Shift - 02 (2 page)

I used that same power to help push away my fear. The water battled the storm of emotions roaring through me and brought with it the calm. Fear faded beneath the imagery of cold drops against my skin, and my muscles relaxed. My breathing steadied and my eyelids lifted, only to gaze into the green cat eyes before me. Rayna was on the edge of the bed and only an arm’s length away.

The skin of my arm pulled itself shut and the final drop of blood hit the floor. My water element closed the wounds, but I didn't have enough control to pull it back and it spilled out into the room.

“Chase…” Marcus started, but it was too late.

My element emanated off of me, pushing against the monster like an invisible hand. The magic rolled over Rayna's skin and moved through the beast's fur, reaching down into her soul.

Rayna regained her composure as the magic coaxed the monster back, allowing her to regain control of her body. The beast in her eyes faded and I had a moment’s hope, but in a jerk of awkward movements, her body shuddered and she was gone.

Bones crunched and Rayna's arms snapped, reversing which way they bent. She tumbled off the bed and clawed at the floor near my feet. Muscles flexed and strained, scarring the hardwood. Splinters slid underneath her nails, causing her fingers to bleed.

“Please...” Rayna gasped. She slurred her words as fangs jutted from red gums raw with pain. She winced in agony and her eyes pleaded, letting a single tear trickle down her cheek.

“How do we stop it, Marcus?”

Marcus shook his head. “We can’t.
She
has to fight it.”

“We have to do something. It’s killing her.”

“This is the only way I know...”

I looked at Tiki and worry owned his face. White, triangular pupils expanded over solid, orange eyes, and he flinched at the sound of Rayna's bones grinding together. His frame filled the doorway, muscles flexing beneath the caramel flesh of his shirtless body. Messy, black hair hung in his eyes and he continually brushed it away.

Willy's face was pale for an instant, quickly changing to match the bright red paint on Rayna’s walls. His chameleon skin flickered back and forth between colors as panic filled his eyes. Blood and clear fluid dripped from his face, but he didn't seem to notice. He was frozen in fear, watching his friend’s body break and change before him. This was the first shift Willy had been here for. I didn’t think he was quite ready for it.

Frustration won me over and I dropped to the floor, hoping the claws didn’t strike me again. I laid my hands over Rayna's body and called my magic back.

“Chase, don’t. You could do more damage than good,” Marcus said.

I shot dark blue eyes to Marcus. “You know as well as I do, nothing I can do is worse than this, so back off!” I didn’t expect for it to come across so harsh, but I didn’t have time to worry about his feelings. I wasn’t about to lose someone else.

The invisible hand inside me wrapped around the cool rush of my element and tugged it back to the surface. I pulled the wash of water from my soul and let it fill my body. The magic shuddered and the liquid moved under my skin as power prickled through me, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Chase, don’t,” Marcus said.

“I’m trying!" I yelled, quickly reeling my anger back and letting the element calm me. "It’s a lot more than any of us have done for her so far.”

Water was a healing and calming element, but it could be as deadly as any other. Marcus was right to be worried; my control was weak at best, but I couldn't watch this. Not again.

Magic ran up my body, into my shoulders, and down my arms in a wave of power. My fingertips tingled as it left me and flowed into Rayna’s body.

I focused on calming Rayna. I didn’t want to hurt her, and I wasn’t sure healing the wounds would help. I focused my energy and hoped if I put enough power into sedating the beast, Rayna could regain control.

The moment my magic filled her, Rayna's earth element pushed back against me, trying to intertwine with mine. It was Rayna’s way of reaching out to me.

Our elements met and wrapped themselves in each other, coursing from her body to mine in a circuit of power. Our bodies were one in that moment, our elements just an extension of ourselves. My magic moved through her, dancing beneath her skin as it fed off her power.

I imagined a small creek moving over stones, wearing the rough edges down until they were smooth. That gentle flow of water would push the beast back and carry Rayna to shore.

The beast retreated as the magic splashed through. Feeling the monster’s resistance, I forced it back, letting the energy thrust it into a corner until it surrendered. I waited until I was sure it was gone before I turned my focus to her injuries.

I pictured Rayna’s bones reforming, the claws and fangs receding, and the cool trickle of water filling her senses to mask the pain.

Rayna gasped as the cold element rushed into her body.
 
She tensed at first, unnatural muscles flexing beneath her flesh, before she collapsed in a wave of exhaustion. She hit the floor and I pushed harder. I had kept the beast back for the moment, but now I needed to make sure it stayed away, at least for tonight.

Her breathing slowed and Rayna’s eyes glossed over. Her bones cracked and shifted back into place, and soft cries whispered through her lips. Long talons slid back beneath her pale skin, and the fangs withdrew into her gums. The tears that filled her eyes leaked down the sides of her face. They merged with the blood that covered her skin and caused a pink liquid to disappear into her hair. The red highlights in her black hair stuck to her face, and the moonlight that shone through the windows reflected off her body, revealing a layer of sweat.

It took all I had to pull the magic back. It receded slowly and I tucked it away inside of me. Rayna stared up from the torn hardwood floor. Her tearing eyes showed the pain she’d been in. I brought my hand to her forehead and ran it down her cheek, trying to reassure her she was safe. She released a breath and her eyes fluttered closed.

Her skin was cool to the touch, which was good. When her body tried to shift, her temperature spiked to incredible heights. Heights the human body shouldn't have been able to withstand, but Rayna wasn't human. She was a demon and a hunter. A witch, yet…something more. The temperature drop meant she’d beat the change this time, but I was more concerned about next time.

I pulled my hand away and her eyes didn’t open. Her chest rose and fell with deep breaths, her body giving into its demand for rest. I slipped one arm under her neck and the other under her legs, scooping her into my arms. Her body fell limp as I lifted her from the damaged floor, blood and sweat still dripping from her skin.

