Marked: A Two Halves Novella Read Free

shouldn’t have followed the demon to the underworld without you. Honestly, I
don’t think we belong there.”
    “Then where do we belong?”
    Silence.
    I thought so. Mira was just as clueless as I was—or
was she? The way her gaze connected with the evil-bender’s made me doubt that
today was the first time she’d seen him. The shadows under her eyes suddenly
made sense—she’s been keeping a secret from me, straining to control her true
feelings in my presence.
    “There’s a prophecy being written as we speak, and your help
will be needed,” Eric said.
    “When?” I threw my hands in the air.
    “When the keepers decide.”
    “Tell Father that if his decision to mark us is difficult,
then we should have been left in the woods.” I feared if I stayed any longer,
I’d turn green again. It wasn’t my favorite shade.
    My bones cracked as I sprang up, shifting into an eagle. The
sprouting feathers from my wings lifted me above the trees. My gaze focused on
the clear sky above me as I soared higher and higher, wanting nothing less than
to feel lost.
    Below me, Mira and Eric stood with their heads tilted back.
I could hear my sister’s voice inside my head: “Come back to me, Brother. I
cannot lose you.”
    “You won’t. I just need some time.” Solitude was the
only way to clear my mind.
    When they disappeared from my view, I landed on the edge of
a cliff on the face of Mount Owen. The wings stretched and skin began to
envelop the feathers as I shifted into my human form. My clothing magically
returned to my body; all I had to do is ensure I phased to the same size. With
my back pressed against the rock, I gazed out at the morning fog wrapping wisps
around the treetops and blanketing the Grand Teton Mountains. I inhaled the
crisp air and closed my eyes, letting the sun glow orange behind my eyelids.
    A long breath out emptied my lungs as I relaxed my jaw and
tried to concentrate on the forest—the way the leaves shuffled against one
another as the trees swayed in the breeze. Not something a human would notice.
The sound reminded me of Ma’s shell chimes, which I’d broken a few years back
when Mira tackled me. High off the ground, in this exact spot, was the only
place where I heard that sound, a sound I loved.
    It wasn’t Mira’s fault she attacked me; I’d deserved it.
We’d had one of our arguments over the marking. How could the decision be so
easy for her and not for me? Was it because she always made the right decisions
and I the wrong ones?
    I wanted to know who I was, instead of feeling empty. My
soul lingered in a vacuum. I hated the nothingness inside my chest, despite my
heart: a useless existence of a powerful shape-shifter. More than twenty years
had passed. How long were the keepers expecting us to live in this endless
oblivion? We’d finally decided the age we wanted to be; now we wouldn’t get
older or younger, unless we wanted to. The only piece missing was who we were
supposed to serve—the keepers or Aseret?
    A rustle in the brushes below overpowered the hypnotizing
chime of the millions leaves and drew my gaze to the ground three hundred feet
below. I closed my eyes. The cracking of dry branches was distinct, yet the
feet that broke them were delicate. Lucky twigs, I thought, surprised at
my sudden need to see those feet.
    The overpowering scent of red roses hit my nostrils, and
without another thought, I dove off the cliff as if I were diving into a pool
of water. Halfway down, I shifted into an eagle, spreading my wings to slow my
momentum, then into a squirrel to jump from higher branches to lower ones, and
then back into my human form just before reaching the forest floor.
    Crouching, I scanned the bushes, then straightened, holding
my breath. A ghost would have been louder. I couldn’t see anyone and perked up
my ears like a hunting cougar, intent on finding the feet that brought me down
to the ground level. She remained quiet. My nostrils flared as I inhaled the
rosy