Chasing Shadows by Rebbeca Stoddard Read Free Book Online

humming while throwing a sandwich together with a side of sliced fruit. Carefully he set a plate and some water in front of me, and I sat down on one of the four bar stools. I took a cautionary sniff of the sandwich and after deciding it was edible, I took a bite. My stomach growled again but with fervor, and I ate the sandwich faster than I should have. A few grapes rolled around on the plate and a plump raspberry came into view. Once I finished the fruit, I drank all of the water and watched as Sebastian cleaned up for me. He smiled at me and told me it was time to change the rest of the way. Fear caught in my chest, and I thought I was going to lose my lunch. I was thankful I didn’t when he promised that I would be okay.
    The room I slept in was lit by white candles. Crystals lined the doorway and windowsill, a red rose was on each corner of the bed, and a broken arrow lay on the bedside table. Clamora stood in the center of a chalk circle on the floor, and she motioned for me to lie on the bed. I complied. My body shook with fear as I stared at the ceiling. Hundreds of what-ifs ran through my mind, and my stomach started churning with nervousness. I searched the room for Sebastian and watched as he joined Clamora in the circle, but before I could even ask about it, the first wave of excruciating pain shook my body. A claustrophobic feeling washed over me, and I had to gasp for air. Every nerve ending in my body was on fire, my muscles felt like they were being torn to pieces, and my bones felt like they were being smashed by sledgehammers. My teeth chattered as my body convulsed and my vision started going black. I knew I was going to pass out from pain or lack of oxygen. Either way, I was glad to be losing consciousness. Somewhere in the room I heard Sebastian yelling at Clamora, telling her she had to stop or I would die. Struggling, I fought against the darkness that was pulling me under. I wanted to make it through this change, I wanted to see Sebastian again, and I wanted to see what I could do when it was all over. Everything that I wanted to see and needed to do helped me hang on to the smallest bit of consciousness I had left. A small fetal noise escaped from my dry mouth as sweat rolled onto the sheets and my eyes started shaking. The pain felt like it would never end, when all of a sudden everything seemed to be stopping. My bones felt whole, my muscles strong, and my nerve endings were cooling to soft warmth. Then it all stopped. Oxygen filled my lungs, my teeth stopped chattering, and my eyesight cleared. I carefully sat up, looked down at my hands, and gasped.
    My fingertips were glowing silver, and as I moved to look more closely at them, an itchy sensation crawled in between my shoulder blades. I swung my legs over the side of the bed to go find a mirror and noticed that the crystals had turned red, the four red roses were white, and the broken arrow was whole. A bright glow from the window caught my attention, and I glared at the rising sun. Dawn had passed, and my change was complete. When I was done glaring out the window, I turned to the door and quickly escaped to the bathroom. Keeping my head down, I took three deep breaths before finally looking into the mirror. What I saw stopped my heart and breath.
    Purple irises with silver borders stared into the reflection. The veins in my neck and wrists were a mix of light silver and deep purples, my hair was still dark, but red and blue tints peeked out, and my skin was paler and more translucent. After staring at my reflection for a few minutes, the itchy sensation came back, so I pulled my hoodie up and craned my neck to see a small black symbol splayed out on my back. Swirls created multiple shapes; the longer I stared, the more I saw. There were a rose, wings, and a small crescent moon on the right side and a blazing sun on the left. I smiled at the tattoo that my change had given me. It was beautiful and unique, like me.
    A soft knock on the bathroom