Iris picked up the pace to a jog, heading for her sister. She plowed into her and hugged her tightly, pulling back and gripping her cheeks. “My little sister, Althea, let me see that face. Absolutely adorable. You still have those chubby chipmunk cheeks.”
Althea furled her brow. “I do not, you feathered ass.”
They both laughed and hugged again. Iris glanced up at Milly and winked, her eyes shifting for the building. Milly got the hint. Iris hadn’t told anyone that Milly knew about her Shifter abilities, or her Royal bloodline. She kind of had to tell her everything when Milly came out to the airport late one night to check on a security call and found her transforming from her Griffin to her human form right in the middle of the runway. It was a private airport, far away from passing cars and roving eyes, or at least Iris thought.
Althea glanced back to make sure Milly had gone and slid her arm through Iris’s, pulling her forward for a walk. “I really wish I were here to just visit. I miss all of you so much.”
“You’re in training,” Iris reminded her. “We all went through it. We all understand. You’ll be done soon enough and then you can decide what you want to do.”
Althea stopped, glancing at her sister. “I already did. I plan to stay in the castle and work for mother and the Ancestral Council until…well, you know.”
Iris smiled at her, pushing a piece of her wavy hair from her face. “Of course, you are, because you are the kindest and most noble of us all.”
Althea smiled and reached up, looking at the purple tips of Iris’s dirty blonde hair. “Mother would have a cow.”
Iris rolled her eyes, pulling her along. “Mother won’t even know about it.”
Althea went quiet for a moment and pulled her to a stop. She faced her, keeping her hands on her sister’s shoulders. “That might not be so true. Mother has sent me to collect the sisters and bring you back to the castle.”
Iris wrinkled her nose. “Why? Is she throwing a party for her seven millionth birthday? You would think after all that time, she would get tired of birthday parties.”
Althea giggled. “I don’t know why, but I haven’t heard anything about a party.”
“Maybe she has presents for us,” Iris replied. “Though, I never know what to do with her gifts. She gives us the strangest things. Like that staff, the one with the glowing green stone. Every time someone comes to my house, I have to say it’s a costume piece. Kind of hard to explain why it sits on a huge hanging shelf, resting on two iron Griffin claws.”
Iris watched Althea’s smile fade off as she stared up at the clear skies over the capital city of Lordone, a hustling and bustling metropolis. “Honestly? With the way she looked this last meditation session, I’m starting to feel she may be reaching the end of her rule.”
Iris’s smirk faded and she clutched Althea’s hand. She could feel the emotions swirling around inside of her, but wasn’t quite sure how to handle them. So, as the oldest sister, she bucked up, raised her chin and put her arm around Althea. “Mother is the Matriarch. She is everything to the Shifters. We go through many changes in our lifetimes, don’t think the worst little sister.”
It was hard to tell her sister that, when Iris couldn’t follow her own advice.
Chapter Three
A bubble surfaced in one of the smaller lava pits out on the trails. Brighid reached forward and gripped the two young human tourists by the arms, pulling them back. “I wouldn’t stand so close if I were you.”
The bubble forming on the surface of the lava slowly deflated and the girls looked wild eyed at each other, running off to catch up with the others. Brighid narrowed her eyes at the lava, knowing full well there was a Fire Imp lurking somewhere in there. It was a small Fantastical, one that happened to live in the depths of the volcanoes, immune to the extreme heat of the lava flows. They were jokesters, but their jokes too often ended up injuring or even killing humans.
With a sigh, Brighid pulled the hair tie from her wrist and finger-combed her bright red hair back into a sleek ponytail. As she approached the babbling tourists, her vibrant and striking green eyes scanned the brush and trees around them. It wasn’t a dangerous place, but the Enchanted Islands didn’t get their name because of the foliage. It had become a regular tourist destination over the years, especially after the news reported sightings of small winged creatures. The Matriarch had calmed the rumors by playing it off as the filming of a movie, but not all humans believed it.
