The Shapeshifter's Fate

by Chris Africa

  "Did you learn anything?" William asked when Chassy joined the rest of the group.

  Nita wore a dejected look. "We did, but the guard died."

  "It wasn't her fault," Chassy added. "Three brothers out for revenge whacked him on the head with a club."

  Nita relayed the story of their trip and what they'd learned from the dying guard.

  "At the end, when that guard spoke, I don't think it was the guard." Chassy shuddered at the memory. The man's voice had raised his hackles and made him want to bite something.

  "Who else could it have been?" Nita asked.

  "I'm with Chassy," Andrev said. "The guard said, 'By agreement with the Nydwon, I may go.' I doubt the guy had ever met the Nydwon. And where would he be going? I presume it was another creature called by the gem, maybe a spirit from the Underworld. Something that could only take possession of a dead or dying body."

  "If it was a spirit from the Underworld, at least it was not unfriendly. But how are we going to get past Gnarkvetch's thirteen guards without magic?"

  They needed stealth and fighting skill, and Chassy didn't think they had either. In order for Gnarkvetch to use magic, he must have to leave the protection of the anti-magic wizards. He explained his reasoning. "Maybe we can lure him out."

  Andrev shook his head. "He would never do that. He has many enemies, even among the people who pretend to be devout followers."

  "What if someone brought him an interesting new magical item?" Nita asked. "Wouldn't he even be curious to look at it?"

  "He wants to suppress all spells, right?" Cherise said.

  "So he claims. But Gnarkvetch's true interest is to become more powerful," William said. "If he owns all the magic and magical items, and he has a team of wizards protecting him, who can oppose him?"

  Nita nodded. "Yes, that's right. So if he came across a magical item of great interest, it stands to reason he would have to drop his guard, leaving him open for attack."

  "But what magical item? And how can we reach him if wizards surround him?"

  Chassy looked around at the group huddled in this little hollow of the forest, and he felt a sudden rush of camaraderie. These were his people, even more so than his parents in Waet Tree Village. No one had judged Nita for the death of the guard. They had congratulated her on learning this important information. And now they were working together on a plan. What better friends could a person have?

  "It should come by messenger from the Silver Sorceress," William said. "He would open that. What magical items do we have?"

  "Besides the amulet and the cloak, we have a scrying mirror, tiny vials of magical components, two books, a sword, the thief's scarf, disguise ring, and my enemy glasses." Chassy ticked off the things he remembered.

  "You would send Gnarkvetch these precious objects?" William shook his head. "What if we can't recover them later? This plan is too risky."

  "There's also my hat." Cherise looked at her lap.

  "Which one?" Chassy asked. She produced a different one every couple of days. Today's hat was small and red, with a white ribbon running around the edge.

  "Well… there's only one hat."

  Nita's eyes widened, and she wrung her hands with excitement. "I knew it! It's a magical hat! Every day, I kept wondering how you changed it out and how you carried so many in such a small journey bag. Could I look at it? How does it work?"

  Studying Cherise, Chassy could see she was getting more and more uncomfortable, and he shot Nita a look to tell her to relax.

  "What's wrong, Cherise?" William asked.

  Nita put her arm around Cherise's shoulder and tipped her chin up. "It's not important. You should keep your hat. But I am happy to know the secret."

  "That's not the secret," Cherise said.

  Slowly, as if it pained her, she reached up and unfastened the band of her hat, handing it to Nita. But Chassy's eyes stuck to her hairless head. He finally dropped his stare, embarrassed. He'd seen more than his fair share of bald men and old women with thin tops, but never a bald young woman.

  "Why don't you have any hair?" Andrev asked.

  Nita hissed at him and punched him in the arm, but watching Cherise's reaction, Chassy thought her brother might have the right idea for once.

  "It's okay, Nita. I was sick when I was a child, and my hair fell out. I have no hair on my entire body," Cherise stammered. Tears rimmed her eyes, threatening to spill out. "Someone who wanted to use me for his own gain saved me from my illness and gave me this hat… so he wouldn't have to look at my ugliness. I've tried to leave it off before, but it makes people uncomfortable to see a bald woman."

