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the half-ling book one in the fall of igneeria series kaylee soderburg copyright 2013 kaylee soderburg all rights reserved . | bookcorpus-0 |
isbn : 1492913731 isbn-13 : 978-1492913733 for my family , who encouraged me to never stop fighting for my dreams chapter 1 summer vacations supposed to be fun , right ? | bookcorpus-1 |
i wish i had a better answer to that question . | bookcorpus-2 |
starlings , new york is not the place youd expect much to happen . | bookcorpus-3 |
its a small quiet town , the kind where everyone knows your name . | bookcorpus-4 |
its a place where your parents wouldnt even care if you stayed out late biking with your friends . | bookcorpus-5 |
only because everyone felt so safe , so comfy . | bookcorpus-6 |
they dont know the half of it . | bookcorpus-7 |
but i do . | bookcorpus-8 |
i know it all and starlings is not the place where you want to be after dark . | bookcorpus-9 |
the only reason why no one knows this is because jason , emily , seth and i have kept it that way . | bookcorpus-10 |
i walked along the empty road alone , occasionally waving to passing kids on bikes . | bookcorpus-11 |
my backpack was slung over my shoulder , filled with my writing books and sketchpads . | bookcorpus-12 |
i kept my eyes on the shadowed road , watching my every step . | bookcorpus-13 |
usually i was more aware of my surroundings , but today i was tired and didnt care if i rammed into a tree . | bookcorpus-14 |
i kicked a rock into the grass . | bookcorpus-15 |
the sun was starting to set , painting the sky in brilliant oranges and reds . | bookcorpus-16 |
it slipped down the sky , allowing the first stars to peek out from behind the bright curtain . | bookcorpus-17 |
the remaining light cast shadows over everything , creating the illusion that there was double of everything . | bookcorpus-18 |
the world prepared to go into its hours of unreal silence that made it seem magical , and it really was . | bookcorpus-19 |
my phone buzzed and i awoke from my trance . | bookcorpus-20 |
i thumbed the keypad and opened the message seth had sent me . | bookcorpus-21 |
it read : whatcha doing ? | bookcorpus-22 |
i flipped open the pad and wrote : walking home . | bookcorpus-23 |
i shoved it back in my pocket and continued walking . | bookcorpus-24 |
the sun was almost gone and shadows were starting to appear behind everything . | bookcorpus-25 |
i looked at my own shadow , that danced behind me . | bookcorpus-26 |
the phone buzzed again as seth sent me a reply . | bookcorpus-27 |
see anything ? | bookcorpus-28 |
do you want me to meet you ? | bookcorpus-29 |
i glanced at the nearby woods . | bookcorpus-30 |
my ears heard nothing and i didnt see any movement but my hands shook slightly as i typed , nothing , im fine . | bookcorpus-31 |
i didnt open his reply because i knew what it would say . | bookcorpus-32 |
i already knew that it was strangely quiet . | bookcorpus-33 |
maybe i could stay home and sleep one night . | bookcorpus-34 |
or maybe i could finish a painting tonight and watch mom do origami . | bookcorpus-35 |
i turned the corner , and my house came into view . | bookcorpus-36 |
i started to climb the hill when i froze . | bookcorpus-37 |
out of my left eye i saw the outline of a creature . | bookcorpus-38 |
it was heading through the woods in the direction of my house . | bookcorpus-39 |
i swore under my breath and took off for the woods . | bookcorpus-40 |
my feet crunched on the fallen branches and leaves . | bookcorpus-41 |
i could see the creature ahead of me . | bookcorpus-42 |
i didnt have much time . | bookcorpus-43 |
i placed my bag on the ground and crossed my legs . | bookcorpus-44 |
i started to grab my phone but stopped . | bookcorpus-45 |
i didnt need to tell the others , it was just one . | bookcorpus-46 |
and if i was lucky , it would be an easy take down . | bookcorpus-47 |
