Shape Shifting 201 Read online

  It feels natural, does it not?

  “Yeah, which is what scares me.”

  He looked at her with his eyes bright and tail lashing. Why scared?

  “I have read the books about mages who got lost in their other forms, never to turn back to human. It is something to keep in mind.”

  You are further along than most would be at your age.

  “It doesn’t make me stupid.” She flicked her hands and feet back to normal, sighing as the urge to shift faded.

  No, I am learning that. You have the maturity of an old soul.

  She laughed. “Not likely. The lucky ones are always fresh souls, or so the legend goes.”

  You don’t know?

  She barked a laugh. “Who would tell me? There isn’t a counsellor who can describe the ins and outs of being a lucky one.”

  Reegar appeared in her open doorway. “What would you like to know?”

  Imara tightened her robe. “You know about the lucky ones?”

  “Of course, I have known two. What do you need to know?” He straightened slightly. “Where are my manners; would you like tea?”

  She looked down. “Sure, give me a minute.”

  “You are fine. Bara is in class, and I don’t care.”

  Imara paused. “Right. Okay. I am on my way.”

  She made her way down to the common area and watched Reegar prepare tea for her.

  “So, what do you need to know about the lucky ones?”

  She frowned. “Are they always the seventh of seven?”

  “Generally. Both of the gentlemen I knew were.”

  “What about the child of two sevens?”

  “That doesn’t happen. Two seventh sons can’t have a child.” He tsked as if she were simple and carried over the tea tray.

  She cocked her head. “What if one of the families wasn’t choosy about the gender of their children and took the seventh daughter as their lucky one?”

  He put a lump of sugar in her teacup and slowly poured. “The only family I know of that did that died out decades ago. It isn’t an easy situation for the family and worse for the girls.”

  “Why?”

  “She becomes an object to be traded. Her luck transfers to her children.”

  Imara frowned. “That doesn’t seem very lucky to me.”

  “They are always taken care of, and all their children inherit a portion of their luck. Having lucky children becomes an extension of their luck.” He put a splash of milk into her cup and slid it toward her.

  “That sucks.”

  “Why so curious about lucky ones?”

  “Luken. I want to know what I can about the birthright he inherited.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, he is my twin.”

  “Oh, of course. Well, a true lucky one gains money, power, stature, and skill. Everything they do works out in their favour.” He sat back. “One of the first lucky ones I met was an investigator in the Mage Guild. He was able to bring in everyone he went after, and he was not a man to bet against at the poker table. He couldn’t get drunk but always managed to get just the companion he wanted for the evening. Your brother has a bright future ahead of him.”

  She quirked her lips. “Good thing that I am not the lucky one in the Demiel family.”

  He nodded. “It is a good thing indeed. I wouldn’t wish that fate on anyone.”

  Imara sat back and sipped at her tea. It was just the way she liked it. “No, nor would I.”

  They sat in silence, and she sipped her tea. So, putting it about that she was the lucky one was going to have to remain a family secret. Hopefully, the cousin who wanted Mr. E as her familiar wasn’t too chatty. Luken would get enough luck from their father’s side. No one would think to look at her. She could keep her luck to herself.

  Shape-shifting class was all about learning to change hair and eye colour. She went through the motions with Mr. E offering colour suggestions.

  “Ms. Mirrin, you are not taking this seriously.”

  She smiled at him and batted her lashes. “Magus Korian, I am merely having fun with colour. I thought you would appreciate seeing rainbows on this gloomy day.”

  He looked at her carefully. “You have excellent pigment control. You have been practicing?”

  “A little, with supervising mages standing by to stop me from anything stupid.”

  “I am happy about the supervision, but as I am unsure as to their ability to help you, I would recommend that you keep your experimentation to this class.” Korian tried to glare the message into her, and she merely stared calmly back at him.

  One of the other students let out a shriek, and he hurried to his side. Their class was down to four people, and Mesook wasn’t one of them. The warnings must have freaked her out. Imara didn’t blame her; shape shifting was dangerous.

  Reversion charms had been their first enchantment of the day. The bands would transform with them, and each held a master pattern of the mage involved. It was a nice safety net.

  Imara was relieved to know that Mr. E also had her template. He was a backup drive on four feet. Reegar had made him practice resetting her until they were familiar with the process. It had been a fun Monday.

  When Korian returned to her, Imara was wearing long scarlet hair and lime green eyes.

  “Fine. I understand you have grasped basic transformation. Can you change your height?”

  Imara rose to her feet and looked down at him from eight inches taller than her normal stature. She pointed her ears for effect. It was a pity that her clothing didn’t shift with her, but that was why she was shifting and not using a glamour.

  “Walk.”

  She made a face and took a few careful steps, wobbling at the change in balance point. With a few more steps, she had the hang of it, and soon, she was striding across the display area of the classroom with confidence.

  Korian flicked his fingers, and a flash and bang erupted in her path. Imara flinched back, and she could feel herself resuming her normal shape.

  “If you were flying when that happened, you would drop out of the sky. That was a seeming burst. It forces reversion.”

