Perfidious

by P. T. McKenzie

  “Well, it seems like that’s what Greyson and Elisia do. You know, they disappear together a lot.”

  “Yup. I know,” he said through his teeth.

  My breath caught. Why would he be annoyed?

  I peeked around the door and saw Keira cross her arms. “Do you know you make it hella obvious?”

  “What do you…” Kalvin started, but Keira made an exaggerated breath and he stopped talking.

  “You know exactly what I mean. Damn. You’re basically in love with Elisia, and you choose not to tell her for some stupid reason. On top of that, you mope around after you found out some other guy’s beat you to it. Get a grip you stupid dragon.”

  My body immediately seized. My mind froze. Surely, she meant platonically right?

  Kalvin panicked and looked around him. “Will you shut up? You don’t know what you’re talking about. I have my reasons for not telling her. Plus, you’re one to talk. The only reason you’re helping us out and trying to gain Elisia’s trust is because you have nowhere else to go. I know you’re on the run from something. I’m not sure why yet, but you’re not the only one that’s good at reading people. I didn’t trust you from the moment we got here, and so far, that hasn’t changed.”

  Kalvin’s muscles were tight as he stood over Keira. He was at least a foot taller than her.

  Keira’s mouth fell open. She didn’t say another word as she walked away, disappearing into a cabin. He took a deep breath and walked the opposite way. Directly towards me.

  I couldn’t even move. I was standing in the doorway, and as soon as he looked up, he would see me. But my body wasn’t listening to my brain. I should move. Come up with an excuse. Say I heard nothing. But I heard it all, and I didn’t know what it meant.

  Kalvin walked with his head down. My feet came into view. His eyes snapped up and met mine. His pupils went from slits to normal circles, his mouth slightly ajar.

  “Elisia, I…” He stopped. It was as if his brain froze.

  “Water,” I said stupidly, holding up the water bottle. “I was getting water. D-Do you want some?” I asked, trying to act normal.

  “Uh, that, um, sounds good.” He kept wiping his hands on his sides as he watched me get another bottle of water.

  We were silent as we drank.

  “You heard.” Kalvin didn’t need to ask. He knew.

  His upset tone made my chest ache. Kalvin wasn’t explaining himself or denying it. Did that mean it was true? Why wouldn’t he tell me? Maybe he was waiting for a good time? I did just tell him that I couldn’t deal with Greyson’s feelings, and I never really gave him a chance. He knew I didn’t take his flirting seriously. I made up my mind. I was just going to pretend I didn’t hear that part.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Keira’s running away from something? What do you think it is?” I took another sip of my water.

  His eyes narrowed, and he blinked a couple times. “Oh. Um, I’m not sure.”

  “I guess it makes sense why you’ve been watching her now. I thought you thought she was cute or something.” I cracked a smile, hoping to just ignore the other stuff. I guess Kalvin caught my drift.

  The corners of his lips raised a little. “No, she’s definitely not my type.”

  “Well, monitor her for me okay? I don’t fully trust her either,” I said, as he drank more of his water. “I’m gonna head to bed. Goodnight, Kalvin.”

  He pulled me into a hug, surprising me. His arms were strong, but gentle around me. I hugged him back.

  Then, Kalvin whispered, just barely audible, “Thank you.”

  29

  “Elisia?” I moved farther under my covers and groaned, but the annoying person pulled the covers away and shook me. “Elisia!”

  “What?” I opened my eyes to see Keira and darkness around us. “Keira, it’s the middle of the night. What do you want?”

  Her eyes were wide, and she kept looking behind her. “Something’s wrong.”

  I sat up. “Why should I believe you?”

  She placed her hand on the shadow of my bed. “The shadows are quiet.”

  I raised my eyebrow at her. She continued.

  “Meaning, nothing is moving. Nothing is making noise. No creatures. No animals. Nothing.”

  Before she could say anything else, I got out of the bed and walked past her out of the cabin.

  Then I listened. I listened for any sign of any kind of life. But there was nothing. No movement at all.

  She was right.

  Something was very wrong.

