Shift (The Pandorma Adventures Book 1) (30 page)

“Since you’re obviously in a mushy mood, give
me
the box.” I take it out of his hands, pull off the lid and start walking. I hand him the journal and rifle through the papers.

“It's not mushy,” he protests, “I am just showing my deep, inner feelings.”

“I see,” I laugh. I frown and turn the paper I’m holding upside down, then sideways.

“You know, you can be really irritating at times. Like when you give short answers. It makes it very hard to know what you’re thinking.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to know what I’m thinking,” I tease, then say, “These words are written in some kind of—” I flip it on the other side. “I don’t know.”

I place the paper in Ryan’s open hand and pull out a few more. They too are written with the same strange letters. I rifle through more, but none are written in English, and the few diagrams scribbled down make no sense to me. I let out a frustrated sigh and slap the lid back on. I give him the box and he hands me the journal. I open it to the page I had left off on.

“I want to know what you’re thinking,” he says seriously.

“We go through all the trouble of keeping this
thing—
” I’m cut off as Ryan makes a frustrated grumble then grabs my waist and starts tickling me.

“Stop tickling!” I yell and break free.

“You’re not paying attention and I’m trying to have a discussion with you.”

I bite my bottom lip. “About?”

“That’s it.” Ryan prepares to tickle me again, but I yell, “Hold on! I think I found something.”

Ryan’s face instantly gets serious. “What?”

“The page is bent.”

Ryan traps me against his chest, but before he can do anything I say, “You can be irritating too.”

“How?”

“Look,” I say, and hold the journal up for him to read. Ryan’s breath tickles my ear as he reads a few sentences.

“That has no value at all,” he says.

“But you read it.”

Ryan pokes me in the ribs before letting go and we start walking again.

“So from now on you’re going to give me more detailed answers right?”

“Umm, sure.”

Ryan hitches the box under his arm and takes my hand then says, “You’re just saying that.”

“Giving detailed answers isn’t my thing.”

He sighs. “Read the important stuff out loud,” he tells me after a pause.

“Sure.” I flip the page and scan through a few paragraphs before finding one of interest.

“Iru, the rabbit at the lab, has finally done something worthwhile. He created a kind of super potion. The animals drink it and it enhances speed, flexibility, etc. Cataloged side effects on page 34,” I say more to myself.

“No wonder those Rexes had out-of-character abilities.”

The rest of the page lists the ingredients and which creatures she wanted to give the drink to. Ryan and I cross a small stream, grab a refreshing drink then continue on. I silently read a few more pages on how they could become billionaires using Pandorma, how they were going to exploit every single inch of the planet. I wrinkle my nose in disgust.

I read out loud: “It seems things on Pandorma aren’t entirely how I expected. The creatures oppose my using the natural resources for my own gain and they absolutely refuse to allow people to visit the planet. Many of the creatures fear the power Xavier and I possess but some of them are rising up against us.

We are now at war. I expected a quick win, but unfortunately those lowly creatures are more skilled than they let on. As of now, they are banning together to force us to leave. Unfortunately those brainless beings don’t know who they're up against. I am being forced to take some extreme measures to stay on top—blasted these animals with a brain. I’ve had to threaten creatures with their life to get them to fight on my side.

I’ve decided that we will use Earth animals and/or shifters (werewolves) as a shield so that my warriors will get hit less. Shifters and Earth animals aren’t easy to obtain and transport discreetly though, and my officers are repulsed by the idea of using other creatures as a shield. Perhaps I should explore giving my warriors some kind of armory.”

I flip to the next page and continue. “I’ve bribed their commander, a tiger named Cobalt. In return for misleading her army she can have as much territory as she can control.”

“So Cobalt is definitely working for Medusa,” Ryan says grimly.

“Looks like. I don’t think Cuven is in on it though.”

“Probably not but we can’t be too careful,” Ryan says. “So the animals fighting for Medusa are only fighting for her because they fear her and Xavier.”

“Yes.”

“She’s not promising them anything?”

I start reading again. “Well, it looks like if they fight willingly they are given something they want and are placed near the back instead of at the frontline.”

Ryan tugs on my hand and I realize he’s stopped walking. We’re at the edge of the forest and about to enter a field.

