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THE LIZARD.
I stepped onto the log beside him, towering over him for a moment, which made him lean back at first, then forward in surprise as, a handful of seconds later, he peered down at my small, green, four-legged shape. I flicked my tongue out at him to signal it was complete.
“Wow,” he said on a breath. “I’d have never...” He shook his head, searching for words. “Can you go smaller?”
I dipped my leathery chin in a nod, and shrunk down to the flea I’d tried the previous night. Because it was familiar now, the change was not nearly as difficult. In fact, I could still change two or even three times more before I’d begin to tire. If my flea form could’ve smiled, I would have.
As it was, Asher had dropped his face until he was level with the trunk, trying to find me.
I gave a little hop.
“Ha!” His response almost blew me away. Literally. “Can you grow larger as well?”
I took my time, answering by shifting, forming first a large body, then thick, muscled bear-like legs with elongated claws, and the ox-like head of a Lacklore.
This was a creature I’d never attempted before. Not only because it would’ve been impossible to hide my Gift if I’d attempted it in the city, but I’d also never seen a Lacklore alive in person. I’d only ever seen a stuffed one in a museum, and the partial pelt on my father’s chair.
As a result, this shift was far more difficult and time-consuming, as I tried to visualize the living version. I wished I’d brought a meal with me—after a change this drastic I was going to be famished.
When I completed the change and blinked my huge black eyes at Asher, he could barely blink back.
I studied the long length of the claws and the way they left deep gouges in the soft grass and dirt. Lifting those sharp claws, I wiggled them in a wave.
Asher leapt back. Blushing when he caught himself, he forced a hoarse laugh. “I don’t know what to say. It’s—You’re—I just... I can’t believe you’ve kept this a secret. Shift back so you can talk to me! Do you realize all the things you could do with this Gift?”
I took longer than I really needed to return to my Jinni form, partly to conserve my strength, but also to give me time to think about what he meant.
One thing I hadn’t shown him yet, which I’d barely even begun to experiment with, was tiny, incremental changes to my own features. As I shifted back to my usual form, I enhanced my dark lashes and the rosy tint of my lips and cheeks, deepening the blue in my eyes from a pale shallow pool to a deep, clear lake. As my sharpened teeth returned to their usual rounded state, I made them straighter too. When I smiled at Asher, I paid close attention to see if he’d notice any of the minor changes.
He stood squinting at me with a small crease between his brows. “Why is it that I feel as if I’m seeing you differently? It’s like I never truly saw you before...”
This time I did laugh. A light happiness settled over me. Instead of pointing out what I’d done, I just smiled at him.
I might keep the changes going forward. Maybe even make a few other adjustments. They were easy enough. So minor, in fact, that it took about as much effort as walking a step. And once I set them in place, they were as permanent as all my other changes, staying exactly this way until I made another change.
It occurred to me for the first time that perhaps I could slow down aging. That I might live longer than most Jinn, maybe even... forever?
My eyes widened.
Forever was an incredibly long time. Long enough to escape my father for good. To leave bad memories behind. I could become something—or someone—new?
Turning my back on Asher for a moment to savor this new revelation without letting him see, I walked to the middle of the clearing before I turned back to him.
“I guess I’m starting to realize what I could do...” I finally answered his earlier question. “Probably more than I ever imagined.” Gesturing to my short day dress that ended above my knees, I touched the pale cream fabric to focus my ability, and it extended into an evening gown that brushed the soft, grassy floor.
This, I had learned out of necessity the night before. But now I took it a step further. Still clutching the soft fabric, I imagined it as a different color. The cream rippled and changed in a wave of color to a deep teal as if it’d been doused in a dye.
“Does it have to be touching you?” Asher asked with wide, curious eyes as he stepped closer to get a better look. “Or does it remain changed even when you... take it off?” A blue blush rose in his pale cheeks, though he held my gaze.
“Are you trying to get me out of my dress?” I meant to sound flirtatious and confident, but the words came out breathy and girlish.
Before he could answer and make the situation more awkward, I dropped to the ground to sit, pulling the dress back to view my sandals, which were laced all the way from my ankle to my knee.
The wrap style was way too thick and out of fashion. With a touch to the tan laces to orient myself, I attempted to thin them into the elegance of the current style, changing them to a shimmery teal as well, to match my lavish gown.
Though it worked, I bit my lip as I unlaced one of them slowly. Part of me wished Asher wasn’t here. I didn’t like to experiment when others were around.
Now that he’d given me the idea, though, I had to know.
Untying the last lace, I slipped the sandal off.
Asher crouched down across from me.
I met his eyes briefly before I set it ceremoniously between us... and let go.