  I turned back towards her. “Keira, go wake the boys. I’m gonna look around the perimeter.”

  I grabbed my Tonfas and ran out to the gate. There was nothing outside. An eerie quiet settled around me as I jogged around the camp. I climbed a tree and looked around the area. I almost thought I was imagining it, but a couple trees moved in the distance.

  Something big was coming straight for us.

  I jumped down and ran back to the camp. The others were standing around outside the cabins, checking weapons and talking.

  They looked at me.

  I increased my pace. “We need to leave now. Something’s coming.”

  “What’s coming?” Kalvin asked, pulling his daggers out.

  “I’m not sure. There are no animals around at all. Not even mosquitos. Whatever it is, even insects know to stay away from it. It's big enough to move trees in the distance, and it’s coming fast.”

  I started walking back to the camp gate. A monstrous howl stopped me in my tracks, and I instinctively backed up.

  “I’ve never heard anything like that.” Noah’s voice shook.

  The creature became visible. It didn’t look like any beast I had ever seen. Horns that looked like tree limbs but were sharp as knives sprouted from his bull-shaped head. His body was still shifting. I wasn’t sure what he was turning into. He growled and peered down at us, seeming to grow several feet taller with each step he took inside the gate.

  “I’ve finally found you,” the creature spoke.

  I heard Greyson behind me whisper, “It’s the shapeshifter.”

  I unsheathed my blades.

  The shapeshifter launched at us.

  I dodged to the side and looked back to make sure everyone got out of its way. Greyson was in the air with Noah. Kalvin and Keira ran behind one of the cabins. But the shapeshifter was only after one person. Greyson tried to fly higher as the beast lunged for him again. The creature’s backbones extended.

  He was growing wings.

  I took my Tonfas and jumped onto its back. My blades dug deep into one of his half-formed wings. Gravity pulled me down, causing my Tofonas to rip long lines down the beasts back. He howled in pain and tried to buck me off. I jumped off and Kalvin jumped in. He sliced the other half-formed wing with his two daggers.

  We had the beast surrounded, and I thought we could finish the fight, but he started to shrink. His body got smaller, and his tail grew longer. The shapeshifter had scales like the first time we saw him, about the size of a crocodile, but with the claws of a banshee. He lunged at me, twice as fast as before. His tail swung at Kalvin, knocking him to the side.

  I jumped back.

  The shapeshifter kept coming at me.

  My blades cut into his arms with every punch. His claws shifted again and lengthened like giant eagle talons. He grabbed onto my upper body, nails ripping into my shoulders. I tried to muffle my yelp. I needed to focus on fighting instead of my injuries.

  “Elisia!”

  Greyson began his descent, coming down to attack.

  “No! Stay out of reach!” I moved back as the shapeshifter tried to dig his other claw into me. “You’re who he’s after. As long as we keep him on the ground, he can’t get to you.”

  Something moved past my feet. Dark mist snaked around the shapeshifter’s ankles, holding him in place. Smirking, I stabbed my tonfa into his wrist. He shrieked, releasing his hold on me. I backed up. He tried to follow me, but the shadows held him in place
.

  Anger flashed in his eyes. He turned towards Keira, his gaze locking on her hands. They looked like they were holding onto something.

  He knew she was a shadow.

  I put my hand over the wound on my shoulder and scanned the sky. Greyson looked down. His eyes locked on me.

  Noah struggled in his arms. “We need to help them!”

  Greyson broke eye contact with me to get a better grip on Noah. “Stop moving, or I’ll drop you.”

  “Then drop me!” Noah yelled in frustration as he tried to get Greyson to let go of him.

  Kalvin and Keira stepped away from the shapeshifter. His limbs grew bigger and morphed from scales to fur. I ran at him, trying to distract him from changing. I raised my Tonfa, extending the point outward.

  A snake-like tail darted out.

  It struck me in the stomach, forcing the air from my lungs. I couldn’t catch my breath as I flew through the air. My body broke through the top of one of the cabins. I landed on something soft, and my body seized.

