Illusionary Friends

By Kal Tomson

“Shape-shifter!”

The words echo in my ears, but this time, they’re not aimed at me.

I’m not a shifter, merely an illusionist. It’s people’s eyes who change, not me. We can take on a few characteristics of animals, like super-speed, flight, or deep-sea swimming. And even if it weakens my other senses, my vision is that of an eagle. There are few other illusionists around, and I’m lucky I can see through their disguises.

Maybe that’s why I’m such a successful detective.

I’m walking through a dark alley on the way home when I hear the scream.

Followed by a thunk. Then a whimpering sob.

My feet run toward the sound.

In a second, I’m crouching next to a child about age eight curled up in a tiny ball on the ground. I touch her shoulder gently. She whirls upward and stares at me, her eyes wide and lips quivering.

I take a small step back. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

She cowers against the side of the building.

“My name’s Cara Goulet.”

She squints at me. “The shape-shifter detective?”

I groan and cover my face. “I’m an illusionist, not a shifter. There’s a difference.” Her eyes still seem distrustful, but her shoulders relax slightly.

“Are you okay?”

She nods then winces.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Anna,” she whispers. She turns her shoulder around. There’s a dart stuck in her upper back. “It hurts.”

I reach to pull it out, but stop. Gotta think carefully.

“Did you see what your attacker looked like, Anna?” I get out a pocket-knife and flip it to the pliers.

She nods. “He was at my house three nights ago.”

I stoop over her shoulder to pull the dart out.

“He killed my parents.”

I stare at her in shock. “You’re Anna Quin?”

She takes a shaky breath and cowers away from me again.

“I was the only witness.” Anna tenses her legs. “That’s still alive, that is.”

I position the pliers over her shoulder.

“Might want to brace yourself.” The little girl stuffs the hem of her skirt into her mouth. I take a deep breath to steady my hand and yank.

Anna lets out a tiny yelp, then presses her hand to the wound. I examine the dart.

Sure enough, I see fingerprints. Sometimes having powerful eyes is helpful.

And the prints make my heart stop.

“What’s wrong?” Anna’s voice quivers.

“The fingerprints,” I stammer. “They match Rex Loker.”

Rex Loker is a fellow illusionist. We went to college together and were close. Very close. We used to practice testing each other’s fingerprints. I know his as well as my own.

“Rex and Dad used to be friends, but lately all they would do was fight when he came over,” Anna says. “He owed Dad a lot of money. The other night, while they were playing cards—”

“Rex stabbed him.”

Anna nods, tears welling in her eyes, and tries to hold back her tears.

“Mom saw him do it, so he stabbed her, too. I got away by crawling out my bedroom window.”

I shake my head in disbelief. That doesn’t sound like Rex. He was the A+ student, always wanting to help. What happened? “Where did you go?”

Anna points at an abandoned house nearby. “I hid there. I thought I’d be safe. Until today. He came looking for me.”

I lean back on my heels and let out a deep breath. “Well, now we just need to find him.”

For anyone else, trying to find an illusionist who doesn’t want to be found would be impossible. Not for me.

Anna stands up and grabs my hand. “There,” she whispers.

She’s staring at a gray tom-cat sitting in the abandoned house’s doorway. But Anna is right. There is something not quite right about it.

Our suspicion is confirmed when the cat stands up, stretches, and turns into a hawk.

“Shape-shifter!” Anna panics. She wraps her arms around my waist and stares after Rex.

I break from her grip. “Wait here.” I run after Rex, ready to leap into action, but I hesitate. He was my friend; I can’t betray him like this.

He hurt innocents. Yes, I can.

My mind races for a type of bird I can become. I leap into the air after Rex, morph into an eagle, and fly, my wings soaring strong. When Rex sees me, he squawks and tries to knock me down, but when I said I have eagle-eyes, I wasn’t joking. I see it coming and grab his talon, which to my eyes is his human ankle. Rex shrieks and pummels me with his wings, or rather fists. I strengthen my grip and hold on.

We tumble to the ground. I land on top of Rex and lower the eagle illusion. Using an authoritative voice, I command, “Drop the illusion.”

With a grunt, he complies.

Anna runs up and kicks him in the shin. Hard. “That’s for my parents,” she growls. I pull her away from him, hand her my phone, and tell her to call 911.

I sit on Rex, waiting, until the police arrive.

As they escort him away, Rex glares at me. “And I thought we were friends.”

I try to hide my mixed feelings with an indifferent shrug. “When you pick on innocents, you turn good friends into dangerous enemies.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kal Tomson is a Christian girl from Maine. She loves to read, write, and other artsy things. Her favorite genre to read and write is fantasy. She loves Star Wars, classics, and snow. Running and soccer are always favorites, and writing has been her passion since she was very young. She loves being outside and hanging out with her friends.

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