Spots

Chapter 5

        It was Pierce. He was the one who carried me outside. I don't know how he knew I was going to shift but when I looked up at him through the jaguars eyes he didn't look surprised. In fact if anything he looked slightly bored at the whole event. Maybe he was in shock. I was used to people running away screaming when I shifted. Thats how I got kicked out of 8 foster homes.      

        I heaved a breathe and stood up, still shaky on my paws. It had been almost a year since I had last shifted and I had almost forgot what it felt like. I had been ignoring the voice in my head that wanted me to embrace my animal ever since I got kicked out of my last foster home. I looked up at Pierce and he looked down at me with an amused look on his face. I ran, trying to get away from this confusing boy.

        I was slower at first but I gained speed as I got used to my new body. I can't believe how well Pierce was taking this. No there is no way he is taking it this well. He knew! The realization came suddenly. He knew I was going to shift so he carried me outside, to a place where I wouldn't be noticed. How could he know? This thought scared me and I ran faster.

        I came to a skidding halt when I ran out of park. I focused on trying to calm down enough to shift back. I can basically just shift at will but when I'm in danger or when I get really mad, I shifted. I could never shift back until I was calm either. Luckily for me I calm down quickly and soon I was sitting on the ground back in my old body taking deep breathes. I looked around then. I was in a small clearing, surrounded by trees. I was so out of it, I almost missed the figure standing at the egde of the clearing, looking at me calmly. When he came into focus I jumped and he chuckled.

        "So." He said. "Are done running."

        "How." I was shocked. Jaguars run at am average 60 miles per hour. How could he have gotten here before me.

        He laughed at my shocked expression and held out a hand to help me up and I ignored it. He shrugged and put his hand back in his pocket. "So Eliana, it looks like I have a lot of explaining to do." He looked at me for affirmation, I just blinked at him. "Okay well considering we only have a short amount of time before the land lovers get here I'll just go over what you absolutely need to know." I blinked again. "Here I'll start with you." He sat down across from me and leaned against a tree. "So as you know you are a shapeshifter. Obviously you shapeshift into a jaguar well at least thats your dominant form, but we'll get into that later. First you need to know that there are four kingdoms, shall we say in the shapeshifter world. Earth, Water, Air, and Fire."

        "like the four elements." I say interupting him.

        "Exactly like the four elements." He smiles. "So I belong to the air kingdom which basicly means I can change into an animal that lives in the sky."

        My eyes widen. "You're a shapeshifter too?" I ask excited.

        "No. Of course not. I just happen to know all thier trade secrets for no apparent reason." He rolled his eyes. "How do you think I got here before you? I flew. I change into a golden eagle."

        "Wow." I breathe.

        "Yep and your 'friend' Sadie just so happens to be able to turn into a coyote." He says with gritted teeth. I'm taken aback by that.

        "WHAT!" No I must of heard wrong there is no way that Sadie is a shapeshifter. I mean I've known her for almost a year now. Of course I didn't think she knew about me when we had been friends for almost a year.

        "You heard me." Peirce smirked. "Though I have to admit she hides it well. I never would of known if I didn't know her personally."

        "Wait you know Sadie personally? How?"

        His smile fell. "That. Well that's a story for another time" His smile returned. "Now don't you want to learn more about the shapeshifters?" I could tell he was trying to distract me, but I was so curious I didn't really care.

        "Tell me about the four kingdoms."

        "Okay well like I said Earth, Water, Air, Fire. All enemies to one another. Of course it didn't used to be like that but again that's a story for another time. Now right now all you need to know is that all the kingdoms are trying to get to you."

        I was speechless. "What? Why? Why would they want me? I'm nothing special." Okay so apparently I wasn't speechless.

        "Well you see that's the thing." He looked staight into my eyes. "You are special. Because you're the last of the royal family."

             I blinked. "Huh?" He just smiled at me. Then I started laughing hysterically. Pierce suddenly looked worried for my sanity. "Wait." I stopped laughing. "You're serious?"

        "Well yeah." He looked at me like it should be obvious. "Why would I kid about this?"

        "Well because I'm me. I not exactly princess material. Besides how do I know that this isn't all just some hallucination. Or you could be completely lying to me." A new thought occured to me. "In fact how do I know that you're a shapeshifter at all. You could have just drove to the other side of the park." Pierce looked dumbfounded.

        "Well. Uh. Well." He was stuttering. Oh gosh he actually thought I would believe him about all of this. "Well I could--" But he was cut short when I heard the sound of yelling and feet hitting the forest floor. He stood  up. "Well shoot. Looks like times up." He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me up next to him. "Come on." He started dragging me behind him in the direction of the edge of the park.

        "Wait!" I jerked my arm out of his grasp. "I'm not going anywhere with you until I get some solid proof."

        "Well. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." He actually looked sorry. Then I saw his arm swing out from behind him, and I lost consciousness.