Spark (Legends of the Shifters) (10 page)

In
the distance, the forest stretched along the edge of the field. For
some reason, it was easy for me to picture a cabin there, where the
trees met the grassland. Then, it all came back to me. I fell to my
knees as a forgotten memory took over my thoughts.

I
was in a meadow. A beautiful meadow, where the flowers were almost as
numerous as the grass.

A
beautiful woman with curling dark hair and crinkling green eyes
smiled down at me as we wandered through the flowers, holding hands.

Suddenly,
she stopped, picking a pretty yellow and orange blossom to put in my
red hair.

“
There's
my little fire flower,” she said with a smile.

I
grinned and hugged her neck.

I
was suddenly pulled away from her and hefted into someone's arms.
“Papa!” I giggled. The red-haired, brown-eyed man
chuckled and threw me up on his shoulders.

In
front of us, a little boy with brown curls like his mother ran
through the flowers. The woman chased after him, laughing.

Then,
there was nothing.

I
muffled a gasp as I came back to the present.

“
Ivy?
Are you okay?” asked Roselle. Her voice made me jump.

How
had she gotten there so fast? I looked back up at the faraway
mountain. I wiped away the tears that had somehow surfaced, and
nodded. I took a deep shuddering breath.

“
Ivy,”
she said, her brow wrinkled with concern. “What's wrong?”

After
a few more breaths, I gave her a wobbly smile. “I...um...just
had a memory. That's all. A memory of my family.”

Roselle
looked surprised. “Were you an orphan?” she asked.

I
looked up at the bright, cloudless sky. “Yes. I was.”

She
sat down in the grass and patted the ground next to her. “Would
you like to tell me about your memory?”

For
some reason, I did want to tell her, but not here. Not with the
trainer overhearing, and the survival test ticking away. I shook my
head. “Not right now,” I whispered quietly.

She
shrugged and stood up. “That's fine. Just tell me if I can help
at all.”

I
nodded.

She
gave me a half-smile before moving ahead, toward the forest. “We'd
better get hunting,” she said.

I
followed her toward the forest. I decided to stay with Roselle the
entire time, watching what she did as she took down two squirrels and
gathered edible roots. I helped her gather until the test was over.
Everyone seemed to be successful, and we had a nice, big meal.

When
the bell sounded to announce the end of the meal, Roselle pulled me
away from the group of students, and behind the tent that we had just
come out of.

“
Now
that we're not in our survival test, would you like to tell me what
you remembered?” she asked.

I
peered around the tent at the other students. Finally, I nodded. “I
was in a meadow with my mother, my father, and my brother. We lived
right on the edge of a meadow similar to the one in the survival
test.” I paused, and bit my cheek to keep my tears at bay. “Do
you think that they could still be alive?”

She
looked down at her feet. “I don't know... How did they die?”
she inquired, glancing back up.

“
I
was told that there was a fire,” I answered.

She
shrugged. “I guess it could be possible. You might have an
older brother somewhere. Wouldn’t you be together, though, if
your brother had lived?”

I
sighed. “The orphanage separated boys and girls.”

“
That
doesn’t seem right, at least not for brothers and sisters,”
she said.

“
I
know. I saw them forced into parting ways many times during my stay
there.”

Madam
Grant had only let brothers and sisters meet and talk to each other
once a week. I would’ve remembered my brother if that were the
case. I would’ve known him until I was eleven at least, if my
age estimate was correct.

“
Well,
all we can do is hope,” Roselle said.

“
Yes,”
I agreed. “Hope.”

*****

The
next few days passed by in a daze. Kurt tried to teach me the javelin
and the slingshot, as well as a few other weapons, and we ran several
times around the arena every day. Survival tests were still varying
in levels of difficulty, but my second form was getting less hard to
control. The only ones that I’d failed were the ocean and the
caves, but I still got something to eat because of the others in my
group. Before I knew it, Sunday was here. The mood in our dorm was
high-spirited.

“
Why
does everyone seem so happy?” I asked Roselle after we had
gotten into the dining hall.

“
Because
unlike any of the other days, we don’t have the second half of
training,” she explained. “Instead, we have free time,
which we can use to visit a friend or just lay around. I like to
visit my dad on Sundays, though, because that’s the only time I
get to see him nowadays. I’m one of the lucky ones. Besanine is
pretty close.”

I
frowned. “My home town is farther away than yours, but I might
be able to go there if I were in second form.”

Roselle
heaved a sigh and shook her head. “Unfortunately, that’s
not possible. It’s a rule here that students aren’t
allowed to transform unless they’re in the training arena, in
the survival tests, or on a quest.”

I
glowered, thinking. “Well, they pulled me away from my friends
before I even got a chance to say good-bye, so I’m going to go
see them today.”

