It was just a feather.
“Focus on the feather,” she said.
I focused.
“Now close your eyes.”
I closed them.
“Imagine you’re running through a field, Charlie.”
I thought about the prettiest field I’d ever been in. It was filled with wildflowers and big, giant sunflowers that swayed in the wind.
“Now think about running faster and faster.”
I imagined the wind on my face. I thought about how it might feel to be running so fast that my legs started to hurt.
“Now imagine the edge of the field, Charlie. There’s a cliff that leads down to a beautiful waterfall and a swimming hole so deep you could swim for days and never reach the bottom. Jump, Charlie. Jump.”
In my mind, I ran to the edge of the field and I didn’t hesitate. Something about being in my shifter form made me feel brave and strong in ways I never had before. Then I leapt. I jumped down, over the edge of the cliff, and I dove into the waters. The waterfall was loud and crashing and beautiful, and when I came up for water, I opened my eyes.
Fiona was looking at me, grinning.
“You did it,” she said. “You changed back.”
I looked down and squeaked. Yep. I was definitely a girl again. I reached for one of the blankets she’d pulled out of the cedar chest and wrapped it around myself. So much for modesty between friends. I swallowed a few times because my mouth felt strange and dry. Everything felt bigger than it had a few seconds ago. I clenched and unclenched my fists. I curled and uncurled my toes.
Then I looked at Fiona.
“What happened to me?” I whispered to her.
Fiona looked at me for a long time. There was so much emotion in her eyes. She looked scared and relieved, happy and sad at the same time.
“The change happened.”
“But I’m not supposed to be a shifter,” I whispered.
“But you are.”
Chapter 4
Once I was dressed and sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in my hands, Fiona explained everything. She told me why she let me come live with her and how confused she’d been when I didn’t seem to act like a “normal” shifter.
I wasn’t really sure what that meant, but it didn’t seem to matter to her.
“You seemed shy,” she told me. “Not confident.”
“Are most shifters confident?” I reached for the sugar and poured a little bit into my cup of tea. Then I stirred it, staring at the liquid whirl around.
“Generally speaking, shifters are a cocky bunch,” she informed me. “And I’m no exception.” She pushed back her long grey hair and smiled at me.
“No offense, Fiona, but you seem like the least arrogant person I’ve ever met. You’re kind and generous. You helped me out when I had nowhere else to go.”
“Charlie, you were a lost child.”
“I wasn’t really lost...” I kind of bristled at being called a child, too. I was a woman, after all. Especially now. I was 18. I was a big girl, and I was old enough to take care of myself. Still, renting an apartment without any sort of credit score? Impossible. Fiona had saved my ass, and I knew it.
“You didn’t even know you were a shifter,” she pointed out.
“Why did I turn so late?” I asked. “If most shifters realize they’re able to change when they’re 12 or 13, why was I so old?”
“No two shifters are alike, and there is nothing wrong with you.”
“But?”
She sighed and pushed her teacup away. Then she looked at me hard. She was obviously trying to decide if she should be honest with me or not, and I hoped that she’d err on the side of being truthful.
“But being a late bloomer shifter is dangerous.”
“Why?”
“Your blood is more powerful than other shifters.”
“What do you mean?”
“When a human gets hurt, what does it do?”
It?
“Um, the person goes to the hospital.”
“Well, shifters don’t generally go to hospitals. Our blood tends to be strong enough to enable us to heal more quickly than humans. We heal very fast and our blood can be used to heal others, as well. Shifter blood has been used in magic spells and potions and charms since the dawn of time.”
“And shifting at a later age makes me more powerful?”
“It makes your blood more potent. People would kill for that, Charlie. You have to be careful.”
“Yeah, well, I kind of figured that out last night.”
“What happened?”
“I was attacked coming home. That’s why I...well, that’s what brought on my shift.”
“That makes sense. A traumatic event can often trigger a first shift. What happened when you shifted?”
“I was backed into a corner. Once I shifted, I was able to squeeze through a fence and run back to work. When I got there, I overheard Caleb on the phone.”
“Something about him has always rubbed me the wrong way,” Fiona shook her head. “Anytime you talk about him, he’s seemed sketchy.”
“Really? You didn’t say anything.”
“You have to live your own life, Charlie. It’s not my job to judge your companions or your colleagues.”
I bit back a snarky remark. I kind of wished she had said something. Maybe if she had, I wouldn’t have been caught off guard. Then again, I probably wouldn’t have listened to her. I didn’t know I was a shifter and I probably wouldn’t have accepted the fact that he is, too.
“He was on the phone,” I told her, getting back to the story. “And he said he wanted to sell my blood.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“He didn’t get you.”
“I ran away to the park. I spent the night in a tree with a squirrel.”
“That was a clever move,” she said. “Most people would have led him back home.”
