Chapter 1
When Kahu woke up next morning, it was because someone was knocking on a door. It took her a while to realize that the knocking was on her door, but as soon as she had realized it, she changed into a wolf, still feeling her trousers – something had gone wrong – and told whoever was knocking to enter. A shy girl entered, using her long, brownish-black hair as a curtain.
"I am sorry if I have woken you, but Lord Are told me to go to you and tell you that you are to come to him ASAP. He is in his office."
Kahu growled, even though she could just as easily have spoken. The girl backed up, scared.
"I am sorry," she wailed, "I am only telling you what Lord Are has said to tell you!"
Kahu tried shaking her tail, which she couldn't. There was no tail. That was what had gone wrong. She sighed and changed to human, hoping it would soothe the girl.
"Who are you," she asked softly.
"They call me Merla."
"Well, Merla, everything is fine. I am not angry with you. Would you please tell Are that I am going to take a shower and then I'll come."
"Yes Kahu." The girl walked away. "Oh, and Lord Are also said that you could take any shape to be there ASAP."
Kahu nodded, rose and walked to the shower. When she had put on her clothes again, she looked in the mirror. She looked at her grey eyes, her light brown hair, that some people would say was dark gold, and which had been cut very short and her straight nose. Some people would call her beautiful, but she didn't. She knew that people who knew what she was didn't think she was beautiful anymore, no one liked a shapeshifther girl who changed into a hawk. She sighed again and changed into a hawk. The horse, wolf and lioness might have been faster, but a horse was to big to round all the corners at full speed, she hadn't mastered the wolf shape yet and a lioness couldn't run on top speed for very long. Within minutes, she was back at the guard in front of Are's door.
"Already back?"
"Don't ask."
After the guard had told her to go on, she knocked on Are's door.
"Come in, Kahu, and sit down. It's nice to see you again." This meant that he had news that wouldn't please Kahu.
"What do you want now?"
"That's not very nice, Kahu. You're grumpy today, though, so I'll forgive you."
"Wouldn't you be grumpy if someone woke you up, very early, on the day that you could finally sleep in, after weeks of rising early?"
"Sorry about that."
"What do you want?"
"Well, remember that partner-up program?"
Of course Kahu did. It was based on a simple idea: in spring, most animals are wandering around in pairs, not alone. So the shapeshifters would have to work in pairs too. In other words, pairing up a boy and a girl. Kahu had always suspected that it wasn't just meant for being less suspicious as well as breeding; more shapeshifters were always useful, and you could only be a shapeshifter when at least one of your parents had been one. Preferably both. She had also thought it was strange that Are had never found her a partner; male hawk/lion/wolf shapeshifters weren't that rare. But maybe no one wanted to pair up with a girl who had a boy's spirit.
"Yes."
"Well, it seems as if I've finally found you a partner!"
Kahu sighed dramatically. "And who did you blackmail this time?"
"He didn't blackmail me," a deep voice said. A tall, young, black-haired man stepped out of the shadows. "I asked him for it."
Kahu thought he was beautiful. "But why?"
"I wanted to meet you."
"Kahu, meet Eyolf," Are said, before Kahu could say something else. "He changes into a wolf. Eyolf, this is Kahu. She is a hawk."
"I know."
"Okay, now that you two know each other, I have a mission for you. You are to go to the Lord and Lady Skye's castle for a week, and take in as much as possible."
"Skye? Aren't they your –" Kahu broke her sentence off, before she could say what Are hated.
"My?"
"Nevermind."
"Good. Off you go, then."
"Yes Are."
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Are sighed when he saw the young shapeshifters walk away. Pairing youngsters always made him feel old. Which he was. It was well past the time for a new eagle to awaken. He knew he had to awaken his heir or heiress. An eagle that had not yet realized his or her powers. He sighed again and rose, calling the guard.
"I'll be gone for a while. No one can enter."
"Yes Lord Are."
Are changed shapes, until a still impressive eagle stood where he had been standing just minutes before. He took off, rising as high as he could manage. There, he cried. It was a cry filled with sorrow and despair, but the end was hopeful. It was a cry meant for someone's heart, not their ears.
Miles to the north, a boy was sitting on a rock and feeling lonely. He knew he was different; all he had to do was watch in a mirror. His eyes were green, a deep, mossy green, and he was short for his age. He did have the black hair that was usual for a boy of the mountains, but his skin was way to light. The other boys had been bullying him again: "What are you doing here? You don't belong here; this school is for mountain people, not for your kind." But his thoughts were interrupted by an eagle's cry. He had heard eagles cry before, but this one was different. This was the first time that he knew what the cry meant. It was meant for a special someone, and this person had to come to the eagle. While he was thinking this way, he looked up, searching for the eagle who had cried, but he all he could see was clear blue sky. He sighed, and decided to go home and face his mother and the other boys of the village where he lived, but when he tried to rise, he found out it was impossible. Puzzled, he looked at his legs. What he saw took his breath away: where his feet should have been, were talons…
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