Dragonshift

by Linton Bowers

  “We need to figure out where the cops are being held,” I said ignoring the part about me being down.

  “The most likely location is the holding cells,” Amy said through the speakers in my glasses. Then a window appeared showing a grey-painted metal door with a small mesh screen window. The drone went to the window letting us see that the cops were in the holding cells. Unfortunately, there were at least a dozen people in there as well and they were all armed.

  “Hey!” came the shout of an unfamiliar voice through the glasses speakers. As the drone spun the screen went static then black before vanishing.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “The Remote drone was spotted and destroyed,” Amy said.

  “Shit,” Nick swore. “Those things were not cheap. Now I’ll have to make another. Someone is going to pay for this.”

  “They are going to pay for the loss of the drone, what they’ve done to Izzy, and holding those cops. We’re going to deliver that bill personally.”

  “Oh, I like it when you get all dark and broody,” Nick said. “The question is, how are you going to sneak in there? I know I can do it no probs, but you’re not exactly a ferret.”

  “No, I’m not.” I turned and faced the shifted wereferret Tua. “That doesn’t mean I can’t be just as sneaky. Give me a few minutes to get ready.”

  “Ok, I will. What are you going to do?”

  “Level up.” Nick tilted her head to the side in a confused expression. “I’ll explain later,” I clarified.

  “If you saw so. I’ll keep watch.”

  WIlling my pre-AI screen open I went to the new Ferret sphere and checked the new skills I should have.

  Sneak:

  Keep track of your belongings, there is a ferret about. Your steps become lighter making you 70% more silent while moving and you can instinctively pick paths that are less likely to get you spotted.

  Cost 1 Ability Point.

  Purchase Stamina? Yes / No

  Stamina:

  Increase your stamina by 50%

  Cost 1 Ability Point.

  Purchase Stamina? Yes / No

  Shadow Dancers:

  Your Tua gain the ability to move quieter and blend into the shadows easier making them harder to detect.

  Cost 1 Ability Point.

  Purchase Stamina? Yes / No

  Connection:

  Increase your connection to your Tua. Increased connection allows for 50% more energy gained when the associated gate is opened, taking 50% less energy from the target the gate is associated with.

  Cost 1 Ability Point.

  Purchase Connection? Yes / No

  The decision seemed obvious to me. With only two ability points, the standard received when I accept a new Tua; I chose sneak and connection. Sneak seemed perfect for the situation giving me a higher probability of moving around without being seen. Connection was a skill I already had for Miranda, Tabitha, and Izzy. It seemed to be the only skill they all shared in my skill tree. Not knowing what was in store for us exactly, I bought connection so I could pull from Nick without draining her too much if the need arose.

  As soon as the window closed, I give Nick a nod. She returned it then headed off to the stairs. I followed with the big drone at my back. A window popped up letting me see what the remote drone in the stairwell saw. “The stairs are clear,” I said.

  Nick opened the door and went in without checking for trouble. It gave me a little more comfort knowing Nick trusted me enough to go by my word alone. We quickly moved up the stairs and I marvel at how quietly I move. If I didn’t know for sure signals were moving from my brain to my leg muscles, I would swear I wasn’t moving at all. My reverie was cut short when we reached the door at the next landing. That one led us to the hallway where the remote drone was destroyed.

  “They have to be waiting for us,” I sent to Nick through our mental link.

  “I was thinking the same thing. I’m wondering if going through this door is a good move at all.”

  “You think another way would work better?” I asked.

  “You trust me?”

  “You should know that I do. So lead on,” I replied.

  Nick nodded then went up to the next landing with me right behind. As we climbed, I asked Amy for a status update on Izzy and the girls. A window popped up showing me the top of a blue minivan moving down the highway.

  “Holy shit,” I mumbled. “She really did get an Uber.”

