The cheetah begins to nose open the door. I picture a thin, tiny snake then shift. Snake. My brain is frozen with panic but my body responds to the command and I shrink into a snake. I hear the cheetah breathe deeply. It noses open the doors, softly places its paws on the edge of the cupboard and begins carefully rummaging through the things inside.
My body goes around the inkwell and I let myself plummet over the edge. I make a soft plop when I hit the ground and the cheetah’s whole body goes still. I hurriedly slither around the table. The cheetah settles itself back down and places its nose exactly where my body fell. Darn. This place isn’t exactly brimming with hiding places.
“Livid! Have you gotten the papers yet?” The Dire wolf appears in the doorway, fur standing on end in anger.
“I smell an intruder,” she hisses.
“Intruder my fur! Xavier will have both our lives if we're not out there this second!” The wolf’s bark is furious, but I can detect strong underlying fear.
Livid grits her teeth before jerkily moving to the table. She collects some papers, carefully slipping them into a flat leaf sack the wolf had picked up. She slides the strap around her neck then leaves, the Dire wolf mere inches behind her.
The friction of their anger doesn’t leave with them; it seems trapped inside the room by the door.
Lissa. My knees shaky from that close call, I stand. I reopen the cupboard doors. The boxes above have a word inked on the side. One reads: Battles, the other, Plans. I take the second box. As I’m taking it off the shelf a pile of books falls down. Of all the times . . . hastily I pick them up while simultaneously reading the titles. One catches my eye and stops me dead. Written across the cover is: Experiments, Results & Future. M.
M as in Medusa? Definitely a keeper. I open the lid of the box and slap the book on top. The rest of the books are worthless. I put the box under my arm and cautiously open the door. How long did that take? I really wish I had a clock right now, I growl to myself. I run down the hall and carefully peek around the corner. The smilidon is sitting with a female lion and a pronghorn, their heads bent closely together.
I look around for a different way I can leave, but there is none. I need to get rid of them. And I think I know the best way to do it. I just have to hide the box. Seeing no hiding places I set it down. Badger. I furiously start scraping at the ground, carving a hole big enough to fit the box. Lissa. I cover the box back up, smoothing the dirt as even as I can. Now for a disturbance and a few acting skills. Leopard. I pant a few breaths. Think exhaustion and . . . fear. I dash around the corner. The animals’ heads jerk up at my abrupt entrance.
“Oh, thank goodness I found you!” I stand panting in front of them, making my legs quiver for added affect.
“What’s wrong?” the smilidon’s voice reeks of distrust, but I ignore it.
“There’s—been a—a breach! Enemy warriors are attacking! Xavier ordered everyone above!”
“Who are you?” the lioness hisses. She begins stalking around me, carefully sniffing my pelt.
“What does it matter who I am? We're under attack!” I screech for extra measure.
“Untrained soldier,” mutters the pronghorn.
The smilidon ignores the pronghorn’s remark and demands, “What sector?”
“Uh,” Great. “Sector . . . Ocean?”
“Severely under trained,” growls the pronghorn.
“You mean sector—”
“For crying out loud does the name of the sector really matter? Sound the alarm! Bring out the army!” I quickly snap my jaws shut before any more lines come out.
The smilidon flicks his ear before instructing me, “We’ll go assess the enemy. You go tell Absalom to be on alert and be ready.”
I nod my head vigorously. The others take off up the stairs. I wait several heartbeats before charging after them. I fly through the cultivation area and outside. I faintly wonder how far the others have gotten before I take in a huge breath.
“We’re under attack!” I shout. “Run! Fight! We're under attack!” I bellow with as much fear as I can. I race back and forth screeching the words like a broken record.
Panic ensues from every corner of the clearing—just as I’d hoped. Animals start racing around relaying the message, furthering the chaos. They jet about looking for the enemy so they can eliminate the threat. Satisfied, I tear back down the stairs, sliding into the lab. Iru whips around at my unexpected entrance.
“Who are you?”
“That question is getting tiring.” Lissa.
Iru’s eyes widen with shock. He picks up a nearby syringe and points it at me.
