by Susan Bliler
Recognizing the rare gift from the only known Indigenous Walker, Aries spun back to Shy and grabbed her arm, “Move!”
Aries sprinted through the forest and Shy kept up as best she could until finally she collapsed against a tree causing the Walker woman leading her to stop.
“What’s wrong?”
Shy drug her eyes up to meet the other woman’s, noting that Aries wasn’t even breathing heavy. “I’m tired.”
Aries rolled her eyes, “Christ! Be tired later, he’s coming.”
Shy tensed and turned quickly to look over her shoulder before shoving off the tree and following more sluggishly after Aries.
They ran for what felt like an hour, but Shy knew it was actually more like ten minutes. Then Aries held up a hand and Shy skidded to a halt in the snow. She watched as Aries focused her attention on nothing in particular. When Aries was silent for several tense moments Shy whispered, “What are we doing?”
“I’m getting rid of my husband and his team.”
Shy scanned the area confused before she remembered references to some bullshit theory that Walkers could communicate with one another telepathically.
Shy stood quietly behind the other woman and waited.
Aries blinked rapidly several times as if coming out of a trance before she turned to Shy. “We’re going to have to run hard and fast. They’re moving out but it’ll only be seconds before they scent you and turn back. Are you ready?”
Shy sucked in a long breath and nodded, her eyes glassing up. She was running on pure adrenaline and even that couldn’t keep her limbs from shaking from her exertion. She hated this. She hated running, hiding, and now the Walker woman with her was pulled into this mess deceiving her own husband. She wanted to apologize to the woman and thank her, but there was no time.
Aries curled her fingers in the sleeve of Shy’s jacket as both women shot off at a break neck pace. Shy couldn’t run fast enough. She was propelled more than actually keeping up on her own. The Walker woman was so much stronger. Shy hoped the day never came when the two were enemies.
Breaking through a stand of trees, Shy saw an army green jeep parked in the clearing. As they reached the vehicle Aries pushed Shy one way as she split the other. “Get in!”
Shy’s ass had just touched the seat when Aries turned the keys that were in the ignition and slammed the shift into gear as the jeep jerked to life and the tires spun in the snow before catching and propelling the vehicle forward.
Shy braced one hand on the dash and another on the door frame. The vehicle rocked back and forth as it quickly descended the mountain. She stared at Aries and noted that the woman’s eyes kept shifting to the rearview mirror and back. “Are they close?”
Aries slid her eyes from the mirror to touch on Shy’s before frowning at the road ahead. “No, but they’re coming now. They know you’re with me.” Aries’ features cracked into a wicked grin then, “My husband knows I’ve deceived him. He’s not happy.”
Shy’s heart squeezed. What have I done? She knew she had to take advantage of this opportunity in case… “Thank you for helping me.”
Aries didn’t respond, simply kept her eyes forward as she maneuvered the jeep over the slushy road.
“I’m sorry your husband is angry with you.”
Aries grinned tensely, “I didn’t say he was angry.”
“He’s not?” Shy asked hopefully.
“No,” Aries stated. “He’s fucking furious.”
Shy’s shoulders drooped as she slouched back in the seat. “God, what have I done? I’m sorry. I’m so, so…sorry.” She shook her head then peeked over at the other woman. “My name is Shy.”
“I know.” Aries bit out tersely without offering her own name.
“W-who are you?”
“Aries. Aries Drago.”
Shy couldn’t control the gasp that escaped her parted lips. “Conn is your husband?”
Aries flicked a curious glance at Shy. “You know Conn?”
Shy shook her head immediately. “No. I’ve just heard York speak of him.” She still wasn’t ready to admit her role with the Megalya and the extensive research she’d done on the Skin Walkers. Silence filled the jeep before Shy spoke quietly, “Nobody can escape him.”
Aries snorted before challenging, “I did.”
“Maybe…” Shy licked her lips before continuing, “Maybe you should get out here.” Her eyes slid to Aries’ jaw as it worked angrily.
“With me you have a chance. If you try to run on your own, they’ll have you before the sun sets.”
