Thea hesitated and looked at her horse; she swished her tail at a fly, oblivious of what everyone spoke about. If the Conversion failed, Ceil would be gone. "I don't want that to happen!"

Aunt Fanella smiled. "Beginner's tip number one. When you feel your Kundalini rise through your Chakras, you have to let the power flow through you instead of resisting; make sure you open up instead of holding back."

Thea recalled the uncomfortable sensation when she had attempted to heal Cecelia. "How?"

"We'd better practice that." Aunt Fanella fetched the feather from the nearby fallen tree and held it out to Thea, who suddenly couldn't take her eyes off the beautiful bird perched there on the log. "Call her to you," Aunt Fanella suggested.

Thea closed her eyes and pictured the Sigil Aunt Fanella had carved in the log. She remembered the inner Symbol, and she used the tip of the feather to draw it in the earth beside the larger blood-Insignia. Then she closed her eyes again and pictured the carved Insignia. After a moment, Thea drew the outer Circle to complete the Insignia.

Thea furrowed her brow at the owl and remembered the Word her aunt had used to call the bird. "Belua," she said, and she doubled over as a warm breeze surged around her body. She needed to channel her Power into the Insignia, so she focused on the Circle, but it was already too late. The rush of the Alchemy disappeared, and nothing happened.

Thea tried again; she spoke louder this time. Again, on instinct she fought the surge of power that coursed around her, but she managed to open up in time to feel her consciousness start to fade away. Thea gave up and blinked in surprise as her Kundalini swirled around her head and caressed her face like a soft feather.

"I can't get it to work."

"Try again," Aunt Fanella said. "Focus on the Insignia." She pointed to the last line Thea had traced in the earth. "This is called the Ostium, the point where your Kundalini will enter the Insignia."

Thea nodded and inhaled a deep breath. Before she spoke the Word again, Thea focused on the swirl of power around herself. She imagined herself reaching out to take hold of the Energy and pull it to the Insignia. Then she thought about what she was about to do, and she realized something. Just an hour or so ago, Thea had called a wild bird to her side while she sat up in her favorite oak tree. Was this any different? Besides the Word, the Circle, and the feather, she felt that it was the same. She knew she could do it.

Thea felt her Energy stir in a more natural way, and she breathed calmly. Finally, she spoke the Word, "Belua!" Her Kundalini swirled around her head. The power built up until she shook with giddiness. Then she remembered the Circle in front of her, and she looked down at the Symbol. With a shiver, she felt the warmth of her Kundalini rush down her hand.

The Insignia began to fill up with a blue light. Thea allowed herself to smile in wonder as the Insignia began to glow and the blue light coiled up from the center of the Insignia and drifted up through the air to the gray owl. The bird stretched its wings and took flight.

As docile as a kitten, the owl alighted in front of Thea. The blue light gathered over her head, and she felt the tingling warmth and shivery chill stir her long curly hair. Then she immediately understood why her aunt had meditated after she had saved her from the rogue lupitris. She felt exhausted.

Thea's mother called for a mandatory fifteen-minute break, while her father and aunt discussed the exact proportions necessary to shrink Cecelia so that when she combined with the owl, her new wings would be large enough to carry her in flight. Thea was supposed to meditate while her mother stood watch, but just the thought of shrinking her horse was enough to worry her. But then she remembered that Twitchet was the size of a kitten one moment and the size of a jaguar the next.

She watched in awe as her father started to shrink Cecelia down to the size of a foal, and then continued to shrink her until she was smaller than a miniature pony, and Thea started to wonder just how small would be too small. When he finally ended the Conversion, Cecelia was barely more than a foot tall. As big as a medium-sized dog.

"Okay, Thea," he said as he came back with a single hair from Cecelia's tail. "Use that Sigil again to call Ceil this time."

