Read Feudlings in Sight Online
Authors: Wendy Knight
Feudlings in Sight (10 page)
Ari frowned. Her summer had been spent hunting the Carules Prodigy, or fighting in pointless battles. Usually, when the Carules realized she was there, they’d retreat as fast as possible, because there was no point in fighting her. Everyone knew she could only be killed by the Carules Prodigy.
No one ever saw her face. Her brother always cast a shroud spell on her beforehand so that nobody could see her clearly. Shroud spells were his specialty.
Just to be safe, she also wore a long black robe and hid in its hood. It had once belonged to Ada Aleshire, Ari’s great-great-whatever ancestor, and the sorceress who had started the whole stupid feud three hundred years ago. It was a war that had claimed thousands of lives but would never go in the history books.
The Carules Prodigy never fought. He allowed his people to be slaughtered rather than risk the Edrens capturing him.
Coward,
Ari thought, pushing the sting of jealousy deep down as she viciously shoved a thumb tack into the wall. She was a weapon for the Edrens, and weapons should be used, not protected.
“Hello! Ari!”
Ari started and nearly fell off her ladder. “Hey! What?” She gasped, clinging to the top rung. She was starting to think the ladder had it in for her.
“I
said
about a thousand
times,
do
you
have a boyfriend?” Nevaeh demanded, raising an incredulous eyebrow at Livi.
“Were you daydreaming?” Livi asked in a singsong voice, giving Ari an impish grin.++
“Yes,” Ari answered.
“Ooooh, what’s his name?” Livi asked, bouncing up and down on her toes and clapping her hands like a little girl.
“What? No, no I don’t have a boyfriend. Yes, I was daydreaming. Sorry.”
“Aww.” Livi’s face fell.
Nevaeh shook her head as she hefted a second large box and turned toward the ladder. “How does someone who looks like you not have a boyfriend?”
“Oh my! Shane is coming! He can’t see — we’re not done!” Brittany squealed as she scampered through the door, her heels click-clacking against the gym floor. She raced to the lights, killing all but the small one over the door.
Ari glimpsed three figures silhouetted in the doorway. Nevaeh cursed as Livi screamed. Too late, Nevaeh crashed into the box on the floor and pitched forward, slamming into Ari’s ladder. Ari watched it all in slow motion, having been graced with excellent night vision to accompany her magic. Her brain flew, catalog-like, through the spells she knew, searching for one that would hold the ladder. Unfortunately, her spells were for blowing things up, not holding things still.
Instead, she flung all her weight to the side, throwing the ladder to the right and away from Livi, who was standing below. Ari could then do nothing but crash to the floor. She had just enough time to realize she had never been knocked unconscious before as her head slammed into the wood and the ladder smashed into her ribs. She heard running feet as light exploded behind her eyes, and then nothing.
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