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

challenge. I
suddenly felt the need to show her that I was brave and that I was
capable of doing dangerous things. I nodded sharply and turned to
walk toward the volcano.
    It
was a monster of a mountain, looming silently in the smoky air, just
waiting for the chance to release its wrath once again. It's land
mounded into a sharp incline, and at the top, the smoke was so heavy
that it took on the appearance of storm clouds.
    I
swallowed, trying not to let fear consume my thoughts.
    I
looked back once to see that Natalia, Liana, and Roselle had already
started on their separate paths just as I had. I was on my own now.
    I
walked forward for a little while until I noticed that the smell of
burning flesh was getting more and more rancid. Only a few feet in
front of me lay a dead deer. There was no doubt that it had been dead
for days by the smell of it. It was probably caught in the eruption.
    I
knew that it was far too gone to be food, so I edged my way past it,
trying not to look at its singed body or unseeing eyes. I didn't know
what happened if I got unsuitable food, but I certainly didn't want
to find out.
    I
picked up my pace and kept walking until I came across the first
stream of lava. It oozed slowly downhill, almost ready to crawl to a
stop and form new rock. Seeing it made me want to turn around and
head back to the safety of the forest, but I kept going. The others
knew more about the survival test than I did, and they hadn't turned
back.
    Then,
farther up the mountain, I saw a goat, its shaggy white fur tangled
and singed at the ends. It was moving, wandering around the streams
of melted rock. I tried to stay quiet as I followed it. It nimbly
avoided every obstacle in its path, whereas I had a much harder time
climbing the mountain without getting burned.
    I
didn't want to kill it, but hunger propelled me forward. I wished I
had a bow and arrow so that I could end it quickly.
    Almost
immediately a bow appeared in my hands and a quiver of arrows
materialized on my back, startling me. The sudden movement caught the
mountain goat's attention, and it looked back at me, frozen in fear.
That was my chance.
    I'd
never shot a bow and arrow before, but in Forlander, we would
sometimes get to watch archery contests. I was fascinated with the
weapon, and had studied the way that the contestants stood and the
position of their hands.
    It
climbed higher on the hill before turning to look at me again,
outlined against the sun.
    I
pulled an arrow out of the quiver and knocked it on the bow, pulling
the string back as far as I could and aiming for the goat's heart. I
let it loose. The arrow sailed true, and in an instant, the goat
completely disappeared, its cry still echoing through the air. I
hurried to where it was, but there was no sign of it anywhere. Then,
my vision clouded and the test was over.
    Natalia,
Roselle, Liana, the trainer, and I were all sitting inside the tent
at a table. On each of our plates, except the trainer’s of
course, there was some salted beef, some fruit, some bread, and some
cheese, all in a tiny portion.
    “ So
who got the food?” asked Roselle glumly.
    “ The
only one who succeeded today,” the trainer said around a huge
bite of a buttered roll. “—was Ivy.” She swallowed
once, but continued chewing. “Strange how she’s the only
one to get something when this is only her second time. She didn’t
even change into her second form,” she said in a much clearer
voice, although still muffled.
    All
the girls turned to look at me. “What did you get?”
Natalia asked.
    “ I
didn't even know that I shot it ,”
I answered. “But I'd aimed at a mountain goat before it
disappeared.”
    She
seemed impressed. “Well, good work,” she said with a nod.
    The
meal ended too quickly, but the hunger pangs were gone at least.
    The
ending bell rang and we went out of the tent. “Now what are we
going to do?” I asked, having an idea of what it was, but not
completely sure.
    Liana
answered first.