Shadowed

by Connie Suttle

  "Wynnie, are you sure you want to do that?" Ashe used the nickname that most people were afraid to use—Sharon called her daughter by that name but Wynn usually got upset if anyone else did.

  "I will," Wynn seemed determined. "They have to understand that we're not all like Chad and Jeremy. Stupid twits," she muttered.

  "Look, why don't we meet at Ashe's house in an hour?" Hayes suggested. Jeff and Larry nodded in agreement.

  "All right," Wynn said. "Let's go, Dori." Dori followed Wynn toward the front doors of the school. Ashe watched both girls walk down the polished tile hallway that separated classrooms at Cloud Chief Combined.

  "You're sure about this?" Ashe turned back to Hayes, Larry and Jeff.

  "We have to do something," Jeff said. He, Larry and Hayes were best friends, much like Ashe and Sali, but occasionally the three boys came to Sali's house—they seldom visited Ashe. All of them enjoyed playing video games, but generally hated playing Ashe. If he concentrated on the game, Ashe was very hard to beat. The others liked to win once in a while, so they played mostly with Sali.

  "I'll offer some of my books to Luanne; Trace said this morning that all her books got burned," Ashe sighed, nodding to the three boys. "Meet at my house in an hour and we'll go." Hayes, Larry and Jeff, their athletic shoes squeaking on the polished tile, walked quickly toward the school entrance.

  "Sali, I know I'll get in trouble if Mom and Dad find out, but we can't go empty-handed. Want to mist into Cordell and buy snacks?" Ashe gazed hopefully at his friend.

  "Yeah. Let's go," Sali breathed, excited to be sneaking away from the community. Ashe, making sure nobody else was inside the deserted school, became mist. Pulling Sali into his mist, he blazed toward his home to raid his allowance stash before racing invisibly to the nearby town of Cordell.

  Waiting patiently while a man wearing a studded leather jacket purchased a few items ahead of them, Ashe totaled snack items in his head. Sali had been more than generous, dumping multiple bags of chips and cookies into their basket.

  "Having a party, boys?" The woman at the register rang up the sale. The pile of cookies, snacks and soft drinks traveled along the conveyor belt while Ashe and Sali watched the cashier scan all of it. Ashe pulled a handful of bills from his pocket to pay—he barely had enough to cover everything.

  "Yeah, we're inviting friends over," Ashe agreed, handing money to the cashier. Sali was already gathering up bags of purchased snacks.

  "Haven't I seen you at Cordell Feed and Seed?" The woman asked, her brown eyes kind as she handed change back.

  "My mom owns it," Ashe said. Cordell was small enough that everyone knew everybody else.

  "You're Adele's son. Now I recognize you," the woman placed hands on ample hips as she smiled at Ashe and Sali. "Well, have fun."

  "We will. Thanks," Ashe lifted what Sali couldn't carry and they walked through the door of Jerry's Super Saver Market and Bakery.

  "Come on," Ashe nodded toward the opposite side of the grocery store—cars were parked where Sali was walking. They had to find a good place for Ashe to turn to mist.

  "Here," Ashe hissed, walking between the brick wall of the store and the two large dumpsters behind it. Turning himself, Sali and everything they carried to mist, Ashe flew toward Cloud Chief.

  * * *

  "Luanne, I'm really sorry about your house," Ashe apologized later. Luanne and her parents were visiting with Macy, Ramona and Rocky Hill, having walked from Old Harold's house to the mobile homes parked in the field behind Ashe's home. "We're inviting everyone over to Edward's house—his father gave permission. We've got video games and I've got a list of books from my library that you're welcome to borrow if you want."

  "Plus we have snacks and sodas," Sali nodded enthusiastically behind Ashe.

  "Mom?" Luanne blinked at Linda Jansen, asking permission. They'd spent the previous night huddled inside Old Harold's underground home, wondering what would become of them. Now, several members of the Cloud Chief community had brought clothing and household items, and these children were asking them over to play games and have fun.

  "I think it's all right," Linda nodded. "We might be over after a while; I'd like to talk with Macy's parents a little longer."

  "Go with Luanne, Macy," Ramona agreed. "Have some fun. We haven't seen a lot of that lately."

