Read Talon (The Astor Chronicles Book 1) for Free Online Page B

more than your own. Think about how your body will have to change in order to become like hers. Imagine the feel of the air on your fur, and the sights, smells and sounds you will experience. It will be like what you can sense through Rekala now, but it will be through your own senses.’
    After ten minutes of this he said, ‘All right, are you ready?’
    ‘I think so,’ I responded. Then to Rekala, ‘Are you ready?’
    ‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘You can do it. Believe it.’
    I crouched down until I was on all fours and stared at Rekala until my eyes burned. I couldn’t seem to do anything more.
    ‘Ask Sy-tré for the transformation,’ Cradic whispered.
    I did, but I still didn’t know how to initiate the change.
    ‘You’re focusing too much on what you see. Try closing your eyes,’ Rekala suggested. ‘Believe.’
    I obeyed her, letting my eyes drift shut. The smells Rekala could sense were stronger than my own. The sounds were more acute, and it was easier for her to discern their direction and distance. I flexed my fingers into the straw until the nails reached the stone beneath.
    I imagined claws there, fur upon my hands, and fur all over my body. I strained to feel what it was like having a muzzle that stuck out from my face and a short neck attached to my chest and shoulder blades. I felt the difference between my human knees and the knees of an icetiger. They were still there, but the legs were positioned differently.
    My entire body changed. I let go of my human self, sending clothing, knife sheath and items in my pockets into the waves. An exultant feeling passed through me as I shifted, partly triumph at my achievement and partly from the sudden strength and flexibility of the feline form.
    When my transformation was complete, I whirled, knocking the table over. Rekala sniffed at me curiously and rubbed her face against mine. Looking down at my forelegs and paws I could see they were streaked with a rich, dark blue colour—much darker than Rekala’s fur.
    I looked up suddenly, sensing the other humans in the room, tasting them in the air. They smelt delicious. I let out an almighty roar and ran two paces towards them. Some looked startled.
    ‘No!’ Rekala shouted, leaping in front of me.
    I crashed into her, back paws tucked under my body, fangs reaching for her neck.
    ‘Talon!’
    I tumbled onto my face, back in my human form, at her feet. The others’ expressions of fear changed to mirth, but they didn’t know how close I’d come to killing one of them.
    ‘Now I know what you’re dealing with,’ I said to my Rada-kin, rubbing the bridge of my nose.
    ‘The instinct to hunt is powerful,’ Cradic said, helping me up. ‘Something to be aware of in a carnivorous form. Perhaps make sure you’ve eaten before you attempt that next time, Talon?’
    The room erupted in laughter. Even the Rada-kin seemed amused. I smiled at myself.
    ‘You had already eaten,’ Rekala said, remaining serious. ‘But the urge to kill remains.’
    Only one of the other students was able to transform. The young woman with the hawk Rada-kin would need a lot more coaching and the boy with the capybara was having trouble keeping a strong connection to the mind of the distractible creature.
    Cradic took the student who had morphed into horse form, and me, aside at the end of that lesson and told us we didn’t have to attend any more lessons. We had learned everything we needed to know, and now it was up to us to practice transforming. He reminded me to take more care with my animal instincts, an instruction that seemed to parallel the anger control I’d had to learn after Ella’s abduction. I decided to ask Bessed and Drea about the relation between the two at dinner.
    ‘I think your anger is understandable given what you’ve been through in your life,’ Bessed told me. ‘Many of us have seen the ugly side of war and violence because the Zeikas keep bringing it to our doorstep, but few would have lost both parents