Jake grumbled a little as he felt himself climb back into consciousness. There was an annoying light in his eyes now that insisted he get up. Had someone turned on the bloody ceiling light? It was Sunday, for crying out loud! He could afford to sleep in!

At last he opened his eyes to flay whoever had decided to get him up so early and stopped. He realized he wasn’t in his room, but on a comfortable bed of soft grasses in a broad meadow. The light that had awakened him wasn’t a ceiling light, but rather the sun shining down in late morning.

Oh. It wasn’t a dream, he thought unhappily. He thought he should be panicking far more than he was, but for whatever reason he seemed able to take his changes in stride. He eyed the wingtip that came into view as he stretched thoughtfully. He wondered if his newfound acceptance was related to being a dragon, a side-effect of whatever magic had been used on him, or if he’d had it before the whole craziness had begun. He found it comforting to think that he’d had the ability before, and so decided to leave the thought there.

A pain in his middle and a rumble he felt echoing through his entire body reminded him that he hadn’t had anything to eat since before the sun had fallen yesterday. He needed to find something for breakfast.

The thought of bacon frying in a pan didn’t appeal to him as much as it had before. Instead, thoughts of fresh meat filled him. He felt a grin come onto his reptilian face. I didn’t think dragons would be vegetarian. He laughed to himself.

Standing up, he tested his wings carefully. They seemed none the worse for their first flight in the dark, and he decided to try them again today and try to find something to eat.

A feeling of guilt assailed him and he paused, feeling the prickling sensation of someone watching him. He lifted his neck and turned his head (wondering at the sensation of something that he’d never imagined doing before) to see his sister at the edge of the clearing. She was looking at him reproachfully. Jake was abruptly reminded that Unicorns were innocent creatures who protected creatures and didn’t like to see them come to harm.

“Sorry, sis.” Jake told her quietly, for now he could see the others lying in the grass, still fast asleep and unknowingly watched over by his sister. “But a dragon’s got to eat, and grass isn’t going to do it.”

He turned and, moving as quietly as he could, left the clearing on foot. He marched to a very large tree some distance away and began climbing it. Jake expected some resistance from his reptilian body, but just like flying, he seemed to be born to do it. He looked at his body from this vantage, and was surprised to see it vanish into the tree beneath him. He could see his tail twitching far below until he stilled it. He was reminded of an octopus he’d seen at an aquarium. It’d pressed against some rocks and become perfectly invisible. The only thing he’d been able to find at first was the eyes. So that’s how I was able to keep from being seen last night, he thought. He scaled the tree much faster than he could have done as a human even with equipment or machines. Once as high up as he dared, he spread his wings and leaped into the sky.

Airborne once more, with the combination of joy and longing that came with it, Jake cruised about two hundred feet from the ground, on the lookout for prey.

It didn’t take more than a minute or two before he found an old bull deer wandering alone in an open space caused by a fire. He was scratching at the ground and grazing on the soft shoots of bushes and grasses starting to grow in the desolation.

Without conscious thought, Jake banked into a shallow turn that brought him far downwind of his intended prey. Now fighting against the wind, Jake folded his wings and dove towards the unsuspecting target.

He smashed into the old bull with outstretched claws and a savage growl of triumph! The deer didn’t have time to cry out before the impact tore his life away. The body soared into the air for a moment until Jake could arrest his momentum. Turning back to the clearing, he set down to eat his meal in peace.

As he regarded his kill, Jake felt a thrill of victory. Opening his mouth, he loosed a terrific blast of flame that cooked the beast in seconds. Jake was startled, looking cross-eyed down at his snout in shock.

How on earth did I do that? He couldn’t figure it out. Several exhalations didn’t produce the flame. What had triggered it? How could he do it again?

The delicious smell of freshly cooked meat wafted up to his nostrils and he dropped the thought to eat. With a snap of his jaws and a savage jerk that lifted the carcass off the ground, he tore the rear leg off the body and swallowed it nearly whole. It tasted fantastic, better than any hamburger he could ever think of.

He finished his meal in relatively short order, only leaving behind the antlers from his feast. Climbing a sturdy tree, he again took to the air and flew back to the others, who were awake by this time. Coming to land, he viewed them more fully in the broad light of day.

Rachel and Brian stood close together in whispered conversation. Rachel’s body a deep gold that matched her long tresses. Her tail, however, was deepest black. Her sturdy mustang body looked very lean and fast, Jake had no doubt that it would prove very tough. She seemed tall too, at around twelve hands at her equine shoulder, blending her human belly with her horse neck at that point.

