The Shapeshifter's Fate

by Chris Africa

  Nita ignored his clamoring and continued her push outward. The bubble now covered the entire inside of the warehouse like a thin skin. The walls and ceiling bulged with the pressure. Guards pounded at the invisible barrier inside the hatches, and Nita suddenly realized there was only one way out. Gathering all her strength, she gave one last shove.

  27: Andrev

  Granny tossed her ring into the air and waved for Andrev to enter. He stepped through and felt the familiar falling sensation. He only realized he'd stretched his hands out in front of him when he fell onto a pile of cushions. Just in time, he rolled to the side, and Granny crashed beside him.

  Flowering plants crowded around the cushions, with stacked rocks constraining them into loosely defined growing areas. Vines dripped from the ceiling in a profusion of blossoms. The area was round with no visible exits. The temperature was perfect, and a gentle light flooded the room, though he spotted neither sun nor lamp.

  Granny plumped a golden-embroidered pillow, tossed it into the middle, and pointed. "Sit here."

  Where were the books? How could he learn anything on a pile of cushions amid flowers? But Granny was still pointing firmly, so he sat. She nodded. "Take this stone in your palm."

  Flat, ovular, and smooth, it appeared to be a normal river stone.

  "Now sit comfortably with your legs crossed like this."

  "That doesn't look comfortable," Andrev said, but he mimicked her legs.

  "You'll get used to it. Later, we'll work on your self-awareness. But before you can even do that, you must learn to shut out other thoughts." She placed a sandglass on the ground in front of him.

  Andrev adjusted his foot, which kept popping out from under him. It seemed his knees didn't want to fold.

  "Take the stone in your palm and close your eyes. Think of nothing but the stone. Consider its shape. Feel the smooth, cold surface. Feel the surface of the stone with your fingers until you know its cracks and bumps by heart."

  "But it's a perfectly smooth stone." Andrev's eyes snapped open, and he looked at the rock more closely.

  "Close your eyes! There are always imperfections. Find them. Where is it imbalanced? If you hit it with another object in a particular spot, it will shatter. Find the place, find its weakness. I'll be back when the sand has run through."

  Andrev heard the swish of her ring, and without opening his eyes he knew he was alone. He felt the stone with his fingertips trying to understand anything but its smoothness. There seemed to be no imperfections. He rolled it over and over, scrubbed it with his fingernail. At one point, he opened his eyes to check it out, casting a guilty glance around the room. His senses told him this was a perfectly smooth, if irregularly shaped, pebble. Maybe his tongue could feel something—

  "Good heavens! I leave you alone for a few minutes and you're eating rocks!" Granny watched from his peripheral vision.

  Andrev spat the stone out of his mouth and scowled. "I'm not eating it. I was searching for imperfections."

  Granny threw up her hands. "It's an exercise. If you found it today, it wouldn't be a good exercise, would it? It takes some people weeks or even months. When the time comes, I'll throw it into a stream while you look away, and you will pick it out from the thousands of other stones in the stream."

  Months? He would have to do this for possibly months? Andrev tossed the rock back at her, and Granny caught it. "I don't see the point of this exercise."

  "The point is for you to learn focus. That's enough for today. You'll try again tomorrow, and you'll feel better about it."

  Andrev grunted. She may force him to do this again, but he wasn't sure he would feel better about it. It seemed like a useless activity.

  After leaving the focus room, Andrev was a lot more enthusiastic about Granny's cleaning chores. When she told him to shelve the rest of the books while she read, he was envious that he couldn't read instead until he realized he was organizing books. With a smirk, he sorted them alphabetically. It would last as long as he was around!

  Andrev groaned when Granny scooped out porridge for his next meal.

  "I'm not hungry."

  "Eat." She shoved a bowl into his hand. "Using magical energy uses physical energy. You must eat when you can and keep your energy replenished."

  "But I'm just doing manual labor."

  "You need to replenish that energy too. Besides, not feeling the flow and not using magic are two different things. Eat."

