Shift (The Pandorma Adventures Book 1)

by Mikaela Nicole

  Having stuffed myself with peaches and with the sun fully shining down, I feel lazy. Shoving away my desire to nap under a tree I head back to the river. I walk beside it until I reach a forest of bushes.

  The trunks of the bushes are as tall as me, the abundant leaves on top blocking out most of the sun. The trunks are uneven and in the middle of every one there’s a large, circular bump. I nervously glance over my shoulder then head inside the bush forest; hopefully I’m the only one in here.

  I have to lean down so the branches won’t snag my hair. I nearly jump out of my skin when a creature flits at the corner of my eye. I stifle the urge to call out “who’s there?” I try to hide in the shadows, the mermaid’s callous image fresh in my mind. The last thing I want to run into is another freaky, supposed to be non-existent creature. Fox. The shift is relatively smooth, the pain minimal so I barely register that it’s happening.

  Another flicker at the corner of my eye make’s my fur stand on end. Nothing. I barely breathe a sigh of relief when a shadow shudders and turns into a coati. It has a reddish coat, rings of black down its tail, and a long snout. It almost looks like a raccoon but without the mask and cuter.

  It’s no use trying to hide since its staring right at me, so I let out a low warning growl.

  “You’re one odd looking fox,” she says.

  I continue to keep my lips peeled even though the coati’s voice isn’t threatening.

  “I’m Shiver, what’s your name?” I back up as she runs over and sits directly beneath my snout.

  “What’s the matter? Pickers’ in your tongue?” Shiver teases. I stare at her. She must be awfully young.

  “Well?” her voice is light, mischievous.

  I’m unsure of what to do. Looks can be deceiving. She keeps staring at me with big eyes so I turn to leave.

  “Redsun?”

  “Huh?”

  “Your name!”

  I snort. “No. Are you following me?” I ask even though it’s obvious that she is.

  “You could say that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re the first animal I’ve seen in a while.”

  If I’ve learned one thing about Pandorma, it’s that I should always have my guard up—even if she looks harmless. I sneak a peek at her, trying to judge what her real intentions could be. My muscles are tense, I’m ready to fight the minute she lunges. If she does.

  “Hmm. Blackfoot?”

  “What?”

  “No? Ooh, how about Eruption!” she playfully rolls her eyes at my baffled look. “So am I right, Eruption? Sheesh you’re not the cleverest fox I’ve met. Actually I’ve never met a fox, but I’ve met a few other animals. I could count them on my paw I’ve met so few—”

  I pin my ears back in annoyance as words tumble out of her. “Hush! I can’t hear danger if you’re talking.”

  “Sorry. I tend to ramble. I can’t help it. I never have anyone to talk to. They always run away or try to eat me or—right, danger,” she breaks off at a look from me. I study the little coati carefully for a minute. She radiates nothing but loneliness and an overabundance of excitement.

  “Lissa,” I say.

  “I’ve never heard of that name before.”

  “So I would guess.”

  “I was named after this place. I rarely venture away from here.” Shiver gives a little bounce.

  “Which makes this Shiver Forest or something?” I ask. I wouldn’t call this a forest though; it’s just these bizarre bushes.

  Shiver laughs. Her laugh is scratchy and is more like deep broken chuckles.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I was named after the tree.” I try to hide my confusion but I’m too late.

  “These trees,” she says importantly as if it is her job to educate me on the things I don’t know. “Most creatures think they’re bushes but they’re actually tiny trees. Why do you think they’re called Shiver trees?”

  Might as well confess before Shiver thinks I have no brain at all. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t come from here.”

  Shiver stands there confused before understanding lights up her face. “Oh! You come from the other world,” she says dramatically. “Well! That explains your unusual name. Look.” Shiver goes up to a tree. “Put your paw on the bark.”

  Surprise weaves through me. The bark is vibrating. I look closer, but the tree isn’t visibly vibrating I press my ear to the bark. There’s a slight hum, the vibration tickling my ear fur.

  “Is there something inside?”

  “Not anything I know of.”

