The Renegade Shifters

by Cheryl Rush Cowperthwait

  “You mean if there were a cure, you wouldn’t want it?”

  “I don’t know anymore. Don’t you understand that? I was taken against my will, god knows what all they did besides messing with my DNA, and I held no power, no power whatsoever to fight against it. Now I do. Now, no one can mess with me and get away with it. Don’t you see? I can finally fight back.”

  “Karmin, I mean Bailey… I do. I do hear and understand what you are saying and why you would want to strike back against what was done to you. But don’t you see, acting primal with your band of shapeshifters is only magnifying what was done to you? You, in turn take out your anger against others who can’t fight back.”

  The chamber inside the mountain convulsed with her roar. Wings beat furiously over Rhyzel’s head. She roared again, this time taking aim at the cave’s roof, blasting it with fire before she tore out through the opening and flew laps within her confines. Rhyzel flew down from the cave and landed near its edge where he watched until her fury was spent. As he waited, he felt his wings writhe until they were absorbed beneath his skin. He shuddered. It never got easier, and always reminded him of being different.

  Fuel and anger spent, Bailey landed. She perched upon the stairs leading up to the house, shoulders hunched and trembling.

  Rhyzel approached cautiously. The cocktails of pills and shots he took weekly were far less lethal to his flesh than the woman he approached. She was a deadly concoction of passion and power. He could no more go without her than the medications keeping him living and staying his total transformation. He sat next to her and pulled her head against his shoulder, allowing her tears a sheltered place to fall.

  Geoff, freshly showered and attired in a black silk shirt with billowy sleeves, glanced out of the living room window. His eyes narrowed at their guest. Rhyzel was a complication he had not expected, and his connection with Bailey enraged him. He quickly envisioned turning loose Marlow and Linken on him. The thought made his lips curl.

  The clock in the hallway chimed five o’clock. He sighed. It was time to retreat into his quarters. The full basement had been designed for him in plush velvets and silken sheets for his bed. He rarely slept in the coffin anymore, but still felt the need to pull the sheets and wrap them around him. He supposed in a way it was like wrapping batwings close to him. He lay there thinking, he could have any woman he chose, but since he met Bailey, she was all he could think about. And now, he would have to think about Rhyzel, too. It turned his stomach as much as the scent of garlic.

  The automatic timers in the house began to brighten, nudging both Bailey and Rhyzel from the steps and into the house. Drained of the recent events, Bailey said goodnight to Rhyzel and left for her bedroom quarters, passing Marlow in the hallway. Marlow turned to watch Bailey open the door to her room, and shook her head before she walked into the living room to see their guest sitting on the couch. “So Rhyzel, are you going to be sticking around?”

  His head hardly moved to glance at her, but said, “It looks like I will, at least for a while.”

  Marlow’s lips pursed in thought, she just might enjoy having him around plus he did look wickedly delicious. “Come on, I’ll show you to a bedroom. You look like you could use a rest. And hey, we’ve got rules here. If you see someone’s door shut, leave them be. Our days and nights get pretty messed up and it is vital to get our rest, otherwise we can’t control our shifting properly.”

  “Yeah, same here. My medication says I have to sleep at least 6 hours for them to be of full benefit to me.”

  “That’s not bad. I’m still on a ten down-fourteen awake regime,” Marlow answered.

  “Do you mind me asking you something?” Rhyzel stopped in the hallway and looked at her.

  “I guess not, what is it?” A brow shifted with intrigue.

  “What if you could take something and no longer shape-shift? Would you do it?”

  “There isn’t anything, Rye, so why ask?

  “But if there were, would you take it?”

  “Man, I don’t know. I’ve been this way for longer than I can remember. I’m not sure I’d want to give that up. I mean, have you ever run with a wolf? I can run and weave through a forest like nobody’s business and tear up the side of a mountain in nothing flat. When I am in my shifted form, there isn’t anything that can catch me. Talk about power!”

  He grunted, “I talked a bit to Kar—I mean Bailey about it. It’s sort of the same thing with her. She likes the power of it all. For me, I’d like to go back to normal. I have people working on a cure.” He shrugged and added, “It isn’t there yet but still, there is hope.”