  Why did the old woman eat so much porridge? He scooped bites of gray sludge as fast as he could. There was no reason to spend extra time on an unpleasant task.

  After dinner, it was back into the focus room again.

  "Where's the stone?"

  "No stone this time. You'll do that each morning. For now, we'll start your self-awareness training." She sighed. "Andrev, events are moving faster than I expected. You won't be with me much longer. You need to learn these basics, or you and your friends won't survive the battle to come."

  What did that mean?

  "I don't know everything," Granny answered, as though she had read his mind. "But you must have basic preparation. Sit as you did earlier."

  Andrev struggled into a simulation of the required position.

  "This is an exercise to help rid you of anger and negativity. I talk. You listen. No words come from your mouth. Understand?"

  "Yes."

  "No words!" Granny barked.

  Seething, Andrev clamped his mouth shut.

  "Close your eyes. You are walking in the white sand. The sun is warm on your face, and the wind is comforting. But the pack on your back is overwhelmingly heavy. Inside, you carry anger, frustration, and your fear of inferiority."

  Andrev opened his mouth to ask how he would put feelings into a pack—and to argue with her about the fear—and snapped it shut before he let any words out.

  "In the distance, you see a pavilion with an urn of cold water. As you get near it, your pack begins to feel lighter. On a table beside the water is a box. You remove your pack and unload all the anger, frustration, and fear inside it. Reach as far as possible into the pack, and make sure you get all of it, every last bit."

  It surprised Andrev to realize imagining this activity made him feel lighter.

  "Now, close the box and push the corners together. See how it shrinks? When it is small enough to fit in your hand, blow it into the wind."

  In his mind, Andrev placed the box on his palm and blew on it. Light as a feather, it flew off into the sun and disappeared.

  "Now, take six slow, deep breaths and open your eyes."

  When Andrev opened his eyes, Granny was looking at him with her head tilted and a furrow between her brows.

  "You missed some."

  "What did I miss?"

  "Some negative emotions. Next time you do this, be sure to check your whole body."

  28: Chassy

  Chassy blended into the nighttime shadows beside William, his heart thumping wildly. The rats had left, and the building teemed with guards shouting and brandishing their weapons. One of them opened the front door and pounded on an invisible barrier. The torches on the building flickered and toppled to the ground. The warehouse bulged, and a light shone between the logs like the slats of an enormous lantern.

  What was happening in there? Someone had been ringing the fire bell. Was there a fire? Chassy looked at William and lifted his chin. Nita needed help, and he wouldn't let anyone stop him. Putting one foot forward, he steeled himself to enter the swollen building.

  With a sound like a tree crashing, the warehouse exploded outward. Logs flew in all directions, and the few men who clung to the warehouse landed yards away. Standing in the middle of the chaos were Nita and Cherise. Nita's arms were wide as she glided toward them, holding open the glowing shield bubble that engulfed everything around her. The shield lit the night like a barn fire. An actual fire flared up behind them, as fallen torches caught on dry wood. Cherise walked beside her, rapier in hand, glancing around as though she expec
ted an attack. Around her shoulders, she wore an unfamiliar cloak.

  A lone guard who appeared to be stuck inside the bubble worked his way to the edge and plopped on the ground face down. There he remained, his shoulders jerking with silent sobs.

  William shrugged. "I suppose she doesn't need help."

  "Look at her face," Chassy breathed. As she approached, he could see her eyes were glowing, and the silver had spread into her hair. Guards picked themselves up off the ground. Most of them saw the Silver Sorceress and ran away screaming but a determined few grabbed weapons and regrouped.

  This couldn't last forever, Chassy knew. This must suck an enormous amount of her energy, and they had yet to escape the city. He stepped toward her, stopping short of the glowing bubble, but Nita continued to advance, and the shield slid over him with a tingle.

  "Nita, we have to get out of the city. Can you run?" Nita stopped in front of him, her silver eyes unfocused.