  Nick slowly opened the door going into the fourth floor proper enough for the large drone to fly through. A window popped up, and I saw two doors, one labelled Homicide and the other Special Gangs Unit. The hall turned to the left and around to the right where the elevators were. None of the black-clad soldiers were there.

  “Clear,” I whispered.

  My Ferret Tua slipped into the hall and vanished. I followed having to pull the door open a little wider so I would fit. Nick was halfway to the right turn, so I strode along at a quick pace to catch up. Nick stopped with her back going rigid. She turned and looked at me with wide, angry eyes. one hand came up and an index finger was pressed to her lips. While I didn’t hear my steps apparently she had. I nodded my agreement and continued forward at a more subdued pace.

  Learning these new skills was amazing, but the learning curve seemed steep. Time was needed for me to master the new skills, but life kept throwing me for a loop requiring the acquisition of new skills with hardly any time to practice the ones I had already gained. I was giving serious thought to locking all of my Tua in our base, whether they liked it or not, and taking time to become a Tuatha powerhouse. I doubted that would go over well with Miranda or at all with Izzy.

  No sense in worrying over the things I had no control of. What I could do was save a couple dozen cops from being killed by an unknown group of mercenaries, or I assumed they were mercenaries. I wondered why Lycans would have the need for human mercs. Couldn’t they do all this much easier than the humans who were here now?

  “Time to stop with all the inner monologues and get your head in the game,” Nick said. She stood in front of the closed elevator doors with her hands on her hips. “Things are about to get a lot harder and you need to focus on staying quiet and following my lead. You ready to move?”

  “Lead on.”

  Chapter 8

  Nick pried open the elevator doors using her claws. Once the doors were spread far enough for my fingers to fit, I grabbed one side and pulled. In just a few seconds we had the door open as far as they would go. The elevator car was down below us on what looked to be the ground floor. It had to be the one Miranda and Tabitha took Izzy down in.

  “How are you at climbing?” Nick asked.

  “I think I’ll be able to manage.”

  “Then let’s get to it.” She jumped out and grabbed the cables holding the elevator car. Using only her arms she climbed down rapidly.

  She reached the floor below us and jumped to a ladder recessed in the wall to the left. I took the cable being free as my cue and jumped. The cable didn’t give at all as I slammed into it and held on for dear life. My hands clenched tight, but I still slid down slowly causing a good amount of pain from friction burns.

  There was a good chance I wasn’t strong enough, so I opened gates. Power flowed through the gates of wolf, serpent, and ferret at a quarter of full. They would hardly notice the amount taken, but it helped me a great deal. My hands closed tighter and the slow downward slide stopped. Using my arms I shimmied down the cable and stopped when I was even with Nick.

  “Jump here once I’m clear,” She said.

  The wereferret jumped to the elevator door landing on a ledge barely wide enough to stand on with just her toes. She made no sound as she did. I jumped to the ladder and heard a faint clank of my shoes hitting the metal bars. We remained motionless for a few seconds listening. Or I tried to listen as it was hard to hear anything over the sound of the blood being pumped through my ears.

  “Clear,” Nick thought to me.<
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  It amazed me how professional Nick was. When things were less dire, she seemed carefree and a little sex-crazed. But now that we were in the thick of it she was all business. Her value to my team of Tua was being established, and I found her to be very valuable.

  “You done thinking about irrelevant shit yet?” She thought to me.

  “Let it never be said that I can focus on the task at hand and not get sidetracked. I am the king of the wandering mind peoples.”

  “No doubt. I’ll laugh later. For now, be ready to jump once these doors are open.”

  Claws slid between the gap forcing the metal doors to part. Muscles in Nick’s well toned and fur covered arms bunched under her skin. With an explosion of force, the doors were thrown wide and Nick leapt. I jumped having been ready and landed right behind her. As I landed, my mind spun up to overdrive, and I took stock of the situation.

