I set Brisa down on the ground by the empty fire pit (we packed up so we could leave camp, but there are still signs someone has been there) she doesn't make a peep.
I stand and walk over and punch the demons in the face. The power backlash sends me flying. I don’t have Beth's knack for fighting, but every shifter learns to use their power for defense so I quickly turn into a bird flapping my wings getting control over the direction my body is going. When I land it is as a Tiger, changing in mid-land like that isn’t as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of energy, what I am about to do will exhaust me but I don't care. Brisa isn't the only one that has reached their limit.
I circle the demon looking for an opening to attack. I embrace the Tiger, the spirit of the animal, the hunter, the predator. Demons are predators and so I will be one too. I leap at him but a powerful shield stops me. I try to claw into the invisible film surrounding it. I try to claw and bite my way through but it doesn't work.
Soon I am on the ground panting. I can't hold the Tiger form anymore, so without even trying to shift my body turns back to human. Sweat pours down beneath me. I am going to lose at least ten pounds or perhaps I will just turn into a puddle; either way I can't move even if I want to. I can barely breathe. My lungs are scooping in huge breaths only to cough them back out.
I have pushed myself too far. The power is eating me up inside, painful spasms start; it hurts so bad I can't stop my body from shaking. I’ve seen other shifters have seizures before when they pressed themselves too far, but I have never done so. I’m not prepared for the fire that shoots through my veins, the nails drumming into my skull, or to have to try to cling to my sanity and consciousness.
"We have much to do and you waste time and power on this. How do you expect us to save anything, let alone the entire world, when you two are so weak? What do you think is going to happen if you face your adversary in this condition? Even if he were not just a powerful energy form, even if he were human he could defeat you both now. Is that what you want? To be as weak as a regular human? You should be ashamed. Time is of the essence and yet you're wasting more of it. You two can stay here and rest. I will go into town, I will feed the body, I will find a place to rest, and then I will leave in the morning. Whether you are there with me or not. I will make my own way to the Fae world. I know how it is done."
The demon walks away each step echoing in my head. The sound fades until I can no longer see their feet and can no longer hold on to consciousness.
Chapter Nine
When I open my eyes everything is blurry, blurry or pitch black. At first I can't tell, I rub my eyes feeling a warm breeze. I notice a fire going and Brisa sitting next to it rubbing her hands together, wiping tears off her face. She looks at me, terror covering her features.
"When I woke up no one was here but you and me. You looked like you were dying. I was so scared I was going to be left alone."
"After you fell asleep I lost it, I attacked him, and I pushed myself too far; tried too much. Had a seizure. It happens with shifters…when we use too much power everything just shuts down so that we cannot hurt ourselves anymore."
Brisa nods and looks into the distance as I wipe the sleep from my eyes. I hate the feeling of sleepy seeds. I look out as well. Rubbing my face with my sandy sleeve do very little to get some of the sweat off my face. I realize it is only a little light because it is night. Dark and cold with poor Brisa shivering next to a small fire that she's managed to build and keep going by pumping air currents into it.
She looks like she can't take much more of it though so I decide to help. I walk around and find a few bushes and trees, grab some dirty clothing out of our packs and feed the fire. As it blazes up a bit she drops the wind currents shuffling as close as she can. I walk over and sit next to her shoulder to shoulder, well head to shoulder because she is not nearly as tall as I am.
"I would turn into an animal to keep you warm, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to shift for a few days …at least. I really pushed it too hard this trip."
She shrugs like it doesn't matter but she looks too pale. In front of a fire most everyone looks slightly orange. Looking pale means she is freezing maybe even turning blue.
"It doesn't matter. The demons gone. Who knows where it's going. Who knows what it's doing. We've likely destroyed the world instead of saving it."
"He said he was making his way to the Fae world. I'm not sure how it plans to get there but he said he knew a way."
Brisa shakes but this time from fear.
“You have no idea the ways to get into the Fae, or how unstable it will make the hills. He will destroy everything before we can even defeat Kyle. The Fae world was already in turmoil and the demon is just going to make it so much worse."
Well that sounds peachy. I sigh. "Well we are both too weak to do anything about it so let's rest up, eat the rest of our snacks, and head into town. We can catch Beth in the morning perhaps talk him into staying one more night. It's either that or we try to make it into town leaning on each other and hope that we can stop the demons before they leave."
"When did he say he was taking off?"
"He said he would go to the Fae world in the morning… whether we were there or not."
She sighs and stands kicking dirt around the fire. That is the last of our supplies to make a fire…plus our spare clothing so I hope we don't need to make one again. We also only have a handful snacks left. We hadn't planned on having to camp very long or to go through our supplies this quickly. It was supposed to be in and out mission. Quick and easy. This is supposed to be the easy part; the demons and Beth are supposed to do the hard part. The exorcism of Kyle.
"We can't let him go there the way he wants; it's basically breaking open the back door, the emergency exit. Alarms will go off, fights will break out, and hell will break loose. We need to keep things sane, rational, and safe… at least as safe as we can considering what's been unleashed upon the world."
