The Half-ling
Book One in the Fall of Igneeria Series
Kaylee Soderburg
Copyright © 2013 Kaylee Soderburg
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1492913731
ISBN-13: 978-1492913733
For my family, who encouraged me to never stop fighting for my dreams ♥
Chapter 1
Summer vacation’s supposed to be fun, right?
I wish I had a better answer to that question.
Starlings, New York is not the place you’d expect much to happen. It’s a small quiet town, the kind where everyone knows your name. It’s a place where your parents wouldn’t even care if you stayed out late biking with your friends. Only because everyone felt so safe, so comfy. They don’t know the half of it.
But I do. I know it all and Starlings is not the place where you want to be after dark. The only reason why no one knows this is because Jason, Emily, Seth and I have kept it that way.
I walked along the empty road alone, occasionally waving to passing kids on bikes. My backpack was slung over my shoulder, filled with my writing books and sketchpads. I kept my eyes on the shadowed road, watching my every step. Usually I was more aware of my surroundings, but today I was tired and didn’t care if I rammed into a tree. I kicked a rock into the grass.
The sun was starting to set, painting the sky in brilliant oranges and reds. It slipped down the sky, allowing the first stars to peek out from behind the bright curtain. The remaining light cast shadows over everything, creating the illusion that there was double of everything. The world prepared to go into its hours of unreal silence that made it seem magical, and it really was.
My phone buzzed and I awoke from my trance. I thumbed the keypad and opened the message Seth had sent me. It read: Whatcha Doing?
I flipped open the pad and wrote: Walking home.
I shoved it back in my pocket and continued walking. The sun was almost gone and shadows were starting to appear behind everything. I looked at my own shadow, that danced behind me.
The phone buzzed again as Seth sent me a reply. See anything? Do you want me to meet you?
I glanced at the nearby woods. My ears heard nothing and I didn’t see any movement but my hands shook slightly as I typed, Nothing, I’m fine.
I didn’t open his reply because I knew what it would say. I already knew that it was strangely quiet. Maybe I could stay home and sleep one night. Or maybe I could finish a painting tonight and watch Mom do origami.
I turned the corner, and my house came into view. I started to climb the hill when I froze. Out of my left eye I saw the outline of a creature. It was heading through the woods in the direction of my house.
I swore under my breath and took off for the woods. My feet crunched on the fallen branches and leaves. I could see the creature ahead of me. I didn’t have much time. I placed my bag on the ground and crossed my legs. I started to grab my phone but stopped. I didn’t need to tell the others, it was just one. And if I was lucky, it would be an easy take down.
I closed my eyes and began my mental countdown. The wind picked up around me, as if a wind current had just appeared out of nowhere.
5…
My body started to feel hot, like I was being hugged by the sun. I hated this part.
4…
Power surged through me as I was freed from my human self. Shivers ran down my spine.
3…
I felt cold, like being dipped in ice water. The breeze picked up even harder.
2…
I was hollow and could probably see my own body if I opened my eyes. But I could never get the courage to do that.
1…
The wind died. My body felt normal except it was different. I opened my eyes and looked over to where I just had been or still was. My human body slightly glowed as it sat in meditation under the tree. It didn’t move.
I could see the monster clearly now that I had stepped into its world. It was hunched over, occasionally touching the ground with one of its curled front paws. Dark saliva dripped out of its mouth. The beady black eyes made it no less scary. I knew exactly what it is.
A thrasher!
A shiver ran down my spine. Thrashers were probably one of the most feral and nasty monsters I’ve ever encountered. They sometimes travel alone or hunt in packs. They’re awful in packs, extremely hard to take out without their knowledge of your presence.
I placed an arrow in my bow, and aimed for the head. I couldn’t let the creature reach my house. I pulled back the string, and then stopped. I couldn’t take out one of these like, this unless I set it on fire. But Emily wasn’t here. I could take it out with a few arrows but it’s best to kill Thrashers before they realize you’re there.
Instead I lowered my bow and slowly crept up to it, until I could see the hideous claws on its hands and the hatred in its eyes. Thrashers hate everything and sometimes I wonder how they tolerate each other. I aimed for the head again and released the arrow. It whizzed silently into the thrasher and it howled in pain as the arrow dug into its fur. It whirled around, facing me. A low growl sounded in its throat and it charged. I ducked as it slashed my side and I winced. My shirt slowly turned blue from the trickling wound. Yes, blue, my blood is blue. It turned back around and threw its self at me.