  “Is it bugs?” I mumble mostly to myself. I feel somewhat childish, but I’ve never felt a tree vibrate before and amazement has overtaken me.

  “Nope. I’ve chewed through the bark—there are no bugs.”

  I frown. If I listen closely there is a barely audible hum to the air.

  “What’s it like? In the other world?”

  “Nothing like this that’s for sure,” I say under my breath, thinking specifically of the mermaid that had just tried to kill me.

  We continue walking in silence until we reach the edge of the Shiver trees. I’m hesitant to shift, it’ll most likely start another round of Shiver’s jabbering, but I want to walk on two legs. Lissa.

  “So that’s what a human looks like. I heard it's what Xavier and Medusa are, but of course I’ve never seen one before so I had no idea what they looked like.”

  I look at the land spread before us. The ground is dry and rocky; the sparse bushes are short, the leaves tough and dry looking. Small to medium-sized plateaus rise up here and there, breaking up the landscape. The heat isn’t intense, but I have a feeling it will be when the sun is directly overhead.

  I take a hesitant step then shake off my uncertainty of crossing this place. The sooner I reach the Stones the better.

  “Are you sure you want to go out there?”

  “Yes. Why not?”

  “It's dangerous,” she says, eyes wide.

  “It can’t be any more dangerous than everywhere else,” I remark.

  “Oh. Good point!”

  I laugh and we start walking.

  “I think that wolf is following us,” Shiver tells me fearfully.

  I scan the deserted wilderness. Again. Seeing nothing, like the last five times she mentioned it, I say, “I think the heat is getting to you.” Sweat drips down my brow, I quickly wipe it away only for more to take its place.

  “I’m not the one sweating. There!” Shiver shrieks.

  This time I catch the end of a tail fleeing behind a boulder; a very familiar, blondish-brown tail.

  “Trevor, is that you?” I head over to the boulder. It might not be Trevor, but what other wolf would be following me instead of hunting me?

  “Gotcha!”

  I jump back and stare at Trevor as he chuckles. Relief and joy wash through me.

  “Oh my gosh, Trevor! Where have you . . . been?” I catch myself before I can say “you guys”—I can’t see Dark or Ryan with him. “And why are you trying to give me a heart attack? This place is already scary enough.”

  My imagination has worked itself into overdrive. Every flick of a leaf and my adrenaline starts racing. I have a right to be scared. Even though—I unwisely told Shiver that I can shift into any animal, and she started a whole round of endless, run-together questions—Shiver insisted that I could beat anything that set foot in front of us. But I don’t agree. Tingles of apprehension run up and down my spine. I think I’m sweating more out of fear than heat.

  “Sorry,” Trevor says, but he doesn’t sound sorry.

  “She’s afraid of a surprise attack,” Shiver states.

  “You would be too if you knew anything at all,” I reply.

  “Of what?” Trevor asks pointedly gazing around us at the emptiness.

  “Of Utahraptor,” Shiver answers for me.

  “A Utah tractor huh?”

  “It's Utah raptor dummy. And if you’re afraid you’re sane. If you’re not you’re de
mented.”

  “It couldn’t hurt me,” Shiver declares.

  I don’t bother asking her why. Instead I release a heavy sigh and start walking, intending to leave Trevor behind if I can.

  “Where are you headed?” Trevor asks just barely muffling his tone of superiority. He knows very well where I’m headed, so I ignore him.

  “Last I heard, Vacant Stones are the other way,” Trevor says.

  Dang it. I glance at Shiver, she stares at me curiously. I purse my lips and turn to him. He hasn’t moved, but now he walks up to me, an eyebrow raised. I cross my arms, desperately racking my brain for a comeback. But I have nothing.

  “Where are Dark and Ryan?” I ask instead.

  Trevor leans lazily against a rocky outcrop, acting as if this is the safest place in the world.

  “We left Bryan to fend for himself—”

  I throw him a look and he revises, “Your boyfriend—”

  “He’s not my boyfriend!” I yell then clap a hand over my mouth. Hopefully there aren’t any predators in the vicinity.