“Yeah, well,” I bit my lip. How honest was too honest in a moment like this? I had never been great with emotions or sharing personal stories or anecdotes. This felt like the kind of moment where I was supposed to share, though, and I wasn’t about to wimp out. “I wasn’t about to let him hurt you,” I blurted out.
“Why, Charlie. It sounds as though you’ve grown rather fond of me.”
“I have.”
“I’m fond of you, too,” she reached for me and placed her hands on top of mine. “And that’s why I have a solution to your little problem.”
“What kind of solution?”
“You’re no longer safe in Growl Valley.”
“What? Why not?”
“The wolf pack who runs this town keeps a close eye on shifters. If they suspected you were a late bloomer, then it’s likely that Caleb wasn’t the only wolf who was watching you. They might know where you live. They might come after you again. If they do, they’ll come tonight under the cover of the moon.”
“But you-“
“I’m a wolf, Charlie. I’ll be fine.”
A wolf?
I swallowed hard, and she smiled gently.
“Don’t worry. I’m not planning on eating you.”
“I didn’t mean...”
“Charlie, they aren’t going to stop hunting you. You can’t stay here.”
“But Growl Valley is my home.”
“It hasn’t always been, Charlie. You’ve moved around. You’ve lived in different places. You’ve reinvented yourself when you had to, and you’ve always been just fine. You’ll be fine this time, too.”
“But now I have you,” I whispered.
Fiona was the first person I’d viewed as a sort of mother figure. She was definitely the first mother in my life who had taken time to care for me or to protect me. My foster moms were always busy, always chasing after other kids, and always juggling their lives horribly.
But Fiona seemed like she was a real mom. She was like the kind of mother I had read about in story books. I didn’t want to leave h
er.
Besides, where was I supposed to go?
As if reading my mind, she looked at me carefully.
“When I met Petey, it wasn’t here. The idea of a wolf loving a dog is unimaginable in a wolf pack. He would have been killed instantly if anyone ever found out, which is why we kept our love a secret.”
“How did you meet him?”
“Shifter Falls Academy.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a place where people like us can train,” she told me. “I was a late bloomer shifter, too, as was Petey. The two of us went to the school and trained there so we could learn exactly what it would take to protect ourselves in a magical world where humans love to hate us.”
“And you think I should go there.”
“I know you should.”
“I don’t have any money,” I pointed out. “I can’t afford a place like that.”
“Don’t you worry about that. The headmaster owes me a favor. I’ll take you there myself.”
I wanted time to think about it. Going to a magical boarding school? That was kind of a big decision, right? I mean, I had my own dreams for my life. Yeah, working at a convenience store wasn’t exactly the same thing as pursuing my dreams, but it was something, and it was mine. It gave me a way to start saving money so I could do all of the things I really wanted to do.
“I don’t want to go,” I whispered.
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice,” Fiona said. “If you stay here, the wolves will kill you.”
“And you?”
She looked at me sadly and shook her head.
“If they find out I was protecting you after your shifter status was revealed, well, let’s just say that wolves don’t play nice with others – even their own kind.”
So that was it.
I was going to go to magic school.
Fiona was going to take me, and drop me off, and I would be living in a world where other people were shifters, too, and where everything was different.
The truth was that she was offering me a second chance. She was giving me a way to stay safe and in control of my future. She was offering me a chance to start fresh in a way that was safe, but I didn’t want that.
I just wanted to stay here with her.
I wanted warm nights sitting in front of the fire. I wanted hot cocoa and cookies. I wanted cups of tea and breakfast scones.
Those were the things I wanted.
But when Fiona gestured toward my room, I knew it was time for me to go pack because I would never be coming back to Growl Valley.
Ever.
Chapter 5
We drove for three hours before Fiona turned off the highway onto a side road. For a road that looked entirely abandoned, it seemed strangely well-kept. We drove for another twenty minutes before turning again. Then she parked and gestured for me to get out of the car.
“Grab your backpack,” she told me.
That’s all I had brought: one lonely little backpack.
I didn’t have any childhood toys, mementos, or clothes. I didn’t have a baby album and I didn’t have any special photo albums. Packing a single backpack had been at Fiona’s request, but it hadn’t been hard. The only things I’d left behind at her home were my newer items I’d purchased recently: a couple of books, some figurines, and a pair of heels I’d never have the chance to wear.
I slipped the backpack on and we started walking in silence. It was an uncomfortably awkward journey. There were a million questions I wanted to ask, but I choked them all back because part of me still wanted to believe that this thing was fake. I wanted to believe that I was going to close my eyes and shake my head and discover it had all been a dream.
That was what I wanted it to be.
A dream.
Only, as I stumbled through the overgrown grass and weeds that hadn’t been cut maybe ever, I realized that it wasn’t a dream.
“It’s not too far,” Fiona offered helpfully. For an older woman, she moved smoothly and easily. She made me feel clumsy and awkward. Then again, maybe things really would change for me at Shifter Falls Academy. Perhaps I’d learn to set aside the awkward, clumsy way I behaved and I’d become more like Fiona.