  She spoke matter-of-factly, with no bitterness in her voice, despite what must have been an absolutely horrifying situation.

  "Well, that's stupid," Andrev said. "It's hair. Your head is smooth, too, that's amazing. I had to have my head shaved once, and you don't want to see the lumps underneath this hair. And it's not even a nice shape. If I had to go without hair, I'd rather have your head than mine."

  Chassy shuddered, remembering the shaving incident. Last fall, when he first met Xander, he had been so long in the woods his body and head were home more to bugs than a dead log in a forest. Andrev wasn't in much better condition. Xander had insisted they both bathe and shave to eliminate the infestations before they stayed in his rooms. And Andrev wasn't the only one with a funny-shaped head.

  Cherise threw her arms around Andrev and gave him a big hug. Chassy watched as his body stiffened, and he tapped her back awkwardly with his hand.

  "You can take off your hat whenever you are ready, Cherise. That may or may not be now," William said.

  Cherise fastened it back on her head and gave a crooked smile. "I think that's not right now. But it's a relief for you to know the truth."

  "Maybe luring him with magic items isn't the right idea. Maybe we can use this cloak for something," Nita suggested.

  Cherise pulled it out of her pack, where it had replaced the food Nita and Chassy had devoured. She flipped it around Nita's shoulders. "Am I invisible now?"

  "No," William said. "You must have to do something to activate it."

  "Hey, wait! There she goes!"

  Nita had disappeared before Chassy's eyes. He reached out to where she had been, but his hand swiped through empty air. "What did you do?"

  Nita re-appeared right where he expected, holding her stomach as she doubled over laughing. "You stuck your arm through my face! I just thought I'd like to be invisible."

  "We should test whether everyone can use it or only those with magical abilities," Andrev said.

  It was just like Andrev to be thinking of himself. Chassy almost rolled his eyes but stopped himself when Andrev passed the cloak to William.

  After settling it around his shoulders, William's face took on a look of determination, and he disappeared.

  "You aren't just invisible. It's like you're actually gone. See? I can put my hand right through you." Chassy was sure he had passed his fingers through William's head.

  "—Hear me?" William reappeared. "Could you hear me?"

  "Just at the end once you became visible again," Cherise said.

  "What's it like?" Chassy asked. "I want to try."

  As Chassy pulled the cloak about his shoulders, he felt safer. Cherise stuck her hand in the middle of his face, and he felt nothing. He snickered and moved around behind Nita. He shouted her name right into her ear. Then he wrapped his arm around her, and the cloak fell over her shoulder.

  "Wow! Where did Nita...?"

  Nita jumped at his touch, ripping the cloak off of both of them. Everyone babbled at once.

  "For a minute, you were both gone," Cherise said.

  "We didn't even hear you move!" William added.

  "Mean trick!" Nita kicked Chassy in the shin, and he hopped around in mock pain, as though she'd taken off his leg.

  They spent the next hour experimenting with sound, light, and everything else they could put under the cloak. Two people could
use it simultaneously if they squeezed together. Nita could create her shield inside the cloak, and no one could see the glow.

  Goofing off among the trees with friends felt so much like home Chassy lay awake overnight feeling homesick. He'd forgotten the comfort, the warmth. In the Blackwood, they'd had to rig up cowbell alarms and set at least one person to watch the entire night; right here, tonight, he was safe and cozy with his friends sleeping around the campfire. He'd rather stay here forever in this little clearing than go out searching for Gnarkvetch.

  Cherise slept beside him, far enough away to not disturb him with her flailing limbs.

  She woke him one morning with an accidental jab to the eye. "I'm sorry. I'm not used to sleeping with other people nearby." A poor bald girl, with no home and a history of being sold and used for who-knew-what nefarious purposes… he should pity her, but he didn't. Her trials had made her strong and confident.

