Page 70 of Found in Obscurity

“I put it aside entirely after that. It was too barbaric,” Lorin said. “But one thing occurred to me about it that I kept coming back to. The animals that were being transformed were animals fully. They weren’t shifters.”

“You think that because Kit’s mind stays the same between shifts that the consequences would be negligible.” She summarized his thoughts for him without him having to voice them.

“I don’t know. Which is why I came to you.”

She sighed, sinking back into her ancient wingback chair. Sjena flew down from the rafters and settled on her shoulder. “It’s impossible to predict. Magic cannot be tamed and forced to our will. We harness it, but we do so understanding and respecting the wildness of its nature.”

“I wouldn’t ever attempt anything that could put Kit in danger,” Lorin said. “But I’m struggling to find anything to help.”

“These memories you saw of Kit’s in the Seeking, what were they?”

“They were scattered, but I saw that it was witches who did this to him. I couldn’t tell why or how, but it was definitely witches. A coven of them.”

“I worried, but to have it confirmed…” Grandma hissed. “Disgraces to the community.”

“I also saw Kit’s family,” Lorin said, looking down at Kit’s soulful gaze. “He lost them somewhere and has been trying to find them, I think.”

“The friends I contacted in the shifter community haven’t given me any answers about Kit’s origins, unfortunately, but there have been whispers of a few other disappearances.”

Lorin snapped his head up in surprise, feeling Kit do the same. “You think they’re linked to whoever took Kit?”

“It’s impossible to tell since shifters don’t move in the same ways as us. A lot of them don’t create large communities or keep in touch regularly, due the nature of the animal that guides them. But there have been enough that it has raised suspicions among some.”

“Surely someone else must have heard of this? Somewhere?”

“I’ll keep searching, but we need to keep this quiet, Lorin. A coven of witches with no respect for magic or humanity is no small matter. I’ll inform the other elders at our next meeting and ask for their opinions.”

Lorin nodded fiercely. He was by no means on a crusade to topple an empire. Of course he wanted these witches brought to justice, what they were doing was despicable and he had a personal vendetta now because of Kit. But he wasn’t stupid enough to assumehecould be the one to do it when there were witches of his grandma’s caliber out there. He just wanted to help Kit.

That was his focus for now.

“Has Kit shifted again since the last occurrence?” his grandma asked.

“After the ritual, it lasted for much longer. About an hour or so…”

Her eyebrows winged up. “And you didn’t think this was pertinent information?”

“There’s a lot going on!” Also, subconsciously, maybe Lorin wasn’t thrilled about the idea of explainingallthe interactions that occurred between himself and Kit that night. “And he wasn’t able to actually talk to tell me anything. It seemed like he was hurt.”

“It might have something to do with being forced to be shifted for so long,” she murmured. “There are bound to be consequences.”

Lorin held Kit tighter to him. “Is there anything we can do?”

“Only if he shifts again. We can’t treat the fox for human ailments. But it is interesting that it was for a longer duration…” She trailed off. “This was after the ritual, you said?”

Lorin nodded. “Do you think it’s related?”

“We won’t be putting it to the test either way,” she said sternly. “You were lucky enough the first time around.”

Lorin sighed and nodded. He knew she was right, but being out of options again was more than disheartening after days of struggle. He looked down at Kit, stroking his ears in apology.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ll keep looking.”

Kit licked his wrist.

“The ritual you mentioned before,” his grandma said suddenly into the silence.

Lorin glanced at her in surprise.