“How about I read while you be lookout since you’ve got the better senses and stuff,” he says.

“But I’m reading it,” I say, feigning protest. Ryan gives me the box and his bow and we start walking. I notice some herbivores far off but nothing else.

“It looks like you threw a big wrench into Medusa’s plans when you showed up. Cobalt sent someone to tell Medusa about you.” Ryan sighs. “Darklily and Trevor were sent on a wild goose chase. Medusa has been keeping tabs on you the whole time.”

“How?”

“Just through reports by other animals. That’s why the wolves went back to the cave after I left—they realized who we were. Medusa wants you dead but doesn’t see you as a threat. Cobalt was instructed to have you trained so you wouldn’t get suspicious but you weren’t supposed to be trained well.” Ryan murmurs a few more sentences to himself. “There isn’t much else but she has marked down that they have a battle planned tomorrow. She’s hoping the bombs discourage anymore creatures from resisting her.”

“We need to get to that battle,” I say determinedly.

Ryan opens his mouth, but never gets to say anything, because he slumps to the ground.

“Ryan!” I begin to bend over him, but something pierces my thigh. I fall to the ground and blackout.

Chapter 24

I moan quietly. My head throbs with pain and my joints feel like jelly. I try to get up, but I’m tenderly pushed back down.

“Easy,” a voice whispers.

My head is so foggy I can’t recognize who spoke. A hand brushes hair away from my face then begins caressing it. It has a lulling affect and I’m soon washed back into sleep.

* * * *

When I wake again the hand is gone and I’m colder. The dirt beneath me is glazed with millions of tiny pebbles that bore into my skin, and the earth is bitterly cold. The air has a mountain chill to it that gives me goose bumps and freezes my core so that I wonder if I’ll ever be entirely warm again. The pounding in my head has gone down to a pulsating pain that I can deal with. My body trembles with weakness and hunger, but I ignore it and wobbly stand up. Halfway standing, strong arms take my shoulders and hold me steady. It's dark so I can’t see the person next to me, but I know it’s Ryan.

“Finally. I thought you’d sleep forever.”

Instantly the fogginess clouding my brain leaves at the sound of her voice.

“Dark?”

“I hope you mean me and not the one surrounding us,” she half-heartedly jokes.

Darklily comes and sits in front of me. I can clearly see her now that my eyes have adjusted. I fall to my knees and hug her tightly. Her fur is matted and sticky in places. I bring my fingers close to my nose. Blood.

“Dark are you okay?”

She brushes me off. “Of course. A few scrapes won’t kill me,” she says nonchalantly, but I can feel pain vibrating off her.

There’s a snort. “More like a few gashes. She picked a fight with Cobalt when she came to tell us that they’d be bringing you guys in here soon and she didn’t want us to cause trouble.”

I whirl around. Trevor is leaning against the wall of our confine. I walk over and give him a quick hug.

“I’m so glad to see you guys again. Is Shiver here by any chance?” I ask hopefully.

Ryan shakes his head.

“Well that makes one of you. Ordinary Boy over there wasn’t exactly brimming with enthusiasm to see us.”

“I was knocked out. Besides I could say the same for you,” Ryan says.

“Oh shut up you two. At least you didn’t have to listen to their mindless bickering the whole time. And I thought the males of our breed were bad.” Dark gives me a sympathetic look. “I feel for you.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” I tease.

“You aren’t exactly the greatest company yourself,” Trevor retorts at Dark.

“I’m the best company you’ve had in years you immature hunk. Now that you’re here, Lissa, we can
finally
get out,” Dark says with vexation.

“Not that we couldn’t before—” Trevor begins.

Dark cuts him off with a hiss. “Seriously I could break the darn door down with the way these guys ruffle my fur every wrong way,” Dark growls.

I laugh. “I think you’ve been trapped here for too long. I’m sorry you had to put up with them.”

Dark sniffs. “So you should be. You’re the one who brought them.”

Trevor comes closer to me. “You’ll never guess who was playing us,” he says sarcastically.

“We were right all along about Cobalt and Cuven. They were never on our side,” Dark says.

“No, Cuven was on our side,” I say quickly.

Trevor’s brows furrow. “You positive?”

