Shapeshifter *ON HOLD*

Chapter Ten

Dead.

Karmen was really dead.

Agnes first refused to believe this, until she saw a golden mist, which was Karmen's spirit departing from her body. The mist clawed at the sky, taking off into the clouds. Slowly, yet surely.

Karmen was dead.

Devastation gnawed at her stomach. Sorrow locked her up in a cell, and she was unable to escape. 

There is always hope. Don't let the shadows take over.

"Hope? Ha! Like you said last time," Agnes muttered.

You're letting the shadows take over. I know how to help, but you'll owe me.

Agnes was desperate now, and would agree to anything. Whatever you say, as long as it works!

Well...a Unicorn can actually heal one who has not been mortally wounded.

"Really?" Agnes felt a flower of  hope blooming inside her. A breeze of relief buffeting her hair. An aroma of solace and alleviation climbed into her nose.

Yes. What are you waiting for?

A tsunami of colours and spangles wreathed her as she shifted into a Unicorn. A gleaming coat of pure white, proud head and flowing mane, horn embellished with starlight, appeared on her. A power thumped through her veins, and adrenaline made its way to her heart. 

White plumes blazed from her horn, chasing the golden streak of life. The plumes rapidly caught up to the golden streak, blocking its path and forcing it back down to earth. The gold wouldn't yied, resisting. It bucked and heaved, but the white halted it every time it tried to escape the white's arms. There seemed to be a clash of silent steel, a noiseless anguished screech, an invisible jet of bright red blood. Succumbing to the white, the gold was trawled back to Karmen's body. Bracing itself, the pearly white wisp pressed the gold against Karmen's heart.

Agnes then shifted back, disoriented. Her head throbbed painfully, as if acupuncture had been carelessly done on it. Her legs felt ungainly, and they quivered from exhaustion. Reviving, of course, was as tiring as it sounds. 

A beat began to thrum in the earth, pulsing within the ground. Ka-thud, ka-thud. Like the steady beat of a drum, unwavering. Ka-thud, ka-thud. Like the sound of new life coursing through a lifeless body. Ka-thud, ka-thud. Like a heart beating.

Karmen's dark brown eyes opened, her eyelids unfurling like butterfly wings.

"Agnes," she gasped, eyes full of tears, and fear that she had been on the brink of death.

"Karmen!" Unable to control herself, Agnes wrapped her into a tight embrace. Elation stirred her deeply, and she was soon smiling so wide, her face hurt.

"I'm going to go home," Agnes said goodbye, and disappeared into the darkness of night, the shadows clutching after her.

*          *         *

"Morning sweetie!" A feminine voice chirped.

"Seriously, mom. It's a Saturday. Just five more minutes...ugh," Agnes pleaded as her eyes adjusted to the scalding light, since the sun was shining right at her, slicing the fragile curtain fabric. The birds greeted her every morning, their irritating twittering somehow welcoming. The bluebells on her windowsill bobbed to the song of the wind. Dewdrops riddled the lush green lawn outside her window.

"OH MY GOSH! MOM! LOOK AT THIS!!!" Ethan's voice rang out excitedly.

"Ethan, not now, please."

"NOOOO BUT OH MY GOD IT'S A SEA SERPENT!!!"

Agnes cringed. Hunching her shoulders and hiding her burning face, she thought of what would happen if her family discovered she was a Shapeshifter. Would they throw her out? Would they abandon her? Would they hate her for eternity? Rushing out of her bedroom in her pajamas, she dashed down the stairs.

There it was, on television: last night's Siren attack, and a colossal Sea Serpent.

"A Sea Serpent has been sighted last night at about 12:48am on the coast of Franden Lake. There were also two suspicious figures seen as well. One of them our security cameras managed to take a shot of." 

And up on the screen went a dreaded image.

Sorry for the short chapter, I just needed to get it out. Promise the next one will be longer, but it will probably come out on Saturday, not Friday since I'm busy. Please keep reading! Also, of you prefer shorter chapter that come out almost daily say AYE. If you prefer longer chapter that come out every three days or so say ARGH.