Chapter 31 Some party!

I stared down at my prostrate friend, petrified. They're coming! The shifters! I stood up, and realized that I had changed unconsciously while I was sitting there. "We have to get out of here! Now!"

I snatched up Raven, and we bolted for the tunnel. I had never tried to change while running, but I concentrated anyway, and just as we reached the threshold, watery light began to rush past my feet, and collected into a sort of a doorway in front of me. I didn't hesitate, but jumped through it, changing almost instantly the moment I passed through. Wow! That could come in handy.

Suddenly I remembered Dane. Crap.

I turned around, despairingly, looking at him. I'll never be able to carry them both, and I don't want to leave ether of them down here to risk facing a shifter, or heaven forbid, more than one! Suddenly, I had an idea. I peered up through the gloom, searching the tunnel ceiling for... aha! I turned to Dane. "I found a way out! There's manhole in the ceiling, with a ladder leading to it. I'll get it open, then you have to help me get Raven out!"

He nodded, still staring into space. I sighed. Did I mention humans have terrible darkvision?

I set Raven down and grabbed his shoulder with one claw. "Come on, it's over here."

We emerged into a parking lot under the El train, drawing stares and exclamations from passersby. I ignored them and picked up Raven. "I need to get her home. Duncan? Can you carry Dane? I can't carry both of them at once."

Duncan looked as if he would rather carry a poisonous snake, but he agreed. We rose into the air, laboring upwards through the gusts and away from the smell and noise of the city. I wanted to land, to change back to my normal size, but I decided I needed to get Raven home as soon as posible.

Fifteen minutes later, helped by a tailwind from the lake, I settled in front of the barn, gently placing Raven on the ground. I changed, the light slurping away just as Duncan landed with Dane, and picked up Raven, carrying her quickly into the house.

Once inside, I laid her down on the pile of straw on the first level, unable to carry her unconscious form up the ladder. Duncan ran to the 'kitchen', and brought back a bowl of water with a rag in it to wash her face.

Dane stared down at Raven. "What do you think is wrong with her?" He asked quietly.

I shook my head helplessly. "I don't know! She seemed fine this morning. Something must have happened to her." Neither of us mentioned the Shifters, but the thought of their prescence hung in the air like a raincloud.

Suddenly, Raven moaned and opened her eyes. "Raven!" I scooted toward her on my knees. "What happened to you?"

She licked her lips. "Can I have some water? This might take awhile..."

I nodded to Duncan, who ran toward the kitchen without a word. I noticed then that he hadn't said anything since we had found Raven in the sewer. I shook my head. He probably just doesn't want to get in the way. Still, I wondered.

Dane returned with a glass full of water, walking carefully so as not to spill it. Raven sat up and took a long swallow, then began to speak, avoiding everyone's eyes. "The first thing you should know, is that I haven't been entirely honest with you. Fiona especially." She glanced up at me, then gazed back into her cup. "I...always knew you were a Changeling. I was sent by your parents to be a guardian, of sorts. You see, I am actually a Changling too. Though not a Royale." She paused, and glanced up at me again, no doubt to try and read my expression. I was too shocked to respond. Her face fell, but she continued. "Your parents...were in great danger. They knew the shifters were after them. I really don't know much more, except that they wanted to keep you safe. So, they left you, and me, their lady-in-waiting's daughter, near a small town in northern Wisconsin." She took a sip of her water, glancing around nervously. "As to why the shifters locked me in that sewer... well, I was at the news agency when I spotted it. A shifter, just disappearing into an alley. I should have guessed it was a trap, though how they knew where I was going to be..." She trailed off with a frown, her eyes unfocused, then shook her head and continued. "I chased that thing for blocks. Finally, It came to a small iron door that lead under a building. By this time, I was becoming suspicious, and I went in only after I was sure it wasn't going to come right back out. I shouldn't have gone in at all." She shook her head and took another gulp of water. "But I went in. The last thing I remember was trying to see in the pitch blackness down there. I don't even remember getting knocked out. Just... waking up in that disgusting sewer, chained and alone. I don't know what they were planning to do with me, but it couldn't have been good..." She shuddered and fell silent.

I blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend the new load if information that had just been piled onto my shoulders. I felt like I was about to be crushed. So I blurted out the first question that came to mind. "What do you Change into?"

She looked up, surprised. "I think you can guess."

I frowned, then my eyes widened as I understood. "A Raven, right?"

She nodded. "Hence the name," she said with a wry smile.

"Can I see it?"

She nodded again. "Sure." She stood stiffly and closed her eyes. Instead of light, however, stuff that erupted from the ground around her was obsidian black, sparkling like coal dust. Instead of light, she seemed to be encased in a rippling cocoon of pulverized coal. It shrank rapidly, conforming to her body's mass, then dissipated, melting into the ground like oil. Standing where her best friend had been sitting a moment before, was an exceptionally large raven. It cocked it's head. "Well?"

I jumped, slightly started to hear my best friend's voice coming out of that long, bladelike beak. "Wow...that's amazing, Raven." I giggled a little.

"What?" She asked, cocking her head the other direction.

I shook my head, still chuckling. "It's just that, well, your parents were kind of stating the obvious when they named you."

Raven's ruff rose along her spine, and for a moment I was afraid I had insulted her, but then suddenly she burst out laughing. "Yeah, I guess they were!"

Suddenly, Dane, who had been standing over to one side, watching quietly, suddenly decided to speak up. "Hey, if Raven's alright, and nobody is too tired, maybe..." He hesitated. "Maybe we could go ahead with that party?"

Raven cawed loudly, startling us all, and nodded in approval. "I need some fun after that experience!"

I grinned, then glanced at Duncan, who seemed to be trying to keep a straight face. He nodded as well, and I clapped my hands. "Well, then. It seems we have some restaurant choosing to do. Who's up for DQ?"