I'm only half-aware of the others all staring in shock as my body warps around me. A tingling numbness like that of a limb falling asleep spreads over my entire body, but I can hear my bones crack and pop as they reshape themselves. My clothes stretch, tear, fall away. My field of vision changes, and suddenly the world is all blue and green and another color that's sort of like purple, but not.

Next thing I know, I'm falling forward onto all fours. And everything is loud. So loud. The scents of the other Umbrans on the balcony—now backed against the door—are stronger than ever and somehow both sickening and enticing. Something new inside me screams to either escape or attack. The forest calls to me. My heart hammers at my ribs as my panic and disorientation rises.

I don't realize that I have wings until I flex and flap them, my muscles coiling. Then I leap, my new limbs scraping the balcony floor above us I make my escape. I land lightly in the loamy moss below and run for the trees.

Distantly, I'm aware of the others calling after me, of Boon buzzing in distress as he rushes along in my wake. But the part of myself that recognizes their words isn't the part that's in control. Palm fronds, ferns and leaves whip past as I speed through the forest, inexorably drawn towards something. I don't know what. But the deeper I get into the wild, the stronger the call becomes. The incline steepens and the rain picks up, battering the leaves in a chaotic staccato. Thunder growls through the sky, and more lightning comes crashing earthward.

Thanks to the rain all I smell is wet soil. So when the trees part and I see him in the stony clearing ahead, I freeze in shock and awe.

The dragon-stag stands in the pouring rain, face turned up to the sky, wings raised. Then his head tilts downward and his eyes fix on me. I don't move. He flaps his wings, throws his head back once more, and bellows. His Umbra flares, but not in the way mine does. It's a steady, humming pulse. It fills me with pleasure, and my need to close the distance between us returns. The next thing I know, I'm doing just that.

But as I draw near, the stag canters backwards.

I step closer, and again, he edges out of reach. He can't go much farther, though. There's something behind him, a huge stone. Beams of darkness scatter around his silhouette, as if the stone is radiating shadow.

"Ash!"

This time, the voice calling my name breaks through—just enough to give me pause. My ears twitch. Then I take another step. And another. I'm almost with you. Please don't run.

Something collides with me from behind and to the side, knocking me to the ground. As E.J's scent engulfs me and her body weighs me down, the human side of myself fights for dominance. But it's no use. I'm too weak for the shifted side's instinctive terror and draw to the stag. Even as I struggle against E.J's hold, I pray it doesn't break. My Umbra sparks and flares, arching in bolts of light around my body.

"Get out of here!" She screams at the dragon-stag. "Curse you, go!"

A moment later, I hear its hooves clatter across the stone—and then its gone. I shriek and bleat, but the further he gets, the weaker grows the pull. The storm is subsiding, and as my true self takes hold, so does the Umbra crackling around me. The fur retreats into my skin as my body returns to its usual form.

Moments later I'm lying soaked and naked in E.J.'s arms, staring up into her horrified eyes. Over near the tree-line, Beatrice, Timur and Vos are huddled together and watching with similar expressions. Behind E.J. looms the Gate, opened and activated, its rippling doorway glowing darkly.

~*~

After E.J. closes the gate, I return to the lodge bundled up in her arms, wearing only the shirt she'd torn off own her back to give me. The others trail behind us, mostly silent. The one time Vos tries to ask a question, E.J. shoots them such a look that it rips the voice right out of them. She sets me down one step up to the Lodge entrance. Then, after shooing the others off, she leads me to my room.

"Pack whatever you need for the next...I don't know. Week or so? You can always come back for more." she says. I knit my brow. "But you shouldn't be alone when you sleep. Shouldn't be alone any time you can avoid it." 

"What?"

Her hand flies up to tug at her anti-Umbra collar. "Students getting bribed to snatch you, consciousness-transporting statues, spontaneous shifting, diabolical wildlife," her voice raises with every word as she gestures in wild frustration.

"Everywhere you go, a new threat. A new mystery. A new mysterious threat."

"You're not...you're not sending me away, are you?"

"I can't," she says, hand tangling in her hair as she leans against the wall. "You're a registered pre-grad Umbran now. You can't leave the archipelago, and there's nowhere safe for you to stay on the other islands. And certainly not on the Empress," she scowls, obviously thinking back to Beatrice's kidnap. "You'll just have to stay with me for now." She turns back to me. "Unless you object?"