“I just don’t want you to be hurt because of me.”
Aries scowled at the younger woman before biting out defensively, “Conn would never hurt me. No Walker man would hurt a woman intentionally.”
Shy turned her head to stare out the window as Aries’ eyes flashed to the other woman before sliding down to the blood that stained her jeans. She sighed heavily, “I’m sorry Shy. I’ve never heard of a Walker hurting a woman intentionally. I suppose Leto has just proved that it is possible.”
Shy kept her eyes focused out the window.
Aries shifted gears and maneuvered the jeep off the snowy mountain pass and onto the wet highway.
Shy looked over her shoulder. “Are they still coming?”
Aries didn’t bother with sugar coating. “Yes, but they had to back track for a vehicle. It’ll buy us some time.”
“Where will we go?”
“StoneCrow.”
“NO!” Shy yelled, drawing Aries’ confusion. “If…if we go to StoneCrow Leto will find me.” It’s where York had informed he’d intended to take her and she had no intentions of meeting him or any of the other Walkers there.
Aries’ brows drew together, “It’s alright Shy. Monroe will protect you.”
Shy was shaking her head vehemently. She didn’t know who Monroe was but it didn’t matter. “You think one man can save me from Leto?”
Aries’ eyes shifted to the rearview mirror again, “Monroe is not just one man. He’s an army of Walkers unto himself. What I meant was that he and the others will protect you. Leto has no right to you, no rights where you’re concerned. You’re not wearing his halo. Even if he is afflicted, he shouldn’t have forced you into sleeping with him. I’ve heard a forced claiming can happen, a Walker will force his angel’s submission, but as I understood it took several months of her refusal to accept him. I didn’t know it could be triggered so quickly.” Her eyes darted to the blood soaked jeans again. “There will be consequences.”
Shy stared at Aries dumbfounded before dropping her eyes slowly to her jeans and staring at the blood that darkened the denim. “Oh my God! You think that Leto…” Shy threw herself back in her seat and covered her face with both hands in mortification.
“What?” Aries demanded. “You don’t have to cover for him Shy, you’ll be protected.”
Shy kept her head tilted back against the seat as her hands slid free of her face. Her pallor was ashen and she was shaking her head as tears slipped down her cheeks. “The man in the forest that let us go,” she turned to stare at Aries, “he thought it too?” She didn’t need confirmation. She knew he’d misunderstood.
Aries’ knuckles whitened as she gripped the steering wheel harder, “While it’s unacceptable in normal society, in Skin Walker society it’s a crime that’s punishable by death.”
Shy gripped her stomach, “My God Aries! Leto didn’t rape me!”
Aries turned to frown at her, “But you said…”
“I didn’t say anything! You assumed. Fuck! This is bad!”
Aries frown slid from her face, “But what about the blood?”
“What blood?”
“Between your legs,” Aries practically growled.
Shy looked down and spread her legs apart fingering the tear in her jeans. “I must have cut myself climbing out of the window.”
Aries’ frown returned with a vengeance as she accused, “I heard you screaming Shy. You reek of
his scent and your own fear.”
“He was angry. He was…” the last word was barely audible, “rough.”
“Fuck Shy, I’m risking the wrath of not only Leto but the wrath of Conn…pun intended. Did Leto hurt you or not?”
Shy grabbed Aries’ arm. “He hurt me, but it wasn’t like that! He was just so…so furious. He choked me. He wants me dead! Please don’t take me to StoneCrow Aries. You said he has no right to keep me. I-I haven’t done anything wrong. I can’t go there. Not like this, not now. He’ll kill me. He already tried, and if he finds out about the ba…” Shy gasped then realizing her mistake as she dropped her hands and pulled back into her seat dropping her eyes to the floor.
“If he finds out about what Shy?” Aries tone was firm.
“Aries I can’t.”
“They’re approximately half mile behind us.” Aries slowed the vehicle as Shy’s eyes snapped to hers in silent plea. “Leto’s with them.”
Shy turned in her seat, “Please Aries! Please!”
