Crescent Wolves - G. Bailey Page 0,49
probably isn’t doing much to assuage his fears. But I also have to remind myself that their paranoia was what got them killed, not some conspiracy by the humans themselves, and besides, even if the Academy board is run by humans, the school is staffed by shifters. They wouldn’t let anything happen to us if they could prevent it, I’m certain of that much.
The only thing that still bothers me is his comment about Hawthorne having lied about a lack of prior disappearances. Silas seems reluctant to elaborate, and when I ask Hazel, who seems to be in the know about everything important at the school, she has no idea. All I can do now is tell myself that’s just him being overly worried and throw myself into my classes.
I think Shade’s lesson was a bit of a game-changer for me as far as shifting. Not being able to access my reserves of power was what was holding me back, and now that I’ve learned to tap into them, the transformations are coming much more easily. I’m no longer just shifting when I’m scared, and when I do shift, it’s not into a hodge-podge of magical creatures anymore… unless that’s what I want.
Granted, I’m still nowhere near mastering it yet: even when I do manage to successfully get into a new form, the smallest distraction is enough to make me change back, and the specific abilities of each being are as elusive to me as ever. The witch spells are especially difficult, especially since I can only manage to change for a few minutes at a time, at most. That’s hardly enough time to learn how to cast spells, and I’m having similar difficulties with using the siren abilities. The one form that I still can’t get, no matter how hard I try, is the dragon. The best I’m ever able to do is breathe fire, which almost caused an accident during one of my classes. The form itself still escapes me, but I try to tell myself to be patient, that it will come to me eventually.
Having the others around has been a big help, too, and not just because they can give me pointers on shifting correctly; I feel a sense of camaraderie with these guys, and I think they probably feel the same. We’re a group that never would have existed if we hadn’t been in detention together, and for that I’m grateful, especially since Hazel’s social life doesn’t revolve around me, and there are times when she’s too busy to hang out. The guys, though… They always seem to be there. I’ve never had a group of friends like this before, and I find myself basking in it. This is what it’s like to be a normal student.
I’m just getting out of my last class before lunch, ready to stuff my face in the cafeteria, when I almost bump right into Silas. He’s standing outside my classroom door, worry etched onto his face, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched. “Hey,” he says as soon as he sees me.
“Hey, Silas,” I say, grinning. “Did you get out early or something?”
He shakes his head. “I was actually…” He glances at the floor, fidgeting for a moment, before saying, “I was actually wondering if I could talk to you. Alone.”
I blink. “Okay,” I say, chuckling at the mysteriousness of it all. “All right. Where?”
“There’s a corridor in the West Wing,” he replies. “No one ever goes there. Follow me--this won’t take long, I promise.”
Curious, I allow him to lead me down the hall and away from the other students, who all seem too distracted by the idea of lunch to care what we’re up to. I can’t help but admire him as we walk. His grizzled, masculine features, his perpetually tousled hair, the way he carries himself… but then I catch myself, start to blush, and tell myself to snap out of it. Eventually we come to a stop in an empty hallway. There’s a couple darkened faculty offices at the far end, but otherwise, it might as well be abandoned. I turn to Silas. “So what’s up?”
“I’ve been thinking,” he replies. “About… Well, everything. The lockdown, most of all. Remember how I said Hawthorne was lying when he said no one had disappeared from the Academy before?”
“Yeah,” I reply. “You didn’t seem too keen on talking about it then, though.”
He nods. “That’s because I…” Suddenly he looks hesitant. “Listen, Boots… I don’t want you to