The Shifter's Catch

by T. S. Ryder

  A burst of pain. Brant tore away from him, regaining altitude. Edan flapped his wings, trying to steady himself, but one of them wouldn't work. It hung, limp and useless, while the other turned him over and over.

  He landed hard on his back. The breath left his body and his lungs wouldn't inhale. His heart gave a mighty thump and then was still for several seconds. Edan arched himself up and fell back. His heart lurched and began a fast, hard rhythm. He was finally able to pull in a single breath and looked up.

  Brant circled over him, no expression on his face. Half a dozen bronze-colored dragons, only two-thirds the size of Brant, dove at him. He easily beat one out of the air before the others landed on him, biting and tearing. A golden dragon launched itself off a high balcony and dropped like a peregrine falcon. Zoelle.

  Edan rolled over. He tested his injured wing and sighed in relief as it moved. Pain throbbed through the muscle, but the joint moved easily. So, not broken. He launched himself into the air, desperate to rejoin the fight.

  Just as Zoelle reached Brant, he twisted sharply. He kicked her in the belly while throwing two of the smaller dragons off. Zoelle faltered, struggling to regain her momentum, and two of the bronze dragons left Brant to aid her. Edan let out a plaintive cry; Zoelle would survive the drop, but if Brant got Isobel, she would not.

  But Brant didn't go back to Edan's broken balcony. He sped higher, toward a balcony two stories above. Edan's heart lurched again when he saw Clint on that balcony. Brant let out a stream of green-tinged flame. Hot enough to incinerate the beams holding the balcony in place in an instant. Edan let out a roar and beat his wings harder

  A thunderous roar shook the air. Clint's massive, navy-blue dragon appeared on the balcony. Streams of white-hot flame burst from his mouth. The first blast sent Brant flipping over his head. The second seared the thin membrane on his wings. On the third, Brant turned and fled. The bronze dragons gave pursuit, but Brant was the second-fastest dragon in the kingdom.

  Fastest now, Edan thought.

  Clint's wings hadn't been destroyed in the fire, but they would never be as strong as they once were.

  The balcony the king was on jerked. The ruined supports crumpled and the whole thing fell. He scrambled backward on three legs. The falling balcony pitched him off the edge. His wings beat hard, but it wasn't enough. Zoelle let out a plaintive cry and threw herself in his path. Her legs wrapped around him, but she was too small to carry Clint's bulk.

  Edan surged forward. He rammed the pair underneath, pushing them upward from the ground. The impact had stars dancing around his head. His wings beat the air. Something hard bit into his side and he flipped over. Dirt and grass sprayed into the air as the three dragons plowed through the yard. Eventually, they came to a stop in a heap of tangled limbs.

  A long, low growl became a groan of pain as Clint shifted back to his human form. He lay on his back, face twisted as he panted. Zoelle collapsed next to him, sobbing and kissing him over and over again. Edan rolled to his feet and surveyed the skies. Brant had disappeared and the bronze guards were returning.

  "Increase security," Clint grunted from the ground. "Send parties to find him. I want—"

  "Edan!"

  Isobel leaped over Clint and threw herself into Edan's arms. Her shirt was torn down the back, revealing a long cut that oozed blood. Brant must have nearly got her. Edan's blood boiled as he pulled her tighter. He made to kiss her, but she pulled away. Her eyes were bright, a wild, panicked look to them that he hadn't even seen in that blasted cave.

  "There's a demon," she blurted. "A demon inside of Brant's head."

  Edan's jaw dropped. "What?"

  "I saw it. I thought he was a demon, but when you made him hesitate, he flickered to Brant and then turned back into the demon when he attacked. He's got a demon inside of him!"

  "Do you have no shame?" Zoelle ripped Isobel from his arms and pushed her away from the brothers. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing – what you think this will give you – but it's horrendous. Do you think that our family's pain is something for you to use to get more power or money or whatever you're after?"

  Isobel shook her head. "I know it's strange, and for the longest time I didn't believe it myself, but I am psychic. Partly, at least."

