The Everlasting Rainbow

By Kat Nightingale

Rowan and Keaton Arvanatis never had too much going on in their lives until they were kidnapped by a complete stranger one day at school. This stranger was Damian, who owned an entire cooperation composed of centaurs. Rowan and Keaton both had something they never knew they had, and it was the key ingredient to reaching Damians objective. What Damian wanted was to turn every human in the world into a centaur, to seek vengeance for his father, who had sacrificed his life many years ago for the centaur race. Rowan and Keaton embarked on a journey along with two other companions to stop Damian, and the only way they could do that was to reach The Everlasting Rainbow

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781496970749

Kat Nightingale

Kat Nightingale is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives in Ottawa, Canada. She first started writing "The Everlasting Rainbow" as a French narrative project. It eventually transformed into a book in English. "The Everlasting Rainbow" is Kat's first published book. Kat is going to continue pursuing writing by following up "The Everlasting Rainbow" with a sequel, which will come soon. Kat loves swimming, playing guitar, and reading in her spare time. She enjoys playing video games and watching videos. She lives in a happy family and she loves her parents and her sister Sisi very much.

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© 2015 Kat Nightingale. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/28/2015

ISBN: 978-1-4969-7075-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-7074-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015902596

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1 Rowan

Chapter 2 Keaton

Chapter 3 Rowan

Chapter 4 Keaton

Chapter 5 Rowan

Chapter 6 Keaton

Chapter 7 Rowan

Chapter 8 Keaton

Chapter 9 Rowan

Chapter 10 Keaton

Chapter 11 Rowan

Chapter 12 Keaton

Chapter 13 Rowan

Chapter 14 Keaton

Chapter 15 Rowan

Chapter 16 Keaton

Chapter 17 Rowan

Chapter 18 Rowan

Epilogue

Prologue

Are you sure the bombs are going to work? I asked the dark figure looming in the shadows.

"I’ve already tested them in the chamber many times. I am very sure, replied the shadow. Leave the day after tomorrow with Chad, and make sure he does the job right."

I paused for the slightest moment before I replied. Alright. How many bombs do you think we’ll need in order to wipe out over five hundred people within a couple of minutes? I ran my hand through my long, dark brown hair as the figure emerged from the dark.

Dawson, you don’t need to worry about the details. I’ll have everything prepared and ready for you. His dark, almost pitch-black hair brought out his menacing eyes. My master calling me by my first name made me shudder.

Okay, Master.

Go rest now, and get ready for the attack tomorrow. Master said, grinning. You know you don’t have to call me Master, right? It makes everything seem much more professional than it actually is. Now that I think about it though, I think you can keep calling me that, since you’re one of my most loyal followers.

I nodded and left the room without another word. While walking to my bedroom, I bumped into Chad’s strong, buff body in the hallway.

Hey Dawson, don’t mess up my hair, Chad joked, as he ran a hand through his short, dirty-blond hair.

Chad, we leave the day after tomorrow, I said, and grabbed his arm to stop him from walking any further. Chad raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Really? I thought we were going in five days.

No, Master wants them in advance just in case the plan fails, or if they escape.

Chad snorted. "As if they can escape out of this hellhole."

Dawson shot Chad a glare. "Shh. I know that no one wants to do this, but we have to. We have no choice. You, Master’s brother, and I are the only people that don’t want to be here, but there are still hundreds of those who do want to be here. And what makes things worse is that we’re the best fighters, so Master trusts us the most. We’re also apparently really good actors too, because Master called us ‘loyal’."

Chad grunted and frowned. Why can’t we just run out of here and leave? It’s not as if he’ll do anything.

"Oh, he will. If we leave, he’s going to think that we’ve left to find it, and he’ll send people after us to have us killed."

I let go of Chad’s arm and strut back to my room, with the sound of my hooves clicking against the concrete floor ringing through the hallways.

Once I got in bed, I couldn’t fall asleep. I could only think of one thing, and kept asking myself the same question over and over again,

Why do I have to be a centaur?

Chapter 1

Rowan

I couldn’t feel my legs. The only thing I could feel was that they were painfully sore. I felt sweat dripping down the side of my face and my neck; it felt like I was in a hot tub with my head held underwater. My throat was burning. My throat was so dry that it felt like I hadn’t had a sip of water for days. The sides of my vision were blackened, and everything I saw was blurry. I knew that I was about to faint, but I was trying so hard to remain conscious. I needed to finish. I had to.

I could see the outline of a large, red flag about a hundred meters ahead of me. Almost finished, I thought. I mustered the very last bit of energy left in my body into my legs, and I sprinted as fast as I could to that red flag.

After knowing that I had made it past the line, I walked over to the grass immediately and closed my eyes. Whenever you finish a race, you have to keep walking, my coach always told me. I continued walking, and I could already feel the relief of my muscles relaxing. After the crowd calmed down, I collapsed to my knees, only hearing the thump of my racing heart. The only thing that kept me conscious was the load roar of the crowd. I turned my head up to look at the bleachers and saw everyone cheering and waving at me. I turned around again to see my time on the huge electronic display. Two hours and 23 minutes. Wow! That was the best I had ever done! I looked back to the finish line to make sure that I was the only person who had finished the race so far.

First place, Rowan! I heard a voice yell with excitement. I spun around to see my coach, Joe, walking over to me with a water bottle in one of his hands. In the other, he was holding a damp towel.

