Hunt for the Lost: Chapter 4

Natalie followed closely as May led the way down the streets, making turns occasionally. After a brisk five-minute jog, they came to a little market on the outer edge of Ravensvale. The sun headed toward its peak high in the sky, the clouds were few and scattered across the blue expanse, and the wind blew gently if at all. The stalls of goods had been erected and stocked early that morning by the farmers and servants of merchants. A small crowd poked through the offered products, a fraction of the size of the midday swarm that always passed through after lunch. The smell of delicious dishes flooded Natalie’s nose; the sight of extravagant foreign fabrics and items filled her vision; the sound of bargaining touched her ears.

Natalie tried to enjoy the beautiful day, but her stomach became queasy as the time approached for her to shift in front of two Shifters that weren’t her cousin and also a crowd of humans. She saw shifting almost as a personal secret. Most of the Shifters, Leokah included, often tried to make her feel comfortable by talking about it, but she always dreaded having people watch her shift anyway.

May stopped at the front of the street, the market sprawling out before her. She counted stalls carefully and then pointed at the seventh booth from her on the left side of the cobblestone way.

“That’s the last stop Sarah made on her errands. She was supposed to meet me at our aunt’s house after she bought some fabric. I talked with her friend’s father, and he said she left their house without any trouble, which means she should’ve come here and then to Auntie’s.” May swallowed, blinking rapidly.

Natalie put a hand on her back. “How do you know she became a Lost?”

May pointed again at the seventh stall. “He said she shifted in front of him and ran off.” Leokah came up next to May. “She could’ve just been a Shifter shifting for the first time.” May shook her head. “He said she was only part animal.”

Natalie noticed her cousin stiffen and stand straighter. “That’s not good.”

May opened her mouth, then shut it just as quickly. Natalie started to ask her what she had been meaning to say, but before she could, Adelle shoved Leokah aside and planted herself next to May.

The older Shifter sighed. “He is right about that not being good. She’s definitely a Lost.” Adelle turned to Natalie and pulled her the remaining two feet until the three stood side by side. “Lucky we have us a tracker.”

Natalie felt her face warm despite the cold air. She seemed trapped between Adelle and May. Desperate, she pleaded with her cousin through her eyes. He caught her gaze and immediately stepped back over.

“Do I have to—” she lowered her voice, “—you know, shift, here in front of people?” Natalie asked meekly.

“No, of course not.” Leokah crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Adelle seemed to sense the reason for Natalie’s sudden change of heart. “You’re still kinda shy about shifting, huh, kid?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m not gonna make you,” Leokah said, “and I sure won’t let these people force you, either.”

“It’s fine if little wolf here doesn’t want to shift in front of all these people. She doesn’t feel comfortable with all these humans watching. She probably already feels different enough. Nobody will force her.”

“If she doesn’t track Sarah, then how do we continue? We haven’t even started, and you’re already giving up?” May’s voice rose with shock.

“Calm down. Natalie is scared to shift in public with all of these judgmental humans around. I understand; I’ve known a lot of younger Shifters that felt that way.” Adelle met May’s questioning gaze with a smile. “I’ll track your sister.”

Leokah raised his eyebrows, bobbing his head left and right, stunned. Natalie felt courage wash over her heart when she realized that Adelle wasn’t afraid. It made her feel like others were willing to contribute and she wasn’t being forced to stick her neck out alone. Now that it had become her choice to do it, the weight of the pressure had diminished significantly.

“As much as I’d like to see a dragon up close, and I really would, I think it would be best if I did it. I have a great sense of smell, and a wolf isn’t as alarming as a dragon.” Natalie couldn’t believe the words that had left her mouth.

Leokah’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “You’ve never even shifted in front of any humans except your parents. Are you sure you want to start now?”His words conjured painful memories for Natalie, though she knew he had not meant to hurt her. The memory of her parents seeing her shift brought a wave of sadness over her mind. Leokah was right: the last time humans had seen her true nature, it had cost her her parents. Indecision paralyzed her thoughts again.

Adelle spun to study Natalie’s face. She saw her struggling in her mind. “You wanna see a dragon, Natalie?”

“NO!” Leokah pulled May back.