  Zoelle's hand flew. Edan was just able to grab it before it made contact. A low, rumbling growl echoed from his chest. His sister-in-law shrank back, her eyes widening. Clint flipped himself over and reached for her, snarling at Edan himself. Flames flickered between his teeth.

  "Stop it!" Isobel pulled away from Edan and stepped between the brothers. "Don't start fighting. You are not enemies and you can't start mistrusting one another. The king is bleeding, my lady." Though her words were respectful, her tone was clearly an order as she glanced at Zoelle. "You should take him inside for medical treatment."

  To Edan's surprise, Zoelle turned away. The guards landed around them and several hoisted Clint up and carried him back towards the palace while ushering Edan and Isobel after them. Since the danger had passed, his flames were low, almost out. His brother would have killed him. Brant was beyond hope.

  "It wasn't him." As though she could read his thoughts, Isobel grasped his hand and pulled him to a stop. "If you believe me about Azalea, believe me about this. There is a demon attached to Brant and it is influencing him. Please. Believe me."

  How could he? Ghosts were one thing, demons another. And if he was going to do what was necessary, he needed to be prepared for the worst.

  "Edan . . . "

  "Do you know how a demon got in my brother's head?"

  Isobel's shoulders slumped.

  "I'm not saying I don't believe you."

  "You don't have to. It's written all over your face."

  Edan ran a hand through his hair. The guards were all pretending not to listen and he saw one of them glance at Isobel's bare back. He had to work hard to stop himself from snarling. She squeaked when he picked her up and strode towards the hospital wing, growling once to stop the guard from following. There, he held Isobel's hand while the nurses took care of her cut. It wasn't bad, thank goodness.

  "It's not that I don't believe you," he said once they were alone again. "I can't believe you. I can't think that this wasn't caused by my brother. It's too dangerous. For me, for the kingdom."

  "But if you don't believe me, you don't trust me."

  "I do, I just . . . " He sighed. "I'm sorry."

  Isobel turned her face away. "Not as sorry as I am."

  "Look, after the cave, I talked with a sorcerer who navigated it multiple times. He's due to arrive soon. Maybe he'll know something."

  "Sure. Whatever you want." She shook her head. "I'll talk with him. Maybe you'll believe me then."

  ***

  Two days later, Isobel still wasn't speaking with him. Edan had tried to explain his feelings to her, but she wasn't interested in listening. It frustrated him to no end, but at the same time, he understood where she was coming from. Her history was one of never being able to trust people. And if he didn't trust her, then how could she trust him? Several times he heard her arguing with Azalea, although what about he never could quite tell.

  Then the sorcerer arrived. Josef Dove, perhaps the most enigmatic person Edan had heard of. It had taken him quite a while to track down the man who had been in the Phantom's Cave four times and emerged unscathed every time.

  He and Isobel waited for him as the helicopter landed. When he stepped out, Edan was surprised to see him in an ill-fitting suit rather than something tailor-made and sleek. He carried a worn briefcase. He had shaved, though, and his short hair was brushed neatly. The wide smile on his face disappeared when he saw Isobel.

  "What the hell is he doing here?" she shouted.

  Edan's brows rose as Josef joined them. "You know him?"

  Isobel snorted.

  "This is Josef Dove, the sorcerer who—"

  "Josef Dove? That's what you're calling yourself these days?"

&
nbsp; Her hostile tone had Edan's heart sinking. Of course, the expert he called in had to be someone Isobel had bad blood with. Josef, for his part, lifted his nose and gave Isobel a deep scowl, as though her mere presence offended him.

  "Is this who you called me into council?" he directed the question at Edan.

  "Yes, this is—"

  "I know who it is." Josef shook his head. "This girl is a fraud. I'm not going to waste my time on her and neither should you. She's never seen a ghost in her life."

  Isobel snarled. "Like you'd know! If my life was based on what you knew about me, I wouldn't have even taken my first steps yet, Dad!"

  Dad? Edan's flames nearly snuffed out. Oh, hell . . .

  Chapter Ten – Isobel

  Isobel’s father gazed at her coldly. The deep disappointment she had grown used to over the years radiated toward her. It was almost enough to make tears spring to her eyes. "Perhaps if you ever accomplished something notable, I would have paid attention."

