Shifting Stars by Gary Stringer (best fiction books of all time txt) 📗

a girl. Mandalee had – biologically speaking – been born male, or at least with a male body. Something the demon hunter was obviously not happy about.

Catriona was abject in her apology. “Mandalee!” she cried. “I am so sorry!”

She immediately grabbed the demon hunter’s stuff from her pocket dimension and handed it to her, gently. She turned her back and retrieved her staff as Mandalee dressed. Cat didn’t trust herself to throw them straight on with her magic, nor did she believe that would be polite or acceptable to Mandalee.

“That’s what you were going to say, before, isn’t it? That’s why you were furious, because you thought I was…but I wasn’t, I swear! I had no idea! Dear gods, I had no right to ‘out’ you like that. I would never—”

Mandalee placed a hand on Cat’s shoulder and turned her around. “It’s OK,” she assured her. “I believe you. I’ve mostly learned to pass, and the clothes and mask help with that,” she was fully dressed, now, apart from her mask, which she was about to put on, “but without them…” she trailed off.

Cat gently touched her arm to stay her hand. “You don’t have to hide your face,” she said, “not from me, and you shouldn’t for anyone else, either. It’s not right.”

“It’s just easier when I’m interacting with people,” Mandalee shrugged. Even so, she didn’t put her mask back on. “Which, to be honest, I do as little as possible.”

Cat asked if would like to go somewhere and talk, but Mandalee pulled a face at that.

“Well at least let’s sit down here,” Cat suggested.

“I don’t know, the ground’s still pretty wet from all the rain,” Mandalee pointed out.

“Oh, I can soon sort that out,” she replied dismissively and used her magic to encourage the grass, trees and plants to drink a bit quicker, effectively creating a dry patch large enough for two women and one leopard to sit in comfort.

“Shyleen says ‘thanks,’” Mandalee said with a smile.

Pulling on her experience of communicating sympathically with Pyrah, Cat tried to project, ‘Welcome, respect, friendship.’

Mandalee’s eyes widened in surprise. “What was that? You spoke to her?”

“Well, sort of,” Cat allowed. “I call it sympathic communication. It isn’t easy to explain.”

“Like how you end up naked, cross-gendered and stuck in a demon trap?” Mandalee laughed.

Cat joined in the laughter, “Yes, like that,” she agreed.

“Shyleen said it’s not like when I do it – I'm a Cleric of Nature, I speak just about every major animal language telepathically. She says she didn’t hear her language but still understood what you were trying to convey.”

“Well, that’s a better explanation than I could have given you,” Cat admitted.

“Don’t worry, her explanations are a lot better than mine, too. She’s a very philosophical cat, our Shyleen. She’s taken a definite liking to you and approves of our friendship.”

“Oh, so we’re definitely friends now, then?” Cat smiled.

“Shyleen says we are, so we must be,” Mandalee insisted with a grin. “She’s never wrong.”

“Well then, far be it from me to argue.” She held out a hand, which Mandalee shook, warmly. “Glad to meet you, Friend,” she said.

“Likewise, Friend,” the demon hunter affirmed. “Dear gods, I can’t remember the last time I felt so free talking to someone, without worrying about,” she gestured vaguely to indicate herself, “you know.”

Cat waved that aside and with a wink, she quipped, “Hey, I showed you mine, you showed me yours!”

Mandalee snorted. “We’ve certainly left ourselves with very little to hide from each other. How did that actually happen, anyway? Any ideas?”

“Ah, you gave me the final piece of the puzzle I needed to put it together.”

“I’m all ears,” said Mandalee.

“Not from what I saw!” Cat remarked.

Mandalee gave her a shove for her trouble and tried to look intimidating while stifling her laughter.

Cat then explained about her pocket dimension magic and how, although it was mostly under control, now, she’d had problems with instability in the presence of wizard magic.

“It seems your cleric magic was enough to confuse it, too. Just like your cleric-powered demon trap kept me stuck in a male body.”

With a grimace, Mandalee replied, “I know that nightmare all too well. Honestly, if I could shapeshift like you, I’d never go back to this body.”

Cat fixed her new friend with a serious look. “Do you really mean that?”

“I’ve meant it all my life,” she replied ruefully. “Unfortunately, miracles don’t happen.”

“Miracles can happen if people make them happen,” Cat countered.

“Nobody has that kind of power,” Mandalee insisted with a shake of her head.

“Power isn’t everything,” Cat returned. “With the right application of knowledge, skill, technique and imagination, people can achieve all kinds of things.”

“What are you saying?” Mandalee demanded, her heart rate accelerating. “That you could…” she wiggled her fingers, vaguely.

“Well it’ll take a bit more than that,” Cat told her with a smile, “and I certainly can’t do it right here this minute, but with time and study, I really don’t see why it shouldn’t be possible.”

“Don’t do this to me, Cat!” Mandalee pleaded. “Not unless you’re sure.”

“I’m not sure,” Cat admitted, “and I won’t attempt anything until I am, but I am confident. Give me time and I honestly, truly believe I’ll be able to do it.”

Mandalee wrapped her new friend in a huge embrace. “That would be amazing.” She broke the hug, held Cat by the shoulders at arm’s length, staring into her eyes. “But whether you can do it or not, the fact that you’ll try makes us friends for life. That’s it, now. You’re stuck with me.”

“I’ll drink to that with pleasure!” Cat declared, then she realised something. “Hey, you don’t have a drink with you!”

“I only drink when I’m on duty. I’m done for the night. Let the Trickster do what it will!” she declared.

“Ah,” Cat remarked.

“What?” Mandalee asked.

“In the interests of having nothing to hide, there’s one thing I haven’t told you.”

“About the Trickster?”

Cat nodded.

“You know something about it?”

Again, Cat nodded.

“Go on, then. What is it?”

“There isn’t one,” Cat admitted. “It was just me.