Your other teammate, Elaine, is nearing the finish line, Joe said, while handing me the water bottle and the towel. "Our team is going to be so recognized at the Boston Teen Marathon!"

Yeah, I know! I also set a new personal record! I told Joe. I downed the entire bottle of water and wiped my face with the cold towel.

I think you set a new record for the Girl’s Boston Teen Marathon too! Joe patted me on the back in a fatherly manner. Joe had been my coach since I was eight. I’m 16 now, so he’s been around for half my life. I’m so proud of you.

I smiled and heard another voice yell behind me. Hey, Rowan!

Joe and I turned around simultaneously. I spotted a tall boy with somewhat broad shoulders walking towards us. He was approximately six-feet tall, and had messily styled white-blond hair and eyes that were a dark, chocolatey brown shade of colour. He was wearing a tight running shirt that defined his carved figure. A white sheet that read the number ‘336’ was pinned onto it.

Joe chuckled. I’ll leave you guys to yourselves. I need to go help the boys get ready for their race.

Joe walked off toward some of the nearby sponsor tents, with a huge grin on his face.

Shouldn’t you be getting ready? I asked the boy, looking up.

I’ve still got time, the boy said, and shoved me lightly.

I came in first place for my race, I said, with a smirk, boasting a bit.

I’m not surprised, little sis. You’ve always been a good runner. He bumped his shoulder into me playfully and smiled.

That’s right, this boy is my brother. His name is Keaton and he is 18, two years older than I am. Our birthdays are on the same day. We are really close for siblings, especially ones who are this close in age. Most get into fights all the time, but we’ve never even had a real argument before.

My race is starting in an hour. You better cheer for me, Keaton said, as he sat down beside me.

I will, even though you won’t be able to hear me for most of the race, I said, as I gave him a hug.

I know, but I just want to know that you will be.

When we broke apart, I realized something out of the ordinary. You put on your contact lenses. I should have noticed this the moment we left our house this morning, but I guess I wasn’t paying attention.

Yeah, I did, Keaton said, as if it was the most obvious thing.

But you hate them.

He shrugged. I figured it would be easier for when I run.

You don’t even wear them when you practice.

Keaton began to respond, but was cut off by some girly screams. He looked behind him and chuckled. Looks like you’ve got some fans.

I looked behind me to see a few young girls laughing and skipping over towards us. When they noticed Keaton, some of them froze and blushed. I laughed. Keaton’s unnaturally good looks definitely throw people off sometimes. This wasn’t the first.

Oh my gosh! You’re such a good runner! one of the girls squealed.

I want to run just like you one day! I get tired even when I run for only one kilometre, another said, with enough excitement for her to jump into space.

Will you take a selfie with us? the last girl asked, holding her phone out.

I laughed again. I thought it was funny that selfies were now replacing autographs.

I took a selfie with each of the girls and offered to follow them on Instagram. They all responded by screaming and nodding.

Just as the girls started to walk away, Keaton spoke up. What about me, girls?

They looked at each other hesitantly, communicating through their glances. We don’t even know this person! But…

When the selfies were being taken, each of the girls was blushing like crazy. Their cheeks reminded me of fresh, ripe tomatoes.

As they were walking away, I caught bits of their conversation. I could hear them say things like, "oh my gosh, he’s so hot! and, I know right! Do you think he’s Rowan’s boyfriend?"

Keaton had clearly heard them too, because he laughed and shook his head.

You really enjoy being attractive, don’t you? I asked jokingly. Keaton is good-looking and very smart. He would make anyone’s dream boyfriend.

Very, Keaton replied with a smile.

It’s a wonder you still don’t have a girlfriend. I meant it as a joke, but Keaton’s smile dropped immediately.

Yeah, he said quietly. You know, I need to go get ready for my race.

Alright! I’ll cheer for you, I said, as he walked away.

It bothered me that Keaton seemed so upset after I teased him for being single. He could get a girlfriend so easily. Many girls at our school would kill to be with him, but it didn’t really seem like he was ever interested.

After about forty-five minutes, the boys’ race started. Keaton had a good start, starting off with a steady 10th place position.

Go, Keaton! You got this! I yelled after him, cheering him on while jogging slightly to keep up.

Once I couldn’t see him anymore, I headed into the building that was being used as the headquarters for the Boston Race Weekend. Inside, there were televisions playing footage from cameras that had been set up around the racecourse. I took a seat in an empty chair right in front of a screen that was mounted on the wall.

After the five-kilometer mark, Keaton ran past three people, still keeping his pace even. By the 15-kilometer mark, he had run past four more people. By the 30-kilometer mark, Keaton was well ahead of everybody, except for one. The person had the number 36 pinned onto the back of his shirt.

Just as Keaton was about to pass Number 36, Number 36 somehow managed to stick his foot out beside him, catching it onto Keaton’s foot, and tripping him.

Chapter 2

Keaton

Crap. I felt a sudden jolt of pain go up my leg and my hands were covered in small pebbles.

I heard Number 36 laugh as he ran ahead of me. I felt my body build up with rage, and tried to stand up. As soon I put my weight on my right foot, I felt another jolt of pain go by my body, making me fall back to the ground. Damn it. A sprained ankle. Ouch.

I turned my head and saw that no one was immediately behind me. Good. I tried standing up again, this time being extremely