  For a moment, Chassy allowed his mind to wander back to Waet Tree Village and what might await him there. His father had always wanted him to become Masterweaver. It's what the Waet men did. If there were no boys born, the heir could be a girl, but that had happened only one time. Her husband took the Waet name to keep the line going, or so the stories said.

  Once, Chassy had relished being the one who would break all traditions, leaving the village and having an interesting life of adventure. But now he sort of missed it—the calm, even life of a weaver, where nothing of great substance ever happened.

  Chassy rolled to his other side. Nita stared at him, her silver eyes glowing in the moonlight. He reached out and took her hand. It had been ages since they held hands.

  "Are you thinking of home?" he asked.

  She shook her head. "I'm thinking of what I will do to that evil wizard when I find him. How could I be thinking of home and comfort while people cower in a cage waiting to die because of Gnarkvetch's ambitions? I'm still thinking of how we'll get to him."

  "Maybe Cherise can swing in through the treetops, and I can fly in as a bird. You and Andrev can sneak up inside the cloak," he said.

  "What about William?"

  Oh, yeah, how could he forget the merchant?

  "Okay, how about this? Andrev and William could take the cloak. We all work to clear out the guards without attracting too much attention. Then you go into Silver Sorceress mode and tear up the place."

  Nita smiled at his description. "Yes, but remember what comes after Silver Sorceress mode? I'm not sure that's such a good idea. We don't have enough food supplies to restore my energy again, even if I eat loads of porridge."

  "You guys are like two gossiping washwomen over there," Andrev complained. "Will you be quiet so everyone else can go to sleep?"

  Chassy chuckled. "Good night, Nita."

  He kept hold of her silver hand all night. That, too, was a comforting reminder of home.

  34: Nita

  When she woke in the morning, Nita was still grasping Chassy's hand. She tried to sit up without disturbing him, but his eyes popped open when she moved.

  Something was wrong. As she shook off the remnants of sleep, she noticed six large men dressed in ragged, dark clothes surrounding the campsite with crossbows leveled at them. Nita tried to lift her hand to pull a shield around them but realized nothing was happening.

  Nita looked around to get her bearings. William stood off to the side, where a thug held a knife to his throat. His face looked like a thundercloud. Andrev was still asleep in the dusk.

  She did not see Cherise.

  "What's going on? Who are you?" In the time she took to get her rapiers, could the bandit use the knife? She decided not to take a chance.

  Andrev started awake and sat up scowling.

  "We have a patron who wants to meet you," said one bandit. They looked like six versions of the same person at different ages. Brothers, maybe? Oh, no, not another band of misled brothers! But wait a minute—bandits didn't have patrons.

  "Why would anyone care to meet a random band of travelers?" she asked.

  The oldest looking one cleared his throat. "You mean the Silver Sorceress and her Heroes Army?"

  Oh, yeah, she'd forgotten the whole Silver Sorceress thing. And now she had a Heroes Army?

  "Well, it's not quite an army," she observed. "More like a group of loyal friends who also hate tyrannical wizards, wouldn't you say?"

  "Heroes Army has a better ring to it," Chassy quipped. "Imagine the wanted sign the other way: 'Reward for the capture of the Silver Sorceress and her Group of Loyal Friends who Hate Tyrannical Wizards!' It's too long."

  The bandit growled. "Do you think this is a joke? Shut yer traps, both of you. Vice will bind all your hands, and then we'll take a nice walk to see our patron."

  A smaller boy a few summers younger than Nita secured her. He flinched when she looked directly at him.

  "Do you do everything these big lugs tell you to do?" she whispered. "You know I've escaped from worse."

  The boy nodded his agreement. "Aye, with the aid of magic I hear you have. But these straps will prevent you from magic."

  Nita tried her shield again, but her magic did not respond. She wondered if Chassy could contact any animals. And where had Cherise gone?

  Her own guard led her by the elbow to stand with William. Andrev and Chassy joined them. They marched farther into the woods and then veered off the path toward the underbrush. Just as it appeared they would walk through a thorn bush, one guy grabbed the trunk of a small sapling growing from the middle and pulled. The thicket gave way to a tunnel diving into the darkness.