  Macy and Luanne followed Ashe and Sali out of the house. "We just wanted you to know that we're not like Chump and Wormy. Trust me, they'll be punished," Ashe said to Luanne as they walked through the field toward Edward's mobile home.

  "Having a get-together?" Jason and Trace were assigned to guard during the day, so they were well aware that something was going on at Edward's home.

  "Hey, Trace. Hello, Mr. Landers," Ashe nodded to both werewolves. "We wanted to get to know everybody, and Hayes always looks for an excuse to play video games," Ashe grinned. And we wanted them to know we're not all arsonists, he added mentally, causing Trace to snicker.

  "Have a good time. If you need anything, just call," Trace waved them on.

  "Will do," Sali said.

  * * *

  "This is Wynn and this is Dori," Ashe introduced both girls to Macy and Luanne. "And this is Hayes, Larry and Jeff," he added. Hayes and Jeff were already deep into a video game with Bryce and Keith. Larry watched the action while Philip sat nearby, engrossed in the game and unusually quiet. Edward, crunching away on cheese puffs, grinned at Ashe. The only one refusing to have a good time was Elizabeth, who sat on a corner of the Pendley's sofa, sipping a soda and gazing sourly at Hayes and Jeff.

  "Luanne, I think Wynn wants to show you her animal," Ashe said as Wynn gave Ashe a suggestive jerk of her head. "And you have to realize that Wynn won't do this for just anybody."

  "What is it?" Luanne asked, giving Wynn a puzzled look.

  "It'll be a surprise," Wynn said shyly.

  "Edward, can we borrow your bathroom?" Ashe asked.

  "Sure. Need anything?" Edward slid off his barstool and came to stand next to Sali, offering the bag of cheese puffs to the young werewolf. Sali grabbed a handful and began crunching.

  "No. But we'll have a surprise for everyone in just a couple of minutes."

  Dori followed Wynn toward the bathroom—she'd have to take Wynn's clothing, after all.

  "How sturdy is the floor?" Sali stopped eating long enough to ask.

  "Why do you need to know?" Edward asked curiously.

  "You'll see. Just wait out here," Ashe directed. He, Sali, Luanne, Macy and Edward waited at the edge of the hallway that led to the mobile home's main bathroom. Wynn and Dori walked inside the small room and shut the door.

  "I think you might like this," Ashe turned to tell Luanne when she and Macy, staring down the hall as the bathroom door opened again, gasped in amazement, their eyes widening in surprise. Macy, coming back to herself, squealed and clapped her hands.

  "Oh, my gosh," Luanne whispered.

  * * *

  "There are unicorns?" Elizabeth rose from her seat to stare at Wynn, whose horn shone nearly golden in the afternoon light, her white coat glowing. Delicate hooves stepped carefully across Edward's living-room carpet. Blue eyes gazed at the assembled teens, who stared helplessly spellbound at her.

  "Don't touch—it's just like somebody trying to touch you—without your clothes on," Dori warned as Bryce held out a hand.

  "How many are there?" Elizabeth's voice was filled with awe. Ashe was surprised—of all of them, Elizabeth and Philip were the most jaded.

  "Wynn is the only known unicorn in the United States. We're not sure about Europe—she may be the only one living on the planet."

  "That is awesome," Luanne breathed. Edward's father, Steven, had already sent a message on his walkie-talkie to other parents, who were now crowding into the Pendley's living room. They stared, too.

  "This is Wynn—Wynn O'Neill," Ashe introduced Wynn's unicorn to the gathered parents. "Her mother is a palomino mare; her father is a bald eagle."

  "I becom
e an ocelot," Dori said. "I'm Dori Anderson. My Mother is a lioness and my sister Cori is a panther. You've seen Ashe's bat; Larry is a bobcat and the rest here are werewolves."

  "We've lived among humans all our lives," Hayes had abandoned his video game as soon as Wynn walked in as the unicorn. "Ashe's mom owns a store in Cordell. Not all of us are like those two last night, just as all humans aren't alike. Packmaster DeLuca will make sure those two are punished. In the meantime, we'd like to be friends. If that's all right with you."

  "This is the coolest thing ever," Bryce said, still staring at Wynn. His half-brother Keith nodded in silent agreement.

