Night Cast by nichole.pages (first ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Prologue

She walked outside into the cold night air. She looked up at the pale full moon glowing eerily behind the foggy clouds. The bare limbs of the trees swayed gently in a breeze and made racking sounds.
She closed her eyes and thought to herself and the woods, the last of the mid evil days. Soon I will be back, and soon the world will bow to me once again.
She opened her eyes and watched the moon again. It was close to sunrise and close to a new time. A time of great discoveries and change. A time of famine and war, but nothing compared to what it will be afterwards. It won't be long till she will be back. And not long for the world to prepare itself.
She saw the first lick of sunrise over the horizon. She looked down at her arms and hands as the intricate designs of her tattoos faded away. She looked back towards the light as the sun's edge peaked out. She felt the world fade away as she smiled. Her sight blurred and she got dizzy. Then everything went black, as she left the world.


Chapter 1

I stared down at the little boy. He was crying and wailing while I held his hand down.
I said in a voice that wasn't mine, “This is what happens to little boys when they steal.”
I raised a knife up with my other hand. I didn't know where it came from, but I had a feeling of what was gonna happen next.
“No! No! Please don't!” the boy wailed over and over again. His voice had a high pitch to it and he couldn't be any older than ten years. He wore brown rags for clothing and smelled of urine, as if he hadn't bathed in weeks.
I started to swing my hand down and the boys cries and pleas for me to stop got louder. I tried to make myself stop, but I had no control. I heard a laugh rumble out of the back of my throat. Then the blade hit the boys arm and we were both hit in the face by his blood. Then his arm went limp in my hand and the cries stopped.

***

I woke up in bed gasping for air, covered in my own sweat. It was just a dream. A very weird dream, but still a dream.
I let my breathing settle a little and climbed out of bed. I walked into the hallway and went down the stairs. I took a left and went into the kitchen to get a drink of water.
I grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and
filled it up with water from the sink. I took a drink and saw something moving outside. I walked over to the window and looked out. Nothing was there. I went to turn away but then I saw a little boy out by a tree near the woods. He held up his hand, but his hand wasn't there.
I dropped my glass and it shattered on the tile floor and I screamed.
The lights flicked on and my parents came running into the kitchen. My dad came beside me and looked at the shattered glass,then looked a me, “Ivory, what happened here?”
I pointed at the window. “He's there.”
My parents looked.
My mom turned back and looked at me. “Sweetie, who's there?”
“The little boy.” I looked at my mom and then to my dad staring out the window.
He turned to me. “Sweetheart, no ones out there.”
I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing so I could think clearly. “Sorry. I guess I imagined him.” It made sense. I mean I just dreamed about cutting his hand off. What would he be doing out in my front yard If I dreamed him up?
I felt my dad's hand on my shoulder. “Ivory, next time you decide to imagine things make sure you don't break anything.”
I opened my eyes and saw him staring at me
with studying eyes. “Don't worry dad. It won't happen again.”
He looked at me a little while longer before turning to leave. On her way out mom stopped and looked at me too. “Clean up your mess.” and with that she followed dad out of the kitchen and back to bed.
I knelt down and picked up the pieces of glass. I got the mop and mopped up the water that covered the kitchen floor,then went to the bathroom to inspect the cuts on my feet and legs from where the glass jumped off the ground and hit me.
I went back to bed and lay there not wanting to go to sleep, scared I'd have the dream again. But eventually I slipped away into a dreamless sleep.