  Trevor’s face suddenly gets serious. “If he’s not your boyfriend then why did you bring him with us?” he asks accusingly. “Why are you with him?” I freeze at those words. It’s almost the exact same line Ryan had used.

  “Ryan was around so I told him about Pandorma. He wanted to come just like you did,” I answer.

  Trevor doesn’t seem to know how to take this. “After we lost you we weren’t sure if we should keep going or keep looking for you. Darklily decided it was best if she and Ryan kept going and I looked for you.”

  “So what took you so long?” I demand.

  “I thought this place was dangerous,” Trevor says, emphasizing dangerous.

  I just cross my arms and stare at him.

  Finally he gives in and says, “I had your trail until that rainstorm blew in and washed it away. But thanks to my superior senses I was still able to locate you.”

  I resist rolling my eyes. “Let’s go.”

  Trevor doesn’t move. “Lead on.”

  “Fine.” I take a guess and pick the opposite direction. He falls in step behind me so we must be heading the right way.

  After what feels like an hour of listening to our shoes crunching dirt, birds in the distance cawing, and bellows of avoided animals; Shiver finally breaks the silence. “I smell bear,” Shiver comments.

  “Yeah me too.” Trevor’s voice is hushed, wary. I breathe deeply but I can’t smell anything except the thick aroma of pine needles and sap.

  We’ve come to a stop in front of a dark pine forest. The thick boughs, heavy with needles, block all sun except for a few slivers that cast an eerie gray light in the darkness; the rich, dark dirt only adds to the ominous feeling.

  “I can’t smell bear,” I say.

  “How can you not?” Shiver whispers. “They always stink. I don’t know why.”

  Trevor snorts with laughter. “That’s true.”

  “So where is the bear?” I ask, still trying to pick up its scent.

  “I’d say—”

  “Never mind,” I interject quickly. I can’t trust anything he says right now. Not with the smile he’s attempting to hide.

  “You guys are wacky. Come on, there are berries this way,” chirps Shiver.

  Shiver leads us around the edge of the pine forest to a small berry patch. I quickly gobble down strawberries and raspberries, picking around the blackberries. Trevor turns away from us, scanning the forest guardedly.

  “Are you going to have some?” I ask him.

  “Nah. I already ate.”

  “Already ate . . .” my voice falters. Ate as in killed something? My stomach churns at the thought of killing and eating an animal; the thought of all those innards makes it worse.

  “That’s gross.”

  “I cooked it over a fire.” He leaves out duh, but I can hear it all the same.

  Shiver cuts off our banter. “So in this other world do they have forests or is it just,” Shiver opens her eyes wide, “barren?”

  “I’m going to shift,” Trevor states.

  I almost laugh at Shiver’s unnecessary drama. “My world . . .” I trail off. I was going to say, “Is no different from yours” but that would be totally wrong in some ways.

  “It's basically like here just—”

  “We need to leave now,” Trevor interrupts.

  An angry growl reverberates from the forest. I freeze mid-pick of a raspberry. There’s another piercing roar. Trevor takes off, following the line of trees. I grab Shiver and race after him, taking care not to trip over the numerous roots.

  Needles scrape my arm and sting my face but I hardly notice. Another roar echoes through the air, bouncing off the trees. It sounds closer.

  Trevor looks back, checking to make sure I’m still behind him. I realize he could’ve easily outpaced me by now. I should’ve shifted when he did.

  There’s another bellow. This one is farther away, but we don’t stop running until we’ve cleared the forest and the small field adjacent to it.

  Chapter 12

  Trevor’s brow furrows as he attempts to start a fire. I stifle a giggle, but a small noise must have slipped out because he looks over at me.

  “This isn’t as easy as it looks,” he says.

  I get closer to him and his pile of twigs. Dad would always build a fire when we went camping in August and he’d tried numerous times to teach me but I could never remember—or had the patience to sit and actually listen to him when he was trying to teach me.

  “Well, maybe if we . . .” I take one of his sticks and vigorously rub my hands down it. My feeble attempt at copying what I’ve seen people in movies do.