  "She can't hear you, Chassy," Cherise said. "Something is wrong."

  Chassy shook her by the shoulders. "Nita, we have to run!"

  William called out but kept his distance. "The magic is too much for her. If she keeps up this way, the Nita we know will never come back to us. We have to get her on a horse and out of this city."

  "But there are no horses here. All the people and animals have run away." Chassy turned in a circle, searching for an idea of how to help Nita.

  The guards appeared to be deciding whether to run or launch another futile attack. One guy on a chestnut horse with a black mane and tail galloped toward them out of the dark. Fitz, the wizard with braids, rode up just short of the shield. His face a mask of fury, he stared down Nita in the middle of her shield, ignoring everyone else. Chassy put his hand protectively on Nita's shoulder but drew it away when he realized that Cherise's hand was already there.

  "So the Silver Sorceress exists after all. When that shield collapses, you'll pay for what you did to my Lord's property! And he shall reward me greatly for your capture." His voice sounded young and petulant.

  The shield bubble was shrinking although Nita appeared and acted the same. The wizard rode back and forth before them as if searching for exploitable weaknesses. It shocked him to see that Fitz wore spurs on his heels, which dug cruelly into the horse's sides whenever he kicked. On a whim, he closed his eyes and reached out to the horse.

  Will you help us?

  Why should I help humans? The horse kicked out his back legs. That action earned him a good spurring from the wizard, and Chassy cringed at the horse's pain.

  If you carry my friend, we will take you from this place and set you free in the forest beyond, Chassy promised.

  The horse tossed his head in defiance. Which friend?

  Chassy looked at Nita. This friend. The Silver Sorceress.

  The horse snorted. I like the shining one. She is no normal human. I would like to watch her fight this one. The animal trotted a few steps, then halted and put his head down. Caught by surprise, the wizard tumbled over the horse's head and landed in a heap. The horse put one large hoof on the hand holding a wand and looked back at Chassy. The wizard let out a high-pitched squeal.

  Get your human, the horse said. I'm ready to leave.

  The wizard's scream stopped, and Chassy saw he'd passed out. Nita's shield had shrunk so much Cherise's head poked out the top. A few inches shorter, Nita's head appeared outside the shield.

  Should he trust this strange and cruel horse? Wary of Nita's magic, Chassy called to her softly.

  "Nita, it's time to go." She turned her silver eyes on him, and he shuddered at their coldness. Two guards advanced slowly toward them—more cautious than threatening, but he suspected she wasn't strong enough to continue a vigorous battle. "Nita, let go of the shield. We need to get out of the city."

  Nita collapsed into Chassy's waiting arms, and the blue shield vanished. Chassy cradled her unconscious body against his chest until William joined them. Her hair remained silver, like Quon's hair but more vibrant. With the horse kneeling impatiently in front of them, the friends hoisted her across his back and tied her to the saddle.

  Cautious of Nita's precarious position on the horse, they walked toward the gate. Chassy glanced back at the wizard; he writhed on the ground, holding his ruined hand.

  Go this way. Chassy heard but did not see Orfeus until he almost stepped on the rodent. There are more guards coming from over there. My friends will distract the humans who follow. Shouting and swearing came from the pursuers.

  Orfeus led them back through a part of the city Chassy didn't remember visiting before, a wealthier part of town with homes as big as the ones in Waet Tree Village. Chassy followed by sound only, his eyes struggling against the darkness. The moons remained stubbornly ensconced in clouds. He held onto the horse's reins and hoped everyone else was smart enough to stick together. The darkened streets felt eerily empty; windows were shuttered all around, and no cheery lamplight peeked through the slats. These residents were gone or in hiding. The watch here was also conspicuously absent, and he wondered if they'd all rushed back to the warehouse. But to reach the gate, Chassy knew they would have to be exposed to plenty of guards. There was no way to sneak out of town.

  There was no sign of rain yet, so Chassy reached out. Bees, please help us now.