i closed my eyes and began my mental countdown . | bookcorpus-48 |
the wind picked up around me , as if a wind current had just appeared out of nowhere . | bookcorpus-49 |
5 my body started to feel hot , like i was being hugged by the sun . | bookcorpus-50 |
i hated this part . | bookcorpus-51 |
4 power surged through me as i was freed from my human self . | bookcorpus-52 |
shivers ran down my spine . | bookcorpus-53 |
3 i felt cold , like being dipped in ice water . | bookcorpus-54 |
the breeze picked up even harder . | bookcorpus-55 |
2 i was hollow and could probably see my own body if i opened my eyes . | bookcorpus-56 |
but i could never get the courage to do that . | bookcorpus-57 |
1 the wind died . | bookcorpus-58 |
my body felt normal except it was different . | bookcorpus-59 |
i opened my eyes and looked over to where i just had been or still was . | bookcorpus-60 |
my human body slightly glowed as it sat in meditation under the tree . | bookcorpus-61 |
it didnt move . | bookcorpus-62 |
i could see the monster clearly now that i had stepped into its world . | bookcorpus-63 |
it was hunched over , occasionally touching the ground with one of its curled front paws . | bookcorpus-64 |
dark saliva dripped out of its mouth . | bookcorpus-65 |
the beady black eyes made it no less scary . | bookcorpus-66 |
i knew exactly what it is . | bookcorpus-67 |
a thrasher ! | bookcorpus-68 |
a shiver ran down my spine . | bookcorpus-69 |
thrashers were probably one of the most feral and nasty monsters ive ever encountered . | bookcorpus-70 |
they sometimes travel alone or hunt in packs . | bookcorpus-71 |
theyre awful in packs , extremely hard to take out without their knowledge of your presence . | bookcorpus-72 |
i placed an arrow in my bow , and aimed for the head . | bookcorpus-73 |
i couldnt let the creature reach my house . | bookcorpus-74 |
i pulled back the string , and then stopped . | bookcorpus-75 |
i couldnt take out one of these like , this unless i set it on fire . | bookcorpus-76 |
but emily wasnt here . | bookcorpus-77 |
i could take it out with a few arrows but its best to kill thrashers before they realize youre there . | bookcorpus-78 |
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 . | bookcorpus-79 |
thrashers hate everything and sometimes i wonder how they tolerate each other . | bookcorpus-80 |
i aimed for the head again and released the arrow . | bookcorpus-81 |
it whizzed silently into the thrasher and it howled in pain as the arrow dug into its fur . | bookcorpus-82 |
it whirled around , facing me . | bookcorpus-83 |
a low growl sounded in its throat and it charged . | bookcorpus-84 |
i ducked as it slashed my side and i winced . | bookcorpus-85 |
my shirt slowly turned blue from the trickling wound . | bookcorpus-86 |
yes , blue , my blood is blue . | bookcorpus-87 |
it turned back around and threw its self at me . | bookcorpus-88 |
this time i was prepared . | bookcorpus-89 |
i pulled out my hunting knife out just as he landed on me . | bookcorpus-90 |
he yelped and went limp . | bookcorpus-91 |
i pushed him off and grabbed my fallen bow , the familiar feeling of the wood boosting my confidence . | bookcorpus-92 |
i turned back around and started back where i left off , but then a body slammed into me . | bookcorpus-93 |
i just had enough time to see the thrasher , before the fur and dirt filled my vision . | bookcorpus-94 |
i spit out the clump of wiry hair that had somehow found its way into my gasping mouth . | bookcorpus-95 |
i felt a searing pain as the thrasher raked my left leg . | bookcorpus-96 |
i closed my eyes against the pain , trying to focus myself against the dull throb in my shin . | bookcorpus-97 |
then the thrasher went limp against me . | bookcorpus-98 |
it was hauled off of my body and i found myself looking up into the face of a very unhappy dark blue haired boy . | bookcorpus-99 |
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