  Marlow leaned against the coolness of the wall, assessing him. It had never occurred to her that a Shifter would even want to go back to normal. “Do you know any Shifters that have done it? I mean, you know, turned back to normal?”

  Rhyzel dropped his head and looked at the paisley carpet. “I’ve known a few who have tried.”

  “And?” Marlow asked, almost certain she knew the answer.

  “They didn’t make it.”

  “What do you mean, exactly? It didn’t work or—”

  “They died. There is a fine line between beneficial and lethal. The scientists and chemists are still working on that.”

  Marlow let out a howl of laughter. “For real, dude? And you want to try something like that just to shed your wings? You’ve got to be a bat shy of a belfry to ask me that.”

  “That is about the same reaction Bailey gave, minus the howl.”

  “Rye let me give you some friendly advice. If I were you, I wouldn’t go around asking Shifters if they want a cure-all. Those that you don’t tick off, will start thinking that you believe there is something wrong with them being a Shifter. Very few of us would believe that to be true. Some would even be offended, and you don’t really want to offend a Shifter. There is no telling what could happen.”

  “Thanks. I guess you’re right. Learn to embrace our differences, right?” He gave her a smile.

  Marlow’s eyes shimmered. “Now you’re talking. Embrace our uniqueness, I would say.”

  “By the way, is this group the only Shifters around? I’ve been looking for more of our kind on my travels and have only met a few.”

  “Most likely because we’ve learned how to integrate well with the one-hundred percenters. Yeah, there are more Shifters around. We tend to form small clusters to support one another. Why?”

  “No reason really. Just wondered. It’s hard trying to find a place to fit in.”

  “Oh, well since you’ve already been here, I don’t think it will take much to convince Geoff you should stay with us. He is sort of our team leader. He found each of us when we were out there on our own. Maybe you could discuss it with him when he awakes?”

  “Thanks Marlow, maybe I will.” He said good night, then went into the room given to him and sat on the bed. He took some pills out of his pocket and rolled them over in his palm. He smiled as he put them back into the vial. They don’t even know there is a war going on. Yes indeed, with medication there is always a fine line between beneficial and lethal. One way or another, he thought, Geoff will find out soon enough. He chuckled under his breath before he feigned sleep.

  Chapter 6

  He stood at the door, listening. Rhyzel waited until he heard Marlow return through the hall. Quiet had settled over the house, smothering the sounds of heartbeats and malicious dreams, save for Rhyzel. He was wide awake and plotting his next move.

  Soundlessly, he opened his door. Slipping down the hallway, he entered into the kitchen. Just as he had anticipated, the refrigerator held the daily medications required for all the Shifters. But wait–he spotted Geoff’s quick packs of blood. These were pre-packaged in eight-ounce plastic containers. He grabbed up the one in front. Opening the lid, he dropped in two pills, watching them fizz as they spiraled to the bottom. Smiling, he gave it a quick shake and returned it to its place.

  It wasn’t lost on him the way Geoff had been eyeing
Bailey. Ugh, he thought, he would never get used to not calling her Karmin. His Karmin. It was the age-old problem between men and women–when two people fell in love with the same person. It didn’t help that they were both Alpha males. Now that Rhyzel knew what he was up against, it spun his mind into motion. There were many ways to deal with the vampire shapeshifter and he’d only deployed one. So far.

  Once safely behind his closed door, he fully reclined on the bed as his thoughts returned to Bailey. True, they had only met after they were captured and used as genetic experiments, but time would be on their side.

  Marlow tossed and turned in bed. Rhyzel penetrated her thoughts and dreams, and she loved the places those visions took her. If only he wasn’t so distracted by Bailey, she thought. Things could change–with a bit of luck and help.

