CHAPTER 1
Tam could hear the hunters coming. He remained hidden and silent. It wouldn’t be long before they were upon him. The Hunters and their enslaved changelings were ruthless. They captured any changeling they could and dragged him or her away to their kingdom. Tam knew he would be a prize to them. There were not many pureblood changelings in existence and he was one of them.
Most changelings were made from regular humans getting bitten by a changeling within a few days of the full moon. These changelings were slaves to the dark. They changed every night whether they wanted to or not. Tam was a pureblood, however. As such he was not a slave to the night. He could control himself and use the animal side of him much better. He could change whenever he wanted. Also he was able to change partially into a half human, half beast hybrid. He was a fell beast, a magical animal that looked like a large panther but was a lot quicker and stronger. Full grown fell beasts were also much larger than panthers.
“I think it is close” announced a female voice.
Tam knew she was a mage. Regular people were not stupid enough to hunt for a changeling alone. Rarely did they have enough skill to take one alive. Wild changelings fought to the death which made hunting one very dangerous. The mages however had magic. They could freeze or paralyze a changeling and take it away with them. They also had their enslaved changelings on their side and used superiority of numbers when they hunted.
Mages desired changelings to increase their magical power. The mage could bond with a changeling. Once bonded, the changeling acted like a magical battery for him or her. Changelings had inherent magic that gave them the ability to change. The potency and amount of magic depended on the generation of the changeling and its age. Purebloods were the strongest in magical potency and amount of magic. Tam knew though that most purebloods were either dead or hiding so catching one was difficult for a mage.
Purebloods could command anyone they had bitten as well as any their bitten had bitten and so on. It was for this reason that Fang the pureblood wolf changeling had never been caught. He bit many people and filled the forest with wolves under his control. It was relatively easy to make a wolf changeling. Anyone could take a wolf bite and survive. For this reason, wolves were the primary changelings in the kingdom of Tafarion. Fell Beasts like Tam were poisonous. So far anyone Tam had bitten had died which was the reason he was the only fell beast changeling in this part of the forest.
“I see him!” a voice cried out immediately to Tam’s left.
Tam bolted from his hiding spot and dove through some bushes just as a hail of arrows thudded into a nearby tree. Tam quickly climbed a tree and started running along from branch to branch above the ground. He could hear spells or something collide with the tree branches he was running on. He felt if he reached the river he might make good his escape. Tam reached the river and dove in.
Tam started swimming mostly underwater. When he surfaced he observed two mages running along the riverbank. They were followed by seven armed men and a pack of hunting dogs. He swam completely across to the other side of the river and resumed running... right into three wolves.
He could smell something was not right about them, these were not regular wolves but changelings. All three of them had on collars. He doubted any of the three of them were purebloods, which made seeing them in wolf form during the day even more puzzling.
“Move out of my way” Tam growled as he raked the trio with his eyes.
“Come with us or we will tear you apart little one” the biggest wolf said. This wolf had a gray muzzle. Tam could tell neither wolf was a not pureblood or even a second or third generation.
Tam ran at them then used the fell beast inside of him to jump over the surprised wolves. He would have taken off running again, but a spell hit him in the back and made him fall. He felt the paralysis of the spell, but shook it off. He got as far as getting to his knees when he felt a wolf's teeth dig into his ankle and drag him backwards. He went to swipe one of the wolves across the nose, but the changeling saw it coming and darted back quickly before rushing in again and snapping at him. Tam freed his leg just in time to be knocked down again by another blow from a magic spell. He went down again and again. It was like a game. The wolves would attempt to grasp his limbs to spread him out. He would free himself. And he would get blasted again. Soon the hunting dogs he saw caught up and joined in. Unlike the wolves they tried tearing into him and were too stupid or slow to avoid most of his claw swipes. Tam thought he maimed two of them before the mages and the men had him fully surrounded. They had heavy wooden clubs with which they beat him repeatedly until he lost consciousness.
When Tam awoke he was in pain, but knew his body was healing. He could feel bones shifting inside as the broken ends matched up and began to knit. He wondered what kind of beating he had taken after he was knocked out. He now had a collar around his neck which was the same as the collars he had seen the wolves wearing. He tried to yank it off. The humans had put shackles on his wrists as well. He was bound securely and was locked in a cage. He started yanking at his chains to free himself.
“Easy, easy,” said the older male mage he had seen before. “No one here wants to hurt you anymore. You gave us a good run but you got caught.”
Tam snarled at the man and kept trying to yank himself free. He must have shifted into his human form sometime before he lost consciousness as he was manacled and chained in the form of a man. If he turned into the larger form of his fell beast it would do him no good. The beast was bigger and the shackles would hurt a lot as they dug into his flesh. Tam tried to stand up and could see he was also shackled to the floor of the cage. He tried to use his feet to brace against the cage in an effort to snap the chains, but it was no use.
“He doesn’t want to be in there father” the younger female mage said cheerfully. “Thank you for taking me on my first hunt.”
“I think you have what it takes Katie,” the older mage said. “I don’t think professional Hunters could have done a better job. I am going to have to get our other changelings some steak tonight. They knew exactly where this one would come out at and allowed us to run him down.”