The human half seemed much the same as Jake remembered; perhaps a little thinner at the waist and more muscle. Her biggest difference sat high on top of her head, where a pair of soft, black equine ears stood rotating constantly. They behaved very much like a horse, alert for any sound that might hint of danger.

Brian was the same case, but he stood taller at seventeen hands, not fifteen, and he was almost completely black, contrasting vividly with his pale skin.

Jake looked for Stacey and Tom and finally caught sight of them darting in agitated circles above Rachel’s head. Now that he could see them, he could immediately tell that they looked virtually the same as they had before, with the exception of the delicate, veiny wings that stood above them and hung down to their knees. They sparkled in the sunlight with the same hues as their chosen elements: green for Stacey and Blue for Tom. The speed with which the wings move gave them a strange blue aura around their bodies.

Serena, of course, stayed a little behind them in her unicorn form, feasting calmly on new shoots of grass and clover.

“Good morning.” Jake said as pleasantly as he could. It still sounded deep and hissing to his ears.

Ironically, he found himself wishing Nacomi was there. He missed her calming influence.

“Good morning.” Brian said cordially. He appeared to take no notice of the unintentioned menace in Jake’s voice.

“Is everyone feeling…, uh, all right?” Jake asked clumsily.

There were a few chuckles at his remark, and he could feel Serena’s exasperation and slight amusement, like a sort of subtle cue at the back of his mind.

“About as well as might be expected.” Brian answered when the last giggle died down. “We are all alive and in good physical condition. Better then before, I daresay. Mentally however, that is a different story.”

Jake nodded. “I, too, have noticed severe changes in my own thoughts.” He confessed.

“How so?” Brian coaxed, eyes alight with interest.

Jake thought for a moment before answering. “Well, for one thing, I would have expected myself to be almost comatose with shock after my transformation and when I woke up this morning. Instead, I felt a feeling of…acceptance. Of ‘Meh, I’m a dragon now. So what?’. It didn’t bother me the way it should have, I guess I should say. Also, I went hunting this morning and climbed trees easily. And I flew! I flew like I’ve been flying all my life, and I hated heights when I was human. I barely rode airplanes at all, yet when I was soaring in the sky, I knew all about the air currents, downdrafts to watch out for, updrafts to exploit, ruffles to ride out and eddies to avoid. I knew their signatures in the air, what would mark their passing. And, after making my kill, I cooked it with fire breathed from my own mouth. I have no idea how I did that, and am still having trouble managing to do it at my beck and call (He exhaled a few times just to show them). I’m certain I can do it again, when I must, yet I have no clue how I accomplished any of these tasks.”

After he’d finished, the others digested his revelations for a long while. Then Brian spoke. “That is very different from all of our experiences with this transformation, except one.” He glanced at Serena. “And confirms, in my mind, my theory regarding your sister and your change. Apparently, this also included your instincts. Our bodies,” he gestured to the others and himself, “completed the physical changes last night along with some of the weaker mental changes. Such as my sudden loquacity in exposition. I can directly attribute that to being a centaur. I am only now starting to gain more of the instincts of my forbears, even as we speak. It will take me months to sort through all the data that is being downloaded directly to my brain. With that knowledge comes information not only of centaurs, but of other creatures as well.”

Everyone went quite for a while, letting his words sink in. Jake found them to be merely confirmation of what he’d already had begun to suspect. He felt a sudden fear come upon him for his friends. Other than his abilities and newfound confidence, he hadn’t noticed much change in his thoughts. But Brian and Rachel spoke like university professors now. Could they lose themselves to the centaurs? Could he lose the friends he’d known for years?

He voiced his fears. Rachel answered him firmly. “I don’t think so.” She said. “I know we sound much different then we used to. We are going through a traumatic time, after all. We are also receiving a download from the past, filled with knowledge of our wise forbears. That knowledge and etiquette are becoming a part of us now like our ears or hooves. Yet,” she emphasized the word. “Yet, I don’t feel as if the core values I’ve believed in all my life are different. I remember walking in the park with my dog, our first outing together, the difficulty I had in all my classes. I can remember every event in my life with clarity, it doesn’t dim or seem to change on me. I may be different now then I was before, but I am still me.”

Jake was not comforted. “How could one tell if their memory is altered?” He argued. “It doesn’t seem to me possible to realize that a memory has been changed. It would be as if you experienced it the way it happened, and not how the world saw it unfold.”

“You are correct.” Rachel nodded. “But I would count on your memories to discover such inconsistencies.”

