Lion Shifter

by Lucia Ashta

  I chortled quietly. I doubted anyone was exactly like me. Not even the millennium-old owl could make sense of me and my odd magic.

  “It’s an admirable career. There’s little more respectable than to selflessly protect others who are too weak or unprepared to defend themselves.” He gestured a wing toward the hoodlums gathered in front of him beneath the raised platform. Surely, he wasn’t suggesting these misfits were “respectable.”

  “I realize most of you believed none of the Enforcers survived the attack on them in the night. However, I’m here to share at least some good news with you. Some did survive. Not many, considering they numbered more than seven hundred and now their numbers are in the low double digits. Apparently the Voice didn’t anticipate some of the secret patrols the Enforcers undertake, and those who were on duty on these secret missions survived. Some of these survivors stand here among us.”

  The attention of the crowd shifted to the well-armed goons, who sneered and narrowed their eyes at us, though it wasn’t clear whether they were trying to threaten us or if they couldn’t help themselves, a habit borne from surviving a dangerous world.

  After a few heavy moments passed, Sir Lancelot continued: “I’m sure all of you noticed the commotion in the parking lot this morning. However, I imagine most of you are unaware of its cause. When Leander Verion arrived with Kylan, Boone, Rina, and the rest of the fae that traveled to the Golden Forest, several members of the Shifter Alliance ambushed them.”

  A communal gasp circled the audience.

  “Yes, a grave situation, no doubt. Thankfully, a couple of Enforcers arrived to escort our students to the school and defused the situation.”

  As if on cue, Damon and Sadie appeared at the open door, each leaning against one side of the threshold, arms crossed over their chests, mess-with-me-if-you-dare attitudes firmly in place. Wren scooted a little closer to me in her seat.

  The owl began pacing across the desk. “What the Shifter Alliance’s attack at the entrance to our school tells us, very clearly, is that the Voice has not heeded the supernatural community’s requests that it back down, that it cease using violence—murder—to accomplish its ends.” Sir Lancelot pivoted to face us. “The rebel faction will come at us until we crush it.”

  The hoodlums at the front of the room and at the door nodded, grumbling their agreement.

  “They refuse to be civilized, leaving us no option but to defend and secure our position by whatever means necessary. We will always attempt to disarm and talk down before attacking, but if the Voice leaves us no option, we’ll do what we must.”

  Jas turned to me with wide eyes, the thick rim of kohl eyeliner and mascara emphasizing the importance of the gesture. “Shit,” she mouthed. “He’s talking like we’re going to war or something.”

  I nodded worriedly. Yeah, that’s what it sounded like to me too.

  The owl dragged the tip of a wing across his face, rubbing at it. “I wish I had better news to share with you. I really do. Perhaps I should have delayed this talk with you until the shock of the ambush this morning had worn off. That the Shifter Alliance should be so open about its actions, attacking students in broad daylight...” He shook his head and sighed heavily, the sound echoing through my head. “It doesn’t bode well for their plans for the future.

  “Most of you already realize that the leaders of the Shifter Alliance are after two of our own. And though the Shifter Alliance is but a segment of the Voice, it’s a powerful one. Kylan and Rina Mont are their targets, and as they’re the only clear ones we’re aware of, the Enforcers have decided to gather as much of their forces as they can to protect Kylan and Rina. It’s the one point where we can be relatively certain they’ll attack.”

  A wave of nausea rumbled through me until it passed as quickly as it arrived. Wren placed a hand on my arm in silent support, and even the moody Jas offered me a sympathetic half-smile.

  “Before you ask, the Enforcers haven’t abandoned their role in protecting the humans from those paranormal creatures who lack integrity and harm them without care. Nor have they abandoned their role in policing the supernatural community. However, with the vast decrease in their numbers, they’ve had no choice but to allocate their forces according to priority. Volunteers, mostly those opposed to the despicable tactics of the Voice, have stepped forward to bolster the Enforcers. No, these volunteers aren’t trained to be Enforcers, but some are graduates from the Menagerie who’ve completed their apprenticeships. Most of them are shifters, vampires, and even some mages, who wish to quash the use of violence as a means to solve our problems.

