Rise of the Evening Star

Chapter One

The New ­Student

Crowding into homeroom with the other eighth graders, Kendra found her way to her desk. In a moment the bell would ring, signaling the start of the last week of school. One final week and she would leave middle school behind forever and start anew as a high school freshman, mingling with kids from two other junior ­highs.

A year ago that had sounded like a more exciting prospect than it did now. Kendra had been stuck in a nerd rut since around fourth grade, and a fresh start in high school might have meant an opportunity to shed the quiet, studious image. But this had been a renaissance year. Amazing how swiftly a little confidence and a more ­out­going attitude could elevate your social status. Kendra no longer felt as desperate for a new ­beginning.

Alyssa Carter sat down in the desk next to her. “I heard we get yearbooks today,” she said. She had short blonde hair and a slender build. Kendra had met Alyssa after making the soccer team back in ­September.

“Great, I looked hypnotized in my picture,” Kendra ­groaned.

“Yours was adorable. Remember mine? My braces look the size of train tracks.”

“Whatever. You could hardly even notice them.”

The bell rang. Most of the kids were in their seats. Mrs. Price entered the room accompanied by a student unlike any regular kid Kendra had ever seen. The boy had a bald, scabrous scalp and a face like a chapped welt. His eyes were puckered slits, his nose a bizarre cavity, his mouth lipless and crusty. He scratched his arm, crooked fingers lumpy with bulging ­warts.

The hideous boy was otherwise nicely dressed in a black and red ­button-­down shirt, jeans, and stylish tennis shoes. He stood in front of the class beside Mrs. Price while she introduced ­him.

“I’d like you all to meet Casey Hancock. His family just moved here from California. It can’t be easy starting at a new school so late in the year, so please give him a warm welcome.”

“Just call me Case,” the boy rasped. He spoke like he was ­strangling.

“Would you look at that,” Alyssa ­murmured.

“No kidding,” Kendra whispered back. The poor kid barely looked human. Mrs. Price directed him to a desk near the front of the room. Creamy pus leaked from multiple sores on the back of his scabby ­head.

“I think I’m in love,” Alyssa ­said.

“Don’t be mean,” Kendra ­muttered.

“What? I’m serious. Don’t you think he’s a hottie?”

Alyssa was acting so sincere that Kendra found herself repressing a smile. “That’s just cruel.”

“Are you blind? He’s amazing!” Alyssa sounded genuinely offended that Kendra didn’t ­agree.

“If you say so,” Kendra placated. “Just not my type.”

Alyssa shook her head as if Kendra had super-weird taste. “You must be the pickiest girl on the planet.”

Morning announcements were droning over the loudspeaker. Case was talking with Jonathon White. Jonathon smiled and laughed. That was ­strange—­Jonathon was a jerk, not the sort of kid to befriend a monster. Kendra noticed Jenna Chamberlain and Karen Sommers sharing looks and whispers as if they too found Case attractive. Like Alyssa, they didn’t seem to be joking. Scanning the room, Kendra didn’t see a single student who seemed repulsed by his ­appearance.

What was going on? Nobody who looked this weird could come into a class without raising any ­eyebrows.

And suddenly the truth was ­apparent.

Casey Hancock looked inhumanly hideous because he was not a human. He had to be some sort of goblin who looked like a normal kid to everybody else. Kendra alone could see his true form, the aftereffect of having been kissed by hundreds of giant ­fairies.

Since leaving Fablehaven nearly a year ago, Kendra had seen magical creatures only twice. Once she had noticed a bearded man barely a foot tall pulling a length of pipe out of a pile of rubble behind the movie theater. When she tried to move in for a closer look, the tiny man scurried away into a storm drain. On another occasion she spotted what looked like a golden owl with a human face. She made eye contact with the creature for an instant before it took flight in a flurry of gilded ­feathers.

Such odd sights were usually veiled from mortal eyes. Her Grandpa Sorenson had introduced her to magical milk that enabled people to see through the illusions that normally concealed mystical creatures. When the fairy kisses had made that ability permanent, he had warned Kendra that sometimes it was safer to leave certain things ­unseen.

And here she was, staring at a grotesque monster posing as a new student in her homeroom! Mrs. Price came down the aisle handing out yearbooks. Kendra doodled absently on one of her book covers. Why was the creature here? Surely it had something to do with her. Unless repulsive goblins routinely infiltrated the public school ­system. Was he here to spy? To cause trouble? Almost ­certainly he was up to ­mischief.

Glancing up, Kendra caught the goblin staring at her over his shoulder. She should be glad to be aware the new kid had a hidden identity, right? The knowledge made her nervous, but it would help her prepare to counter any threat he might pose. With her secret ability, she could keep an eye on him. If she played it cool, Case would have no idea she could see his true ­form.