FerrahThe last few days were far more difficult for me than I could have anticipated. I should have been overjoyed at finally being free of Onyx and his prison cell, but I wasn’t. I felt numb, more than anything. It was like I was just going through the motions because I didn’t know what else to do. I was back to my usual routine, back to my old life. Everything was familiar and easy, again. I covered my scent and my tracks the way I always had, and I slept safely in my glamored tent. It was simple. I should have been relieved. This is what I had wanted, right? Everything was peaceful and quiet. I was alone with my thoughts again, far from the howling and boisterous banter of the shifters. No matter how many times I tried to repeat these reassuring thoughts to myself, nothing changed. I still felt like a ghost of my former self. I packed my belongings into my travel bag slowly. There was no reason to rush. Once my tent was packed away and my bag was slung over my shoulder,

OnyxI launched myself from the bushes, ready to attack the figure that was approaching me. My teeth were bared, ready to clamp down as soon as I landed. There was an explosion of pain in my ribs and I was sent flying backward. I crashed down onto the bushes and slid several feet in the dirt. As I slid, my fur gave way to flesh which scraped painfully on the ground. Something had forced me to shift back into my normal form. There was a loud, high pitched tone ringing in my ears. When I tried to move, pain lanced through my limbs. I groaned and tried in vain to lift my head. I needed to shift back. I needed to attack. Every time I tried to initiate the shift, red hot pain filled my chest. I had never felt anything like this before. It felt like I couldn’t breathe. What the hell just happened? I forced myself to move and managed to shift my position until I could see my torso. My skin was rapidly darkening in a deep bruise and my chest was rising and falling rapidly as I s

FerrahThe clattering sound outside of the tent repeated and goosebumps spread over my arms. Whoever was making that sound was trying to draw us out. The clatter was distinct. It was the sound of bones banging together. I had heard the sound a hundred times before. I didn’t throw bones myself, but plenty of witches do. This was different, though. There was a rhythm to it that was somehow familiar. My eyes went wide as I recognized it. It was a sound that I had heard every year in my home village. “What is that?” Onyx asked quietly. “Antlers,” I replied. He looked at me in confusion. “During mating season, deer fight for territory,” I explained. “Hunters will sometimes clatter two antlers together to mimic the sound of deer fighting in the hopes of drawing out a big buck by making it think that its area is being fought over by other bucks.” “You think someone is out there trying to deer hunt?” he asked skeptically. I shook my head. “It’s the wrong time of year,” I replied

Ferrah“We’re going to kill her.” Gilliam’s words seemed to echo through the forest. Or maybe they were echoing in my mind. It was such a casual, simple admission. He had come here today to take my life. I doubt that he had even known that Onyx came after me. I was the one that he was here for. My heart seemed to stop beating and my blood went cold. Distantly, I knew that I shouldn’t feel shocked. I had known from the moment that I met Gilliam that he wanted me dead. He had done nothing to hide it. There was so much hostility and hatred in the way he spoke to me, it was impossible to miss. I was moreso shocked that he was actively plotting to kill me. When had this started? Was it before he had even set eyes on me at the meeting with the elders? Probably. He had most likely started to arrange my death the moment he learned of my presence in the village. “Why?” Onyx asked in bewilderment. “I don’t understand. Why do you want her dead so badly?” I squeezed his arm. His con

Ferrah I was frozen to the spot. Sybil was going to die. Whether the man standing over her and preparing to destroy her really was the legendary Soxor or not didn’t matter. He was the most powerful wizard I’d ever encountered. I couldn’t stop him. Soxor’s hand began to glow and the feeling of surging dark magic made my own magic pulse in response. My mind was racing. There had to be something I could do. There had to be a way to stop this. Suddenly, I was standing directly in front of Soxor with my arms up and crossed in front of me. A magical force field stood between us. The spell he had been charging shot directly at me. It bounced off of the shield and flew to the side, hitting a nearby tree. The trunk of the tree exploded into a rain of wood shards and the tree fell, rattling the ground and throwing me off balance. I fell to my knee, but kept my arms up and the shield strong. I was breathing harshly and my heart was racing. That blast was so powerful. If it had hit i