"Right." We shoulder the bags and start the walk back to town. It’s not very far, but I have a feeling our muscles will protest every step of the way. By the time we arrive back to the town it will feel like we have run a triathlon…damn this mission.
"Do you think we will make it on time?"
I shrug. It’s not likely since we can barely move but I’m not about to burst Brisa's bubble.
I hear her sigh before she suddenly stops walking. The temperature drops, the insects go silent, and every hair on my body stands on end. I half expect an electrical storm to appear. The wind swirls and she starts running. An invisible cold ass force pushes me forward. I start moving and somehow end up sprinting. She interpreted my shrug for what it was and is helping us along. Honestly she is ending up far more useful than just passing messages like a first grader.
I can see the town ahead when suddenly everything stops. The chilling wind, the force behind our steps, everything is gone. Brisa basically becomes a statue. Suddenly blood pours out of her nose, eyes, and ears. She drops and I try to move fast enough to make it over to her before she hits the ground, but every muscle in my body seizes, spasms and down I go. She isn’t even aware enough to scream….I however am.
Once in town we find a place where the food does not smell nauseating. It is difficult, human food is not at all appetizing. But the body needs food to function and heal so we have to eat.
"What here is best for healing from stab wounds and poison?"
The servant who has led me to a seat drops the pad they are holding and takes two steps back.
"This body needs to replenish after injuries. Please tell us what food is best."
"Uhh…I…I don't know. Most people look at the menu and order what they like."
"Bring us the largest most filling dish. Water. Humans need lots of hydration do they not?"
"Y..ee…yes."
"Lots of that please."
After the servant brints a bottle of water we drink it in one gulp before they can even leave the table with our ord
er.
"More."
Servants bring people food and drinks and ours promptly leaves returning with yet another bottle and we down that as well. The servant looks disturbed and terrified. Are we doing something that seems inhuman? Do humans not drink a lot after all?
'Let me take over for now.'
The host's voice is in the background trying to convince us we will be less notable if she takes over. So we agree.
"Finally. Man I am tired. Okay forget what I already ordered give me some…oh I am bad with pronunciation so if I suck at this I am sorry… Shawarma, Kibbe, and some Tepsi baytinijan."
I can’t believe the demons have been thinking of these poor people as servants. I only call them poor because let's face it, you do NOT want to be seen as inferior by something as powerful as a demon. That makes you prey and in no legends about demons are they all 'let's go pick flowers and pick shapes out of clouds'…hell no they are more the death and destruction types.
'We want to visit the place we were called over.'
I am trying not to look foolish so I try answering without talking out loud.
'Where is that?'
'The birthplace.'
That helps me not at all. If Jason were here he night know what the hell they are talking about. I am the brawn he is the brain.
'Hey they do not speak English here and I don't speak anything but…how are they understanding us?'
'Demons know all the base languages of this world. We can easily switch languages. You are thinking in English but your vocal cords are speaking the same dialect as all others.'
Well if that’s not the coolest thing.
'You have to tell me a bit more about this birthplace. My brother is the one that would know all this. Even without his demon tag along. I don't travel outside of the US because the councils from different countries do not always see eye to eye. That’s why we flew in on a jet hidden by Fae power, have fake ID's and passports, and all that. We need to keep a low profile. Though I think after this I will have to find a doctor to look at me and a place to sleep. Preferably with air conditioning.'
'Very well. We will allow you to do as needed to stay alive after we vacate the body. But we won't go to the Fae world until we see the birthplace.'
Well isn’t that a kick in the ass. We are on a time crunch here. Speaking of which, where the hell are Brisa and Jason? I really hope they are just already sleeping, at a doctors, or (even as disturbing as the thought is to me) off somewhere making out. I felt the vibes, I’m not stupid. I want to look for them first, but with the demons in the background their hold on my body is slipping and I can tell it is ready for a shut down. I will do those two no good dead. I have to replenish and fast.
I go to the bathroom, not just because the last time I went I was an animal, but also to take stock of my injuries. I know it won’t be pretty. Luckily my clothes are mostly un-torn…if I’d been wearing the clothes I remember last I would have been carted off to a jail, or a hospital, upon a human sighting. These at least have a limited amount of blood on them, only the worst of my injuries are soaking through.
I try to clean myself up, but the water here isn't that much better than the way I look. I’d been told not to drink anything but bottled water by Jason before coming. He had been really adamant that if we refilled our canteens it should be with bottled water…honestly we wondered if we were going on a school field trip the way he lectured us.
'Thanks for keeping me alive you two. Man I am going to be in the hospital for a long ass time after this. Brian will kill me.'
'He is your mate?'
'Sort of I guess. Vampires do not really have mates. I am not sure about shifters, but if they do no one told me. Being only half I doubt they care.'
'Shifters do not have mates, nor do vampires. Werewolves do.'
'I didn’t know that. You two aren't so bad when you aren't subduing me mentally or attacking shit.'
