• Darkness. Walking through the streets, clad in a cloak and hunting clothes. Although I'm a girl, my father and mother make me bring home the occasional game, since both of them work all day in the mint. It's technically illegal for my mother to be working, since she's a woman, but no one pays attention to that, since she's a hard worker, and her only child is me, and I'm nearly full grown.
    The year is 1532, and I'm 15.
    I hear a rustle in the bushes to my right. A dark shadow leaps out of the greenery. It resembles a dog, but in this darkness, it appears to shift to the shape of a person before my eyes. I am both horrified and transfixed.
    It's now clear that whomever this is, it's a man. He darts behind me, and I feel a sharp pain in my neck. Everything goes black.

    I awaken in a tree, and for a moment, I'm horrified, sure I'm about to plunge and break something important. Then I notice a man on the branch above me, and my priorities change.
    "Who are you?" I demand. He only smiles.
    I feel a branch snap beneath me, and I realize too late that that particular branch was crucial in holding me up. I roll over in midair to find myself hurtling toward the ground. I land with an 'oomph', wait to regain my breath, and stand up.
    I quickly assess that I'm too dizzy to stay on my feet, so I drop to all fours. Something is different. I realize that my hair isn't hanging in front of my face. I can't seem to remember if I tied it back this afternoon, but my guess is no. Refusing to be sidetracked by trivial matters, I look down at my hands to assess what damage has been done, and I realize. They're not hands.
    I scream, but all that comes out is a choked howling. No surprise, since my hands had actually been paws. The man lands beside me and kneels down next to my hunched figure.
    "Interesting," he says. "I never saw one that manifested as a fox." I wish with all my heart that I could ask all the questions running through my mind. I feel a strange stretching sensation, and a surprised look crosses his face. "And never one that managed to change back so quickly," he mutters.
    "Just what is going on here?" I ask to find that my voice has returned.
    "Do you not know?" he inquires, amused. I glare at him. He chuckles. "Apparently not. You see, you are now one of the clairiston, a race of supernatural beings. You'll find that you can do all kinds of things you couldn't do before. Your wings will come in in a few weeks, you're already endowed with supernatural strength, speed, and the ability to turn into a fox. I will train you in using magic, and soon you'll be able to turn into other animals. Also, you're immortal."
    "Damn!" I shout.
    "What?" he asks innocently.
    I stomp away instead of answering. He should be able to figure it out.
    "Stop!" he shouts. I would love to continue away from him, but the words seem to have a strange effect on me. I am powerless against them. I turn around and reluctantly head back to the tree.
    "Very good," he tells me. "I can see you'll be obedient." I am filled with a gigantic rage that I can barely contain."There is one more thing I must tell you. The only way for you to eat is by sucking blood. In this way, we are like vampires. I have not yet taught you how to feed, so if I were you, I would wait to run away."