Chapter 5

Of all the nerve! I’ll show him. In a fiery storm of indignation, I burst into my larger form, the one closest to human. To him, I’d look like a youth dressed in leaves and tatters, with wild, dark hair and pointed ears.

The warlock looked me up and down. A slow smile spread across his lips, and he made a sound which I took for pleasant surprise. “And who might you be?” he asked.

“Wulfren,” I said breathily, not sure why I was so worked up, or why I felt it so important that he know my name.

“Wulfren,” the warlock said with a smile.

At the sound of my name I could feel the magic around us draw close, threatening to make me dizzy. Shaking my head clear, I demanded, “Who are you?”

A gentle breath of laughter was on his next words. “You may call me Ash.”

“Ash?” I repeated, eyes immediately drawn to his hair, the silken blond lengths that framed his face.

He smiled at me. It was strangely hypnotic.

“Won’t you sit with me, Wulfren?”