“Whose to say our own haven’t been altered?” Jake asked.

“We could go on and on with that circular logic all day.” Brian said firmly. “We could never find out unless we talk to someone who wasn’t affected by the magic, which probably, given our new forms, isn’t a good idea.”

“I know.” Jake bobbed his head. “I wanted to raise the issue to point out that we must be cautious of everything now, even our own memories. To check one another, as it were.”

“That is a good idea.” Stacey piped up. Jake could hear her remarkably well, but that was because his ears were better than they’d ever been. They were what he always imagined a wolf’s hearing would be; capable of hearing the faintest sounds miles away.

“But I want to know something even more critical. What do we do now?” she asked.

The others looked around, unsure. The clearing was nice, but hardly self sufficient. There was a tiny pond that Jake hadn’t noticed before, having mistook it for a puddle of water earlier. Now, however, he could see that it was surprisingly deep, though very green and full of pond scum. No doubt frogs, lizards and other slimy creatures called it home. No good for drinking, and they would need water to survive. Also, some sort of shelter would be nice, he mused. He doubted he would need it, with his armored scales and such, but a dry place to sleep would be pleasant. A cave would be perfect, he thought. He did a double take, a cave? That must be the dragon talking, he decided. But it was still a good idea, as no house could take him now. He might fit into an aircraft hanger, but that would be about it.

He was pulled from his thoughts by his sister walking towards the pond. As everyone watched, she placed the tip of her horn in the green water. Her horn pulsed with a brilliant flash of white. The water quickly cleared into a remarkable deep blue, like meltwater gathered in a rocky basin of the mountains. They all stared at her.

“Ah.” Jake broke the silence, making everyone jump. “Unicorn powers. An excellent job, sister. Now we can drink.”

He took a step forward, intending to quench his thirst, but stopped. He wasn’t sure how neatly he could manage the task, having never drunk as a dragon before. Also, his jaws still had dried blood on them from that deer.

“Er. Why don’t you all go first.” He invited, stepping aside.

Everyone glanced at one another, wondering who would go first. Then Stacey flew forward. “I guess I will.” She laughed. Coming to the water’s edge, she landed on the muddy earth with a ‘ick’ expression on her face. Bending over, she began to raise mouthfuls of water to her lips. A plant grew next to the pond, shading her and she turned in surprise. The long stem bent towards her and a bulb opened partly, the outer shell remaining wrapped tightly together. She peered inside.

“Why, it’s hollow!” she cried in surprise. “There is no flower in here. I wonder.” She picked the proffered bulb and the stem raised itself straight into the air again, a smaller bulb beginning to appear. Taking her new cup, she dipped it into the water and drank deeply. Her eyes went alight with joy.

“This is the best water I’ve ever tasted!” she said happily, and promptly drained her cup. She refilled it twice before she was satisfied.

Tom came up, took the new bulb from the top of the plant (it had formed into another cup while Stacey had drunk), and took a draught. He grinned broadly as he stared at the water. “It’s delicious!” he cried, and had four cups before he was done. The water rippled a little this time, as if it were reacting in pleasure at the compliment.

Rachel and Brian, having no cups of their own, took water with their hands and finally put their faces to the water to drink greedily. Serena followed silently afterwords, drinking the fruit of her magic.

When everyone had gotten something to drink, Jake snaked his head over the pond and drank thirstily. Blood from his jaws gave the water an angry tint, but he still thought the water tasted amazing. It was sweet on his tongue and cold enough to cool him down from the sun. The blood added an unpleasant tang to it, and he was glad he’d waited until the last to drink.

Serena dipped her horn back into the water when he’d finished, cleansing it one last time. She stepped away with a satisfied snort.

‘There. No everyone can come to this pool to drink their fill, and it will not poison them or be unpleasant.’ There was no actual human words spoken that Jake could see when his sister talked. They simply seemed to come into his inner ear. He found the notion strange but unworrisome. At least her transformation hadn’t taken her ability to talk!

“Still,” he rumbled. “Stacey’s question earlier has great merit. What do we do know? We are close to the edge of the forest; I saw that when I went flying. We are some distance from the mountains, yet. My body is telling me to seek them out. There, I believe, I could find a nice cave to call my own for a while until we turn back or come to a further decision. We could be hidden there for some time I think. They are pretty far from the city, and there are a handful of farms that come up to the National Forest. If I remember my park geography right, the Park includes the mountains and the foothills surrounding it. Past that run about thirty miles of logging property in all direction, with sparse farmland beyond that. I think we are on a logging property and not in the park yet.”

