Birth

By E B Grace

Birth is about a sixteen year old girl named Zoey, who is one of the few people with a very special trait. She has a spirit animal that was born on her sixteenth birthday, a mythological creature by the name of Ambrose. As they are learning how to cope with this new situation, Zoey meets Alice and her lion spirit animal, Kenway. Then Chase and his bird spirit animal, Valerie, come crashing on the scene from a different reality. With their combined strength and the help of Oliver and his horse spirit animal, Garret, they take on the secret corporation GCRF.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781365907258

Book preview

Birth

Birth

E B Grace

Book One

Copyright © 2017 E B Grace. All rights reserved.

Published by E B Grace.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Second Edition

Cover design and book layout by Kathleen Egbert

ISBN 978-1-365-90725-8

"...be strong and do not give up,

for your work will be rewarded."

~ 2 Chronicles 15:7

A Special Thanks To:

Professor Michael Orlofsky

Danny Egbert

Sarah Egbert

Breanna Lynch

Brittany Barfield

Leanna Cobbs

Tyler Egbert

Jared Egbert

Holly Ammons

Chapter One

Can anyone tell me what x equals here? The teacher motions to the board emphatically and takes a deep breath after her long-winded, over detailed explanation of how to solve the equation. The only sound in reply is the restless rustling of students at the end of their last period.

I let out a quiet sigh and refocus on the doodle covering more of my page than my notes. The bell rings and everyone rushes to leave the room.

I’m taking up your notes today for a quiz grade. I hope you all at least tried to write something down. The teacher leans against her desk and holds her hand out. Students groan and hand over whatever they have.

I write my name on the top of the page amongst the various spirals jammed in that corner. Shouldering my bag, I make my way to the front of the room and give the sheet to her. Three.

What? She looks curiously at me.

I just shrug and shove my empty hand in the pocket of my hoodie. The problem… X equals three.

The teacher laughs, moving to sit behind her desk. At least one person gets it. I can always count on you, Zoey. Have a good afternoon.

I smile and take a deep breath to prepare for the onslaught of the hallway. The noise hits me like a physical force when I open the classroom door. Clutching the strap of my backpack tighter, I navigate through the hallways as best I can to get to my locker. By the time I finally get there the crowd is already starting to thin out, thankfully. The middle of January is too cold and boring for anyone to hang around any later than they absolutely have to. I quickly put the combination in and pull my locker door open. After pulling my math textbook out of my bag, I make room for it in my locker and shove it inside. Then I pull out my history textbook to take its place in my bag.

Zoey!

I turn to see my friend walking up to me with a huge smile and blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders. Hey Leigh! I return the smile and lean against my locker. Are we going to hang out this afternoon?

About that… James wants to go see that new movie that came out this weekend… She fidgets with the straps of her backpack.

Oh, that’s cool. I know that the smile I give her doesn’t reach my eyes, but Leigh doesn’t seem to notice.

Thank you for understanding! She throws her arms around me in a quick hug. Maybe we can hang out some other time!

Sure. I never do anything. Leigh laughs like it’s a joke but we both know it really isn’t.

Well I have to hurry home and get ready for the movie. I’ll see you tomorrow Zoey! She waves as she practically skips down the hallway.

Bye. I wave back and turn to my locker once more. It’s not like it’s my birthday or anything… I mumble to myself as I stuff the last book I need into my backpack. My head snaps up when I realize something else: She was my ride home. I let out a pathetic whine before dragging my headphones out of my locker and slamming the door shut. It looks like I’m walking home, too.

I thought sixteenth birthdays were supposed to be a big deal. It’s supposed to be special and awesome! But what do I get? Abandoned by my only friend because a boyfriend’s whim is much more important than your best friend’s birthday. Obviously. And now I have to walk home alone in the cold.

At least I have you. I plug my headphones in and turn my favorite song on, letting the lead singer’s voice wash over me. His voice never fails to brighten my day, even if just a little. And if the drums, baseline, and guitar riffs happen to drown out the world around me too, well, that’s just a happy coincidence. But I turn it up a little louder as I walk out the front door just to make sure.

The cold wind bites at my face as I walk. I zip my hoodie higher and pull my hood up, flipping red-gold hair in front on my shoulders before shoving my hands deep into my pockets. When the chill is momentarily pushed aside, I take the moment to look up at the icy blue sky, my face scrunching up at the visible sigh I release.

