Page 102 of The Spellreader and the Phoenix

“Uh, how do we support ourselves forever?” Max wanted to know.

Rory frowned a little. “We might need to get some advice. Some of the other mythical shifters have amassed wealth over the centuries. I kind of got used to being reborn periodically and not worrying too much about material things.”

That actually made a lot of sense.

Rory smiled hopefully at him. “But now that I’m with you, we can definitely revisit that. You’d be here through the rebirth and there’d be more continuity. I can definitely get advice!”

Max was pretty sure that he couldn’t run the bookstore for millennia, because someone would probably notice that he wasn’t getting older. Some advice would be very helpful.

Max nodded. “I suppose it’s not an immediate problem. We’re doing well right now, and I don’t see that needing to change for years.”

Rory beamed at him.

“What else?” Max asked.

“Well, you know how you’re stronger as a witch once you bond with a familiar?”

Max nodded, following along. “And stronger still with a shifter familiar. You’re about to tell me I’ll be even stronger, aren’t you?”

Rory nodded, still smiling. “You’re so smart.”

Max huffed a laugh. “You don’t have to butter me up.”

Rory squawked, “Hey! I’m not buttering you up. That’s just the truth.”

Rolling his eyes, Max said, “Thanks. But honestly, while I know that’s why witches have been chasing after shifters for the last few decades, I don’t actually really care about becoming stronger.”

Looking fond, Rory said, “No, I don’t suppose you do. Honestly, I’ve always thought those are the better people to be gifted with magical strength.”

There seemed to be no getting away from the compliments, which made him squirm a little, so Max went for a diversion instead. “What else?”

“You probably don’t care about this, either, but unlike with the standard witch-familiar bond, you’ll be stronger even when I’m in human form.”

Max’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, interesting. So even though you think of yourself as a shifter foremost, my magic is stronger in both forms?”

Rory nodded. “I’ve heard people theorize over the years about why shifters need to be in their animal form. I think fundamentally, it’s a familiar bond with the animal. And while shifters are both their animal and human selves, it’s not quite as fundamental as it is for a mythical shifter. So they need to demonstrate that animal form. For me and the others, it’s intrinsically who we are all the time. Or our magic is accessible all the time. I’m not totally certain.”

“Is there a mythical shifter guidebook?” Max asked without any real hope.

Rory laughed. “No. We don’t really write things down, for the most part. There isn’t really a broken line of communication, given that we’re still here.”

Max considered this. He supposed it was a prime reason to record things. But—“Don’t you forget things? Are you telling me you remember everything over thousands of years?”

Shaking his head with a smile, Rory negated, “No, definitely not. But I think our capacity to remember may be better than a mortal’s. We discard things we don’t need anymore, and at least with me, some information seems to be let go when I’m reborn. But I retain what I want to retain. There are certain things that sort of… fade, but I can recall them if I wish to.”

This really was fascinating.

“Do you compare notes among one another?” Max asked. “How do you know it all?”

Rory seemed to consider this for a moment. “We do talk sometimes. Although most mythical shifters are solitary, we’ve run into one another enough times over the centuries to have shared information. And some of it…” His face screwed up in concentration. “I think we just know. Sort of like I know I’m a phoenix or that you’re my mate. The knowledge simply is, and I know it’s true.”

Max supposed there were certain fundamental truths about himself that he’d be hard-pressed to explain.

“Okay, so we’re living forever,” Max summarized, still a little boggled that he was saying this, “and I’m stronger once we bond no matter what form you’re in.”

“Correct.”

“Anything else?” Just how many changes could there be?