Thea gave the feather back to Aunt Fanella and took the hair from her father. "Belua," she said with her eyes on the Ostium of the Beast Insignia. Her Kundalini responded more quickly this time, though it was still a challenge to get her Energy to channel into the Circle.

The Sigil glowed blue, and Cecelia trotted over. Thea stared at her miniature horse and thought about all the times she had called her to her side with only a mental touch. This time, it had been very different, almost as if she had made the horse move, while the horse had always chosen to come before.

"You really catch on quickly," Aunt Fanella marveled. "Plus your Kundalini seems to be strong enough. The Amalgamation Conversion will take more power to respond though, so remember to open yourself up and focus on the Ostium of your Insignia while you channel your Kundalini. Don't be afraid to chant the Code Word." She knelt down and whispered the Amalgamation Code Word into Thea's ear.

Finally, with Cecelia positioned over the Insignia and the owl placed onto the miniature horse's back, it was time to perform the Amalgamation Conversion, and Thea took a big quivering breath and said, "Unesco!"

Thea felt her Kundalini surge around her body. The power grew and grew until it felt like it would rip her apart. Aunt Fanella whispered, "Remember," and Thea realized she needed to funnel her Kundalini into the Insignia.

She glared at the Ostium and began to chant "Unesco," while the Energy swirled around her head and finally flowed into the Insignia. The Symbol pulsed with orange light. Tiny streams of orange Energy dripped upward to her horse and the owl and connected the three of them.

Then the Alchemy started to take effect, and the power melted into the animals. Cecelia reared on her hind legs and the owl spread its wings. Before their eyes, the owl melded into the tiny horse until only the wings were visible. Then Cecelia's brown and white pinto patterns slowly morphed into the dappled speckled gray patterns of the owl. Finally the Conversion was complete when Cecelia sprouted feathers in her mane and tail. Soft tufts of downy feathers fluttered at her hooves, ears, and withers, where the large wings attached to her back.

Cecelia settled back on all four legs and turned to Thea, her round yellow owl-eyes on Thea's face, and instantly Thea knew that her Chimaera might look more like a horse, but the creature's mind was dominated by the owl. Then just as Thea was about to pass out, she felt a connection to the Chimaera she had created. She could sense her noctos inside of herself, like a second consciousness that gave off a warm, fuzzy, and slightly uncomfortable sensation, a stranger eavesdropping on her thoughts and emotions.

Thea went heavy in her aunt's arms and nodded off to dreamland.

She dreamt that she was flying. She flew above a beautiful green country. Over her right shoulder, a blood-red sunset chased after her.

Thea flew over farm country and villages until the sun set, and she flew on into the twilight sky until the stars came out and formed a backdrop. The wind whistled through her feathers. She passed over a large city with twinkling lights, and Thea almost confused them with the stars. She almost couldn't tell which way was up. It was wonderful.

Over hills and streams, Thea flew until she came across a small town with a small old church atop a hill. She decided to stop there for a moment and came to rest in a field next to a strange pattern in the grass, similar to a Conversion Circle. Thea stared at the circular maze in the grass while she rested from the long flight, then finally she took to the sky and flew up the hill toward the church.

She landed on the cobbled road leading to the small chapel, and that's when Thea realized that she wasn't herself. She had hooves for hands and feet, and she walked on all fours.

An old man emerged from the chapel and walked calmly down the cobblestone road to Thea, reached out a wrinkled hand, and touched Thea's forehead. Like a sugar cube left in the rain, Thea's outer form began to melt away. Her hooves leaked into the road, her wings drooped and dripped away, and slowly, Thea became a girl again.

But somehow, Thea knew that she wasn't just a girl anymore.

Then her dream ended, and Thea opened her eyes.

Thank you for continuing to enjoy this story with me. Are you excited about Thea's Chimaera? Don't forget to vote and leave a comment if you would like. I truly enjoy hearing from my readers. What do you think of Thea's dream? I hope to see you again soon for the next chapter.

~A.C.