The day I met the Shadows

Chapter 14

After an hour of training, I'm exhausted from all the lecturing that Carolina has been giving me. She told me a lot of things that I didn't know, for example how to defend myself, destroy things, manipulate people's brains, stop their heartbeat all with just drawing runes. She also gave me a book with all the runes in case I forgot and told me to keep it safe. I leave her place and head straight to my room to study the runes Carolina told me to study before our next lesson.

I sit down on my bed and open the book. The first page is a poem that goes like this;

Suddenly before my eyes

Hues of indigo arise

With them how my spirit sighs

The only night will ever know

Why the heavens never show

All the dreams there are to know

Paint the sky with stars

Who has placed the midnight sky?

So a spirit has to fly

As the heavens seem so far

Now, who will paint the midnight star?

Night has brought to those who sleep

Only dreams they cannot keep

I have legends in the deep

Paint the sky with stars

Who has paced the midnight sky?

So a spirit has to fly

As the heavens seem so far

Now, who will paint the midnight star?

What does it mean? It seems to be warning me about something but what? I have so many questions. I read some more of the book before it's around noon and I start to get hungry. I leave my room and run into Lana who's standing alone against the stairs looking a bit bored.

"Hey," I say

She smiles.

"Hey Avery, I'm sorry for what I did to you yesterday. I wish I could change," she says, her smile fading.

I put a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't need to change for me. Old friends are important in our lives. They shape our lives," I say reassuringly.

She sighs.

"I guess that you're right," she says, "Wanna get some lunch?"

I nod and we walk off to the mess hall to have lunch.

After lunch, we go to do some studying for our classes which I've picked on the first day that I've come here. Every Midnighter is supposed to do school work as well as study some Midnigher history. We study for at least an hour and then we take a break with a stroll around the Institute.

"So what's life as a Muddner?" Lana asks.

I sigh.

"It's not good at all. My birth was the most violent of all. I never knew my dad. My mom said that he was dead. She protected me from everything and told me that there's danger waiting in the corner. When I was at school, everyone bullied me for who I was. My mom told me about these Midnighters and I've never known who they were. My grandfather Jem used to read to me some of the stories about them. Then he left us and we never saw him again," I conclude.

She looks at me with worried eyes.

"I lived a normal life and was born into the Midnighter world. My mom died during the Light War. I supported my dad when he was crying about his lost wife. My dad then remarried another woman whom I love so much. I made friends with Ace and Elijah when I was 12 years old. Since then I've been living here," she says.

We then talk about our general interests and what we like and dislike and we figure out a lot about ourselves. Lana likes to be there for everyone, for she likes to be badass, which I like to be as well though it rarely works. Lana then asks me a bunch of other questions, which I answer but the next question that comes out of my mouth is not what I expected.