  She was still facing twinges of magic running along her skin. “I am so glad you did that on purpose.”

  He reached out to pat her on the shoulder, but Mr. E bit his leg with a hiss and growl. Imara was startled, but she scooped her attack kitten up into her embrace.

  Korian growled. “That hurt.”

  Imara’s mind filled with images of Korian on fire and staked out and bleeding. Mr. E was so angry; he wasn’t able to speak.

  It wasn’t the use of the reversion spell against her; it was the attempt to touch her that had set her fluffy defender off. Korian was attracted to her, and in Mr. E’s mind, he had no business pursuing that particular avenue of interaction. He was her instructor, nothing more.

  “You are not to touch me in anything but an instructional manner. Patting me on the shoulder or touching me in any way that he deems inappropriate will result in my familiar taking action.”

  Korian’s skin darkened. “Ah. Well, I suppose that is appropriate. If that little bugger bites me again, he will see my teeth.”

  A bone-rattling roar echoed in the room, and its origin was the tiny beast in her arms.

  Imara cleared her throat. “I believe that was challenge accepted.”

  Korian looked at the kitten who hissed and swatted back at him. “Right. I will take that under advisement.”

  Imara cleared her throat. “As I have demonstrated the skills for this class, may I get next week’s assignment and take my familiar to calm down?”

  Korian nodded sharply. “That will be for the best.”

  He scribbled the assignment down and handed her the document. “Out, and he had better be in a proper temper next week. Contact is part of learning to shift.”

  She nodded and grabbed her bag, holding her hissing and spitting familiar away fr
om him.

  If you don’t calm down, I am going to have to drop that class.

  He does not need to touch you, he wants to. I can smell it when he is close to you.

  She grimaced and left the building. Mr. E calmed enough to climb onto her shoulder, which made carrying her books easier.

  She took him home and dropped her books off, going out without speaking to him. He could have followed her, but he didn’t.

  Coffee seemed like a good alternative to aimlessly wandering the lanes and paths, so she headed for the shop near the edge of the campus.

  After she got her order, she sat outside and picked her croissant to pieces. Dealing with lust wasn’t something she was comfortable with, especially when it was someone who was alive. She had dropped Mr. E off because she didn’t need his voice in her head while she figured out what she wanted to do.

  Imara was into her second cup of coffee when a black SUV pulled up and disgorged three XIA agents. She recognized one of them immediately. To her consternation, he smiled and walked over.

  “Imara, funny meeting you here.”

  “Hi, Argus. I didn’t know that the XIA engaged in enforcement on campus.” She wrapped her hands around her mug and tried to look casual while her heart was hammering in her chest.

  A vampire wearing shades and a baseball hat came up next to the griffin, and a fey glided up on his left. The smooth tones of the elf were unforgettable. “Argus, won’t you introduce us to your friend?”

  She really didn’t think she wanted to know those guys. The vampire looked like he ate horseshoes for breakfast, and the elf had enough muscle to pull out trees with his pinky. They made Argus look lithe in comparison, and his forearm was nearly as wide as her thigh.

  They were all wearing black on black, the shirts tailored but snug. The XIA badge was carefully picked out in black and bronze with the logo of their particular extranatural affiliation underneath.

  Argus scowled but remembered his manners. “Ivar, Lio, this is my ethics classmate, Imara Mirrin. Imara, these are the assholes I work with.”

  She grinned. “Pleased to meet you. Are you just passing through?”

  “We had some appointments with the dean of students and some witnesses.”

  The men moved forward and took the empty seats around her table. The metal and wood creaked in protest.

  Argus gave Ivar a glare, and the vampire got to his feet and lumbered inside.

  Lio leaned forward. “So, Argus turns to jelly whenever he mentions taking the class. I am guessing you are the cause?”

  She blinked. “I have no idea about that.”

  The fey had silvery features in skin so pale it was nearly warm moonlight. The delicate skin was stretched over wide musculature in a most disconcerting way. She didn’t know much about fey, but he wasn’t a proper elf.

  He snorted indelicately and then made a muffled sound as Argus clapped a hand over his mouth.

  “Ignore him, Imara, he is just hungry. We aren’t normally up and about at this time of day, but the college insisted.”

  “So, you are here because of the magic drain? Why didn’t they just send the guild?” Imara sipped at her coffee.

  “The women affected have no magic. Therefore, they don’t fall under the guild’s protection.” Argus scowled, releasing Lio’s face when Ivar showed up with a tray full of coffees.

  Ivar smiled at her, not showing his fangs. “I didn’t know what you were drinking, so I got a selection.”

  The stack of pastries was the first casualty as Lio dug in.

  “You didn’t have to get me anything, but thank you.”

  She picked a cup labelled two cream and two sugar. Argus grinned and grabbed his own, then frowned. “Speaking of women under attack, why are you here alone? Where is your familiar?”

  The fey was fascinated. “You have a familiar?”

  She smirked. “Yeah. He bit my shape-shifting instructor, so now, I have to figure out a way to deal with that.”

