Shifting Stars, page 7
It felt exhilarating – both the magical achievement itself and the fact that she finally had the book she had been seeking for so long – and her staff itself seemed to reward her with a rather pleasant jolt. It had done something similar when she had unlocked its first layer of security, she remembered. At the time Catriona wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it – now she was sure she hadn’t. The staff definitely seemed to be ‘rewarding’ her when she moved a step closer to understanding it.
She carefully slipped the book into her pocket dimension and took a moment to bask in her feelings. That was a mistake because before she knew what was happening, she was being thrown to the ground by wizard magic. Renjaf had returned.
In the split second that she was falling, she was able to persuade the vegetation to move and grow rapidly enough to cushion her fall. She couldn’t afford to surrender to unconsciousness. Still, she was held there, hands pinned beneath her, unable to move a muscle.
“What the hell have you done!” Renjaf demanded. “That was my home!”
Only a day ago, she would have talked to him, tried to reason with him, but things were different now – she was different now. She had woken something within herself. Call it stubbornness, call it confidence, call it arrogance, call it madness – she would be accused of all of these in the years that followed. But whatever name one might wish to give it, she was done playing nice with those who refused to co-operate.
Laying there, she focussed her mind and reached out to the grounds that surrounded her, because the tower might have been his home, but the grounds were hers. He had neglected them where Cat had tended them. Through his inaction, they had been choking. Through her actions, they were thriving. Now, when she needed their help, she scarcely needed to ask. Tree branches reached out to restrain him, and vines snaked through the grass to tie his hands, for wizard magic had a weakness: it relied on the user weaving intricate patterns in the air, writing in the language of magic. But what if he couldn’t move his hands? What if his hands were tied? Well then, his powers were severely diminished, if not entirely absent.
She felt him try to attack her with powerful mental magic, but her link with Pyrah meant he was wasting his time. Time he didn’t have. Plants grew tall around him, pressing, squeezing, choking him even as Catriona was released. She stood and mentally thanked nature for her help, but enough was enough, so they loosened their grip.
Striding purposefully towards Renjaf’s feebly struggling, green-covered form, she said, “You brought this on yourself, old man. All I wanted was the book. That’s all. Just one book. I have no idea what happened to you that made you the way you are, and frankly, I don’t care anymore. You’ve pushed me too far, and this is the result. Stuck in the undergrowth like an oversized garden gnome and your tower in ruins at your feet. I’m not going to apologise for this, and I’m not going to ask for an apology from you because I know you won’t mean it. What I am going to do is what I came here to do in the first place, and as it stands, my work here is only half done.”
With that, she spun around, raised her staff, and channelled her magic once more, allowing Renjaf to watch wide-eyed as his tower gradually knitted itself back together, reverting to its former shape and dimensions until it was impossible to tell anything had ever happened to it in the first place. As if to mock the wizard’s abilities, even his shields were back in place. When he later probed them with his magic, they would assure him that they were never breached, which was technically accurate. It was hardly their fault that his tower had decided to change its shape.
With a glance from Catriona, the greenery retreated from the wizard, freeing him once more.
“How did you do that?” he breathed in awe.
“You can puzzle over that in your own time,” Cat replied. “My time is better spent elsewhere – I’ve wasted enough of it here already. I suggest you go inside; it’s quite safe. Everything should be as you left it…more or less.”
“I’ll get you for this!” he swore, glowering at her.
Cat snorted a laugh and shook her head in disbelief.
“You really want to threaten me now? I just beat you with both hands literally behind my back! As I say, I’ve wasted enough of my time here already, and I’ll waste no more. I will be leaving now; don’t even think about trying anything.”
With that, she strode down his path, all greenery parting before her. The gate opened as she approached and shut itself behind her. She wanted to shift into a red-banded falcon and return to Compton as quickly as possible, but she wouldn’t do that until she was definitely out of his sight. She had learned that lesson already today. As soon as she was positive that she was well hidden from Renjaf, she paused just for a moment and asked the wind to carry her voice to his ears.
“Almost forgot,” she said. “I suggest you get someone to tend your grounds every now and again. I won’t be coming back, and they might get a bit cranky if you neglect them again.”
She flew back without incident to Compton and the place where she’d left Jacob’s horse – literally, the last place her friend would look for her. It was one of several disused barns on the outskirts of Compton, dating back to when the town used to be farmland.
This time, she made absolutely sure there was no demon hunter around when she shapeshifted to her ‘delivery boy’ form so that she could pass as Jacob while she brought Bonnie outside where her friend could ‘find’ her.
It was imperative that any passers-by wouldn’t recognise Catriona. That could lead to awkward questions about what she was doing with Jacob’s horse when it had supposedly been stolen by the Trickster. Catriona tied Bonnie up safely outside, and then, moving away from the immediate area, chose another old barn as the place to discreetly change back. She smiled at the sight of the Trickster tracks she had left, earlier. Mandalee was right – she did have a strange sense of fun, sometimes.
