by C. D. Hersh
She let her body melt back into her female form. No need to let the visitor see her alter ego. Pressing her cheek against the wood, she concentrated on bringing one face into focus. The woman’s face slid back a layer, bringing Eli’s craggy features to the forefront.
Alexi opened the door. “Is someone following you, Eli?”
“Nay, lassie,” the Scotsman said, smiling as broadly as his accent. “Twas yer first test. I was trying tae discover if ye could see the man in the woman.”
As she watched, the vestiges of the female face disappeared, leaving a solid image of Eli’s features on the face.
“I take it from the Cheshire cat grin I made the grade.”
“In a bonny fashion. If there twas any doubt in my mind aboot yer destiny, ye gone and taken it away.”
“Great. Just what I wanted to hear this morning.” She closed the door with a bang that made Eli jump.
“No need tae git so het up aboot it, lassie. ‘Tis a guid thing.”
She waved the old man toward the kitchen. “Not to me. Would you like some coffee?”
Eli trailed her, letting out a low whistle as he glanced around at the mess. “Twas there a war in here?”
“I sent Rhys away this morning.”
He sat down on the only empty chair. “And he threw the kitchen at ye?”
“No.” She set a coffee cup down in front of Eli. “I clean when I’m stressed.”
Eli rotated the cup and read the decal plastered on the side. “Best Cop on the Force.”
“Not that one.” She plucked it from his hand. Rhys had given that mug to her for her birthday last year. She tucked it in the crook of her arm and scrounged around on the counter for another.
“Don’t fash yerself aboot it. I’m a tea drinker anyway.”
She poured coffee into the mug and cradled the cup in her hands. Lifting it to her lips, she tongued the edge wistfully.
“Twas the right thing tae do,” Eli said gently. “Ye know it in yer head. Ye just need time for the heart tae heal.”
“How much time? Never mind. Don’t answer that.” There wasn’t enough time in eternity for her to get over Rhys. She rested her hip against the counter and set the mug down. “So tell me, what was this first test?”
“Can ye see the woman in the man, too?”
“Woman in the man? Man in the woman? What do you mean by that? Is it another Gaelic proverb?”
“Ye saw through my female alter ego tae the real man. Can ye do it the other way? Have ye seen through Sylvia when she’s shifted tae her male side?”
“I’ve never seen Sylvia shifted, so I don’t know if I can or not.”
“How do ye do it?”
“I don’t know. It’s like two images mixed together.”
“I dinna understand.”
“Are you familiar with those optical illusion pictures of the hag and the beautiful girl?”
“Aye.”
“It’s kind of like that. Both images are there, but if I concentrate I can bring one to the forefront.”
“But how did ye know tae bring the male one out?”
“Baron asked the same thing. I don’t know how that works. It just does.”
“So the ego comes tae the front naturally?”
“I guess. I’ve only done it with you and Baron. Both times it just happened by concentrating and trying to figure out what was really there. Baron got real excited when I did it.”
“Was he trying tae get ye tae draw it out? Testing ye?”
She shook her head. “No. I came home one night and he was in his alter ego. The face was blurred. I didn’t know what was happening. I thought my sight was going bad.”
“Did he teach ye how tae see the other? If he learnt ye maybe we can figure out how tae draw out the other egos.”
“No. Something just kicked in and I could separate the two images.”
“When was that?”
“The first time happened a few weeks before he died. Why are you both so excited about this?”
“Because, lassie, ye’ve done something no one else has ever been able tae do. Ye’ve accomplished one o’ the final proof tests of a Promised One.”
Great. There’d be no escaping the destiny now.
“Try agin, lassie,” Eli urged. “A Promised One needs tae be able to obtain the third ego.”
“I can’t,” she said flatly.
