Daniel Taylor and the Dark Legacy Read Online Free Page A

of the clock in the courtyard. He tossed his history book onto his desk, shoved his backpack under his seat, and sat down, his knees almost touching the underside of the desk.
    “Just one more hour, then it’ll finally be the weekend,” he said to himself quietly, even though they had just returned from the autumn break.
    Daniel hated school. Having to repeat this year was the most humiliating experience of his life. Now, as the oldest in the class, he was the subject of additional mockery.
    A dry breeze blew through the open window, but it only added to the stifling heat in the classroom. For the umpteenth time, Daniel cursed the old school building and its lack of air conditioning. They were probably the only students left in California suffering from the heat! Daniel could hardly wait to get outside. He still felt like he was suffocating. In addition, for weeks he had been afflicted by a sort of inner glow, almost like a fever. In the Californian countryside, October days could often be unbearably warm. The cool nights were certainly more to Daniel’s taste. When he was finally done with school, he wanted to move to the coast — he had made this decision last year. Either San Francisco or Los Angeles would be fine; at least it wouldn’t be so hot there, and a fresh breeze would always be coming off the ocean. His Uncle Max lived in L.A. and would definitely let him stay there for a while.
    He reluctantly pulled off his hooded sweatshirt, sighing. As much as he loved his bulky clothes, he just couldn’t stand the heat today.
    Daniel hated Little Peak! In three months’ time, he’d be eighteen, and no one could keep him there. All he needed was this damn diploma!
    Deep inside him, Daniel felt a strange sense of restlessness. Something weird was going to happen to him soon — he was sure of it.
    Unfortunately, superheroes only exist in comics; there must be a rational explanation for his physical symptoms. He was nothing special, and neither was anything else in his life.
    Still, it was strange — exceptionally strange, even — to feel these waves of heat wash over him, along with this odd sensation in his fingertips, a tingling as though his nerves were waiting in vain for a command. His head frequently throbbed painfully, and he constantly felt like he was being watched. And then there was that crazy young woman and the voices in his head …
    “I spend too much time in front of the computer, that’s all,” he muttered to himself, lost in thought.
    Dear God — there he went, talking to himself!
    “Hi!” a girl said to him suddenly. She touched him briefly on the shoulder as she walked past, leaving a pleasant prickling sensation behind. Daniel had only seen her slender legs and her dark skirt, but he knew at once who she was. She had an incomparable scent, like the sweet-smelling flowers his mother had planted in the garden the previous spring.
    He looked up and turned around. The girl with the long brown hair had sat down directly behind him, and he smiled at her involuntarily. His heart beat a little faster. “Hi, Nessa.” At least there was one bright spot in this grim place.
    Vanessa smiled back, but the two had no more time to talk — their history teacher had just marched into the classroom.
    Daniel spent the next half hour staring at the clock in the courtyard and gasping at the fresh air, since following along with Mrs. Kuwalski’s lesson was about as exciting as watching a cow chew its cud. In fact, the teacher looked a bit like a cow.
    The thought made him smile.
    “Daniel Taylor, if you don’t want to flunk out, you’d better pay closer attention in class!” her shrill voice rang out.
    Daniel turned away from the window and pushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. Crap, what did she ask me? Fingers trembling, he leafed through his history book so that he wouldn’t have to look Mrs. Kuwalski in the eyes. She had threatened to expel him if he failed one more time. She can’t do that, she