Notes
Esther is a middle child, in her own mind a pale reflection of siblings who are bright, shining stars. Her mother doesnt show the slightest bit of interest, no matter what Esther does. Still, shes content to go back to school, do her best,hang out with her friends, and let others take care of things. But her best friends arent AT school when she gets there. Why didnt they tell her they wouldnt be coming back? Why were they silent all summer? But stuff like that happens. And its bad luck that her new teacher makes Esther the butt ofall kinds of jokes. Mrs. Pollock is rumored to be an ogreand maybe she IS one. Could be. Then things go from unfortunate to outright dangerous. The mountains surrounding the schoolusually sparkling with glaciers and lakes, alive with Faeries, and sheltering a quaint town with really great bakeriesare nowcrowded with Shadow Mages, casting a noticeable pall, and clearlyto Esther signifying something very dark and threatening. As the people she might have depended on to help are either strangely absent or in hiding, its left to ordinary,middle-child Esther ("just Esther") to act. But shell have to burst out of the box of mediocrity shes been put in, and do something absolutely extraordinary.Additional Notes
Series: KIngdoms and Empires
