Soulshift

by Arizona Tape

  "Hey, you still with me?" Devon's caring tone broke through my thoughts.

  "Huh, sorry. I was just thinking about the past."

  He peeled himself away from me and led me over to the bed, sitting down and giving my arm a tug. I followed him down, allowing him to put an arm around my shoulders. I snuggled into him, struck by how right the whole situation was.

  "The past?" He sounded perplexed. "Just how old are you?"

  I laughed. I should've known this would come up now he knew I was a vampire.

  "I'm twenty-four."

  "Oh."

  "Disappointed?" I teased, feeling the smile light up my face.

  "A little, I thought maybe you'd be able to tell me about history." He turned his head to the side, his nose hovering against my forehead. I could feel his proximity and longed for more of it. A deep yearning within me.

  "I can still do that, but unfortunately for you, I'm the same age as Tate." The same Tate who was in my body right now. The body that needed to get to work in about half an hour. And I couldn't do that from here. "Shit," I murmured, jumping to my feet and beginning to pace.

  "What's wrong, Ayra?" he asked, and even through my agitation, I loved the way he said my name. It was different to the way he said Tate's, but I could still feel emotion in it.

  "Work, I need to go to work."

  "Do you know your boss' number? I could call in sick for you?" he offered, getting to his feet and interrupting my pacing by pulling me into a tight hug. "I can do that, you know. I'm a doctor."

  Despite myself, I laughed. That was one day to take the day off. "I don't know it. I'm terrible with remembering numbers," I admitted, burying my head into his chest. Oh, but taking a sick day would mean I could spend the day curled up against his chest, so long as he didn't have to work anyway.

  "What about the company name?"

  "Yes, I know that."

  "Good, I'll grab my phone and we can look it up." He smiled down at me, his eyes lighting up. He knew who I was, but he was still acting this way. My heart leaped. This was what I wanted.

  He let go of me, and I immediately felt bereft.

  Devon returned seconds later with his phone in his hand. He began to type, and I looked over his shoulder to try to read, but my vision wouldn't focus. I tried harder. But the more I tried, the fuzzier everything got.

  "Oh no," I whispered. I wasn't ready for this to end. I wanted to stay here with Devon. I didn't want to go. "I'll be back, Devon," I added, before the haziness turned into blackness.

  The last thing I saw was his worried face as I faded into another swap.

  Chapter 17

  "Shit," I shouted, pushing my hands through my hair. To my surprise, Sian chuckled, though it sounded a little hollow.

  "That's the second time this morning. If you two aren't careful, I'm going to think there's something wrong with me." The words came out with more of a bitter tone than I think she intended.

  "I'm sorry, that's not..."

  "I know. Devon's not in a good place, Tate told me." She held up her hand, and her face softened.

  "She told you that?" I was surprised. I'd have thought Tate would be far more concerned in Sian than in what was going on with Devon. Though that was potentially being a little unkind to her. She clearly still cared about him, or she'd just have told him straight out about what was going on.

  "Yes. She seemed worried about how you'd get on." Her probing wasn't subtle. Which was very unlike Sian, or unlike the Sian I knew.

  "I got on fine," I muttered, glancing away from her to hide the blush that was already spreading over my face.

  "What happened?" She asked, leaning down on the counter top and looking genuinely interested. That was perplexing. Were we heading towards being friends? It shouldn't be that easy, should it? Just days ago we'd still been together, and now we were chatting about Devon and Tate as if we were girlfriends of the non-romantic variety. It was a little odd, but it also felt right, like it was something it needed to be.

  "I kissed him," I admitted.

  "You did what?! Ayra!" she admonished with a laugh. "You always did move quick."

  "No I didn't," I countered, pouting.

  "When you know what you want you do. He must be really special." She sounded wistful.

  "I suspect he makes me feel like Tate makes you feel," I supplied.

  "Yes, I suspect so," she replied easily.

  The two of us sat in a comfortable silence while Sian slowly drank the coffee she'd poured herself at some point. "We're friends, right?" I blurted out.