“Really?” I walk over to the door with the kennels behind it with steely determination.
“Guards!” shrieks Iru.
No one comes. I place my hand on the door. As I'm beginning to push it open I feel a slight jab in my leg and look down. Iru is sliding that syringe in me. I yank the syringe out, throw it away and put several feet in between the rabbit and me.
“I could have warriors down here in seconds. You’ll be dead in minutes.”
I don’t bother telling him that everyone is busy looking for an imaginary enemy. “Or I could shift and kill you in seconds.”
“True. But you already have a smidgen of that in you. It's lethal,” he says, pointing to the syringe.
I shake my head, unimpressed, though my heart starts beating faster. I take a few steps toward him and a glint of fear flickers in Iru’s eyes before vanishing.
“What do you want?”
“A human. One specific human.”
“There’ll be warriors down here in fifteen minutes. The lab is a top priority on the ‘keep safe’ list.”
“Then they’ll be here to see your mangled body. Unless you let me take the person of my choice in peace.”
“Better hurry,” Iru hisses angrily.
I race through the door to the last kennel, ignoring the others. I look over the people, but Ryan isn’t among them. Growling under my breath I race back. The rabbit is gone. On a hunch I go through the other door in the lab. Iru is quickly hopping down the hall. I run and catch up with him. I grab his scruff and Iru lets out a cry of indignation.
“Where is he?”
“Who?” he squeaks.
“Don’t play dumb.”
Glaring at me with malice-filled eyes he points a paw down the hall. I drop Iru and take off down the corridor. There’s no handle on the door so I just race through. A metal table stands at the back of the small room. I pass a counter filled with tubes, each containing a different liquid.
My heart flutters at the still body lying on the table. I gently sweep my hand across Ryan’s clammy forehead. The ground trembles beneath me and tubes rattle on the counter, but I keep my eyes fixed on Ryan’s chest. It moves up slightly. I close my eyes and breathe a sigh of relief. Ryan’s eyes flicker open. I yank my hand away. He frowns, his vision unfocused for a few seconds before recognizing me.
“Finally,” he murmurs.
I smile softly. Ryan’s wrists and ankles are rigidly tied to the table; one test tug guarantees that. The ground vibrates again, this time more violently. Tubes clatter to the ground, splashing their contents everywhere. I wildly look at the ceiling and walls as dirt crumbles around us. They don’t come crashing down but I can sense that they’re growing weaker.
I look around for his weapons—I think I’m going to need a sharp blade to cut these binds. “Where’s your sword?”
Ryan gives a weak shrug. “Where ever that overgrown rat hid it. I am really thirsty.”
I take a quick look around. There’s nothing I can use to cut the binds. Lynx. I leap onto the table and begin carefully gnawing and clawing at the cords.
“What did he give you?”
“Don’t know,” Ryan mumbles, swallowing hard, his head rolling to the side. “That little jerk jabbed a needle into my arm.” Ryan swallows again. “It had a clear liquid—probably some kind of sedative. I am really thirsty.”
> You told me that already. I bite my tongue. There’s no need to snap at him because I’m frustrated. It seems to take forever and any second I expect warriors to round the corner, but except for a few more powerful vibrations all is relatively silent.
By the time I’ve gotten the last cord to snap, Ryan has shaken off the haze of stupor surrounding him. He rubs the back of his head then throws his legs over the side. I jump off the table. Lissa.
“Did you find out anything?” Ryan asks.
The ground trembles again.
“I’ll show you when we’re out of here.”
We run back to the lab. Ryan begins throwing open cabinet doors. I notice that Iru and his assistant are nowhere to be seen.
“Found them.” Ryan draws his sword, quiver, and bow out from behind some boxes. He puts the quiver over his shoulder and the sword in its sheath. He turns to the door leading to the kennels.
“Where are you going?” I had started heading to the exit but turn back around when I hear he isn’t following.
“We can’t leave those people here.”
“Well we can’t save them!” I cry, urgency choking my voice.
“We can try.”
