by Erin Johnson
“Enough chitchat!” Amelia’s chest heaved. “Tell us what happened to Sam.”
“Whoa now.” I held up my palms and leaned back.
A tall guy who stood next to Maple, the former head baker, strode forward. He grabbed the event coordinator by the shoulders and guided her away, turning to flash me a smile. “Hey, Jolene, I’m Wiley.” He dipped his head next to Amelia’s. “Let’s hear Jolene out. But if she was involved in attacking Sam, I’ll let you at her, cool?”
As he turned his back to me, I spotted an odd black creature perched on his shoulder. The little guy’s monkey-like tail whipped from side to side. It turned its head upside down and flashed me a pointy-toothed Cheshire grin.
I instinctively recoiled. This was a weird group. Then again, celebrities were never normal, right?
“Alright, lady.” Madeline looked to me and nodded toward the royal group. “You’re up. Tell ’em what you know.”
12
SHIFTER SECRETS
I took a deep breath. Taking Ludolf down and saving not only my own hide but also those of tons of other shifters depended on me convincing this group that I was telling the truth and that we needed their help. I lifted my chin.
“First, you should know that I’m a shifter.”
“What do you shift into?”
“Iggy!” The princess whirled around and clicked her tongue at her little flame. “That’s rude to ask… I think.”
I waved it off, grinning. “Nah, that’s okay. An owl… or at least I used to.”
The vampire shot his girlfriend a triumphant look and drawled in his deep voice, “I knew it.”
The little fire sprouted flaming arms and crossed them. “See? She said it’s fine.”
The princess crossed her own arms over her chest and shot her flame a pointed look. “Well, it could’ve been super offensive.”
The little flame huffed, bits of ash puffing out of his mouth. “Like those Hallmark movies you make me watch, sometimes?”
“Hey! Those are fun.” Princess Imogen whirled on him, and the little guy devolved into cackles.
“So touchy!”
Amelia cleared her throat loudly, breaking up the bickering. The princess and her flame shut their mouths, eyes wide. Amelia tugged at the lapels of her tailored suit—it was flattering and expensive. The kind I would’ve worn back in my lawyering days.
Then she threw a hand my way. “She says she’s got information on Sam.” She nodded at me. “Let’s hear her out.”
I licked my lips and prayed to the sea goddess that my way with words wouldn’t fail me now. “You should also know there’s a whole community of shifters that live underground, in the sewers. Thousands—I’m not even sure how many.”
Prince Harry gaped at me. “How am I just hearing about this now?”
I lifted a palm. “It’s a tightly guarded secret—I’m basically betraying my own people by revealing it to you, so, uh, keep it on the down low?” I shook my head at myself—not how you address royalty, Jolene.
But Prince Harry seemed to take it in stride. He nodded, solemn. “Understood.” He glanced at Madeline. “And you’ve seen this?”
She shook her head. “No, but I believe her. I’ve been doing a piece on the secret shifter underground, and I think I’ll win even more accolades for this than the Carclaustra piece.” Her dark eyes twinkled.
The little flame rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you’re an award-winning journalist, we get it.”
I swallowed and went on. “I grew up in an orphanage in the Darkmoon District.”
Princess Imogen turned to her blond friend, Maple. “That’s on a lower tier of the island, right?”
Maple nodded as the bizarro black creature scampered into her arms. It flexed and shook its strange little bat wings. “It’s where the night market is.”
Wiley grinned. “Growing up, I spent most weekend nights with my father in gambling halls down there.” He inhaled deeply. “I can smell the familiar odors of sewer and cigarette smoke now.”
“Ah, you know it well.” I grinned, then tipped my head to the side. “It’s also impoverished and home to a lot of shifters—those who don’t live underground. Shifters have been methodically oppressed, to a degree that I myself am just becoming aware of.”
I snuck an uneasy glance at Prince Harry. “King Roch deployed a propaganda campaign during the end of the Monster Wars, likening shifters to monsters. He successfully kept the blame away from himself and focused the public’s attention on ostracizing us as ‘others.’”