  "Yes," she responded instantly. "Or at least, I want to be."

  "So we should just skip the awkward 'we used to sleep together' phase and just...be friends?" I suggested gingerly.

  "I'd like that, yes."

  "But we're still going to live together?"

  "While you're body swapping with Tate, definitely. Do you really want to explain changing personalities to anyone new?" she teased, but I could hear the undercurrent in her voice. She was in deep with Tate. She didn't want me to move out because seeing Tate would become so much harder. I smiled to myself. Being friends with Sian was going to be a lot easier than I'd anticipated.

  Work had gone so slowly. Probably because of the anticipation building up within me. I didn't know when I'd swap, or when I'd see Devon again. All I knew was that I wanted it to be soon. Really, I wanted him to be my whole life. Well, okay, not my entire life, that was stupid and went completely against what modern women of any species should stand for, but I wanted him there every day. To wake up with him, and go to sleep with him...

  Ayra, snap out of it.

  This was becoming a problem. All my mind seemed to be doing was saying 'Devon, Devon, Devon' over and over again. It wasn't getting any work done, nor was it solving any of the problems I had like the random swaps.

  I unlocked my front door, and entered the empty flat, feeling oddly out of place. Yes. I was pretty sure it was safe to say that my head and my heart had moved on from my life and had taken root somewhere else.

  Dumping my bag on the table, I pulled my favourite mug out of the cupboard and started making myself a cup of tea. I had a lot to do if I was going to figure out this swapping business. For a start, there was a lingering concern that a swap would happen while I was at work. Or worse, when I was supposed to be at work. Poor Tate would be clueless about what to do with herself. She didn't strike me as the architectural type. Plus, Devon had said something about a computer. I hoped I wouldn't end up having to do Tate's job at any point. I'd be well and truly clueless. That was if she had one.

  I blew over the top of my tea, trying to cool it just enough so I could drink it, but not too much that it wasn't hot. There was a perfect temperature for tea, and it was hard to get right. I grabbed a pen and paper from the bowl we kept at the centre of the breakfast bar, and wrote Tate's name at the top of it. With Sian knowing about her, this might not be necessary, but on the off chance we swapped and Sian wasn't about, it didn't hurt to be prepared.

  I chewed on the end of the pen as I considered what to write. Just putting 'hi Tate' seemed a little...mundane? But then, how else could I start a letter to a woman I'd never even talked to, but knew intimately.

  I should probably start with what to do if she ended up in the work situation. As boring as that was, it was definitely important information. And it would cover both of our backs. Then again, if they lived close to where we did, there was a chance it wouldn't matter at all. No one was close enough to me at work to be able to tell that her body wasn't mine. But what else to tell her. I was pretty sure she'd already figured out the blood thing, so there was no real need to tell her about that. Oh, I knew what. I hastily jotted down all the little quirks and likes that Sian had revealed to me over the years. There was no reason not to give Tate a head start. Though maybe she already knew more than I did anyway. Things between her and Sian had certainly seemed to be progressing at a good speed.

  I smiled to myself, slig
htly surprised at how pleased I was for the two of them. It made me wonder exactly when I'd stopped being in love with Sian. I still loved and cared for her sure. But no one fell out of love in just over a week, right? I didn't think so anyway. Or had I never been in love with Sian? Had I always just been kidding myself? If I was honest, I didn't really want to explore that thought. But, while she'd broken down a lot of the barriers around my heart, she hadn't done it nearly so fast as Devon had. That should tell me something.

  I scrawled her name on an envelope and sealed it tight with the letter inside, propping it up against the bowl. I knew Sian wouldn't read something with someone else's name on it, and Tate would definitely see it there. I had to admit, Sian being in the loop was definitely a bonus. It made doing things like this a whole lot easier.

  Right, so, what was I to do now. It was an odd feeling, being like a guest in your own home. But I didn't want Sian to feel uncomfortable with me being here, and I didn't want to go out in case a swap happened. If Tate wasn't familiar with the city, then it was going to cause her undue stress to be out and about. Hmm. Maybe I should book some holiday time off work too. Remove that worry from the situation. Then again, what would I do with all that time if we didn't swap bodies. I hated being bored.

