“It was created by shifters for shifters.”
“So it’s been like, passed down from generation to generation, or something like that?”
“Exactly. It’s a safe place where shifters can come to learn and study and grow. It’s the kind of place where people like you and me can explore our skills in a safe way.”
“Without humans hunting us, you mean.”
“Exactly.”
The castle was beautiful, and as I stared at it, part of my heart soared because this was it. I was starting a new, wonderful journey. I was about to embark on an incredible adventure and to go someplace no human had ever gone.
I was going to learn how to control my powers and I was even going to learn how to manage some new ones.
But there was another part of my heart that started to hurt because this wasn’t just about me learning to shift. I wasn’t just embarking on an adventure. I was also losing something. Well, to be more precise, I was losing everything. I was saying goodbye to my entire life. I was saying goodbye to everything I’d ever known. I was saying goodbye to everything.
And that kind of hurt.
No, I might not be human, but until yesterday, I thought I was.
Now I was about to embark on something new and wonderful, or horrible, and I wasn’t sure what that meant for me.
And I didn’t know if I was ready.
Chapter 6
Ready or not, Shifter Falls Academy waited for me.
Fiona guided me through the forest on a well-worn path and up to the front of the school. I stared up at it, wanting to take it all in, but she tugged on my arm.
“Come on, Charlie,” she said. “We don’t have all day.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled. I knew she had a long journey back to Growl Valley. She needed to get back as soon as possible. If she was gone for too long, it would raise suspicion, especially if she was gone for an extended period on the day I left town.
Nothing screamed “she was helping Charlie” as much as an unaccounted for disappearance. Wolves might be brutish and clumsy, but they weren’t dumb. They were shrewd and watchful, and not much got by them.
We walked up the steps to the front of the school. It was built entirely of stone it had towers and turrets and all sorts of other things. The front of the school had a set of stairs leading up to two large wooden doors. There were no windows on the doors, but there were to large door-knockers: one on each side. They were shaped like animals, but the knockers kept changing, so it was impossible to pinpoint which animal they were at any given second. I thought they looked like birds, but then they changed into things resembling lions.
“Don’t touch anything,” Fiona said. “That’s the first rule of this school, okay?”
“Got it. Don’t touch.”
“Good.”
She nodded and reached for the door handle and tugged. She didn’t bother using the knocker or doing anything else to announce herself. She just opened the door and walked right in. I looked around to see if anyone was watching. Were we going to get in trouble? But then I followed right after her. She seemed so comfortable that it seemed like the natural thing to do.
“Woah,” I gasped. “This is incredible.”
We were in perhaps the world’s largest, widest, most beautiful hallway. It vaguely resembled the kind of hallway I’d seen in high school movies, but so much wider. The floors were made of marble and were so sparkly I could see my own reflection. That was a bit unnerving. I could see Fiona’s reflection, too. There were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and huge paintings lining the halls. Aside from that, though, the hallway was empty.
There were no students, no lockers, and no backpacks. This place didn’t smell like a school. It didn’t have that tell-tale scent of puberty and anxiety that most high schools had. Then again, this wasn’t a high school so much as it was a finishing school or a sort of shifter college. From what Fiona had told me, everyone here was over the age of 18 and had already finished high school. We were all adults. We all made the choice to go to the school.
While classes were in session, we were supposed to be good, well-behaved students who stayed on campus and listened to our teachers. I wondered how much that actually happened, though. Were there going to be bullies at Shifter Falls?
Would there be some sort of social hierarchy I’d have to learn to deal with?
“This way.”
Fiona took off down the hallway. It was like she’d never been gone. She seemed to know exactly where we were going and how to get there. She moved swiftly and with the determination of someone who knew how to get what they wanted.
Confident.
That’s what she had said shifters were: cocky, confident.
Was I going to be that way someday?
We passed a few closed doors, but none of them had windows I could peek in, so I wasn’t sure whether they were classrooms or meeting rooms or just more hallways. We walked down the main hallway until it intersected with another one, and then we turned right. I followed Fiona silently until we reached a large, beautiful door. Like the front door, it had a knocker on it that changed shapes. This one was gold, and it changed into different kinds of birds: an owl, an eagle, a penguin.
How peculiar.
I opened my mouth to ask Fiona about it, but thought better. She was in a hurry, after all, and I was going to be here for a year.
Or three.
Fiona explained a few things about Shifter Falls on our journey here.
First of all, I wasn’t going to have to pay any tuition or fees. Good, because I didn’t have any money, anyway. Apparently, the headmaster was an old friend who owed her a favor – I don’t know what – and she was certain he’d let me enroll.
I was enrolling a week late in the semester, so I’d have to play catch-up, but not too much. She told me the teachers liked to pile on the work early in the semester to makes things seem easier later on, so I would need to work hard right away. There would be no slacking off.
She also explained that aside from choosing a few classes, most of my decisions would be made for me. I’d have a schedule and a dormitory room. My meals would be served in the cafeteria and there would be a strict curfew imposed. Students were supposed to stay on campus for our own safety and for the protection of the school. It was a secret school, after all.