“Talk,” Aries demanded. “Leto will kill you if he finds out about what?”
Shy looked down at the speedometer, the vehicle was slowing rapidly, “Please just go and I’ll tell you.”
“Answers first!”
“Jesus Aries! Please! I’ll tell you just go!”
Aries pulled her foot completely off the gas pedal and the motor whined as it slowed.
“BABY!” Shy shrieked. “He’ll kill me if he finds out about the baby. I’m pregnant.”
Aries mouth opened as she turned to stare at Shy in shock before she clamped her mouth shut and slammed her foot back on the gas pedal, pressing it until it was flat to the floor.
Shy watched as Aries focused straight ahead, her pupils expanding until her eyes were nearly black as she slowly inhaled. “I scent no second life Shy.”
Shy lifted a hand to gently place it on her belly. “You’re not supposed to. But it’s there.”
Aries’ tone softened “How far along are you?”
“I don’t know. Five, six weeks maybe.”
Aries’ eyes crinkled at the corners, “Why would Leto want to kill you simply because you’re pregnant? If anything that would keep him away from you. We should tell him.”
Shy smiled weakly, the action not reaching her eyes. “I believe it’s his child.”
Aries’ brows hiked, “Again I reiterate we need to tell him Shy.”
Shy shook her head and began sobbing, “You don’t understand Aries.”
“Well help me understand damn it!”
Shy turned to Aries then, “Leto thinks I worked with the Megalya. He thinks I’m one of them.”
“So tell him the truth. Shy if he’s trusted you enough to sleep with you then he’ll listen.”
Shy threw up her hands in defeat, “He hasn’t!”
“Hasn’t what?” Listened?” Aries was completely lost.
“He hasn’t slept with me Aries.” Shy’s lower lip trembled with the revelation as tears streamed freely and sobs wracked her slender shoulders. “The Megalya did this to me. They used his semen to impregnate me. He doesn’t know I’m carrying his child. No one does.” She dropped her head to stare at her belly before caressing it, “I carry his scent because I carry his child. He’s never touched me until he tried to kill me five minutes ago.”
Chapter 8
Aries nearly missed the curve in the road and had to jerk the jeep back onto the black top as she tried to regain her composure. “Shy I can’t help you if you don’t tell me everything. So please, start from the beginning and tell me all of it.”
Shy wiped her tears on the sleeve of Aries’ coat as she sucked in a shaky breath. She had to trust someone with the truth and the kind Walker woman next to her was as good a hope as any. “I was assigned to intern with the Megalya as part of my exit courses for college. I’d never heard of them, didn’t know what they were.”
“You were Megalya?” Aries’ incredulous tone was accusatory.
“I was an intern. I didn’t know what they were doing. I had to earn my last credits so I signed up for an internship. God, if I’d only known.” She fell back against the seat shaking her head. “I’d heard them speak of their research on Walkers, Skin Walkers. I assumed it was all fictitious or at best some idiotic plot the military was working on for super soldiers that they’d attempt to execute and surely fail at sometime in the distant future. I didn’t know that you’re kind actually existed. If I’d known…I never would have taken the position. I’m not evil; I don’t want to hurt anyone.” Her eyes flashed to Aries, “I didn’t hurt anyone. I would never do that!”
Aries’ eyes flashed dangerously then. “When you said you’d heard of Conn, was it just from York speaking of him?” She thought she’d scented the lie earlier but it didn’t make sense at the time for Shy to lie about how she knew of Conn.
Shy shoved a hand into her hair. “They have files Aries. On all of you.” She shrugged one slim shoulder negligently, “Well I assume most of you. There were so many… I never saw anything on you though.”
“What information did these files have?”
“Everything. Height, weight, sex, appearance. It listed friends. They were trying to piece together relationships. I-I think they were trying to create a lineage. We focused on descendency, but they don’t have much information in that regard. They’re not sure who’s related and who’s married. I think they’re trying to track the source.”
“Source?” Aries scoffed angrily. “The source, or sources, are long since gone. Why in the hell would they care?”
Shy drew in a long breath, “Replication.”