I nod. “Ryan and I found this journal . . . which doesn’t seem to be with us anymore,” I say when I notice its missing. I note that Ryan’s weapons have been taken as well. I feel my pocket. The healing water is gone too.
Darn.
Hopefully Ryan won’t get badly hurt.

Ryan clenches his jaw angrily. “They took everything when they tranquilized us like animals.”

When it comes to me, that’s true. Almost.

“I think they gave you a different kind of drug,” Dark says to me. “You’ve been out for a while but Ryan woke an hour after he was dumped here.”

I sit down. My head is starting to feel dizzy. “How did you guys find out about Cobalt?”

Trevor cuts in before Dark and says, “We came across a mangled bear.”

“He was on his last leg,” Dark interrupts sadly.

“I told him where we were headed—”

“Against better judgment,” Dark scolds.

“Would you let me finish?
Anyways
, when I told him where we were headed, he became furious and started ranting about Cobalt being a traitor and leading everyone to their death. We asked around a bit, picked up a few fragments and put them together. Cobalt is working with Xavier and she sent you there to get killed. We rushed back as soon as we realized it, but you were already gone. We told Cuven then got a—”

“One-way ticket to jail,” Darklily finishes for Trevor in an angry voice. I hear her mutter idiot and I snort softly.

“But why would Cuven do that? He’s on our side.” Ryan says, glancing at me.

“He must have had a reason,” I say. I pull my knees to my chest and close my eyes.

“The final battle starts in less than half an hour,” Dark warns, her voice sounding funny in the silence. “We need to get out of here and stop it before it gets started.”

“I don’t think we can stop it. We need to fight,” Trevor says with conviction.

I look at the four walls of our prison. “Where’s the door?”

Trevor goes to the wall and taps a spot at the edge of the left corner. I frown and move closer. Faintly I can make out the lines of a door.

“All rock,” Trevor says with fake happiness. “Just for us, I was told.”

“Okay. Move to the corners and watch out.”
Stegosaurus.

“Why—” Dark begins then stops, her eyes widening with shock as I grow into the shape of a stegosaurus.

I just barely fit in the small space. The plates on my back dig into the ceiling and dirt spatters down on me. I’m forced to turn my head far sideways so I can move forward and effectively whip my tail against the door. I pull it back and the spikes dig into the wall behind. I make a low grumble and pull it out with as much force as I can, carrying the momentum against the door.

The walls rumble and the rock cracks, but stays intact, my spikes imprisoned with it. I tug once, nothing. I wonder what part of me would be stuck in the door if I shifted. Again I jerk as hard as I can. Once, twice, three times, on my fourth try it swings out so fast the spikes burrow into the wall behind. I stamp my foot angrily, causing the ground to shake. My neck is starting to cramp from being in this position. Gathering my strength, I yank my tail out and aim it at the door.

The rock cracks into pieces and falls, along with a part of the wall.
Lissa.

“Great,” Ryan says unfazed and walks through the rubble. Trevor and Dark stare, disbelief etched on their faces. Trevor is the first to reel in his feelings. He opens his mouth to say something, but Darklily cuts him off.

“That was amazing.” Dark turns to Trevor. “See I told you she could get us out.” Dark bounds out of the cave before Trevor can respond.

I look at Trevor then we race after Ryan and Dark. Ryan halts us at the first corner and flattens himself against the wall. We imitate him. Quick moving shadows fall across the wall then disappear.

“Go,” Dark hisses when Ryan doesn’t move.

“I don’t know the way out,” he says.

Trevor chuckles and I elbow him. “Ow,” he mutters but laughter still gleams in his eyes.

“Don’t be mean,” I whisper.

Trevor shrugs.

“I don’t know either,” Dark protests when we all turn our eyes on her.

I move to the front and inhale deeply. All I can smell is heavily packed dirt and stone plus a confusing jumble of multiple animals. Animals race past just then and I pull back seconds before they can see me. Once they are gone I follow in their steps, carefully staying just far enough back.

Just as I’d hoped, they lead us to the entrance. We duck into the five-foot high bushes enclosing the entrance to the underground caves.

“I know this place,” Dark whispers into my ear. “These bushes border the perfect battleground: a savannah.”

“What makes it perfect?” Ryan asks.