  All of that worry would be removed if I knew how to control or instigate the swaps. I wondered if I could do it. Maybe I should try. Now seemed as good a time as any. And coming back to find Tate in my place would be good relief for Sian. If I remembered rightly, tonight was one of her monthly staff meetings at school, and she hated them with a passion.

  Oh, maybe I should make her and Tate some cookies first. Tate didn't seem like the overly domestic type, at least not given Devon's reaction to me cooking. And while Sian could cook, her baking skills left a lot to be desired.

  I went to the cupboards and pulled out all the ingredients I needed to make raisin and oatmeal cookies. I didn't know if Tate liked them, but they were one of Sian's favourites, and they were quick to make. I might want to do this for the two of them, but I also wanted to see Devon as soon as I could.

  I hummed to myself as I made the batter, then dropped the mix onto baking trays and sticking them in the oven. I wiped down the sides, cleaning up after myself. One of my pet peeves was an untidy cooking surface, and I often found myself tidying up after Sian. I couldn't say anything though. I was sure there were things I did that annoyed the hell out of her.

  Right, ten minutes...what the hell did I do now? As soon as the cookies were out, I could try the switch. I could tidy up, I supposed. It was as good a suggestion as ever, really. I pottered around the flat, picking things up and putting them back where they were supposed to go.

  The timer buzzed and I skipped back over to the oven, pulling out the trays of cookies, moving them onto a cooling rack. They smelled divine, and I almost regretted not being around to eat them.

  Almost.

  The thought of waiting for one to cool, and putting off seeing Devon again, didn't sit well then. But how to induce a swap. I'd been mulling it over all day, and had already figured out that just thinking about Devon wouldn't work. But what about focusing on Tate?

  I pictured myself in my mind’s eye, making sure to substitute my green eyes for her blue. Next, I imagined her inner shifter. The blue dragon with a penchant for the sea. An odd sensation, not unlike the one I'd felt while I was shifting, came over me. Yes. This must be it. I focused in on Tate and her inner dragon further and my eyes slipped out of focus.

  I was coming Devon. Be ready for me.

  Chapter 18

  I did it. I actually did it. I knew before I'd even opened my eyes. The lack of cookie smell was a bit of a giveaway, as was the weird computerised gunfire I could hear. I opened my eyes, too curious not to, and discovered the source of the noise. Oh it was one of those games. The ones that needed strategy and a trigger happy thumb to actually win. Well, I had neither. Marcus had tried to get me to play one from time to time, and without exception, I sucked at them.

  But I didn't want Tate to lose her place in the game, so I needed to make my way to a check point. It was just going to take some doing.

  I held the controller in my hand, trying to make sense of what did not. Damn it, why was I such a beginner at this? And why hadn't Tate ended the game when she...oh, right, yes. I might have known the swap was coming, but she'd had no idea. We might need to work on a system for that.

  I tipped the controller forward, feeling like something was missing when I looked at it. But that made no sense. I'd never played with this console before, or any console really. So I had no idea what it should look like. Instead, I studied my hands closely, but it still took me a little longer to notice what was gone than I wanted to admit.

  Tate hadn't been wearing her engagement ring.

  Excitement welled up inside me and my heart began to race. She'd done it. She'd actually broken up with Devon, or at least, I hoped she had and she hadn't just taken off the ring just do the washing up or something. Then again, Tate didn't seem like the kind of woman who'd do the washing up. Not that I blamed her, I wouldn't either if I had the state of the art dishwasher she did.

  I examined my hand, her hand, my hand...wow, that was trippy to say the least, more closely, trying to work out how long the ring had been off. She'd been wearing it this morning when I'd switched with her, so it was definitely since then.

  My heart sped even faster. That meant the kiss I'd shared with Devon had actually made a difference. He'd believed we were two different people, and respected her ending things.

  That meant Devon could be mine.

