Read Change of Heart 05 - Forging the Future for Free Online

to try to figure out who he was.
    Maybe he was searching for me, whoever he was, and I didn’t want to miss him because I was a panther and not me. What if he didn’t recognize me in cat form? I couldn’t take that chance.
    “Jim?”
    I coughed to cover my unease. “Sorry, but really, I have no idea why I shifted back. Normally it’s a conscious decision, isn’t it, and I don’t remember making one.”
    They were both quiet, studying me.
    “So are you sure I can’t get you guys some coffee? I need some.”
    “No,” Wick said hoarsely, saddened somehow, I could hear it in his voice. “I’m really sorry that this happened to you, that your memory is gone, but we will do everything in our power to get you home.”
    “I appreciate that.”
    “We thought,” he began, then coughed, and I realized he was choked up.
    They’d thought… what?
    Dov came forward, put a hand on his partner’s shoulder, squeezed gently, and then glanced at me. “I can’t imagine how terrifying this whole thing must have been for you, and you’ve handled it and thrived. That shows a great strength of character.”
    “The kindness of strangers and all that,” I said quickly. “And look around you, this isn’t thriving, believe me.”
    “It’s better than most could have done.”
    I wasn’t sure about that, but I could graciously accept a compliment. “Thank you. But really, what did you think?”
    Both men suddenly seemed wary.
    “That I was lying?”
    No answer.
    “Why on earth would anyone lie about losing their memory?”
    Dov’s brows furrowed like he was deciding what to say, but Wick tipped his head sideways, regarding me.
    “To hide something, of course.”
    I was surprised. “That makes no sense. What can be hidden with only one person losing their memory?”
    “A secret only they knew,” Dov explained. “It would actually be altogether brilliant.”
    I nodded.
    “But you’re not pretending,” Wick said, telling me what I already knew. “Because you don’t even smell the way you’re supposed to, as we were told you would, and that can’t be faked.”
    “How do you know? Maybe I’m gifted.”
    Dov nodded. “You’re a reah, but no cat, no matter how powerful—even a neck-henny cat—can mask their scent on purpose. You might be able to control your power, but not change your very nature.”
    I’d missed something. “What kind of cat?”
    He spelled it for me. “It explains how you’re a reah but also male,” he continued. “You’re a nekhene cat first and a reah second.”
    It became necessary to sit, and I did, quickly, so I wouldn’t fall down.
    “Is any of this information familiar?” Dov asked.
    I shook my head.
    “Well, that’s okay.”
    But was it? “You’re saying I’m not just a reah, but a—what again?”
    “Nekhene.”
    I tried to parse the word from the Egyptian phrases somehow floating in my head. “Nekhene is ‘hawk,’ isn’t it?”
    “The use is a more ancient origin,” Dov informed me. “But basically, you can shift into creatures twice your size, sometimes three times.”
    I shook my head. “That’s not possible. Shifting is basic physics. If you’re a 140-pound man, you’ll shift into a 140-pound panther. We don’t add mass; this isn’t magic.”
    “It isn’t if you’re anything but a nekhene cat,” he offered. “When we’re talking about you… Jin… we’re talking about something unique and different.”
    My head snapped up, and both men were gazing at me kindly, tenderly.
    “It’s Jim,” I corrected, fast.
    “No,” Dov apprised, shaking his head. “It’s not.”
    I took a shaky breath.
    “You’re Jinnai—Jin, Rain, reah of the tribe of Mafdet.”
    “Rain?”
    “It’s spelled R-A-Y-N-E.”
    I squinted up at them. “The ‘Jin’ is right. I mean… I knew it was something like that, but the Rayne? I don’t—that’s not.”
    “It is.”
    But it couldn’t be. It didn’t resonate inside like Jin did.
    “Would you like to know the