“Flat terrain, trees to use as springboards and open sky for creatures to dive bomb.”

“We’ll be an easy target for their bombs. They can annihilate everyone and have a clean win.”
We never did get to find those bombs,
I think grimly.

“Bombs?” Trevor looks at me.

I nod. Ryan’s face is grim. “Let’s get moving.”

“Wait,” Dark says, “with all of us moving through here we’re bound to get caught. We should take separate ways.”

“Or pair up. I’ll go with Lissa,” Trevor adds after shifting into a wolf.

I begin to protest because I’d rather go with Dark, and Ryan too looks as if he is going to contradict Trevor, but Dark speaks up first.

“Don’t be ridiculous
I’ll
go with Lissa.”

I’m not sure it's best to put Trevor and Ryan together, but I’m not about to argue with Dark.
Leopard.
“Let's go.”

Darklily gives them a warning look before we take off.

“I can’t wait for this to be over,” Dark says after we’ve gone a ways.

“Me too.” My paws prick with eagerness to eat a good meal and take a hot bath.

“Where will you go?” Dark asks casually.

“Home of course,” I purr.

She doesn’t say anything. I stop. “Dark, I love it here. This is the most
incredible
place I’ve ever seen and I will come back some day, but right now I just really want to go home.”

“With him,” Dark says bitterly. “If you stayed we could have so much fun,” she pleads. “Endless days of exploring and—”

“I’m not leaving for Ryan. I’m leaving because no matter my shape, I’m still a person—and I miss . . .” I trail off. What did I miss? The hollow rooms of the house? The stabbing looks of Lexi, or the run down town I’d known most of my life? A place I’ve always wanted to escape? No, none of those things.

“My dad is out there somewhere. I love him very deeply, he’s—he means
so
much to me and I need to find him.”

What I don’t tell her is that Ryan is part of the reason. I don’t think he’d want to stay here and I don’t want to be without him. I look in Dark’s deep emerald eyes. She knows my thoughts without my telling her. And she’s hurt. She starts walking briskly.

“Please, put yourself in my place. Would you leave your world for such a long time and not want to go home?”

Dark halts and looks into my eyes. “It's only been a few weeks—” she drops her gaze. “I understand. I just—” she scrapes the ground with a speckled paw, “I haven’t had a friend in a while. Our kind don’t stick together, and being friends with prey is out of the question. Most animals stay with their own kind and don’t bond with outsiders. I’ve missed you.”

I rub my head against her shoulder. “I’ve missed you too but I’m not kidding about my dad. My mom took him away from me. I need to find him and make sure he’s okay.”

Dark sighs heavily and begins walking again, sad acceptance dulling her emerald eyes.

It doesn’t take long to reach the edge of the bushes. Savannah is spread before us; the chopped knee-high grass looks purposely flattened. In the forest up north, full-blown opposition wafts from unseen animals and clogs the air. It’s a fragile situation. They have these animals wound so tight that one insignificant flick of a tail, and they’d race screaming across the plains. I juggle the sides in my head. Who do we confront first?

“I believe our army is hiding in the grasslands down south of us,” Dark says, gesturing with her tail.

I look south, and sure enough the tremendously hilly grassland has figures flitting back and forth every so often. Without another word we slip farther back into the bushes and begin moving down, bumping into Trevor and Ryan on the way. They had seen nothing except tense warriors hiding in the hills below.

We race across marsh into a jungle bordering the grassland. We soon reach the edge of the jungle and hunker down in the thick leafy growth and observe the animals apprehensively pacing the grass.
Lissa.

“So how do we stop it?” I ask quietly.

“Lissa, there is no stopping it,” Dark tells me solemnly.

“Then what are we doing?” I ask confused. “I thought stopping it was the whole point.”

“The only way to stop this war is to win,” Trevor tells me gently. “If you want to stop it,
you
need to fight your hardest.” Trevor’s eyes bore into mine. “You can do this.”

My stomach starts to churn. All the previous fights I’ve been in flash through my mind. Despite Cuven’s training it had never been easy battling and now I’m going to put myself in a warzone? I look at Darklily.

“Trevor head for the back. I don’t want to hear your complaints,” she growls when he opens his mouth. “You’re already in way over your head but if you must fight then that’s where you need to be.”