I moved past the others. Marcus looked sad. Rayna was practically his daughter and watching her go through this was painful for all of us, but I think it struck another chord with him.

I walked to the only spare bedroom we had left. Willy and Tiki were always here now and we were quickly running out of rooms. I laid Rayna in the bed as gently as I could and pulled the covers up over her. Her clothes were in tattered shreds and she was covered in blood and goo, but she finally looked at peace.

Nobody had gotten much sleep the last three nights, but it had been the hardest on Rayna. None of us knew much about shifters, except how to kill them. After watching what she was going though, I think we’d all gathered a new respect and a desire to learn more.

I closed the door and saw the last glimpse of Tiki before he slipped into his room. For reasons I didn’t understand, Tiki had sworn an oath to me. He guided me through Drakar, and without him, I would never have been able to save Rayna. I might not have understood his loyalty, but I was grateful for it.

Willy had disappeared. For a demon, he didn't have much of a stomach for stuff like this, but then again, Willy wasn’t like most demons.

Marcus stood in the hallway, his dark brown eyes unmoving, and as usual I couldn't read his expression.

My eyes fell to the floor. “Look, I’m sorry I–”

Marcus’ hand came up. “What you did in there was quick thinking.”

I looked up in surprise.

“This was the worst change she’s ever gone through.” Marcus ran a large hand over his cleanly shaven head. “She’s never shifted that far before. You might’ve just saved her life.”

I looked back to the floor and guilt tugged at me. I shouldn’t have spoken to him like I did, but I’d lost my temper. Again. That was something that happened more often lately.

“Are you sure she can’t shift? It looked like she was going all the way this time.”

“I was...I’m not so sure anymore. For now, as always, we’re treating this like she’s a hunter and the shift will kill her. Whether or not that’s the case, I don’t know, but we don’t have the liberty of experimenting.”

“I’m not suggesting we risk her life and see what happens. I’m saying maybe we should look into it. No hunter could’ve made it that far into the change. They’d be dead. Something’s different here.”

Marcus sighed. “I know…I’ll look into it.” He turned and walked down the hall. His massive black form disappeared into the shadows and the white door closed, leaving the latch to click into place.

The cold hardwood felt strange against my feet as silence engulfed the condo. The moon outside shone faintly and shadows wrapped themselves around me. I went to my bedroom and flicked on the lamp.

This room was nicer than my previous one. The wood floors glistened and the walls were a warm mocha color. The dark brown dresser was clean, smooth wood. Not scarred and faded like my old one. My bed was a mattress, on a box spring, on a frame. Not a weathered sponge on a stained carpet. I even had a night table with a lamp. Compared to my old room, I might as well be at the Hilton.

I fell on the bed and stared up at the perfect ceiling. It was missing the cracks and nicotine stains of the apartment, and I still hadn’t gotten used to it.

The silence followed and I felt its presence linger against me. It was nights like these that I missed my neighbors. They swore, they screamed, and they smashed things against the walls, but after three years it had become my lullaby. I’d give anything to have that apartment back, and the life that belonged there. The life I had with Mom.

I opened up the wooden case that sat on my nightstand and stared at the two daggers inside. Beneath the blades lay the folded up note that came with them, and just looking at the polished silver made me sad. It was the last gift and the last note my mother would ever give me.

Chills shuddered through me at the thought of her and goose bumps rode up my body. Rai fluttered in through the door and found her way to my shoulder. She puffed out her chest and white feathers ruffled themselves. The gold that lined her spine and tail sparkled under the lamp, and lightning crackled in her eyes.
 
Rai stretched and her white feathers were soft as she moved both pairs of wings against my face.

“Hey girl,” I said.

Rai tweeted softly in my ear, nipping at it before flying to the open cage on the dresser.

I lay back down, and as my eyelids fell, I could see Mom’s face. There she was, smiling at me. Warm hazel eyes swallowed me and instantly I felt better. Soft brown hair fluttered in front of her face, bending to the will of the wind that moved around us, and still she smiled.

It warmed me from the inside out and tears welled beneath my eyelids, but I didn’t dare open them. I wouldn’t lose this image just to release the tears that fought to be free. But as quickly as it came, Mom’s expression changed, and the warmth was stolen from me.

The gentle smile that held me so often disappeared, and fear took over. Her skin turned a sickly green, and a bright orange light reflected off her eyes before flames engulfed her.

My eyes shot open and I jerked myself upwards. The tears I desperately fought to keep back broke free and fell over my face. Her voice rang in my ears, screaming my name and begging for me not to leave her.

I shook my head to escape the sound and it shattered around me.

Silence rushed back into the room and I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head. That image sent waves of panic and fear through my body, jolting awake any part of me that wanted to sleep. I wasn’t going back to bed. Not tonight.

Chapter 2

“I’m no–, not, coming!” Willy stammered.

“This isn’t up for debate. The elders said we all have to be there, so we’re all going,” I said.

“Well, you can
all go
without me. I’ve got no–, nothing to say to them.”

“Willy, you don’t understand what the Circle is or what the elders are capable of–”

“And I don’t care. I do–, don’t want to go.” Willy crossed his arms, trying to look defiant.

“I don’t care what you want or don’t want. Having to meet with the elders is bad enough. I’m not going to have your death on my conscience because I let you stay home. This isn’t a discussion. Now go upstairs and get ready.”

“But–”

“Now!” I commanded.

Willy’s face paled. He cowered down from his want-to-be-defiant stance and looked hurt. I felt guilty for yelling at him, but I pushed it away beneath all the other emotions I didn’t have time for. I didn’t need to feel guilty right now and Willy would thank me later, when he was alive.