HOTSHOT BROTHERS: Coyote Shifters

by Hunt, Sabrina

  Suddenly, far away, I heard the answering call of coyotes, and I was surprised when relief washed over me.

  The creature that had been Maxwell cocked its head, shoulders hunching at the sound. Ben let out deep growl and it scuttled away into the shadows.

  At that moment, flames roared up even higher, and I began to cough. Smoke billowed into the sky, and I turned, watching the tent go up in flames.

  “No!” I cried, clutching at my shirt by my heart, trying to fight down tears. Glancing back, I saw Ben prowling the edge of the fire, sniffing the air, and then the ground. Then he looked at me.

  We stared at each other across the space. Coyote and girl. Ben recoiled and I leaned forward, a hand rising a as though to stop him. At that motion, he ran back, becoming a man again.

  I was breathing hard as he pulled me to my feet. Something in me was pulsing with fervor.

  “Are you okay?” Ben asked, immediately letting me go and looking away. Soot caked his face and arms, one of which was bleeding. “Hazel…” He swallowed hard.

  “Wow,” I breathed. “Ben, you’re… This means… The old stories, they’re true,” I said, almost laughing with giddiness. My mood was rapidly shifting from the bleak despair to awe, as I fully realized what had just happened. Here was an even greater discovery than the cave.

  I’d stumbled into a world that most people thought was myth.

  “Um, what?” He was staring down at me, completely baffled, and it looked adorable on him.

  “That was amazing. Is that what the tattoo was about? Why didn’t you ask me more about Akba Atatdia, then? Old Man Coyote? I can’t believe you’re a shapeshifter. I can’t believe it’s real.” My voice was almost squeaking in my excitement. “How did it happen? Did it alter your human form? Were you born this way? Wait, are you okay? You’re bleeding – we should get bandages–”

  “You’re not scared?” Ben interrupted. “You don’t think I’m…a monster?”

  “Ben!” I exclaimed. “How can you say such a thing? You just saved my life.” The look in his eyes was making my stomach leap with butterflies, and I hastily added, “Besides, I-I know you.”

  My feet left the ground as Ben picked me up, hugging and kissing me. He tasted like wood smoke and pine. My heart sang in my chest.

  “You’re incredible,” he murmured when he broke away.

  “I have so many questions,” I said back in a whisper as he put me down, and a smile spread across his face. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

  Cupping my face, Ben smiled and said, “I love you.”

  “What?” I gasped, wondering if I had heard him right, then I watched his smile grow soft, and a little silly. Mine did the same. “Oh, Ben, I... Oh.” I stumbled forward, wincing at the flare of sharp pain in my right ankle.

  “Hazel?” Ben asked in alarm as he caught me.

  Head lolling, I looked down and saw a sliver of a shadow wrapped around my calf. It had a crooked red smile. Sound was fading away and I looked back at Ben. His lips were moving, but I heard nothing. My eyes were closing of their own accord and I was falling…

  No wait… Please…

  Ben…

  I love you, too.

  Darkness.

  A warm darkness, though. Not like the cold darkness of the creature Ben had faced and its perversion of the purity of fire. This darkness wrapped me like a cocoon and kept me safe.

  Opening my eyes, I saw the bumpy wall of a cave, and shadows waving across it from a fire. But I couldn’t smell anything. No wood burning, no dampness. Nothing at all.

  A little alarmed, I sat up, and a blanket fell back.

  “Where am I?” I asked, voice shaking.

  “The Waiting Place,” came a cheerful voice from beyond the fire and I jumped. “Oh, didn’t mean to startle you, Hazel. Alright if I call you that?”

  I squinted and an old man came into view. He had flowing, long white hair, a wrinkled face, and a kind smile. Then I started. His eyes were familiar…

  “Waiting for what?” I asked, even as my heart sank. I believed I already knew the answer.

  “Oh, moving forward. Or back.” The man poked the fire.

  “Ben,” I whispered. “No, I have to go back. How do I do that?”

  His smile became sad. “You were poisoned by a shadow snake. Your wound cannot be treated by any medicine the modern world possesses. I’m sorry.”

  Sliding my leg from the blanket, I saw the black teeth marks on my ankle and watched as blackness spread through my veins.