  Men and women with all manner of weapons walked toward the metal door at the end of the hall. As one then spun in time to see us land. Nick jumped up and twisted her body as firearms sprayed bullets in our direction. I dove and rolled coming up next to the first person in line. I punched her in the gut sending her flying into the man behind her. Nick landed next to me and kicked the man as the girl fell on him. Both landed in a heap of limbs and barrels.

  Two more people remained in the hallway separating us from the door to the holding cells. My hands closed on the collar of the body armor the man wore and I threw him like he weighed nothing. His back connected with the two people as they were lowering their barrels to not shoot one of their own. Nick was on them before they hit the ground slamming her fist into their faces and knocking them out.

  We took up positions on either side of the door. Nick and I both breathed heavy, but it was more from excitement than fatigue. My Ferret Tua smiled a broad grin at me and counted down with her fingers. Once her last finger went down, she held up her fist stopping me. Her grin grew wider, and she stepped back coming closer.

  “I have an idea,” Nick whispered. “Go go through the door and I’m taking a different route.” Her eyes drifted up and took on a dark gleam.

  “Sure,” I replied in a whisper. “Don’t forget we can talk like this whenever you want,” I thought to Nick.

  “Right. Forgot about that, Boss. Let’s move.”

  I rushed the door throwing it open and leaping into a group of armed mercs. Our bodies hit the ground, and I punched kicked, elbowed, and kneed. A gunshot went off drowning out all sound in the room. To keep from being hurt too much I activated Shell, the skill I gained from having Izzy, my Wereturtle. Turtle shell like armor spread over my body, but I only had thirty seconds of additional protection.

  Another gun went off as I rose to my feet. An impact with my left shoulder spun me partially around. Sparing a split second I looked down and saw a hole in my shirt, and the butt end of a bullet sticking out. The armor i wore and Shell stopped the round completely. Good information to know for future reference.

  The ceiling above the shooter exploded downward. A blur of brown fur landed on the woman then shot off hitting another merc. Nick’s plan was in action and so was I. My right foot connected with the side of one of the mercs lying around me while he tried to rise. Dashing forward, I haymaker punched another merc in the face sending an explosion of blood in all directions.

  Something hit me from behind driving me into the ground. A merc breathed his soda sweet breath in my face as he lay on me holding me down. Pushing up with my arms I found moving us both to not be very difficult. Another couple of merc s jumped on me knocking me flat. It was time to change the game.

  The wolf, serpent, and ferret gates opened to fifty percent flooding my body with strength and energy. I pushed up with explosive force. The three men holding me down flew away, and I went from prone to standing. Spinning, I rushed and attacked. A series of punches and kicks put the three paperweight want to bes out of commission.

  Something landed hard on my shoulder. I spun with my leg flying out and up. Stopping a few inches short of Nick’s face I halted all action. My Wereferret had placed her hand on my shoulder.

  “We’re all done here, Boss,” Nick said. She hadn’t even flinched at my attempted kick. Nick was hard core as far as I was concerned.

  “Good.” My leg slowly lowered to the floor. “We need to free the cops and get back.”

  The cell I approached held a group of seven cops, one was a well dressed older man I recognized. “Hi Barnabus, how goes it?” I asked.

  “It’s going a hell of a lot better now that you’re here, son. How about you open this door and get us out of here?”

  “That’s the plan, Barnabus. You know where the keys are?” I asked.

  “I think that guy has a set.” He pointed at a man close to the door sitting on his ass with his back leaning against the wall and his head down with his chin on his chest.

  Nick grabbed his armor and hoisted him up with one hand. She searched his pockets with the other than dropped him. A crunching sound came from his arm as he landed on it awkwardly. I didn’t feel sorry for the guy and I hoped he broke his arm. Served him right.

  In a few minutes my Tua had all the cells open and cops streamed past us to go about their business. I hoped it meant they would arm up and clear the rest of the building. I was anxious to get back to Izzy and make sure she was all right.

  “We owe you big time,” Barnabus said as he extended his hand.

