by K. G. Wilkie
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE Alliance
CHAPTER TWO Girl on the Run
CHAPTER THREE Dark Foretellings
CHAPTER FOUR Spirited Away
CHAPTER FIVE Bubbles
CHAPTER SIX Study in Starlight
CHAPTER SEVEN Bound to Meet
CHAPTER EIGHT Town Bazaar
CHAPTER NINE The Council
CHAPTER TEN Battle Plans
CHAPTER ELEVEN Chemistry and Alchemy
CHAPTER TWELVE Jailbreak
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Battle
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Backmatter
CHAPTER FIFTEEN ebook
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Preview of Book 3
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Character Glossary
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Author's Page
CHAPTER NINETEEN Acknowledgements
PS The Dragon Fights
Book Two in the Shadeworld Series
K.G.Wilkie
Copyright © 2017 by K.G.Wilkie
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author at the email address below.
[email protected]
www.kgwilkie.com
To Ethan, who continues to light up my life
(Even though he hates corny sayings like that)
CHAPTER ONE
Alliance
Word spread through the shifter packs. Group after group was contacted one at a time by the fleet of representatives. At first it was just simple things. They came as outsiders of the packs, human or nymph, or one of the other species in the land that had no grievances against them. They asked after people's names and the numbers in the packs. They asked questions, so many questions.
Then the representatives changed. Now they were being visited by wizards, sent by their city to talk to these shifters. The change was abrupt enough that some of the elders cautioned against these new representatives and called them spies. Everyone knew it was suspicious for the elusive wizards to leave their city and interact with a different species when they were known to look down on the other inhabitants of their world.
But these wizards were so charming, so polite. They asked after one's children. They complimented one's feathers or the color of their scales. They flattered and chatted until they seemed like everyone's best friends, like they might as well have been a member of the pack. They asked how their pack was treated by the monarchy, by other shifters, and by other peoples. Slowly, they gained more trust and strengthened their bonds until everyone they talked to was more than happy to spill the beans and go over every injustice they'd ever faced. Then more questions came. They started to ask about what they were willing to do to be treated better. They pushed and prodded and reminded them of all the problems and scorn they'd faced whenever someone voiced doubt at rising up and doing anything about their mistreatment.
Then more of the wizards came, new ones they hadn't talked to before.
They started to introduce them to other packs. And they'd talk to them and find they had other kindred just like them, other shifters that had been ridiculed and ignored by the biggest packs. They'd been turned away at markets and kicked out of pubs because they were a less popular species of shifter.
Eventually, the wizard agents introduced all of the packs they'd met with to each other. All of them had so much in common. These strangers were unified by their experiences and quickly grew a kinship together. And their new friends, those shifter agents who had so nicely brought them together, had given them a new pack, a pack that was stronger for their newfound unity. So when these allies asked for something, the packs wanted to give it to them--more information, a share of their resources--nothing was off limits to their comrades. Therefore, when the wizards asked them to become allies in a future battle field, the shifters readily agreed. When these new friends asked for a package of illegal goods the pack leaders paused to consider it. Was it really the best idea for their people to own that sort of thing at all, let alone to pass them on to someone who wanted them? The punishment for possession was not only death, but annihilation of anyone who had known about it or was even related to those who held these banned goods. But it seemed like a good thing to do. After all, the wizards were clearly their friends, and wouldn't lead them astray.
They'd acted so compassionately. They'd said they really understood how wronged the shifters had been by the rest of the world. They'd promised that the two groups could be allies and fight together on and off the battlefield. They'd offered sweet words and promises. The shifters lapped up the attention, and kindness, and respect shown to them.
So they agreed to meet with a full embassy from the Domed City with the requested packages in hand. It was agreed upon as a final formality to cement their new alliance. The documents had been written up and the signatures had been sealed. All that was left was presenting the tokens of their treaty.
They had elected to meet in Fireflower Field. This time of year the Fireflower Festival was long since finished, and all the fresh flowers had been picked and sold for the year. It was the best place to meet if one sought to participate in crimes under the moonlight.
The day arrived with a wall of fog settling over the meadow. The clearing was quiet. Silent. The sound of rustling plants and scurrying through the undergrowth was missing. All of the animals had sensed that this was not a good place to be that day and had abandoned it.
When the moon hit its zenith, a pulse of energy spread over the field. And then a gradually-building light came from both sides of it. One by one, a line of creatures, caught halfway between human and animal forms, lumbered in silently from the East. Humans dressed in sumptuous robes and moving with a grace that spoke of levitation rather than elegant musculature filed in from the West. Each member of the shifter line carried a lantern, while each wizard bore his glowing staffs to light the way. All of them bore light, but for the front of both lines, who instead carried weighty bundles in their arms. When each line's leader stood in front of the other, all of them abruptly halted their steps. A horn sounded out, and then they all moved in tandem to fan out in perfect parallel lines to each other.