  “Anyway, I could talk all day about the finer details of the situation, but that won’t serve our purposes here.”

  No! I wanted to cry out. Tell us everything! Maybe understanding more of what was going on would make me feel less helpless...

  “The way the magical creatures of the different types and sectors intersect is more complicated and involved than we need to get into here. Suffice it to say, we need to put a stop to the Voice. To that end, the Enforcers you see here”—he nodded toward those in front of him, but also in the direction of Damon and Sadie—“will remain on campus during the entire term. Their role will be to protect the students and staff here, and most especially to defend Kylan and Rina. We cannot afford to allow the leaders of the Shifter Alliance to claim more power, and we most certainly will not allow them to claim it by force, draining the life of two of our pupils in the process.”

  I sensed the attention of students on all sides of me drifting across me and Ky, who was seated up in the front row of the auditorium where he could shoot to standing without interference.

  “For those of you wondering how you can help, the best thing to do is focus on your studies and excel at being you. Master your shifter abilities and magic, learn the skills the professors are so eager to teach you, and consider joining the ranks of the Enforcers after completing your apprenticeships. Also, be on the alert. You all are completely safe within the protection of the campus, but so you should have been last term. Watch your surroundings with vigilance, and if you see anything out of place, notify Fianna or Nessa immediately. If you can’t find them, let one of the Enforcers know. They’ll be stationed all around campus.”

  The air in the auditorium grew thick with anticipation.

  “As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, after Rasper the Rabbit’s death, three of his brothers from the same litter have stepped forward to fill Rasper’s role. I assure you, they are equally vicious and equally motivated. No one will get by them.”

  Unless they do... What the owl didn’t say hung heavily in the room.

  The owl dropped his wings to his sides and huffed. He allowed his exhaustion to bloom across his face; even his feathers appeared to droop. I’d never seen the owl in such an ungentlemanly state before. He opened his beak to continue speaking, then closed it again. He frowned, the feathers around his beak flagging.

  “I’m so very sorry to welcome you to a new term when our community is in turmoil. But the world beyond our mountain is even more dangerous. We have the duty to train and prepare to protect it. Though I can’t force you to share in this sense of duty with me, I hope that you will want to be a part of the solution. Dear students, do your very best, every single day, and in doing so you’ll honor your kind. You’ll be part of the force that protects innocents and sets right the many wrongs in the world.”

  Hmm, yeah, no pressure. Thanks, Sir Lancelot.

  A rustling swept his audience, making me think the others were uncomfortable beneath the pressure as well.

  “I think that’s enough for now,” the owl said. “The staff and I have agreed that a mood-booster will be helpful for the student body. So Friday night we will host our very first Paranormal Party of Pleasantries.”

  Jas smirked beside me. That name ... it was precisely something Sir Lancelot would think made the event seem elegant.

  “The soiree will be for all students, chaperoned by staff, of co
urse. So that our initiated vampire students may attend, it will begin promptly after dark, to be held within the dining hall as dusk fades. I’m quite certain this will set the tone for our semester quite wonderfully.” The headmaster smiled, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. As his attention trailed off to whatever else preoccupied him, a murmur circled the crowd.

  He snapped his gaze back up to us. “That’s all for now. You have time to break your fast quickly if you haven’t had the chance before arriving at the school. A pleasant staff of trolls awaits you.”

  The owl clearly defined “pleasant” differently than I did.

  “You’re expected at your first class promptly at nine. Many of you will find an additional class on your schedules. Defensive Creature Magic is now a requirement for all beginning students. It is no longer for the advanced terms only. The staff of the Magical Creatures Academy, and I personally, will do everything in our power to prepare you for what awaits.

  “May magic protect us all.” With a somber nod to punctuate that somber note, the owl exchanged looks with the Enforcers and Leander, Boone, and Ky, who clearly had already conferred with the owl. Then Sir Lancelot launched himself off the table, caught himself with an efficient flap of his wings, and glided out the open door. Fianna and Nessa flew right behind him, flapping their wings intensely, working to catch up to the owl, who was twice their size.

