This Borrowed Soul

The Portal

I stare at the swirling portal in front of me.

It doesn’t look anything like I expected.

The portal is suspended between two enormous stone pillars, its edges shimmering with a pale blue light. Something moves beneath its surface, almost like liquid, except there is nothing liquid about it.

It pulses.

Slowly.

Almost like a heartbeat.

Every few seconds, electricity dances across its surface, tiny sparks of white-blue energy snapping from one side to the other before disappearing into the swirling center.

I take a cautious step closer.

The moment I do, the hairs on my arms rise.

A faint tingling crawls across my skin.

Not painful.

Just… strange.

Like standing too close to a storm.

I flex my fingers.

The sensation follows.

Interesting.

I glance at the people gathered around the portal.

There are dozens of them.

Students.

Parents.

Professors.

Some look nervous.

Some look excited.

A few look like they would rather be anywhere else.

My bags are already gone.

Apparently, luggage gets sent through first so students don’t have to drag everything through the portal themselves.

Convenient.

I turn around.

My parents are standing a few feet away.

Blue’s parents.

I remind myself of that.

Not mine.

Yet.

Mother has tears streaming down her face.

I stare at her.

She tries to smile.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she says, wiping her cheeks. “I’m allowed to cry.”

Father wraps an arm around her shoulders.

“You’ve taken approximately three hundred pictures.”

“Two hundred and forty-seven.”

He looks at me.

“See? Three hundred.”

I laugh.

Actually laugh.

Mother immediately lifts her phone.

“Wait! Don’t move.”

The camera clicks.

Another.

And another.

“Mom.”

“One more.”

“You said that five pictures ago.”

“One more.”

She takes another.

Then another.

Father sighs.

“Let her breathe, woman.”

“I am preserving memories.”

“You’ve preserved enough to fill an entire hard drive.”

She ignores him.

I find myself smiling.

It feels strange.

This warmth.

This family.

I understand now why Blue loved them.

We had driven for hours to reach the designated portal point. Apparently, portals couldn’t simply be opened anywhere. They required specific magical anchors scattered around the world.

This particular one sits in the middle of what looks like an abandoned field.

Except it isn’t abandoned.

There are wards everywhere.

Invisible barriers that I can somehow feel now that I’m in this body.

Blue’s memories tell me this place is strictly monitored.

Humans aren’t supposed to wander around here.

At least, they weren’t.

Things are changing.

The Shifter Academy has begun accepting humans.

Only a handful.

A few dozens at most.

The first in its history.

A peace treaty.

That’s what everyone keeps calling it.

A peace treaty between humans and shifters.

For centuries, the two worlds had remained separate.

Not peacefully.

Just separately.

There had been wars.

Bloodshed.

Fear.

Humans feared what they couldn’t understand.

Shifters feared what humans would do if they ever discovered how many supernatural beings actually lived among them.

Eventually, someone decided they had all had enough.

And now, apparently, I’m part of the experiment.

I look around.

Most of the students are shifters.

I can tell.

Not because they’re wearing anything different.

Because I can feel them.

Something hums beneath their skin.

Some stronger than others.

Some barely noticeable.

A girl standing nearby catches my eye.

She looks familiar.

Memory supplies her name.

Lena.

One of Blue’s friends.

She spots me and immediately grins.

“Blue!”

I wave.

She rushes over, hugging me.

I stiffen.

Again.

People in this world seem to have an unhealthy obsession with touching each other.

“You actually came!”

“Apparently.”

She pulls back.

“You look amazing.”

“Thank you.”

Her eyes flick toward the portal.

Then toward the group of students waiting nearby.

She lowers her voice.

“This is crazy.”

“What is?”

She leans closer.

“You know we’re the first humans they’ve ever let into the academy, right?”

I blink.

“Humans?”

Another girl joins us.

“Don’t act surprised.”

She giggles.

“I can’t believe the academy actually agreed to this.”

“It’s because of the treaty,” Lena says.

“I know.”

“But still.”

