Shai Soi

Chapter 44

The brown mane of a beast crested the hill. A familiar wave of shara rolled through me. My head cleared, and I remembered what I'd thought about right before I fell: Home.  Momma and Dad slinked over the ground, leading a ferocious charge of shai soi into the valley. Cries of birds mixed with the rumbling of pounding feet and the yowls of cats. My parents, limping and slightly malnourished, leapt into the Namuhi lines. They ripped and roared and practically reduce any Namuh unconscious. I should've been terrified, but all I felt was overwhelming relief. They were alive. They were perfectly alright, and they were here to save me.

Speaking of which, I swung a leg under those of the battered Sadie, but she jumped. "Why you little-"

I smacked a heel into her ribcage. She flew back. Sadie wasn't the only one with lightning reflexes. I looked for Nathaniel. He had ripped away from his captors. I rushed over and ripped off his gag. "Ouch. "

"I'm sorry." Yanking a guard's arm out from under him, I swiped it over the handcuffs. They fell to the floor. Nathaniel shot to his feet. His soft fingers brushed against my eyebrow, my neck. "Compliments of being a celebrity shai,  I guess, " I sighed.

"You had me worried for a second."

"Me? What is there to worry about?"

"You're an idiot." I would've answered but a volley of bolts zigzagged past us. We vaulted over a bank of rocks. Nathaniel had his arm over my chest, like I needed help dodging lethal shots. Thanks, very helpful. I shoved off his arm. He smiled. "Can't you let me protect you just once?"

I heard the click of a gun, and pulled Nathaniel behind the tree line. The blast splintered against the rock sending rubble our way. I shifted into a crocodile covering Nathaniel with tough skin. I changed back with the same toothy smile on my face. "How's that protecting going for you?"

He didn't have time to answer. Something huge rammed into my side knocking the breath out of me. A white rhinoceros reared. It's beady eyes danced with bloodlust. I recognized the heartbeat. Nathaniel slithered under Sadie's underbelly, dodging her stomping feet. His hood appeared and he started biting at her tough skin. Sadie emitted a throaty scream that sounded like a man in a baby's body. She shifted into a wolverine snapping Nathaniel up in her jaws. I charged. Channeling everything I had I forced my shara  into her and took flight.

Nathaniel had made it sound so easy: Picture what you want them to turn into, and they'll change. It wasn't so simple. Every atom in her body fought against mine, so half way into the sky I was carrying a thrashing badger-sized carnivore in my tiny talons. My will power overwhelmed hers, and Sadie shifted into a slimy salamander. Note to self: If you want your opponent to turn into something you can hold, don't turn it into a slippery amphibian.

She wriggled away before I could sink my claws into her. During her free fall, she shifted into her animal, the peregrine falcon. Those birds were meant for aerial combat. She spread her wings and shot upwards, faster than what I could register. After all, she'd had a lot more practice at this than me. Wham!  My head jerked from my body. My neck screamed. Sadie's claws raked across my wing letting blood splatter across her razor-edged beak. She snapped, trying to pierce my neck only to bring up feathers. I twisted and clawed at her breast. For a second, her grip loosened and it was just enough for me to break away.

A streak of grey and white hurtled past me, engaging Sadie. A little late.

Nathaniel grunted. Sorry, but I couldn't see you. You moved so fast, I had to wait to see feathers before I could get up here.

Sadie screamed again. Nathaniel separated himself from a flurry of feathers. We dove together, deciding that it might be best to get Sadie out of her home territory. When we landed he was breathing deeply. He had a nasty cut on his neck that ran down his back which I could see through his ripped shirt. I, despite being beaten and bloody, felt alive. Blood and shara  surged through my veins. I met Sadie's attacks with full out animal rage.  What I wasn't prepared for was the bolt at my chest that a flash of brown and green flew in front of.