The others looked thoughtful. “Other than the foothills, and a couple of trails up to the summits, I don’t think anyone ever really goes that deep into the park.” Brian said thoughtfully.

“That’s true.” Piped up Tom. He’d gone to the park several times before. “Ever since the storm six or seven years ago washed away the roads to the back country camp sites, the back side of the park has been closed to visitors since. I don’t think they have the money to repair them, and probably won’t for a while yet.”

“That means we won’t be seen.” Jake said thoughtfully. “We could lay up there and figure out our next step.”

“How far do you think it will be?” Rachel asked.

“Not far.” Jake told her. “Perhaps two day’s flight.”

“I meant on foot.” She told him. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Brian and I have put on considerable mass since we last rode on you. I doubt we could do so now.”

“Er. Yes, right.” Jake said, embarrassed. “Well, on foot it will take much longer, as the terrain is difficult. I would think about a week or so.”

“Okay.” Rachel nodded. “Then, unless anyone has a different idea, I guess we should start walking.”

‘How about following the river?’ Serena asked. ‘I haven’t been in the park often, but I know that it flows from the north side of the park around the foot of the mountains in a narrow gorge, and then continues through the rest of the park. Surely the going would be easier around there.’

“It would.” Brian confirmed. “So that is where humans will tend to congregate. I believe there is a path that goes near the river, and there are sure to be people canoing and kayaking on it as well. It would be difficult to remain unseen.”

‘I can aid in that.’ Serena insisted. ‘As can Jake. He can become invisible, so if he soars overhead he can give warning to anyone we might encounter. Also, I am starting to sense the world around me more and more. I can feel the world living around me. I know there are squirrels over in that tree across the clearing that are wondering about us. I can listen to the tree’s heartbeat and feel the vigor in the grass surrounding us. I could sense humans long before they saw us. We could be towards the center of the mountains in four days instead of eight or nine.’

Jake looked at her, startled. She could sense the world around her? What kind of power did unicorns have? He’d never made a serious study of their legends before. Perhaps he should have.

“All right.” Jake said quietly. “We take the easy path into the mountains.”


The journey to the mountains actually took six days, not four. The paths near the river were frequented by people walking to and fro along the river. Those numbers dwindled the further towards the interior they went. Once past the reach of the most active day hiker, the number of people dropped to six people taking a three-day loop along the river wall up to a canyon. They had to avoid notice, so Jake flew often very high up, as he discovered the wind off his wings would create a terrible wind if he wasn’t careful that could bend trees almost to snapping. His sharp eyes often allowed him to spot people ahead of his friends often hours in advance, and he could gently glide down like he was hunting again to tell them. Often they already knew thanks to Serena. She could feel them, along a great distance. She knew their hurts and felt their fears. Jake could tell that it bothered her, but didn’t quite know how to help. Mental blocking was an obvious answer, but he had no idea how it was done.

On their fourth day of travel, he came to land next to Rachel to talk to her about it. They were walking on the park path next to a long gorge. The earth had been worn or blown away to reveal bare stone. Jake felt confident that he wouldn’t leave tracks there a casual observer would see.

Rachel was sympathetic, but said she had no idea how it was done. “I feel that it is possible.” She told him. “And I will work with her on blocking it all out. However, I haven’t been given that knowledge from my forbears yet, if they even knew how. If they did, I will be able to help her”

Jake knew that was no idle boast. The depth and breadth of knowledge being given to Rachel and Brian was astonishing. They could accurately read the stars and the land around them. They could leave no track but what they wanted, and knew the names of every tree and plant, what medicinal uses they could be put too, and which were to dangerous to touch. Their math skills were extremely good, and Jake wagered they could hold their own with Stephan Hawking in terms of ability.

Stacey and Tom were exploring their powers too. Stacey found that plants were eager to aid them; giving up berries without any effort to scratch them with their thorns, winding together to form leafy roofs over her and Tom’s head (she could speak to the trees, but their thought was so deep they would take a long time to follow her instructions), or giving up treasures such as deer fur to keep her warm at night (after Serena had paused to cleanse the fur with her horn, removing parasites and the smell, leaving only a pleasant aroma).

Serena and Jake didn’t attempt to see what they could do in this time. Serena was busy guide everyone onto safe paths that lead into the forest, away from the prying eyes of humans while Jake soared above them, keeping an eagle eye out for anyone that Serena might have missed.