This time I was prepared. I pulled out my hunting knife out just as he landed on me. He yelped and went limp. I pushed him off and grabbed my fallen bow, the familiar feeling of the wood boosting my confidence. I turned back around and started back where I left off, but then a body slammed into me. I just had enough time to see the thrasher, before the fur and dirt filled my vision. I spit out the clump of wiry hair that had somehow found its way into my gasping mouth. I felt a searing pain as the Thrasher raked my left leg. I closed my eyes against the pain, trying to focus myself against the dull throb in my shin.
Then the thrasher went limp against me. It was hauled off of my body and I found myself looking up into the face of a very unhappy dark blue haired boy. His sword was gripped tightly in his clenched fingers and a look of amusement, or many it was anger, shone on his face.
I swallowed and collected my weapons from the ground, not daring to look at my leg. “Hi Seth, this is unexpected.”
Seth glared at me and pulled me up. He was definitely angry at me. I tried to place weight on my leg but winced as pain shot up it. He kicked the dead Thrasher one more time before sheathing his sword.
“You know better Jazell then to take on a monster by yourself. You never know what kind it is until you have already changed,” he scolded me and I could feel a lecture coming.
I looked down at leg. Claw marks ran up my shin and my blue blood was soaking my pants. “I had to Seth; it was heading for my house. That made me panic a bit.”
“I don’t care Jazell; if I hadn’t been here I would have found you shredded to small pieces. All you had to do was send me a quick text and I would have showed up to help. But you didn’t.”
I sighed in annoyance, not in the mood for this right now. Seth was like this sometimes, strict and serious, but he was normally a jokester. He’s strict on the fact that we attack in groups, mostly for the reason that he didn’t want anything to happen to our group. I started to slowly limp back to my body but Seth just disappeared from my side. He has this annoying skill to be able to just return to his body without having to be near it, which wasn’t fair when he wasn’t the one injured. I, however, had to stiffly make my way to my dormant human body.
Once I was near it, I closed my eyes and the wind picked back up. My body felt hot and cold simultaneously as I returned. I reopened my eyes and stood up, stretched, and grabbed my bag.
My back sent a chorus of cracks cascading upwards as I straightened myself. I raised the side of my shirt to find the thin, red scratch marks. Any injuries I get in my hunter form I have when I become human again, just not as severe. I quickly ran my fingers over the darker, thicker marks on my shin, the skin sore and purple. I quickly checked myself for any other injures I might have acquired from my tangle with the Thrasher, but all I found was a bunch of bruises.
Seth seemed to have disappeared, so I trudged down the road to my house. It’s cozy familiar blue paint and white shutters helped to relax me as I pushed open the door. My house wasn’t very big and fancy; it was actually pretty plain but that’s why I loved it. It had two floors, with a fair sized kitchen and a mini living room. My room was just up the stairs, and it beckoned to me even though I was more interested in dinner. My mom was cooking in the kitchen and my dad was sitting at the kitchen table going through his usual paper work. He looked up as I entered, pushing his glasses back up his face.
“Hi sweetheart, finally home?” he asked giving me a warm smile.
I kissed his cheek and my mom’s before heading toward the stairs. “Yup.”
“Dinner’s ready in a few minutes, Jazell!” My Mom called as I climbed the stairs, eager to collapse on my bed for a few minutes.
“Got it!” I called back.
My room was painted a light green, with a bed shoved in the corner and a bookshelf overflowing with books. I had a small desk to the left of my bed that was piled up high with homework and random drawings. I threw my bag on my bed and took off my shoes. Then I headed back down stairs to help set the table. My Mom handed me some dishes and utensils. I set a plate down in front of my Dad. He frowned and pointed to my scratched shin.
“What happened?” He asked, and studied my leg.
“I tripped on a crack and scraped my leg.” I said flatly, the lie rolling off my tongue easily. I placed my last dish down and sat in my chair.
Dad chuckled. “You’re so clumsy. I wouldn’t be surprised if you tripped on your own feet.”
“Yup, that’s me, clumsy.” I pulled my leg close to my body.
My parents had believed for a long time that I was a klutz. That was the only way to explain the million of cuts and bruises I gained from fighting creatures. The truth is that I have really great balance, which I had gained from so much fighting. I was a little klutzy when I was small, so it was easy for my parents to believe I still was.
Mom placed the food on the table. “Dinner!”
After dinner I went straight up stairs to go to sleep. And hopefully my phone wouldn’t stop me like it did most nights. Monsters loved to come out at night and cause trouble. They never seem to rest, much to my annoyance. I sighed and rolled over, burying my face in my pillow. I managed to think about something other than creatures that go bump in the night as I drifted off to sleep.
Fall of Igneeria: The Half-ling Page 1