  I looked around my body to assess my injuries. It seemed like I only had shallow cuts and bruises. That could have been a lot worse.

  I tried to get up, but pain shocked my senses. My hip was bleeding. It wasn’t a shallow cut either. I took a deep breath. I couldn’t quit. He’d kill us all if we didn’t get the fight to swing in our favor.

  I ripped a piece of the sheet next to me and tied it around my hip like a makeshift bandage. I forced myself up and limped out of the wreckage.

  A full-sized griffin stood in front of me. I checked the wings. It looked like he wouldn’t be able to fly, but that didn’t mean much. He was on two lion legs, swatting at Greyson and Noah with giant paws.

  Kalvin sat next to the destroyed shed. He had a cut on his forehead, and his shirt was torn up a bit, but his main focus was on his ankle.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  I helped him stand. He tried to put weight on his ankle and hissed. “Yup, but I’m probably out of commission. What do we do with a creature that doesn’t stop shifting?”

  I looked around us for Keira. I spied her trying to use shadows to keep the griffin-shapeshifter away from Greyson. “I’m not sure. We could try baiting it, then attacking it from above? Like we did to the snake?”

  “I’ll see if Keira can help me get to the woods. We’ll get into position. Think you can get ‘em to follow you and Greyson?”

  “Yeah. He has tunnel vision right now.” I started to walk away from him, then yelled back, “Just hurry!”

  I used my speed to run past the snake tail that was still swinging around, slicing a cut into the shifter’s back legs. He turned towards me on all fours, easily twelve feet tall. I ran and had to expect the others were doing their parts.

  He was on my heels as I ran through the only cabin left standing, jumping through the tiny window on the far side. I tiptoed through the darkest area next to the gate. Keeping to the shadow, I looked back. The griffin was distracted with destroying the cabin, thinking I was still inside.

  I saw Greyson healing Kalvin’s ankle.

  “Everyone good?” I whispered.

  Kalvin gave me a thumbs up. Keira nodded and grabbed Noah. She didn’t seem to have sustained too many injuries, but she was also fighting from a distance.

  “I’m taking Noah by shadow. Kalvin will follow us on foot. Go straight out of the gate and head to the river. We’ll be able to adjust when we see him,” she whispered, sinking into the shadows with Noah.

  He stared in disbelief as his body disappeared.

  Kalvin took off out the gate. I looked back to see Greyson looking over me. “You’re hurt.”

  His eyes suddenly widened.

  In one swift motion, he reached out to me and pulled me to him, bringing his wings down hard. We were in the air before I even realized what had happened.

  Below us, the griffin’s paws crashed down on where we had been standing. Greyson flew closer to the ground and started for the gate. The shapeshifter ran right behind us, just barely out of reach.

  I put my hand around my mouth and Greyson’s ear. “Lower. We don’t want him looking up.”

  I scanned the trees and saw the others up ahead. The shapeshifter followed close behind and had no time to respond. Keira and Kalvin came crashing down onto its back. Before he could shift into something else, Kalvin took a sword and plunged it into the back of the beast’s head. Greyson quickly turned around and landed right in front of it. My Tonfas were out and ready as we approached.

  The life drained from the shapeshifter’s eyes.

  30

  I stumbled backwards and stopped, a tree at my back. My injuries ached and burned as I used the tree for support. I kept an eye on the creature in front of me, not believing he was really dead. His yellow eyes were lifeless. My breaths slowly evened out, and I hissed in pain as the adrenaline started to leave my body.

  A rustle came from behind us.

  I quickly moved to put myself in between my friends and the noise. I unsheathed my Tonfas and felt my body pulse. My knees felt weak, as though they wouldn’t hold me up, but I had to ignore it. I waited as the bush shook, and a dark figure emerged.

  I noticed it was Noah before I attacked.

  “No danger from me.” He stomped past me and started toward the camp.

  Slowly, everyone followed him. I tried to stand, but my pain levels spiked. My weight fell back against the tree. Without a word, Kalvin was at my side. He put his arm underneath mine and helped me walk forward. I gave him a small smile, but he didn’t look me in the eyes. His attention was on my bleeding shoulder.

