The Shifters: Katrina

Two weeks later, and with no word from Koren, I was getting nervous. Coraline was a shut-in, sticking to her office as she dealt with any random paperwork she could get her hands on. Guards were on double the patrolling, and our teachers were acting cagey. Willa took me back in for training, taking Shae and I for several private lessons.

Like what we were doing now.

"You've both improved," Willa was saying, floating on a sphere of pure ice. She was several meters above us in the air. "So now, we're going to try separating your concentration. With one hand, make solid ice. A column to stand on, that will take you into the air. With the other, make plain water. We're going to change the weather, at least in this area. Make it rain, girls."

Shae and I shared smug glances. We both nodded at our master, starting right away. A blue glow wrapped around my wrist, my palm facing down. Water began to gather at my feet, turning to ice. I had to balance carefully, trying not to slip as layers of ice began to stack on top of each other. The effort of growing a column from nothing had my blue glow raging along my forearm, drips of sweat rolling down my temples. I gritted my teeth, surging upward until I reached Willa's height. Shae followed soon after, panting.

"Higher, girls. I want people to think it's really raining."

Great. Thanks, Willa.

The two of us made it upward, standing on a column of slick ice high above solid ground. My heart thundered in my chest, and I was afraid to look down.

However, my fear was chased away by a flash of blue and the sound of flapping wings. I was a dragon, which meant that even if I fell, I would survive.

A grin lit up my face. While I held my column in place, making sure it kept its form, I used my other hand to gather swirling, lukewarm water. With a slow, calm breath, I tossed the water out onto the trees and grass, mentally slicing it into tiny droplets. They began to fall, multiplying in seconds. I gathered more, my hand tracing circles in the air as I conjured water, threw it, split it and felt it rain down.

"Wider radius, Katrina. Reach the town."

I rolled my eyes. Challenge after damn challenge.

I clenched my fist, throwing it forward. The water followed, the column below my feet rocking. I gasped as the ice began to crack, unable to hold its form. My rain flew over the town, the drops misshapen and fat as I lost concentration. Unable to keep my split focus, the rain simply stopped appearing, my hands latching onto the sides of my column. I felt my power surge through it, the ice glowing blue as I repaired the cracks and forced it to stand straight once again.

"Katrina!" Shae called. Her column had shrunk, but her rain was successful. "Don't fall, whatever you do!"

I panted, gritting my teeth. I had to balance as if I was surfing, slowly straightening.

"I'm good!"

In hindsight, what happened next was rather ironic.

"Katrina, you're not good! Look out!"

Note that Willa said look out.

I just looked at her.

"Huh? What's your--"

I screamed as my column of ice shook, a large crack stemming from the midpoint. It was destroyed, shattering in an instant. It fell apart, and I fell with it.

What's going on? That wasn't me, for once.

Someone else attacked it. Someone hit the center, so that I would fall.

If only I had time to look back, to see who hit my ice.

Unfortunately, I was busy plummeting to something that could very well kill me. Not only was the ground, you know, solid, but sharp shards of ice were also waiting for me to land on them. I forced myself to stop screaming, instead focusing on saving myself.

"Katrina!"

I held up a hand, stopping the ice that Willa sent my way to catch me. With a groan of effort, I felt the transformation begin to wash over me.

Before my eyes, my hand went from being attached to an arm and fingers to being covered in black scales, with talons instead of finger nails.

A breath later, and leathery wings flared out from my back. I roared in anger, flipping mid air and ascending to a safer zone.

I'm okay.

The two, my trainer and training partner, sighed in relief.

"Who did that?" Willa growled, glaring at the world around us. "Who attacked you?"

I don't know, I answered grimly, hovering next to Shae's column. If they attacked again, I would be there to catch her. But it was someone from Iluita. Otherwise there would be more commotion by now. And they knew me by face.

My thoughts turned personal, not directed at either of those two.

If someone wanted to just kill any one of us, they would've attacked Shae. She can't fly, after all. She would've been toast. But they went after me... Which meant I had to have been the target.

Slowly, I drifted down to the ground. Flying felt freeing and natural, but I didn't have time to take off. My four feet hit the ground, soon turning into two feet and two hands. I coughed, exhausted after using so much energy in a short amount of time.

"Katrina, we should report to Coraline," Willa ordered, the master joining me on the ground. Shae followed soon after, lowering her column until it was short enough to jump off. My partner knelt next to me, rubbing my back as I panted like a dog.

"We need Koren to hurry up," I groaned, pushing myself up. "We can't keep hanging around anymore. This is proof enough that Xavier is making his move, I'm sure of it."

"What is Koren doing?" The two of them asked in unison.

I looked up, sweat rolling down my face. The ice around us was beginning to melt around the edges, disappearing as I let go of my control over it.

I met their eyes, only to glance in the direction of Coraline's building, the center of all for Iluita.

"Getting ready for a war."