They don’t entirely understand that last part and I can’t help but laugh. They could kill me, or simply let me die, but I have never had the best sense of self preservation. I am more a run in and die trying type. It is part of my charm.
I make it back to the table, letting myself sink into the cushion I am using. It is actually very comfortable. The food sits there waiting and I dig in. I know I am rude; people are looking at me funny. I am making a spectacle of myself and I couldn’t care less. There is nothing left when I finish and other patrons look on shocked. I went through five bottles of water and three different meals without breaking a sweat or having to unbutton my pants. Shifting takes a lot of energy, as does healing, and I’ve had very little food.
The only thing that will make things better now is blood. If I want faster healing I will have to find a blood bank, aka a bar where people got paid to let vampires suck on them. I hate them; humans are not strong enough to stop me from overdoing it. However, I have the demons here; they could stop me from going too far.
'I am going to find food for the vampire half of me. You cannot let me kill the donor. Don’t let me go far enough to even hurt them. I will hire more than one. It will heal my body faster.'
'We know vampires. They are our children.'
That is a story for another time. One I will enjoy hearing about. Now is not the time.
A scream rips through the air. I throw down money and rush out making sure to grab my weapons bag from where I stashed it before going in.
I push through the crowd to find a bloody Brisa and a pale Jason (abnormal for my brother since he is tan from being under the sun so much).
"Jason!"
I go over feeling a low weak pulse. I practically hop over to Brisa….hers is erratic and far too fast. Dammit.
"Dammit!" I have saved the number of a supernatural doctor or two before coming over, Brian really can find anything on the net, and dial the numbers. Screw the overcharges.
"I have a doctor coming! It's okay!"
Luckily the doctor is a shifter so they can fly over and appear almost on top of us. Which is what they do. Less than five minutes later a shifter doctor and his werewolf assistant arrive. The werewolf is huge and everyone naturally backs away. He is an alpha for sure.
"We need to get them far enough away to change and carry them back to the clinic. Can you keep up?"
I nod. If shifting fails I will use vampire speed to run. If it almost kills me at least a doctor will be right there to patch me up. I csn’t change, but the demons give me a power boost enabling me to follow the two wolves carrying the people I promised to return safely.
When we arrive, despite demonic help, I am ready to fall over. They get Brisa and Jason hooked up to IV's with fluids and start testing Brisa for a transfusion. Her being Fae will make that a bit harder. I try to stand by and watch, but I can’t stand up alone. I am leaning on a dresser and am still barely up. The nurse comes over and grabs me, sitting me in his lap facing him.
"Drink. You need nutrition."
I’m not sure what the hell is going on there. Back home werewolves wouldn't help a vampire, no matter what. I’m not going to question it before feeding though. I bite and suck down using the demons to keep me from losing it. Control seems so much easier when two demons are using their power to suppress the bloodlust.
After I am done the nurse picks me up and puts on me feet. I can see the wound healing for about a second before he moves on to assist the doctor. Okay this is freaking weird.
"You helped me. I mean, I know I am part shifter but you were helping the vampire side…"
I can’t bring myself to form an actual question. I’m not sure how to word it anyway.
"Our world is very chaotic, hectic, and often times in turmoil. We cannot afford to ignore another supernatural, no matter the species."
I wonder if they get a lot of supernatural tourists asking that question because without even looking at my face he knows what I am thinking.
"I wish ours thought the same."
"We are limited here. There
are so few of us. There are more in the states so it makes sense they would be more territorial. I agree though. You are a hunter though. If your councils were only one made up of all the species and worked together as ours did you would have nothing to hunt. The vampires keep the wolves from going overboard at the full moon and we keep the vampires sane during their loss of reason to live. We give them wolves to hunt and chase something to do. Our councils have reached out to the Americas but so far no one wishes to discuss."
That doesn’t surprise me….the councils won’t be willing to share power or information amongst each other. Stupid ass power hungry dicks.
"I think that’s noble. We would never work on joint accountability. It's too bad. I would love to not have to hunt others. It’s a job, not a passion."
He nods and injects things into Jason's IV. "Please don’t let them die. Him especially."
"Relative?"
"Half-brother. The only family on either side that truly loves me."
He nods.
"We will do our best."
I lie down on the couch the uncommunicative doctor points too and make the demons promise to let me sleep and not move the body around. Then I lay down and zonk.
When I wake I am in a bed and hooked up to an IV of my own. Sitting in an overstuffed chair watching over me is Jason with a portable IV.
"You are okay."
He nods and smiles.
"Brisa was worse off than I was. Still is actually. She burst…literally. I thought shifters overusing their powers were bad. It was more terrifying than our seizures and all I could do was collapse."
His face has fallen making him look like a basset hound.
"Jason, what happened?"
He finds the ceiling very interesting all of a sudden. The doctor comes and injects something into his IV, but completely ignores us.
"Jason…"
"The demons…we did not get along very well. Brisa especially. We were afraid of what the demons would do after they left with your body. So she used her power to get us to the town. I had already burned myself out trying to attack them. We both pushed too hard and collapsed."
Shifting Truth Page 11