  The assistant fairies must have already forgotten they’d promised to stick around in case any of us had questions. I didn’t blame them. From the looks of it, Sir Lancelot’s speech had hit us all hard. After last term’s half-of-you-won’t-make-it speech, I thought this one would be more uplifting. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

  The weight of the supernatural world settled across my shoulders. I had to find the strength to excel this semester. I didn’t have any other choice.

  6

  Wren, Jas, Adalia, Dave, and I sat around a table at the dining hall, where I pretended not to be completely overwhelmed. I had the feeling they were doing the same. Sadie sat at the end of our table and didn’t bother to disguise her stare—pinned directly on me. Oh sure, it traveled every few seconds, darting across my companions to scan the entirety of the dining hall, especially its apparently foreboding corners, before settling on me—again.

  The Enforcer’s constant attention made me jumpy, and no matter how much I tried to ignore her, I sensed her gaze across my skin like an itch I couldn’t scratch. If this was how the term was going to go, it was going to be a very long one.

  “So,” Wren said meekly, clutching a steaming cup of jasmine green tea with both hands. She blew the steam, but I suspected it was a delay tactic. My willowy roommate skirted a quick glance at Sadie, whisking across her Smurfette shirt, the same bright Smurf-blue one she wore this morning when she threatened to kill the hyenas. “You’re going to be rooming with Rina and me, huh?”

  I admired her effort to appear calm, but her voice came out as a rush of squeaky breath, betraying her true emotions. I didn’t blame her. Sadie was terrifying. She was normal-looking enough. In fact, she appeared a little too normal-looking with her medium-length hair, hazel eyes, and average everything else. She was … cute, or she would have been if not for the manic gleam to her otherwise ordinary eyes.

  Sadie considered Wren, tilting her head to the side while she studied her. Finally, she gave one curt nod.

  “B-but, where will you sleep? There are only two beds in our room,” Wren said.

  “Don’t you worry about me.” Sadie’s voice was hard enough to slice Wren’s ceramic mug in half, making Wren twitch in surprise as she heard the Enforcer’s voice for the first time. “I sleep with one eye open.”

  “Oh.” Wren nodded a little too quickly, a little too nervously.

  I would’ve laughed if I hadn’t been freaked out about the idea of Sadie watching us while we slept.

  “And will the other Enforcer be sleeping in the room with Ky?” Jas asked Sadie, who tilted her head to consider my skunk-shifter friend.

  “Yes, and Damon sleeps with both eyes open. He won’t miss a thing.”

  “That’s good,” Jas said, and either she had secret skills as a fantabulous actress, or she genuinely wasn’t bothered by the extra dose of weird that had descended upon the school. “We don’t want a repeat of last term.”

  Sadie’s eyes grew hard as marbles. “There won’t be a repeat of what happened last term, not now, not ever. Not on my watch.”

  This was dangerous territory. I widened my eyes in an attempt to silently communicate to my friends to back off from this topic. We didn’t need to put Sadie through Bad-Memory Ville. Adalia, Dave, and Wren got it right away, though they probably wouldn’t have said a word regardless. Jas, however, liked to poke big, angry bears. She’d proven it over and again with the pygmy trolls who worked at the school.

  “I can’t believe they took out so many of you guys,” she said, tucking the lone, shocking white strand of hair behind her ear. “The Enforcers are the best of the best. How’d they manage to get the drop on you like they did?”

  I fumed at Jas across the table, but she actually didn’t seem like she was trying to upset our crazed Enforcer on purpose. She shook her head, her jet black hair sliding around her chin in shiny waves. “I just … I still can’t believe it...”

  I waited for Sadie to blow, but what happened was worse. She appeared to cave in on herself; her shoulders hunched ever so slightly, and the hard glint that shone through her eyes softened beneath a wet gleam.

  Oh, this was infinitely worse than hardass Sadie. I stretched beneath the table and kicked Jas in the shin.