  Taking his hand in mine I realized Shell was still active. Before I could dismiss the skill, the time ran out, and the armor receded. “I may need to take you up on that one day, Barnabus. But for now, how about we just say I was helping a friend in a tight spot.”

  The police chief chuckled. “That works for me. But this brings up another point. Your kind can’t be kept a secret from my police officers any longer. We will have to discuss an introduction to my people so they have a better understanding of what is happening in my city.”

  “I agree. Right now though…”

  “We both have more pressing issues. Go see to your business and have Miranda call me.”

  “All right. Take care of you and yours.” I said.

  Nick waited for me at the door. She was smiling and looking at me in a funny way. “What?” I asked as I approached.

  “You’re not so bad,” Nick said. “Miranda said you were a badass, but seeing is believing.” Her smile faded and her face took on a somber expression. “I felt like my energy was being pulled away near the end. Was that you?”

  “Yeah sorry,” I said as I scratched me head and gave her my best, it wasn’t me smile. “That’s part of being a Tuatha and Tua. I borrow from my Tua and become more powerful. Sorry if it bothered you.”

  “It’s okay, I feel much stronger than I did before I became one of your Tua. So I didn’t miss it.” She stepped aside and waved me on. “Let’s get going. We need to check on the Latin chick.”

  “That we do,” I said as I walked passed.

  We left through the elevator through elevator car. Once outside I found the A.I.M.E. M drone hovering over a smart car. The sight of the vehicle surprised me. Who in their right mind would drive to a scenario like the one we were just in? They had to have heard the gunfire from here.

  “It’s mine,” Nick said. “I found the designs for self driving cars online and built my own. I made a few improvements while I was at it so you won’t hear about my baby hitting pedestrians.”

  “Damn.” My head slowly turned until I was looking at my Ferret. “Your are a badass in all kinds of ways.”

  “And don’t you forget it,” She replied.

  Nick walked to the vehicle and my eyes tracked her. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a large dog not too far away standing in the shadows. When I looked, there was nothing there. As I approached, the passenger door opened on its own.

  “Self opening doors too,” Nick yelled.

  I climbed in and the door closed behind me. The car started moving without
Nick touching the wheel. Then the windows went opaque white masking my view of the outside world.

  “Windows that tint on their own,” Nick said. “I’m trying to get the traditional colors of window tint to work, but I haven’t gotten there yet. So for now when a charge is applied the windows become like this.”

  “What good are windows you can’t see out of?” I asked. “And how does it work?”

  “Like this.” Nick pressed a button, and the windows went clear. Movement caught my eye again and I looked up into the rearview mirror. The silhouette of a woman stood in the shadows where I thought I saw the dog. Then the windows were white again, and she was gone.

  My mouth opened to comment on what I saw when hands grabbed my pants and opened them. “Hey!” I shouted in surprise.

  “I’ve been your Tua for like, ever, and I still have yet to be fucked. Were doing this,” Nick replied as she pulled my pants down around my knees.

  “I’m not objecting to…” My words and thoughts stopped when a warm wet mouth took me in.

  I placed my hand on Nick’s head and tangled my fingers in her hair. There was no need to help her with the up and down as she was frantically bobbing and sucking. It was bliss.

  “If you don’t stop, or slow down, I’m going to…” That was as far as I could get before an orgasm rocked me.

  Nick, the amazing woman she is, just kept going while I shot stream after stream into her mouth. When I collapsed back into the seat breathing heavy she stopped.

  “Miranda said you can keep going and going if you do the gate thingy. So I figured I’d make you feel good before you made me feel good.” She smiled and wiped a cream-colored drop from her lips. Her grin widened. “I am going to fuck you raw.”

  Chapter 9

  My beautiful ferret started to open her pants when Amy spoke. “Forgive the interruption, but we have a problem.”

  “What?” Nick snapped sounding very annoyed.