Shadow Walkers by Micheal Kostura Read Free Book Online Page A

prefer sleeping in as long as possible?”
    Hector pops one last cube of Shadow Sugar into his mouth. “I’ve got nothing better to do. Besides, I was super excited to come in and show off my mad skills.”
    Isaac rolls his eyes. Allison appreciates that her captain had similar feelings towards Hector’s sense of humor. If anyone on the team was going to be bearable, it would be Isaac. Her captain clasps his hands together and smiles. “Alright, today is the day you guys are going to have some fun. Let me explain how today’s training is going to go down. First off, let me explain how Shadow Walkers fight. First, by gathering energy-”
    “Oh c’mon.” Allison says.
    Isaac looks at her, perplexed. “What is it, Allison?”
    Allison takes a glance at Nick, and her eyes end up lingering longer than she’d like. “I know that Nick here knows absolutely squat about being a Walker, but Hector and I grew up in the Pit. We already know what to expect, so instead of giving him a full on lesson, can’t we just show him what we’re doing and only tell him exactly what he needs to know?”
    Hector nods. “Yeah, lectures are kind of boring. It’d be a lot funner if we did things in the moment.” He turns to Nick and half smiles. “Nothing personal.”
    Nick shrugs. “No problem. Besides, I agree. I want to see some action. Ever since I got here nothing… well,  nothing cool has happened.”
    Isaac’s eyes narrow. “Listen Nick, fighting the Void isn’t fun or cool. Don’t act like a juvenile kid. People die by fighting the Void, so don’t make it into some kind of heroic fantasy like becoming a superhero. Got it?” Nick nods, and Isaac sighs. “Sorry, I hate being serious, but you guys need to learn the ropes. In any case I guess Allison and Hector are right- we should just show you the way things work. Let’s get going.”
    Allison’s pulse starts to rise as they walk through the corridors of the training facility. All of the training rooms are hidden behind stone walls, and all but one of them are taken and locked from the inside. Isaac opens up the door at the end of the corridor and the group shuffles inside.
    “Looks like they’ve already set everything up for you guys.” Isaac says as his eyes graze across the room. The captain walks ahead of the younger kids and approaches a pedestal as tall as Allison. On top of it was a crystal ball, which remained perfectly still.
    Her voice is soft when she speaks. “So that’s the Pathfinder, right?”
    Isaac nods, making Allison feel reassured in her knowledge of the training process. But then she see’s Nick staring distantly at the crystal ball, his mind far away.
    Allison sighs. “Nick, you’ve seen a Walker use their powers. But I’m guessing you have absolutely no idea on how we can use them, right?”
    The boy nods. “No clue. I saw Isaac draw some giant sword out of nowhere, but he never explained how he did it.” He pauses, now actively studying the crystal like it’s a rare treasure. “Will this thing give us swords?”
    Isaac, Hector, and Allison all let out a small burst of laughter. Nick looks around as if he was just accused of a crime. “What’s so funny?”
    Before Allison can point out how flawed Nicks idea was, Isaac whistles loud enough to make her cover her ears. She and Hector both stop laughing and pay attention to their captain.
    “We shouldn’t be laughing at Nick for the stuff he doesn’t know about. We’re a team, so if we make fun of one person, we all get made fun of. Nick’s not going to be the empty can that everybody kicks along the road, got it?” Allison and Hector both nod. Isaac holds his right hand out to his side and black smoke spontaneously appears in thin air, converging towards his palm. Then, with a flash of black light, a longsword suddenly appears in his hand, the smoke disappearing.
    Allison first notices the crimson red blade. The handle and hilt of the sword were both as black as coal. Her father