Again, Fiona didn’t knock on the big, beautiful gold door. She didn’t touch the knocker, which surprised me. Why were the knockers even there if no one was going to bother using them?
They were insanely beautiful, I thought, and I wondered why no one touched them. I was tempted to reach out and stroke the little shifter bird, but something told me I’d regret my decision. Instead, I kept my hands firmly balled into fists at my side, and Fiona pushed the door open.
We walked into what looked like a fancy principal’s office. I was surprised it was located right off the hallway. There was no secretary. There were no guards. The only thing in the room was a huge desk and tons and tons of books. Bookcases filled the space and each one was filled to the brim with different volumes.
“Where are we?” I whispered in awe. The ceiling seemed to go up forever. The bookcases must have been two or three stories high: each shelf completely filled. I looked up, squinting to see the ceiling.
“You’re in my office,” a deep voice said, and I turned, startled. A man was beside me. I hadn’t even seen him. Did he sneak up on me? Had he been there the entire time? “And how may I help you?”
Fiona turned and smiled at the man.
Instantly, he recognized her.
“Mrs. Marsh!” He reached out and pulled Fiona in for a long, tight hug. “It’s been entirely too long.”
“I do agree, Sebastian,” she said. She pulled away, but kept her hands on his shoulders and just looked at him for a long time. “Life has been kind to you, old friend,” she said.
“And to you. You’re still just as lovely as you were all of those years ago,” he laughed.
; “Now, Sebastian,” she chided him. “Is that any way to talk to your old teacher?”
“Teacher?” I whispered.
“Ah, yes, Sebastian here was my pupil many years ago.”
“You didn’t tell me you were a teacher at Shifter Falls.”
“She and her husband both were,” Sebastian said. “And they were hard. It was nearly impossible to pass their classes. Luckily, Mrs. Marsh is a wonderful teacher, and she took extra time out of her schedule to help me with my spells and potions.”
“You were a joy to teach,” Fiona said.
“So after you were a student, you were a teacher, and then...”
“I retired,” Fiona smiled.
“Yes, you did. So forgive my boldness, Mrs. Marsh, but why are you here? And is this your daughter?” He gestured toward me, and I snapped my mouth closed. I’d let Fiona do the talking. I suddenly felt wildly uncomfortable with what was happening.
“Sebastian, this is a friend. Charlotte Storm.”
“What a peculiar name,” he said. He held out his hand to me and I looked at it for a moment before taking it. “Sebastian Wild. Headmaster.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
“I was hoping you could do your old teacher a favor and let Charlie enroll at Shifter Falls Academy,” Fiona said carefully.
“I’d love to, but the semester has already begun. She could start next year, perhaps.”
“She just had her first shift,” Fiona said.
“What?”
“Yesterday.”
Sebastian looked at me sharply.
“Is this true?”
“Yes.” Not that I wanted everyone knowing that I hadn’t known I was a shifter and that I’d changed awkwardly and uncomfortably for the first time. Shifting was supposed to be something that was easy, right? Something beautiful. It bothered me a little that my own instincts were so awful that I couldn’t even figure out ahead of time that I was a shifter. I’d had to be surprised.
Even stupid Caleb had known I was a shifter before I did.
“And what happened?”
I sighed and looked at Fiona. Was I supposed to tell him the entire story? She gave a curt nod, but I still figured I should sum it up quickly, so I tried to. I told him I’d grown up in foster care, that I’d never known my parents, and that shifting had been as much of a surprise to me as it had been to everyone else.
“And now you’re here.”
“So I am.”
“I can’t turn a late bloomer out on the streets,” Sebastian said carefully. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Sebastian looked like a sort of movie villain. He was tall and skinny and he had a cool-looking mustache that curled at the ends. His hair was long, though, and a little shaggy, which made him look magical. Honestly, he kind of looked like a fox or something like that.
Maybe I’d learn how to tell what animals people were during my time here at the academy.
“She’s in danger, Sebastian, and I know we talked about...Well, after everything that happened.” She looked at him with sadness in her eyes, suddenly, and I wondered what they had talked about.
“Of course,” he said, clearing his throat. “Of course.”
“I need to get back to Growl Valley,” Fiona said. “Nobody knows I’ve left, but they’ll figure it out soon enough.”
“By all means,” he said. “I’ll take care of Charlotte for you.”
“Charlie,” she said, turning to me. Then she reached for me and hugged me.
“Thank you for everything,” I whispered. I hated the fact that I was totally tearing up. Why did my emotions have to get the best of me at a time like this? I didn’t want to cry. I wanted to be brave and strong. For her.
I wanted to be that cocky shifter she was talking about.
“I’ll come see you,” she promised. “When it’s safe.”
“Don’t forget me,” I whispered.
“Never.”
