Black Fire

As I walked with Naomi I got bored so I started shifting randomly. First I was a deer, then a horse, and then a lion.

"Stop! Please!" Naomi pleaded. "I'm getting dizzy!"

I shifted into Naomi. "Dizzy, eh? That means it's working." I chuckled. "Oh! I'm so dizzy! I can't take it anymore!" I mimicked her voice exactly; one of the many things a shifter can do.

"Now you're just mocking me," she said.

I went back to my human form. "Yup."

She walked up her driveway to her front door. "Goodnight now, Raven Von Shryker Lynn," she said formally, using my full name now. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Me? Stupid?" I asked innocently and she rolled her eyes. "Why would you say such a thing, dearest Naomi?"

She sighed. "See you tomorrow, Ren."

"Yeah, bye." I waved briefly and shifted into a raven. I flew off in the direction of my home.

I loved ravens; it was my favorite form to shift into. And that's how I got my name. When I was little I lived far out in the country. And every evening as the sun would set, painting the sky with pink and orange, I would go out into the field and play with the ravens that were always there. I liked them and they liked me.

That's when my mother gave me the nickname Black Raven. I was her little bird, as she would say.

I loved my mother. I didn't really have a father. He was always drunk and rarely came home, though I still saw him at least. But then he never came home one day. So I only had a mother really. Just me and her.

So I thought...

It was a very stormy and dark day out; my favorite kind of weather. My mother seemed very panicked. I was sitting on the wooden floor, just playing with my dolly when my mother told Gabriella, our maid, to hide me. I didn't know what was going on. I was only nine.

"Now, Madeline," Gabriella said, calling me by my real name, "we have to go down to the cellar now." She picked me up.

"Can Martha come too?" I asked and held up my dolly.

"Yes, Martha can come too."

Gabriella took me down to the cellar and told me to be very quiet. Why I wanted to ask.

When the cellar door opened she stood in front of me protectively. I didn't understand.

Her position relaxed though when it was just my mother. She still looked very panicked and worried.

She put both hands on either side of my face and said, "Madeline, dear, this might be the last time we'll see each other." There were tears in her eyes, and I felt like I might cry.

"What's going on, Mommy?" But then there was loud knocking on our door and she gasped.

"Open up," a furious voice commanded.

"Gabriella, make sure they don't find Madeline, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Mommy, Martha's scared," I said.

She quick leaned in and kissed my forehead.

"Take care, my little raven."

And then she was gone.

Gabriella told me to go hide in the corner. I did as she said.

"Where are the others?" I heard the furious voice ask.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm the only one." If I wasn't so nervous I would have been proud of my mother. She was strong and brave. I would never equal up to her.

"Don't lie to me, shifter!" the voice yelled and I heard slapping sound that was disturbing. "Tell us! Where are the others?"

There was no response from my mother.

"Fine then. Take her away!"

"Wait," another voice said, "What about in there? Check the cellar."

My breathing stopped. I jammed myself more into the corner and curled up into a tight ball.

"Gabriella," I squeaked but she shushed me.

Then the cellar door opened and various footsteps came down the stairs.

"There's one," a man in a black cape said.

A different man grabbed Gabriella by the arm roughly and pulled her up from the ground. In the small amount of light that showed her face, I saw tears streaking down her dark skin.

"Just a slave. She's not a shifter."

"Take her anyway."

"No," she begged.

I wanted to scream and jump up and try to stop them. I stayed put though.

As they dragged her away she gave one more quick glance at me.

I never saw either of them again. A couple hours after they were taken from me, the cellar door opened again. Did the men know to come back for me? I shut my eyes tightly and put my head down, waiting for them to take me away too.

The footsteps got closer and then I heard someone ask, "You girl," he said and I looked up to see a boy with shaggy black hair and scary-looking red eyes. "Are you alright?" His voice was quiet and gentle. He reached his hand out slowly.

I crawled out of the dark corner and into his arms, seeking comfort. I started sobbing into his chest.

"Hey there," he said and wrapped his arms around me. "What's wrong?"

"They-they t-t-took my m-mom!" I tried to explain.

"Shh. It's alright," he cooed to me. I tried to quiet the sobs, though it was very difficult.

I don't know how much time passed, but eventually I was quiet and my eyes were dry. I then felt very tired. it was strange. Here I was, in a stranger's arms whom I didn't even know the name of and yet I was content and calm enough to sleep.

"My name is Aaron, by the way," he whispered.

"Mine's Madeline," I mumbled and yawned.

"Madeline..." he repeated and my eyes closed. I felt him stand up and start walking. He was very graceful. I wasn't jostled once.

The next thing I heard were hushed voices. They sounded like they were arguing a little. I tried to pick up on what they were saying.

"...needs a place to stay," Aaron said.

"She has her own home," the other voice said. It was a man.

"But the Hunters took her family away. Besides, the house was destroyed. I was checking out the damage when I heard noise coming from inside. She was hiding in the cellar."

"Then her family won't be coming back. If they were caught and taken by Hunters."

"Correct. They were no doubt burned at the stake."

My breathing pattern went ridged and I felt like I might start to cry again. My mother and Gabriella were both dead. This fact just about destroyed me. I felt like my insides were tearing apart and my throat was being twisted, making it hard to breath.

"Err...I think your little friend is awake, Aaron."

"Oh." He must of saw the pain on my face because then he said, "She must have heard what we were talking about."

I felt him put his hand on my cheek and I opened my wet eyes to see his beautiful pale face over mine. At the time though, I didn't think he was beautiful. I just thought of him as a kind person. Someone I could trust.

"Sorry for waking you, Madeline," he apologized.

I sat up and looked around. I was in a small room on the floor in front of the fireplace that heated this little hut.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"my home. Madeline, you'll be staying here for a while. I don't know how to tell you this, but your family is dead. And, well, your house was destroyed."

My life had changed completely from that moment on. I had decided to change my name to Raven. And I did live with Aaron. Apparently, that other man that he was talking to was his uncle John. John was not very pleased with my staying, but I learned to just ignore him. It turned out though that Hohn knew my mother's sister - my aunt. He said she was a surix.

"What's that?" I asked him.

"You don't know what a surix is?" It surprised me at how surprised he was that I didn't know. "Well, do you at least know what a vampire is?"

I nodded. "I've heard of those."

"Good, because I think you should know what kind of creatures you're staying with." So that explained the red eyes and pale skin.

So he then told me what each creature was. There were many I didn't know. One was the shifter. I've heard the word before, just didn't know what it was. I remember the furious man, known as a Hunter, who called my mom one.

And so I lived with John and Aaron for many years and when I turned fifteen my body suddenly went all numb. After a couple hours when I could move again John said that I was now a shifter and wouldn't age anymore. The same ting happened to Aaron on his seventeenth birthday when he became a vampire.

Aaron had touched my cheek and said," I feel like I can relate to you a little more now. you're a creature like us. And a shifter like your mom. now try something. Shift."

I tried doing what he said. I concentrated on it. And then I shifted into a raven and flew around the room. Aaron laughed.

"Ah, the abilities of a shifter never cease to amaze me," John murmured.

To this day, I still live with them. I've been the same age and lived with them for more than 150 years.

I was at my house by this time. I shifted back to my human form and walked through the front door. I tip-toed quietly past Aaron's room where he was already asleep; his slow breathing was soothing.

"Goodnight, Aaron," I whispered and opened the door to my room. I flopped down on the bed and kicked my shoes off.

What a night, I thought to myself and my eyelids closed right away.