Balance by Kayla Williams (best free e reader .TXT) 📕

air on the wound made it sting. I rolled my sleeve back down. I have been marked. I am a Shadrine. I will gain extreme power. I got up, staggering, to get back home.


Chapter 5)
As soon as I got home, I went in to check on my mother. she was sleeping, looking peaceful. I sat down on the edge of the bed, and she opened her eyes. She glared at me, then softened.
"You didn't tell me where you were going...." she acknowledged.
"I know, I'm sorry about that,” I apologized. She closed her eyes back, generally saying, that she was still tired.
I walked back to my room, to get on my laptop. I needed to research what was happening to me. I typed in the search bar, "Shadrins". "Did you mean Shadrines?" popped up at the top. I scrolled through, and not much looked very useful. I finally found a website on "World Myths or True Facts?" and it seemed promising. On the left there were different topics, I clicked on a topic called "The Shadow People".
A black insignia popped up at the top of the page, looking quite like the one on my arm. I rolled down my sleeve, and held it up to the screen to compare. They were similar, but mine was different. The words of Clemel popped back into my head about every Shadrine having different powers of their own. That must be why.... I read the whole article, and everything I read seemed like it matched pretty close to Clemel's story. It even stated the Shadrines have been at war with the Light Entities for a very long time. Clemel was real, it all was real. I wished it wasn't.

I stared at the screen for a while, wondering when my powers would start developing. I decided to call the hospital to talk to Avery. I was transferred over to her room, and then the phone started ringing.
"H-Hello???" a small voice said. It didn't sound like Avery, it sounded like a little kid.
"Is Avery there?" I asked.
"Yes, and this is her mother," her voice grew stronger as if embarrassed of her childish tone.
"This is Devin... can I talk to her?" I questioned softly. I felt bad that she must have been crying again. So, I tried to sound extra sensitive.
"Yea, sure Devin," she answered, now understanding.
"Hi Devin," Avery said with a spurt of happiness in her voice. Oh, how I longed to hear her voice. I tried not to picture the tubes and needles that she was probably hooked up to.
"How are ya doing?" I wondered.
"Better actually, and I found an odd note on my desk this morning. It said "Your Welcome -C"," Avery explained. CLEMEL! He must have already healed her... I didn't think he'd come through on that for a while, let alone within the next day. I was very grateful. She even said she was doing better.
"Oh wow, that's interesting. I'm glad your feeling better though," I told her sweetly.
"I'm really tired," she said through a yawn.
"Should I let you go?" I asked.
"Yea, I need to sleep. Come see me sometime soon?" She asked. I could practically picture the big eyes on her face begging me.
"I love you Ava," I told her.
"Love yoouuu," she replied. I hung up the phone and smiled. Maybe all this was worth it. I grabbed up a tennis ball and bounced it off the wall. It can back and stopped in mid-air. What the????..... It stayed there, and I stared at it wide-eyed. Then, it fell.
I threw it again, but it came back normally this time. Maybe one of my powers was moving objects with my mind? This is all so confusing. I felt exhausted all of a sudden, and I curled up in my bed.

I woke up at 4:00pm feeling really hungry. I walked into our little kitchen gazing around for something to eat. I opened the fridge, and there wasn't much in there. Just a few packs of old lunch meat in the top drawer. I went over to our basket of fruit to get an apple. I decided to try out my mystery power again. I picked up a Golden Delicious, threw it in the air, and stared intensely at it before I caught it. It stopped falling, floating right in front of my face. It was if I was watching a movie, and had hit pause.
The apple shined in the glow from the window. I kept my eyes on it, walking around it in a circle, trying to find the trick. I picked up another one, and threw it. It knocked into some decorations that started to fall, like the glass figures my mom collected. They instantly stopped moving before they even were a couple inches from their shelf. I stared for a couple minutes finally realizing, that I had the power to stop time. I stared at the apple again, which was a mistake, because everything fell to the ground. Glass splattered the floor as if it was liquid. I sighed, knowing I had to sweep it all up. Then, I thought for a minute, that maybe I could rewind time too. I made a counterclockwise motion with my hand instinctively, and everything flew back to its own place. Even the apples were back in their basket next to the shiny metal toaster.
My head started throbbing. It seemed like every time I used my powers, there was a side-effect. Does this mean I could rewind time back to before the crash? I bet I could with practice. Avery would still be sick, wouldn't she? None of that would make a difference. I grabbed a new apple and took a bite. The crunch seemed to break the extreme silence. I want to know what other kinds of things I can do.... I knew that Clemel had a few different powers, not just one. His all seemed to be associated with soul and mind. Could that be a coincidence? Maybe mine were all in a group too. I guess I'll just have to experiment.