“Try? Ryan what will we do with them? Release them to their deaths?”
“They’ll die if they stay.”
“And we will die if we stay. Come on.”
Time is running out. Pretty soon everyone will realize that they aren’t being attacked after all. Then they’ll start sniffing out whoever the instigator was and that will lead directly to me, and if we are caught we might as well be dead.
In a calmer voice I reason, “Ryan, I agree that those people don’t deserve to die, not this way, but if we don’t get out of here now—we’ll be dead. And I think we’re the only ones who can actually do anything about—,” I stop to catch my breath because my voice is rising in anger. “These people—could be only the first of thousands of others who will die if we don’t get out of here and stop this.”
I can feel Ryan struggling with himself. I bite my tongue to keep from rushing him. Everything seems to go dead silent as I wait for him to decide.
“Alright,” Ryan says reluctantly.
Now sounds come flooding back to me: the roars of animals, the pounding of many feet, and the crumbling of dirt. I lead Ryan down the stairs.
“Why are we going down here?” Ryan’s tone is angry, but I can’t tell if it’s at me.
“I buried a box—” I frown and tilt my head a bit. Oh no. A set of footsteps sounds louder than others. “Hurry.”
We plow down the stairs and cut around the corners. I crouch over the obviously freshly dug dirt—I guess I didn’t cover it as well as I’d thought—and begin shoving it aside. Ryan puts aside his bow and bends down and begins helping. I can’t help but glance at his arm muscles a few times. My fingers brush the box first and we yank it out.
Ryan tucks the box under his arm, snatches his bow then grabs my hand and we race back up the stairs.
Sunlight touches us before we reach the top. I look up in puzzlement and my mouth gapes at the sight. The mountain has been completely obliterated except for a few stumpy hills. Nearby brush has fire flaming from it and metal scraps are scattered everywhere. So are bodies. Did I do this?
“The fires they had going must’ve exploded,” Ryan says. “Looks like you’ve successfully destroyed their weapon supply—good job.”
“I didn’t exactly plan it,” I say hesitantly. I feel somewhat guilty for causing such a large amount of destruction. An eagle screams and our heads jerk up. Ryan and I—two people—are in plain sight. A shadow descends over us and we instinctively duck. The giant golden eagle we’d run into earlier is swooping down, its razor sharp gaze locked on us.
I run a few feet and jump into the air. Golden eagle. I cut a sharp turn, barely inches from the ground. As I sweep past Ryan he hops on. I bank up sharply.
An object rams into my left wing and I tip dangerously sideways. I whip my head around, glaring into the sage colored eyes of an eagle. Suddenly we aren’t alone in the air. Five other large eagles crisscross above, while a dragon circles below. I do a double take. Dragon?
It looks like a typical dragon: talons, four legs, long tail and neck, and bat-like wings. By the noise Ryan makes, I assume he is shocked as well. The dragon is the color of a lion’s mane and about the size of a small car. The eagles begin dive-bombing us. I twist and turn, make abrupt halts and nearly throw Ryan off more than once as I try to avoid them.
There’s a gurgled screech and I watch a bird spiral down to the ground, an arrow in its chest. Seconds later another bird follows it down, an arrow stuck in its head. The dragon disappears from my sight.
“Hold on.”
Ryan clutches my feathers tighter as I climb almost directly upward—trying to evade something I can’t even see, but sense. The dragon rams its snout into my stomach. I let out a cry as I am completely thrown off balance. Ryan’s weight disappears and I glance him falling as I wildly spin around. Lissa. The spinning decreases rapidly and I quickly steady myself.
Feathers brush my face and I glance to the side. The eagle. Its eyes are locked on Ryan, its prey. It folds its wings tighter to its side and it falls still faster.
I place my arms forward in a diving position. Eagle. My arms fly backward. Air whizzes by but I can hear nothing but my beating heart and see nothing but the boy falling to the ground.
Chapter 22
I fly past Ryan then spread out my wings. Like a parachute I instantly slow, colliding with Ryan. I hear him gasp as the air is knocked out of him. The other eagle swoops below me, so close it ruffles my stomach feathers and clips my wing as it harshly turns up.
