room.
“Mom, wait . . .”
Chase’s mom stopped in the doorway and looked back.
“What if something happens to German?”
“Sunshine, German will be here to protect you,” she said, “and he’s very strong. Nothing is going to happen to him! Now, get some sleep.”
Chase’s mom walked out of his room and left the door cracked. German must have sensed he was being allowed to stay because he jumped onto Chase’s bed as if he knew he was welcome and gave Chase a lick to the face.
Chase grinned, patting his dog on the head as German circled ten times to mess up the covers before lying partially on top of Chase’s feet.
Looking at his enormous dog, Chase felt safe. He laid his head back down on his pillow.
Dream, imagination, or real—Chase’s mind recalled all that the Shadow had told him—Odyssey was up to no good. . . . She was using him.
And what did those three dots in a triangle signify?
With his dog there to protect him, Chase closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