The prince’s expression darkened, and I was afraid he might have taken offense. Instead, he lifted his chin. “More and more of my father’s atrocities are coming to light, and it’s only right that we now do our best to repair the damage he did. On his behalf, I apologize.”
I raised my brows. Wow. Not what I was expecting. “Thanks.” I shifted on my feet. “Speaking of which, there is something you might be able to do to help make it right.”
I felt the attention of the group perk up.
The prince rubbed his wrist. “In what way?”
Madeline waggled her brows. “This is the juicy part.”
I cleared my throat. “A shifter named Ludolf Caterwaul sold out activist leaders who were fighting, decades ago, for shifter rights. Those leaders disappeared, and in exchange, King Roch basically established Ludolf as mob boss of the shifter underground. He’s the one shifters go to for jobs, housing, and justice when they’re denied all these things by the citizens and government of Bijou Mer.”
Maple, cradling the weird creature, let out a little whimper. “That’s terrible. Like poor Sam.”
I nodded. “Exactly like Sam. Ludolf has benefited for the last forty years from shifters being oppressed. In fact, in his own twisted way, he’s bought into the propaganda himself and I think believes that we deserve it.”
The princess frowned. “But he is a shifter, right?”
I nodded. “Again—pretty twisted. He’s the one who attacked Sam today—or at least, one of his lackeys did.”
Amelia stomped her foot. “He’s going to pay for that.”
I flashed her a grin. “I certainly hope so. Ludolf has a hand in tons of crimes, from petty stuff to huge conspiracies. He’s told me he owns judges, the cops, politicians.” I glanced at Madeline. “Additionally, because he hates his own kind so much, he’s been looking for a cure for ‘shifterism,’ as he puts it.”
Madeline glanced at me, then the others. “Jolene’s been incredibly brave to come forward. Ludolf controls shifters the way Roch used to control this island. Because of his connections to Roch’s old cronies, he’s been able to avoid any repercussions for his many, many crimes. Which is why we need your help.”
I nodded. “Ludolf just attacked Sam. He can’t have shifters being seen as equal, otherwise he loses his stronghold on us.” I blew out a breath. “Last week, I uncovered an animal sanctuary filled with dozens of shifters that had been trapped in animal form by Ludolf’s ‘cures.’ Many of them were the original activist leaders Ludolf sold out to the old King Roch. If we can find a way to undo Ludolf’s curses, which trapped them in animal form, they’re willing to testify against Ludolf, and we can finally put him away for good.” I looked at each of them. “But we need your help, otherwise his cronies will just let him off.”
13
CAT
The princess huffed. “I just don’t get everyone’s issues with shifters.” She lifted a palm and turned to me. “I grew up in human lands, not knowing I was magical until recently. All of this is new to me and seems completely ludicrous!”
I nodded. “Oh, it is.”
Prince Harry cleared his throat. “Excuse me if this is an ignorant question, but… how do you know that these animals are trapped shifters?”
Kenta stroked his goatee. “Good point. When Sam’s in snake form, he can’t speak to me.” He shrugged. “He just seems like a little green snake.”
Amelia gasped and turned to him. �
��Maybe Sam shifted up there on the podium and got stuck in snake form.”
Kenta paled. “He does have difficulty controlling it when he’s stressed. He tends to revert to his first form.”
Kenta and Amelia seemed to be lost in thought over Sam, but the rest of the group turned their eyes to me, waiting for my answer to the prince’s question.
I was getting more used to talking about what had happened to me, but for so many years, my friends Heidi and Will had been the only ones who knew. It still felt difficult to share.
I sucked on my lips for a moment, then turned to Prince Harry. “I mentioned that Ludolf Caterwaul sees being a shifter as sort of an illness that needs to be cured? Well, he’s been testing ‘cures’ on hundreds of shifters over the years… including me.”
Maple gasped.
The older woman, Annie, shook her head. She gave off a real grandmotherly vibe that I found comforting. “I’m sorry, dear. That sounds terrible.”
