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

of his face with my talons. He
reached up, feeling the cut as if in disbelief. I circled around his
head, hitting the back of it as hard as I could. My talons drew blood
once again. He stumbled forward. Only one more scratch, and I would
win. This seemed to help him out of his stupor. He twisted around,
glaring at me, and I knew I would have to be more careful.
    I
dove down once more when I thought his back was turned, and screeched
as a strong hand clamped down on my wing. Grix threw me to the ground
and pinned me under his foot.
    “ It
ends now,” he growled. He lifted his spear.
    In a
moment of panic, I went with the bird’s instincts. Flames
churned in my stomach, and a burst of fire blasted out of my beak,
scorching both the spear and Grix.
    He
cried out and dropped the spear, clutching his charred hand.
    The
throng of people went silent. In fact, now that the fight was over, I
noticed that they had been for some time. Niko was standing in the
front, just short of the fence, wearing a disturbing smile on his
face. I tried to ignore him.
    After
a moment, some voices started to mutter amongst themselves, and then
whole crowd erupted into chatter. “The fight is finished!”
shouted Mrs. Scarls finally. “The victor is Ivy Oliver, three
strikes to zero!”
    Grix
shrunk until he was back to his normal size. His hand was still
injured despite his changing. I changed back also, annoyed by the
inconvenient red dress that dragged in the mud.
    I
glanced back over at Grix, taken aback by a look of respect in his
eyes. He went over and stuck out his left hand for me to shake,
seeing as I had burnt his right one. “Good fight,” he
said. “It seems as if you caught me off guard.”
    I
didn’t say anything back, but I did shake his hand. I
remembered that Natalia had said not to trust anyone. That they would
all try to get on my good side. Grix might be one of those people now
that he saw what I was.
    I
made my way toward the gate as quickly as I could before anyone else
got the idea to challenge me. Kurt was at my side as soon as the gate
was unlatched and pushed open. He smiled at me. “I didn’t
expect you to win—you were fighting against a Level Seven after
all—but it seems that you went above and beyond any of our
expectations. Had I known you could produce fire, I would’ve
bet on you.”
    “ Did
I do the right thing when I changed?” I asked him, ignoring
everything else that he had said.
    His
forehead wrinkled. “Well, you would’ve lost if you
didn’t, but I know what you mean. Now, everyone knows your
second form and its abilities, making it harder to blend in.”
    I
looked around at all the students, including Roselle and Liana. Even
they stayed at a distance for now. “Everyone here has a special
second form. Why should mine be that important?” I asked.
    “ Because
yours is rarer. Most of these people have a second form that is the
same as one of their classmates, but in the history of the kingdoms
there has only been one other phoenix.”
    “ And
how come you know about it, whereas I’m still left in the
dark?” I inquired, getting frustrated.
    “ The
headmaster thought that because I am your trainer, I should know a
few things about your second form,” Kurt answered.
    I
watched as Mrs. Scarls started another match, this time with two
boys, both seemingly strong and fit. I turned away as she left them
in the circle, not wanting to see someone get hurt.
    Kurt
followed me. “You know, technically,” he said, “ I’m the one who’s supposed to be
leading you around.”
    “ I
know,” I answered, still continuing forward.
    He
quickened his pace so that it matched mine. “Watching the fight
might help you learn some things,” he advised.
    “ I
don’t feel up to it,” I countered.
    He
stepped in front of me, causing me to run into him. “There are
going to be a lot of things you don’t feel up to. That doesn’t
mean that you can avoid them.”
    I
huffed in annoyance.
    He
studied my