The word had Aries turning to her in horror. “Please tell me you’re fucking joking!”
Shy’s head dropped closer to her chest. “They abducted Leto and experimented on him Aries. When I tried to put a stop to it, they locked me up. They said they erased my identity, my bank account, my school records. I don’t even know if I exist anymore. They locked me up and experimented on me too. They used me to test the viability of insemination using Walker seed.” She shook her head dejectedly, “It worked and it’s all my fault.”
Aries’ eyes grew wide in incredulity. “That’s why Leto doesn’t understand why you carry his scent? He doesn’t know that they experimented on you with his seed!”
Shy nodded, “He’s never touched me until today.” She raised a hand to swipe at the fogged up window at her side, “But it’s more than them just experimenting on me with Leto’s seed.” Silence stretched between them until Aries narrowed her gaze on the smaller woman.
“I’m carrying his child, and he thinks I’m one of the Megalya.” She turned to Aries, “Fuck I am! I helped them Aries, I thought it was all just some ornate military bullshit. Some wanna be sci-fi break through. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was just supposed to find a compatible female for the sample. When none of the subjects matched I…I swapped my own DNA into the equation hoping it would work and I’d earn an easy ‘A’. I didn’t know…I didn’t…”
“Jesus Christ Shy! We have to tell him.”
“No. He thinks I’m Megalya. He’ll think it’s a trick. He’ll never understand. He’ll never trust me. He already wants to kill me. I don’t care what he does to me,” her tone shifted to one of resolve, “but I won’t let him hurt my baby.”
“Shy, I don’t know what to do here. We can’t run forever. Conn can track me easily. We’re bound.”
“Then let me go. Pull over and get out and I’ll take the jeep and keep running.” Panic flared to life as Aries slowed the vehicle. “What are you doing?”
“It’s no use Shy. Leto’s found us.”
Shy turned to stare out the back window. “He’s not there, we still have time. Just go damn it!”
Aries shook her head and pointed upward, “He’s above us. The only reason he hasn’t tried to stop us is because Conn’s afraid his attempt would cause me to crash and Conn would never allow any harm to come to me.”
&nbs
p; “No! No, no, no, what do we do?” Shy was frantic now.
Aries stared at the other woman as the car slowed further. “We can’t out run him Shy. We’re nearly out of gas. He’ll just stay overhead until the car dies. It’s best we sort this out now with Conn close.”
Shy’s eyes were wide with terror, “Aries? You won’t let him hurt me will you?”
Aries shook her head, “He won’t hurt you again.”
The setting sun cast a blood red hue to the wintry Montana Sky. It was rare to see the sun in the winter months and its uncommon appearance cast a foreboding chill to the early morning as the jeep crawled to a halt.
Chapter 9
“What should I do?” Shy asked in sheer panic.
Aries slammed the gear into park leaving the keys in the ignition as she barked, “Stay in the jeep and lock the doors.” She pulled the pistol from the holster at her hip as she jumped out of the jeep and slammed the door behind her.
Shy watched as Aries had her pistol trained on some unforeseen object circling the sky overhead. Shy shuddered and crushed herself into the seat as Leto dropped to the asphalt. She watched as he shifted from a massive bald eagle. Impossibly long feathers receded to smooth muscular flesh to form a kneeling man. Shy’s eyes bulged in disbelief.
When Leto stood his clothes regenerated, wrapping around his corded limbs and torso to form jeans, hiking boots, and a tight black t-shirt. Despite the weather, he generated no coat or jacket. It was what he’d been wearing the day Shy had first seen him strapped to the table at the Megalya facility.
When Leto looked up, his brown eyes smoldered with rage as his eyes locked on Shy. Aries stood between Leto and the jeep with her pistol aimed at the Walker’s chest.
Leto completely ignored Aries and any threat she posed as he growled at Shy, “Get out of the car.”
Shy felt her breath catch as terror shot through her. She pulled her eyes from Leto to reach hastily across the driver’s seat quickly locking the door before reclaiming her seat and locking the door at her side as well.
