* * *
Gray settled down on the couch with a sigh, his muscles aching. Leslie flopped down next to him and undid the bandana that held up her hair, while Savannah fell spread-eagled onto the floor and buried her face in the carpet. Mr. Matheson had left to pick up Chinese take-out for dinner, whatever that was.
“I’m so glad that’s done,” murmured Leslie.
Gray rubbed out a knot in his shoulder. “I’ve never had to do so much housework in my entire life.”
“Buf oo ‘on loo do ad,” Savannah said into the carpet.
“Huh?” Leslie and Gray said together.
Grunting, Savannah pushed up onto her elbows. She rested her chin in her hands. “But you don’t look too bad, considering the fact that you’re dying from some mysterious disease that’s supposed to turn your muscles and organs as hard as rocks.”
Gray put his elbows on his knees. He focused inward, gauging the pain of his body. His muscles ached, but it was a dull ache that was from cleaning. And lately he’d been getting a stabbing pain when he breathed; he took a deep breath, but there was no pain. “You’re right, I do feel a little better.”
“Does that happen sometimes?” asked Leslie. “I mean, do some people get better?”
Gray opened and closed his hands and rotated his wrists. He didn’t feel any joint pain. He shook his head, reluctant to talk about the facts of his disease. “I don’t know….Nobody ever recovered, at least not from what I’ve seen. Though, some weren’t in pain all the time. Maybe my symptoms are like theirs.”
Savannah narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together. Gray recognized that look—either she was thinking negative thoughts about him, or she was planning something devious. If she was being devious, she would smile soon. Slowly, Savannah’s face broke in a mischievous grin. “Leslie, I’ve got an idea about Professor Brown. Go get the phone book.”
Leslie raised an eyebrow at Savannah. “Not too subtle with our subject change, are we?”
Savannah waved her comment off. “Just go get the phone book.”
As Leslie stood she rolled her eyes. “Alright, don’t tell me what you’re up to.” She left the room.
Quickly, Savannah scrambled on the couch next to Gray. “Shift. Do it now, before Leslie comes back.”
“Excuse me?”
“She won’t let me ask you to when she’s here,” Savannah said rapidly. “She’d say, ‘Oh no, don’t make Gray shift. He’s too weak, and you know what happened last time.’”
“You do know what happened last time,” Gray pointed out.
“Yeah, but you have your soul binder, whatever that is, right?” said Savannah. She glanced towards the doorway. “And there are no enemies to distract you. I reorganized the cupboards when we were cleaning, but it shouldn’t take Leslie too long to find the phone book. Do it. Quick.”
Gray rolled his eyes, mimicking Leslie. He pulled off his shirt and pants, leaving only his shifter’s vines. He sighed and shifted.
Shifting was as easy as stepping forward. Gray timed the shift with the sigh. As he exhaled, a warm tingling rushed over his body. Muscles and bones stretched and shrank, and fur erupted all over his skin, tickling a little. Gray fell forward onto his front paws, and his senses changed as he hit the ground. His sight dimmed almost imperceptibly, while his hearing and sense of smell sharpened. A barrage of sounds and smells hit him, but he filtered them out automatically. Gray flicked his tail. The shift had been painless, effortless, a perfect transformation.
Savannah, who looked a lot taller now that he was on all fours, squealed with delight. She danced around Gray. Gray’s leopard instincts told him she would be easy prey, that she was distractible and noisy, but he ignored them. Savannah peered at his ears, at his tail, at his paws, and ran her hands up and down his back. Gray gritted his teeth and sank his claws into the carpet against the unpleasant sensation.
“That was incredible! That was so cool! I can’t believe I just saw that!” Savannah knelt in front of Gray and took his head in her hands. Gray jerked back in surprise, but Savannah grabbed his head again. “And you’re so cute!”
What did she just say? Gray thought. Cute? He flicked his ears backwards.
“And judging from the fact that you haven’t attacked me, you’re in complete control of yourself.” Savannah squeezed Gray’s head gently. “You’re not going to hurt me, you cute kitty you.”
Gray’s muscles twitched. Don’t push your luck. He let out a low growl.
