Elvenbane

Shana jumped back a pace or two herself, and her mood was not improved when Myre turned around and glared at her, with her upper lip curled in a sneer. Shana balled her hands into fists, and thought longingly of hitting her. Not that it would do much good...Shana would probably only hurt her hand. Twist her wings, maybe, or put a knot in her tail...

'I told Mother you were out all night,' Myre taunted, in a thin, whiny voice. 'I told her you ran off and didn't come back all night long. I told her that you were nothing but a wild animal, and she ought to have a leash for you and keep you tied up at night.'

She sounded just like Rovy. Was that where Myre was getting everything now? Shana kept a tight rein on her temper and pretended to ignore the dragonet. She just stared past her for a moment, then blinked, as if brought back from a thought.

'Did you say something?' she asked. 'I thought I heard Rovylern for a moment, and I wondered how he'd gotten down here.'

While Myre's jaw dropped, Shana started for the entrance, intending to walk past Myre, but the youngster moved to block her path.

'You're supposed to stay in the lair!' Myre hissed. 'Mother said so! She told you to stay in the lair, and she told Keman to stay here too! I'm going to go tell Mother!'

'Go right ahead, tattletale.' Shana spat, losing her temper, as she felt her face flush with anger. 'You go right ahead and see what she says!'

'All right, I will!' Myre scampered off, up towards the heart of the lair, calling back over her shoulder, 'I will! I will! See if I don't! Then you'll be sorry!'

Shana's anger seethed and boiled over; she felt her chest growing tight, and clenched her fists so hard her knuckles ached. Never had she wanted anything so badly as she wanted to hit the little snitch...

And a rock as big as her fist separated from the wall with a crack. It shot past her, hurtling into the gloom of the lair like a diving falcon.

There was a dull thud. The blot of shadow that was Myre squealed. 'You hit me!' came the accusing wail. 'You hit me! That hurt! I'm going to tell Mother! I'm going to tell, I'm going to tell! You're going to get it, little rat!'

The shadow blot cringed as if expecting another blow, then came the scratching of claws on stone as the dragonet broke into a run. Myre vanished around a bend of the path that took her out of Shana's line of sight.

Shana stood frozen in the middle of the path, stunned disbelief holding her motionless. That rock...it had come away from the wall and launched itself at Myre with the same accuracy she'd had last night.

I did it! She thought wonderingly, her heart beating faster. I did it, I really did; it wasn't a dream or anything else. And I didn't lose the power either! I've got to try it again!

A fleeting moment of guilt stopped her as she remembered the ground squirrel.

No, I have to have this, I have to be able to use it. She couldn't let Rovy threaten her or Keman again. He's too big and too mean, and I don't know what he might do after yesterday.

She directed her thought at a similar lump of stone lying loose beside the pathway. But now, no matter how hard she thought about it, how hard she 'squeezed,' nothing happened. She sat down beside the path, all her excitement deflated. She sagged right down onto the cool rock, and tried to imagine what could have gone wrong.

I did it just now. I know I did it. It couldn't have been anyone else but me. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't come up with an answer to the puzzle. First she had the power, then she didn't...what was the difference?

She rubbed her aching head, and thought resentfully of how Myre always seemed to ruin everything. That stupid Myre, she gets me so mad...she gets me in trouble, and she gets Keman in trouble and she calls me bad names, and nothing ever happens to her! It isn't fair! I'd like to hit her so hard...

A handful of gravel launched itself from the pathway into the darkness. Once again, surprise broke Shana's anger. But this time, now that she was looking for causes, she made the missing connection.

When I get angry...I can throw things. When I'm not, I can't. Fire and Rain! That's the opposite of what happens to Keman and the others. The madder they get, the less they're able to do...

She scrambled to her feet, eager to find Keman and tell him of her new found powers. She ran, excitement giving her extra speed...but stopped just short of the entrance, as something else occurred to her.

If she told him, he'd tell Foster Mother, and Alara would have to tell the rest. They might not like it. They might think Shana was dangerous. But if she didn't tell anyone, she could do things without their knowing. She could protect herself when Keman wasn't around.

I'd better not. I hate keeping it a secret, but I'd better not. Not if I want to stay safe.

She resumed her search for her foster brother, but at a sedate walk.

Chapter 8

SHANA CROUCHED BESIDE the otter's pool, her eyes narrowed in concentration. The otter was in his den, but not asleep; that much she could tell just from the 'feel' of his mind. She extended a mental hand, delicately, toward him, and imagined herself to be him; felt her limbs shorten, her body lengthen, fur cover her skin...

Her change wasn't a physical one, as Keman's would be, but in the mental image of herself. The moment she felt herself to be an otter, and one with him, she made contact with the 'thoughts' of the playful beast.

:Warm-sun, warm-water.: The otter contemplated what lay beyond the underwater entrance to his den, rolled over on his back, and scratched his nose. His stomach was full, and he was wide awake; not particularly interested in napping again. The inside of the den was dimly lit by the sunlight filtering through the water and reflecting up into the burrow. :Sleep-not,: he decided. :Play- now:

Shana felt him slip into the water before she saw his sleek form shooting across the bottom of the pond.

Whether or not this was what Foster Mother had meant when she told Shana to 'become one with the ground squirrel,' Shana didn't know. Nor did she much care; ever since she had learned to 'hear' the thoughts of the tiniest animals, an entire world had opened up to her. This much of her new powers she could share with Keman; her foster brother expected her to learn to sense animal-thoughts, although he himself could not. After all, Alara had been teaching her with an eye to just that development.

And since he wasn't suspecting anything, he wasn't surprised by the extent of her ability.

The otter looked up through the water, spotted her on the bank, and shot out of the water to greet her. She amused him by holding pebbles afloat just above the surface, and letting him slap at them. Then she submerged the smooth stones and let him chase them around the pond. It was great fun for both of them, though a little tiring for her. Another lesson learned: working this 'magic' was real work, and took a great deal out of her. She could not imagine how Alara managed her work without becoming exhausted.

Shana no longer had to be in a temper to work her brand of magic, she only had to think in a certain way, wanting something so badly that her emotions became involved...though the angrier she became, the stronger her