  Argus beamed. “You are learning to shape shift?”

  She grimaced as Ivar snickered. “Yes.”

  Lio asked, “What form have you chosen? Are you going to match your familiar?”

  She let out a snort. “No. I have picked something a little bigger.”

  Argus filled his partners in. “Her familiar is a kitten.”

  The two agents chortled and drank their coffee while Argus leaned toward her. “What did you choose as your beast?”

  She blushed. “You are going to read something into it.”

  He looked surprised. “I won’t.”

  “Griffin vulture.”

  By the hoots of hilarity that her companions were letting out and the smug look in Argus’s eyes, they had read something into it.

  Chapter Eight

  “I am strongly suggesting that you don’t go out alone until the magic drain is found,” Argus stated it at her door. “Keep your familiar with you when you are on campus.”

  “I like to have time alone. I am used to it.”

  “Tough. Being twitchy is no reason to be stupid. He has power, let him protect you.”

  She cackled. “Right, like he protected me from my creepy shifting instructor.”

  His face went from lecturing to steel. “What?”

  “Mr. E says that the teacher smells like lust when he is around me, so when the teacher approached me, Mr. E attacked. It was a cute and fuzzy attack, but he still bit him.”

  She had never seen a growl pass over someone’s features before. Muscles moved under the skin, and his lip curled.

  “Uh, right. So, I was out on my own trying to figure out a plan of attack, so to speak.”

  “He tried to touch you?”

  “Just pat my shoulder, but then, he said that shifting requires a lot of contact and that didn’t seem right when he was instructing the rest of the class by pointing and using an illustration.”

  A full-body shudder went through Argus. “When is your next class?”

  “Monday morning. I have a week to refine my approach.” She smiled. “Thanks for the coffee. It was interesting to meet Lio and Ivar.”

  He chuckled. “They were enchanted by you.”

  “Yes, it was nice when Ivar mentioned that I was younger than his wallet.” She wrinkled her nose. “I promise to use the buddy system around campus.”

  “Good. See you in class tomorrow.” He bowed slightly and left.

  She exhaled slowly and watched him go. Too old for you, too old for you, too old for you. Her own mind beat her with the truth.

  She leaned out to look around the corner of the building as he stepped into his vehicle. The flex of his muscles could be discerned, even from her distance. She exhaled slowly again and headed inside.

  Mr. E ran up to her and climbed her leg, heading up to his perch on her shoulder. I am sorry I lost my temper... Why do you smell like griffin?

  Argus and his team have been assigned to the investigation here at the college. They had a meeting with the dean and stopped for coffee. I was at the coffee shop, trying to figure out how to deal with Korian.

  An amused chuckle ran through her thoughts; this time it wasn’t her. Did you let Argus know about Korian?

  Yes.

  Oh... this is going to be fun to watch.

  She didn’t know what he meant by that, but she tried to think positive.

  Argus was waiting in the hall when she arrived for the ethics class, and he smiled in greeting. They were the only ones there, and she was fifteen minutes early. She had no idea how long he had been waiting.

  The snickering of her familiar was getting annoying.

  The lecture was long, but the teaching assistant had their assignments graded and handed back by the end of the class. Imara sighed in relief. Getting ninety percent or higher was part of her business plan. If her grades were high enough, she would get an equivalence pass on certain courses. It was part of her accelerated graduation
plan.

  She glanced at Argus’s paper and smiled. An eighty-six was nothing to sneeze at.

  She folded her graded paper and tucked it into the envelope at the back of her binder.

  “You are very meticulous when it comes to your notes,” Argus commented as they got up after the lecture.

  “Yes. I was once accused of cheating when I was younger, so now I keep track of each and every bit of information I get.”

  “Did you cheat?” He nudged her with his elbow.

  “Of course not. I made an intuitive leap that made my teacher look bad. It was not a great moment for Mrs. Heckle’s third-grade history class.” She shook her head ruefully. “After that, I kept all my notes, tests, and reports.”

  “Wow. Third grade, huh?”

  “Yeah. I am hardcore now.”

  Mr. E was purring happily at their banter.

  “May I escort you to your home?”

  She shook her head. “No, I am heading off for lunch.”

  He paused and asked politely, “May I join you?”

  “You are going to look a bit odd in the cafeteria.”

  “We could go off campus. There is a noodle place a few miles away.”

  She made a face. “Do you mind if I work on the assignment?”

  “No. That was my plan as well.”

  “Excellent. Do you want to drive, or shall I?” She grinned.

  “My vehicle is nearby.”

  “Oh, good. Mine is parked in hell’s half acre. Lead the way.”

  Argus grinned and took point.

  Imara was face deep in noodles with Mr. E happily experiencing sushi for the first time when Argus dropped a conversational bomb.

  “I would like permission to court you when your studies are over.”

  She finished her slurp on a cough. Her voice was a hoarse squeak. “What?”

  Argus was looking at her earnestly. “I would like permission to court you when you have finished college and settled in your career.”