A Silent Betrayal

A New Identity

The draining feeling suddenly filled my body. It wasn't painful, but it was an uncomfortable sensation that I quickly pushed aside as I forced the portal to open faster.

Approximately fifteen minutes had passed since Avery left me on the cliff. He was probably furious to see that I never came through the portal that had closed a little while ago, but he still went on ahead without me. He was most likely planning out my punishment right this moment.

I was now at the gate –a large stone arch– and opening up a portal to the human realm. I didn't quite know where I was going. All I knew was that I needed to get out of there, and fast, before the ones who went out, came back.

Once it had opened, I turned my head to get one last look at my home before walking through. The portal closed behind me and my energy slowly returned at a crawl as I studied my surroundings, the feeling of homesickness and sadness vanishing away almost instantly.

I stood in a hallway. Harsh lights illuminated the long stretch and cast the bright white walls to glow. After turning in a full circle to examine every inch of the empty hallway, I turned to face the window of a dark room that faintly reflected my figure back at me.

I could see my dark, wide eyes and the tension in my shoulders, the straightness of my back and the way I held my sword out in case of any sudden attacks. The only part of my body that looked remotely relaxed were my large wings which were pulled tightly toward my body.

I looked back and forth down each of the two sides of the hallway quickly before staring back at the window and deciding it was a good idea to blend in.

The first thing I changed were my sunken eyes, making them less monstrous and more human. I placed my free hand across my eyes and focused on what I wanted – just as my mother had taught me before she and my father were killed.

It was a few years ago and I was absolutely devastated, but there was no way I could have changed the outcome. I wasn't allowed on the mission, and I heard it was a complete massacre.

Once my eyes had become a warm brown, I decided my wings were the next things to go. It saddened me to see them slowly disappear, but I would be in no need for them while I was here. I then did the same thing for my horns before glancing back and forth between the window and my skin.

The swirling patterns would be too much of a dead giveaway, but I had never been able to completely get rid of the thick lines. I chewed on the bottom of my lip as I continued to rack my brain for a solution. I then decided that most of them being gone was a whole lot better than having most of them still covering every inch of my pale skin.

The only things left I had to change were my clothes and doing something about my sword, both of which were easy to do. I transformed my original clothes into a plain shirt and pants which I had seen many humans wear and then I shrunk my sword until it looked like a small charm which I made into a quick necklace. After fastening it around my neck, I looked back into the reflection of the window and almost startled myself.

I knew what I'd looked like, especially because it was a big part of the transformation process, but it was different compared to actually seeing myself.

I looked completely changed. I barely even recognized myself. I-

"Hey!"

I snapped my head to the right and watched as someone jogged over to me, a confused expression across his face. His brown curls bounced up and down as he grew closer and his light eyes examined my body and facial features. He looked to be around eighteen or nineteen and wore a white t-shirt that darkened his caramel coloured skin.

My heart rate sped up slightly as he slowed down to a walk and approached me a little slower than he had before. I was confused and scared on how I hadn't heard him coming around the corner of the hallway. Had this realm possibly reduced a few of my senses? Or had I even maybe done something wrong with the transformation?

"What are you doing here?" The boy asked, coming to a stop a few feet away.

I looked over my shoulder before staring back at him and shrugging. I might as well play along instead of running and getting into trouble.

"I don't know," I said to him. "Where am I?"

"Oh," a relieved look came across his face which confused me further and he gave me a reassuring smile before walking closer to me.

I immediately took a step back and he stopped in his tracks while putting his hands out in front of himself like he was showing me that he was unarmed.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, taking another small step closer to me. "I'm going to get you back with your group. I believe you accidentally escaped when no one was looking, but don't worry, I'll get you back without any punishment."

I remained confused, but I pushed the feeling down as I nodded my head.

"Okay," he smiled wider and gestured with one of his hands for me to follow him. I did as he motioned and he looked down at me as he spoke up again. "I was supposed to collect you guys tomorrow morning and introduce myself, but I suppose you can know my name now. It's Kai."

I nodded with a small smile and looked down the hallway we had just turned onto. My smile quickly faltered as worry twisted my gut. What if they find out what I am?

"What's your name?"

I looked back up at him. "Ach-" I quickly shut my mouth and returned my gaze to the ground in front of me. Achlys didn't seem like a very 'human' name.

Kai cocked his head to the side as he tried getting my attention. "What was it?"

"Um," I forced a smile onto my face as I looked back at him, "Leah."

"Leah?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

Kai's smile didn't waver as we both stopped in front of the door and he fished out a key from his pants pocket to open it. He then pushed the key into the doorknob and twisted it. The door opened and he waved a hand through the entrance.

"Well, Leah, welcome to compound forty."