“He is kind of young,” Katie said. “He looks a little younger than me. Poor thing was out here all alone. It must have been hard for it to feed itself. Look at him, all dirty and naked.”
“You better not be looking too hard,” said the older mage with a laugh.
“It is an animal father,” Katie said rolling her eyes. “Poor thing needs a bath and a good meal probably.”
“Well he is yours,” the older mage said. “Happy Birthday dear.”
“Mine?” Katie said surprised. “You mean I can bond with it?”
“You sure can,” the older mage said. “I have one, your mother has one and your brother has one. Now so do you.”
“Oh thank you father,” Katie squealed and hugged him.
“Your Lordship,” one of the armored men interrupted. This man had a long blond moustache and carried a crossbow.
“What is it Svend?” the older mage said.
“Baron Glades, sir, it’s just that your changeling killed my best hunting dog,” Svend said.
“I will pay for your lost and injured dogs as soon as we get back Svend,” Baron Glades said. “You were worth every coin I spent to have you and your men out here. In fact I will pay you double. My daughter got the experience she needed and dealt some blows to our new changeling.”
“Thank you Your Lordship,” Sven said as a smile crossed his face. “I wonder what kind of changeling he is. We all think he is a cat. Of course we really didn’t have a good look at him until he was back in human form.”
“Cats are rare!” Katie said excitedly. “Why do you think he is a cat?”
“Well my dog was clawed,” Svend said. “And look at the way he is built. All of that is fast twitch muscle. In short bursts he will be hell to take on. One on one he would have killed any of the wolves. But in the long haul he couldn’t out run a pack. Maybe he is one of those cheetahs I have seen before.”
“Cats are rare,” Baron Glades said. “I have only seen eight cats in my life and they all belong to fairly high ranking people.”
“Well I want to bond with it right away,” Katie said. “Hey you in there, bond with me.”
“It doesn’t work like that with a wild one,” Baron Glades said. “But you just had to have a wild changeling instead of going to the breeders.”
“Their animals are weak,” Katie said. “They are just poor slaves they have had bitten. Yes they bond with anyone, but there is hardly any point to the bonding given the weak magic you'd get. Marsha got a wild changeling and hasn’t shut up about it. And it is only a dumb boar.”
“That boar wasn’t exactly wild. I heard he used to be a criminal,” Baron Glades said. “He went out to hide in the forest and got gored near the time of the full moon.”
“Well then she can’t keep him then. He is a citizen,” Katie said excitedly.
“He was wanted for raping and killing a farmer’s daughter,” Baron Glades said. “He got off lucky being turned. He voluntarily accepted servitude. Yours though looks like he has been out in forests for quite a while.”
“Well I want him. When can we bond?” Katie asked.
“When he accepts you,” Baron Glades said. “Don’t worry, it is going to happen. We just have to break it well. It will take a little while. In a month or so it will be happy to bond with you. Now he can start getting fed regularly. When we get home there is a lot of things we have to do. We have to see to those bites, wash it, find it some clothes until it changes back, and find a spot in the kennels for it to sleep in.”
“Why can’t my changeling just sleep with the others?” Katie asked.
“Because they are a wolf pack and he could be a cat,” Baron Glades said. “It is not good to mix such changelings. They will tear each other apart and when that happens…”
“Then whoever was bonded would lose their extra magic and mages can only bond once,” Katie finished.
“What are you going to name it?,” Baron Glades asked.
“I am going to call him Scratches,” Katie said then looked at Tam. “Do you like that name, Scratches?” she asked.
“Let me out,” Tam snarled as he tugged on the chains some more.
“It can talk,” Katie said practically screaming in excitement. “When it changes I want to keep it in my room.”
“It has to be broken first Katie,” Baron Glades said.
“How long have you been in the forest?” Katie asked Tam. “It had to be scary in there. You are lucky you were not eaten by a bigger animal. You will never have to worry about food again Scratches.”
“That is not my name,” Tam said in a little roar as he tugged on his chains harder.
“That’s a cat Your Lordship,” Svend said. “Did you hear that roar it gave? I am about to be a very rich man.”
“You are?” Baron Glades queried.
“I broke out from the real Hunters and wanted to try my hand at my own business instead of being sponsored by the mages or any of the nobles,” Svend began. “Things were tough until you called on me. I know the only reason I got the job was because I was local and wasn’t as busy as the rest. But now I brought back a cat! Many mages are going to want to come to me. Maybe if I catch another one I can talk you into breeding yours. I would give you a cub if it was successful. Poor mages would pay through the nose for a cat, no matter how poor the magic is.”
“Well I hope you get your money, Mr. Svend,” Katie replied. “I have a cat now and I know word of me and my changeling will be on the lips of every noble mage.”
“I am glad for you Milady,” Svend said. “Breaking that thing is going to be tough though. You are going to feel mean at first for everything you do to break it. But you can make up with it later after the bonding.”
