Crescent Wolves - G. Bailey Page 0,10
But that’s not happening, and I know it. “Let’s say I believe you,” I say slowly, pursing my lips. “Let’s say I believe that shapeshifters are real, that I’m one of them. Why did you come find me? What do you want with me?”
“That’s the big question,” Samantha says, nodding approvingly. “If you thought this was like Harry Potter before, Millie, you have no idea what is coming.”
I raise my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“There’s a reason most humans don’t know that shifters exist,” she replies deliberately. “You can probably imagine what would happen if all of society knew about magic and magical beings. Scientists would never leave us alone. There could be fighting, discrimination, full-on wars, for all we know. That’s why we let them believe we’re just the stuff of fairy tales. But there are a few humans who know about us. Heads of government, trusted members of our society. People we can be fairly sure will have the best interests of shifters in mind.”
“Okay,” I say slowly. “I guess I’m with you.”
“Good,” says Samantha. “Things between humans and shifters haven’t always been peaceful, though. There was a period of time when even the humans who knew about us seemed ready to take action against us.”
“Why?” I ask, finding myself intrigued even though what they’re telling me is absurd.
“They were afraid, I think,” Samantha answered. “When we started becoming more common, it shook up relations between shifters and humans. Many of us didn’t even know we were shifters, and our abilities were unstable and unpredictable. It looked like things were going to get ugly, especially with the possibility of shifters forming an army and making a move against them. But it wasn’t like they could get rid of us, so eventually, our two societies came to an agreement.”
Josie met my eyes. “The humans founded a series of schools on every major continent, academies where newly-discovered shifters can learn to use their powers under supervision. There, they are taught how to coexist with humans, how to keep their powers under control, and how to keep the secrets of our society safe. Samantha and I are representatives of the English-speaking branch of Shifter Academy.”
“So let me get this straight,” I say, my sarcasm just barely masking my confusion. “You guys are… what, recruiters? And somehow your witchy powers told you that I had transformed, so you came here to pick me up and bring me to this Shifter Academy. Do I have this right?”
“That’s the long and short of it, yes,” says Samantha.
“Shit,” I mutter, staring down at the floor. “You guys realize how insane this sounds, right? I mean, it does. It sounds insane.”
“I know,” Samantha says, and I can see sympathy in her expression. “We realize this is a lot to put on you. The truth is. A lot of shifters are like you: orphans or transients, who either didn’t know their parents or were abandoned by them after they found out what they were. Not everyone can handle the truth of what we are.”
My eyes widen. “Are you saying that’s why my parents left me in the hospital when I was a baby? Did they know what I was?”
Josie and Samantha exchange a look, and something that I can’t identify crosses their faces. “That’s not clear to us,” Samantha says, not looking at me.
“But how did you know my name, then?” I ask. “You must have more information about me.”
“We only know your name because we sensed it,” Josie replies. “We’re highly trained in the use of our witch powers. They allow us to get bits of information about the source of an unexpected burst of magical energy. We’ve been following you ever since you left your house. That was when your shifting magic first appeared on our radar.”
I think back to the incident with Mark, nodding. I had to admit it made sense. There’s a long moment of silence as I struggle to process everything they’ve just told me, but soon it becomes clear that it’s going to take longer than a few minutes to come to grips with it. “So what now?” I ask at last, looking back up at the two women.
“Now,” Samantha says, “you’re going to come with us. The Academy is waiting for you.”
Chapter 5
I wish I could properly put into words the combination of thoughts and emotions that are swirling around in my head when Samantha tells me this. The look on her face is irritatingly calm, like she’s a parent