by Alexia Purdy
I shook my head and held back a groan. Boys will be boys.
“You got it all wrong. Why would I bring her back here if I wanted to hurt her? She stayed with me all weekend willingly, by the way. You can take that whichever way you want, but trust me, she wasn’t being held against her will. How’s that for being a prisoner? You need to back off. She’s not interested in anything more with you.”
“We’ll see about that,” Phillip snapped.
I crept forward and peered through the slats of my closet door. I’d been meaning to replace the door; one of the slats was loose, and I could see Phillip’s face all too clearly. Malachi came into view, and I had a good eyeful of their angered faces.
Tilting my head, I realized they both had striking looks, but Malachi had Phillip beat, hands down. It made me feel ashamed that I had unintentionally led Phillip on and wouldn’t be able to give him more than my friendship. That’s all it ever had been. He knew that, yet here he was, still pining, still interrogating Malachi like he was a criminal. Jealous and uncooperative. It made me furious, yet it was strangely flattering and soothing at the same time.
I’m in so much trouble.
I felt my bones creak as they began to expand and grow. My feathers reabsorbed into my skin, and my beak shrunk back into my nose and mouth. I was changing back, but it was unfortunate the guys were just outside the closet door because the tiny bit of rustling I made as my body shifted was enough to cause them both to look in my direction.
“What was that?” Phillip swung his eyes toward the door, studying it as he strained to listen.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Malachi lied. I could see his teeth grinding together as his jaw flexed. He was done dealing with my friend and could barely hold back his disdain. “I think Phoebe went outside. I suggest we go talk to her.”
“No, I would have seen her if she went out.”
“Then I guess she’s in the bathroom.”
Phillip didn’t move, and I swallowed hard, knowing he wasn’t convinced. His eyes never left the closet door. “I know I heard something coming from behind that door. Have you guys checked out the place since she’s been gone? Someone could be hiding in there.”
“Yes, we checked the place out. There’s no one here except for you, me and Phoebe.”
“I think you weren’t that thorough.” Phillip glared at Malachi as I scrambled to find something to wear in my cramped closet. If I turned the light on, it would alert them to my presence. If I kept silent, they would open the damn door anyway.
Dilemmas, dilemmas.
I managed to pull on a long, oversized shirt before Phillip reached for the doorknob. I grabbed the door and held it shut. It didn’t have a lock on it, so I had to hold on to keep it from being opened.
“Who’s in there? Phoebe?”
Damn. It was time to fess up.
“Yeah, it’s me, dork. I’m fucking changing. Do you mind?”
Phillip took a step back from the door but didn’t let go of the knob.
“But it’s pitch black in there. How can you see anything?”
“I left the light off because if it were on, you’d see me naked. The slats are broken, and one of them stays open.”
I wanted to pummel him at that moment. Curiosity killed the cat, didn’t it? Then get out the way!
“Sorry. I just thought….” Phillip retreated back, turning red at the prospect of seeing me naked. Good.
“You were saying?” Malachi crossed his arms and gave him a mocking lift of an eyebrow. “No one’s here besides you, me and a naked Phoebe.”
Phillip’s face flushed redder as he fidgeted. “Sorry about that, Phoebe. I’ll wait for you in the living room.” He cast a dark look at Malachi before marching out of the room. I flicked the light on and grabbed my pile of clothes.
“You mind?” I snapped at Malachi, for he was still peering in through the slats like a Peeping Tom.
“No, I don’t mind, but I’ll wait in the living room too.” He winked and headed out with a satisfied smirk on his face.
I sighed. That was too close. I eyed the spray of feathers peppering the closet floor. Shifting was messy work, and I hated how close I’d gotten to discovery. Phillip would have to either be told of my condition or be completely cut off from my life until I figured this out. Malachi would agree to the latter without hesitating. I, on the other hand, wasn’t too keen on chopping off a huge chunk of my life. Phillip may have been a jealous friend, but he was my best friend, and we’d been close for over ten years, since high school. It was pure luck we’d both ended up in nursing and working together no less.
