Chapter 1 - Meeting the first Shape-shifter
With a shape-shifter, everything you know about them can change in an instant. Nothing is certain and everything can be a lie. I remember the first shape-shifter I ever met not to long ago; the famous King Nebuchadnezzar.
It was during the 1970s. The disco and the drinks. No one took stories of mystical encounters seriously then. They just accused them of being drunk or high. This wasn't always the case.
I remember a cold evening in New York. I was watching the crowd of people walking through the streets. How I longed to join them. We just moved to New York from a confortable, quiet life in London's countryside. The bright lights and loud noises were a bit of a shock coming from a quiet village and Nicholas didn't particularly like them. But I saw them as an adventure.
"Nicholas," I say, shattering the silence.
Nicholas looks up from his book. "Yes Perry?"
I slowly movie towards him and he places his book on the table. "I'm bored."
He chuckles. "You sound like a child," he says amusingly.
"But I am. We've been cooped up in this house for almost a week."
"You know that we need to lay low after what happened in Texas a few years back."
"You mean in the 20s?"
He looked at me puzzling. "That long ago huh? Feels like just yesterday. Boy that was a close one."
I walk up behind his chair and wrap my arms around his shoulders. "I am pretty sure we started the Great Depression."
Nicholas looks back at me. "I was just trying to speed up the process of growing cotton."
"And this of course had nothing to do with your endless curiosity and strive for knowledge?" I smirk.
Moments pass of silence. Finally, Nicholas sighs. "Fine. I'll admit. I was experimenting. I had to find out what would happen if I used alchemy to speed up the process," he shrugs. "Turns out a huge sandstorm."
"Exactly my point. You had to find out about that and I need to find out about New York. Please" I add.
He stands up and moves in front of me. I can see in his eyes that he knows that he has been beaten. "Fine."
"Thank you!" I give him a small kiss on the cheek as a gift and I storm up the stairs. "Let's go!"
"Hold on!" Nicholas pauses at the foot of the stairs. I hesitantly turn back. "It's 11:30 at night! What exactly do you expect to see?"
"Nicholas, it is not called 'the city that never sleeps' for no reason!" I call down the stairs.
"Wow this is really something!" I say in awe. A crowd of people dance something I have only ever seen on TV.
Nicholas darts his eyes around, obviously nervous. "Nicholas relax." I say, wrapping my arms around him in a tight embrace. "What could go wrong."
Suddenly, a huge growl fills the air. EVeryone screamed as the lighters flickered and the stampede dashes for the door. Nicholas clutches my hand, determined not to let the crowd separate us. Soon we are alone.
"What's happening?" I ask.
"I don't know but it cannot be good." he replies.
We creep along the stage, as quiet as we can. The bellow repeats, scaring us stark white.
"This was!" Nicholas led me to the source of the sound. We are startled as to what we saw.
A man. A beast. Something in between. He let out another mighty roar before collapsing. I do not hesitate as I sit beside him. He was breathing; slightly. He started to change back to a man. He was covered in fur that started to slowly fall. His face started to change back; from a snout to a nose.
"Nicholas, help me! He needs our help!"
Nicholas doesn't move. He just stares open-mouthed. I look back at the man and focus on my aura. A white mist spreads from my fingers and envelops the man. Soon that white is joined by green. I need not turn to know that Nicholas is beside me. The man-beast's breathing quickens. Nicholas softly pushes my wrists down.
"That's enough. He will wake up soon and we should be long gone by then."
I open my mouth in protest but close it when I see the look on Nicholas' face. We go home. Slow enough not to draw suspension but quick enough to put as much distance between us and the monster. When Nicholas locks the front door, we finally catch out breath.
Silence is only interrupted by the coarse breathing of both of us.
Nicholas is first to break the silence. "What was that you said?" he asked, a smile playing on his face, "What could go wrong?"
Any other day I would laugh. "Who was that?" I ask. "You knew him?"
Nicholas moves to sit on his chair. "Only from books. THat was the Ancient King Nebuchadnezzar. He is the first shape-shifter.