Once again the horn echoed across the field, and the shifters leapt into a flurry of motion. The avian shifters burst into flight and wrapped figure eights and loops with each other overhead. The reptilian shifters sprang into the air and rolled on their way down, only to have another line of them jump up over their heads as they tucked down into a crouch on the ground. Then several of both varieties piled on top of each other armed with swords and swung them around to make a graceful patterns of light from the reflection of the still glowing lanterns. Then all of their procession took a knee as a formal sign of respect to the delegation.
The wizards scoffed at the display and mocked the presentation. The elders tried to hide their laughter but still some chuckling escaped them. "What a ludicrous display," Brietsch, one of the elders leading their procession, said. "We have come here to discuss important business, and it is not appropriate to have this playing and roughhousing going on right now," he added.
A crow shifter with feathers that had gone gray with age hissed at them. "You dare to insult our ceremonial display of friendship in honor of our alliance? Be careful, humans. One might suspect that this is a sign we should call the entire alliance
off and bring our parcel back with us. If you cannot respect our friendship, then maybe you don't deserve it, or the benefits it brings."
"No, we never intended you to think that," Gruzelvelt said dryly. He stood next to Brietsch and held up his hands in a show of apology for his group's actions. "We were just surprised to see such a, well, exuberant display at a formal gathering," he added.
The shifter leaders and the wizard elders looked at each other across the clearing. The apology had sounded insincere to those on both sides, and the shifters did not appreciate the rude words which were as good as a personal attack against them. Some of the younger shifters growled and raised their hackles. The elders warned their members to keep a polite face and let negotiations continue, however, as they still had something to gain from this alliance even though it seemed clear they weren't gaining any friendships through it. Still nothing more was said or done as the shifters refused to speak and carry on the meeting by themselves.
Finally, the wizards managed to quiet any other signs of mirth from their side. Gruzelvelt pushed his beard over his shoulder to get it out of the way and once more stepped forward to address the other side. "I assume you came prepared for our meeting?" he asked them.
The old bird finally gestured to the leader of his procession. A woman with dark spots covering her still slightly-furred arms shook her head at him, but he insisted. She sighed and reluctantly moved forward, brandishing a small wooden crate with thin plastic sides. Lights came forth from the blinking bodies inside.
"We have fulfilled our end of the bargain. We have them in here," she said. "We will need to see proof that you have done the same before I will pass this over," she added.
Her leader frowned at her for speaking out of turn, but she was clearly determined to hold off until her requirement had been fulfilled. The rest of her people growled their agreement so that their elder was forced to accept the will of the majority. He was not truly upset by her requirement after all and had merely been ashamed at her speaking without first seeking approval for her words. They all had new doubts over the trustworthiness of their so-called allies and needed their fears assuaged before they would break the law for them.
"How do we know you have provided what was required? We see you have a package over there, but we need to see proof that this package is as requested before we can uphold our end of the bargain," Gruzelvelt said.
The shifters growled again at this added rudeness, but their elder quieted them and gestured for the girl to reveal her burden. She held the crate up and yanked open the top to plunge her hand in and grab one of its occupants before she shut it again to keep the rest trapped inside. She held her prize between two fingers and held it up for them to see it flicker light.
One of the younger wizards in the back of the procession scoffed audibly. "You've got to be kidding. We requested a deadly poison, and all you scrounged up was a little snack for him? How are some lightning bugs going to do serious damage to anyone, let alone a lizard person?" The middle aged wizard next to him slapped him so hard on the side of his head that his ears rang. The other wizards around him hissed for his silence and scolded him for his outburst, conveniently forgetting they were about to do the same before he spoke up. The boy quickly scowled back at his elder, but he also slunk back so that he was out of view or notice during the rest of negotiations.
A man stretched out on the ground, wrapping his scaled tail around himself. "Oh yes, I can see you've got a genius tucked into the crowd. Tell me, who would best know what was poisonous to a reptilian race like the dragons than a lizard shifter." He pointed at himself, and then he pointed at the novice. "You think a stupid human child who has the sin of being incapable of holding its idiot tongue, as well as being a member of a weak fleshy species, knows our sort better?"
"Oh no, of course not. We can certainly trust that this is an honest and true poison that will do the job. We had just hoped for a more... reliable solution. I do not think it would be very easy to hide a squirming bug in his steak in such a way that he'd still actually eat," Gruzelvelt said. "If this is what we have available though, we'll gladly accept," he added.
The wizard elder went forward to accept the proffered poison, but the shifter line quickly bulged to form a wall of bodies hiding the precious goods. "You haven't seen all we have yet, impatient humansss," another in the crowd hissed at them. "Look here at thisss," she said. They obediently looked and saw a different shifter, a bird this time, come forward to show a bag filled with leafy fronds. "It may be difficult to smuggle little buglies into his food, but anyone could manage to hide dragons bane. It has no odor or taste, and the oil it secretes is easily hidden in the rich foods often served at the palace. You'll be guaranteed a death," he said.