  Back at the camp, I slowly laid down on a piece of ground without debris. I closed my eyes to assess my injuries. Both of my shoulders had bad gashes. There was pain coming from my left hip. Multiple bruises everywhere and cuts on my arms from my Tonfas.

  Wonderful.

  I opened my eyes, feeling a moment of deja vu. I searched my memories for a time that I had been hurt in the same capacity, but nothing came to the surface. I shrugged it off as I sat up. I couldn’t suppress the groan that rose to my lips. A sharp stinging radiated through my body.

  Suddenly, a pair of hands were helping me lay back down. I looked to my side to see Kalvin.

  “You should stay laying down. You took a lot of damage,” Kalvin said as he looked me over. “Greyson is healing Keira right now, and then he’ll be over here to work on healing you.”

  I sat up against Kalvin’s wishes. “I’m fine to sit. Why is he healing her, anyway? I didn’t see her get thrown around like we did.”

  Kalvin rolled his eyes. “She had a couple cuts and bitched about it until Greyson agreed.”

  My eyes searched for him as Kalvin spoke. Greyson’s eyes met mine for a split second before he looked back to Keira.

  My heart ached.

  Kalvin was still talking. “She probably has a low pain tolerance. It’s not like she really does a whole lot of contact fightin’. She fights with her throwin’ knives and her shadows from a distance.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Do me a favor. Don’t let him heal me all the way until he gets a little rest. Just enough to stop the bleeding. He already healed your ankle, and that was most likely broken. He can’t deal with too much more.” Kalvin opened his mouth to object, but I placed my hand on his, and he closed his mouth. “Please?”

  Kalvin’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine, but while he rests, you’re staying put. If ya try to move, I’m knockin’ ya out.”

  I saw movement in my peripheral. Greyson jogged over to us. He tried to heal every injury I had, but Kalvin and I made sure he didn’t.

  After he healed my shoulders enough to stop the bleeding, I saw the sweat on his brow and the shaking of his hands. But once he closed the gash on my hip, he staggered as he moved. Green light illuminated but flickered. He wasn’t strong enough to keep going.

  I grabbed his hands and pushed them away.

  “No more,” I stated, but he looked like he
wanted to resist. “You need rest and aren’t going to do us any good if you die on us. Take a break. I won’t bleed out while you recover your strength.”

  He nodded as he plopped down next to me. Greyson fell asleep quickly, and Kalvin grabbed some food for us to snack on.

  Hours passed. I’m not sure how many.

  I looked over the trees at some light shining through, realizing it was morning already. Greyson started to wake and looked around groggily.

  “Elisia?”

  I looked around at my friends to see who said my name, but I didn’t recognize the voice as any of theirs.

  “Elisia!” I looked around again and saw a misplaced silhouette on the ground.

  As I gazed upward for its source, I spied Lexon floating down.

  “Oh, little Elisia! I’m so glad I found you.” He touched down, shed his rock exterior, and kneeled next to me, assessing my injuries, his stone wings covering the sun from my eyes. “Are you okay? I came as soon as I could.”

  “Who are you?” Keira asked.

  I looked over at her and waved for her to stand down. She slid her knives back into her gear but left her hands in easy reach of them.

  “Everyone, this is Lexon. I’ve met him a few times in the old church ruins. He’s the one I went to see on that day I kinda disappeared.” I turned back to Lexon. “We’re alright. Why did you come looking for me?”

  “After I didn’t hear from you about the king’s heir, I got worried. I wanted to make sure nothing had happened to you on your journey to see the shapeshifter. I went to Coalfell to ask around for you, but I heard that you four had left.” He stood up as Kalvin approached him. “It seemed as though you all literally disappeared. I didn’t even know you were safe until I met a whisper, who told me a generalized idea of where you were. I figured you had your reasons and went to the castle to see if I could learn any new information. I overheard the shapeshifter reporting to the Council about your encounter. They granted him permission to ‘take care of the problem.’ I tried my hardest to find you after that, but this place isn’t easy to find.”