  "I think Wynn wants to change back," Ashe said softly. Dori followed Wynn into the bathroom again while the Pendley home burst into conversation.

  "It's a secret we guard with our lives," Hayes said. "Can you imagine what might happen if word got out about what we are? Some people will want to kill us. That's why we stay hidden."

  "But there are some officials that are aware?" Rocky Hill asked. "The Director, for example?"

  "Yeah. Some people know, and they're sworn to secrecy," Ashe agreed. "I heard that a few of our kind work for National Security, keeping all of us safe."

  "Has your community ever been discovered?" Steven Pendley asked.

  "When one of us showed them the way in, and that problem was eliminated last year," Marcus DeLuca walked into the house. "We're guarding against that happening again," he added. "The Grand Master has handed out punishment to the werewolf boy, and the school administrators have decided what will happen with the shapeshifter. Since both boys live in the same home, the punishments will be served together." Marcus now had the attention of everyone inside the home as Wynn and Dori walked out of the bathroom to join the crowd.

  "Chad must pay restitution. That money will come from an emergency fund set up by the werewolf government, and Chad must work to pay that money back within a reasonable amount of time. Should he not do so, he will be judged again—as an adult. He also will serve a sentence through the rest of the summer—he is under house arrest and will be caged during the full moons." Sali, Jeff and Hayes stifled gasps—being caged during the full Moon was the equivalent of solitary confinement. Wolves were compelled to run during the full Moon and it was bad enough that those under the age of fifteen were confined to their homes. A cage was very small—barely large enough to hold a werewolf.

  "What about the other one?" Peter Jansen asked.

  "He will be caged during full moons as well, and is under house arrest just as the other one is. And since he received a new car as a graduation gift; that will be taken away and parked elsewhere. I don't want them sneaking out somehow and driving off, so I have the keys." Marcus held up the keys in question and jangled them.

  "But they'll have to finish school and graduate with the rest?" Ashe asked.

  "Yes, but all the teachers and the Principal are expected to keep a close watch on them. If they act up or cause trouble, they may be doing their final assignments from home. One or both parents are expected to pick them up from school every day."

  "Poor Mr. and Mrs. Booth," Ashe sighed.

  "It's only for two weeks, Ashe, and they won't get to deliver a speech at graduation. Part of the punishment."

  "In their case, that might be a reward. Have you seen their writing skills?" Dori huffed. Sali snickered.

  Chapter 7

  "What did you write your end-of-year essay about?" Sali asked as he caught up with Ashe on their way to school the following day. The essays were due that morning in English class. Sali hated that English was their first subject of the day; Ashe didn't mind at all.

  Mr. Garnett, their new English teacher, was utilitarian at best, but he was a werewolf and that suited the community. He followed at Principal Billings' heels whenever possible. Ashe couldn't figure out if Mr. Garnett wanted to take the Principal's position someday or if he was merely trying to fit in as best he could. He'd taken Paul Harris' post—and his home—after Cloud Chief's previous English teacher had been captured the year before.

  "I wrote it on the economic feasibility of a community such as ours," Ashe replied to Sali's question. "I mean, there are certain expenses that are shared by the community, and we grow our own vegetables during the warmer months. The O'Neills supply beef and mutton to the community because they raise sheep and cattle, plus they bale hay for the others that keep horses. The Thompsons raise chickens and turkeys, so we can get eggs and poultry that way—Mom seldom buys much of that stuff from the store. The trick, I think, is in keeping the communities small so we can raise enough vegetables and meat on the hoof to keep everybody. And we have to worry about keeping it small enough that we can stay hidden."

  "Dude, that's something a senior ought to write," Sali said. "That makes my essay on the relationships between shifters and werewolves look like grade school crap."

  "Sali, that's important and a really good idea. I wish I'd thought of it," Ashe sighed. "Sal, you're smarter than everybody thinks. I don't know why you try to hide it."

  "Too much work, man," Sali grinned. "Come on, race you to school." Both boys took off at a run.