“Alright, we are headed just over the ridge for the view everyone’s been waiting for,” Brighid shouted with fake enthusiasm. “Be careful where you step, the fauna in some places on this island can be dated back to the time of Kings and Knights. In fact, legend says, the way this island was formed was less than normal. In the days of Dragons and Giants, there was an enormous battle on the islands. The Giants, using their huge hands and beastly muscles, pounded the ground so hard, they created this very mountain.”
“Some say there is a sleeping Giant beneath it,” one of the little girls said.
Brighid bent down on one knee and tapped her nose. “Well, let’s hope not. I don’t want to be a Giant’s lunch.”
The little girl giggled and hurried up the hill, catching up with her mother. Brighid chuckled to herself. She had come out to the Enchanted Islands right after training five years before. She loved nature, the smell of fresh air, and the Fantasticals that lived out there. With the onslaught of tourists trampling the wildlife, she created a hiking guide service. During her tours she would tell stories, ones that seemed like just fairytales to the humans. Little did they know, they were true stories from the “other side” of life.
Brighid’s green eyes shimmered and a haze of gold moved over them before it disappeared. She loved her job, and she loved it out on the islands. When the tourists would take off at the end of the day, she was able to transform into her Dragon and soar over the treetops. It was far enough out in the ocean that no one could see her.
“Your eyes…they…d…do that thing in the light,” Thomas stuttered.
Brighid lifted an eyebrow and glanced over at her helper, a guy her age, very into the plant life on the island, that lived on shore but had begged her for a job working on the tours. She liked the idea of having someone else there, and his nerdiness and clumsiness kept her giggling to herself most of the time. She knew he had a huge crush on her, and it was endearing.
She patted Thomas on the shoulder. “It’s just the light playing tricks on you, Thomas. You okay with all that stuff? You need a hand?”
Thomas tripped but caught himself, the cups and canteens hooked to his belt clanging together. “No…no. I’m okay. Thanks.”
They hiked up the rest of the way to the top and met with the tourists all snapping pictures and oohing and awing at the view from up there. Brighid could feel her Dragon stirring, feeling the warm sulfuric air hitting her face from the breeze and the nearby volcanoes. The island just adjacent to them was pretty much nothing but lava stone and flow. It was constantly active, forming a larger and larger island base each day.
As Brighid looked down at her watch, a shadow fell over her and the others, but only for a moment before allowing the sun back through. The tourists all looked around, talking excitedly to each other. “What was that?”
Brighid listened closely, hearing the Griffin’s call from the trees. She played it off, laughing as she corralled the tourists back down the hill. “Must be one of those huge mystical Dragons we were talking about.”
Brighid nodded at Thomas. “Show them back to the main building and serve them lunch, okay? Their bus should be there shortly after.”
Thomas nodded. “Right. Got it.”
Brighid put out her hand as he walked away. “And Thomas, don’t let them near the poisonous plants again, please. You were covered in welts for weeks. We’re friends but I only apply ointment to those areas once per friendship.”
“Got it,” he yelled back, tripping out of sight.
She shook her
head, listening to the clanging of the cups and canteens. When they were far enough down the mountain, Brighid put her hands on the waistband of her hunter green shorts and tapped her boots on the dusty ground. “Alright, come on out sister.”
The trees overhead rustled and Iris took flight, swirling down as she made a grand landing. Her head was high and her tail beat the ground. Her wings flapped a couple of times, sending ash up into the air. Quickly, Iris’s feathers ruffled and she squawked, changing back into her human form. She put her hands on her naked hips and grinned, her purple and dirty blonde hair flipping wildly in the wind.
Brighid smirked and reached in her pack, pulling out a spare pair of shorts and a t-shirt. “Put these on before the Fantasticals start taking pictures.”
“What can I say? I guess I’m a bit of an exhibitionist.” Iris laughed as she zipped up the shorts and pulled the t-shirt over her head. She turned and looked out over the islands. “Beautiful. Just beautiful. I need to come here more often and let my Griffin explore.”