The ground they covered grew ever more rocky. Large clearings were formed from islands of rock jutting out from the ocean of green. Green trees grew right up to steep cliff edges that fell away dramatically to reveal ribbons of white water below, like pieces of bone from some aged giant skeleton. Above it all brooded four great peaks standing almost toe to toe, the four brothers. They were an spur of a larger mountain range that continued up the coast almost to the top of the world, or so Jake had heard.

Jake felt incredibly free. The mountains were a perfect place to hide and hunt, sealed off from the outside world by the difficult terrain below. Any visitor would be rare and easily avoided, provided the proper precautions were taken.

Visitor. The word stirred something in him. A face floated up in his mind’s eye. Nacomi. A longing filled him; how he would love to take her on a tour of his new home. Together they would soar above the clouds and peer into the deep gorges. She would not concern herself with the fact that he was different, she could see beyond that, he felt.

A lone voice of reason interrupted his pleasant dream, pulling him back from the madness that gripped him then, wanting to turn around and bring her with them. She would not necessarily like his new form, it whispered. She may panic and flee at first, without ever realizing it was him.

Disappointment nearly crushed him. What joy was there in being a dragon if he couldn’t share it with the one he loved. That he loved her was not in question. He did, and that was that. Before, he might have waffled a little, trying to separate lust for her body from actual love. Now, however, he knew. A feeling, deep in his bones, told him so. But how to convince her to come with him? And, how would he convince the others that they needed her?

He pondered that for the next two days until they reached a concealed valley hidden between the inner two brothers, closest to the great mountain range. Near the top of the tree line he found a concealed cave that would be perfect for him, while on the valley floor there was a little clearing, much smaller then the great meadow that they’d first found, that held another small pool, fed by a little stream coming down from a spring nearby. So slow did it flow that no ripple showed on its placid face. Serena, in particular, seemed keen on it; she jumped and frolicked like a yearling, showing her heels and laughing in their minds.

Her enthusiasm was contagious, and soon everyone ran to and fro across the grass, laughing happily while Jake stood on the far side (he was too big, and his claws would tear up the ground in great gashes) calling out winners of the impromptu races.

Serena fell out of one of the races giggling. Rachel grinned as she jumped over a twisted branch that lay in her path, despite it being small enough to easily walk over.

“I win.” She laughed.

‘Yes, you do.’ Serena agreed. She sighed as she looked over the meadow. ‘I am home.’ She said quietly. Then, more firmly; ‘I am HOME.’

A powerful wind whipped the little meadow, imploding inward towards them, bringing the festivities to a halt.  Trees exploded upwards in violent growth, reaching ten feet in seconds, and continuing up while their bases grew wider and wider. Flowers of every color and size and description blossomed in the grass that grew tall and green. Berry bushes crept in at the very edges, not daring to reach the center but creating a pleasant barrier between the forest and the grass. But in the middle, where a small and stunted oak tree grew, came the greatest change. Like the others in the forest, this one shrugged off its crooked appearance and stood straight, growing wider and taller with each passing second. Unlike the other trees, however, that stopped at about a hundred feet, this one kept going and going. Jake found himself craning his neck trying to watch its growth. Rachel and Brian danced aside from the trunk that sailed outward, a bow wake of dirt flying from the bark as its roots dug deep into the earth. When it finally stopped, Jake thought it must have been more than three hundred feet high, and about fifty feet across at the trunk. Several branches had curved downward in its growth to bury their tips into the ground and sprout roots instead of leaves, forming a supporting ring around the main trunk.

High above it all, the wind whipped the clouds in a spiral that descended ever downward, never quite reaching the tops of the trees which ruffled a little as if touched by a gentle breeze a millionth of the gale above.

Only the deep blue pool and stream remained unruffled by the changes happening around them. If anything, they seemed to become deeper, clearer, and cleaner. Much like the pool back at the meadow, Jake thought. He wondered if it would taste as sweet. Something prevented him from testing his hypothesis, however. It seemed…wrong, in someway, to drink of this pool. It was something special, or going to be something special, and needed to remain unsullied.

When the power Jake felt around him diminished into nothing, he stared around at the differences wrought and then down at his sister, who stood panting from her exertions. The sweeping scope of the power used stunned him into immovability, He didn’t think he could project even a tenth of that power, let alone direct it in such a manner. He wondered how she’d done it, before wondering what it had cost her.

“Are you all right?” He asked, jerking everyone’s attention to himself.

Serena nodded.’Yes. I am. Just a little tired, is all.’

“I should think so.” Jake said dryly. “With that amount of power. You really had me worried there.”

