Lions and Tigers and Boys

Prologue

Cai

One of the advantages of living on a private school campus set in the majestic deep woods of Oregon before the start of the fall semester is the lack of eyes on you when you want to do something secret and dangerous. Tonight was one of those times.

I crept through the trees, inhaling the familiar smells around me—fresh dirt dug up by some rodent, a possum by the dank odor of its coat; the dew drops still lingering on the leaves of the red alder from the afternoon rain shower; and the minerals in the water of the stream meandering nearby. There was nothing better than the scent of nature. Well, maybe the breeze on my fur and skin as I went for a long run through the grounds. Something I was going to have to cut back on when the new students arrived in a few days. Seeing a two-hundred-pound tiger running loose through the Oregon woods would likely be sending them into hysterics and calling animal control. I didn't need that kind of humdrum drama; I had enough of my very own to last a few lifetimes.

The path to the dilapidated old building on the far edge of the school grounds was worn, not enough that anyone would be curious to travel it but enough that I could follow it without the benefit of any man-made light. The glow of the moon was the only light I needed, even in the pitch black of the night. Thanks to my superior animal vision.

As I approached the old stone building, I passed yellow caution signs warning to keep out and danger. I ignored them, considering I was way more dangerous than some old rundown building, and kept going until I reached the heavy metal door. I couldn't open it in my present state. Crouching, I forced the shift inside my body. It was never a pleasant experience. Pain rippled through my long feline body as bones shortened and rearranged themselves into a different order. My fur receded, my fangs sinking back into my gums, until I was no longer a tiger on all fours but a teenage boy, naked and sweating from the effort of the shift.

Thankfully there was a set of clothes in a bag on the ground by the door for me. Someone knew I'd be coming in disguise to the secret meeting. Once dressed, I pushed open the heavy metal door that always creaked. It was a good early warning system, in case someone did decide to check things out. The creak could be heard throughout the building, giving us all time to vacate if needed.

I walked through the building, stepping over trash and broken furniture, to the basement stairs. I knew I would be the last to arrive, as we had a timed schedule for when each of us came to the building, all from different directions. It was very cloak and dagger, and I had to admit it was part of the allure for me.

At the bottom of the stairs, I pushed open another metal door and walked into a huge empty space that seemed like it shouldn't have existed, considering the size of the building. Sure enough, everyone was already there, waiting for me. My best friend and surrogate brother, Leander; Professor Marvel; Professors Li and Bo Kwan; Frank, who had raised me since I was a little boy and for all intents and purposes was my adoptive father; new instructor to the school Gisele Deveau; Shen, a senior at the school with the best sleight of hand tricks I'd ever seen (and I'd seen David Blaine in person); and Daphne, another senior who possessed extraordinary high-wire skills. Then there were Ozzy and Loki, a Siberian tiger and Southwest African lion, respectively, in their individual cages. They were both pacing, anticipating the next events.

This was the inner circle, the crew. We each possessed a set of singular skills needed for the operation and a family lineage to back it up. It was no coincidence that we had all ended up at the Oswald Zinzendorf School of Circus Arts.