  Only one person could fit through the opening at a time, and William was tall enough he had to duck. They grouped together the captives with guards on either end. Nita ducked into the opening and ran intentionally into William. "Where's Cherise?" she asked in a low voice.

  "She was gone when I awoke to these scoundrels standing over me." William's voice was bitter. "I think she stole the cloak. I knew we should not have trusted that girl."

  Chassy ran into her back, and someone outside yelled, "Keep moving!"

  The entrance to the passageway was closed, and ahead of them torches on the walls sputtered through the dim light.

  The first stretch of the passageway was steep as if drawing them into the ground as fast as possible, and the walls were close enough together two people could barely pass. Then it widened out.

  Everything was too confined. Odors of damp soil and earthworms filled the air. Nita wondered if being buried felt like this. That led to thinking of soil being heaped on her body, and her heart beat too fast. Her face felt hot, and the ground trembled, or maybe her own feet were unstable. Just as she thought she might faint, they entered a wider room with a desk. Behind the desk sat a toad man with human hands and feet.

  "Anthem Gregios, we present these prisoners as a sign of our goodwill and respect for the master," said the leader of the bandits.

  The toad man dragged his bulging eyes away from a parchment and squeezed out a blink. He tipped his head to the right, where Nita could see a lit passageway. Above the arched doorway hung three massive gems even larger than the Amulet of Hope. She didn't dare wonder at the power of these gems. Maybe they would turn off all the lights at one time or disintegrate imposters within a certain radius. Their captor bowed from the waist up, and Nita felt herself being gently propelled toward the tunnel. It turned out to be another normal passageway ending in a series of doors.

  How would they escape, with no magic and stuck in handcuffs? Feeling trapped as she never had before, she tried to keep track of the doors and side passages as they went—32 steps, passage on the left; 28 steps, a door on the right. She muddled it up until she couldn't even remember how many steps she'd taken. They might have to fight their way out!

  Nita dropped back so she could almost walk beside Chassy.

  "I'm thinking of a plan," she whispered near his head. "I hope you're ready to fight."

  "Well, they took my daggers, so I have nothing to figh
t with. What's the plan?"

  "Just follow my lead," she said.

  Chassy groaned.

  "Be quiet up there!" called a guard.

  This hallway was mostly more of the same. In one section, the torches had gone out, so Nita continued forward cautiously. Shadows spread between the tiny beacons of light, so the caravan stopped and started, running into itself occasionally.

  Finally, the tunnel ended in another room, this one larger than the one with the toad man. This room was brighter by far, several lanterns shedding a cool, bluish light, and the walls appeared to be stone. Curtains adorned several walls, but this room couldn't possibly have windows. What could be behind those curtains?

  A man stood facing the wall as if pondering the stone in front of him. He was taller than any of his henchmen, and his wavy, black hair brushed his shoulders as he turned to them. He had the hardest glittering eyes Nita had ever seen, like dark garnets. He was as old as their parents but well-trimmed and surely young enough to draw the eye of many an innocent girl. Thank the gods Nita was beyond that.

  "Ah, welcome! Fracus, is this how we treat honored guests now?" he asked. "Please bring them seats and drinks, and free their hands. This room is safe."

  His words were friendly, welcoming, but his eyes were black ice. "You'll find that even though we removed your cuffs, this room itself has protection against magical activities. And anyway, you won't need them. I'm sure we will negotiate swiftly, after which I will free you, and you will be on your merry way to wherever you want."

  Fracus unfastened their bindings and brought them flagons of watered wine. Nita rubbed her aching wrists. Despite the man's insistence she could do no magic, she tried. Still no luck.

  "Who are you?" she asked.

  "Before I tell you who I am, I'll make you an offer. The three of you—" he waved to include Chassy, Andrev, and Nita and flicked his hand at William, "—sorry, the four of you have two objects of value I wish to own. An amulet and a cloak. In consideration for these two items, I will give you a large sum of gold, quick passage back to your village, and a guarantee the pesky Gnarkvetch will never bother you again. What do you say?"