The Change (Unbounded)

by Teyla Branton

  “That’s the point.” I introduced him to Cort, and he released my hands to shake Cort’s, but already I was feeling steadier.

  “So,” Jace said. “What’s happened?” My brother was nothing if not direct.

  I glanced pointedly at Cort, but he shook his head. “Sorry, can’t leave you two alone. Ava’s orders.”

  “Because you don’t trust me?”

  “Do you trust us?”

  I sighed and turned back to my brother. “I’m leaving town tonight for a little trip. I wanted to say goodbye and remind you to keep your eyes open.”

  The waiter chose that moment to ask Jace if he wanted anything. Jace ordered coffee and pastry puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and drizzled in chocolate sauce. “Make that two,” I said.

  Jace arched a brow in surprise. “Glad to see you’re back to eating dessert. You’re looking a little thin. What about that absorption thing?”

  “Still getting the hang of it. Plus, I’ve been working out a bit.” I gave a wry smile at the understatement. At least my Unbounded body had so far endured Ritter’s training. “So about Mom and Dad . . .”

  “I’ll keep an eye on them, as much as I can from a distance. And Chris always looks in on them. We have to keep working, of course.”

  My old life may have completely stopped as though I’d really died, but not his or Chris’s, or Lorrie’s, or my parents’ lives. Only I had changed. Or Changed.

  I leaned toward him and whispered, “After we left the house the other night we were attacked. Eighteen men with guns. Jace, you have to understand—this is far more serious than I ever realized.” I grabbed his hand under the table and placed it on the leather sheath around my leg.

  He looked confused until he recognized the shape of the knives. He pulled back as if bitten. “What the—you’re serious!”

  “I was shot in the shoulder, but that was nothing compared to what they were going to do to us if we’d lost. Remember what Ava and I told you about the only ways to kill an Unbounded?”

  “Got it.” His face was ashen. A little louder he added, “I wish I could come with you. I don’t like you being out there alone.”

  “She’s not alone,” Cort said. “I assure you of that. We’re looking out for her.”

  Jace didn’t seem comforted.

  “They do hire security,” I told him. “Maybe when you decide you’ve had enough of the army—”

  “I’ve had enough of it now. I’m not sure how I can go back knowing what’s really out there. You’re different, Erin. I see that. And I’m not ashamed to tell you I’m jealous as hell. If I hadn’t signed that contract with the army, I’d go with you right now.”

  I leaned close to him, put my cheek against his. “I’m sorry.”

  That’s when I noticed the man. He was two tables over to my left, nowhere near us. He wasn’t looking our way, and I couldn’t see his face clearly because he was framed by the light coming through the trees behind him, but the confident way he held himself, the way his mouth moved when he spoke to his red-haired female companion, told me he was Unbounded. I fought a burst of panic. They weren’t part of Ava’s Renegades. Could they be from the Emporium?

  “Cort!”

  “Yes?” He looked at me sharply.

  “I think we have a problem.”

  “What problem?” Jace hissed.

  I glanced at him and then at Cort. “Don’t look around or anything, but I think we’re being watched. By an Unbounded. Someone I don’t recognize.”

  Beside me Jace tensed, but I could detect no reaction from Cort. “Where?” Cort asked.

  “To my left. Two tables back—by the trees. Gray suit, open collar, dark hair speckled gray.”

  Cort wasn’t in a good position to see the man, but Jace was. “I see him,” Jace said. “No jewelry except a big ring. Can’t see his face clearly, but I’d say from the way he carries himself he knows how to fight. Army trained, or something. Can’t see anything of the woman he’s with, except for all that hair. Is she Unbounded, too?”

  I hadn’t noticed her, and I didn’t dare turn now, but as I recalled the glimpse I’d had of them, I was fairly certain she was. “I think so.”

  “How can you tell?” Jace asked.

  “More of a feeling than anything else.”

  “If they’re watching us,” Cort said, “did they follow us here, or did they follow Jace to get to you?”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t see if they got here before or after us, and I can’t tell by what’s on their table. Coffee maybe? Could be waiting for food or already finished.”