It reverted immediately to its true form.
Thick, old, tan laces.
Clenching my fists, I struggled to breathe calmly and not show Asher how frustrated I was.
I hated failure.
“Bel,” he said when I didn’t look up.
I kept my gaze firmly on the sandal, pretending to study it as if I could somehow change the outcome, though I knew for a fact I couldn’t.
“Bel,” he tried again, moving to sit beside me. “This is a good thing.”
I scowled at him. “How?”
“Now you know one of your limits.” He spread his hands as if it were obvious. “You have to know these things to learn what you can do. Any mentor would tell you that.”
I wrapped my arms around my legs and bit back the urge to say, I wouldn’t know.
He reached out and tugged on the teal fabric of my gown, which hadn’t changed. “As long as it’s touching you, it sticks, right?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Does the change need to be on something living? Change my sandals. See if they revert back when you let go.”
Despite the pit of doubt in my stomach, my spirits rose a little at his confidence in me. Maybe it wasn’t so bad that he was here. Eyeing his sandals, which were as out of date as mine, I smirked. With only a tiny bit of effort, I turned them into furry snow boots instead.
The look on his face made me giggle.
“Hey!” he yelled, but then we realized at the same time that when I’d let go, they’d remained changed. He shook his head, but his tone was calmer as he grumbled, “I expect you to change those back.”
“Take them off,” I suggested instead, both curious and growing tired. I needed to reserve at least enough strength to return my dress back to normal before I went home.
I leaned forward as he tugged one of the boots off and set it in the same place I’d put my sandal. When it stood on its own, it once again reverted to its original form. Asher didn’t waste any time yanking the other snow boot off to get his sandals back, strapping them on again hesitantly, almost as if he expected them to have a mind of their own.
With a sigh, I laid back on the grass and stared up at the faraway human-world version of the clouds.
Asher flopped down beside me, eyes soft, lips curled in a contented smile. “It’s an incredible Gift,” he whispered, though no one else was around. “Beautiful. Jinn are foolish to be afraid of it.”
I blushed. Though I managed to keep it from visibly reaching my cheeks, I couldn’t quite stop myself from lowering my eyes to our hands between us.
He reached out, tangling his long fingers with mine, playing with them.
It was somehow more intimate than the kiss.
Another step across the invisible line between friends and something more.
But unlike the daleth, I didn’t know if either of us were making it on purpose, or if it was inevitable. Something I’d wanted for so long that I wasn’t sure what to do when it actually happened.
I closed my eyes and allowed a small smile.
“I know what we could try!” Asher’s hand tightened on mine unexpectedly, startling me. I looked over at him.
He’d propped himself up on his elbow, and his sharp gaze pinned me in place.
I couldn’t explain why his expression made me hold my breath. My heart began to race. As I sat up to listen, I subtly pulled my hand back into my lap. “As long as it’s nothing huge. I don’t have much energy left.”
He just studied me.
“I’m waiting,” I said, curling inward, away from him, as the silence stretched.
Not letting me rush him, he merely leaned closer. “Since you’ve obviously been keeping this to yourself, I assume you haven’t had a chance to try shifting someone else...”
I blew out an anxious breath, relieved. “I already told you, I haven’t shifted into anyone else.” At least, I amended silently to myself as I remembered the little human boy from the other night, not another Jinni. Not anyone I actually know personally. And I didn’t want to.
“No, no.” He grinned, either not noticing or ignoring my discomfort. “Not into someone else, actually shifting someone else. Simple shifters can become one creature, right? More complex shifters can become multiple creatures or persons. But the rarest form of shifting—” he faltered over the next words, but I still heard them: the most dangerous form. He chose to skip over it. “The rarest is a Jinni who can not only shift their own form, but also someone else’s.”
Though it wasn’t really a question, I still shook my head, frowning. I didn’t like where this was going.
He sat up and took my hand again, squeezing it with a gentle pressure. “Bel, what if you could?” When I immediately started to shake my head again, he squeezed harder, until it actually hurt. “Just think about it,” he insisted. “Can you imagine all the things we could do?”
We? The choice of words didn’t escape me.
“I can,” he continued. “The possibilities are practically limitless! What could it hurt to try?”
“Maybe tomorrow.” I put him off. His interest in my Gift had been sweet at first, but for some reason it was starting to make me uncomfortable. Why was he so fascinated by it? Was I becoming another one of his enchanted items—another obsession? I shrugged off the uneasiness. This was Asher. We’d grown up together. I was probably reading too much into it.
Still, I needed time to think. After another heavy silence, weighed down with all his requests, I stood and said, “I should get home before I’m missed.”