Read Online Hungry Earth (Elemental Book 2) by Rain Oxford - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rain Oxford
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Kale
wasn’t.
Knowing whatever word Hunt wanted to have with me
couldn’t be good, I took my dear sweet time packing my stuff, then meandered
slowly down the halls and stopped at every painting to ponder for as long as I
could manage.
A vampire stopped beside me in the nearly empty
hallway and followed my eyes to the painting. As it was a painting of a window,
I understood his confusion. “Do you think it is sunset or sunrise?” I asked
when the silence grew awkward.
“I like to think it’s subjective. A sun sprite would
hope it is sunrise, whereas a vampire would hope it is sunset. I think the
painting is ambiguous to please as many people as possible.”
I nodded thoughtfully and we both continued in
opposite directions. It wasn’t every day I had a random conversation with a
vampire stranger who apparently appreciated the weird art of Quintessence.
I was heading to Hunt’s office when I passed Alpha
Flagstone’s class. Since the door was wide open, I easily heard the commotion
and I peered in. There were no desks; a dozen students formed a circle around a
wolf and a hyena. The two carnivores weren’t attacking so much as having a
staring contest. I recognized the black wolf as the alpha. He gave the
slightest hint of a nod an instant before the hyena shifted to a small man with
hair that matched his hyena fur. Flagstone also shifted back.
“Very good,” he told the hyena shifter, who sat on
the floor and panted. “You have improved tremendously since last semester. You
still felt trapped, though.”
“The open door helped, but I felt like I was being
herded with everyone around me.”
“Many hyenas are pack hunters. You need to see
friends instead of enemies. Devon, if you have a question, come in.”
Everyone turned to look at me, including Henry, who I
hadn’t noticed until then. “No, I was just being nosy. Sorry.”
“Join us,” he insisted. “We can use you to extend on
the lesson.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, but I entered the
room anyway. He gestured to the center of the circle. I trusted my instincts to
warn me of any impending trouble, so I did as he asked. Flagstone made a hand
signal and six of the students stripped and shifted into wolves. Henry and the
remaining four students collectively stepped back.
“You, too, Brian,” Flagstone said. The hyena
hesitated before reluctantly shifting into his hyena form. “Okay, Devon. Say
you were randomly wandering the woods at night and you ran into a wolf pack…
who had also adopted a hyena. What would you do?”
“Well, first off, I would gawk, because I never imagined
a hyena and wolf would get along. Then I would be more worried about facing the
hyena.”
“You should be most worried about the fact that you
are outnumbered.” He made another gesture and the shifters started closing in.
As their advance became serious, my sense of danger
fired up. Oddly enough, my first instinct wasn’t to calm them with my mind, as
it had always been when I faced a feral creature. Of course, these were fellow
students. One of the wolves growled at me and it took a second to remember her
name. “Kaila, back off.” I didn’t yell, but I refused to feel any fear.
If they were actual wild animals, I would have just
used my magic. Instead, these were wolves with human subconscious minds, which
could be reasoned with. The female shifter, surprised at hearing me address her
so easily, hesitated. I have to respect that they are people, even if they
attack as animals, or I would be no better than John.
The hyena made the chilling laugh that they were
known for. I knew without reaching into his mind or even having much prior
knowledge of hyenas that this was not a friendly gesture. “Brian,” I said in a
warning tone.
He froze, his tail flicked, and he stopped making his
sound.
“Yes, I’m talking to you.” Another wolf prepared to
attack, but I didn’t know his name. I reached out for his mind. Even though he
was directly in front
wasn’t.
Knowing whatever word Hunt wanted to have with me
couldn’t be good, I took my dear sweet time packing my stuff, then meandered
slowly down the halls and stopped at every painting to ponder for as long as I
could manage.
A vampire stopped beside me in the nearly empty
hallway and followed my eyes to the painting. As it was a painting of a window,
I understood his confusion. “Do you think it is sunset or sunrise?” I asked
when the silence grew awkward.
“I like to think it’s subjective. A sun sprite would
hope it is sunrise, whereas a vampire would hope it is sunset. I think the
painting is ambiguous to please as many people as possible.”
I nodded thoughtfully and we both continued in
opposite directions. It wasn’t every day I had a random conversation with a
vampire stranger who apparently appreciated the weird art of Quintessence.
I was heading to Hunt’s office when I passed Alpha
Flagstone’s class. Since the door was wide open, I easily heard the commotion
and I peered in. There were no desks; a dozen students formed a circle around a
wolf and a hyena. The two carnivores weren’t attacking so much as having a
staring contest. I recognized the black wolf as the alpha. He gave the
slightest hint of a nod an instant before the hyena shifted to a small man with
hair that matched his hyena fur. Flagstone also shifted back.
“Very good,” he told the hyena shifter, who sat on
the floor and panted. “You have improved tremendously since last semester. You
still felt trapped, though.”
“The open door helped, but I felt like I was being
herded with everyone around me.”
“Many hyenas are pack hunters. You need to see
friends instead of enemies. Devon, if you have a question, come in.”
Everyone turned to look at me, including Henry, who I
hadn’t noticed until then. “No, I was just being nosy. Sorry.”
“Join us,” he insisted. “We can use you to extend on
the lesson.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, but I entered the
room anyway. He gestured to the center of the circle. I trusted my instincts to
warn me of any impending trouble, so I did as he asked. Flagstone made a hand
signal and six of the students stripped and shifted into wolves. Henry and the
remaining four students collectively stepped back.
“You, too, Brian,” Flagstone said. The hyena
hesitated before reluctantly shifting into his hyena form. “Okay, Devon. Say
you were randomly wandering the woods at night and you ran into a wolf pack…
who had also adopted a hyena. What would you do?”
“Well, first off, I would gawk, because I never imagined
a hyena and wolf would get along. Then I would be more worried about facing the
hyena.”
“You should be most worried about the fact that you
are outnumbered.” He made another gesture and the shifters started closing in.
As their advance became serious, my sense of danger
fired up. Oddly enough, my first instinct wasn’t to calm them with my mind, as
it had always been when I faced a feral creature. Of course, these were fellow
students. One of the wolves growled at me and it took a second to remember her
name. “Kaila, back off.” I didn’t yell, but I refused to feel any fear.
If they were actual wild animals, I would have just
used my magic. Instead, these were wolves with human subconscious minds, which
could be reasoned with. The female shifter, surprised at hearing me address her
so easily, hesitated. I have to respect that they are people, even if they
attack as animals, or I would be no better than John.
The hyena made the chilling laugh that they were
known for. I knew without reaching into his mind or even having much prior
knowledge of hyenas that this was not a friendly gesture. “Brian,” I said in a
warning tone.
He froze, his tail flicked, and he stopped making his
sound.
“Yes, I’m talking to you.” Another wolf prepared to
attack, but I didn’t know his name. I reached out for his mind. Even though he
was directly in front
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