  My gaze slipped to the small sliver of free space on the computer desk, spotting a scrawled note with my name on it. I read it once. Smiled. Then read it again. Devon would be home at six. And Tate had written me a note saying as much. That meant she approved of the two of us. It must, right?

  I twisted my arm and looked at the watch I was wearing instinctively. Huh. How hadn't I noticed Tate wearing a watch before? But it told me it had just gone six pm, which meant Devon would be home any moment.

  I jumped to my feet, dusting myself off even though I didn't need to. I looked down to evaluate Tate's clothing and ended up shaking my head. It was comfortable, true, but it was also a little too functional for my liking. I liked my clothing a tiny bit girlier, though still with the same level of comfort. But this would have to do for now. Maybe if we got better at the swapping part of things, we could work out how to swap our wardrobes, and some of our other possessions, over.

  I almost ran from the room, coming to an abrupt stop in the hallway as I saw the front door handle twist. I shouldn't be this excited about him coming home, and yet I was practically bouncing on the balls of my feet. Would he know it was me straight away? Or would I need to tell him in some way?

  The door creaked slightly, and he stepped inside. His head was down as he typed something in his phone, but when he looked up, his dark blue eyes meeting mine, my heart literally skipped a beat. His face lit up and he dropped his briefcase to the floor, striding over to me with a great sense of purpose.

  I would beg all the Gods in all the heavens for him to know it was me stood in front of him.

  He reached me and cupped my face in his, crushing his lips against mine. I should resist. At least I should until he knew who he was kissing. But it was too intoxicating to stop. This kiss took over all of my senses, and I could feel it throughout my entire body.

  Devon placed a warm hand on the small of my back and pulled me up against him, his hardness pressing against me. Please, Gods let him be aware it was me he was kissing.

  "Ayra," he murmured having broken our kiss, and my breathing quickened.

  "You know it's me?" I whispered back.

  "Yes," he replied, kissing me slowly and chastely after the word.

  "How?" I cocked my head to the side, my curiosity really making itself known. Really, it didn't, and shouldn't, matter how he knew. Just that he did.

  "
You're different. Tate was right." He smoothed a hand down my cheek, the touch gentle and reverent, and everything that I'd ever wanted from someone's touch. And this time, when he'd said her name, I'd felt nothing. No pang of jealousy, displeasure or discomfort. It was as if his realisation had caused everything to slot into place.

  "What do we do now?" I asked, my eyes widening as I tried to push away the suggestions my head was coming up with. I really couldn't suggest those. They'd be fun, sure, but I couldn't let him know just how far gone I was, and jumping his bones was a sure fire way of letting him know. Then again, he was clearly ready for that. I could feel how ready he was for that to happen. Part of me really wanted to take him up on the offer.

  "Not that, if you're not ready," he said. His eyes softened as he looked down at me, and my heart swelled again. "What do you want to do for your birthday?" he blurted suddenly.

  "I might not even be here for my birthday, Devon," I reminded him.

  "Can't you control the shifts?"

  I frowned. That was a loaded question, especially given the fact I had induced this swap.

  "Not really," I responded. "I made this one happen, but I have no idea if I can do it again."

  Devon frowned. "So I have no idea when I'm going to get to spend time with you?" He sounded dejected, and I hated it. I wanted Devon to be happy. Always smiling, always full of mirth. His face lit up when that was the case.

  "No," I glanced away, not wanting him to see how much that one word actually affected me. It was pathetic after all. "I can try doing what I did today, but I have no idea if it'll work or not..."

  "So I'd better make the most of the time I have with you then." A wicked smile accompanied his words, and inwardly, I groaned. I nodded, swallowing the lump that'd formed in my throat. I might be nervous, but I wanted this. I wanted it so badly that it hurt.

  "Yes," I whispered. "But are you and Tate..."

  "No." I was grateful for him cutting me off, it meant I didn't have to voice the awkward question of if they were still together or not. I tried to hide my glee that the answer was very certain. There was no ambiguity. Devon was mine. And he would be for a very long time. It didn't matter if I was in this form, or my vampire one. My soul belonged to him, and that was all that mattered.