Spark (Legends of the Shifters) Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Is your second form special, too?” I asked
Natalia, barely thinking before I said it. I tensed, afraid that she
would be angry at me for asking.
    “ I’m
a mermaid,” she answered coldly.
    I had
heard of mermaids, but I’d thought that they were a myth. They
are said to be good in some stories…but in others they are
said to be evil and deceptive.
    “ And
what is yours?” she asked me.
    I
hesitated, but didn’t see why I shouldn’t tell her. “I’m
a phoenix.”
    She
stopped dead in her tracks, and flipped around. “A phoenix?”
    I
knitted my eyebrows. “Yes?”
    She
took me in a little more carefully. “Then I have some advice
for you. Don't tell anyone else what you are.” She looked
around to make sure that no one was around to listen. “Not many
people know of the phoenix, but my mother was fond of history. A
phoenix is very rare, and certain people will use you because of it.”
    “ How
do you know?” I asked.
    “ I’ve
seen it happen with other powerful students. Many times.” She
paused, and tilted her head. “I think this tour is over with.”
    She
started back down the stairs.
    “ Hey!
Wait! You’re not going to show me which dorm is ours?” I
said.
    “ I’ll
show you later,” she answered. “After dinner.” She
hurried out of my sight. I tried to follow her, but when I turned the
corner , I didn't see her anymore.
    I
sighed. Natalia had not shown me where we were supposed to eat, but I
guessed that it was the building that she had been heading to
earlier.
    I was
right. When I walked in, however, I was clueless. I wasn’t sure
what I should do. Everyone was sitting down at wooden tables while
servants served them drinks. I looked for an empty seat, and finally
spotted one next to a few girls.
    “ Is
this seat taken?” Two of the girls looked up at me with big
eyes, but the girl next to me shook her head as she popped a slice of
apple in her mouth.
    As I
sat down, I noticed that everyone in the room was staring at me. The
entire hall had gone eerily silent. “Why are they staring?”
I whispered to the girl on my right, the one that seemed the bravest
out of the three.
    She
glanced around with a heavy sigh, and said, “They can tell that
you’re new.”
    “ Is
that not normal?” I asked.
    “ We
get a new student about once every two weeks, except this time it’s
been almost three weeks. New students are just about the only thing
that seem moderately interesting here. Like an escape into the real
world.”
    The
dining room erupted into noise again, and I started to feel a little
better…until a shadow fell over the table. A boy that was the
size of a giant towered over us.
    “ Um….Can
I help you?” I asked, a little perturbed.
    “ Not
really,” he answered gruffly, his eyes narrowed under thick
blond eyebrows. His thin mouth was set in a malicious smile. “I
just thought I'd welcome you to the conservatory... And let you know
that I'll be looking for you in the arena tomorrow morning.”
    “ Looking
for me? Why?” I asked.
    “ You'll
see,” he answered. Then, without another word, he turned and
walked to a nearby table, sitting down with some other boys that
resembled his size and appearance.
    “ They
keep themselves in half-form,” muttered the girl next to me.
“To appear intimidating.”
    “ Roselle!
Don’t talk like that! They might hear you!” said the girl
in front of me. The other girl wouldn’t even look up.
    Roselle
rolled her eyes. While the other girls seemed cowardly, she was
brave. She had light brown hair and eyes the same color. Her nose was
straight and small, and her lips were thin, without much color to
them. Overall, she looked plain. I liked her.
    In
front of us was a plate of fruit. Apples, grapes, pears, and my
favorite, oranges. It had been years since I'd had an orange. They
only grew in the lower lands, and our island was as far north as
anyone could get.
    I
popped it into my mouth, and was greeted by a burst of flavor that
made my