• Aye, that's true, Evon told her. There's a prophecy out about you.
    What do you mean by a prophecy? Jana asked, opening her mental connection to Gihan as she spoke, so that he could hear what Evon was saying now.
    Centuries ago, there was a man who predicted that almost all the shape-shifters, or changelings, as we are called today, would be captured and relocated to a remote location known only to a few people, Evon said. This has come to pass. As far as I know, there are only a handful of free changelings left in the world, and I am one of them. This same man made another prediction. What he said in that prediction, I'm not entirely certain, but it can be found with Jok Sharpclaw.
    Gihan, did you hear everything he said? Jana asked.
    Yes, I heard it, Gihan said. It is interesting that the prophecy we are looking for should be found with Jok Sharpclaw. We saw him only yesterday.
    I wonder if that's why he said they would get in touch with us soon, Jana thought, and Gihan nodded.
    "That is probably true, Jana," he said. Before any of them could speak again, there was a knock at the door, followed by a man's voice.
    "Gihan Mohamo?" the voice asked.
    "Stay here, both of you," Gihan said, rising from the chair he was sitting in. They nodded, and he went to the door and looked through the spyhole to see the man from the day before standing in the hall.
    "What is it?" he asked, unlocking and opening the door enough to see the man.
    "Ye're bein' summoned again," the man said, and Gihan nodded, then turned to Jana and Evon.
    "Are you ready to meet them again, Jana?" Gihan asked. Jana blinked, then nodded when she realized who he was talking about.
    "Yes, I'm ready to meet them," she said, "but what about Evon? Do you think he should come with us, seeing as he is a real one?" Gihan nodded.
    "Yes, he may come with us," he said. "It might be good for him to meet more of them."
    "Will you join us, Evon?" Jana asked, turning to look at her brother. He hesitated, then nodded once.
    Gihan opened the door, and the three of them left the room. Gihan locked the door after them, and they all followed the gray-haired man through a series of disused tunnels under the city. Half an hour later, the man led them above ground again, then pointed toward a steel door and told them to approach it one at a time, with a span of ten minutes between the first two and twenty between the second and third. Jana and Evon went first, followed by Gihan half an hour after Jana.
    He said to follow this corridor, then go down three flights of stairs until we come to a hole in the floor, Gihan said. After this, we are to go down the hole, and once we are at the bottom, one of them will meet us and lead us to the others.
    Then let's get going, Jana said, and the other two nodded. She led the way through to corridor and down the stairs, then let Evon take the lead as they came to the hole in the ground. Once they were all at the bottom of the hole, Jana inhaled softly, recognizing the scent on the air as Karan's. Sure enough, the young woman came out of the shadows holding a burning torch.
    "Follow me," she whispered, and they nodded. She turned and led them down the tunnel until they came to a cave-in, then passed the torch to Jana as Karan knelt down and struck the dirt floor with her hand. A moment later, a secret trapdoor opened before them, and Karan took the torch again.
    "Enter quickly," she whispered, and they obeyed silently. Once all four of them were through the trapdoor, Karan turned and locked the trapdoor from the inside, then led them to an underground cavern, where Jok and the others waited for them.
    "I'm sure you're wondering why we've summoned you here instead of at the café," Jok said. Gihan nodded, taking on the role of spokesman for the trio.
    "Yes, that had crossed our minds," he said. "What is going on?"
    "To put it bluntly, we're being hunted down," Salo said. "The ones behind the recent disappearances are after us now. From what we've heard, they want to relocate us to a remote location known only to a few people."
    "That's what Evon said a short while ago," Jana said, as the three of them sat down at the table with the others.
    "Who is Evon?" Jok asked.
    "I am, sir," Evon said, raising his hand. The group turned to look at him, not certain what to make of him.
    "He is one of my two older brothers, Jok," Jana said, and Jok turned to look at her.
    "According to what we've heard about you, you are very special to our cause," he said.
    "How am I special to your cause?" Jana asked. Jok nodded at Rona, and the red-haired woman rose from the table and went into a secret room. She returned a few minutes later holding a leather-bound book. She sat down at the table again, and Jok spoke.
    "Tell them the prophecy, please," he said, keeping his gaze on Jana as he spoke. Rona nodded, then opened the book to a marked page and began reading.
    "'It is said that almost all those with the power to shape-shift will be captured and relocated to a remote location that is known only to a few people'," she said, "'but there is another prediction. The man who gave this prophecy gave another which goes thus: When nearly all the shape-shifters have vanished, there will arise one with the power to restore them once again. A young golden dragon, in the form of a human, will possess the powers of the shape-shifters, as well as those of the golden dragons. The Chosen One will be orphaned at a young age, and will not learn of their heritage until they become an adult in human form. The Chosen One will be most formidable in both forms, both as a fighter as well as a scholar. Only when times grow dark and desperate for the shape-shifters will the Chosen One learn of this prophecy, and only then will the Chosen One be able to take action'."
    When she had finished reading, Rona closed the book and looked at Jok.
    "What does this mean?" Karan asked. Jok looked over at the young woman, smiling slightly at her question.
    "This means that the Chosen One has arrived," he said. The rest of the group looked at him with surprise, with the exception of Gihan and Evon.
    "The Chosen One?" Jono echoed. Jok nodded.
    "Aye, the Chosen One," he said.
    "But who is the Chosen One?" Salo asked. Jok smiled again, then looked at Gihan.
    "I can tell that you know something about this prophecy, Gihan," the bearded man said. "Why don't you tell us what you know?"
    Gihan remained silent for only a moment before speaking.