  “But he’s going to blame himself. And I never…” Pressure built in my throat.

  “Yeah, Benny’s got a bad habit of doing that.” The man sighed. “Got it from his poor mother. Became a man too soon and he’s always had the weight of the world on his shoulders since.”

  Looking at him, I realized who I was talking to, and a strange peace fluttered through my heart. “You’re his grandfather, aren’t you?” I asked. “The one who sent him away.”

  The man shifted and nodded. “I knew he had an important calling. In a dream, I saw him as a medicine man – a great healer, and a coyote shifter. At the time, I thought it was for the best, but perhaps not.” He sighed. “It wasn’t that I wanted to separate him from his people, but I was afraid he might get stuck there. As I did.” Then he offered me a smile I knew well. “Not that I’m complaining, I had a good life.”

  “A medicine man,” I murmured. “He did become an army medic, but he never went to medical school.” When I rubbed my ankle, I felt no pain and sighed.

  “Not a doctor in that sense.” Ben’s grandfather looked at me intently. “Rather, he has a gift of healing in him – one that is not bound by the physical world.”

  My heart acted strangely. “He could heal me?”

  “He could,” his grandfather said, “but he doesn’t believe in his gift. The Elders tried to train him but to no avail. He’s forgotten. Or he doesn’t want to remember… It is a heavy burden.”

  “Remember?” I asked. Something flashed through my brain. “I was supposed to help him remember…” I said this slowly, not sure how I was filled with utter confidence in that statement. “But not like this…”

  “No, not like this,” said his grandfather sadly. “Yes, my dear, as you realize the old stories are true, you also wonder if reincarnation and your dreams are as well. They are. When the Coyote brought you here, he asked me to pass that along.”

  “Ben?” I gasped. His grandfather shook his head and a sense of wonder went through me. “Oh.”

  “You two have always found your way to each other in every lifetime,” Ben’s grandfather said. “But in every lifetime, things are always different. Now Ben struggles more than ever. And if he doesn’t remember – if you die, his gift will never return. And you two may never find your way back to each other.”

  My heart squeezed in my chest at the unfairness of it all. Everything was up to Ben? Why couldn’t the Old Man Coyote just remind him? Or send me back?

  Irritated, I declared, “Ben will remember. He’ll save me.”

  His grandfather’s face was impassive. “You sure about that?”

  “Yes,” I said, my voice ringing through the cave. I believe in you, Ben. “And so you should you. He is your grandson after all.”

  The man’s face cracked in a wide smile. “So I do.” I blinked and he chuckled. “Forgive me, we had to make sure. And we tricksters like our tests.” His eyes twinkled as he winked.

  Then, leaning forward, he began to tell me the stories to pass the time.

  Chapter 14

  Hazel’s skin was paler than snow, her eyelids fastened shut, with long golden lashes fanning her cheeks. Carefully, I lowered her onto the bed. Then I fell on my knees and tried not to howl in agony.

  We’d tried everything.

  Seconds after she’d been bitten and fainted, my brothers had appeared. Swiftly, Rayner and I had applied a tourniquet to prevent the spread of the poisoned blood. Wes had chased after the
snake, and Cree had set off to try to find Maxwell, while Burr quelled the fire.

  After the tourniquet didn’t work, I’d lifted her into my arms and ran through the woods, Burr and Rayner on either side. My lungs had burned, muscles had groaned, but I didn’t stop moving until I arrived, gasping, on Aunt Sil’s porch.

  From there, we tried other treatments – everything.

  But she never stirred and her skin became paler and paler.

  Aunt Sil spoke up from behind me, her voice gentle. “This is not a wound of our world. It can’t be treated with our medicine.”

  Gritting my teeth, I gazed at Hazel, and asked, “What does that mean? What do we need?”

  “A medicine man.” Aunt Sil replied slowly.

  Immediately the air in the room became strained as I looked over my shoulder. Cree, Wes, and Burr all looked down, their faces twisting in discomfort, avoiding my gaze, and Aunt Sil’s.

  Rayner looked irritated and rumbled, “Is this really the time to bring this up, Auntie?”

