Free Shadowed by Connie Suttle Page B

destroy any trust they might have," Ashe grumbled. "And most of them are decent. I was hoping Edward could be included in activities and stuff, and then the others might come along. Now," Ashe shrugged in near-resignation.
    "Let's give it a try at least," Hayes offered. "Make a peace offering of some kind. I'm willing to take my new games over."
    "I'm willing to turn for them." Ashe stared in shock at Wynn—she never volunteered for that. When she changed for the full Moon, she stayed close to her mother, Sharon, a shapeshifting mare, and her father, Jonas, a rare bald eagle. Wynn was a unicorn that shone brightly in the moonlight—Ashe had flapped over her many times as the bat just to get a glimpse of perhaps the rarest shapeshifter in existence.
    "Wynnie, are you sure you want to do that?" Ashe used the nickname that most people were afraid to use—Sharon called her daughter by that name but Wynn usually got upset if anyone else did.
    "I will," Wynn seemed determined. "They have to understand that we're not all like Chad and Jeremy. Stupid twits," she muttered.
    "Look, why don't we meet at Ashe's house in an hour?" Hayes suggested. Jeff and Larry nodded in agreement.
    "All right," Wynn said. "Let's go, Dori." Dori followed Wynn toward the front doors of the school. Ashe watched both girls walk down the polished tile hallway that separated classrooms at Cloud Chief Combined.
    "You're sure about this?" Ashe turned back to Hayes, Larry and Jeff.
    "We have to do something," Jeff said. He, Larry and Hayes were best friends, much like Ashe and Sali, but occasionally the three boys came to Sali's house—they seldom visited Ashe. All of them enjoyed playing video games, but generally hated playing Ashe. If he concentrated on the game, Ashe was very hard to beat. The others liked to win once in a while, so they played mostly with Sali.
    "I'll offer some of my books to Luanne; Trace said this morning that all her books got burned," Ashe sighed, nodding to the three boys. "Meet at my house in an hour and we'll go." Hayes, Larry and Jeff, their athletic shoes squeaking on the polished tile, walked quickly toward the school entrance.
    "Sali, I know I'll get in trouble if Mom and Dad find out, but we can't go empty-handed. Want to mist into Cordell and buy snacks?" Ashe gazed hopefully at his friend.
    "Yeah. Let's go," Sali breathed, excited to be sneaking away from the community. Ashe, making sure nobody else was inside the deserted school, became mist. Pulling Sali into his mist, he blazed toward his home to raid his allowance stash before racing invisibly to the nearby town of Cordell.
    Waiting patiently while a man wearing a studded leather jacket purchased a few items ahead of them, Ashe totaled snack items in his head. Sali had been more than generous, dumping multiple bags of chips and cookies into their basket.
    "Having a party, boys?" The woman at the register rang up the sale. The pile of cookies, snacks and soft drinks traveled along the conveyor belt while Ashe and Sali watched the cashier scan all of it. Ashe pulled a handful of bills from his pocket to pay—he barely had enough to cover everything.
    "Yeah, we're inviting friends over," Ashe agreed, handing money to the cashier. Sali was already gathering up bags of purchased snacks.
    "Haven't I seen you at Cordell Feed and Seed?" The woman asked, her brown eyes kind as she handed change back.
    "My mom owns it," Ashe said. Cordell was small enough that everyone knew everybody else.
    "You're Adele's son. Now I recognize you," the woman placed hands on ample hips as she smiled at Ashe and Sali. "Well, have fun."
    "We will. Thanks," Ashe lifted what Sali couldn't carry and they walked through the door of Jerry's Super Saver Market and Bakery.
    "Come on," Ashe nodded toward the opposite side of the grocery store—cars were parked where Sali was walking. They had to find a good place for Ashe to turn to mist.
    "Here," Ashe hissed, walking between the brick wall of the store