"Will I still be able to go to class?"

"Yes. I think. For now. You should be safe enough with a professor and a class full of people. But you'll need to keep storm restraints on you just in case, just like any Shifter."

I swallow, tears of panic and overwhelm warming the corners of my eyes as the latest upheaval to my reality sets in. What the curses is happening to me?

"A-alright," I stammer after a moment.

"Do you need help getting everything together?"

"No. I can—wait, where's Mittens? I left her back at Beatrice's place, but then most of them ran after me, and—"

Striding over to me, E.J. places a comforting hand to my shoulder and squeezes. "Just focus on your breathing for a minute, alright? And then pack your things. Maybe throw something else on for the trip up and give me back my shirt, too," she smiles weakly before stepping away to open the door. "Somi, if you could go find Mittens, please? Start with Beatrice's room. Wherever she is, ask them to hold onto her and we'll pick her up on the way to the penthouse."

Limbs still trembling a bit from the shock of my first change, I manage to unbutton the shirt I'm wearing and hand it back to her.

"Thank you," she says, pulling it on over her bra and buttoning it up. Somi zips out the door, and E.J. closes it after her while I wobble around the room, shoving clothes and things into a duffel bag. By the time I'm done, the little servitor has returned to inform us that Mittens was indeed still in Beatrice's room, where Lore had kept her from dashing into the woods after me. Once we've retrieved her, we take the elevator up to E.J's, where I immediately retreat to the balcony with my vapestem. My host joins me moments later with a drink for me—iced cocoa. The sounds and smells of the coffee brewing inside intensify as she opens the door.

"Thanks," I say in a hush, stetting down the vape to accept the cup and taking a sip. I gaze out at the forest and ocean for a moment, then turn to her to see my own pained expression reflected in her eyes.

"What's happening to me, E.J? How was that even possible?"

"I don't know Ash. But we are going to find out."

Then I hear the ding of the elevator through the walls, smell the familiar scents of the other professors—all of them.

"I had Somi call them up while you were in the bathroom," E.J. explains. It's time we told them everything that's been going on. I trust them, I need their input—and at this point, I need them to know what's going on with you for safety reasons. "

At the sight of my expression, she steps forward to wrap me in her embrace once more . "I know, it's a lot to deal with right now. But tomorrow you can just rest. Your guides will understand. And we can let them know tonight not to expect you for your guidance meeting."

I sniff and nod, nuzzling my face into her chest as I inhale her scent. It's comforting. And arousing. And makes me a little hungry. She pulls away an instant later—probably for the better—and goes inside to let the faculty in. Snatching up my vapestem, I take another couple of draws before following after her.

Once we're all seated around E.J's coffee table, mugs in hand, she and I begin to explain. Of all the professors, Rhoric's reaction is the hardest to read. Throughout it all he wrings his meaty hands, lips turned downward in a slight frown, eyes thoughtful. Toad leans forward in their seat, coffee mug perched on their knees, eyes wide, and when we get to the part about the sigil on my spirit, Burstroms brows slam together. Professor Pravda's expression is simply incredulous throughout. When E.J. mentions my shifted form—a pure white dragon-doe—I reel internally. What does it all mean?

"We need to find a way to purge your spirit of this sigil, first of all," says Burstrom immediately as we finish speaking.

Ignoring this, Pravda frowns, eyes tightening around the corners as she levels her gaze on E.J.

"You received communications from another realm with heretofore unknown information regarding the Gate and what lies beyond, and you told none of us until now?"

"I have no way of knowing if anything we've been told about the Gate or the Other Side is true or pure fabrication, yet—and at the time I thought it best to keep it close until we knew more. I had intended to share the information when I felt the time was right. But events are unfolding too rapidly now, and I'm at a loss."

Pravda opens her mouth to shoot something back, but E.J's expression contorts with obvious distress. "Please, Prish. You can yell at me later. But for now...help me protect Ash. Help us figure this out."

The Crimson sighs and crosses her legs. "Very well. Though I can think of nothing to explain...all this," she says, waving her hand in a circular motion towards me. "But Umbran Stormstruck are very rare. There could be much we don't know about them."

"Vikor," says Toad, looking over at Professor Rhoric—who still hasn't broken his silence. "What is it?"

We all look to him, but the large Reaper shakes his head. "It's just an old legend, from my father's people. But it's so implausible..."

E.J's eyes narrow. "Tell us."