  On the pretext of looking around for the waiter, Cort glanced their way. “I don’t recognize them from our files on the Emporium. You might be mistaken.”

  “Maybe they’re new,” I said. “Like me.”

  Cort shook his head. “Guy’s too old to be new.”

  There was silence at our table, and I felt doubt creeping in. If Cort didn’t think they were Unbounded, who was I to insist? Still, I wanted to be sure. “I want a closer look. Where are the bathrooms?”

  “You can’t go alone,” Jace said.

  I opened my purse, tilting it so he could glimpse the gun there. “Don’t worry little brother, I won’t be gone long.”

  Jace stared at me in shock, and I knew that was not only because of the gun, but because of my confidence. I hadn’t been sure of my actions for a very long time. Before either man could object, I arose and strode across the restaurant, clutching my bag like a life preserver. As I approached the gray-haired man, I could see absolutely nothing about him that would signal his true identity, but I was even more sure he was Unbounded. The woman’s nature was more difficult to determine, as she was framed by a mass of dark auburn hair that covered her back and shoulders. As I passed, she leaned down for something in her purse so I was unable to see her face, but her movement exuded Unbounded confidence. Why couldn’t Cort see that?

  I almost expected the man’s arm to whip out and grab me, but nothing happened. I went past them into the main restaurant, searching until I found the bathrooms. Once there, I blew out a shaky breath of relief and waited an appropriate period of time, one hand inside my purse, before starting to leave. As I moved toward the door, it opened.

  “You should have seen him,” a thin blonde was saying to her dark-haired friend. “It was the funniest thing ever.” She froze when she saw me.

  Oh, no, I thought, releasing the gun and snapping shut my purse.

  I knew her. Her name was Judy—we’d worked at the insurance agency together in claims until last year when she slept with one of the bosses and was promoted to his personal secretary. Never mind that he was married and had two kids. Her sharp sarcasm, incessant prattling, and constant criticism of coworkers had just about alienated her from everyone who worked there. But she did have a fabulous figure and rumor said she knew how to use it.

  She stopped talking and put a hand on her heart, her eyes growing wide. “Oh, you gave me a scare! I’m sorry, but for a moment you looked like a close friend of mine who just died. I attended her funeral yesterday.”

  Close friend? Right. “I’m sorry for your loss,” I said coolly.

  “Of course, I see now that you don’t really look much like her. She was a sweet girl, but she didn’t wear glasses or have fabulous clothes like that dress, and she certainly didn’t have your style.” Envy dripped from the words. “You’re much thinner, too. And she had a skin problem.”

  I’d never had a skin problem, though my skin did look clearer now, unblemished, all the scars gone. Most women would never realize how those tiny, nearly imperceptible flaws added up over the years.

  “A lot of people have look-alikes,” said Judy’s companion. “Everyone tells me I look like Julia Roberts.”

  I blinked. If she resembled Julia Roberts, I looked like, well, Stella.

  Judy laughed. “You do, Lizzy. Really.”

  “Well, I hope everything works out for you,” I said with a touch of
ice. “Please excuse me.”

  They moved away from the door. “Great head scarf by the way,” Judy called as I swept past them. I inclined my head in acknowledgment, but I didn’t reply or slow my progress. I was grateful now that Stella had insisted on all the makeup and the glasses. The encounter had been too close for comfort, even though I barely knew Judy.

  As I approached the strange Unbounded’s table, the woman straightened from kissing the man’s face, and I caught a glimpse of smooth white cheek before she turned and made her way from the restaurant. Definitely Unbounded. I wish I’d gotten a better look at her face, though. I had the nagging feeling I’d seen her somewhere before.

  Jace frowned when I sat down. “What took you so long?”

  “Saw someone I knew in the bathroom.”

  He gaped in alarm. “And?”

  Cort didn’t speak, but his body tensed and his eyes rapidly scanned the restaurant for danger. His hand went below the table where he would have better access to his weapon.

