The Prophecy of Shadows Read Free

like a baseball bat, with “Trenton Thunder” written below it. It was goofy, and not a sports team that I’d ever heard of. But his boyish grin and rounded cheeks made him attractive in a cute way. Not in the same “stop what you’re doing because I’m walking in your direction” way as Blake, but he definitely would have gotten attention from the girls at my old school.
    “There’s energy everywhere.” Chris moved his hands in a giant arc above his head to demonstrate. “Humans know that energy exists—they’ve harnessed it for electronics. The difference between us and humans is that we have the power to tap into energy and use it ourselves, and humans don’t.” He smiled at me, as if I was supposed to understand what he meant. “Make sense?”
    “Not really,” I said. “Sorry.”
    “It’s easier if you relate it to something familiar,” he said, speaking faster. “What happens to the handle of a metal spoon when you leave it in boiling water?”
    “It gets hot?” I said it as a question. This was stuff people learned in fifth grade science—not high school homeroom.
    “And what happens when it’s plastic?”
    “It doesn’t get hot,” I said slowly. “It stays room temperature.”
    “Exactly.” He grinned at me like I’d just solved an astrophysics mathematical equation. “Humans are like plastic. Even if they’re immersed in energy, they can’t conduct it. Witches are like metal. We have the ability to absorb energy and control it as we want.”
    “So, how do we take in this energy?” I asked, since I might as well humor him.
    “Through our hands.” Chris turned his palms up, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He looked like a meditating Buddha. Students snickered, and Chris re-opened his eyes, pushed his sleeves up, and sat back in his chair.
    “O-o-kay.” I elongated the word, smiling and laughing along with everyone else.
    Darius cleared his throat, and everyone calmed down. “We can conduct energy from the Universe into our bodies,” he said, his voice full of authority. Chills passed through me, and even though I still didn’t believe any of this, I sat back to listen. “Once we’ve harnessed it, we can use it as we like. Think of energy like light. It contains different colors, each relating to an aspect of life. I’ve written them on the board. The most basic exercise we learn in this class is to sense this energy and absorb it. Just open your mind, envision the color you’re focusing on, and picture it entering your body through your palms.”
    I rotated my hand to look at my palm. It looked normal—not like it was about to open up and absorb energy from the Universe.
    “We’re going to do a meditation session,” Darius continued. “Everyone should pick a color from the board and picture it as energy entering your palms. Keep it simple and absorb the energy—don’t push it back out into the Universe. This exercise is for practice and self-improvement.” He looked at me, a hint of challenge in his eyes. “Now, please pick a color and begin.”
    I looked around the room to see what others were doing. Most people already had their eyes closed, the muscles in their faces calm and relaxed. They were really getting into this. As if they truly believed it.
    If I didn’t at least look like I was trying, I would stand out—again. So I might as well go along with it and pretend.
    I re-examined the board and skimmed through the “meanings” of the colors. Red caught my attention first. It apparently increased confidence, courage, and love, along with attraction and desire. The prospect made me glance at Blake, who sat still with his eyes closed, his lips set in a line of concentration.
    But he was out of my league and he had a girlfriend. I shouldn’t waste my time hoping for anything to happen between us.
    Instead, I read through the other colors and settled on green. It supposedly brought growth, success, and luck, along with helping a person open their