  “Why don’t you just find a dragon?”

  We both look over at Shiver.

  “Dragons are just myths,” Trevor grunts.

  “So are werewolves,” I say and elbow him gently. “Where would we find a dragon?” I ask Shiver.

  Trevor gives me an are-you-serious? look, but I ignore him. He takes my stick from me and continues doing what I did.

  “There’s probably at least one in those caves we passed,” Shiver responds.

  “It’s too far back,” Trevor says hurriedly and I feel the last spark of hope for the warmth of a fire go out.

  I sigh and lean against a tree. A sliver of moon winks coldly far above.

  “Looks like we won’t have a fire tonight,” Trevor says, throwing the sticks away.

  “That’s a shame. I’ll be back, going to get some dinner!” Shiver announces and trots off, nose in the air.

  Wolf. Trevor watches me as I shift, his face purposefully blank. A strong wind picks up so I edge closer to Trevor, who has shifted as well.

  “I guess Darklily was right,” he says.

  I nod. “Who knew? It’s so weird right? I mean, who would’ve thought that I could shift? I’m not even a werewolf. I’m something else.”

  “You sure are something else,” he says softly and I swallow. Feeling self-conscious, I tuck my paws around my chest.

  “What happened to the backpack?” I ask, changing the subject.

  “Ryan has it,” he answers.

  Silence settles over us and as my eyelids are starting to droop he says, “I shouldn’t have pushed you away and gone into hiding. I knew I could trust you I just . . .”

  I understand perfectly. Some secrets never make their way to the surface gracefully. They come out in other ways, leaving trails of pain, anger, and regret.

  “We could always start over,” I say.

  He looks at me hopefully, his tail thumping once. “I’ve missed having you around.”

  I attempt to smile, forgetting I’m in wolf form. It probably looks more like the beginning of a snarl.

  “Back! Lissa, I was thinking, what exactly can you shift into?” Shiver’s rusty voice breaks the peace and we both look over at her. Shiver pads over and lies next to me.

  “Darklily says I can shift into any animal.” />
  “That’s handy. Who is this Darklily?”

  Trevor sighs and mutters something about not getting any sleep tonight.

  “Dark is the one who brought us here. Well, she brought me here. My friends just tagged along,” I answer.

  “Dark is your nickname for her? I like nicknames. Maybe I can have a nickname for you. How about Lis?”

  “That’ll work,” I respond sleepily.

  Shiver then begins babbling about how awesome it would be if I shifted into a dragon and such. As she talks, sleep envelopes me like a wool blanket, and before I can stop myself, I’m out.

  * * * *

  “No!” I jerk up, terror flooding me.

  Trevor is instantly by my side. “Are you okay?” he asks.

  “Bad dream,” I say shakily.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  I quickly shake my head. It had been another dream with my dad appearing to be dead. I didn’t want to talk about it with Trevor. He would just ask questions and I didn’t feel like giving any answers.

  I slump back to the ground, my breathing still uneven. It’s still very dark. I wonder how much sleep I got. I doubt it was much though I don’t feel in the least bit tired. Trevor leaves me then comes back with a pile of berries and meat. I quickly eat the berries, hoping they’ll sooth my parched throat. Nope. I look dubiously at the meat.

  “It’s cooked.” When I still don’t touch it he adds, “You can’t live on fruit alone.”

  The meat is still warm. I tentatively bring it up to my mouth. Trevor looks at me expectantly. He wants me to like it, so I’m glad it doesn’t taste terrible, but I’d take a hamburger over this any day.

  “So?”

  “It's good.”

  Trevor smiles. “I know it doesn’t seem too appealing but you can’t be picky here.”

  Shivering, I get up and kneel in front of a small fire. “How did you get a fire started?”

  “Your friend got that dragon.”

  My eyes widen. “Did you see it?”

  Trevor shakes his head. I look around for Shiver, but she isn’t visible.

  “We should get going.” Trevor stamps out the fire. “You should probably shift. We're headed into a cold spot.”