Chapter 2

I walked through the doorway into my first period class, Algebra 2. I got out my pencil, paper, and book when Storm came charging into the room and dropped her stuff on my desk. She sat down in the seat next to me and leaned on her hand and stared intently at me.
“What, Storm?”
She narrowed her eyes. “There's this rumor going around.”
I gave her a questioning look. “And?”
“It's about you.”
“And?”
“And?”
“Storm! What does the rumor say?”
“That you spent Saturday night talking to Owen on the phone.”
“That's not a rumor. And how did it get around school?”
She leaned back in her seat. “It didn't. I'm just an awesome best friend who knows everything.”
I was about to make a crude comment when our teacher walked in. “Okay people. Shut your yappers and let's get to work.”
The class got out their books and we all started on our assignment on the board.
The first half of the day flew by in a breeze
and wasn't such a horrible day.
I was in the lunch line when Owen came up and blocked my way of getting some jell-o. “Hey, Ivory.” he smiled down at me and I couldn't help smiling back.
“Hey, Owen.”
Owen's this pretty-boy type guy. He has dirty blond hair and the most amazing blue eyes in the world. He's also the school's most athletic student and is a senior. Compared to my dull brown hair, gray eyes, and not-one-single-athletic-bone-in-my-body, self, I'd say it should never happen. But here he is, talking to me. And Saturday he texted me. So, we're going against all the rules of high school dating. As soon as he asks me out.
“So, you doin' anything this afternoon?”
Crap. My little brother has a school recital today. “No, I'm free.”
“Good, I'll pick you up around Five, that alright?”
“That's fine.”
He walked off to the table with all his friends. I picked up a jell-o cup and went to sit at the table where Storm and Carey were at.
I sat down and Carey stared at me for a few seconds then he went back to eating.
I looked at storm. “What's his problem?”
She glanced over at Carey. “Who knows.”
He put his fork down. “I know.”
“Well then, what's your problem?”
He said nothing and went back to eating.
After a few minutes of us eating in peace he stops eating a looks at me again. “So, you and Owen huh?”
“Oh, Carey. Just get over it. I really like him.” I tried to say it in in a caring tone.
Carey's had a huge crush on me since sixth grade. He's a very jealous type too. He's adorable, just not my type. His hair was a lot like Owen's though, but he has brown eyes, and has more of a lanky figure.
“No, no it's okay, I understand. Just wantin' to know if it's true or not.” He looked down at his tray and started to eat again.
I turned to Storm. “Guess what?”
Her eyes lit up and she leaned forward in her seat. “Owen's asked you out for this afternoon right?”
I frowned at her. “How'd you know?”
She tapped her temple. “Best friend, remember?”
I glared at her. “Don't mean you should know everything 'bout me though.”
“Well, it does.” She went back to eating and I shook my head at her.
“Sometimes I wonder 'bout you, ya know.”
She nodded. “mm hm, I know.” except it sounded more like 'mm hm, I mow' cause her mouth was full of mashed potatoes.
“You know you could always swallow your food before you talk.”
She glared at me so hard I couldn't tell what color her eyes are. Which by the way are a very dark brown, and here hair is blond with magenta streaked through it cause of a hair dye gone bad.
Carey looked from me to her. “You might wanna watch what you say, Ivory. She's had a harsh weekend.”
Storm turned her gaze to Carey and he sank in his seat not daring to look her in her eyes.
“Storm! What happened? Why didn't you call me?”
“Parents were fighting again. Thats all.”
“Oh. What about this time?”
“Who knows. And Carey don't say you do cause I highly doubt it.”
He chuckled and shook his head.

I opened the back door and walked onto the foyer taking off my shoes from a nice run in the woods. I went to the living room and saw mom fixing Jerad's tie. He was only six years old but mom still thought that he should wear a suit, when all the other little boys were going in jeans and a t-shirt most likely. She had his brown hair slicked back with some of dads wax.
We both had mom's hair, but he got dad's blue eyes, while I got stuck with mom's gray eyes.
Mom looked over at me and scrunched her
face up.
“Mom, you really shouldn't do that, your face could get stuck like that.”
“Why aren't you dressed sweetheart? We're about to leave.”
“Cause I'm not going.”
She stopped messing around with Jerad's tie and looked at me. “What do you mean your not going?”
I put my hands on my hips and said in my most smart alec tone, “What I mean is that the hottest guy in school decided he liked me and is taking me out today. So I can't make the recital.”
Mom gave me her hurt eyes and said in a quiet voice, “Ivory, what do you think our friends and neighbors will think of us if one of our family members is missing?” She didn't give me time answer. “They would think that I let my daughter go off and do what she wants. There would be rumors started that you were pregnant. Or worse, that I let you get pregnant! Ivory, we would be outcasts in our own neighborhood!”
I sighed and closed my eyes. “Mom. Your throwing this way out of proportion. No ones going to think any of that. I mean look at Storm, she's going out today and her brother's part of the recital too.” I opened my eyes and saw mom was actually crying.
She shook her head at me. “I planned to have the perfect family. But because of my rebellious
daughter I can't have my life's dream.” She shook her head again. “Go get dressed, Ivory. Your going to the recital.”
She turned back to Jerad and messed with his tie a little longer, then went to the bathroom to fix her makeup.
I went to my room and shut my door. I