  “I’m sorry, yes. Oh, Ben,” she sighed, “I don’t mean to cast it up to you, or burden you, but it is the only way. Nothing I have, no gift I possess can save Hazel. Fern and Pea are too far away – they’d never make it in time.”

  Putting my hands over my face, I shook my head and my heart shuddered in my chest. “I’ve never been able to call it forth, Aunt Sil. You know Fern and Pea tried everything with me.” Lowering my hands, my voice rasped. “This is some kind of cruel punishment, isn’t it?”

  After a moment of silence, Wes asked, “What makes you say that?”

  Realizing now was better than never, I stood up and looked around. After a moment, I said, “Five years ago, well, four and a half, I was in Seattle, as you know.” Burr made a noise of surprise, but I continued on, “I’d found Whitsy, didn’t even know then that Auntie knew him. We’d been talking over email – I’d been asking questions about coyote shifters in the most roundabout way possible.” I paused. “But I knew Pale Eyes were on my trail and I was running out of time. So I went to the museum to see him.”

  At this point, I looked over at Hazel, and my chest seemed to split apart, every bone snapped, and my heart was pierced with their shards.

  “He wasn’t there,” I continued, to attentive silence, “but Hazel was.”

  “You… Oh, that explains it.” Rayner said slowly.

  “Hazel was…” I almost smiled, but my face felt too tight. “She offered to help me. And I don’t know what came over me, but I believed her. I showed her my tattoo.” A few soft noises of surprise met my ears, but I kept looking at Hazel. “I trusted her. I may have even told her everything, but then I could sense the Pale Eyes entering the building, so I was forced to run.”

  No one said anything.

  “Tonight, she saw me shift.” A weak, bitter laugh escaped me. “Wasn’t scared, either. Just excited, asking questions. And then she got bit.” I looked at my brothers, who were staring at me, jaws dropped. “I’m in love with her. Think she might be my soulmate.”

  I thought that last bit would sound corny, but it sounded sure, strong, and powerful. At the same time, an enormous weight seemed to lift from my shoulders, and some old wound seemed to finally close. Now my brothers were gazing at me with plenty of shock, but also compassion.

  “That was it? That was the big secret?” Wes finally broke the silence and shook his head.

  “Why didn’t you just tell us?” Cree asked.

  “I knew you had a thing for her,” Burr said, smiling sadly.

  “Sorry.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Felt like it would give you guys another reason not to trust me.”

  Rayner said slowly, “Ben, you should have told us. You thought it was a betrayal, but it wasn’t. That’s partly why I’ve been able to read you all these years.” He gave me a strange look. “I can’t anymore. It’s been fading for the past two weeks. Now it’s gone.”

  Shocked, I stared at him, and then at Aunt Sil. “What does that mean?”

  “I think it means you’ve stopped fighting,” she said and stood up. “Come on, you four. Leave Ben to his work.”

  “Wait, you think I can do this now?” I called after her desperately.

  She gave me a long look over her shoulder. “It doesn’t matter what I think, Ben.”

  My brothers followed her out, murmuring encouragement, and then Burr shut the door behind him. Left alone with Hazel, I studied her face and lifted her hand.

  I could almost hear her voice.

  Ben, you can absolutely do this. If you’re meant to, you will. I believe in you.

  “You complete me, Hazel,” I murmured, pressing her hand to my cheek and watching her chest rise and fall rapidly. It had been almost an hour since she’d been bit and time was against me.

  But there was no instruction manual, no guidance for this kind of thing. The most Fern and Pea could tell me was that it was a sense, a whisper that grew louder once you caught it, and if you followed it, you’d know what to do.

  Again and again, I tried. And failed. Five minutes passed, then ten, and then thirty. Panic began to stew in my veins, stoking my doubts, and grim fears now lurked.

  Sitting there, I tried to listen, but it was impossible.

  I can’t do this. I’ve never been able to before…

  Why would it work now, when I needed it most?

  Then I grit my teeth, took a deep breath, and then another.

  All that mattered was Hazel.

  Absorbed in thoughts of her, I listened with all my might, and then I caught it. The faintest, barest whisper and excitement shot through me as I chased after it. Now and then I lost it. Sweat poured down my forehead, and little by little, it became louder.