‘I’m fine.’ She said in defense of his scolding. ‘I simply wanted to make this place home.’

“This is home?” Brian asked.

“Of course it is.” Stacey said defensively as she came to hover next to Serena’s ear. She rotated in midair, arms spread wide in wonder. “Can’t you feel the presence in the air? This place is alive like no other forest has been in hundreds of years. I feel the trees talking to each other again, sharing deep-rooted wisdom. Plants dance with the wind in lively jig, and the water, so sweet it is almost like honey, babbles happily, sharing conversation from far away. The magic is spreading now, the forest is waking up!”

“I do feel the water.” Tom admitted. “It calls to me in ways I never thought before.” He held out his hands and a narrow stream of water came off the surface like a playful otter, darting around him happily in excitement before returning to the creek in contentment.

Brian and Rachel stood there with similar slack jaws of astonishment. They looked up at the great tree that towered above them all, wonderfully alive. Then down at Serena.

“This is…is…” Rachel stammered, overcome.

‘I know.’ Serena said quietly. ‘And before you ask, I have no idea how I accomplished this. I just felt compelled to claim this place as my own. But you are all welcome to stay with me for as long as the sun burns in the sky above.’

“Thanks.” Tom and Stacey chorused. Brian and Rachel hesitated a moment before nodding their appreciation. They turned to Jake.

“Thank you for the offer, sis.” He looked down at them. “However, I don’t think I am right for this clearing.” He admitted. “I feel the urge to find a cave somewhere in the mountains, I can tell there’s one up there. I’m hoping it hasn’t been cleared for study or whatever, and I can make a nice home out of it myself.”

He paused a moment, wondering if he should bring up Nacomi, and shrugged to himself. Whether now or later, it would have to come up, and everyone was hear now.

“So, I was thinking on the way up.” He said, stopping the other’s conversation on which part of the meadow would be best used for what. “That we should plan our next move, more than simply finding a pretty house to live in. We’ve left important objects behind that we must retrieve. We’ve been more than a week, so the police may have them in custody by now, though I hope not. We haven’t been gone too long, and other than Nacomi there wouldn’t have been anyone to check on us for another week at least. The next quarter for classes won’t start until then, and rent would have been due. I’m hoping everyone thought we simply went home or camping for the holiday and forgot to tell anyone.”

“That makes a disturbing amount of sense.” Rachel said. “We should recover our items as soon as possible. We don’t know what would happen if others become exposed. Could they be turned as well? For their safety, we must reclaim them immediately.”

Jake nodded. “And we all want to have a talk with that Roland guy. How do we search for him though? We can’t simply stroll down the city and ask in shops, you know?”

There was a chorus of laughter at that.

“So, I would like to propose bringing someone else in on our secret. Someone we can trust to keep quiet and help look for us and maybe bring us news of the outside world.”

‘Someone like Nacomi, perhaps?’ Serena’s sly voice came.

Jake nodded. “My feelings for her aside,” he said haughtily. “I think she is the best choice. We all know her, she knows us, she’s level, dependable and would be able to handle the search for Roland, I think. With our aid, of course.” He stressed. Everyone was smiling at him, to which he could feel his ire starting to grow, but he ignored it. “Have you any other candidates?” He challenged.

Rachel laughed. “We are just giving you a hard time Jake. You are right about Nacomi being the perfect choice for this. I imagine that you would like to be the one to go get her?”

Jake nodded. “Again,” he stressed. “I am the logical choice to go, with my chameleon abilities. It seems that just the desire to go hidden is enough to trigger them. I can also snatch her quickly and be long gone before anyone realized what had happened.”

The others looked at one another and sighed. “Due to the distances involved, I’d have to say you are right.” Brian agreed.

“All right. When should I start?” Jake asked.

“Right away.” Brian urged.

“Okay.” Jake said.

With a jump and a bound, he was airborne again. Circling the clearing once, he desired to remain unseen, and realized that there was not even a shadow on the ground. He wondered how that could be, all things cast shadows. Even hidden things, though we don’t always look for them. So why was this so different? It had to be the magical aspect of it, he reasoned. He didn’t cast a shadow because it was necessary for him not too, and the magic took care of the rest.

Of course, if that is true, then I have to wonder what limits there are too power like this? There must be some. If I can figure out what those are, then I know what I can accomplish. He barked a laugh. Right, like I even know how I’m accomplishing anything I’ve been doing now.

He sighed. This was going to be far more complicated then he thought. Talk about a terrible second year at college!