Excerpt:

Amyas lifted his nose in the air. Danger lurked close by. What that danger was, he did not know. The rain forest cloaked the danger, but he could still feel it.

Amyas padded quietly. His paws did not make a sound as he carefully placed them on the ground before him. His tail swished back and forth keeping him steady.

The form was difficult to control, even after years of practice. Someday, Amyas felt he would be comfortable in his dog form. For now, he used it to his advantage. He could cover large distances quickly and effortlessly in this form, as long as he could make the parts work together.

Off to his left, his canine ears picked up the rustling of some leaves. Something was moving over there. Amyas dove under the shrubbery nearby, hoping that his markings made it difficult to see him. Maybe the white spot over his eye had not been the best of choices for him to make.

The one thing Amyas did not like about the dog form was the colorblindness. Everything seemed to be shades of grey. He missed the vibrant colors he normally saw in the forest.

Amyas suppressed a growl that was the instinct of the dog form. He wanted to remain hidden, but a growl would simply alert whatever was moving towards him of his presence. He had come too far to be stopped now.

A clatter of pebbles came from behind him. Amyas turned his head to look in that direction, but all he could see was the trees. He turned back to look where the leaves had rustled. Nothing seemed to be moving now.

He dared not move yet. Someone might be trying to follow him. Amyas knew he would be caught if he moved and someone was waiting for him. He wondered how long he should wait before he moved.

Another rustle of leaves came from the left. His hunters must be onto him. Amyas considered shifting to another form, but he could not think of one that would be found in this environment that he knew he could do well. This form would have to do.

A black panther stealthy walked among the trees. Amyas realized that if he had moved, that panther would have spotted him. He had no way of knowing if the panther was a native or one of his pursuers. Either way, he hoped that the panther did not have his scent. Panthers were difficult creatures to fight, no matter what form he was in.

Amyas watched as the panther shimmered and changed shape. The shape changed into the form of a woman wearing a black dress. Her light skin paired perfectly with her dark brown hair. Her eyes sparkled with a light greyish blue.

“Amyas!” the woman said in a hushed whisper, as if trying not to be too loud.

He did not move. Somehow, something was wrong. Amyas felt a trap.

“Amyas! It's me. Kallas. I know you're nearby. I know you can hear me.”

Amyas crawled deeper into the underbrush as quietly as he could.

“Please! I need your help. They've captured your father.”

If they had caught his father, Amyas knew that they could just as easily have caught Kallas. They could be using her to catch him.

“They have the medallion.”

Amyas closed his eyes and hung his head. His only hope was that they did not know how critical the medallion truly was. He shifted to his human form and stood up.

“Kallas, I'm over here.”

Kallas started at the sound of his voice. Apparently, she had not expected to hear from him, even though she said she knew he was nearby. She ran over to him.

“Thank god you are still alive.”

Kallas threw her arms around his neck. Amyas hesitated a moment, then wrapped his arms around her comfortingly as she buried her head in his shoulders. The woman seemed to be near tears. When she pulled away, he could see the sadness written all over her face.

“I'm sorry, Amyas. I had no choice.”

Kallas seemed ready to cry as she stepped back. As she did, a net fell over his head. The weight of the net and the force with which it hit him knocked Amyas to the ground.
“At last, we have the mighty Amyas.”

Amyas knew that voice. He had suspected all along that Kallas was a trap. The voice he had just heard proved it.

“What took you so long, Cunoteryn?” Amyas said with as much bravado as he could muster.

“You've been caught, and still you act brave.”

“Did you expect me to be glad you caught me?”

“No. I did not expect to catch my brother so easily.”

“And yet, you tried to capture me, rather than kill me.”

“Why would I want someone so useful to be dead?”