Graceful.
Lovely.
Delicate.
Fierce.
We moved through a field and then to the edge of a forest.
“We’re going in there?”
“Yes.”
“Is this the way to the school?”
“It is.”
“Fiona,” I asked carefully. “Are you going to kill me in the woods?”
She turned around and smiled. She let her long, wolfish canines show. I’d never seen them before, but they elongated before my very eyes, and she grinned mischievously.
“Oh, child. If I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead.”
“Um, okay.”
Great?
We stopped at the edge of the forest and she turned to me.
“What happens next is going to be strange. Things might be crazy and stressful and wild, but I promise you that this school will be good for you.”
“If you say so.”
“I know so.”
“Why is it so far away?”
“The school is hidden away for its own protection.”
“People like to hunt shifters, huh?”
“People like to hunt shifters,” she agreed.
We started walking through the woods. That portion of the journey took half an hour. Then we came to a big, beautiful waterfall that was across from us. It poured down into a large watering hole. I peered over the cliff in front of me to see down to the pool of water. Even from up here, the water looked almost crystal clear.
“Shifter Falls,” she said.
“This is where the school is.”
The waterfall was huge, but beautiful. It was huge, though, and loud. Seriously. I’d never seen anything quite so big. It was like its own miniature Niagra Falls, and that was saying something. The water was so loud I could barely hear myself think, but Fiona didn’t even seem to mind.
“Of course not. The school is behind the waterfall. Come.”
She motioned for me to follow her. The waterfall was on the opposite side of the swimming area, so we started walking around. We stepped away from the cliff as we walked, which was good, because falling over the edge of a cliff and dying on my first day at a new school wasn’t exactly on my bucket list.
I took a deep breath as I walked, trying to focus. It seemed like my entire life had changed instantly and I hadn’t had any say in it at all. I mean, I hadn’t even gotten to celebrate my birthday at all. I was officially a grown-up, but I didn’t feel like one. I still felt very much like a scared little kid, and that was kind of horrible.
What had I been expecting?
I wasn’t sure, but it hadn’t been this.
Not at all.
We reached the edge of the waterfall.
“What now?” I yelled.
Fiona just pointed to something I hadn’t seen before. It was nestled behind the water: a staircase leading down.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Talk about a horror-movie throwback. It looked like something out of Indiana Jones or The Mummy. The staircase was wet from the waterfall and it looked, well, terrifying. What if I slipped? What if I fell? Fiona just stared at me and then she raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow at me, and I knew exactly what she was thinking.
She wanted to know if I was going to be lame.
Was I going to be cowardly?
Was I going to be afraid?
I was already on the run, but she was trying to help me find a fresh start. She was trying to help me find something new. She was trying to help me find a place where anything could happen.
“Yeah, okay,” I finally said.
I don’t know if she could hear me or not, but she nodded and started walking down the staircase. I hiked my backpack higher up on my back and followed her
. I was careful to stay close to her. I didn’t want to slip and fall or, worse, be left behind. The staircase was narrow and made of stone, and it was very slick. There was no railing, but I kept one hand on the stone wall to my right as I made my way down the stairs. To my left, the waterfall raged. It was a scary sort of waterfall.
No wonder the school managed to stay hidden.
Shifter Falls was a horrifying place.
By the time we reached the bottom of the endless stairs, I was sweaty and tired. Fiona led me into a little cave and then she snapped her fingers twice to produce a little fireball. She reached for a torch that was conveniently located on the wall, and she lit it.
“How did you learn to do that?” I asked.
It was magic.
Real magic.
I’d heard of it. Oh, I’d dreamed of it, but I didn’t know it really existed. Not like that. It was one thing to find out I could change into an animal all my own, but to be able to create magic? To be able to produce fireballs on command? How cool was that?
“You’ll learn at the academy,” Fiona told me. “Come.”
She led me deep into the heart of the cave. Luckily, I wasn’t super claustrophobic. I mean, I was a little. Wasn’t everyone? But the cave started out very wide and big before it eventually narrowed. Soon we were walking single file and then eventually, we had to turn sideways to make our way through the opening. Mental note: muscular guys probably couldn’t make it through the narrowest part of the cave. I choked back a laugh as I pictured The Rock trying to squeeze through this narrow passageway. He’d definitely get stuck.
We emerged on the other side of the passage and found ourselves in a little clearing.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“It’s Shifter Falls Academy,” Fiona grinned. “Look.”
She pointed up ahead. We were facing yet another forest that was surrounded by mountains, but this time, the forests led to something wonderful.
Something beautiful.
Something magnificent.
“A castle.”
“Not just a castle. The castle.”
“What makes this castle so special?” I asked her. It stretched up into the sky and from where I was standing, it looked like something out of my dreams. I didn’t know castles like that existed in real life. Not really.
Shifter Falls Academy- Year One Page 3
