MIRAGE

As I prance nimbly along the back of the wooden bench, my claws dig into the wood to steady my shrunken body. The sleek, furred form that’s my more natural state in the mortal realm moves through the world so much more swiftly than my larger, human-like presence. I can leap and whirl and pounce in an instant.

I spring down onto the patio stones of the school building’s inner courtyard, spin around just for the sake of feeling the air ripple over my thick fur—and prick my ears at the sound of a cleared throat I can already tell is aimed at me.

A voice confirms my suspicion a moment later. “Mirage, you know students are supposed to maintain an appropriate mortal appearance as much as possible for practice.”

I snort as much as my snout allows and shift into human-ish form so I can answer.

Toni is facing me, her arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping against the ground—a typical pose for the school administrator who hassles me the most. She’s tall for a human woman, putting her almost perfectly eye to eye with my average male height.

I cock my head and grin wide enough to show my fangs that linger even in this body. “Foxes are mortal creatures.”

Up goes her eyebrow. “Not with five tails, they aren’t.”

I spread my hands in a gesture of innocence. “I can’t help it if my animal form comes with extraordinary features.”

“You can help whether you take it on.” She frowns at me. “Your teachers have reported that you’re still making partial shifts at random times. You know that isn’t acceptable either. Do you not want to make your education here work?”

Do I want to be banished to the mindless dull of the shadow realm instead, she means.

I give my head a vigorous shake. “I’ll do better. All foxiness will stay inside. Scout’s honor and never a bother!”

I give her an enthusiastic salute, but her frown doesn’t budge. “You’re getting low on chances, Mirage. If it really matters to you, you’ll follow the rules.”

Rules are the dullest thing of all, I think but don’t say. I’m meant to challenge them, to break people out of their drudgery, invigorate their lives.

But I suppose I can do more of that without indulging in my fox self, as much as I enjoy it.

After Toni has stalked off, I try out a few spins on two legs rather than four. This body is decently spry too, after all.

I flip over the bench with a grasp of its top, whip around while balancing on one hand, and slink over behind another bench where two beings are deep in conversation. They look much too serious.

I can help with that.

A smile crosses my lips. I crouch low behind the bench, gathering myself. Then I bound up over the back, right between the two of them, tumbling into a somersault on the other side.

The two beings jerk apart with a yelp. I give them a wave, and they break into a burst of laughter. “Oh, it’s just Mirage.”

Pleased, I saunter on through the courtyard. At the far end, two other shadowkind are perched across from each other at one of the small tables. A gameboard sits between them, black and white pieces like little figures marching across the pattern of squares.

They’re focused so intently on it they don’t even notice that I’ve strolled nearby. A glimmer of mischievous inspiration passes through me.

I wiggle my fingers at my side. The board seems to stretch and curve as if it’s forming a mountain in the middle.

The players freeze, gaping at their morphing toy. With another wiggle, I make the wooden surface appear to undulate like waves. Then I splay my fingers apart, compelling the space between the beings and the table to expand as if they’re being pushed away from it.

“What the fuck?” one of them shouts. The other’s jaw looks like it’s about to fall right off.

Suppressing a chuckle, I close my hand, dismissing my magic. All at once, the gameboard looks like a regular board again, exactly where it should be. As the players start to peer around them, probably wondering who was responsible for the prank, I turn my back and pretend to be fascinated by the flowers sprouting along the edge of the patio stones.

A soft but bright voice speaks from just a couple of feet away. “Why do you do things like that?”

My head snaps up, a grin springing into place automatically. The shadowkind woman with the turquoise hair that sometimes glows is peering at me, her head tilted the side as if she’s curious rather than annoyed.

She has a pretty face. An intriguing body with lots of slopes and valleys to explore. A tingling in my own body tells me there are certain special games it might be enjoyable to play with her.

“Do what things?” I ask, even though I can guess what she means. It’s more entertaining to make people explain themselves.

She motions toward the table. “Surprising people. Startling them. You seem to do that a lot, but kind of randomly. I just wondered.”

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I let my grin widen. “It’s fun. Gotta get all we can before we’re shoved in a van!” Human language allows almost as much play as human bodies. The way words bounce together when they sound similar always gives me a quiver of giddiness.

I have the urge to pop my fox ears out to add to the amusement—and see if I can startle this being—but I haven’t totally forgotten Toni’s warning. She might be watching me closely right now after she just talked to me.

