Shai Soi

Chapter 19

No matter how hard I ran, I could never catch up with the light. Its source always stayed hidden, but the light itself left its ghostly shadows rippling over tree bark and through bushes. I did see, however, that we never left the overcast of the foreboding cliff face. Looming overhead, it appeared like a haunting reminder that I was alone and vulernable, chasing after a ghost light through the ever darkening woods.

My desperate persuit ended when I was met once again by that stupid cliff. The light had disappeared, leaving me to question my own sanity. I stood under a low overhang, ankles twisting from getting caught in between the rocks of the mossy terrain. My front was covered in mud, though I didn't remember crawling through the small space between the overhang entrance and the ground. From the outside, it would've virtually invisible.

Drip, drip, drip...

Cold water cascaded down the eroded rock walls. A stalagmite nearly impaled my foot when I had slipped. There appeared to be a shallow pool of murky green cave water. Three separate strips of rock ran into a small island. As my lioness eyesight adjusted to the near darkness, I could make out a single stalagmite as big around as my waist jut up from the island's center about three and a half feet tall. It reached for an even bigger stalactite that hung far higher. Glittery rock clustered around the center, forming man-made looking rings. I shifted my weight, not wanting to go further into the inner ring, but something inside me felt drawn to the scene. It felt as if a string of thread sprouted from my belly button, pulling me ever closer.

It wasn't until my filthy sneakers bumped into the base of the stalagmite that I realized how close I'd gotten. Was it me, or was that ghostly light hovering on the very tip of the spike? I chewed on my hoodie's drawstring, inhaling some mud in the process. I wanted to touch the light, but this action carried a scary resemblance to Sleeping Beauty- though I was far from sleepy, and nowhere near as pretty. But if I were to prick my finger, would I fall asleep, forced to rely on some random prince to save me? Yeah, no thanks, I'd rather never sleep again than have to be rescued like some damsel. But still...

I huffed. The sound echoed, only adding to my situation's eeriness. Frustrated, I bit at my nails.

What am I doing here, anyway? Is this some kind of stupid test? Am I supposed to get the light or something?

How am I supposed to know, Arnold countered. How about you stop yammering and just do something?

Okay, here's a tip. When an imaginary voice tells you to do something as crazy as prick your finger on a logic-defying glowing stalagmite, don't listen to it.

As soon as I had my hand to the point, a drop of blood swelled on my palm. It pinched, but it wasn't worst than a flu shot.

Ever since learning I was a Shai soi, I've come to accept some strange things. My parents could turn into lions and descended from a specific lion clan of shape-shifters. Sure. Shai  could communicate telepathically. Why not? If you don't focus when turning back into a human, your clothes will disappear. Um, okay, I honestly didn't want to know how that happens. But, when that single bead of blood rolled not down but up before floating to met the stalactite's point, that was a new one.

The white light joined the droplet, washing the cave's water reflective light with a scary red. "Whoa!" The cave started spinning, rocks blurred into a dizzying shimmering blur. Until everything was black.

I woke to a mouth full of very tasty (not) dirt. I tried sitting up, becoming even more disoriented.

The rocky terrain of the cave disappeared, replaced with hard packed earth, like many feet had pounded it into a smooth surface. I sat in the middle of a 300 foot circle. The cliff I'd been following earlier, the side made up of many ledges- like pews-, enclosed half of the area. Rock spires jutted from the ground to form a column supported archway, marking the end of the clearing. Beyond lay nothing but dense foliage and dark ominous woods.

This is definitely not the cave, I thought weakly.

Something slithered against a fallen branch, chipping off decomposing bark. The sound jolted me to my feet, somehow bare and caked in mud. The branch lay no further than three feet away with its slithering friend resting atop it. I rechecked that distance, putting myself as far as I could from the imposing creature. My shoulder blades knocked into a ledge. I hoisted myself on top, praying that cobras couldn't climb.

The reptile dashed across the ground. To my horror, it stood up. Rising... rising... until I was eye to eye with its voluminous hood. It continued swaying, dark eyes gleaming with something resembling amusement.

Yeah... no.

Every nerve urged me to run, to hide, but I doubted I could make it an inch before the snake bit me. If I slowly, inched away I could...

Idiot, Arnold scolded. You're a freaking shape-shifter. Shape-shift!

I know, right? Duh, moment. But, hey, you try functioning with sleep deprived brain cells and a cobra staring into your face. See how you handle it. Quite frankly, I was glad I'd used the restroom before leaving the house.

As quick as a cat, I lept off the ledge. Soaring over the snake's head, I felt my back paw knock into the creature's hood. Uh, oh.

The snake slammed into the ground before whipping back up. It's hiss left my fur standing straight up. I growled in warning, hoping it didn't take it as a challenge. It didn't work.

I barely registered the arch of its head before dancing out out the way. The strike missed my ear by inches. I chomped down on its neck, not meaning to injure it, but to throw it away. It slipped out of my grasped, nearly biting my paw.

This isn't working. I need to get away.

I dodged another strike before bounding up a dozen ledges. Come on, Rebecca. You did this once, you can do it again. The cobra stood up again, body stretching impossibly high, making its cold way up the cliff. I am a bird. I have feathers, and a beak, and I can fly. I am going to jump, and I'll  turn into a bird...

The snake was slithering closer.

Come on...

The cobra reared back to strike-

Here's goes nothing.

I luched over the venomous animal and plummeted from the cliff's side.