Spark (Legends of the Shifters) by J.B. North Read Free Book Online Page A

can't finish?”
    She
shook her head sadly. “It's going to be their lifelong job. If
they aren't able to complete one now, what are they going to do the
rest of their life?”
    I
shuddered. I wasn’t ready to go on any kind of quest, big or
small. We started walking again, although the troubled look had
returned to Roselle's face.
    When
we got into the dining hall, I caught sight of Natalia sitting with
the other girl in our dorm. I led the way to sit with them. This
would be the first time that I was in a group during the survival
test, and I wanted to be among friends.
    Like
I had heard the day before, there was no fruit on the table this
morning. Servants went around serving water, but that was it. Nothing
with true nutrition.
    My
stomach hurt from hunger, and yet, I hadn’t gone without food
as long as some of these people have. I drank down a couple gulps
thirstily, hoping that it would hold off my hunger. Thankfully, it
did help a little.
    When
everyone had come in and was settled, the trays were set in front of
us again. The lid was lifted off, and everyone at my table groaned
simultaneously. The number that had shimmered onto the paper was 16.
    “ Which
one is that?” I asked, worried.
    Roselle
glanced at me. “The volcano. Actually, there are many in a
volcanic location, but this one is the worst.”
    “ It
sprays the most ash and spurts the most lava,” said the nice
girl. “I’ve gotten pieces of my tail singed off at that
place.”
    “ Your
tail?” I asked.
    “ Liana
is a centaur,” Natalia answered for her.
    “ Ah,”
I said. Then after a moment of thinking, “What’s that?”
    Liana
smiled. “There’s at least three other students like me. I
have the body of a horse, but still the torso and up of a
human.... And I’m the only female at the school,” she added with a
proud glint in her eye.
    “ To
your tents!” yelled Mrs. Scarls, breaking into everyone’s
conversations.
    We
stood up together and followed the other students out of the
building. This time there was no otherworldly glowing number in front
of the tents. Just a simple black number at the top. The morning sun
bounced off of the white and shone in my eyes. Our group stopped at
number sixteen where a trainer awaited our arrival. She took us in
one by one unenthusiastically before handing us each a necklace, each
with a black gem in the center. “I’ll instruct you if you
need it. In you go.”
    Natalia
boldly went first, and then Roselle, Liana, and I followed. We were
greeted by the smell of burning flesh. I recoiled at the stench, and
studied my companions to make sure that it wasn't one of them.
Luckily, they were all safe...for now.
    We
stood in the middle of a scorched wasteland surrounded by ashy wooden
stumps, the only remnants of the trees that once stood in their
place. The ash was still breathing smoke into the air, meaning that
the volcano had been active recently.
    “ Alright,
let's split up,” said Natalia.
    “ Split
up?” I asked incredulously. “All the food is obviously in
the forest.”
    “ This
survival landscape was created with the purpose to trick its
students. We never know where the food is, and if we spread out,
we'll be more likely to find it. If one person is able to find
something, we all get a small portion equal to the amount of food
they found,” she explained, pushing her black hair up out of
her eyes.
    “ And
what happens if the volcano kills you?” I questioned.
    “ You
don't eat,” Roselle answered from behind me.
    “ That,
and you get to feel the pain of whatever kills you,” Liana
added. “They made it like that so it would be more like real
life.”
    “ I've
always wanted to feel the pain of dying,” I muttered
sarcastically.
    “ Alright,
let's get going,” Natalia said, taking charge once again.
“Liana, you head to the forest. Roselle, you go to the left.
I'll go to the right, and Ivy, you'll head for the volcano.”
    I
wanted to protest, but Natalia's eyes flashed in a