  * * *

  "My Queen, it is time." Hilbah hated to interrupt Friesianna at anything—she held a short and volatile temper and was inclined to use the crown she wore as extra power to hurl unsuspecting subjects against convenient trees or walls. Her methods of displaying her displeasure with those who tried her patience were legendary. Hilbah, dark-haired, blue-eyed and inwardly quaking, had dressed in his finest gold silk to come to the Queen.

  He should have come months earlier, but he was afraid. It was he who'd suggested the seeding of the Elemaiyan eggs in the fertility clinics, and he'd congratulated himself secretly on the cunning plan he'd devised. They'd only managed to collect a mere three hundred seventeen half-Elemaiyan children. More than two hundred of those children had already fallen in the war with their Dark cousins. Friesianna might not accept compliments and respectful groveling much longer.

  "Ah, my Miriasu," Friesianna greeted her Seer. Breathing a mental sigh upon finding her in a good mood, Hilbah bowed low and repeated his statement. "My Queen, it is time. Time to gather the last of the children. Only a few remain and it would be wise to take all of them now."

  "You have the tokens from each mother?" Friesianna asked, lifting a shapely eyebrow at Hilbah.

  "Yes. Here," Hilbah handed an intricately carved wood box to the Queen. "I have had them since the beginning. These six are all that remain."

  "Do you have any suggestions to bring them to us quickly?"

  "Send out the Call. Have them come to us," Hilbah bowed. He knew what the Call would require. It was not a simple thing to do and the Queen's Jewels—her elite guards that held the ancient talismans—might object; they were powerful in their own right and the talismans made them stronger. Diamond and his brothers would not take kindly to being weakened while the Queen borrowed their talismans to perform the Call.

  "I will consider this," The Queen rested her chin on the tip of a delicate finger, the heavy gemstone rings she wore winking in the fading afternoon light. "And I will consult with the spies that my Jewels have found for me. That will tell me much. I will give you my answer in three days."

  Dismissed, Hilbah bowed again and walked away, dignified and slow. He wished to slump and hurry, but that was unbecoming of the Queen's Miriasu. Gone were the days when the Queen would heed her Seer's advice and take immediate action. No—Hilbah held not the talent to command that respect and Friesianna, upstart Queen that she was, held not the wisdom.

  * * *

  "My King." Rend, the Dark King's Chief Destroyer stood before Baltis, King of the Dark Elemaiya and Prince Beldris, Baltis' only brother.

  "Rend?" Baltis rested his chin on a fist, gazing across the wilds of Canada while his brother spoke of days long past when their numbers had been fifty times what they now were. Before Friesianna had taken the Bright throne and war between the two races had begun.
Rend now stood before Baltis, interrupting the King's thoughts and his brother's speech.

  "My King, our spy reports that Friesianna may send a Call for the remaining children. Only a few, as I understand."

  "Will our informant know when the Call is sent?" Baltis was now sitting straight on his throne, his interest focused solely on Rend's words. How a werewolf spy could know these things puzzled Baltis, but he was grateful for the information. Obediah Tanner, a rogue werewolf, had been feeding the Dark Elemaiya information for years. For a price, of course.

  "He will know—and he has not led us astray so far," Rend said respectfully.

  "Then pay him and keep me informed. We will track and destroy," Baltis commanded. "Those Bright fools still don't realize there's a seventh one out there. I'd like to eliminate him before Friesianna learns of his existence." Baltis mused for a moment. "Very well, kill the others when you find them, and keep watching for the opportunity to destroy the hidden one." Baltis escaped his reverie and waved a careless hand, commanding his Destroyers. "See to it."

  "As you will it, my King." Rend bowed and walked away.

  "We will bring the Bright Queen down," Prince Beldris smiled at his brother.

  "Of course we will," Baltis nodded regally.

  * * *

  "I heard Chad and Jeremy's essays won't be considered," Cori said as she walked out of Cloud Chief Combined with Ashe and Sali. Sali had gotten into an argument with Wynn and Dori during Math class, destroying the temporary peace that existed between them and reinstating the old feud. Ashe shrugged over the whole thing and resolved to wait it out. Again. At least Cori was still speaking to him, even if she was giving Sali dark looks now and then.

  "That's what Marcus told us yesterday. It's no surprise, but I don't think they had a chance anyway," Ashe said. "I figure somebody in your class will get it, though."