After dressing, I left the closet and clicked it shut behind me. I leaned back and let out a huge sigh of relief. If anyone needed to know anything about my ailment, it would be Phillip, but I was sure Malachi wouldn’t allow me to tell him. I didn’t want to piss anyone else off either. There was some sort of hidden honor code amongst shifters that severely punished any failure to uphold it. Regardless, I had to figure this out soon; the full moon was days away, and there was a Gorgon monster out there hunting me.
Phillip had to stay safe. Even if it meant shoving him out of my life forever.
Malachi
“Did you tell him?” I asked.
“No.”
Phoebe avoided my gaze as she stared out the window and across the parking lot of her apartment complex. She was ready to return to my cabin, but the night had come head-spinningly fast, and we’d just gotten rid of Phillip, even though it's been obvious he didn’t want to go. One comment about getting intimate in front of him had sent him on his way. Even jealousy wasn’t enough to make him want to witness any of that.
We had remained in her apartment, and it was looking like she wanted to stay the night rather than go back to my place. It wasn’t ideal for me—I was much more comfortable in my own house—but for her, I’d stay there.
“He can’t know anything.”
She sighed, “I know.”
“I’m not saying this because I don’t like him, which I don’t. I’m just pointing it out because you care for him, and I don’t want to see him hurt because he knows anything. He just can’t.”
Phoebe rubbed her arms before turning back toward me. She hesitated momentarily before stepping forward to snuggle into my chest, slipping her arms around my torso. It warmed my soul, and I reciprocated by wrapping my arms around her, enveloping her with my love and enjoying her scent. Indulging in it, really.
“We need to keep looking for this person who’s turning people to stone,” I whispered.
“Do you think they’ll get someone else?”
“Unfortunately, I think they just did.” I pointed out across the parking lot into the center of the town. A crowd was building, and they were starting to make a lot of noise. I could hear the shouts through the pane of glass.
“What?” Phoebe’s eyes widened as she threw me a frightened look before turning to watch the expanding crowd. We eyed each other, and without further prompting, we both threw our shoes on and left the apartment, running across the street to see what the commotion was about. Phoebe was already several feet in front of me. I had to admit, her small frame and long legs gave her a speed advantage over me.
She was halfway across the street in front of her complex when a loud and violent screech made my heart rip from my chest.
“Phoebe!” I yelled out. I could already see it happening in my head moments before it did, but there was no way in hell I’d reach her in time. An older sedan with a missing headlight came to a squealing halt inches before smacking into Phoebe. She was frozen in front of it, her fingertips grazing the metal of the car’s hood.
I jogged up to them. A familiar-looking woman glared out the windshield toward Phoebe, screaming profanities that weren’t quite muted from the interior of the cab. Her severe eyes met Phoebe’s own stunned gaze and held them as she continued shouting. Studying the two women, I briefly wondered if they knew each other. In a town this size, there
was a huge possibility of that occurring.
“Phoebe? Are you okay?” I called out to her, waving to stop another car coming from the other direction. I reached her, and I could tell right away she wasn’t hurt, just in shock.
I urged her on, glancing at the driver once more, who narrowed her eyes at me. We stepped onto the sidewalk, and Phoebe flicked her eyes at me, nodding.
The car sped off like nothing had happened, and I pulled her into my arms. Nothing but relief filled me at that moment. I knew I couldn’t live without her then. If she’d been hit and killed, I would have lost it.
“Geez, you have to watch out for crazy drivers. This is a small town, but that doesn’t mean accidents don’t happen. Did you know her?”
Phoebe nodded, burying her face in my shirt, inhaling my scent. Her sense of smell was elevated now that she was a shifter, and I could tell my proximity affected her more now than when she had first turned. It was a good sign she was getting used to her newfound powers and senses. Not that it wasn’t pleasant having someone inhale me in like a drug. It was downright stimulating, and I had to fight the warmth stirring down my middle as I comforted her.
