by C. D. Hersh
“As good as the last five you’ve tried on.” He crossed the room and kissed the top of her head. “I don’t think the council will notice your earrings. Not when we blow them out of the water with our Turning Stone skills.”
She wiped her sweaty palms together. “I’m nervous. What if we don’t impress them?”
“We will. Eli’s positive.”
“Are you sure you want to do this? Once presented to the council we can’t turn back.”
“Never more sure of anything, besides marrying you.”
A familiar zing went through her as he folded her in his arms. A year had passed, and she loved him as much−no more−than she had the day he proposed. Heck, she’d even become used to mind switching when they made love wearing their Turning Stone rings. Mind shifting gave her a different perspective on her husband. She felt him raise his arm and check his watch.
“We have time for a quickie,” he suggested.
“Over my dead body. You’ll mess up my makeup.” She swatted him on the butt.
“That’s not all I’d mess up,” he said, his smile clearly coming through in his voice.
“Ye ready, bairns?” Eli shouted. “Wouldnae look guid fer the Promised Ones tae be late tae their own presentation.”
As they unfolded themselves from each other’s arms, an ache of loneliness shuddered through her. Wrapped in Rhys she felt protected and safe and powerful. Apart from him, not so much. Grabbing him again, she gave him a quick hug. “I love you, Rhys.”
“I love you, too. Now hurry before Eli busts a gut.”
About twenty-five people milled around in the mirrored hotel conference room, gathered in clumps, talking. Four wore black robes trimmed down the center in gold. Another ten had robes with silver down the center. The remainder wore cocktail dresses and suits. At one end of the room, on a raised platform, eight chairs stood behind a table draped in red and green. Reflections from the crystal chandeliers danced on the tabletops.
Except for Rogueman’s bar, Alexi had never seen this many shifters in one place.
“Do they all live in Cleveland?” she asked Eli as someone helped him into a black flowing robe with a tartan plaid stripe stitched on the center opening. Another person gave a robe with a gold stripe down the center to Delaney.
“Nae,” Eli replied as he shrugged on the robe. “The council ’tis normally spread across the world, as are the rest o’ the shifters. Too many o’ us in one place magnifies the rings’ power, which is why the appearance o’ so many rogues isnae guid. It upsets the balance. I’m thinking I may have tae ask a few more o’ our shifters tae stay in the city now Falhman and his henchmen seems tae have taken residence here. We need tae restore the balance in order tae combat the evil spawning in yer hometown and tae protect ye and Rhys.”
“We don’t need protection, old man,” Rhys said. “Hasn’t my training convinced you?”
“Ye may be strong, laddie, but asleep ’tis asleep. Once the word gets out aboot the two o’ ye, ye’ll need some nighttime security. Mayhap not just agin the rogues.”
“Our own side wants to hurt us?” she asked.
“The wanting o’ power isnae limited tae rogues, lassie. There’s others who think they have the potential Promised One, and they’ll nae be happy when the two o’ ye show them up. Which ye will.” Eli urged her forward with a gentle poke in the middle of her back. “The four seats at the center o’ the table at the front o’ the room are ours. Rhys at my right hand and Alexi at my left. Delaney, you sit next tae Alexi.”
The buzz of conversation stopped as Eli passed through the crowd. The shifters wearing the gold striped robes moved toward seats at the long table at the front of the room and stood waiting as Eli approached them. Alexi glanced over her shoulder. Two burly men exited the double doors. Two more pulled the doors closed then took a stance in front of the entrance, legs braced shoulder width apart, arms and hands tensed at their sides like heavyweight wrestlers daring opponents in a ring to approach.
Anxiety tied her stomach in knots, and she forced down the nausea threatening to rise. No more spicy food before high-tension events. Her normally cast iron stomach had been doing the hoochy coochy recently. Rhys brushed her arm with his, and she fumbled for his hand. When she’d captured it, he gave her fingers a squeeze. He appeared so much more confident than she felt about this proceeding. For someone introduced to the shifter world kicking and screaming, Rhys embraced it much faster than she ever dreamed he could.
They climbed the steps to the raised platform at the front of the room and took their seats among the senior council members. Eli pounded the table with a wooden gavel inlaid with green and red stones. Bloodstones, like those in their magic rings.
“By the power o’ the Keeper o’ the Stone, I hereby call the annual Samhain meeting o’ the Turning Stone Society tae order,” Eli intoned. “All rise fer the reading o’ the prophesy.”
The attendees rose as one and held their left arms aloft, hands fisted, their rings facing the ceiling. She and Rhys followed suit as Eli instructed them to do.
“When month and day are the age ’tis the time,” Eli intoned. “When day and month are the time ’tis the age. When time and age agree, trinity becomes unity.”
She and Rhys stood silent as the crowd replied, “Fear bean beathach tri an aon.”
They quoted the ring’s engraving. She half expected to see them grab their chests like Rhys had the first time he read the magic incantation. Instead, a shimmer ran through the air. Unfocusing her eyes, she scanned the room. Red and green auras quivered, but nothing else happened.
