Page 8 of Ever Dark Academy, Vol. 7

Eyros’ gaze followed hers. “Oh, I see that things are going apace for Ashyr and Weryn. Ashyr really does have the Weryn gift. Shifted already, too. Overachiever.”

“Wait, what? That’s–that’s–” She pointed at the two birds.

“Yes, it’s them. I can’t read their minds exactly. There’s some interference from the shift, but the raven is Ashyr and the falcon is Weryn. Oh, I’m sorry, Grayson and Ryder. I do so not understand these other names,” Eyros groused.

“It’s about not being ruled by the past, Balky,” Charlie said and then quickly, “I mean, Eyros.”

“Very funny, Charlie. I don’t think Balthazar has ever been a popular name.” Eyros’ eyes were narrowed, but then he went over to the very edge of the balcony and pointed to the far left. “The gate to Nightvallen is right there on top of that hill–”

“What about that one?” She pointed to another gate that was half hidden by trees.

“Which one, Fifi?” Charlie asked as he craned his neck. “I don’t see another gate–oh, yes, now I do!”

“It’s glowing with a bright, white light. How could you not see it?” she asked them both.

They stared at her with incomprehension written large on their faces. She was the one to blink this time and look between them.

“You don’t… you don’t see the glow? I mean it’s so vivid. It’s lighting up the trees around it,” she said awkwardly.

“No, no, it just looks like a normal gate to me. No glow,” Charlie answered with a shrug. But then he appeared animated. “What do you suppose the glow means? Maybe it has something to do with your ability to time travel–”

“No, it can’t be,” Eyros said sharply. “It absolutely has nothing to do with anything.”

Charlie blinked. “But, Eyros, this is Fifi’s power. We don’t know–”

“I do know one thing and that is that you will not be doing anything with that particular gate,” Eyros said in a tone so arctic that the skin on the back of Fiona’s neck rose.

“But I don’t understand, Eyros–”

Fiona stopped Charlie from saying anything more. Instead she asked, “Where does that gate lead, Eyros?”

But she already knew what he was going to say. And he didn’t disappoint her.

He gave her a sharp, bitter smile. “Solace.”

Possibilities

Landing was harder than it seemed. Ryder urged Grayson to go first onto the balcony and attempt to shift as soon as his little bird feet were above the balcony’s floor. But Grayson swooped in and suddenly had a panic attack that he couldn’t stop in time and swooped back out again. Stopping was hard, too. Especially on a dime.

Maybe just go in and shift. Standing on solid ground. Perhaps the idea of doing so in mid air was a bit much to ask, Ryder suggested.

No, no, I can do this! I want to do it! It will look way cool, Grayson insisted.

So he flew in again, slowing himself so that he was hovering about five feet above the floor. Except nothing happened.

Ah, Ryder, how do I shift? Is there a magic word or something? Grayson asked.

Ryder, who was flying around the tower in large circles, answered, Not at all. You simply will it.

Will it? Just want to be in a humanoid form again? Grayson clarified.

Exactly. I take it you don’t know how you originally shifted?

I didn’t even know I was a bird. Until I saw my feet. That sort of clued me in.

You’re a natural, Grayson. Don’t think about it. Just let it happen.

Grayson’s little wings were still beating quite hard and found it even harder to imagine himself as a Vampire with his arms flapping like this. He could have landed and simply used the stillness to imagine himself as humanoid once more, but he really wanted to sweep in and shift in mid-air.