Spark (Legends of the Shifters) (13 page)

I
found a couple of cave lizards, and with my new form’s quick
reflexes, I killed them on sight. Several times, I came across the
sight of guano, cockroaches crawling in and out of the giant pile
that had been building up for years and years. The sight made me
shudder, and Liana and I stayed far away from it.

Finally,
our exploit ended, and we all were back in our normal forms. Abby was
sulking. “What’s wrong?” Liana asked her.

“
I
died,” she said, her eyebrows pinched into a scowl. “Death
by cockroaches.”

Liana
and I looked at each other and grimaced. That sounded like a
horrible
way to die. I wondered if it was actually possible in the real world.

Our
meal was of moderate size. We had potatoes and chicken and green
beans. I felt sorry for Abby, who had to watch us eat while she got
nothing.

I
headed for the dorms, satisfied. I was grateful to Liana for giving
up her fruit, and for being a wonderful friend in general.

I
entered the dorm room, where Angelica, Natalia, and January were
already waiting. Roselle’s bed was stripped of its blankets,
and I had no doubt that her side of the trunk was empty as well. I
didn’t want to think about her absence, but the silence of the
dorm rang with it. I knew that I couldn't move from my bunk, at least
not for a long time. I didn't want to fill in Roselle's place.

Suddenly,
a pair of feet stepped in front of me. I looked up and met Angelica’s
glare. She crossed her arms as if she was annoyed.

“
I
don’t understand why you’re so sad,” she said. “You
just got elevated to a level four.”

I
narrowed my eyes. “What do you care?”

“
I’m
just disgusted. You have the most productive trainers, both the
headmaster’s sons. Niko has the record for the earliest
graduate, and Kurt would have if his hadn’t died on him.”

“
How
long did it take for them to graduate?” I asked.

“
A
year.”

I
sighed as I stood and grabbed my sleeping clothes out of the trunk,
hoping she got the hint that I was through with the conversation. I
heard her footsteps retreating behind my back rather loudly. I
ignored the annoyance that clawed at my nerves, and slipped behind
the changing screen.

When
I was dressed in my nightgown, I crawled into bed and closed my eyes,
pretending to sleep.

Except,
I wasn’t sleeping.

Instead,
I was thinking about what I could do to make sure that I would beat
that record. I didn’t think I could stand being here for a
year.

*****

I
awoke several hours later to the sound of January climbing down from
her bunk. I sensed that it wasn't even close to our wake-up time by
the snores of the other girls, and the silence outside. She rummaged
through her trunk and went into the other room. I noticed a faint
blue light coming from inside. Then it disappeared and she emerged,
walking around the bunks to the door. She paused with her hand just
short of the doorknob. I was worried that she’d noticed I was
awake, but she opened the door and left quietly.

That
was my cue to do the same. I delved in my trunk for my clothes,
hoping that I didn’t forget any of them. I learned when I went
back to change that it was harder than it would seem to dress in the
dark. I accidentally put my pants on backward the first time. I put
on my shirt, shoes, and coat in a hurry, trying to make up for the
time that I'd lost.

I
peered quietly around the corner, barely able to see the sleeping
forms of the others. I crept around them and opened the door,
shutting it as quietly as I could. After that, I was less careful. I
hurried down the stairs and out of the dorms, into the crisp night
air. Everything was silent except for the clanging of weapons and a
few shouts coming from the training arena, which had a glowing aura,
probably lit by magic.

I
hurried to get there, and I stopped in the doorway. There were only
three people in the nearest clearing. January and a tall young man
with dark hair were in the middle of a fight, and Grix was watching
from the sidelines. He noticed that I was watching and smiled at me,
beckoning me to come closer. I veered around the fight, and stood
next to him stiffly. He acted nice enough, considering he had been
trying to kill me only a few days before.

“
Jan
has been trying to beat Roland for months. This is the only time that
she’s ever come close,” he muttered to me.

I
watched the fight. She was matching every strike of his sword. Roland
was slowly picking up the speed, and soon, January was struggling to
keep up. Her gaze flicked to me in a second, flashing with surprise.
Before she knew it, Roland had his blade at her throat. They stood
there, panting, until January angrily clanked his sword away with her
own and stomped toward me.

“
What
are you doing here? As if you had a chance to compete against any of
us!” she spat, her sword pointed at my throat.

I
fought not to reel back from the blade. “I’m not here to
beat any of you,” I retorted. “I just want to learn.”

Grix
laughed and January snorted, but Roland seemed interested. “And
why would you want to learn?” he asked.

“
So
I can leave as quickly as possible,” I stated clearly.

January
sniffed. “I’ve been trying that for years. It doesn’t
work unless
they
want it to.”

“
And
if they didn’t, why would they promote me to a Level Four after
my first week?”

January
was silent.

“
Good
point,” grunted Grix.