  No answer came. The black horse pawed impatiently. We should go. I will stomp these humans and we can leave.

  "We won't be fast enough, even with Nita strapped onto a horse," Chassy mumbled.

  "You're right," William agreed. "The guards around the warehouse were on foot, but those in the town square could have horses nearby."

  There are others like me who wish to be freed. We should wait for them. The black horse tossed his head. At the long building. Can you hear them there? Their human names are Marengo, Ajax, and Pithne. The stable boy is saddling them for the other humans. He sent Chassy a picture of an enormous stable filled with a hundred horses. Marengo was white with dappling around his flanks and dark gray mane and tale. Ajax was tall and black with a white nose. Smaller than the others, Pithne was red with auburn mane and tale.

  Chassy felt a little silly calling their names as he held onto the pictures the black horse had shown him. The stable was silent, and if he couldn't hear them, they wouldn't hear him. We aren't close enough.

  The horse swung his head toward the shadows. It is that direction.

  "Keep moving toward the gate," Chassy said. "I'll get more horses from the stable." He grabbed a hunk of burning wood, hoping it would provide light until he reached the stable.

  "While you're there, you might open the stalls for the other horses. See if they want to have a run, too," William called.

  "Great idea!" Chassy pictured dozens of horse wandering around the city causing chaos among the guards and almost laughed. Then he raced in the direction his ally had indicated, hoping it was the right way.

  29: Nita

  Nita saw the wizard coming toward her, but she was struggling to keep up her shield with Chassy shouting distractions. She blocked him out, but despite throwing all of her strength into it, the barrier continued to shrink until it no longer covered her and Cherise. She collapsed, unable to even create a spark with her fingertips, and felt herself being lifted onto the back of a short horse. Her friends surrounded her, babbling about something, but she couldn't focus on the conversation.

  "Nita, are you okay?" William's voice was beside her ear. Her hair flipped down over her face. She felt him pull it back, and it stayed in place. He must have tied it up with something.

  "So tired…" Even to her own ears, the words coming out of her mouth were unintelligible. She recalled winter at Xander's and the hilarity of trying to talk with a half-frozen mouth. This wasn't funny. It was pitiful. She wanted to help.

  Her horse swerved, and she shifted in the saddle, but she couldn't move her arms to hold herself in place.

  "Cherise, climb up behind and hold her," she heard William say.

 
; The horse stopped, and she felt Cherise vaulting into the saddle behind her. William hoisted her into a sitting position and tied a rope around her, securing her to Cherise. She lifted her head enough to realize she was resting her face on Cherise's shoulder. The horse walked faster now, and she could see William jogging along beside them.

  "Nita, try to hold on if you can," Cherise said. "This rope is not terribly secure. If you fall, you'll take me down with you."

  No chance of that, Nita thought. Her arms hung limply from her shoulders. "Food…" she croaked, realizing what would help her. She said it three times, but it came out sounding like "foo."

  "I think she needs to eat," Cherise suggested.

  Without stopping, William dug around inside his pack and handed it up to Cherise, who stuffed the chunk of cheese into Nita's mouth. She could barely chew, but even the flavor of it seemed to revive her a little.

  Clomping hooves approached, and Nita struggled to regain control of her body. They were being followed! But when she opened her eyes, she saw Chassy riding on a strawberry pony, followed by two who looked like trained war horses. William mounted the dappled white horse, and the black one continued to follow.

  William shoved a large chunk of cheese into Nita's hand, closing her fingers around it.

  "Keep eating. You have to get well enough to ride on your own, or we can never run full speed."

  They took off again, trotting down an alley that looked like the slum where they'd spent last night, only narrower. Any inhabitants who might have been about were keeping their heads down in their hovels, but shouts from behind told Nita they were being followed. She wondered if she could manage to set a magical trap, but so far she'd struggled to lift the fist-sized chunk of cheese up to her face.

  As they broke through into the town square, the guards chasing them picked up speed.

  "They're closing the gates," William shouted.