Roselle
lifted her eyebrows and laughed. “You’ve got a rebellious
side to you, don’t you?” She paused and looked around to
make sure no one was listening. “To tell you the truth, I
usually change form, too, when I’m going to see my father. I
only get two hours with him otherwise.”

I
knitted my eyebrows. “You know, now that I think about it…I
don’t think I’ve ever seen your second form,” I
said.

“
I’m
afraid you’ll never see it,” she said, laughing to
herself as if it were a joke.

“
What?”
I asked.

“
Fine,
I’ll tell you. I’m surprised that it took you this long
to ask. I’m a wisp.”

“
What is
that
?” I
asked.

“
I
didn’t know what it was either until it was explained to me.
It’s a wind spirit, invisible and invincible…except
against magic, of course. I learned that I can travel pretty fast in
my second form.”

“
Why
don’t we just run away from this place, then? I hate having my
every move watched,” I said, aggravated.

Her
mouth formed a grim line. “A few people have tried that
actually,” she said. “Including the girl that had your
bunk previously. They found her and gave her a trial in court. Now
she’s locked up for possibly the rest of her life.”

I
shivered. “Still, it’s hard to think. Three more years…”

“
No,
not three years. At least not for you. Your second form is way too
powerful for that.”

“
Why
do you think so?” I asked.

“
Because
you can spout fire, of course,” she said. “And you’re
a fast learner. You got food on only your second survival test. Not
even January did that.”

I
smiled at her. “I don’t know which one’s better.
Training or questing?”

“
Well,
I’d rather be questing. At least then you have some freedom.”

I
nodded. Our conversation was interrupted by Liana and a girl who I
later found out was named Abby. “Exciting day, isn’t it?”
said Liana as she sat down.

“
Yep,”
I answered with a half-smile. “Or at least it will be.”

After
the survival test and sword training with Kurt, the students were
given the rest of the day off. Many people just went in their dorms
for some extra sleep, but others walked along the path to the lower
towns, Roselle among them. I took my place beside her.

“
Your
chance to transform will come when we get to the forest,” she
whispered. “If you get high enough, nobody will be able to tell
the difference between you and a hawk.” She glanced up at the
sky. “Especially since it’s cloudy.”

“
What
about you? Are you just going to walk the whole way?”

“
No.
I suppose I’ll change when you do,” she answered. We came
across a small town before the forest came into view. Some of the
students stopped there to visit, but most kept onto the path.

We
lagged behind all the other students to make sure no one would notice
when we disappeared into the pines. I kept looking back to make sure
nobody was following us, wincing at every twig that snapped under my
foot.

“
Okay,
this should be far enough in,” said Roselle after a couple of
minutes.

I
looked around us before nodding. She changed first. I watched as she
faded from my sight.

I
squinted my eyes, trying to see her outline, but it was no use. It
seemed as if there was nothing there. “Roselle?” I asked.

No
answer. I waited for a minute longer, and nearly jumped out of my
skin when I heard the whispered word, “Boo,” right in my
ear.

“
Roselle,
that’s not funny,” I whispered back fiercely.

“
Yes,
it is,” she laughed as she reappeared. “I trick all my
opponents like that when they challenge me. Not many people do
anymore.”

“
And
you’re only a Level Five?” I asked.

“
Yes.
Upgrades only come on Mondays and mostly only if the person has had a
challenge that week…which means that you’re probably
going to be upgraded tomorrow.”

“
That’s
good,” I said. “The sooner I get away, the better.”

“
And
speaking of that, our time is running out. We need to get going if we
want to get back in time.”

I
nodded. “You’re right.”

She
smiled as she disappeared again.

I
transformed after her, and shot upward after a heavy push downward
with my wings. I got as high as I could, as quick as I could to
lessen the chance of someone seeing. The effort made me breathless. I
soared so high that I could barely see the pathway.

Once
I had regained my strength and energy, I drove myself forward with
rapid strokes, impatient to get to my old, familiar home and friends.
I flew over mountain peaks and valleys, and before long, my wings
were sore with fatigue. I berated my slowness as the sun gradually
started to get lower and lower, and was relieved when I finally saw
the big clock tower after passing over a mountain.

I
dove downward toward the stables, where I was sure Ayon had to be. My
whole body was trembling from exhaustion as I transformed back to my
old self, panting for air.

I
entered the stables to see Ayon sitting at an old, rickety table,
eating a small meal. He looked up in surprise. “Ivy?” he
asked.

I
smiled. “Of course it’s me!” I said between
breaths. “Who else would it be?”

He
stood, and shrugged, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Could be
Mr. Caper, coming in early for his evening ride.”