  She opened her mouth to shout at him, to scream and shout, but a lump in her throat choked her. To her horror, her eyes started to burn. There was only one thing to do. She shot her father a look of pure poison and walked away, holding her head high and making sure that she didn't move too quickly. That would give her away for certain.

  "Isobel," Edan called after her, but she refused to turn around.

  Voices followed her but she wasn't going to stick around to hear the awful things her father would say to Edan about her. Instead, she headed for their apartment. She'd show him. She'd show them all. She would go back to the cave and figure out how to get rid of the demon in Brant. She would save the day and—

  "Isobel, stop." Edan's hand wrapped around her wrist and she jumped in surprise.

  "Did you follow me?"

  His brows knit together. "Of course I did."

  Isobel shook him off. "You shouldn't have. Go back to dear old daddy and let him regale you in all my disappointments. And — how dare you?" She didn't care if she was being unreasonable. Her blood rushed in angry pulses and her jaw clenched. "How dare you force him into my life again?"

  "I didn't know he was your father. I wanted someone who could help you. He's been through the Phantom's Cave at least four times and he's come out unscathed each time. I wanted to give you a guide so that when we went through again . . . you could get to where you wanted to go."

  The anger drained from her body, being rapidly replaced by guilt. Even if he had known about their blood ties, she hadn't shared enough with Edan for him to fully understand what she was feeling. She didn't want to talk about it out here in the open, though.

  "Did he leave?"

  "No. I told the pilot he's not authorized to leave and he won't be until he listens to you."

  She grabbed his hand and pulled him into a closet. Tears started to spill over and she wiped them away angrily. "My dad won't listen to me. He never has, so why would he start now? He never wanted me. My mom just dropped me in his lap and he dropped me on Grandma. I can't remember a single time when he did something nice for me unprompted. At least my mother had the decency of just disappearing. I didn't have to face her constant disappointment."

  Her lips trembled. Edan pulled her into his arms and pressed a kiss to them. "I'll get rid of him if you want me to."

  Azalea appeared behind him. "You know, I've heard of this Josef before . . . Did you know he never saw a ghost?"

  Isobel's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

  "I—" Edan started.

  "Sorry," Isobel interrupted. "Her."

  Edan glanced over his shoulder. "The ghost?"

  Azalea put her hands on her hips. "Tell him not to call me 'the ghost' in that tone. Don't look at me like that." She huffed as Isobel narrowed her eyes. "Fine. Josef Dove may have gone into the Phantom's Caves, but he's never seen a ghost. He's not powerful enough. So there you have it. You're better than he is."

  Was it true? Isobel chewed on the inside of her cheek. Even if it wasn't, how could she pass up the opportunity to have a guide in that inky black? It was a dangerous place, and if she had someone to guide her, she might actually get what she wanted.

  "I don't think it's a good idea," she blurted, unwilling to say that trusting her father was the last thing she wanted to do.

  What if she went into the caves and nothing happened? It would be more proof to him that she wasn't good enough and he might even turn Edan against her. Her prince didn't even believe her about the demon in Brant's head. If there were more people telling him she was a fraud, who would he believe? Or, maybe even worse, what if her father simply refused to take her? What if he just said she was a fraud and wouldn't listen to anything else?

  "We have to find a way to stop Brant," she continued as Edan gave her a puzzled look. "Can't do that when we're distracted by a cave."

  "Brant isn't going to attack again anytime soon."

  Azalea tapped Edan's shoulder but, of course, he didn't feel it. She got Isobel's attention, though. "You get answers in the Phantom's Cave, right? Well, you want answers about how that demon got into Brant's head and how to get rid of it, don't you?"

  It was true.

  Edan brushed the hair from her face. "I know you're going to go back into that cave sooner or later. Wouldn't it make more sense to go with someone who knows what they're doing?"

  Slowly, Isobel nodded. "You're right." She would be able to face her father knowing that she was seeing a ghost and he wasn't. "Let's go."