  Suddenly I knew what to do. Standing up, I hovered a hand over her ankle and pulled. At first, the venom seemed to fight me, but then it streamed out, ash vanishing in the wind, and I watched in amazement as the bite mark vanished.

  Looking up, I saw color come into Hazel’s cheeks, and she stirred.

  “Hazel?” I asked, my voice low as my hands trembled, and I fell into the seat next to her.

  Shaking her head, her eyes blinked open, and that dark blue found me. She smiled. “Ben. I knew you could do it.”

  My head fell onto her bed as my body sagged with relief. Then I felt her hands in my hair, stroking it softly, and I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around her waist, burying my face in her lap.

  “I’m okay, Ben. I always was,” she said, her voice sounding like music. “I was in your hands.”

  As usual, she rendered me speechless, and all I could do was hold on.

  I spent the rest of that night fitfully dozing off, and then forcing myself awake, intent on making sure Hazel was okay.

  After she’d woken up, and I’d gotten a grip on myself, I’d raced to tell my brothers and Aunt Sil. Immediately Aunt Sil had prepared a tray of food, and Hazel devoured the muffins, soup, and a cupcake. Once she was done eating and we were alone again, she’d insisted on hearing my side of the story. Only after that, she said, would she go to sleep.

  And even though I’d tried to tell her everything – what had happened while she was unconscious, why I’d come to the museum, how we’d become shifters – I was exhausted at that point and kept losing the thread of my thoughts.

  So after the fifth or so time, my story punctuated with a yawn, Hazel had scooted over in the bed, and patted it. Kicking off my boots, I crawled in, slung an arm over her, and fell asleep. It was one of the deepest slumbers I’d had in a while, dreamless and refreshing.

  It was the only reason I didn’t sense Hazel leaving the bed in the morning, leaving me to wake up alone and clatter down the stairs in alarm.

  “Easy, Doc, she’s right here,” Burr drawled as I swung into the living room.

  Hazel was sitting upright on the couch, her hair curling in damp tendrils on her shoulders, a blanket wrapped around her, and her fingers clacking away on a computer. She smiled at me and shook h
er head. “Sorry, I wanted to let you sleep.”

  Shoulders loosening, I walked over and fell onto the couch next to her. Instantly her berry-laden scent hit my nose and I sighed, “Don’t worry about it. I’m just on edge.”

  Cree poured me a mug of coffee, then brought it over to me. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. However, when he turned, I caught a glimpse of a shit-eating grin on his face.

  Internally I sighed. Oh, my brothers were going to give me such a hard time about Hazel. As I sipped my coffee, listening to them talk, I realized I was smiling. What did I care?

  “Did the site flare up again?” I asked a few minutes later, frowning, and realizing I hadn’t thought about the fire that might be raging across Aunt Sil’s lands.

  “No.” Burr rubbed his face, looking exhausted. “I went back and checked after we talked.”

  Nodding, knowing that accounted for his haggardness, I jumped when Hazel spoke up sharply. “By yourself? I know you’re a hotshot, but isn’t that dangerous?”

  Burr let out a creaky laugh. “Not for me. Much like our Benny has a gift for healing, I’ve a trick with that element we call air. I can stifle a blaze.” Then he yawned hugely. “Lots of fun.”

  “It’s exhausting,” I said quietly, yawning as well. “That’s why Wildman looks like death.”

  Burr shot me a look and I grinned. “Don’t look much better yourself, Doc.”

  “You should both rest, then!” Hazel insisted, her voice full of concern.

  “Don’t worry about us, darlin’,” Burr smiled. “Between wildland firefighting and shifting, we’ve got crazy stamina. Just a stubborn flare-up last night. I’ll be fine after another cup of Sil’s joe.”

  To distract Hazel, since she was biting her lip and still looking concerned, I asked, “What are you doing now?”

  “Looking through the photos of the cave we have left. And the notes we digitized. Almost all of that, I think, is preserved. But all the artifacts from the cave are gone, along with field journals, notes, equipment…” She sighed. “Whitsy is out assessing the damage now. And I think most of the team is heading home if they haven’t left already.”