She’d let the old man prod her into shifting into Garrett and mimic shift multiple times, subjecting to her all kinds of stresses so he could test her ability to hold the shapes. She’d answered all of his questions about when every skill had been acquired. They’d played shifter hide-and-seek. She’d found him every time, much to his delight. She’d done all those things without question, but no way would she reveal to him, or anyone else, anything about her third ego. Only Baron knew that and he was gone now. If that was the last piece he needed to make her a Promised One, she’d hold that back forever.
“Yer lying.”
“You sound like Baron.”
“He was a man o’ integrity, who believed in the truth. I’m a man o’ integrity, too, lassie.” He paused, letting her think about what he’d said. “I’ll ask you agin, have ye obtained yer third ego?”
“No.”
He clucked his tongue, letting her know he was not satisfied with her answer. “We’ll let it go for now. Just ken that I ken ‘tis a lie.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“I can see it in yer aura.”
“Really?” In the mirror over the sofa, she examined the rings of colors surrounding her. “Baron never told me that.”
“Twas wise o’ him tae do so. A child is less likely tae get in trouble if she kens she’ll not get away with it.”
“It worked,” Alexi said, laughing. She’d been afraid to do anything wrong. Baron always called her on her small fibs.
“And speaking o’ auras, tell me what ye see in mine.”
“I can’t tell if you’re lying, if that’s what you want to know. Can you teach that to me? It could come in handy dealing with Sylvia.”
“Only a few shifters have the ability. ‘Tis a gift—or a curse, depending on how ye view it, that I canna give tae anyone, except maybe tae my children. But I havnae any bairns.”
“Like potential Promised Ones?” she asked, hoping one more test proof failure might release her from the hated destiny.
“It shows in some with the potential. ‘Tis helpful, but not necessary. But back tae the subject. What do ye see in my aura?”
Alexi concentrated, bringing Eli’s aura into focus. “Rings of the purest green, tinged with gold.”
“Isnae there any red?”
“A little, the color of your hair.”
“Do ye know what it means?”
“The ring’s aura? All the shifters I’ve seen have predominately red and green auras, with tinges of other colors.”
Eli removed his Turning Stone ring. “Now what do ye see?”
Alexi watched as his aura shimmered, shifting from green to pure gold, the edges softened with clouds of purple. “It’s faint, but I can still see the red and green of your ring aura.”
“By the Druid’s beard! Ye can?”
“Yes, but your natural aura is different. Gold with puffs of purple. I’ve never seen an aura like this before. Even Baron didn’t have those colors.”
“Do ye ken what it means?”
“I’ve figured out the dark, muddy colors are bad. I see them on criminals.”
“And the light pure ones are the opposite. If ye see me as gold, even without the ring, ye can be certain that I’m not one o’ the bad ones. Ye can trust me, Alexi, like ye trusted Baron.”
Despite what he said, and what she saw, she believed she could trust no one like she had Baron. But, with time and more proof, she might be able to rely on Eli. It would be nice to have another shifter to lean on.
“‘Tis been a long morning,” Eli said, stretching his arms out. “Let’s take
a wee rest from testing.”
Alexi plopped down on the sofa, relieved. “All this testing hasn’t given me any idea of what you plan to do to help me find Baron’s killer and ring. What plan did you develop while you slept?”
“The first thing we have tae do is get ye beyond the need for revenge.”
“Who says I want revenge?”
“Och, lassie. Dinna try tae fool me. I can see, plain as the nose on yer face, the darkness o’ revenge and hate swirling round ye. If ye start hunting without ridding yerself o’ such things, ye’ll only pull more black into yer soul. Ye dinna want that, do ye?”
She had to admit she’d been driven to find Baron’s killer . . . and not just to retrieve the ring. She wanted whoever had murdered her uncle to pay. In the darkest bouts of her obsession, she pictured giving the killer a horrible death. She’d come away from those experiences feeling exhausted and dirty. Carrying such a load wasn’t easy, but letting his killer get away wasn’t an alternative she’d allow.
“I’m doing this for the right reasons,” she said, hoping to convince herself as much as Eli. “I have to be doing it for the right reasons.”