  The morning passed before the houseful of shifters stirred. Linken and Marlow pounded the pavement of the underground facilities, getting in their daily run. Their voices echoed in the cavernous underground, waking Rhyzel from his slumber. Still dressed in his tight-fitting leather pants and t-shirt, he grabbed his jacket and headed for the kitchen. The tantalizing aroma of coffee lured him to the coffee pot. He stood over the pot, fishing in his pockets, glancing around. Grabbing a nearby mug, he poured until the steaming liquid filled it to the brim. He stepped outside and sat on the front steps allowing the steam of his coffee to warm his face before taking a gulp.

  Like radar, Marlow homed in on him and detoured from the run, tennis shoes slapping the ground in a slowed motion as she came to rest next to Rhyzel. “Hey, that smells good.”

  “Yeah, it takes off the edge in the morning, even if it is way past that time. It helps the medicine go down.”

  “I hear that. I’ve already had mine.” She stretched her legs out, almost tripping Linken as he came jogging up to them. He gave them a nod and went inside, leaving them to their chat. Rhyzel caught Linken’s frown and knew he still wasn’t welcomed there.

  “What’s on the agenda today?” Rhyzel asked, before downing the rest of his coffee.

  “We had plans to show Bailey around town. It’s not the typical sight-seeing fare. It’s more to show her where to go if she gets into a bind. We all rely on hidden passageways and a network of ‘friendly’ stores where we can duck into if someone is on our heels. It’s rarely needed in the daytime as we don’t hunt until dark, but it’s still good to know your daytime hangouts as well as the night time ones.”

  “That sounds like a great plan. Am I welcome to tag along?”

  “Tag along, where?” Bailey stepped out swirling a spoon in her cup.

  “I was just telling him our plans to take you out into town and show you the Shifter safe spots. We won’t always be together so it’s great to know.” Marlow replied, standing up.

  “Hell yeah, that sounds good. It beats trying to figure out everything by myself.” Bailey smiled. “When do you want to head out?”

  “Geoff hasn’t got up yet, so I guess maybe an hour or so. Linken was staying here, but I guess the four of us could head out. I’m sure Rhyzel would benefit from the trip, too.”

  “Marlow, just call me Rye, everyone else does.”

  “Sure, no problem. It just makes your name sound good enough to eat.” She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows.

  Bailey reached out and popped her on the butt.

  “Hey, stingy-butt, I was just playing,” Marlow pouted, acting halfway offended.

  “With a dragon? Risky of you,” Bailey laughed, but drove the point home. She only now had found Rye again and wasn’t about to lose him before getting to know him better.

  “I’ll check on Geoff and see if he’s awake and getting ready.” Marlow offered as she left.

  “Did I detect a bit of a green dragon come out of you?” Rye grinned as he fastened his long dark locks into a quick braid.

  He’d gotten a tan since last time Bailey had seen him prior to their escape. He had a rugged look about him, a bit of the five o’clock shadow on his chiseled jaw and arms like he could have been a blacksmith in another lifetime. He wasn’t like those gym-jockeys, hefting weights and getting overly bulky. No, he was every girls fantasy man—strength, but romantic.

  “Ha! You wish. I had to razz her a bit. She thinks her movie star looks will catch her any male in the L.A. vicinity. Me jealous? A dragon never has to be jealous—they just flame their opponent.” She quipped, laughing.

  “Well, if you plan on ‘flaming’ someone, let me know before you do, so I can get out of the way. I wish I had that in my arsenal, it could come in handy.”

  “Who would you flame?” Her eyebrow hitched in intrigue.

  The door opened and Marlow had Geoff in tow. “Look who’s awake,” Marlow announced, ruffling his hair.

  “Hey! Don’t mess with the hair. You know I’ve got to look my best when we’re cruising.” He winked at Bailey, then his face fell slack as he looked at Rye. “Oh, good. We’re all going on the field trip, I see.”

  Marlow butted in, “Except for Linken, he’s not heading out with us. He’s got other plans.”

  “Such the pity. I’ll be ready in a few. Need to get my morning drink down.” Geoff spun on his heels and returned inside.

  “I think I’ll grab another cuppa. How about you, Rye?” Bailey asked.