Savannah patted him on the head and sat back. “Now the question is, how much do you feel like an animal, and how much do you feel like a human? For example if I do this…” She pulled a small cylinder out of her pocket.
A little ball of red light jittered on the floor near Gray’s forepaws. What? He watched as it jiggled back and forth, then as it darted to and fro. He whipped his head around to keep it in sight.
There was something about the little red light that was so enticing. He had to have it. His predatory instincts kicked in, and Gray stooped low. He swatted at the light, but it jerked to the side. Gray followed the light and tried to trap it beneath his paws. He chased it as it sped across the room, onto the couch, up the wall. It was a devilish little light, always staying one step ahead of him, sometimes disappearing to reappear behind him. And as kitten-like glee overcame Gray, one thought dominated his mind: he had to get the light.
“What is going on here?” Leslie’s voice cut through Gray’s concentration.
The light disappeared, and Gray slammed face-first into the ground. He scrambled to his feet and shook his head. What was I doing? Suddenly, he remembered. He glared at Savannah.
Savannah clasped her hands behind her back and grinned. “We were just having some fun.”
“More like you were taking advantage of Gray,” said Leslie. She wrested the little cylinder away from Savannah. “Look at this mess.”
Gray glanced around the room. The couch had somehow moved away from the wall and was lying on its back. Picture frames hung askew. Coats and jackets were strewn everywhere, though Gray didn’t recall going into the coat closet.
Leslie glanced at Gray, her eyes narrowing into tiny slits, and he shrank back from her gaze. “You’d better shift back right now.”
“Wait Gray, not yet,” said Savannah. Gray looked at her. “Wait until you’re completely calm.”
Gray didn’t know why Savannah wanted him to be calm, but he lay down. He set his head down on his crossed paws and took a deep breath. Then he closed his eyes and shifted. It was a little awkward in his position, but he didn’t move until the change was complete.
Gray opened his eyes and sat up. “Well,” he said, “how do I look?”
“Normal,” said Savannah, “except for that tail.”
Gray twisted around and patted himself. There was no tail. He grabbed a hat that lay nearby and threw it at Savannah. She dodged it easily.
“So,” said Gray, after determining that there were no other loose articles of clothing close enough to throw, “was there a reason you made me chase a light other than to humiliate me?”
“And did you really need the phone book?” asked Leslie. “Or was that just a plot to divert me?”
Savannah sat down on the floor. “First of all,” she said, “that light is called a laser. And second, I love humiliating people every chance I get. But yes, there was another reason I had you shift. And yes, we do need the phone book, although I admit I did need you out of the way.”
Leslie and Gray waited, staring at Savannah. She sat up tall and crossed her arms before snapping, “Gray, how do you feel?”
Gray straightened up in surprise. “I…I feel fine.”
“And how did you feel when you were a panther?”
“Fine…” Gray said slowly. He couldn’t tell where this was going.
“In all the times you’ve shifted since you got here, did you ever physically feel off, strange, weak, whatever, while you were a panther?”
Gray shook his head. “No, I felt perfectly fine each time.”
Savannah tilted her chin upwards. “But the other night, when you attacked the gorilla, you suddenly acted like a predator trying to take down his prey. What happened? What made your mind switch from that of a rational human to a leopard on the hunt?”
Gray searched his memory. It was hazy. “I don’t know. I heard you scream, and I went to save you without thinking. Then, when my teeth sank into that man’s shoulder—”
He remembered the fierce desire to hunt. The bloodlust had sent a red haze over his mind. He clamped down and held on, acting on instinct. “My mind turned animal.”
“And when you tried to shift back, it was hard,” said Savannah. “What about the fight with Cougar Girl?”
Gray shook his head. “I don’t know. I lost my soul binder, which is supposed to help me keep my human mind. I must have reverted to an instinctual state after I left the school, but I don’t remember.”
“But I remember when he came home,” said Leslie. “He was only half-shifted, and he acted more like a wild animal than a human. But when he saw the soul binder he recognized it at once and grabbed it from me.”
