Chapter 1 - Shape-shifting (Morgan's POV)
"Repeat these words" Ciaran whispered. I repeated the ancient words, not caring whether he was spelling me, or whether it was dangerous or not.
My eyes widened, as I saw Ciaran change, his teeth sharper, longer... His words were softer, and I strained my ears to listen. Slowly we worked through the spell, until I heard something, it was like the essence of Ciaran, then I realized, it was his true name. I mentally made a note out of it. If all else went wrong, I could still use it to control him.
The next second I let out a whimper, as searing pain flooded into my body. I almost feel my bones changing, twisting, and my skin growing fur. I let out a cry, to realize that I had already changed, into a wolf.
Quickly, I slid out of my clothes, and saw Ciaran do the same. I cocked my head at him, as if to ask what to do next. He gave me a wolfy grin, then loped of into the darkness. Without a second's thought I followed suit.
We ran for what seemed like hours - I had lost track of time as I ran through the forests, I felt powerful, exhilarated even. Nothing could diminish my joy for this. I ran like the wind, lost in my pleasure of turning into a wolf. I felt like everything was small, and insignificant, that I could destroy everything with a swipe of my paws. The sounds and smells were amplified, everything seemed to be fresher than before.I loved this.
Finally, Ciaran came to a stop, beside a little stream. He dropped a bundle of clothes that we had taken, and nudged me. I was puzzled - what was this? I looked closer, eventually I figured out that these were the clothes I had been wearing before I had shape-shifted. I hadn't even seen him take them.
I glanced at him. He nosed me gently as if to tell me that we had to change back into human form again. I gave him a little growl, to tell him that I wanted to stay, but he shook his head. So, I unwillingly slipped into my clothes, and waited for my agonizing change back into a human. I waited for a while, seconds, minutes, hours, they all seemed the same to me. Just as I thought that nothing was going to happen I felt the excruciating pain take over my body again.
I lay there until I heard Ciaran say "Morgan, it's time to go now." I looked up, and found myself fully changed into a human again. I looked up questioningly, and he simply turned to walk off. After a moments hesitation, I shrugged and followed him.
We walked for quite a long time, walking through small alleyways, and remote areas, until we reached a busy street. By the time we got there, I was surprised to find that it was already morning, and that we were in a city, where, I had no idea. I resolved to ask him when we got there, wherever we were going.
The honking of the cars, and people chattering endlessly, seemed abnormally loud to me, after the shape-shifting - I guess I still had the hearing of a wolf. The bright street lights were nearly blinding, as I had gotten used to the dark forest, and I was forced to use my witch senses to find out where Ciaran had gone.
Finally, he stopped at a building. "We're here," he told me.
"Here? Where are we?" I asked, feeling like I was missing an important point.
"Your new home," he replied. "Somewhere I can find you easily, and where you aren't near that council dog."
We walked into the lobby, past an old, sleeping watch guard, and clambered into a battered lift. Judging by the look of this place, it was pretty old. As we walked through the long corridor, I wasn't surprised to find the doors almost falling off, and the paint peeling off. I was amazed that the people living here actually survived, in these primitive apartments.
Ciaran came to a stop at a slightly better looking door. He pressed the doorbell a few times, and waited. I was curious to see who he was bringing me to live with, and I was so nervous, that I could practically feel the tension building up as seconds went by. Moments later, the door opened, to my relief, revealing Killian.