  “Ow,” she yelped. “What’d you do that for?”

  I quirked an are-you-effing-kidding-me-right-now look while Adalia elbowed her in the side. Jas jerked her head around the table, and when she finally took in Sadie, she had the grace to appear apologetic. It was more than I’d expected from her.

  Dave leaned his forearms on the table on the other side of me. “What happened this morning in the parking lot to the trailhead? Were there really shifters from the Voice waiting for you there?”

  I grimaced. “Yeah. There definitely were.” I relayed the story as succinctly as I could.

  “Man, that’s really nuts. I’m so glad no one got hurt.”

  Sadie chortled. “Oh, people got hurt all right. Just not any of us.”

  Dave and Wren leaned toward me ever so slightly from either side. Crazed maniac Sadie was back.

  “Thane’s been waiting to get his hands on any of them,” she went on, oblivious to our discomfort. “I only wish I could’ve stuck around to see him punish that bitch Jacinda for killing his wife and the rest of us.”

  Several beats of intense discomfort circled my friends and me before Sadie’s gaze grew wistful for a few moments. “Thane’s wife was pregnant, did you know?”

  We shook our heads in unison, speechless at the horrors that had befallen the Enforcers—future versions of ourselves. The Voice had even killed those who were apprentices.

  “She was my friend.” Sadie’s voice was too soft, too vulnerable, and I suddenly wanted the badass protector back.

  I pressed through my awkwardness. “Hey, so, they learned their lesson though, right? Never bring a broadsword to a gunfight, am I right?”

  Sadie snapped her head up to do a quick sweep of the room before staring at me. I swallowed roughly and blinked too often. When she finally cracked a smile, breath expanded through my chest.

  “Yeah, Jacinda should’ve known better,” Sadie said. “Damon won’t go anywhere without that gun of his anymore, not after the Attack. He’s one of the few lucky supes who can work a gun without it going all wonky with his magic.” I waited for Sadie to descend into despair or nostalgia again, but it didn’t happen. “Though Damon could kick Jacinda’s ass any day of the week, half asleep and blindfolded.”

  “He certainly looks like he could,” I said.

  “Jacinda is tough, I won’t lie about th
at, but Damon is tougher. That dude could crack a walnut with his jaw.”

  I winced, hoping it was simply a colorful exaggeration. “And you guys and Jacinda were really friends at one point?”

  “Maybe not friends, but associates. She was an Enforcer in training before turning to the dark side.”

  Was it a Star Wars reference or was there really a dark side of the supernatural world? With magic it was hard to tell, and I sat on my hands to hold myself still. I hadn’t had the appetite for so much as a cup of tea after the morning I’d had.

  “It happens often enough,” she continued. “The rebels, the Voice now, I guess, bribes or blackmails them or whatever it is they do. I’ve seen some good people end up fighting for them.”

  “Do they ever come back?” Wren asked, eyes wide and innocent.

  “No. None of them ever does.”

  “Whoa,” Jas said. “That’s some crazy shit right there.”

  “Indeed.”

  “Speaking of crazy shit,” I said, “what do you guys think about this Paranormal Party of Pleasantries?”

  “I think it’s ridiculous,” Jas said. When Wren opened her mouth to speak, Jas powered on: “Though if your hot brother will be there, I don’t mind attending. There are worse things to do than stare at him all night. Hey, maybe you could hook me up with him and—”

  “No,” I said. “Not now, not ever. When are you gonna get it through your head?”

  “Damn. You didn’t have to be that harsh.”

  “I think you actually offended the unoffendable Jas,” Dave said. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

  “I’m not offended,” Jas snapped.

  “Hey, I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m just under a lot of pressure right now.”

  “I told you, I’m not offended.” And to prove her point, Jas proceeded to talk about the upcoming party with the animation of a teeny-bopper dreaming of prom. I tuned her out, milling over my own concerned thoughts: Were Ky and I really safe on campus? Would we bring danger to everyone else just by being here? Was that fair to the others or should we just run away and hide out somewhere? I still had to check up on Dad and see how he’d fared over the summer without both his children.