“Ye got that right. Ye need pure motives tae mimic shift. And yer going need tae mimic shift tae catch him, tae protect yer alter ego.”
“Sylvia said the same thing, but if I can track him by his aura, why should I shift?”
“If he keeps doing evil, the auras o’ his basic nature are going to disguise the ring’s aura. Eventually, the only aura yer going tae see will be that o’ his true nature. Unless ye can figure out what physical changes the shifts leave him with, which will be nigh unto impossible, ye will nae be able tae find him in his natural form. Even a Promised One canna mimic shift without the danger o’ retaining the characteristics o’ the mimic, unless the motives are verra pure.”
“Then how did Sylvia mimic me when she screwed Rhys? She didn’t retain any of my features, and her lascivious remarks about having him certainly didn’t seem pure.” The words popped out before she could stop them.
“She’s had yer man?” Shock flooded the old man’s face. “And ye still want him?”
“Rhys doesn’t know it was Sylvia. What happened with them made him think we were soul mates.”
“What did happen?”
Alexi got off the sofa and crossed the room, her back to Eli. “This is too embarrassing to talk about. It’s one thing to give you access to my shifter information, but you don’t need to know about my intimate relationships. I’ve kicked Rhys out. Did what you asked. Only God knows why, but I did. I think that’s all you need to know about it.”
“If the she-witch is involved, I need tae know everything. She’ll use anything she has agin ye, and if she’s had him, she’s knows how tae get tae ye.”
She faced Eli, hands braced on her hips. “I draw the line here. You leave my personal relationship with Rhys out of this or I swear I’ll blow the whole destiny thing to kingdom come, throw the dammed ring at Sylvia, and take him back, even if we spend the rest our lives popping into each other’s skins.” She wished the last sentence back as soon as she’d spoken it. Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut? Was she going to spill her guts every time Eli questioned her?
Eli crossed the room with the speed of a cheetah and grasped her by the shoulders. “Ye exchanged bodies with him?” His voice crackled with excitement.
She shrugged out of his grasp. “I was referring to intercourse,” she said perversely. “You do know what it is, don’t you?”
He gave her a stare that pinned her feet to the floor. “Don’t be toying with me, lassie. I’ll nae have it. You will answer me. And dinna lie this time.”
His fury was so great his aura leapt into Alexi’s vision unbidden. The gold deepened, losing its pure sheen and the red spiked and flared, writhing like snakes. Anger rolled off him, so hot it seared her like fingers of hell fire.
What’s the use? He knows if I’m lying. “Yes,” she said with a defeated sigh. “And it freaked the heck out of me.”
Eli paced the living room, his cane tapping out an urgent rhythm on the hardwood floor with every step. “This changes everything.” He stopped abruptly and faced her. “You have tae get him back.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Alexi snorted in disgust.
“Nay. I’m serious. ‘Tis a matter o’ grave importance tae keep the man next tae ye.”
She threw her hands up. “First you want me to get rid of him. Now you want me to get him back. What else do you want from me? My firstborn?”
“Aye, if it belongs tae Rhys, too.”
“What are you talking about, old man?” She stared him, dumbfounded.
He motioned to the easy chair behind her. “Sit down, lassie. I think what I’m going tae tell ye will be a shock.” She chose to stand. Eli waved his cane at her. “Suit yerself. That body popping thing ye mentioned means Rhys is a Promised One.”
“He’s not a shifter,” she croaked, when she found her voice. “He doesn’t have a ring.”
“He was using the power from yer ring. Only a true Promised One can do that. Did it happen every time?”
“Only once for me . . . last night. I kept the ring on, like you told me to. I always take it off at night. The metal leaves marks on my face when I sleep on my hands, which I do a lot.” Sheesh, she was babbling like a brook. Must be the shock of Eli’s revelation. “Rhys thought it meant we were soul mates . . . not the metal marks on my face . . . but because of what Sylvia . . .” A horrible thought crossed her mind. “How many shifters know about this body shifting thing?”
