Page 32 of Corvus and the Broken God

So, I could have changed myself back to human from the beginning? I asked, thinking about our agreement. Had he taken advantage of my ignorance to get me to agree to help him?

No. You thought it was impossible.

But was it? Did I have the ability to change?

You did. But no man has ever accomplished something he believed to be impossible. You couldn’t have changed yourself back into a human any more than you could have transformed me into a crow.

Oh. By turning me into a crow when we first met, he had essentially changed me into a shapeshifter, or whatever he was. This was what he meant when he said we were alike. Or was it?

A roof appeared amidst the trees, revealing a rustic cabin as we headed toward it.

So, it was a sucker’s bet?

You wanted me to change your features. I wanted your help with the gathering. I have shown you it is possible to do what you wanted. Do you plan to abandon me now that you don’t need me any longer?

No, of course not. I want to help. I keep my word.

We landed on the ground in front of the cabin, and a soft cloud of dust hung around us for a moment before dissipating. He looked at me, but I had no idea what he was thinking or feeling. Without warning, he turned back to his human form, flannel shirt, pants, and all.

I hopped back and forth. If he had the ability to change and create clothes out of thin air, then we weren’t as alike as I had thought.

Change form, Corvus. Unless you want me to buy clothing for a crow.

I looked around. The place was empty. Camazotz, or Benjamin (I had an easier time calling him that in his human form), stepped up onto the porch of the log cabin.

There is clothing upstairs you can wear for now. And then he disappeared inside.

Okay, I could do this. Human. I needed to want to transform back into myself. My new self. I wanted to be good at this shapeshifting thing, no, not good, great at it, so I could transform as easily as he did. Whenever I wanted. The trickle started at the top of my head, pulling me up and away from the ground, shrinking my surroundings to their proper proportions. My feathers disappeared, my limbs grew, and human skin covered my body, all in the blink of an eye.

And I was naked.

I ran up the porch steps and didn’t hesitate at the open front door. He was already talking to someone on the phone, ignoring me. I ran by him, up the wooden steps, noting only that every surface was wood, and into the small bedroom. There were no mirrors, except in the closet. It hit me where we were. This was the log cabin the Wolf had told me about, the Stag’s house, another person transformed. He and my Monster had been friends. And now I was about to wear a dead man’s clothes.

Shirts, pants, and overalls, worn but in decent condition, all hung neatly in the small closet. A mirror hung on the back of the door, and I stared at my body. The first time I knowingly changed my body to human, I reverted to the shape he had made for me, not my original form, except for the freckles. What did that say about me? That other time didn’t count because I thought I was dreaming. Then again, maybe that spoke even louder.

A door opened somewhere in the house, sending a cool gust of air throughout the room. Clothes first, introspection later. I pulled on a light blue shirt, which hung off me, way too big. Good thing we were going to buy clothes, except my wallet was up at the big house. He hadn’t consulted me before bringing me on this trip. I would have to see how it went. I held up a few pairs of pants, but they were all too wide and long. At least the overalls could be adjusted.

Feeling ridiculous, I found some work boots that flopped loosely on my feet. The early summer day felt too warm for the heavy wool socks that would have improved the fit. Hopefully, we weren’t hiking down the mountain.

I clomped down the stairs, making a lot of noise, but it had been wasted on an empty house. Would it kill him to explain himself, even a little? But then the sound of an engine drew my attention outside. I ran to the window and saw my Monster waiting for me in the driver’s seat of an old Jeep.

He knew how to drive? And why was I surprised? He had been around long enough to know how to survive, and the invention of the automobile was hardly recent. But he had used his need to understand new technology to get me to stay. Had that been a ruse? If so, then why did he want me to help him? I couldn’t trust him, no matter how much I wanted to.

I climbed in next to him and buckled my seatbelt, weirded out by just how normal it was to be driving down the mountain to go into town to buy things. Because I had just transformed myself from a crow into a human. This was going to take some getting used to. But once I was used to it, I was going to like it.

He glanced over at me, one eyebrow arched.

Stop reading my mind.

You think loudly, Corvus.

I sighed… loudly. He chuckled.

His friend’s house had a much more reasonable driveway than his medieval castle’s, but it was still steep. And rutted. We bounced our way down the mountain.

Is that how you order groceries? By calling from his house?

Yes.