Maybe I can get away with that tomorrow.

The new shadowkind woman is watching me closely too. Her own smile has tightened a little around the edges. Almost as if she’s getting sad.

“You don’t seem like you’re totally having fun,” she says. “There’s something else… Did someone hurt you? Do you need help?”

It’s my turn to freeze in shock, my heart lurching. What does she mean—how could she—?

Oh. She shows emotions, and she must pick up on them too. The way she’s talked to our classmates—yes, I should have seen it.

What does she think she’s seeing in me?

For a second, it's as if I can feel her peering under my skin, into a jumble of images that rise up at her attention. Stark lights and gleaming bars, burning metal, squeals and whimpers—

I cast off the fragments with a twitch of my limbs and a buoyant laugh.

I am having fun. As long as I keep moving, nothing can catch up with me.

Why is she trying to trip me up, get me stuck?

I lift a shoulder in a partial shrug, my voice turning sharper than I intended. "I'm thinking you should keep busy minding your own business. Sorry if you don't like a little play when it could make your day."

Her pretty face falls in a way that sends a twinge of regret through me—another emotion I don't want gnawing at me. "I didn't mean I don't like it,” she says. “You're really good at brightening up class. I was just—"

I turn on my heel and amble away from her as if I can't even hear her speaking, adding a brief swish of a tail for good measure before I whisk it out of sight again. Guilt pricks at me, but I already told her to back off. I can’t change that now.

It isn't as if I owe her anything.

I meander around the courtyard again, flashing grins and showing little peeks at my ears through my hair when I think I can get away with it. The smiles and giggles I get in return should erase any uneasiness, but restlessness winds through my chest, propelling me onward, farther, faster.

That's all right. I know where to go when I'm feeling that way—and it'll also take me away from the shadowkind being who prodded me more than I liked.

I leave the courtyard and lope through the halls to the gym. This late in the afternoon, no classes are using it, but it's too early for the recreational morphball games my classmates sometimes set up. Perfect.

With a little shake, I transform my jeans and loose collared shirt into a tee and running shorts. Then I launch myself along the track formed by the lines painted on the varnished floor.

You wouldn't think it'd be all that satisfying, running in literal circles around a big room. Before I came to the Academy, sometimes I'd work out this energy by racing through the streets of whatever city or town I’d found myself in, dodging mortals who'd flinch out of the way.

But the combination of exertion and predictability is strangely satisfying. I can slow down or—more often—push myself faster, and nothing will stand in my way.

For several minutes, I simply circle around the track, each iteration a little faster, a little more burn in my legs. The sensation will disappear as soon as I slip into the shadows next, but it's exhilarating while it lasts.

On my next circuit, another student pokes his head into the room. He looks so big and dopey that I chuckle to myself.

He walks over to examine the large metal crate that holds the sports balls, the rubbery spheres visible between the interlocking slats. A picture sparks in my mind, bringing a sly smile to my lips.

As I come around the next bend, I curl my fingers—and stretch the latch holding the crate closed so it pops free.

The front of the crate swings open, balls tumbling out over the unsuspecting shadowkind. They bonk him in the head and chest and roll around his feet.

I expect him to simply sway and then laugh like I've just started to. But apparently he's not all that steady in his human body.

He staggers to one side and then the other amid the bouncing balls before tripping right over. He falls backward with a smack of his head against the floor and an accompanying cry of pain.

Coach Brandish materializes out of the shadows with a fierce look on her face. "Mirage! Why would you attack Cliff?"

I hesitate as she rushes over to help him to his feet. "I didn't mean to hurt him. It was just a little trick."

"A trick that did hurt him." She lets out a huff, glancing back over her shoulder at me. "I'm getting tired of your pranks. This is going to be reported to the administration, and they won't be happy about it."

Her threatening tone raises my hackles. I shed the discomfort with a chiding click of my tongue. "Our great leaders shouldn't be hating."

Her expression only hardens. She points toward the doorway. “Go to your dorm bedroom. Now.”

When I waver, she takes a step toward me, an eerie sheen lighting in her eyes. “I said go. You can take yourself there or I’ll have Jonah compel you.”

A shiver ripples down my spine at the memory of the sorcerer’s magic acting on me in the past. With a hasty nod, I duck into the hall.

At least I can get a little more of a run in.

I jog toward my dorm, seeing if I can outpace the sinking sensation in my gut.