Owl by M. Raiya

Author:M. Raiya [Raiya, M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: young adult
ISBN: 978-1-64405-250-1
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2019-08-18T16:00:00+00:00

WHEN I surfaced, I felt my anchor—Vin holding my hand. I blinked my eyes open and focused blearily on him. His parents were sitting quietly on the other side of my bed. Vin brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. “You okay?” he whispered.

I nodded, not having the energy to speak.

“Priscilla says it’s normal to relapse a little after you exercise,” he said. “Just lie quietly. Breathe deep.”

I nodded again. I was pretty sure that using my magic was what had done it. I’d needed to calm people down and not start a circus in the hospital with Jack telling everyone I was insane. Everything seemed quiet now, so I let myself slip back down into a doze.

Above me I heard Vin talking softly.

“Riel’s in trouble with his kind,” he was saying. “Three years ago he broke one of their shifter laws by changing form in front of some human guys who were bullying a friend of his. He drove them off and probably saved his friend’s life. But he hurt them badly—he scarred their faces and may have blinded one of them.”

Jack made a grunting sound, which I couldn’t tell was in support of my actions or not.

Vin went on quickly. “Riel’s grandfather is the leader of his group, and he handed down their most severe punishment—he made Riel take owl form and implanted something called an elan in his back to keep him that way. Then he banished Riel for life. He’s shunned, which means no one can have any contact with him, or else face the same fate. His grandfather is very powerful.”

Coleen gasped slightly. “What about his parents?”

“He doesn’t talk about them much. They have to obey their leader too. They run a small boat-building business in New York. His mother does the business end, and his father does the building. Probably they have people working for them. I don’t know. His father had a boating accident before Riel was born that left him with mental impairment.”

“How long ago did Gabriel leave?” Coleen asked.

“Three years ago.”

“Oh, his poor parents.”

“Yeah. It’s hard to imagine. But he’s been living alone in a dead tree in the swamp near our house ever since. Until he accidently dropped the dead squirrel on my head.”

“But how did he end up in your room?” Jack asked. I only heard curiosity in his voice, not accusation any longer.

“I was having a bad night,” Vin said quietly. “Just, you know, worrying about after graduation and stuff. He sensed it. I guess he was having a lonely night too. So he flew in through the window, only the screen didn’t slow him down enough, and he knocked himself out on the wall. He’s kind of a klutz,” he added fondly.

Jack snorted. I almost sat up and protested, but Vin was doing too good a job explaining everything so I didn’t.

“Well, I put him outside. After he woke up, he flew back in. He realized that he could take a pencil and push keys on my laptop, and we began to communicate.

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