When the shimmer died down, Eli motioned for everyone to sit. “I see we have some Promised One candidates among us. Line up afore me, lads and lassies.” The six candidates stood and approached.
“What about the two at your side?” one of the council members on the floor asked. “Aren’t we going to test them?”
“Aye,” Eli said. He indicated she and Rhys should join the line. When they’d taken their places he said to the candidates, “Now, show me yer alter egos, and a male and female mimic as fast as ye can.”
Within seconds the men became women and the women men. Then they all shifted again into the first mimic form, some slower than others. Before the remainder could change into the second mimic she and Rhys had changed a third time then back into their normal personas.
A ripple of conversation ran through the room.
“Guid,” Eli said. “Some o’ ye are faster than others, but I’ll keep the lot o’ ye fer the next test. Bring in our aura testers.”
The door opened and two men and two women entered and walked to the front of the room. One of the council members seated on the floor came forward and passed a sheet of paper and a pen to each candidate.
“Write down yer name and the colors o’ the auras ye see in this group and bring it tae me,” Eli instructed.
Alexi scanned the quartet. Three of them had red and green ring auras. The fourth had no ring aura. A trick aura test. She took a quick peek down the row of candidates. The blonde wearing a red sequined dress had a dark brownish ring, indicating uncertainty, spiked around her ring aura. She was probably having trouble seeing the auras. The others seemed certain of what they’d seen and scribbled on their papers.
She took another scan of the three with ring auras. On further inspection she noticed one of the ring auras was fainter. Had Eli thrown in a second trick? She glanced at Rhys who had already written his answers. Quickly, she scribbled her name and the words red and green on her paper. Then she added the normal aura colors she saw around each person: yellow, purple, pink, brown. She also indicated one person had no ring aura and another’s ring aura was faint.
Eli gathered the papers, marking on them and shuffling them into order. “When I call yer name step forward.” He glanced up from t
he papers. “Candice.” The blonde in the red dress stepped forward. “Ye dinna pass, lassie.” Her shoulders slumped as he passed her paper across the table to her. “Take this and show yer mentor.”
Four more names were called, bringing the total candidates left standing to three. “Damon, Alexi, and Rhys,” Eli said, “the three of ye have passed the first and second proof tests tae becoming Promised Ones.”
Candice raised her hand, and Eli acknowledged her. “Could you tell the rest of us what we missed?”
“Candice dinna see one o’ the group wasnae a shifter. None o’ the other four I rejected noticed one o’ the shifters had a fainter ring aura, which meant he wasnae wearing his ring. A potential Promised One would have seen that.
“As ye ken there are many levels o’ shifting, and some canna do nae mair than mimic shift. Fewer reach alter ego shifting and fewer still find their animal egos. Because ye are in this room, ye reached a higher level than many o’ our society.
“But there’s a place for everyone, sae dinna be discouraged, lads and lassies. Everyone who takes the test isnae destined tae pass. Only a level four shifter can see auras, and they that do, see them in different degrees. Only a small number o’ level four shifters have the ability tae see auras clearly, and shift in micro-seconds. ’Tis these that have a chance to become level five shifters. Potential Promised Ones.
“In spite o’ not making the cut, ye must know ye are verra powerful shifters who have an important role tae fulfill in our cause. Dinna lose heart, fer some o’ ye may yet be able tae serve on the council at a future date.” Eli stood and continued addressing the group. “As ye can see, we have a different situation this year. Normally, only one might make it through the aura testing, but this year there are three.”
A ripple of applause ran through the room and the second level council members rose to their feet in acknowledgement of those who had passed the tests with shouts of “Bravo! Good job Alexi, Damon, and Rhys!”
Patting the air, Eli instructed the group to sit. “Because nae potential Promised One has ever gone beyond this level, I will test these three with some o’ the next proof tests. As ye know, shifters can sense the presence o’ another shifter at aboot thirty feet away. And no one has been able tae achieve a distance greater than that. Sae the next test ’twill be aboot sensing powers.”
A smile crept over Damon’s face and that of his mentor. Alexi’s stomach knotted. If she read Damon right he could sense farther than thirty feet. Could he sense farther than she could? She was pretty sure he couldn’t beat Rhys.
“How is this test to be accomplished?” Francoise asked.
Eli pulled three blindfolds from a box on the table on the raised dais and assigned three second level council members to each candidate. “Go tae the opposite end o’ the ballroom, center yer candidate on the wall, blindfold them, and turn their backs tae the room.”
Alexi grabbed Rhys’ hand as they started toward the opposite end of the room.
“It will be okay, sweetheart. You know we’re destined for this.” Rhys squeezed her hand.
She was confident to a point, but the fact someone else made it past the normal tests gave her some doubts in spite of Eli’s pronouncements. “Based on the look that passed between Francoise and Damon, I think he can sense farther than thirty feet. If he surpasses me, will that knock me out of the running?”
“Won’t happen.” Rhys replied.
Alexi’s three council members motioned for her to follow them, and she let go of Rhys’ hand. The room darkened as they placed the blindfold over her eyes. As she rotated to face the wall, she heard the rest of Eli’s instructions.