I nodded, a lump in my throat. “The ‘cure’ was really a curse. It stole my ability to shift and—” I debated a moment but decided to be totally open with them. “—and my ability to do magic.”
The prince cursed under his breath, and Madeline slid an arm around my shoulders.
I shrugged, trying to keep it light. “On the plus side, there was a side effect, and now I can talk to animals.”
The little flame narrowed his eyes. “Prove it.”
“Iggy!” the princess and a few of the group chided.
Rhonda, the famous psychic, spoke, her voice sounding as though her nose was plugged. “Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing it.”
“Ooh! She can talk to Cat.” Maple beamed at Wiley, who seemed equally excited.
I glanced around. “I, uh—don’t see a cat.”
The flame burst into cackles, and the blond shot him a stern look. She then turned back to me and held the little black creature out, her hands under his armpits. He squirmed and scrambled at the air, his tail thrashing and bat wings beating. “No, his name is Cat.”
“Ohhh…. riiiigghhtt.” I nodded slowly. “Cute.”
The flame laughed harder. “I like her.”
I licked my lips and concentrated on the strange little creature. Alright, time to talk to Cat. His back legs kicked as Maple held him out toward me. I frowned, feeling the sound a moment before I heard it—was Cat making that low, humming noise? I looked into the creature’s shiny, round eyes—strange lights and flashes floated across them.
I curled my lip and cringed back. This was beyond odd. Whispering sounded, as though it were coming from all around me and also inside my own head—dozens of voices. Goose bumps rose on my arms, and as hard as I concentrated, I couldn’t make out any individual words. The hushed whispers grew louder and louder—I jerked my hands up to my ears, but it didn’t seem to dampen the noise.
“Alright, wittle guy, that’s enough.” Maple spoke to the creature in the singsong voice I’d use to coo over a newborn.
The whispers stopped, suddenly, and I warily lowered my hands from my ears. The royal gang and Madeline watched me expectantly.
“So, what’d he say?” Wiley stood with his arm around Maple and grinned at me.
I blew out a shaky breath. “To be honest, this has never happened to me. I couldn’t understand him.”
Maple’s face fell.
Iggy shot me a sympathetic look. “Performance anxiety?”
The princess flashed her eyes at her flame as he snickered.
I winced. “Sorry.” They probably thought I was lying about my abilities now. Great.
Cat scrambled back up onto Wiley’s shoulder and nibbled on his ear. I tried not to look horrified. With those teeth, he could take it clean off.
I scratched my cheek. “Your pet is so…” How to put this? “Unique.”
Maple’s face brightened a little. “Aw—thank you.”
Iggy burned suddenly brighter in his lantern on the table, his expression fierce. “It’s not a pet! It’s a mind control demon!”
The princess nodded her agreement.
Come again? “Well… I guess the creepy whispers make sense, then.”
The flame’s eyes widened. “Creepy whispers?”
I nodded. “That’s all I got. Like a thousand voices, whispering.” I wiggled my fingers next to my head, and the flame burst into laughter.
“Okay, she’s legit.”
I looked around the group, confused.
The princess lifted her palm. “Cat is a monster, so that’s probably why you can’t speak to him.”
The prince cleared his throat. “Also, he seems to have mind control powers so… be careful around him.”
I arched a brow. “Seems like that could be pretty helpful, though.” And terrifying.
The prince shook his head. “Getting Cat to do what we want is hit or miss, at best.”
Princess Imogen stepped forward and slid an arm around Prince Harry’s waist. They exchanged a long look and seemed to be having a silent conversation, and then she turned to me. “We’d like to help you, Jolene. What do you need from us?”
I grinned, feeling reassured for the first time in a while. “Thank you.”
14
TEAMING UP
“Ludolf keeps records of all the potions he’s tested on shifters in his underground lair. If we could sneak in and steal them, we might be able to engineer cures for the trapped shifters. Once they’re in their human forms, they would then testify against Ludolf.” I bit my lip. “Of course, we’d need a talented potion maker.”