The human's eyes lit up at the sight of it, and this time old Gruzelvelt moved as fast as he could to try to snatch the leaves, but the shifters simply bunched up once again so he couldn't reach it.
"Naughty, naughty little humans, don't you want to play nice?" A green-skinned man with a scale stuck on his scalp came forward; the kappas had clearly teamed up with the other shifter misfits. "We have such pretty little presents here, but there's no sign that you intend to fulfill your deal and give us what we've been promised. If that doesn't change, we might have to give you bad boys a scolding." A crouched toad girl on the end smirked at them all and licked her lips. Her hunger clearly conveyed that they would all happily eat the humans--magical skills or not--if they did not bring to the bargaining table what they had promised, much to their discomfort. Gruzelvelt grimaced and snapped his fingers, ordering the chastised young wizard to come forward with his own parcel.
"Kraelek is not the wisest of our kind," he again looked at the boy with a sneer, "but he carries something of great value. Show them, child," he ordered.
Kraelek came forward as he pushed a small handcart, rather like a wood version of the ubiquitous shopping carts found in the Original. It was filled with a tower of burlap sacks stacked above his head. Each sack was marked with a logo that showed an encircled howling wolf's head. "We've provided the wolfsbane that was requested. Of course," the wizened old man added, "we'll be more than happy to hand them over as soon as we receive our payment." His voice was oily, and it may have fooled some humans, but the shifters could smell the insincerity dripping off of him.
The method of exchanging goods was less than ideal, but the offerings themselves were dubious as well. Dragonsbane was banned in their dragon-ruled world. Wolfsbane was perfectly legal and not too terribly difficult to get your hands on, but the shifters had agreed to receive it in this manner to be sure the wolves wouldn't have their guard up against them or target them in a preemptive ambush to prevent their using it. Some of the shifters were now starting to wonder if this exchange had really been worth initiating at all. But, of course, it was not just poison on the line, but the promise of support if they went to war that was the main trade being made. The question, still, was whether that was worth their efforts either.
Neither group moved to let go of their cargo or to steal the other's offerings. They stood, staring at each other. "Why again are we helping these people?" Kraelek muttered. He was again slapped for his vocalism. "Well, they clearly don't want to work with us, or us with them!"
He was cuffed again. "Because we may not get along with each other, but both of our kind need something from each other. Their kind has been poorly done by after generations of prejudice from other types of shifters like the wolf tribes, and even from the dragon clans and the Fey before them. Our kind has been poorly done by the leaders who all prefer the other species and hate and distrust humans of all kinds even after all these years of living in the same realm. We have a lot to offer each other." Gruzelvelt was now addressing the shifters and ignoring the boy once again, "If we can only cross this final hurdle of trust."
Finally the emissaries from both sides met in the middle to exchange their packages.
"We've made a deal, wizards. Do not forget that bo
th of our peoples have agreed to working together on this. We will trust you, for now, as we will go into battle together. Together, we'll fight the dragons and their suppression," the shifter said.
Gruzelvelt smiled. "Oh, certainly. We promised we'd meet on the same grounds for a shared battle against those who have done us wrong, and we will. We'll join our power. Animals and humans, we'll do it together." The shifters' hackles raised at this. Being called an animal was one of the worst insults he could have said to them, and saying it had made them further doubt his group's sincerity. He saw that he'd messed up his approach and worked quickly to minimize damage.
"Shifters, I meant shifters, of course." He paused. They clearly were not buying his hasty attempt to mend the situation. "Besides, we aren't just meeting as allies. We are together in this as mutual victims under the tyranny of the dragon monarchy and their stupid princes. We're helping each other as we've both been the butt end of many jokes and the targets of many vandalisms," he added. The other side muttered in agreement. "For many long years you, all of you, have been called the undesirables and have been treated as a plague and menace on society just for existing," he added to rile them up some more. It was a familiar statement the emissaries of the Domed City had repeated many times in the previous weeks, but time and repetition hadn't dulled its persuasiveness.
It was true that the shifters gathered here were famously disliked by the rest of their society. The most powerful shifters were the werewolves due to their massive numbers. There were enough of them that they had multiple packs. Their great numbers meant that they were always selected to be sent as representatives of the shifter population to any councils held at the palace. Such great numbers, in fact, that the greater public of the other races in the Shadeworld treated them like the only population of shifters in their world, or at least the only population that mattered; and they always stood as the representatives of their kind as well as directors on shifter trends and society. The other mammal shifters didn't have quite so many numbers, but they multiplied enough to hold their own from generation to generation. Besides, the second most populace shifter population, the fox shifters, got along well with the wolves and treated them as friends and allies. In recent years many of the bands of cat shifters had thrown their alliance in with them as well. The smaller mammals and the prey animals were mostly accepted by the big three shifters and treated well by them and together formed the bulk of the shifter world.