“Scared animals tend not to work too well,” Baron Glades said. “When I first got Stone he was already a juvenile like yours is. Your mother and brother brought home pups which are a lot easier to own. Stone was frightened of me. He would piss all over himself when I was near and that was even after he bonded. He wouldn’t take food from my hand and snapped at me whenever I was too close despite knowing he was going to be punished. I could tell, even then, Stone was fourth generation at the latest. He had a lot of wildness in him. I couldn’t show him off at all. He cowered whenever he was out and ran away whenever he could. I had to keep him on a leash for the first few years. You would never be able to tell now though.”
“You spend a lot of time with Stone,” Katie said. “Are you going to take his moon collar off tonight?”
“I probably will,” Baron Glades said. “He has been a good boy and deserves to walk around as a human for a little while.”
“I can’t wait for mine to change,” Katie said. “When is it going to be nighttime?”
“In a few hours,” Baron Glades said. “We caught him early in the morning right after he changed back. He will be a lot easier to deal with once he changes. At least he won’t be naked anymore.
CHAPTER 2
“Why hasn’t he changed?” Katie asked irritated. “It has been dark for hours now. Once he changes he could slip out of his shackles and get more comfortable. His fur will be much better protection against the wind than being naked.”
“He should have changed by now Svend,” Baron Glades said. “Katie is right. Why is he still human?”
“I don’t know,” Svend said. “Is he a real changeling or is he just some wacko who is trying to be taken care of?”
“We used the right spells and my changelings scented on him along with your dogs,” Baron Glades said angrily. “Something isn’t…”
“Something isn’t what father?” Katie said noticing her father’s eyes go wide.
“He is a pureblood!” the Baron screamed. “He is a pureblood! That is why he hasn’t changed! You lucked out Katie. I heard they have a lot of magic to draw from!”
“A pureblood?” Svend asked. “I thought they were a myth.”
“No myth,” Baron Glades said. “They are very hard to catch. The only pureblood on record in the kingdom has been that hyena the Archmage has. Now you have your own!”
“Hurry up and change Scratches,” Katie said as she waved some dried meat in his direction.
Tam yanked away from her and continued yanking on his chains. They refused to budge.
“Svend, we are still a few days away from home,” Baron Glades said. “Right now I and my daughter are going to get some sleep inside of the inn. Take her animal outside of city limits and soften it up a bit. I don’t want to hear the damn thing screaming all night. Just don’t kill or maim it. Anything else is on the table.”
Tam had the roughest night he could have imagined. He was jabbed by blunted spears and whipped with a heavy leather cord. The man called Svend kept telling him to change and beat him when he didn’t. Tam couldn’t move anywhere and simply had to take the punishment. This went on all night. And it was repeated every night during the trip. Tam was sleep deprived, during the day whenever they traveled they taught the girl mage to poke at him or cast a spell to keep him awake. She beat him a little to learn what she should do when they got home. For the first time Tam began to pity himself. He wished he was like the other purebloods. They found a safe territory and raised their young. If he were like that he would have never gotten caught. But fell beasts abandon their young to fend for themselves. It is the reason there were not many fell beasts in the forest – changeling or otherwise. It was during the final day of their journey back home that Tam finally broke. He was hungry, thirsty, bleeding, bruised, battered and had continually been in an uncomfortable position for the past five days and night
s. The man called Svend had just smacked him hard across the back with the whip when he turned into his animal.
“It’s a damn fell beast!” Svend said excitedly. “I have never had to beat one that long before. No wonder!”
“It looks like a big black cat,” Katie said. “Scratches looks sad. Can I give him some food now?”
“Yes you can,” Baron Glades said full of wonder. “I thought we would have to kill this animal first. Most don’t make it past a few days of the abuse he suffered before they are broken.”
“Here Scratches,” Katie said as she tossed a piece of meat into the cage.
Tam wasn’t listening. He was busy snarling and screaming as the collar started choking him along with the shackles. Tam slumped in the chains and quickly changed back so he could catch him breath.
“They collar and manacles are too tight on the damn thing,” Baron Glades said. “Readjusting that is going to be a pain in the ass.”
“Why does he even need a collar Your Lordship?” Svend asked. “I thought the moon collars harnessed the power of the moon and allowed the changelings to move into and out of their animal form. He just changed into his then back out again on his own.”
“You can’t have an uncollared changeling walking around,” Baron Glades said. “Well we can deal with it when we get to my estate. Let the damn thing sleep now, he has earned it.”
“He can’t get to the food,” Katie said.
“Well we are not going to go in and give it to him until your mother and brother are around” Baron Glades said. “One more day of not eating is not going to kill him. I don’t even know how that thing is going to sleep all trussed up like that.”
“Well we can get a move on to get it home as quickly as possible,” Svend said.
Tam watched the towns go by. People pointed at him wherever he went. The stares were even more numerous when he reached his destination. Two other mages came and surrounded the cage followed by other men holding crossbows. Being a pureblood meant Tam’s transformation was quick and painless, as soon as Svend opened the cage Tam changed and was able to claw him on the arm. Crossbow bolts rang off his wiry hair, only two had penetrated and they were not very deep. Fell Beasts had their own pseudo armor. They were an ultimate predator and were equipped to fight past horns and antlers. The bolts hurt but they just enraged him. The choking collar made him change back quickly.
The Changeling Page 1