Adelle smiled wildly. She took a step to the right to get Natalie out of the way. In a blink, the Shifter disappeared, and where she had been now stood the most beautiful creature Natalie had ever seen. She had a large, muscular body supported by four strong legs that ended in clawed feet. Her tail, almost as long as her body, curled around her in a sweeping “S” that ended at her forelegs. An elegant head ended the elongated neck, featuring fierce eyes set beneath two horned protrusions. The face, though most definitely inhuman, still bore a quality of intelligence and awareness that animals lacked. She had no ears, only two holes in the side of her head. Her snout opened briefly—Natalie guessed it would fit a grown man’s leg inside—and the nostrils that tipped the end blew out a puff of air. A pair of wings folded tightly against her flanks. The scales were a gradient of lovely fire orange; starting at her feet, which were dark reddish like a smoldering campfire, the scales that covered her body grew lighter and richer. At her head they were a deep orange, her chest and the underside of her tail being the color of a lemon sun with specks of rubies.

Natalie felt her breath catch in her throat. The transformation had been instantaneous, and her eyes had taken in the beautiful dragon almost as fast, but her sheer proximity to the creature made goosebumps rise on her arms.

The next instant, every human close enough to behold the dragon grew silent. The chattering, bustling marketplace had dropped into stillness.

Adelle, the dragon, turned and looked at Natalie with her head tilted to one side. It seemed almost as if she continued the smile she had started in her human form.

Leokah, who had been just as awestruck by the magnificent creature that Adelle had become, recovered his wits more quickly than his cousin. He pushed May into Jakob, who gave him a startled look before placing a hand on each of the girl’s shoulders. He stepped up to face Adelle in three swift steps.

“Are you crazy?” he exclaimed, his voice high.

The dragon shook its head back and forth. She pointed the end of her snout at Seth, who stood beside Jakob, his mouth open in wonder.

“She wants the cotton shirt, Leokah,” Natalie said.

He swung around to face his little cousin, his face revealing his disbelief in the direction the situation had taken. However, Natalie felt emboldened by Adelle’s example. She had always thought Leokah was very open about shifting, but he was just as shy about it as she was compared to the dragon Shifter.

“Seth, come here, and bring Sarah’s shirt,” Natalie said.

That may be the most authoritative thing I’ve ever uttered.

Surprising Natalie, Seth obeyed her command. Natalie took the shirt he proffered and then stepped over to Adelle. Leokah took a step back to let his cousin have room. He actually smiled proudly at her.

“You’re beautiful, Adelle,” Natalie admitted in a soft voice. “Can I touch your scales?”

The dragon bowed, lowering her front and leaning her head down to be level with the young Shifter. Natalie cautiously reached out and placed a hand against the dragon’s right cheek, just under her eye, which stared back at her. Natalie fully expected the creature’s scales to be hot based on their color. When she put her palm on the dragon’s face, however, the scales were cool to the touch.

After a moment of admiring the dragon, Natalie pulled her hand away and held the shirt up to Adelle’s nose. The large nostrils flared and sucked in a deep breath of Sarah’s scent. Then Adelle took four sudden steps forward, heading toward the seventh stall.

All the humans that had been quietly observing with nervous glances instantly began screaming hysterically and hiding behind anything nearby. The marketplace erupted with frightened yelps.

Adelle marched forward purposefully and came to stand in the middle of a stream of people moving to get away from her. She seemed to not notice. Natalie stayed where she had been when the dragon Shifter started, sensing Leokah a few feet away. Then the rest of the group came over to watch their friend. Natalie, Leokah, Jakob, May, and Seth stood like an island in the middle of a rushing river of humans.

“We should probably follow her!” Jakob suggested over the screams and fearful cries.

Pushing through the surging crowd proved difficult, especially since they were going in the opposite direction and the people didn’t move out of the way for them like they did for Adelle. After a few moments of apologies and shoves, they caught up to her. The dragon sniffed around the base of the stall. The group stood around her, stepping back when her tail swished or she jerked her head.

Suddenly, the merchant who ran the booth appeared behind the counter and his eyes widened when he saw the dragon only feet from his face. He didn’t run or yell as the other humans had, choosing instead to shake his head in dismay.

“No shifting here!” he announced reprovingly.

Instantly, the dragon disappeared, and Adelle, the girl, stood before the man. He looked taken aback. “I’m trying to find a lost sister, buddy. This will only be a second.” She crossed her arms.

“I won’t allow you to shift in front of my shop!” He scowled at her.

“Come stop me then!” The dragon appeared again and began moving away from the stall, nose to the ground. Natalie took off after her, the rest of the group close behind. The merchant shook his head and went back inside the tent he had attached to his storefront.