When the eagle clears from my vision I realize why it turned so sharply. Thousands of treetops enclose the space ahead and I’m too late to pull up. The forest engulfs us. Branches catch and pluck at my wings, tearing out feathers and digging into my skin. I turn sideways seconds before running head on into a tree trunk—swerving rapidly milliseconds later. I jaggedly veer left and right, narrowly missing tree trunks and branches. I zero in on the circle of light up ahead. When I reach it I shoot out of the binding forest.
Space opens up around me. I extend my wings to their limit and feel the air beneath them. Mountain cliffs and gullies and sharp ridges are everywhere.
“This isn’t over yet,” Ryan breathes.
I look up. He’s right. The eagles and dragon have regrouped. I should’ve stayed in the forest. An eagle cuts sharply in front of me. I spread my talons and they sink into the warm back of the bird and it screeches in terror. I clamp my beak around its neck and snap the bone. The bird whirls away, spiraling to the ground.
“Three down three to go,” Ryan mutters.
“Uh, how about the dragon?” I ask breathlessly.
I don’t hear his answer because a shadow falls over us. The eagle’s claws open, going for Ryan’s back. I twist violently around seconds before they can connect. Our talons lock together. I tilt my head back to right myself and the eagle squawks as I jerk it around with me. It flaps frantically, trying to steady itself and get away. The bird digs its beak into my leg and I automatically release it. It uncontrollably tumbles through the air but soon rights itself.
Ryan leans forward and my body follows his silent command. His sword slices through the eagle’s wing as I fly past. Four down. I round a cliff, the last two eagles right on my tail.
“Pull up close to the dragon.”
“Are you insane?” My gaze flits over to the dragon. It’s on a mountain cliff, carefully watching us.
Ryan doesn’t respond and I clack my beak with annoyance. I bank violently toward the dragon. As I draw closer it arches its wings and stands taller. The black slits in its eyes narrow further. Something tells me I should pull back but I’m going too fast. In a split second fire shoots into the sky, I wrench my body around to avoid getting burned and Ryan’s weight disappears. It takes me a minute to register that h
e’s gone but when I do I’ve already flown way past him. My stomach and wing sting a bit but I have no time to assess the damage—the eagles are closing in. I’ve had enough.
Now that Ryan is off my back I feel freer. I propel myself upward at a frightening speed. Blasting through clouds, scattering their fluffy shapes into millions of cotton balls. I fly into a gigantic cloud. It’s thicker and I soon lose sight of the eagles. I fly to the very top, where the cloud flattens like a lid has been placed on it. I flap more slowly, as if treading water, and wait.
Finally an eagle exits the cloud. I lock my eyes onto my target, fold my wings and let gravity hurl me down at bone-shattering speed. Seconds before I can hit the eagle I extend my talons. They drive deep into the eagle's flesh, crunching bone and killing it in an instant.
I pick out my claws and release the gorgeous creature. Such a beautiful thing—now dead. I stop watching the bird fall when a thunderous growl shudders through the air. Ryan. Ryan is skillfully battling the dragon but it doesn’t look like he’ll last much longer. The dragon’s teeth and fire keep missing him but only narrowly—it won’t be long before they hit their mark.
I sigh. I’m so tired I could fall out of the sky right now. Locking away the weariness for later, I rush towards the dragon. It bellows in fury when Ryan stabs the base of its wing and cuts through it. He springs off the creature and ducks behind a boulder just as the dragon spews out fire. I call out to Ryan as I make a large circle around the dragon—its black eyes follow, but it doesn’t move. Ryan sees me coming. He climbs up to a slightly higher ledge, then runs along a thin trail. I swoop past and Ryan springs onto my back, not giving me a chance to land and let him safely climb on.
I could’ve landed you know. Didn’t have to go jumping through the air with the ground thousands of miles beneath you.” I cock my head back so I can see him. Ironically and somewhat annoyingly, he’s smiling.
Shift (The Pandorma Adventures Book 1) Page 26