Then she turned, and without even looking back at me, she was gone. She left the room quickly, marching out of it with grace and determination. I wiped away a tear before turning back to Mr. Wild. Was that what I was supposed to call him? Or Headmaster Wild? I didn’t know.
I stared at him for a long time. He looked a little familiar to me, but obviously, there was no way I could have known him from anywhere. Unless he’d worked in foster care at some point, our paths had likely never crossed.
“Miss Storm,” he said, gesturing toward a seat in front of his desk. “Why don’t you sit down?”
“Of course.”
I felt out of place and awkward in the seat. It was fancy. This entire place was, and I realized that I was about to be thrust into a world I knew nothing about. The shifters who attended this school had probably grown up in shifter families. They were probably smart and knew about things like shifter policies and feeling strong and understanding when a change was about to happen.
I didn’t know any of that stuff.
I knew how to make ramen and how to eat cheaply.
I knew how to get a job and how to make a jar of peanut butter last a really long time.
I didn’t know how to fit in amongst the magical.
Think confident, I told myself. That’s what Fiona would have said.
“So,” he said. “You’re a new shifter, and you’re new to the school. Things are probably going to be a little rough at first, but I promise they’ll get better.”
“How can you promise that?” I ask quietly.
To my surprise, he grins, and he leans forward. He plops his head into his hands and he looks at me like he can’t believe I’ve asked such a wonderful question.
“Why, because it’s what I do,” he said. “I bring magic to life, Charlotte, and that’s what we’re going to do with you.”
Chapter 7
After a brief orientation, Headmaster Wild – which, as it turned out, was what he wanted to be called – told me I should go see my dormitory room assignment. He was matching me up with a girl named Jade who was, apparently, “quite the owl.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I’d take it. He gave me a key and a copy of my class schedule, and then he sent me off with the promise that my uniforms would be delivered to my room before classes the next day.
Great.
I left the room and started off down the hallway. A clock struck top of the hour and instantly, all of the doors in the hallway opened and students started pouring out. So I was definitely going to get swept away by all of the chaos if I wasn’t careful.
Good thing for me that I was always careful.
I quickly got to the side of the hallway. People were pouring out of classrooms and filling the hallway, and within minutes, the entire space was full. The students were laughing and talking and joking around, and instantly, I felt like I was going to be sick. There was so much going on that I felt like I was going to throw up.
This was what I left home for.
This was what I came for.
And I was going to be a part of this place whether I liked it or not. I knew I’d need to hurry and try to get used to things, but it was easier said than done. As a former foster kid turned independent adult, I knew how to blend in when I needed to and I knew how to be adaptable. The thing was, though, that I thought those days were over.
I really thought that my future meant I wouldn’t have to change and adapt all of the time, but maybe that was something I’d never really be able to get away from.
None of the students seemed to loiter and soon, the hallways were once again empty, save for a few random people who were doing things like checking their robes or their bags or their notebooks. A couple of students were carrying wands, I had noticed, and I wondered if I’d get one of those, or if those were only for special cases.
Could I see myself carrying a wand?
For a quick second, I closed my eyes and thought about it. Yeah, I totally could. I’d never really been the kid who dreamed of endless power or bei
ng a magic-user or anything like that. My entire childhood was spent just trying to blend in and get by. I wanted to survive, and I wanted to do that more than I wanted anything else.
Dreams were the kind of thing that distracted you, so I never really allowed myself to dream.
Even when I got to Growl Valley and moved in with Fiona, I spent most of my free time working. I didn’t have a lot of time where I could do things like daydream or fantasize about where I wanted to be in five years. I didn’t have a life plan. I didn’t have any of that.
But looking at the students in Shifter Falls Academy, I realized that maybe, just maybe, I’d have a choice this time.
Maybe Shifter Falls Academy was going to be more than a place to stay safe. Maybe it was going to be a place where I could truly blend in and just not have to worry.
That was what I wanted more than anything, I thought.
I didn’t want to have to worry.
A group of girls walked by quickly.
“Did you see the robes Piper was wearing today?” One of the girls shook her head. “What was she thinking?”
“I know,” her friend said. “It looked like she found a secondhand robe, tore it up, and then tried to sew it back together.”
“Royally gross,” said a third girl, and they kept walking by.
Okay, so Shifter Falls had mean girls. Cool. I could deal with that. I mean, I’d dealt with plenty of mean girls in my life, right? It didn’t have to mean anything. I wasn’t destined to be picked on the way I had been in middle school. Besides, this wasn’t high school. It wasn’t even actually college.
It was something entirely its own, and I was getting a second chance at a fresh start.
Nobody here knew I’d been a foster kid. For all they knew, I came from a totally magical family: a loving magical family. That was the way I could swing things, if I wanted to. I guessed it depends on how much I felt like lying.
But for now, I needed to find my dorm room. I stayed close to the wall while the girls finished walking past. They didn’t even notice me. Apparently, I hadn’t forgotten how to blend in with my surroundings. It was a skill that had gotten me far in life, and this was no exception.
Shifter Falls Academy- Year One Page 4