  “It’s okay,” I told them. “Apparently, I’m too put together to be me. Besides, she attended my funeral. That’s hard to ignore.”

  “We’d better leave,” Cort said.

  With a calm I didn’t feel, I ate the last couple bites of my pastry. “We have to be sure no one follows us.”

  Cort met my eyes. “Not a problem.” I knew this was an old game for him.

  “I’ll be fine,” Jace said. “I know this town like the back of my hand, and I’ve learned a thing or two in the army.”

  His letters and e-mails home verified that. I remembered only too vividly how on his last tour of duty in Iraq, we’d prayed every night for his safe return. “You have a gun?” I asked.

  “In my trunk.”

  “Put it up front with you.”

  “Okay.” His expression was odd, and I understood that despite his excitement about the Unbounded and the support he’d offered, he was having trouble seeing me as I’d become: giver of orders, woman with a plan, confidence incarnate. I didn’t blame him. I had difficulty accepting the changes in myself, which was why I was trying not to think about any of it too closely.

  We left the restaurant together, making sure the suspicious man wasn’t following. In the street there was no sign of the woman with the auburn hair.

  I hugged Jace. “Please be careful.”

  We made him leave first to be sure no one followed him, but that didn’t guarantee they weren’t waiting for him down the road. Or what if they’d followed him here in the first place? I sighed. “I really hate this.”

  “It’ll be over soon.” Cort put an arm around me, and I leaned into him before remembering it might not be a good thing to let him get the wrong idea. I was enjoying his touch far too much for someone I didn’t think I was attracted to.

  I was seriously messed up.

  Or maybe just missing Tom.

  “Don’t look now,” Cort whispered, “But our friend is coming out of the restaurant. Time for a little creative driving.”

  THE SHAKING DIDN’T START UNTIL we were back at Stella’s, and even then it was only on the inside, so I tried to ignore it. I didn’t know if I could ever grow accustomed to constant fear. Was this the usual life of an Unbounded?

  Cort had been careful driving away from the restaurant, and I’d learned more than I cared to about doubling back on my route, but the truth of the matter was that the man hadn’t tried to follow us. I called Jace, and though he didn’t say so directly, he didn’t believe he’d been followed either.

  “I think we were mistaken,” Cort said as he turned off the engine.

  By “we” he meant me.

  “Maybe.” I suppose I could have been so tense that I’d imagined everything, but Cort’s certainty bothered me somehow.

  “Well, no one followed us or your brother, so even if they were Unbounded it makes no difference in our plans.”

  He came around the car to open my door, but I jumped out too quickly. I didn’t want him to touch me as he had at the restaurant. I was too edgy, too nervous, and too aware of the hormones chugging through my body. I’d have to ask Stella about this. Maybe it was a normal adjustment all Unbounded had to make. A genetic urge to carry on the species.

  Ava was waiting for us in the kitchen, standing before several small boxes on the counter. She’d changed from her dobak, so I knew she’d taken care of whatever classes she’d had to teach that day. “Good, you’re back,” she said. “Cort, Stella needs your help supervising the loading of the equipment down at the warehouse. They’re in a hurry to finish.”

  Cort nodded, smiled at me, and disappeared. I noticed he didn’t tell Ava my suspicions regarding the people at the restaurant. Maybe he didn’t want to worry her for nothing.

  I went to the counter where Ava had placed several stacks of documents. I could make out airline tickets, several dozen passports, birth certificates, and a two-inch stack of driver’s licenses. As she organized the items, I noticed not only her picture but also the pictures of others from our group. Aliases.

  “How’s Dimitri?” I asked.

  “He’s fine. Or nearly. He insisted on checking security details at the private airport with Ritter. With the exception of the warehouse and these boxes here, we’re all ready to go. A moving company can be trusted with the rest.” She paused before adding. “Is everything okay?”

  “I saw Jace.” My doubts stopped me from telling Ava more about the restaurant. Surely Cort knew better than I did, and if I told her, she’d probably put me on a shorter leash than she had already.

