worried him. As far as Bren knew, Jin had no great magical
power. He had grown up among the merchants of Rane and had not
spent much time outside of the large cities of his country. Why he
would be among those foraying into the forest, he didn’t know, but
Bren found himself following the young man with a sense of dread in
his chest.
From his count, slightly less than fifty
people had moved out among the woods to strike at the enemy, and
that number seemed incredibly low given the number of soldiers the
Brotherhood commanded.
Bren was surprised when Jin’s aura changed.
It wasn’t a dramatic thing, like when Faye used her magic, but a
very subtle thing, so much so that had he not been watching the
young man, he wouldn’t have noticed it. Using his magic Bren
allowed his eyes to focus on where Jin’s aura was coming from, but
what he saw was far different than he had expected.
Instead of the young man he had left with
from Rane, Bren saw a large mountain lion, twice the size of a man
with fur the color of the night sky. A part of him knew that the
cat was Jin, but Bren still looked around for his friend;however,
when he found nothing, he went back to following the large animal
as it stalked through the thick underbrush. “What is that?” Bren
asked himself as he watched the beast.
You didn’t notice. I guess I shouldn’t be
surprised you haven’t met a shifter yet. Jin and his father are
shifters. They are a type of internal mages who can change into
beasts when they feel threatened. From his aura, I would guess that
the young man has not used the ability much. I would suggest that
you keep your distance for a few days.
“Why?” Bren asked Thuraman as his eyes were
glued to the large black cat as it moved toward a small encampment
of Brotherhood soldiers.
Shifters are different that other magic
users. They don’t just change their form, but their minds also
shift once they change, and some of those changes become more
pronounced the more often and the longer they stay shifted. Your
father once said that shifters were neither human nor animal but a
mixture of the two, so they should be treated with the same caution
one would use with a wild beast.
“Weren’t father and Jayden friends though?”
Bren asked, watching as the cat crouched behind a large bush only a
few feet from the resting group of soldiers.
He treated Jayden as a friend, though in
honestly, he was one of the few people that your father was truly
afraid of. There was a reason that your father seldom visited Rane
and that Monique rarely visited Farlan with her husband and child.
Thad might not have voiced his dislike of the man, but it was
obvious to anyone who knew your father.
“I see,” Bren said as he continued to watch
the large cat below.
Jin could smell the men, he could hear their
hushed conversations about the mage they were looking for. The
smell of their metal armor made his nose itch, and their deep vices
annoyed his sensitive ears.
Shifting his weight onto his back legs, Jin
jumped from the ground to a limb more than ten feet in the air with
little trouble. The sound from his jump alerted one of the soldiers
who looked to the spot Jin had just left a moment before.
Jin watched curiously as two of the solders
searched the area he had watched them from. When one of the men
looked up and into his large, golden eyes, he stumbled backward and
fell onto his companion, letting out a loud scream. Jin turned his
head slightly, watching the men below as they rushed around
pointing toward him. One of the men picked up a bow, pointed it in
his direction, and let loose an arrow that raced toward him.
Almost lazily, Jin jumped from the tree limb
into the middle of the camp seconds before the arrow would have
found its mark. The powerful muscles in the large cat’s legs
twitched when one of the solders charged at him, and with one large
paw, Jin ripped through the man’s metal armor with his sharp claws
nearly splitting the man in
power. He had grown up among the merchants of Rane and had not
spent much time outside of the large cities of his country. Why he
would be among those foraying into the forest, he didn’t know, but
Bren found himself following the young man with a sense of dread in
his chest.
From his count, slightly less than fifty
people had moved out among the woods to strike at the enemy, and
that number seemed incredibly low given the number of soldiers the
Brotherhood commanded.
Bren was surprised when Jin’s aura changed.
It wasn’t a dramatic thing, like when Faye used her magic, but a
very subtle thing, so much so that had he not been watching the
young man, he wouldn’t have noticed it. Using his magic Bren
allowed his eyes to focus on where Jin’s aura was coming from, but
what he saw was far different than he had expected.
Instead of the young man he had left with
from Rane, Bren saw a large mountain lion, twice the size of a man
with fur the color of the night sky. A part of him knew that the
cat was Jin, but Bren still looked around for his friend;however,
when he found nothing, he went back to following the large animal
as it stalked through the thick underbrush. “What is that?” Bren
asked himself as he watched the beast.
You didn’t notice. I guess I shouldn’t be
surprised you haven’t met a shifter yet. Jin and his father are
shifters. They are a type of internal mages who can change into
beasts when they feel threatened. From his aura, I would guess that
the young man has not used the ability much. I would suggest that
you keep your distance for a few days.
“Why?” Bren asked Thuraman as his eyes were
glued to the large black cat as it moved toward a small encampment
of Brotherhood soldiers.
Shifters are different that other magic
users. They don’t just change their form, but their minds also
shift once they change, and some of those changes become more
pronounced the more often and the longer they stay shifted. Your
father once said that shifters were neither human nor animal but a
mixture of the two, so they should be treated with the same caution
one would use with a wild beast.
“Weren’t father and Jayden friends though?”
Bren asked, watching as the cat crouched behind a large bush only a
few feet from the resting group of soldiers.
He treated Jayden as a friend, though in
honestly, he was one of the few people that your father was truly
afraid of. There was a reason that your father seldom visited Rane
and that Monique rarely visited Farlan with her husband and child.
Thad might not have voiced his dislike of the man, but it was
obvious to anyone who knew your father.
“I see,” Bren said as he continued to watch
the large cat below.
Jin could smell the men, he could hear their
hushed conversations about the mage they were looking for. The
smell of their metal armor made his nose itch, and their deep vices
annoyed his sensitive ears.
Shifting his weight onto his back legs, Jin
jumped from the ground to a limb more than ten feet in the air with
little trouble. The sound from his jump alerted one of the soldiers
who looked to the spot Jin had just left a moment before.
Jin watched curiously as two of the solders
searched the area he had watched them from. When one of the men
looked up and into his large, golden eyes, he stumbled backward and
fell onto his companion, letting out a loud scream. Jin turned his
head slightly, watching the men below as they rushed around
pointing toward him. One of the men picked up a bow, pointed it in
his direction, and let loose an arrow that raced toward him.
Almost lazily, Jin jumped from the tree limb
into the middle of the camp seconds before the arrow would have
found its mark. The powerful muscles in the large cat’s legs
twitched when one of the solders charged at him, and with one large
paw, Jin ripped through the man’s metal armor with his sharp claws
nearly splitting the man in
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