Savannah looked at both of them through heavily lidded eyes. “All right. Gray, I have a couple more questions, then I’ll tell you my theory. You said your soul binder helps you keep your human mind. What is a soul binder, exactly?”
Gray pulled off his necklace and handed it to Savannah. She examined the carving of the panther as he explained, “Everyone where I come from has a soul binder. We get them when we’re children, after we shift for the first time. They’re enchanted stones. It was explained to me once—when we shift, we completely become the creature we’ve shifted into. We lose our human intellect, our reasoning, completely becoming the animal, until we hardly remember we were once human. It is possible to shift back into a human without a soul binder. It happens automatically when the person falls asleep, but it’s different when they’re awake, and it’s very difficult—you have to trigger in the person a human memory, make them remember what it’s like to be human. The soul binder holds a little piece of yourself in the stone so that when you shift your mind remains intact. When I’m a panther, with the soul binder, I can think like a human but react with the instincts of a panther.”
Savannah handed the necklace back to Gray, a studious expression on her face. She tapped the tips of her fingers across her jaw line. “I now have two theories: one for why you don’t hurt as a panther, and one for why you’re losing your mind.”
Gray and Leslie leaned forward.
Savannah smiled, clearly enjoying the attention. She raised a finger. “First,” she said, “the disease Gray has stiffens his muscles and makes his organs thicken. It can also make him shift when he doesn’t want to. None of this happens when he’s a panther. I believe that’s because shifting loosens things up and normalizes them. So, even though Gray will still get sick and eventually die if the disease isn’t treated, if he shifts more often it should slow the process down.
“Second,” said Savannah, raising another finger, “Gray’s body is changing through the disease, which could mean his mind is changing as well. He received his soul binder when he was a little squirt—”
“Hey!” said Gray.
Savannah continued like nothing had happened. “—and I assume soul binders are meant to adjust as the person changes with growth. But this disease causes rapid change, which means Gray’s soul binder is no longer in harmony with his soul. Thus, Gray is more likely to lose control as a panther. However, as we just saw, Gray doesn’t always lose his mind.”
“Excuse me?” said Leslie. “Gray was chasing a little red light across the room.”
“Ah,” said Savannah, putting on her best sage voice, “but Gray himself admitted to having a human mind and animal instincts at the same time. So Gray was, sadly, in control when he ran like an idiot around the room. Which leads me to my third theory.”
“I thought you said you only had two theories,” said Gray, trying to ignore her comment about him being an idiot.
Savannah pushed back her wild mane of curly brown hair. “Well, I’ve just come up with a third. Three,” she said, lifting a third finger, “something about this disease makes Gray stop shifting mid-shift. This has only occurred on the shift from panther to human, not human to panther. I don’t know why he doesn’t get stuck shifting to a panther, but I believe he gets stuck shifting to a human when his emotions are heightened—when he’s angry, determined, scared, excited. Gray, you said people shift human when they fall asleep. Does that happen every time?”
Gray nodded. “Every time, without fail.”
“Gray,” said Savannah, lying on her back, “as your unofficial physician, I prescribe that you shift once a day and meditate before shifting back to human. And do some sort of exercise as a panther to learn how to keep your human mind in control when you get excited.”
Gray stared at Savannah. “You’ve never met another shifter?”
“Nope,” she said.
“And you’ve never learned about shifters before you met me?”
“That’s right.”
“And yet you came to those specific conclusions?” said Gray. “How?”
“I read a lot of sci fi, fantasy, and mystery novels. I’ve learned how to fit puzzle pieces together,” said Savannah. She pulled out a second little cylinder from her pocket and shone the laser on the ceiling.
Leslie shifted the phone book in her arms. “And why did we need this?” she asked.
Savannah glanced up at her before tracing the light across the ceiling once more. “Gray was sent here, to Half Moon Bay, not somewhere else. Professor Brown must live here. You’ll find his name and address in the phone book, and I’ll bet he lives smack dab in the center of Half Moon Bay, not some other obscure part of California.”
Gray and Leslie looked at each other. Could it really be that easy?
“Oh,” said Savannah, breaking through their thoughts, “and you’d better clean this up. Dad’s gonna be home soon.”
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