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She sprinted, gaining speed then lept, somewhat flying. Turning into what the humans couldn't see. The light was behind her, and her figure flashed back and forth. She was weakened, knowing that there were too many. They kept pace all silently laughing, loving what would soon happen. Their robes danced, in a blinding white. Faces couldn't be seen, their hoods concealed them. Blood stained their long sleeves, probably from the last kill. They picked the Shadrines off one by one when they were alone. It was their strategy. They feel superior, and that only they should exist. To them, they can keep the balance themselves,darkness is not needed. The Shadrine turned around and dark energy flew from her hands. It took away her focus, but two entities were shot down.
. They writhed on the ground from pain. It wasn't lethal, but they were wounded. She knew that her actions had just angered the other three that much more. One took off his hood, revealing his shimmering white hair. He became only light, making strong, fierce heat come from him. The Shadrine cursed, feeling herself burn. She spotted a cave off to the side of the ocean. They knew her intentions, so they all started firing lightning down toward the cave. Finally, she had found a completely dark area. The Light Entities could not follow her. She fell to the ground of the inside, panting. She could see perfectly, and some of her power came back to her."How could this have come to the Shadrines? Hiding out in caves? Afraid to move, or even do our part in our existence," she thought to herself. She didn't even know how many were left, or even if her King Alanus still ruled. Her clan had all been killed. Leona was the only one left. She was one of the strongest of her clan, which hints at her survival.
"Maybe there was someone out there that was strong enough to watch over and create new Shadrines," she wondered.
She knew that come nightfall, she needed to take off. Leona was going to search for others. It was the only way she would live.
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Mabel walked in front of Alanus, thinking.
"I heard that Clemel has found a boy named Devin. Am I correct?" Mabel wondered.
"Yes, he's 18. Not that terrible of an age, but I wished for more experienced potential," Alanus answered. Mabel collapsed on one of the couches, sinking into the leather. The silk camisole that she wore glittered in the few rays of light from the window. A fireplace was just in front of the couch, just sitting there. It wasn't lit, it hardly ever was.
"What do you mean by experienced?" Mabel asked. She looked at him inquisitively.
"Some one older," Alanus explained. Mabel shook her black hair out of her eyes, and scrunched her nose.
"Don't you think that training them young is a good thing? I mean, you don't want some out of shape middle-aged man, do you?" she laughed.
Alanus sat on the arm the couch, crossing his legs. He looked out the window, trying not to let the light bother him. Mabel let the shadows envelope her, looking like a cloud of black smoke. Huge green slitted eyes appeared through the shadows. The eyes stared at Alanus, as if anticipating something.
"Mabel, why do you always have to use your powers immaturely?" he sighed. The smoke moved closer, right up next to him. "I will rip out those eyes of yours!" he threatened. A loud unsatisfied grunt came from the smoke, as it evaporated. There Mabel was, sitting with her arms crossed on the couch. Pouting, as if she was a little girl. "You do understand that every time you do that it weakens you? Now you are going to have to wait until you regain your strength," Alanus told her.
"I don't care... there's nothing going on right now. Plus, I'm so bored," she wined. The fireplace ignited, large flames bursting and curling over the sides of the bricks. The flames were a bright red, with blue mixed in at the bottom. Abe sauntered in chuckling, with a crooked grin on his face.
"Is that enough of a trick to help with your boredom, my dear?" Abe asked. Alanus glanced at the flames a moment, putting them out. Left at the base of the fireplace was some incenerated wood.
"Oh, come on lany!" she exclaimed.
"Don't call me that, it is disrespectful. Don't make me suspend both of your powers. I am not reluctant," he warned. Mabel cringed, and rubbed her scar on her arm. Her dark eyes shifted, knowing what it would feel like to be powerless once again. "That's what I thought," Alanus said.
"Has anyone seen Clemel?" Abraham questioned.
"I'm pretty sure that he's checking on the boy," Alanus answered.
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I went outside, walking through the soft grass taking in the smell of summer. I started swinging on our tree swing, trying to be happy. It seemed that the world hadn't changed though all of these terrible things were happening. The world went on, no matter who died. The trees still grew beautifully, and the clouds still blew through the sky. It all made me feel like a single speck as if I was nothing in this world. Apparently to