  “I trust that made you feel better. Well, I’ve gone through all this stuff. Why don’t you help me load these boxes in the car? As soon as Ritter and Dimitri are back, I’ll drop them at the warehouse before the truck leaves.” She took a small pistol from one of the boxes, checked the magazine, and then tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. I felt ill at the sight, though I vividly remembered my own empowerment when I’d shown Jace my gun.

  When we finished loading the car, Ava made some fresh lemonade. “Reckon I’d best use up all those lemons,” she drawled, sitting beside me at the small table and taking a long drink. She’d set her handgun down and it lay on the table between us, looking oddly out of place in Stella’s immaculate kitchen. “Ah, this brings back memories. I always did cotton to fresh-squeezed lemonade.”

  “Is that a southern accent?” I asked with a wide smile. “It’s as thick as Cort’s curequick.”

  “I lived there for a time.” She laughed, dropping the accent, her smile bright. “I’ve lived in a lot of places, but being a southern belle was fun. The beautiful dresses, the servants, lemonade on the lawn, the big plantations. No TV, or Internet, or telephone. Of course we always treated our workers well. It was a simpler time—at least until the war.”

  I rubbed my thumb over the condensation on the outside of my glass. “I wish I could have seen it.”

  “Oh, don’t wish that. You’ll see a lot more. The advances in the world in the past sixty years alone have been incredible, and we’ll see far more progress. We may even leave this world eventually. Maybe find more of our kind out there.”

  That surprised me. “You think the Unbounded might not have come from earth?”

  “Don’t look so shocked. There are a dozen theories, and that’s just one. None of our people have been able to trace the origin of the gene. Dimitri is sure it’s a fluke of evolution. Some believe it came from a human-dragon union at the dawn of time.” She rolled her eyes at this. “Still others believe our ancestors saw the finger of God. Maybe you’ll live long enough to learn the truth.”

  “Maybe.” I put my elbows on the table, which put me closer to her, though still at a comfortable distance. “So, Ava, do we have any other Unbounded relatives?”

  Ava smiled and I knew the question pleased her. “We have two in England, a woman and her grandson, both in their seventh century. Locke and Kelsey Whittard. Locke would be your thirteenth great-grandmother. Her parents
were the Unbounded who first contacted me. They’re gone now. Lost in a battle with the Emporium along with so many others. Our genealogy before them was never recorded.”

  “Do you know them well, Locke and Kelsey?” My tongue tripped over the unfamiliar names.

  “Locke was once like a sister to me. I lived with her parents for over four decades.”

  “You mean after you nearly died.” I leaned against the counter across from where she stood. “I’d like to know what happened, if you don’t mind.”

  She hesitated, and I felt her reluctance.

  “Was it fire?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “Then what?”

  She appeared to make a decision. Leaning on the counter herself, so our hands were inches apart, she began. “My parents married me off to a farmer. That was how it was done in those days. Women often didn’t have a lot of say. You obeyed your parents, and that was that. To be honest, my parents thought he was a good catch. He had land, was older than I was, and prosperous. He’d been married before, but his wife didn’t last long on the frontier.”

  “Frontier?”

  She quelled me with a look. “Yes, the frontier. My family originally came from England, but some of them immigrated to America as early as the late sixteen hundreds. Anyway, I didn’t want to marry the man. I was in love with another boy, but he was a year younger than I was and had no land or prospects. So at almost eighteen, I was married to the farmer. I was fortunate enough to wait that long. Many of my childhood friends married much younger.”

  She fingered her glass of lemonade, and I had the feeling she was gathering strength to go on. At last her eyes met mine. “He wasn’t a good man. I spent the next twelve years being raped and abused. I rarely saw anyone. I worked all day in the fields or in the house. Several times I was pregnant, but he’d hit me and I’d always miscarry.”

  “Oh, Ava!” I struggled to take in this information. This confident, beautiful, forceful woman was the last person I would have seen as a victim, yet I knew by the solemn lines of her face and her grave tone that she was telling the truth.