Roland
laughed. “This is the little first-year that beat you in a
challenge?”

Grix
glared at him. “Yes. I didn’t expect her to change into a
fire breathing pterodactyl,” he said defensively.

Roland
chuckled. “You should have paid more attention to who her
trainer was. That always tells whether or not she’ll be
talented.” He paused to look at me. “Well, maybe I can
teach you a few things. Who knows? Perhaps you can break my record.”

My
eyes widened. “You’re the one who graduated after only a
year?” I asked.

He
nodded. “Technically it was only eleven months, but I guess a
year is easier to say… January, give her the sword,” he
instructed.

She
glared at me as she handed it over. It was heavier than I thought,
and the tip sunk into the ground. “Come on! You aren’t
even able to raise your sword?” Roland taunted, walking out
further into the field. I hefted it up, my arms trembling.

“
Hang
on a second,” he said. He fell back with me and took the sword
out of my hands, rolling his eyes. He tossed it in the air. “January,
release your spell!” he yelled back to her.

She
glared at us. “No,” she said.

Roland’s
almost turned on her, but he stopped to think.
“Fine,”
he muttered eventually, handing me the ridiculously heavy sword. He
began to walk off again, and I followed him uncertainly.

“
What
she doesn’t know is that this can be used to our advantage,”
he whispered to me once we were out of earshot.

“
How?”
I asked.

“
We
can train you with this sword so that when you practice with a normal
one, it’ll be easy.”

It
made sense, but I didn’t exactly appreciate it right then. He
swung his sword at me, and I struggled to block it like Kurt had
taught me. I only barely deflected it, and then Roland moved in with
another swing before I could even raise my sword again, placing the
cold metal on my neck.

He
lowered it. “Again,” he said, and he started to slash at
me once more. I only blocked once, and I did that for several tries
before I finally got two blocks in.

Grix
and January practiced nearby, and I could see her smirking at me
almost every time I failed.

Finally,
when my arms were aching and the sun had started to come up, we heard
the trumpets wailing from inside the dorms, making a bizarre sounding
melody ring off the walls of the arena. I let the sword drop to the
ground, and Grix and January stopped practicing. I noticed that Grix
had a few cuts on his body, but I felt better when I saw that January
had her share of injuries, too.

There
was only a small cut on my neck, where Roland had pressed his blade a
little too hard. That had been after I’d gotten three blocks,
the best I’d done all day.

I
heaved my sword over to the table where it belonged before I followed
Grix, January, and Roland out of the arena. None of the students had
come out yet, so I knew we would be the first ones in the dining
hall. Roland sat at a trainers table, while the other two sat at a
student’s table together.

I
found one a little farther away and sat there to wait for my friends.
One by one, the dining hall was getting more full. Abby came in, and
I thought that she would sit with me, but she ignored me and sat
somewhere else. The first one to sit with me was, surprisingly,
Natalia.

“
I
noticed that you went out early to train,” she said. “You’ll
have to work on your stealth skills.”

I
smiled at her. “Is that something that you could help me with?”

She
shrugged. “I could, but I’m not sure that I want to.”

My
smile faltered. “Why not?”

“
I
don’t want to interfere with Niko’s training. Only a fool
would do that. Or someone who is more talented than Niko.”

“
Then
why not use your talent to teach me your talent?” I asked.

Her
mouth twitched as she hid a smile. “Good point, but I still
don’t think I can. Niko is a wizard. It wouldn’t matter
if I was stealthier than him.”

I
nodded. “I understand.”

Another
girl joined us, and then Liana finally came into the room. She sat
next to me and asked, “Why were you not in bed this morning?”

“
I
woke up early to train,” I said.

“
Really
eager to get out, huh?” she replied with a frown.

I
didn’t answer. The number platters came in. We got tent number
7, ‘an easy one’, Liana had said, and it was. She
galloped along with her bow and arrow, and Natalia dove into the deep
river as a mermaid, her scales a shimmering, iridescent black. The
other girl disappeared into the forest, and I didn’t see her
again until the end. I flew in the air, letting my wings bathe in the
sunlight. I came across a meadow and saw a small deer grazing. I dove
down quickly and the poor thing didn’t have time to react
before I’d killed it. It made me feel better to know that it
wasn’t real. That deer didn’t even exist...at least I
didn’t think so.

Anyway,
we settled down for a huge breakfast of sausage, eggs, biscuits,
gravy, cheese, bacon, fruit, and hot chocolate. I ate until I was
completely stuffed, something I regretted when I was training with
Niko, because I had to stop to throw up everything that I’d
eaten.

He
looked on with disgust before making me get back on the ground for
some push-ups.

The
day ended with a medium sized meal from a desert oasis that I could
barely contribute to.

On my
way back to the dorm, it felt as if I were slogging through
waist-deep mud. I didn't even bother to change clothes before
crumpling into my bed and slipping into slumber.