I hadn’t dropped mass in a long time, and while it wasn’t actually difficult to do, it was also the most dangerous shape-shift, to set aside mass to take on the shape of a smaller animal. Dangerous because the frontal lobes of the human brain were completely lacking in much smaller creatures. I had to set aside the essential parts of myself to achieve the form I needed. It was possible that I might forget who and what I was and never return for the parts of me I was leaving behind, but if I was successful and if I remembered, my memories and my mass would be here, on the clean broken rock, waiting for me to take back myself.
Mind slowing, I sank into the talon. Deep inside. Conscious thought slipped away, all but the purpose of this hunt. To find and follow Legolas. To rescue EJ and Soul. Those purposes I set into the lining of my flesh, into the deepest parts of my brain, so I wouldn’t forget when I shifted. I dropped deeper. Pulled the Gray Between out from within myself. I began to chant, whispering almost silently, “Mass to mass, stone to stone... mass to mass, stone to stone...”
I slid deeper, into the flesh on the wider end of the talon, into the double helix of DNA, the snake lying inside the heart of all creatures on Earth. The transition was like water flowing in the nearby stream. Like the snow falling, resting on my shoulders. The Gray Between streamed over me.
My breathing raced. Heart rate sped. My last thoughtwas of the animal I was to become. The Eurasian eagle-owl,Bubo bubo.
Beast thought at me,Remember Beast. Come back for Beast.
I promise,I thought back at her.
My bones slid, skin rippled. Mass shifted down, falling to the newly broken stone. Black motes of power sprang along my body, burning and pricking.Mass to mass, stone to stone...Pain like a knife slid along my spine. Wings formed and lifted out along my shoulders, metamorphosing from arms. I dropped more mass, my body falling away, altering. Golden feathers, tawny brown, sprouted. My nostrils narrowed, drawing deep, filling smaller lungs. My heart raced, a heart meant to power flight. My talons clawed across the stone, scratching, tearing my piled clothing.
The night was alive in ways my Beast never saw it. Everything was brighter, intense shades of greens and silvers, with tiny flashes of red and gold and orange. I could hear everything, everywhere. The movement of tree branches a hundred yards away. The sound of water tumbling in the creek, so loud it was like a waterfall roar. The smell of the steak.
I fluttered my wings and tore into the meat, ripping off strips with my beak and swallowing in greedy gulps. The meat was cold, but my belly was empty and I devoured the meat.
Eyes meant for the night took in everything as I ate, light and shadow, the movement of the wind in specks of energy that tumbled through the trees and bounced off the cold ground only to rise again. Currents were visible to owl eyes as they twisted and shifted up and down, side to side, and swirled back again the other way. When the food was gone, I spotted the bag and... remembered. I was Jane. The small human had been stolen. EJ.
I ducked my head through the loop of the strap and let it settle against me. Gathered myself, spread my wings, and leaped from the boulder, out over the stones and the creek. Beating the air with a five-foot wingspan. It had been a long time since I flew, but the memory was storedin the snake of the bird. Instinct that threatened to take over, threatened to make me forget I was Jane. I quivered and swayed off course, stretched into flight. Found a rising current of air and let it carry me up.
My human consciousness merged with the owl’s, dispersed into the cells of theBubo bubo. I hunted for the creature that had stolen the chick. The creature would not look like living meat. It would look like frozen meat, but the chick would be warm, alive.
Flew high and leveled out, banking a widening spiral. Bag bumped my chest like prey, pulling against my flight. But bag was important. I needed bag.
Below, I saw the warmth of creeks, like gleaming trails through ice. Saw the body heat of a deer herd. A small wild boar. A large rabbit. And a chick... No. Small human. A child. In the arms of a frozen dead thing. Child’s heart was beating. Was alive. But child was silent.
Dead thing had long white hair and ran faster than deer. I followed, flying steadily.
Snow started to fall again. Colors of air currents muddied as snow fell through them.
I saw lights ahead. Word came slowly to mind.Cars.Lights on.
Memory came, more sluggish than before.
I am Jane. I am looking for EJ.
I folded wings and dove, spreading wings and dipping back, claws outstretched. Settled on top branch of tree. I watched white-haired dead thing run close. Saw other dead things near cars. Saw dead things step behind trees. Making snare of bodies. Waiting for white-haired dead thing.
Thoughts came.Lego. Legolas has EJ. The Flayer of Mithrans is waiting for him.
Lego stopped. Lifted his head. Sniffed. Turned and raced into the woods, uphill. Away from the Flayer. Then Lego disappeared. Vanished. To reappear farther away.
It’s a trap.Understanding came.They aren’t working together. Lego isn’t part of the Flayer’s group.
Lego lifted his hand as he ran. He was holding something clear and shining. I focused owl eyes in tight. It wasa crystal. It was...Soul. Lego has Soul. He’s learned how to ride time. Or skip time, at least. And for some reason Soul hasn’t gotten free, though she had the working that should liberate her.
I felt magics in my middle glow. Looked down with owl eyes. Saw red magics in pointed shape in my owl middle. I knew this was somehow caused by Lego and by Soul.I can’t lose him. Can’t lose EJ.Magics faded inside my feathers. I leaped into the air. Beat strong wings, caught a shining thermal, soaring higher and higher. Banked, studying the cars. Cold dead things were vampires. They had moved. Some were in cars. Some were in the snow, following Lego. Trap had not been sprung. Lego had gotten away, skipping through time.
I remembered the thing in EJ’s pocket. Molly and Evan could track EJ. Remembered cell phone and sayingFollow me. I was not alone.
I banked and followed Lego and EJ. Warmth was a brightness against the cold air ahead. Squares of light reflected from the windows to the snow. There were houses and cars. Lego put EJ onto snow and raced into the house. From high above, I heard the screams of children and smelled blood. Lego raced out of the house and dropped a large body on the snow. A man. Inside the house, humans screamed. Blood scent rose on the air. The vampire had fed, ripping the man’s throat with his fangs. Lego picked up EJ. Opened the door to the car and got inside, throwing EJ onto the seat. Car started.
Vampire is taking EJ.The car moved. Jerked. Moved. Jerked. Stopped.
I heard sound of many cars coming up the road. Looked. Dove. Circled. Saw cars approaching.
Thoughts struggled up from the deeps of me.I am Jane.I thought about numbers but I could not understand. My Jane brain was slowing down. My owl brain was taking over. Snow fell. Sleet fell. Owls do not fly in sleet. Ice gathered on my wings, weighing them down. I fluffed my feathers and fought the wind. Watched the ground.