“Yes. I do know her. It was Orpah, that nurse at work who we think is behind all this. It was her, and I let her slip through our fingers! She must have recognized me and hurried off. Not sure what her problem is with me. I’ve never done anything to her.”
“Did you ever have a falling out with her?”
“Not that I remember.” Phoebe squeezed her eyes shut, thinking hard. “We rarely interact, but she seemed okay when we did see each other. I don’t get it.”
“Well, the look she gave you was true hatred. Are you sure you’re not aware of any grudge she might be holding against you?”
Phoebe stared down the street where Orpah’s car had sped off, perplexed. “No. I don’t really know her that well. I kind of wish I had taken more time to do that now.”
I scratched my chin, dumbfounded. The woman had looked extremely familiar, but I hadn’t been able to pinpoint where I’d seen her before. I never frequented the hospital, so it hadn’t been there. It was possible I’d seen her in town; this place was that small. Even the Gorgon woman in my dream didn’t exactly match the woman in the car, but she had been in human form. Who knew how eerily they would match if the woman were in shifter form.
Shit. We had missed the opportunity to interrogate Orpah.
“Come on,” I said, motioning Phoebe toward the square. “Let’s see what’s going on, first. Then we can worry about Orpah.” I helped Phoebe get moving toward the crowd, even though her heavy-footed steps told me she was reluctant to go any farther. When we reached the gathering, it was tough work shoving through them to see what everyone was gawking at.
“It’s another one….” “Good Lord, the Devil’s running amok here.” “I think it’s time for the sheriff to be doing something more, don’t you think? Maybe we elect a new one this year.”
The comments kept pouring out, with everyone speculating about what was going on and tossing around names of people to blame. Phoebe left my side and approached the newly petrified man. It was another shifter I knew. Adam Rochester, a wolf shifter, stood petrified and perfectly still with an expression that could only mean he knew the perpetrator and hadn’t expected this. It was possible whoever had done this to him and the other shifters must’ve known them. Could it mean Orpah knew all these people? But why was she doing this to shifters in front of the entire human population of Woodland Creek? Was the shifter community even looking into this?
My questions grew as I watched Phoebe. She reached out toward Adam, touching his cheek as though he were a priceless work of art. She appeared entranced, compelled even. The more I watched her as she hypnotically stroked the statue’s cheek, the more concerned I became. Nothing about this felt right to me. In fact, I had never felt so wrong in my life, and the feeling crept into my veins, burning for action.
Phoebe’s face dropped into an expression of agonizing sadness as she continued to touch Adam’s face. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she fell to her knees, sobbing.
“Phoebe?” I called out to her.
Slipping my hands over Phoebe’s arms, I pulled her back before anyone else noticed her strange behavior. Luckily, most people were too confused and speculating all sorts of scenarios to notice her tiny frame hunched on the ground. I pulled her into my arms and shuffled her out, past the curious onlookers.
She followed without protest until we were clear of the circle of the crowd. Her eyes were glazed over, filled with a pain I never wanted to see again. She wiped her face, leaned over and breathed out a frustrated groan.
“Phoebe, what’s wrong? What happened?” I asked while giving her shoulders a tiny shake to bring her back to the present.
“Phoebe?”
“It was her. She’s doing this to me, to them! I hate her!”
“Who?”
“Orpah. The one who almost ran me over. It’s her doing it. I’m sure of it now. She’s a shifter, and she’s out for blood. My blood. I never knew she hated me so much. I never knew….”
“Why would she hate you? It’s not a good reason to be turning people to stone.”
Phoebe shook her head. “I never thought… when I touched Adam, he told me why.”
“You talked to Adam just now? You know him?”