Bridgerton used to be a small town, so I’ve been told. A small town that grew faster than it was ready. Instead of big yards and suburbs, we have tall houses squished together in what most people would expect of apartment complexes. Everything is in walking distance and the town square is still paved with actual stone. I give the fountain a fleeting glance, noting that it is not, in fact, below freezing because the water is still flowing at the feet of Samuel Bridger, the town’s founder. Because every town needs a bronze statue of a long dead man on a horse. Keeps everything classy and refined.

I roll my eyes and focus back on the sidewalk in front of me, thinking warm thoughts. It’s not below the freezing point, but I am still the only one out for an afternoon stroll. The people in Bridgerton hate the oppressive summer heat, but when winter rolls around and things start getting frosty, they avoid the great outdoors with a greater ferocity than ever before. I hunker further into my jacket and let my steps fall in time with the rhythm of the music flooding my ears, time melting into a soothing stream.

I’m not entirely sure how long the walk takes but I get through four and a half songs before I have to dig my keys out of my bag. A mass of fur and excited German shepherd barrels into me. It would have knocked me over if I hadn’t been expecting it, but I go through this every day.

Hey Marco, did you miss me? I rub his head and he jumps up to lick my cheek. I stoop down to rub his shoulders and he sits there and enjoys the attention, tail wagging and tongue hanging out one side of his mouth.

He barks and nuzzles against my cheek before licking it again.

Amusement warms my face and bubbles through my lips. Yeah, I missed you too, buddy. I bury my face in his fur and take a deep breath before getting up and opening the door wider for him. Dropping my backpack just inside the door, I walk back up the sidewalk to the mailbox, giving Marco the opportunity to sniff around a bit and take care of his business.

I reach in and pull the mail out, flipping through the stack of envelopes to see if there’s anything interesting. There’s a letter from my grandparents addressed to me and the rest are for Mom. I open the birthday card and smile at the handwritten little note from my grandmother on the inside. I walk back across the lawn and call Marco back into the house. I scoop my bag back up and lock the front door before dropping the mail on the table and walking to my bedroom. I toss my backpack onto my bed and bend down to unlace my boots. I toe them off and shed my hoodie before walking to the kitchen.

Pulling out a pot and an armful of cans, I set to work on making dinner. When I look in the refrigerator to get hamburger meat, I make a note to tell Mom that we’ll need more milk soon. Marco noses against my thigh as I brown the hamburger. I smile and rub his head before moving to drain the meat. I pour the rest of the ingredients in and turn the chili to simmer.

I think I want a snack, Marco. You want something? He woofs and wags his tail. I open a cabinet and pull a treat out for him and get the jar of pickles out of the refrigerator for me. After grabbing a fork, we cross into the living room. I drop onto the couch and turn the television on, grabbing my game controller and propping my feet up on the table.

Marco pushes his head against my shins until my feet fall off the table.

Okay, okay, geez. I get it. You’re worse than Mom. I pull my feet onto the couch with me and the German shepherd jumps up next to me and rests his head in my lap. Forking a pickle, I pop it in my mouth and start my game.

I get lost in the fantasy world. A complete emersion where life is good. Well, not entirely good because there’s a dragon attacking and I have to save the kingdom. But at least there I have magic and friends to help carry the burden. That would be a good life. Running around with a few friends to save the world because only you can. Sounds awesome!

Dinner smells great! Mom’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. She leans over the back of the couch and presses a kiss to the top of my head before coming around to settle next to me. Marco happily crawls across me so that he is sprawled over both our laps. Mom laughs and rubs at his ears. So how was your day? Did you have a good birthday? Anything… special happen?

I shrug, not tearing my attention from the screen. Leigh blew me off to hang out with her new boyfriend. And no one knew it was my birthday, so…

Aw, sweetie, Mom drags me into a hug and cradles my head against her chest.

Marco woofs and tries to wiggle his way into the hug. We both laugh and wrap an arm around him.

I save my game and turn the television off. How about dinner?

Yes! I bought a cake for dessert so we’ll have to dig the candles out of the junk drawer. She pauses to consider something. Do you think we have sixteen?

I’m sure we’ll figure something out. I sit up and grab the now empty jar. Also, we’re out of pickles.

Again? I just bought that jar the other day. Mom’s grin gives her away. I got another one while I was at the store. You should be good for a few more days.

Thanks, My face warms and Mom messes up my hair.

You’re welcome. Now come on, I’m starving. She hauls me up from the couch as I try to fix my bangs to lay right once again.

Mom sets the table while I dip the chili into bowls for us. She pours some dog food into Marco’s bowl before we sit down at the table.

So nothing special happened today? Mom ask after a brief silence.

It was a spectacularly ordinary day. I poke another spoonful of chili in my mouth and give her a curious