Rory POV

Running down the hill, I escaped into the Evergreen Forest, leaving the Wizard’s Guild in her wake. I stopped for only a moment to put the glamor charm around my neck once more, and change my clothes. I shifted back to my human form, erasing any trace of the woman who had broken into the Wizard’s Guild. Blood from my wolf ears streams down into my red hair, making it sticky. I grab a cloth from my bag to catch the blood on my lower back before it can soak my tan skirt. The ends of my fingers and my gums are tender from the transformation. My body still aches from the shifts, but the shifts are beginning to hurt less. Putting the black clothes and bloody cloth into my bag with the book, I set off toward my cave campsite. Emalynn…I mean, Ema, should be there waiting. I have to keep correcting myself on Ema’s name, or I might mess up in front of somebody.

The sun still hadn’t risen very high by the time I saw a nervous Ema pacing in front of the cave. “You might dig a trench there if you continue pacing,” I chuckle at her.

She glared at me with her amber tail twitching behind her. “What took you so long!” She nearly shouted.

“Ema,” I cautioned her to keep her voice low with my hands. “Stealth is not your strong suit. We need to add that to your training.”

“Ro, focus. Tell me what happened out there. You were supposed to be back before dawn. In and out, remember?” Ema lectured. She was beginning to sound like Uncle Elias or Guild Master Myrra.

“Breathe, Ema,” I tried to calm her. We arrived in the Evergreen Forest about two weeks ago when Mr. Applegate dropped us off here. Ema has been acting more and more like Uncle Elias and Myrra ever since. I spent the last two weeks learning the area, studying the Wizard’s Guild, and figuring out how to get to the research since I can’t join the guild without being able to use magic. Or at least, I had never used normal magic until last night, but I think that was more the ring than me. The ring was still shining like a red flame on my finger. Damn, that’s not normal.

“Ro? Hello?” Ema waved in my face to get my attention.

I snapped out of my thoughts. Grabbing her hand, I pulled her into our cave. I didn’t want to be out in the open while discussing the crime I had just committed. Ema followed me into the cave when her eyes grew large as my ring lit up the cave. I didn’t let her stop or ask questions until we were deep enough in the cave that I felt safe. We were far passed our sleeping area when I finally stopped and let my body sink to the cave floor.

“Can we talk now?” She asked, annoyed.

“Yes, we can talk now.” I imitated her tone.

“Haha,” She said sarcastically. “What’s going on with the ring?”

“It’s been glowing since this damn book fell on my head and showed me the story of a powerful wizard…” I explained. “A lot of weird things happened in the library.”

“The book showed you a story?” Ema looked at me confused.

“Yeah…It was like a dream or memory playing in my head. The powerful wizard was named Ramire, and I think he may have been the one to make my ring and help my aunt’s clan a thousand years ago.” I recalled Uncle Axel’s origin story. There were many similarities except the ending of the stories. The book claimed that the wizard and beast woman fell in love, but were eventually caught by her people. Both stories probably have some truth to them, but either way, I now know who created my ring.

“Are you sure this wasn’t an illusion? It seems awfully convenient for the book to just find you and show you what you are looking for.” Ema cautioned.

I sighed. “I wonder about that too. I can’t say for certain, but if the ring is reacting to it then it has to mean something, right?” Ema nodded at my logic. If this was a trap or illusion then someone is going through a lot of trouble to set us up.

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“So, this Ramire guy was a powerful wizard who wanted to shift into other creatures?” Ema asked.

“Yeah, I have the book. You can read what I saw… Since I encountered the book, the ring has been glowing and I used lightning magic in the library. The guy who saw me even shot me with lightning, but it didn’t phase me. It was like my body was charged with magic or something.” My body tingled, recalling the magic sensation.

“Wait, wait, wait. You stole the book that magically fell on your head, saw an illusion or dream about a powerful wizard, and you were caught by someone who couldn’t stop you because you used magic!” She ranted at me.

“You make it sound worse than it is,” I whined.

“Well, you were seen committing a crime. And I missed out on the magic and fun! Am I supposed to be happy about that?” Ema crossed her arms with frustration on her face. I shook my head no at her words. Her furry little tail was whacking the cave wall as she sat listening to my adventure. Silence filled the cave as I waited for her to process what I had told her about last night.“So, your weird powers are growing because of the ring, right?”