Flushed with a newfound confidence, she visualised what she wanted to do next: Reach into her pocket dimension, throw in her boy clothes, shapeshift and immediately clothe herself in her customary red wizard’s robes, all in one fluid movement. As she initiated the process, however, a small spider brushed her left ear, causing her to reflexively jump forward while trying to brush it off. In doing so, she once again failed to watch where she was going and fell into a demon trap, mid-process.
That, gentle reader, left my mother still looking a lot like Jacob, completely naked except for a strategically placed wooden staff with a large blue crystal on top. And just as before, cut off from nature, her magic simply refused to work. She was stuck. Again.
Chapter 9
Isn’t it always the way, gentle reader?
There you are, feeling on top of the world, flush with success and the next thing you know, you’re stuck in a trap with nothing but a stick to protect your dignity.
Catriona was grateful for the cover of the late evening darkness; it was the only cover she was going to get until the demon hunter, Mandalee, came along to rescue her. That was not a meeting she was looking forward to, but she knew it was the only way she was getting out.
Eventually, the young woman in white strode into view, leopard by her side. Her expression seemed to fluctuate between annoyed and amused.
“Hi,” Cat-as-Jacob said sheepishly with a small wave.
“I can’t wait to hear your explanation,” Mandalee said, hands on hips. “It had better be spectacularly good if you expect me to let you out!”
“It isn’t easy to explain.”
“I bet it isn’t!” Mandalee returned. “Well, while you’re trying to work that one out, let me ask you an easier one: Do you have a brother?”
“A brother?” Cat frowned. “No, why?”
“Because you look a lot like some guy I fished out of one of my traps this morning.”
Cat thought for a moment, and then realised who she must mean.
“Was he carrying a load of packages by hand because he’d lost his horse, by any chance?”
Mandalee nodded. “So you do know him.”
“Yes, that’ll be Jacob,” Cat replied, “and no, I’m not his brother.”
“Then how come you look so much alike?”
“Ah, well, you see, now we’re back to the part that isn’t easy to explain.”
“I can leave you for a while to figure it out,” Mandalee offered.
“No!” Cat cried. “Wait! You can’t leave me like this, it’s a bit cold to be naked.”
“Better talk quickly, then.”
“Alright, I’ll tell you, but you’re not going to believe me.”
“Try me.”
“Alright then, well, for a start, I’m not really a boy, I’m a girl.”
All trace of humour left Mandalee’s face. “What?” she demanded.
“I said you wouldn’t believe me, but it’s true: I’m really a girl.”
For some reason Catriona couldn’t fathom, Mandalee looked furious. “Are you trying to be funny? Why the hell would you say something like that? I've got a good mind to leave you in there for the rest of the week!”
“But it’s true!” Cat protested. “We met earlier,” she pressed on, quickly, seeing the demon hunter turn as if to walk away. “I’m Catriona. Cat. You said you always got on really well with cats, present situation excepted!”
Mandalee turned back around, her anger gradually giving way to puzzlement.
“You’re serious?”
Cat nodded.
“Not taking the piss?”
“No, why would I?”
“You honestly don’t know?”
“I’m sorry, I really don’t know what else I can say,” Cat admitted, “but if you let me out, I can show you.”
“Alright,” Mandalee accepted, “but if I find out you really are taking the piss, well, let’s just say Shyleen here’s feeling pretty hungry.”
With that warning, she deactivated her trap. Cat immediately felt her connection to nature restored and breathed deeply before shifting back to her natural form, ensuring her long hair fell strategically over her breasts.
Mandalee stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.
“Sorry,” she apologised, turning away, “but if you’re really a girl why would you ever want to—” she seemed to catch herself, “—I mean, how did you change like that? Obviously, it’s shapeshifting magic, but don’t you lose a year of your life whenever you do it or something?”
Cat looked at her, quizzically. “You’ve been reading too many books! Basically, it’s something I’ve learned to do with my druid magic. Speaking of changing, do you mind if I put some clothes on? People don’t usually get to see this much of me unless they buy me a drink first,” she quipped, trying to ease the tension.
“Of course!” The demon hunter gasped. “Sorry, it’s just a lot to take in, erm…” she started to take off her backpack, “…I think I might have something you could throw on—”
“—No need for that,” Cat interrupted. “If you could just hold my staff for a minute…” she held it out with one hand as she started to open her pocket dimension with the other.
When Mandalee, trying not to look at Cat’s now fully exposed body, wrapped her hand around the staff, there was a flash of magic as they briefly held it simultaneously, sending them and the staff flying apart. At the same time, Catriona’s clothes fell out of her pocket dimension, along with Shifting Stars, and Mandalee’s clothes fell in – even the mask and bandana were gone. Now the tables were turned, with a naked Mandalee desperately clinging to the staff to try and hide something Catriona had really not expected to see.
All at once, Cat put two and two together. Things Mandalee had said, the mask hiding her face, her reaction to the idea that Cat might be ‘trying to be funny’ when she said she was really a girl. Mandalee had – biologically speaking – been born male, or at least with a male body. Something the demon hunter was obviously not happy about.
Catriona was abject in her apology. “Mandalee!” she cried. “I am so sorry!”