The girl glances toward the shifters.

“Imagine being the first humans in history.”

“Imagine being the first human to get eaten,” another girl jokes.

They all laugh.

I don’t.

Not because I’m afraid.

Because I find the idea amusing.

If anyone here tries to eat me, they’re going to have a very unpleasant experience.

I look toward the academy staff.

A tall woman in a dark uniform stands beside the portal.

Professor.

Her presence is heavy.

Even from here, I can feel the power radiating from her.

She scans the students.

“First group!”

The crowd begins to move.

Lena grabs my hand.

“Come on!”

I let her pull me forward.

The closer I get to the portal, the stronger the electrical sensation becomes.

My skin prickles.

The blue light reflects in my eyes.

For a brief second, the portal’s surface changes.

The swirling energy slows.

Just slightly.

I frown.

Did anyone else see that?

I look around.

No one seems to have noticed.

Interesting.

We step forward.

My stomach twists.

Not from fear.

Anticipation.

I glance back one last time.

Mother is crying again.

Father has his arm around her.

They’re taking pictures.

So many pictures.

I raise my hand.

“Bye!”

Mother waves.

“Call me when you arrive!”

“I will!”

“Don’t forget!”

“I won’t!”

“Eat properly!”

Father laughs.

“Let her go!”

Mother gives him a look.

I smile.

Then I turn back toward the portal.

For some reason, my chest feels tight.

I don’t understand why.

Maybe it’s Blue.

Maybe some part of her is still here.

Maybe she doesn’t want to leave them.

I push the thought away.

I am not Blue.

Not really.

I’m the thing that came after her.

The thing that took her place.

And now I’m walking into a world she dreamed about.

I step through the portal.

Cold.

That’s the first thing I feel.

Then heat.

Then electricity.

My entire body tingles.

For one brief moment, I feel like I’m nowhere.

Not here.

Not there.

Just… suspended.

Something brushes against my skin.

Something whispers past my ear.

Then—

I stumble forward.

My feet hit solid ground.

I blink.

The portal behind me erupts.

A loud crack tears through the air.

Everyone turns.

The portal flickers.

Once.

Twice.

Then it shuts down.

Completely.

Silence.

The professor’s face changes.

“What just happened?”

Students begin whispering.

Someone steps toward the portal.

“Is it supposed to do that?”

“No.”

The professor raises a hand.

“Everyone stay where you are.”

She approaches the portal.

I watch as she studies the empty space.

Her expression grows darker.

“This has never happened before.”

Lena looks at me.

“What does she mean?”

I shrug.

“I have no idea.”

The professor mutters something beneath her breath.

Then she raises both hands.

Magic erupts from her palms.

The air bends.

Light gathers.

A new portal begins forming.

Slowly.

Carefully.

This one stabilizes.

The professor exhales.

I look away.

My attention is drawn toward the enormous structure ahead.

The academy.

My breath catches.

It’s beautiful.

And terrifying.

Towering stone buildings rise from the mountainside, their dark spires disappearing into the mist. Bridges connect different towers high above the ground. Massive windows glow with warm golden light.

There are forests surrounding the school.

Ancient trees.

Too ancient.

I can feel something moving inside them.

Something alive.

Something powerful.

Students are everywhere.

Some walk on two legs.

Others—

I blink.

A wolf runs across the courtyard.

A second later, it shifts.

Bones crack.

Fur disappears.

A boy stands where the wolf had been.

Nobody screams.

Nobody reacts.

Apparently, this is normal here.

I smile.

For the first time since taking this body, I feel something I haven’t felt in years.

Excitement.

Real excitement.

The world ahead of me is bigger than anything I have known.

More dangerous.

More powerful.

More interesting.

And, for once, I don’t have someone else’s orders waiting for me.

No master.

No cage.

No one telling me what I am supposed to be.

I take a deep breath.

The scent of magic fills my lungs.

I look at the academy.

Then I take my first step forward.

Into the unknown.

Into the danger.

Into the life I was never supposed to have.

My new life.