  He smirked, “Yeah, sounds good.” Rye was eager for an excuse to see if Geoff went for the container he dropped the pills into last night.

  The screech of barstools against the marble floor sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard and Bailey shivered. “Damn, that sound makes me want to spit teeth.” Rye barely prevented himself from blowing hot coffee through his nose.

  Geoff rubbed his eyes, still trying to come fully awake and decided to squirt some eyedrops into them that takes the red out. It helped, but the wild night had taken its toll. He fumbled his hand into the fridge and pulled out one of his juice packs, unscrewed it and put it to his lips. Rye held his breath as he watched.

  “What the hell!” He wiped his lips and threw the container into the stainless-steel sink, splattering red along the counter top.

  Marlow raced into the kitchen. “What happened?”

  “They gave me soured blood!” Geoff leaned over his knees, his stomach churning.

  “Did you drink it?” Bailey face turned pale in worry.

  “No, I didn’t drink it. A vampire’s sense of smell is second to none. I smelled it as I brought it to my lips. You can bet I’m going to take this out on my supplier. He’ll be making a personal donation.” Geoff stomped off to wash his face.

  “Man, you don’t go and mess up Geoff’s morning drink. That’s more dangerous than me without coffee,” Marlow quipped, frowning.

  Rye cleared his throat. “Sure is lucky he has a great sense of smell.”

  Marlow turned to look at Rye and replied, “It won’t be so lucky for his supplier.”

  Rye made his way around Marlow and ran water in the sink, rinsing away the blood, then tossed the container into the trash. “There, now maybe he won’t smell the spoilage when he returns.”

  “You catch on fast. Good move,” Marlow nodded before pouring herself some coffee.

  Chapter 7

  Geoff returned looking refreshed in his fashionable pirate-styled shirt exposing peeks of his muscular chest. He raked one hand through his hair and adjusted his sunglasses. “Let’s go.”

  By the time they arrived in L.A., it was hot and gritty. Rye suggested they stop so he could pick up some clothes.

  “Hey, where did you come from last night? Do you have a place around here?” Bailey tilted her head and slid her sunglasses down.

  “I was crashing with a guy. I didn’t have much there since I’ve been traveling light. I think I need something besides what I consider my ‘club clothes,’ although I guess anything goes in L.A.”

  Marlow about split a gut, laughing. “Not if you want to stay here long, it doesn’t. These are serious fashionistas in L.A. You’ll be judged whether you fit in
, if you should get a good table, or even enter a decent store. I’ve got you covered. We’ll head to the artsy district. I know a lot of places for you to shop.”

  “That’s a good place to start,” Geoff added, “we have a few safe houses in the district. Some of those ‘duck and hide’ places if you get my meaning.

  “I was thinking to grab some Levi’s, a few tank shirts and the like. What? Did you just roll your eyes at me?”

  “Trust me, you’ll be strutting the catwalk by the time I’m finished with you.” Marlow beamed. “Don’t worry, we’ll find you some jeans, too.”

  “Good, because I’m not interested in strutting down a catwalk.”

  Bailey chuckled and wrapped her arm into his and almost immediately was hit with a scent of cinnamon and something like nutmeg. She moistened her lips and shivered. Dayam, she thought, he sure smells good. She was going to have her suppliers up her dosage on her medications. With Rye around, she was likely to shift prematurely. For some odd reason, she laughed and earned a puzzled look from Rye, which she waved off.

  On the Prowl was the last shop Marlow made sure they visited. Rye chuckled and Bailey rolled her eyes at the sign.

  “Hey now, you will love this place. Guaran-damn-teed.” Marlow was practically jumping in front of the Gothic looking door with violet glowing mannequins guarding the plate glass windows.

  Once inside, it was easy to see why Marlow insisted on them shopping there. Not only did the store display the latest in club wear for whatever you were into, but they had an intoxicating display of casual wear on upscale models shown on video streams above the circular racks.

  Arms laden in clothes, they dropped them at the counter. Marlow whipped out a black card with a wolf breathing smoke. Bailey’s brows furrowed at she looked at it, but Marlow simply gave her a wink.