“Cornelius, mark off thirty, forty, and fifty feet from the end o’ the room. We ’twill space out volunteers in various places and distances. The candidates ’twill tell their assigned council members where the groups are located. The council members ’twill then relay the information tae us.”
Alexi heard the sound of people moving behind her and sensed their positions as they neared. Several shifters gathered to the left of the room closer than the single person in the middle. Two in the closer grouping had a stronger signature, which made her think they were shifted.
Eli called for the candidates to whisper the shifters’ locations to their council members.
Damon, Alexi, and Rhys all called the locations correctly. They also identified the stronger signatures as being shifted.
“Guid,” Eli said. “That test ’twas at thirty feet. We’ll try agin.”
The shifters behind Alexi moved, the tingles weakening, but still clear. When they stopped moving, Eli instructed them to identify the locations.
Again, all three identified the locations correctly, at forty feet.
She had read Damon right. He could sense farther than normal.
Eli repositioned the shifters. This time they only seemed to move a few feet.
Once more they all identified them. Alexi heard a muffled affirmation from the far end of the room. Francoise must be celebrating Damon’s success. Her angst grew. Forty feet was her limit.
“Can ye give me anymair information aboot the shifters where they’re standing?” Eli asked.
“No,” Damon said. “I only know the group on the left is bigger than the group on the right.”
The weight lifted off her chest. She was ahead of Damon. “There are three on the left and two on the right.”
“She’s correct,” Rhys said. “Behind those two groups are two more of three each, and past them, gathered around Eli, are Delaney, Francoise, and Cornelius.”
“Impossible,” rose the shout from the room.
“He’s passed the test. ’Tis nae doubt he can do what others can’t,” Eli said.
“He must be guessing.” Francoise shouted. “Damon and Alexi tied. The contest, at the very least, must go on between them.”
“Council member Francoise, can yer mentee, Damon, persuade this room tae do his biding, or see or pull the alter ego from anyone here?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Eli,” Francoise said. “No one can do that.”
“My mentee, Rhys Temple, and Delaney Ramsey’s mentee, Alexi Jordan Temple, can do these things.”
The room broke into an uproar. Shouts of “Trickery!”, “Who are these two?”, and “Prove it!” echoed against the walls.
Delaney stood. “It’s true. Rhys persuaded me to the point I was willing to sacrifice my life for him.”
“And he pulled my alter ego out,” said Cornelius.
“I want proof.” Turning to Damon, Francoise said, “Are you willing to try this?”
“If it means I will be the Promised One, yes.”
“Guid,” Eli said. “Mentees, turn yer backs sae ye canna see who I choose.”
“Damon should be included in Rhys’ test,” Francoise said.
“If he is merely trying tae see the alter egos, he willnae make it through the same test as Alexi, much less the testing o’ Rhys.”
“Nevertheless, I want him included.”
Eli shrugged. “Suit yerself. I’ll chose two men and two women fer each test.”
She sidled close to the table and whispered, “What are you doing? You know I can’t see the man in the woman.”
“Trust me, lassie. If I dinna include the women, they will think I’ve rigged yer test. ’Tis better this way. Besides, ye’ll do better than Damon and prove the point.”
He sent Damon and Alexi’s four shifters out of the room with instructions to come back as their alter egos. A few moments later, they returned all wearing black, unadorned robes.
“Tell us who they are, if ye can, laddie,” Eli said to Damon.
“Not me at all,” the first person said after Damon incorrectly described her alter ego. His mentor scowled at him as the derailed Pr
omised One slunk back to his seat.
“Yer turn, lassie.”
“I don’t know their names,” Alexi said.
“Just tell us what ye see, lassie. ’Twill be sufficient.”
She stood across from the four and concentrated on the women. “You,” she said, pointing to the taller woman with an upturned nose, “have an ego who has a hooked nose. Your eyes are green, and your eyebrows bushy and gray.”
“She could have deduced that from looking around the room,” someone said. “Not proof.”
“He has a tiny scar at the corner of his left eye.” Alexi turned to her protester. “I couldn’t see that from a distance.”
The woman melted into her normal persona, and a gasp ran through the crowd. Alexi had described the man perfectly.
She moved on to the next woman and stared into her brown eyes. “Blue eyed, blonde,” she said without hesitation. “A sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of your nose. A mole on your left temple.”
The woman put her hand on her face as she shifted back into a man. “Amazing,” he said.
“Now do the men,” Damon’s mentor said.
“I can’t,” Alexi replied. “I can only see the man in the woman.”
“She didn’t pass the test!” Francoise exclaimed.
“Nae. She’s done mair than any other potential Promised One has ever done. I say she’s a true Promised One. But we aren’t finished yet. We still have the laddie tae test.” Eli turned to Damon. “Do ye want tae go head tae head with him?”
Damon shook his head, but Francoise pushed him forward. “We’ll take him on.”
“Perhaps you should take me on,” Rhys said, stepping toward Francoise. “Let’s see if you can keep your lady from me.”