Brighid walked up next to her sister and held her hand. “Just don’t burn your feathers.”
Iris smiled and turned her attention to her sister. “You look good, little sister. Are the tourists treating you well?”
“They’re trampling my flora, scaring off the animals of the forests, and generally degrading the ecological structure of my island, but sure, they’re okay,” Brighid replied.
Iris wrinkled her nose. “At least you have your own island. The rest of us never even heard a word from our fathers. This was a nice gift.”
“It was the only gift he ever gave me,” Brighid said with spite in her tone. “Though I think a Dragon Shifter High Alpha-to-be longs more for her father’s presence than for an island. Nonetheless, I like it here. Quiet and away from the real world.”
Iris shrugged. “We were born for bigger things…”
The girls recited the mantra in unison. “Protectors of the Shifters, watchers of all creatures, small and large.”
They laughed and embraced, hugging each other tightly. Brighid glanced around and lowered her eyes to Iris’s tattooed foot. “Seriously, mother is going to kill you.”
“That’s actually why I’m here, minus the killing me part,” Iris replied.
Brighid shifted nervously in her stance. “Have we been summoned?”
Iris nodded, staring over at the slowly erupting volcano. “Yes, by Mother. Althea came and got me earlier today, and I sent her to fetch Indra. I figured you and I could use your cloaking to get over to the castle.”
Brighid had the ability to cloak herself and anyone else flying with her. It enabled them to fly just about anywhere without being seen by the humans below. “Is she…”
Iris shrugged again, this time, a look of sadness on her face. “I don’t know. Neither did Althea. Mother just asked that we all come to the mountains to meet with her. I assume when we get there, she’ll let us know what’s going on.”
Brighid pulled out her phone and texted Thomas, asking him to close up before he left. She took her clothes off, folding them before she stuffed them in her bag. “Can you carry this as we fly?”
Iris nodded, taking the shorts and shirt back off and put them in the front pouch. Iris changed first, allowing Brighid to strap the bag to her before her body shook and twisted, a swirl of smoke flowing around her, blocking the view of her final transition into her Dragon. Iris took to the air to give the enormous Dragon a bit more space.
Brighid used her magic to cloak them both and took off, heading for the castle. She had been preparing herself for the day she was called back, but she really hoped it wasn’t that time yet.
Chapter Four
The Dolphin’s tale smacked against the sea floor, sending up a plume of sand and coral. It shot forward, swimming at high speeds, turning over and back again. It let out a succession of noises and circled back around, waiting for the other dolphins to reply. When they did, it took off again, this time racing just above the ocean floor and dove straight down into the cracked ground and the darkness below.
Bubbles sputtered up from the ravine, and fish swam close before darting away, sensing the Dolphin’s presence. After a few moments, the Dolphin reemerged with gold chains wrapped around its snout and a chest hooked over its tail. It dragged the treasure along, looping back behind the chest and pushed it with its snout. The Dolphin continued another few hundred feet, looking up at the bottom of the boat, floating above it on the surface of the water.
Flipping straight up, the Dolphin used its tail to sweep at the ocean floor and gripped a bag with its teeth, pulling it out of its hiding place. The current was so warm that day, a perfect day to play in the depths of the shimmering blue Castile Seas. The Dolphin sped off, heading for the surface. It didn’t slow down as it reached the break, jumping high out of the water and diving back down deep below.
On the boat, an eighteen year old human girl gasped, watching the splash as the Dolphin dove back down. She smiled and shook her head. At the back of the boat there was a splash and a thud. Indra spit sea water from her mouth and tossed the treasure up on to the deck. The girl, Bree, hurried over, grabbed Indra’s hand, and pulled her up onto the boat.
Indra laid there on the deck, soaking the warm sunlight in. She had a bright blue one piece bathing suit on that matched her crystal clear eyes. Her blonde hair looked almost white out there under the hot sun. Bree took her soaking wet bag and wrinkled her nose. “I don’t understand why you take this thing down there. You know they have pouches for that.”