She immediately grabbed the demon hunter’s stuff from her pocket dimension and handed it to her, gently. She turned her back and retrieved her staff as Mandalee dressed. Cat didn’t trust herself to throw them straight on with her magic, nor did she believe that would be polite or acceptable to Mandalee.
“That’s what you were going to say, before, isn’t it? That’s why you were furious, because you thought I was…but I wasn’t, I swear! I had no idea! Dear gods, I had no right to ‘out’ you like that. I would never—”
Mandalee placed a hand on Cat’s shoulder and turned her around. “It’s OK,” she assured her. “I believe you. I’ve mostly learned to pass, and the clothes and mask help with that,” she was fully dressed, now, apart from her mask, which she was about to put on, “but without them…” she trailed off.
Cat gently touched her arm to stay her hand. “You don’t have to hide your face,” she said, “not from me, and you shouldn’t for anyone else, either. It’s not right.”
“It’s just easier when I’m interacting with people,” Mandalee shrugged. Even so, she didn’t put her mask back on. “Which, to be honest, I do as little as possible.”
Cat asked if would like to go somewhere and talk, but Mandalee pulled a face at that.
“Well at least let’s sit down here,” Cat suggested.
“I don’t know, the ground’s still pretty wet from all the rain,” Mandalee pointed out.
“Oh, I can soon sort that out,” she replied dismissively and used her magic to encourage the grass, trees and plants to drink a bit quicker, effectively creating a dry patch large enough for two women and one leopard to sit in comfort.
“Shyleen says ‘thanks,’” Mandalee said with a smile.
Pulling on her experience of communicating sympathically with Pyrah, Cat tried to project, ‘Welcome, respect, friendship.’
Mandalee’s eyes widened in surprise. “What was that? You spoke to her?”
“Well, sort of,” Cat allowed. “I call it sympathic communication. It isn’t easy to explain.”
“Like how you end up naked, cross-gendered and stuck in a demon trap?” Mandalee laughed.
Cat joined in the laughter, “Yes, like that,” she agreed.
“Shyleen said it’s not like when I do it – I'm a Cleric of Nature, I speak just about every major animal language telepathically. She says she didn’t hear her language but still understood what you were trying to convey.”
“Well, that’s a better explanation than I could have given you,” Cat admitted.
“Don’t worry, her explanations are a lot better than mine, too. She’s a very philosophical cat, our Shyleen. She’s taken a definite liking to you and approves of our friendship.”
“Oh, so we’re definitely friends now, then?” Cat smiled.
“Shyleen says we are, so we must be,” Mandalee insisted with a grin. “She’s never wrong.”
“Well then, far be it from me to argue.” She held out a hand, which Mandalee shook, warmly. “Glad to meet you, Friend,” she said.
“Likewise, Friend,” the demon hunter affirmed. “Dear gods, I can’t remember the last time I felt so free talking to someone, without worrying about,” she gestured vaguely to indicate herself, “you know.”
Cat waved that aside and with a wink, she quipped, “Hey, I showed you mine, you showed me yours!”
Mandalee snorted. “We’ve certainly left ourselves with very little to hide from each other. How did that actually happen, anyway? Any ideas?”
“Ah, you gave me the final piece of the puzzle I needed to put it together.”
“I’m all ears,” said Mandalee.
“Not from what I saw!” Cat remarked.
Mandalee gave her a shove for her trouble and tried to look intimidating while stifling her laughter.
Cat then explained about her pocket dimension magic and how, although it was mostly under control, now, she’d had problems with instability in the presence of wizard magic.
“It seems your cleric magic was enough to confuse it, too. Just like your cleric-powered demon trap kept me stuck in a male body.”
With a grimace, Mandalee replied, “I know that nightmare all too well. Honestly, if I could shapeshift like you, I’d never go back to this body.”
Cat fixed her new friend with a serious look. “Do you really mean that?”
“I’ve meant it all my life,” she replied ruefully. “Unfortunately, miracles don’t happen.”
“Miracles can happen if people make them happen,” Cat countered.
“Nobody has that kind of power,” Mandalee insisted with a shake of her head.
“Power isn’t everything,” Cat returned. “With the right application of knowledge, skill, technique and imagination, people can achieve all kinds of things.”
“What are you saying?” Mandalee demanded, her heart rate accelerating. “That you could…” she wiggled her fingers, vaguely.
“Well it’ll take a bit more than that,” Cat told her with a smile, “and I certainly can’t do it right here this minute, but with time and study, I really don’t see why it shouldn’t be possible.”
“Don’t do this to me, Cat!” Mandalee pleaded. “Not unless you’re sure.”
“I’m not sure,” Cat admitted, “and I won’t attempt anything until I am, but I am confident. Give me time and I honestly, truly believe I’ll be able to do it.”
Mandalee wrapped her new friend in a huge embrace. “That would be amazing.” She broke the hug, held Cat by the shoulders at arm’s length, staring into her eyes. “But whether you can do it or not, the fact that you’ll try makes us friends for life. That’s it, now. You’re stuck with me.”
