Chapter 30 Sewer Screwer

I landed in an alley, half a block from the fountain. Dane jumped down and turned to watch as I changed back- this time with clothes on. I concentrated on appearing with a knee-length, ruffled green skirt and a light green tank top with embroidered leaves. I stepped out of the swirling light to see Dane staring at me. "What?"

He shook his head, blinking. "Nothing, I just... nothing."

I raised an eyebrow, but decided not to comment. Turning around, I saw Duncan just completing his change, bluish-green light seeping into the ground around him. Dane seemed to have lost control of his jaw muscles. I grinned at him. "Catching flies?" He snapped his mouth shut and glared at me, then resumed his awed expression. "You told me he was like you, but I didn't think..." He shook his head. "Nevermind."

Duncan, when in human form, looked rather like he should be in X-Men. Something about him seemed to radiate power, even if you couldn't tell exactly what it was. He was muscular, too. His eyes were a brilliant sapphire, and his hair was white-blond. He was taller than me, though that wasn't saying much.

I shrugged, and walked toward the end of the alley. Dane followed, with Duncan trailing behind, glancing around nervously. I sighed as we exited the alleyway. I hope he won't attract attention. I wonder if he's ever even been out in public before?

We wanered down the sidewalk, looking mostly normal, except for the fact that Duncan couldn't stop gawking at every human we passed, and Dane kept giving me slightly nervous glances out of the corner of his eye, like he was wondering what other surprises I might have up my sleeve. Metaphorically speaking.

We arrived at the fountain a few minutes later, and sat down on a nearby park bench to wait. I had contacted Raven on the way and told her to meet us here. So far, there was no sign of her.

We sat silently for awhile, taking in the scenery, listening to the seagulls cry and fight over food scraps people dropped. Then suddenly, I heard something. Dane must have felt me stiffen, for he opened his eyes and sat up. "What is it?"

Far in the distance, I heard what sounded like someone calling for help. I focused on my dragon hearing, trying to channel power into my ears. Suddenly, the sound clarified. "Fiona! Fiona, help! I'm trapped! I'm in the sewer somewhere under the college! Please! He-!" Suddenly, her voice was cut off. I realized I could hear it echoing in the pipes that went by the fountain. I also recognized the voice. "Raven!"

"Fiona, what? What's wrong? Where's Raven?" Dane was shaking my shoulder urgently.

I turned. "She's trapped somewhere under the college, in the sewer! I have no idea what she's doing down there, but-"

"How do you know?" Dane interrupted.

I frowned at him. "I heard her yelling for help."

"Oh." He sat back on the bench with a thump. He looked stunned.

I shook my head and jumped up. "Come on! We can talk about my powers later, but we have to go find her!" I grabbed his arm. Duncan jumped up as well. I wondered briefly if he could hear as well as I could, and if so, whether he had heard Raven calling, but then I frowned and decided I would have to ask him later.

We sprinted back to our alley, Duncan and I outpacing Dane instantly with our super-human speed. I glanced back and slowed down, waiting for Dane to catch up. He was puffing by the time we reached the alley.

I stopped over the top of a manhole cover, then frowned. "Wait. I can't fit down there as a dragon, and I really don't want to go down there as a human..." I trailed off. Duncan was shaking his head. "What?" I asked.

He blinked at me sympathetically. "I suppose you can't be blamed for ignorance, seeing as you were raised by barbarians," Dane cleared his throat loudly. Duncan didn't even spare him a glance. He focused on me intently. "You can change into a human wearing any type of clothes, right?" I nodded, and suddenly I knew where this was going. "Well, you can do the same thing as a dragon, with certain limits of course. Mostly just the reptile Changelings can do this. If you concentrate hard enough, you can appear as large or small as you want. Well, within your age limit, anyway."

I stared at him, confused. "Age limit?"

He nodded. "Yes. Your age limit defines how big or small you can appear. For instance, the smallest most dragon-types can appear is approximately the size of a human baby, although I knew a guy once who could shrink himself down to about the size of your palm... How big you can appear depends on how old you are. The older you are, the bigger you can get. Dragons really never stop growing. I'ts just a matter of focus, which you seem to have down quite well." He eyed my outfit. Dane frowned even more.

"Oh. Wow. Okay then, I guess I'll try it." I concentrated, this time on becoming about the size of a golden retriever. I felt light swirl up from the pavement, but I kept my eyes closed this time, trying to keep the picture in my mind. Finally I felt the light drain away, and opened my eyes to find myself looking...up...at Dane and Duncan. "It worked!" My voice was normal, to my relief. I had hoped it wouldn't be all squeaky or anything. I turned around and stabbed my tail into the manhole cover, flinging it across the alley. I turned back to the others. "Come on!"

Dane grinned weakly. "Remind me never to make you angry."

I snorted. "Let's just go!"

We dove into the hole. I went down first, with Duncan, who had also changed, coming down behind me, and Dane in the rear. I found the ladder built into the side of the shaft and climbed down, head first, until I reached the tunnel. I opened my wings, trying to measure the distance between the walls, then suddenly, my grip on the ceiling slipped. I flipped around and snapped my wings open, flapping hard to keep from hitting... whatever was down there. I felt the tips of my wings brush something wet and slimy, and I shuddered. That was close! Then- thwack! the tip of one wing hit a ledge toward one side of the tunnel. "Ack, ouchouchouchouch!" I fluttered down and landed on the platform, just as I heard the other two come down the ladder, which happened to be positioned directly above the ledge.

I flexed my wingtip expirmentally. It ached a little, but seemed only bruised, not broken. I looked around. My eyes began to get used to the tiny bit of light that filtered down from the grates spaced sporatically along the tunnel. I could hear nothing but the dripping of water.

Dane dropped down beside me. I could hear Duncan flapping around somewhere near the ceiling.

"Ummm, Fiona? I can't fly." Dane's voice bounced off the walls, echoing hollowly.

I turned around. Dane's eyes were staring off into the distance, focused on nothing. It was obvious he couldn't see a thing.

"Dane?"

"yeah?"

I slipped my tail around his waist. "Hold on tight!" I took off, flapping as hard as I could. Dane gave a yell as he was jerked into the air. I lurched downward for a moment, then, flapping like the devil was after me, I shot down the tunnel. We zigzagged through the the smelly maze, me in the lead, keeping my ears perked. there seemed to be a hub of pipes centered around the fountain. Every time I passed under the center, I could hear the faint rushing of water and the sound of voices directly above me. Finally, after many passes, I heard a small moan from what seemed to be a dead end. I landed quietly at the end of the tunnel, which, thankfully, was dry.

There, in the wall at the very end of the tunnel, was a large iron door. The handle was chained and padlocked shut, with what seemed to be a brand new padlock. It couldn't have been down in the sewers for more than a week without rusting, but it looked shiny new. I set Dane down, much to his relief, and swiped at the lock with my tail, breaking it. I pulled the chains off, not caring how much noise I made. The door swung open silently, the hinges obviously well oiled.

Cautiously, we crept inside. I sniffed, and caught the faintest whiff of... "Raven?"

A weak groan answered me, and I ran forward. Raven lay on the floor, a large purple bruise marring one cheek. Her eyes were open, but she looked barely conscious. She reached out unsteadily and grabbed my forearm, pulling herself up to my ear. She whispered, so faintly I could barely understand, "The... Shadowshifters... are... here..."