Turning over and lifting herself to her feet, she rubbed the water from her face. “It’s good luck.”
Bree stared at her for a minute as Indra tossed the swim fins to the side, not even noticing she hadn’t been wearing them when she came out of the water. “I still don’t know how you do that.”
Indra glanced up at her as she inspected the large gold medallion on the linked chain. “Do what?”
“Breathe, underwater,” she replied in astonishment. “Well, I guess you don’t breathe underwater, you hold your breath. But still, that has to be a world record or something.”
“I have the small breather to fill me up again,” Indra replied, nodding to the small personal oxygen tank sticking out of her bag.
“Right.” Bree walked over and picked it out of the bag. “But when was the last time I refilled it?”
Bree was young but quick, having found Indra on the shores a year before, dragging a chest into the sand. She was smart and confident, and wanted to learn to treasure dive. Indra liked her, and liked having the company out there when she was searching for treasure. She didn’t, however, like it when she started to get suspicious. She couldn’t find out about her Shifter abilities.
“Oh, I did it the other day.” Indra quickly diverted the conversation, hoping Bree would follow. “You should have seen the coral reefs out there today. They seem to be coming back nicely after those poachers hit them up last year. The water is cool in the depths and warm by the reef. The fringing reef is also doing well. It’s probably expanded out from the shore by four feet since I got here. There had to be at least two hundred Banggai cardinalfish out there and at least a dozen queen angelfish. The damselfish still seem a bit scarce, but the clownfish like to chase them into the crevasses.”
“What did you find?” Bree asked, looking at the crusted large trunk.
“I’m not sure,” Indra replied, toweling off her hair. “We’ll check it out tonight when we go back in.”
Indra walked over to the map under the canopy and glanced down as Bree dragged their finds off to the side. A tingling feeling moved in her chest and fluttered down to her stomach. Slowly she turned toward the shore where her small beach house sat beyond the long dock that jutted out into the water. She could feel her sister’s presence.
Indra was a Water Shifter, but she also had the power to minorly alter the weather. Bring in a storm here, winds there. As she focused her attention on the sky in the distan
ce, she yelled out to Bree, who was down in the compartment below. “Maybe we’ll head in, the storm’s coming.”
“What storm?” Bree yelled back before popping her head up. “We were supposed to have perfect weather. It’s always that way in Crystal Shores.”
Indra nodded at the dark clouds in the distance. Bree, turning to look at them, wrinkled her nose. “Man, that sucks. I was going to get some dive hours in today.”
With a smile, Indra started the engine. “Don’t worry, we’ll get them in. We have plenty of time.”
They headed back to the docks and secured the boat. Indra smiled at Althea, standing on the docks, her beautiful dark hair pulled up in a messy bun on the top of her head. “Bree, could you take care of the stuff we found today? I have to speak to my sister who just stopped by.”
Bree popped her head up and smiled wide. “Sure! Hi sister!”
Althea laughed and nodded her head at her in reverence. Indra hopped onto the pier and pulled her glasses out of her sweatshirt pocket. Althea giggled. “That’s the sister I remember.”
Indra pushed them up by the bridge. “I’ve missed you, sweet sister.”
They embraced, and as they pulled apart, Althea looked down at her watch. Indra glared at her suspiciously. “You have a hot date?”
Althea laughed sadly, shaking her head. “Trust me, I wish I could stay here and lounge in the sun. We’re late though. I chartered a flight for us and the plane is waiting. Mother has summoned the four of us back home.”
Indra twisted her lips, thinking about it, like everything else, on a mathematical scale. “It could really be any number of things, all with a similar percentage rate.”
Althea smiled at her smart sister and put her arm around her waist. “Come on. You can calculate it out on the plane.”
Indra stopped Althea and looked at her. “You think it’s our time, don’t you?”
Shifters of the Elements Page 2