“In a nutshell, I think so although there's no record of this happening to others,” I sighed. It was hard to know for sure without asking the wizard who created the ring. "My case is different from other wolf beasts because I am a hybrid."

She nodded. “What does the book say about the ring?” Ema asked.

I pulled the book out of my bag and opened it. Again, the ring glowed bright, and the book flipped to the same passage. Ema looked astonished at the display. “Let’s see. The first talks about Ramire and his passion for polymorphic magic. While he was creating advanced magic, he fell in love with a beast woman, which drove him to create the polymorphic spell to become another race, so they had a chance to be together. He had to understand them on a molecular level.”

“Molecular-level? Is that one of those fancy science terms?” Ema questioned.

“It means knowing what they are made of on the smallest level, like knowing what’s in their blood,” I explained.

Ema scrunched her face trying to make sense of what I said. “So, there’s stuff in my blood?”

I shook my head at her and giggled. “Yes, your blood is made from stuff.”

Ema’s eyes grew bigger at the realization that her blood was made from other things. "Are those mole…molecul…molecular stuff made of stuff?"

I burst out laughing at her curiosity. This wasn't really the best time for a science lesson. "Everything came from somewhere, Ema," I laughed. We both laughed loudly until I heard the call of a hawk from outside the cave.

"Was that-"

"My messenger hawk? Yes. Let's see who sent us a message." We went back toward our campsite, and I grabbed a freshly-gutted, horrible-smelling fish and my leather glove. Slipping on the glove and exiting the cave, I whistled the tune Uncle Axel taught me to call Skya, my mom's hawk. Skya landed on my gloved hand, adjusting her beautiful chestnut-colored feathers. I turned back toward Ema while untying the little note on Skya’s leg. “Ema, this is Skya,” I introduced her to my hawk. Ema’s auburn ears perked up, and her eyes filled with amazement. Ema held out her hand to pet Skya’s feathers. Skya watched Ema with intense golden eyes, trying to decide if Ema was friend or foe. Ema inched closer slowly. With one finger, she gently stroked Skya’s back. Skya didn’t move, allowing Ema to continue.

“She’s so soft and fierce at the same time,” Ema cooed.

I nodded, opening the note.

Ro,

Visitors have come to town asking about a simian beast. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. The illusion we created for your identity is beginning to fall through. Be on guard.

-K

“Crap,” I grumble. “I hate that dark elf.”

Ema turned away from my hawk and looked at the small parchment in my hand. “You mean the elf guy is getting close?”

“Well, he figured out we went to Pine Row,” I sighed. “I am going to have to find Mr. Applegate now…”

“Why?” Ema asked. “Wouldn’t that bring them closer to us?”

“Honestly, the only way to ensure they don’t find us will be to take care of Mr. Applegate,” I answered. Her entire face dropped at my words. Her ears sunk low behind her as she processed my words.

“Do you mean…Are you…” Ema couldn’t finish her question.

“Ema, you do know that I have killed people before, right? You watch me, slaughter bandits and criminals, all the time.” I reminded her.

“They attacked us. It wasn’t a planned assassination!” Ema huffed.

I sighed, letting Skya fly off my arm toward the trees. “Ema, right now, Mr. Applegate is a threat to our safety. A loose end that could lead that dark elf right to us. I have to get rid of any loose ends to protect us, Aunt Leah, Uncle Elias, Myrra, Madam Kaya, and everyone else in our guild and Pine Row.”

Ema had tears beginning to fall down her face. “Is it the only way? Honestly?”

I bit my lip, not wanting to answer. “Living in the shadows has been my life since birth, Ema. The dark elf is after us because he so my psycho magic and sensed Aunt Leah’s magical ring. Aunt Leah and Uncle Elias already have the means to disappear. Hell, they have connections on another continent. I don’t have those connections nor can I use theirs without my secret getting out, yet you still followed me. This is how my parents taught me to live in case I ended up living on the run. Aunt Leah, Uncle Axel, and Uncle Elias just re-enforced their teachings. Okay?”

Tears streamed down her face. She didn’t like what I had to do, but how else can I ensure our safety? Besides, I still have the people from the Wizard’s Guild to deal with. They won’t take theft from their library kindly. Ema walked away from me toward the cave. I am probably going to get the silent treatment from her for a while until she accepts our reality. It’s that I want to kill Mr. Applegate, but I don’t want any else I care about to die. Ugh. I had plans to make and only until sundown to prepare.