“Now you see why coming with us was so important,” Josie adds. “This is a place away from prying eyes, where you can train in peace and safety.” She turns to Samantha, raising an eyebrow. “Although I don’t see why you couldn’t have just brought us to the front door, while you were at it.”
Samantha shoots her a look. “You try jumping three people this far. I’m beat. Besides…” She nods to me, smirking a little. “I always like to see the looks on their faces when they see it from up here.”
I clear my throat, unable to disagree with her. I feel like I’ve stepped out of the real world and into the pages of one of my fantasy books. “So what now?” I ask. “Do I have to sign up for classes? Where am I going to live?”
“All in due time,” Samantha says, holding up a hand. “We’ll start by taking you to the registrar’s office, and from there we can figure out what classes you’ll need to take first.”
“Speaking of which,” I say, “that reminds me. You said that there are - what, five different types of shifters?” Josie nods, and I continue. “But you never told me which kind I am.” I see something cross her face, but it’s gone too quickly for me to identify it. Now that the danger is over for the time being, I can’t help but feel a little curious which type of shifter I am. That’s a weird thing to think about, I think.
“I mean,” I continue, “I turned red like you guys, but I also had claws, and fur, and scales, and fangs…” I shake my head, thinking back to my monstrous appearance when I looked at my reflection earlier. “So what am I?”
Josie clears her throat. “Why don’t we start walking, and we’ll tell you what we know on the way? Would that be all right?”
I nod, and the three of us begin to make our way down the slope and towards the front of the building.
“The truth is,” she says, not looking at me as we pick our way over the grassy ground, “we’re not sure what kind of shifter you are.”
My brow furrows. “What do you mean?”
“Your magic signature was unlike anything we’ve ever seen before,” Samantha chimes in. “At first, we weren’t even sure if we had detected a shifter. I was wondering if my charm was faulty and needed to be replaced.” She turns to look at me. “So far, you’ve described characteristics of several types of shifters. The fur is typical of wolf shifters, but the claws and scales sound like a siren--or maybe a dragon.”
“I did breathe fire earlier,” I admit. “When those guys attacked me.” Samantha raises her eyebrows but doesn’t reply, looking thoughtful.
“And then there are the fangs, which makes me think vampire,” Josie says, “but you said your skin turned red, like ours.”
“So you’re saying I’m… what, just a mish-mash of all these different kinds?” I ask. “How is that even possible?”
“It’s not,” replies Samantha. “At least, not as far as I’m aware. That’s why we need to talk to somebody else and get more information. Someone who knows more about these things might be able to get to the bottom of it.”
“I guess I have two reasons to thank you guys for bringing me here, then,” I say quietly. “I’m sorry I was so rude to you earlier. I was just scared, I think.”
“That’s normal,” Josie replies. “What matters is that you’re here now, and you’re safe. Now your training can start.” We stop where the circular drive passes in front of the building. The giant front doors stare me down, and I’m struck by the sense that after I walk through them, my life as I knew it, as much of a life as I had, anyway, will be over. Josie smiles at me as if she can read my thoughts - and for all I know, she can.
“Millie Brix,” says Samantha, starting toward the doors, “welcome to Shifter Academy.”
Chapter 7
The women push the doors open and we find ourselves in a large entrance hall. The ceiling seems almost impossibly high, with marble floors underfoot and an enormous staircase in the back leading to the upper levels. Hallways and classrooms stretch in every direction, and as tranquil as it looked from the outside, inside, the school is bustling with life. Students and teachers mill about, some looking like they’re on their way to classes and some looking like they’ve just gotten finished. They jostle each other as they move through the entrance hall, passing papers back and forth and moving in gossiping clumps.
The students all wear pristine white uniforms--skirts or leggings for the girls and slacks for the guys. I suppose if this is some kind of ancient magical school; it makes sense that there’s a dress code. The thing that startles me, though, is how normal they all seem: no claws or fangs to speak of, just a plethora of normal skin tones, with no scales, fur, or magical powers to be seen. If I didn’t know better, I might mistake this for just another European boarding school.
“Cat got your tongue, Millie?” Josie asks, a gleam in her eye as they lead me across the foyer. We turn a corner into a hallway full of old-fashioned classrooms and offices, the kind you would find in a 1900s boarding school. Part of me wonders how the hell I’ll ever find my way around this place.
“The students,” I reply quietly. “They all seem so…”
“Human?” offers Samantha. “Don’t be fooled. They’re all shifters, like you.”
“Like me?” I ask.
“I see where you’re going with this,” Samantha replies. “The answer is no; none of them have shown characteristics of more than one clan… until now.”
“I see,” I say, heart sinking a little. “But why haven’t any