Imogen glanced up at the prince. “Or a team of healers.”
“Our royal healers have some firsthand experience curing curses.” He shot the princess a significant look. “I’ll put them on the task, if we can get ahold of the files.”
Princess Imogen blew her bangs out of her eyes. “Are the files guarded or something?”
I explained about the potion lair and the three old women who worked down there.
The princess tapped a finger to her lips. “So if you could distract the potion makers, someone else might be able to steal the files?”
I nodded.
The prince cleared his throat. “Then we’ll go down into the sewers with you to retrieve the files.”
Francis the vampire drifted forward, his toes dangling over the floor. “I volunteer as well.”
Rhonda pouted. “Be careful, baby.”
I was moved—and also not sure this was a great idea. “Maybe you should send a palace guard or something?” I glanced at Madeline. “It seems dangerous and risky for actual royals to go down there.” I blew out a breath as I thought about the way the lion shifter and I had made eye contact. “Plus, Ludolf’s goons know I was the one who cried out and warned Sam before they fired the spell at him. Which means Ludolf knows… or will soon. I’m already on thin ice—walking into the underground means I’m going to have a target on my back. And so will anyone who’s with me.”
Madeline shook her head. “Compared to some of the other nonsense this gang has gotten into, it’s actually pretty tame.”
Princess Imogen and Prince Harry had another silent exchange and then the prince turned to me. “Imogen and I are swallows—which means we can turn into animals, like a shifter.”
The princess nudged him. “You’ve been practicing, too.” She beamed at me. “He’s getting way better.”
The prince blushed pink with pride.
Princess Imogen blew her bangs out of her eyes. “We can convincingly look like other people, too. Would that be helpful?”
I nodded, a plan already forming in my mind. “Yeah. Actually—I think that’d be perfect.”
She beamed. “It’s settled then.” She turned to the prince. “Ooh—we haven’t gotten to do anything really exciting in a while.”
Iggy gave a fiery smirk. “By exciting, you mean dangerous.”
She shrugged at her little flame in the lantern. “Potato, potahto.”
He shot her a flat loo
k. “What does this have to do with potatoes?”
The princess rolled her eyes. “Human saying—never mind.”
I grinned. “Well… thank you. Sincerely.” I couldn’t wait to tell Peter, Heidi, and Will that I was doing a recon mission with the prince and princess and Francis the vampire.
Peter would be less than thrilled with me risking a trip back down into the sewers, but I was sure he’d feel better about it once he knew I had some decent backup.
The prince squared his shoulders. “We also pledge to try this Ludolf Caterwaul fellow fairly for his crimes—and to make sure the corruption my father fostered doesn’t allow him to escape justice.”
“Oh!”
We all spun to face Rhonda the Seer. Her body stiffened, and she threw her head back, mouth open, frozen.
“Oh, boy,” Iggy muttered. “Here it comes.”
The seer’s forehead glowed golden for several long moments, and then she suddenly relaxed, her shoulders slumping. She shook herself and blinked.
Her vampire boyfriend placed his long, slender hands on her shoulders. “Are you alright, my darling?”
She nodded, her headful of tiny braids bouncing over her shoulders. “Got a vision.” She closed one eye. “Something about ‘it’s cool, you can trust Ludolf’?”
I frowned. “Not to be rude but—that doesn’t sound right.”
She shrugged. “I’m just the messenger. The ether tells me what it will.”
Amelia lowered her voice. “Her visions are usually cryptic, and frankly, I don’t think even she knows what they mean half the time.”
I nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.” I could tell Amelia was still deeply worried about her friend. She crossed her arms and drummed her fingers, agitated.
“Hey, and I’ll put out the alert to as many animals and shifters as I can to keep an eye out for Sam. I’ll let you know if anyone spots him.”
“He shifts into a little green snake,” Kenta reminded me. “Thank you.”
Amelia’s gray eyes lit up. “That gives me an idea—we don’t want the shifter haters on the lookout for him, but maybe we could put up lost pet signs, like we’re missing our pet snake.”
