• "Jana, I will require your assistance," he said. It is not wise to speak aloud, and I will need you to allow everyone to hear what I am about to say. Jana nodded, then opened her mental connection to Gihan, so that everyone was able to hear what he was saying.

    It is not wise to speak aloud about this, especially if there are multiple ways that we can get here, he said. Jok and the others looked at Gihan with surprise in their eyes.

    How is this possible, Gihan? Rona asked.

    Jana has the ability to use telepathy, as well as allow multiple people to hear what one person is saying, Gihan said. This is the only safe way to communicate without someone overhearing what we are saying.

    This is a good idea, then, Salo said, and the others nodded. Please continue, Gihan.

    This is what we know so far, Gihan began. Most of you already know that Jana shifted to a golden dragon the first time she transformed. This was not a coincidence. Jana and I learned just an hour ago that she is not a true changeling, although she has the abilities of the changelings. She is, in fact, a golden dragon, as were her parents, who disappeared ten years ago, when Jana was ten. Jana's older siblings were adopted by her parents before she was born, and all three of them are true changelings. Evon discovered this fact from their older sister, Jany, but was not told how she came to know this information. We also discovered that Evon has not had contact with Jany or his brother, Joel, for the last several weeks. Due to this, we think something may have happened to them, to make them unable to communicate with Evon and Jana.

    There is also something that I have not told anyone else as of yet, Jana spoke up. The rest of the group turned to look at her with something akin to wonder in their eyes.

    Gihan and I were visited by a man that Gihan knows earlier this morning, she said. I was able to hear what the man was thinking, although the man had no knowledge of this. When I accused him of lying, he challenged me to prove that he'd been lying, so I told him all the lies he had told while we had been speaking. The only thing was, his thoughts were not his own. Someone else was communicating through him, which I've never encountered before. But that isn't what stood out the most. You all know now that my parents disappeared ten years ago. Neither I nor my siblings have been able to communicate with our parents, until this morning.

    What are you saying, Jana? Evon asked. Jana turned her blue eyes toward him.

    I'm saying that Mama contacted me this morning, she said. I didn't tell anyone after it happened because I wasn't sure I believed it myself. But now I know that at least Mama is alive. I haven't heard from Papa yet, but that doesn't mean that he's dead.

    So Mama spoke to you, then? Evon asked. Jana nodded.

    Yes, just this morning, she said. Truth be told, I wasn't expecting to hear from her or Papa ever again, since they hadn't contacted us since they disappeared.

    I agree with you there, Evon said. I don't expect that I'll hear from them anytime soon.

    To get back to the matter at hand, how do you know that Jana is a golden dragon? Rona asked.

    Evon told Jana and me that Jana's parents were golden dragons, and that Jana was their only birth daughter, thus making her a golden dragon, as well, Gihan said. We already know that she has the abilities of the changelings, since she was able to pick up Karan's scent, as well as everyone here, with the exception of Evon. She also has far better hearing than I do.

    What do you mean, Gihan? Salo asked.

    When Jana and I stopped for lunch the first day we left, I discovered a small group of coyotes some distance away from where we had stopped, Gihan explained. Jana listened when I told her about the coyotes, and she was able to pick up four different breathing patterns. A moment after that, she picked up the scent of another coyote that had joined the group as we were speaking. From what she described, it sounded like the one that had joined the group had been out scavenging, yet Jana did not pick up the scents of the other four coyotes. This leads me to wonder if the coyote that joined the others was not a changeling in disguise.

    I thought shifting for long periods of time used a lot of energy, Jana said. Jok spoke up now, answering Jana's statement.

    That actually depends on which animal a changeling shifts into, he said. If it is something smaller, like a coyote, it won't take much energy to shift for long periods of time. If it is a larger animal, such as a bear or a moose, or even a dragon, it takes more energy to shift for long periods of time. The bigger the animal, the more energy it takes to shift, and vice versa.

    But I'm a dragon by birth, Jana said. Since that is true, why was I exhausted after shifting to my true form for the first time?

    That happened because you were not accustomed to shifting to your true form, Gihan said, and the others nodded.