“I’ve met him a few times before, with Phillip. They’re good friends. When I touched his statue, he spoke to me like he was in my head.” She turned toward me, her eyes shining with tears. “We have to help them.”
“Okay, wait. How did he talk to you?”
“I don’t know. I just―it just happened.” She searched my face for an answer I couldn’t give her. I hoped she was okay. The week had been a rough one. I wasn’t entirely positive she wouldn’t crack soon; she wanted to appear strong and unwavering, but she had a fragile sensibility too. If she did buckle under the pressure of everything going on, I would be there for her.
“Hmm. A newfound power? Maybe a side effect of your shifter abilities,” I said. “A lot of us have other powers besides shifting.”
Her face brightened. “You think so? Yeah, I guess that could be it. This is all so… confusing.”
“I know.”
“What did he tell you about Orpah?”
“He said, ‘It’s Orpah. She did this to me.’ Then I asked him why—in my head—and he said, ‘Because of you. You stole Phillip from her, and she is going to kill you.’ I’m so stupid.”
“No, you’re not.”
Phoebe shook her head, looking more and more hysterical. “Poor Adam. I need to get to know more people in Woodland Creek, especially shifters. It’s like I’m starting over again. It’s all my fault this is happening.”
“It’s not your fault. And I’ll introduce you to some other shifters. You’ll be welcomed. Trust me.”
Phoebe gave me a skeptical smile, but at least she was starting to relax.
“So this Orpah woman… why would she want to kill you again? Something about Phillip?”
“I think I know why, but I can’t be sure.”
“What is it?”
“Phillip mentioned to me that he had dated Orpah before. He broke it off with her because she just wasn’t his type.” She made quotation marks with her fingers. “I think she’s purposely avoided me. I’ve not seen her as much as work, but like I said, we weren’t friends and rarely worked together, so I didn’t know she had it in for me.”
“You think she’s jealous of how close you and Phillip are?”
She nodded. “I think I mentioned to Phillip that she wasn’t his type. Maybe my saying that is what made him think it too. I’m afraid he must have repeated it to her. What if he did? What if I really am the reason they broke up? How could anyone blame her for hating my guts?”
“It doesn’t matter now. She’s gone way too far. Where can we find her?”
She swallowed down her sobs and seemed to regain her composure.
She looked at me with an answer shining in her eyes.
“I know where I can find out. I have a key to the ER manager’s office. We can look up her address.”
Phoebe
I flipped through the employee list in the ER manager’s office. I was lucky I had a key and it was the weekend, so Norma Ray Lipton, the nurse manager, wouldn’t be gracing us with her presence. I’d done a lot of administrative work, like filing paperwork and auditing patient charts for her whenever I could, and had to stick the reports into employee files often enough to know where everyone’s personnel files were. At least I had that going for me lately. Nothing else had gone my way at all.
Luckily no one on the weekend shift recognized me or bothered me, and her office was on the second floor, not in the ER department. It made for playing off that I was still sick fairly easy.
“Here it is!” I plucked out the file belonging to Orpah Nigel and spread it out on the desk. It had her employee picture and profile on the first page. Her dark eyes gleamed, but she didn’t smile in the photo. She looked like a gothic beauty, and it sent shivers down my spine just looking at her. Her eyes looked almost black, and her dark hair made her pallor stand out. Her only redeeming feature was her bright red lips, but I got the feeling that underneath that scarlet stain her lips were as pale as the rest of her.
I closed the folder with a snap, glad to not be staring at Orpah anymore. One thing was for sure, my manager Norma Ray was extremely organized and could go up against an FBI profiler when it came to knowledge about her employees. It made me feel all dirty and criminal looking through those files without permission. I even had Malachi check the room for cameras or bugs.
Paranoid much? Why, yes. Yes, I am.
“Anything about her unusual activities or psychotic, sociopathic tendencies in there?” Malachi joked, pointing toward the manila folder in my hands. I threw him an icy glare, but he just shrugged.
