The Forgotten Shifter

Chapter 19

'Before we begin to walk the next two miles,' I began, and David snapped his head backwards to stare at me. 'I will scout the area for guards, in my raven form, invisible against the night sky and high enough above where I will not be seen at all.' I immediately shifted into the raven, my wings flexing, and my feathers shimmering in the pale moonlight. To my surprise, David's face had a not look of disappointment, but a proud sort of look. He gazed upon me as I flew, and he smiled a wolfy grin.

The wind buffeted the feathers that surrounded the flexible bones in my wings. The air was cooler up here, but it was refreshing, and distracted me from the stress and anxiety of the upcoming battle. We didn't want any casualties of our pack tonight, and we need to rescue Morgan. Luke seemed so determined in wolf form, and his eyes glistened when David had been speaking. I knew that he would be one of the best fighters tonight, as grief usually pushed anyone to do bigger and better things.

As I soared through the air, high above the treetops, I made sure to look out for anything that could be a problem for us tonight. Below, Cassia's residence stood, surrounded by spruce trees. Fire and indoor ligthing illuminated the ground, and I could visibly see guards standing on each side. 'There's no way in without any guards noticing.' Canis sighed, but I ignored her. Between us attacking from all sides, and the shadows that darkened certain areas, I had no doubt that we could infiltrate the castle.

'All clear, David. We're ready to go.' I mind-linked David, and didn't wait for a reply. I dove downwards, swooping in front of the main entrance. The darkness would conceal the wolves, and I would be able to use my shifting abilities to sneak around. I flew to a window ledge, high above the ground, and waited the few tense minutes before David gave me a signal, and a battle would finally break out.

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I remained on the windowsill, and I watched the sway of the branches in the wind. Everyone was in position, and it was agreed that I would go with Luke and a few others to rescue Morgan. The attacks would go in one minute intervals, so it wouldn't take much time in between before everyone that had come was fighting. My heart rate picked up, and I swooped down to a low hanging branch that was near Luke and the other wolves. He was startled at first by my sudden appearance, but then realized that it was me.

He bowed his head, and we all stood silently before we heard a howl in the distance. David's 'team' was starting the battle, and they had gotten a surprise attack on Cassias's home. A rush of relief swept over me, and I hoped that David would stay safe. With one last look at Luke, he raised his tail, and we struck. The bodies of wolves stealthily moved in the darkness, approaching the area of the castle that we would attack. The guards called for others, but they didn't stand a chance as we attacked. Hundreds of Cassias's guards poured out of the castle, but the wolves were ruthless.

'We have to infiltrate the castle,' I mind-linked Luke. He looked at me in my raven form and nodded. He began to attack guards, and killed them only when he had to. The others followed, and blood was shed from everywhere. I began to panic, looking around at ourwolves. The injuries on our wolves weren't bad yet, but I was anxious. I had never been in a siege such as this before. It was exciting, the battle-type atmosphere, but it was also nerve-wrecking.

I swooped underneath the doorway, and landed on a sculpture in the main hall. I wanted to help, but in order to carry out the full plan, I sill needed to be in this form. If I had shifted in front of the enemy, my cover would be blown.

Outside, a screech was brought to my attention. I tensed as I saw a flicker of blood, and a neck of one of our wolves broken. I almost choked; I hadn't wanted any deaths from our side tonight, but we had to raise the count to one. I lowered my head, and closed my eyes. We wold have to wait until we got back home before we could have a proper burial. His funeral would be held after the battle. I looked back up, and saw that Luke and the others had gotten into the castle, and had gotten rid of the guards.