  ***

  The entrance of the cave gaped, the light filtering in a few feet. The dimness beyond said nothing about the sheer black that had pressed in on her the last time. Isobel stared at the entrance as she buckled her harness. It took all her strength not to shudder at the thought of going back inside. But there were answers waiting for her. She was going to find out what – or who – it was and she was going to show her father she wasn't just some fraud.

  "Are you actually coming this time?" she muttered under her breath to Azalea.

  Azalea snorted. "I'm sorry, did I miss the headline about hell freezing over? I'm not going back in there."

  So she had convinced Isobel to go back into the cave but wasn't going in herself? That was suspicious. But Isobel didn't have time to question her because her father had marched over to her and Edan. His scowl was only matched by her own. What had Edan promised or threatened him with to convince him to do this?

  "I won't be responsible if you die," he snapped at them

  Isobel snorted. "Like you'd care."

  Josef's nostrils flared but he ignored her comment, instead turning towards Edan. "You will need to keep your fires contained. Any light in the caves and the shadows will shift. It draws the darkness forward and we'll be stopped before we reach our destination."

  Going into the darkness blind made Isobel shudder, but she refused to back down. The three of them were tied together via the harnesses they wore, but there was no connection to the outside world. Apparently, that allowed the dark creatures inside the cave to climb out into the world and they'd untie the ropes connecting them anyway. He was quite surprised when he heard that Edan had come into the cave multiple times without having his head severed.

  The cave was as creepy time as it was the first time, but there were no hands to randomly grab Isobel again. Feeling Edan's warmth beside her helped to calm her as they ventured deep inside. Occasionally, Josef would tell them to step over an unseen hole or to walk around a shallow pool, but otherwise, the only sounds were their breathing, footsteps, and the whispers.

  A pillar of light suddenly appeared. It gave off a pale green glow, not enough to illuminate the darkness, but enough to give Isobel something to walk towards. Her footsteps faltered once, but when Edan took her hand, she strode forward with renewed determination.

  "Step into the light," Josef said. "If you truly have the power, then it will accept you. If you don't . . . it'll blink out and never allow you to look on it again."

  Isobel didn't reply
as she undid her harness. Her heart hammered, but she wasn't going to doubt herself. Not this time. Squeezing Edan's hand one last time, she stepped into the light. It stabbed her eyes, making her blink, and a heat trickled over her skin. But then her eyes cleared and the heat turned to a comfortable warmth. She became aware of arms embracing her and she glanced up to see . . .

  "Gran!"

  "Oh, my little Isobel. I've been waiting for you for so long."

  Isobel wrapped her arms right around her grandmother, not ashamed as tears started to pour down her face. When she stepped back, she found herself in a wide field full of bright flowers, with a beautiful sun shining overhead and the fluffiest clouds she had ever seen.

  "Is this heaven?" she whispered.

  Gran shook her head. "No, darling. Heaven is much, much more wondrous. Look at you! Such a beautiful woman. I always knew you'd become someone important, and look at you now. A dragon prince's bride."

  Isobel squeezed her hands. "You always said you'd look after me."

  "And I have."

  "I wish I could stay with you. I've missed you so much."

  Gran shook her head, wiping her tears away. "Oh, sweetie. That's not true and you know it. Not about missing me, I meant about you wanting to stay with me. You've got too much in your life now to want to give it all up. If only you'd just trust your heart."

  "Trust my heart?" Isobel rolled her eyes. "Gran, really? That's so cliché. What does it mean, anyway?"

  "You know very well what it means, young lady. Don't start pretending with me. You're falling in love with your dragon prince and you're trying to talk yourself out of it. Stop that business right now or I'm going to have to start haunting you. You think Azalea's bad? Just wait until I'm there staring at you while you're trying to have a private moment with your lover."

  Isobel shuddered. "Okay! Okay, I'll work on that. But really . . . I am getting to be very fond of Edan, but it's not love. We're together because—"

  "The because isn't important." Gran frowned. "But there is no time to spend on your love life, I'm afraid. There are dark forces at work. You need to be prepared to face them. The demon that you saw possessing the middle prince is just the beginning."