“Only the highest level Council Members.”
“Rhys’ first time was with Sylvia, when she mimicked me.”
Eli’s ruddy face paled. “Then she’ll be after him. If she sways him tae the evil side, we’ll have one giant battle facing us. No one—and I mean no one—in the entire history o’ the Turning Stones has ever been able tae body shift with a ring much less without a ring.”
“So are we soul mates?”
“Depends on who he twas thinking aboot.”
“He thinks it was me.”
“Then most likely ye are soul mates. ‘Tis a rare thing with shifters tae find a soul mate. The soul mate part ‘tis not important, but that he can mind shift without his own ring. Only a Promised One could do that. Shifting bodies with another ‘tis one of the final proof tests of a Promised One. Ye have tae get him back.”
“But I can’t,” Alexi wailed. “I called the captain this morning and asked him to assign me another partner. I couldn’t face working with Rhys after breaking it off with him.”
“Then ye have tae tell him ye changed yer mind.”
“I threatened to resign if he didn’t comply.”
“If ye have tae grovel tae get him back, do it.”
“I don’t grovel,” she said firmly. To no one, and especially to a man.
“Dinna ye understand the magnitude of this, lassie? Ye can have yer man back, and ye can get the ring without repercussions, even if ye have to kill to get it. The joining of two potential Promised Ones, as powerful as ye and Rhys are, could start a new line as strong as the one yer mither and faither had. This is yer destiny, Alexi. Tae make the man ye love a Turning Stone member.”
She liked the sound of this destiny. Could such a thing really be possible? Hope flared in her and then fizzled out. “It won’t work. The world doesn’t react well to shape shifters. They think werewolves and vampires. He’d never go for it.”
“Did he like it when ye switched?”
“Not at first. He told me it freaked him out in the hotel room, like it did me when he and I were together. But he kept trying to convince me it meant we were soul mates. He actually wanted it to happen a second time. He promised me I’d get used to it.”
“And ye will. Ye just have tae give it time.”
She wasn’t sure the world had enough time left before Armageddon struck to convince him, but she couldn’t wait to get him
back in her life. “So when should we tell him?”
“Not till we have Baron’s ring. Ye have tae get him back first, before Sylvia discovers yer apart and makes a move on him.”
And she would. Despite the loose promise she’d procured from Sylvia under pressure, Alexi had no doubt the woman would come after Rhys the first chance she got.
She had to get him back, even if it meant groveling.
Chapter 28
Captain Williams placed his meaty hands on the stack of papers on Rhys’ desk. “What did you do to her, Temple?”
Rhys yanked a file out of the pile. “Who?”
“Jordan. Did you screw her and jilt her?”
His head jerked toward the captain and he pinned him with an angry stare. “If I screwed her, that’s none of your business.”
“It is now. She called earlier and asked for a new partner.”
Wasn’t it bad enough she jilted him? No one would know that anyway, but asking for another partner was a public snub. He didn’t take that lightly. “What reason did she give?”
“Some bull about irreconcilable differences. Sounds more like a divorce court excuse.”
“What did you tell her?”
The captain jerked his thumb toward his office door. Rhys scraped his chair back and followed. This day keeps getting worse. Could he convince the captain to keep them together better than he’d managed to convince Alexi?
Williams settled his bulk onto his chair and steepled his fingers under his chin. “What’s the real story here, Temple?”
“We’re just going through a rough patch, that’s all.”
“Too rough to keep working with her? Because she sounded pretty determined to work with someone else.”
After what happened this morning, he didn’t doubt that.
“What the hell did you do to her?”
“I cared too much.”
“Hah!” The captain clapped his hand on the desk blotter. “You did screw her. I win.”
So, we’re back to the office odds. You blew that too, Temple. But there was no way he would admit it. He stared the captain down across the desk. “Caring doesn’t always lead to screwing.” The captain cocked an eyebrow at him and Rhys backed away. “Okay, maybe in my past. But it’s not like that now.”
