Keeper's Knowledge (Balancer's Soul cycle)

by Lee Morgan

  He sat down and crossed his legs. He scooped the bat up and held it in both of his hands. She then felt Connor summoning his energy. Suddenly the metallic bat began to rise an inch above his hand and began to glow cherry red. The room became like a sauna. Then a thick stream of metal escaped out of the handle and bent around the shaft. The end of the stream melted with the top of the bat and welded itself along the bat’s surface until the shaft began to shrink in diameter for the handle. The metal began to eventually cool and it slowly landed in Connor’s hand. The room was still stifling, but the worst was now over. Sarah had no choice except to open the front door to ventilate the heat out. She turned around to see Connor holding the now thinner handle with ease. It now looked like the handle now has a guard like some swords do.

  He stood and held the bat out for her inspection. She stepped forward and felt that the metal remained warm, but bearable to hold. She wrapped each of her delicate fingers around the handle with childlike ease. The weight of the bat was as expected, but easy enough for even Jillian to manage.

  They bathed, ate dinner with everyone and Sarah finished the night off with a bang, finally showing Connor how much happiness he gave to her this day. It felt like nothing bad even happened last night as all stress was blissfully released.

  Early the following morning, when Connor woke up, Sarah was already wide awake and looking at him passionately. He was still laying on his back and she cuddled up against his side. Her breasts, soft yet firm, pushed desirably against his ribcage and her silky left leg was tossed over his. The bed sheet obstructed a clear view of her beautiful body. Thick hair wrapped over her right shoulder and spread out across the bed. His hand was resting around her back and across the top of her hip. He moved the palm of his hand and softly rubbed her lower back. She closed her eyes and a soft moan escaped her lips. When she reopened her eyes she spoke in a silken voice. “That was a wonderful night you gave me.”

  “I can say the same from my perspective.” Her hand started tracing the tattoo on his chest and her eyes contently watched her own fingertips moving up and down each line in a slow trace. “I love you, Sarah.”

  Her fingers stopped and she looked back up. “And I love you, Connor.”

  He reached down and cradled her bare bottom and brought her up higher to him. She didn’t seem to mind and she moved so their lips could finally meet. She brought the covers up with her and he didn’t mind that little bit of compromise. Her lips were soft and warm as they shared breath, hers sweet and his masculine. When the kiss ended she sat up and kept the covers over her breasts. “We need to get ready for the game. Get a change of clothes to bring with you.” She looked down at him and smiled with her kiss swollen lips. “We both need a bath first. We both sweat like pigs last night.”

  “Ok, I get the point, but you can’t say it wasn’t worth the multiple grunts.” She giggled, but didn’t disagree. “We’ll get a bath first before we wake up the others.” He brushed his wild hair back with his fingers.

  “Oh, wait just a minute…” He turned to see her jump out of bed, to put on his old shirt that barely remained on in the room when they got back from dinner. Connor’s shirt came almost all the way down to her kneecaps. She went to the dresser and pulled out one of her daggers from their sheath. And she walked to the edge of the bed. She also had his large cloak in her hand for some reason. “Can you please come sit over here for me? I’ll give you a haircut.”

  She opened the cloak and he hopped out of bed to slide in a pair of boxers he wore yesterday; he still needed to change them after the bath so why waste. He walked back and sat down on the edge of the sheet and cloak. She held a bare Fang in her right hand and stood in front of him. She had to roll up the sleeves because the arms of his shirt were too long for her. She lifted a handful of his sandy hair up and sliced through it with the razor sharp blade. She sat the handful of hair by his side and continued cutting for the next ten minutes. When she finally made the last cut she shook her fingers in his hair to knock off any stragglers. “All done. You look much more handsome now.”

  “May I see?” She smiled as she walked away to return the dagger in its sheathe. She opened her drawer and brought out her small hand mirror. Connor lifted it to look at her handiwork. She gave yet another great cut. She took off a lot of hair, but left just enough to still allow him brush it to the side or to the back if he so chose. “Wow, you are an artist.”

  Sarah laughed. “Hardly… I used to cut hair in the late eighteen hundreds. You’re just lucky to have a woman of many talents.”

  “That I am.” He sat the mirror down in her awaiting hand and stood up.

  They both slid on old clothes and brought along a fresh set. After the bath they returned to the cabin and sat their things down. After they both slid on the armor and weapons they left their room to go wake the others.

  Connor knocked on Mark’s door twice. A second later he heard Kara’s chirpy and hyperactive voice from behind the door. “Who…is…it?”

  “Your brother. Are you both about ready to go?”

  She opened the door, wearing her usual leather pants and chest covering. Her hair was brushed straight and came to her shoulder blades. Her silver eyes were energetic as usual, which is where she got the title of being like a Jack Rustle Terrier. Her belly was flat and her arms were subtle yet muscular. You would never guess that she weighs over three hundred pounds. “Morning, Brother! I’m ready to go out for some fun.”

  Mark walked up behind her, wearing only his leather pants. His chest is quite hairy, but his back isn’t. His chest is a perfect muscular copy of Connor’s, but proportional to his smaller frame. His short, spiky, black hair glistened in the light of their room. He is as tall as a normal person and weighs four hundred and fifty pounds. He balled up his fist as he said “Good morning, Connor.”

  Connor balled up his own fist as well and they punched them together, but as their usual greeting. “Ready to beat team Rampage?”

  “Can’t wait!” Connor turned to see Jillian saying it with a bright smile and a twinkle in her golden eyes. “By the way, did you find a way to allow us small people to use their bats?” She was wearing a bright red shirt and brown pants along with her hiking shoes. She also had the dagger on her belt. He made the dagger the first time he manipulated a metal cube into that very dagger. Sarah made its sheath from a similar cube of metal.

  Jack appeared, walking behind both Jillian and Sarah. Haunt hung in a new position. There was a thick rope wrapped around the handle of the club and the head as well. The rope crossed over his chest. The handle was hanging behind his left shoulder so he could easily grab it with his right hand. He wore a blue short sleeved shirt and similar bottoms to Jillian.

  “Sarah, will you give me a hand again?” Connor asked politely.

  “Of course.” She said with a smile and walked with him to the room.

  They managed to get the oversized bat out of the room without breaking anything again and pulled it into the hall. Jillian bounded up to them first. He moved over so she could grip it and since she had the smallest hands in the group, she needed to try it out first. Her fingers easily grasped the bat and Connor let go. She was able to hold the bat straight in the hallway, but if she was human she wouldn’t have even been able to lift the handle up properly. She seemed pleased as were everyone else who took their turn holding the bat.

  “I’m starving over here.” Sarah said with an annoyed smile. “The others are probably waiting for us as we stand here.”

  Enough said. They walked down the hallway and he saw the lodge manager reading a thick book behind the front desk. “Hey Liz!”

  She looked up at Connor and the others. “Good morning, everyone.”

  Kara walked up to her and said “Are you going to come to our game at noon? Some hotshot Keeper named Xaon said to bring everyone they could to the game. Wanna come watch us play?”

  Liz’s jaw dropped and she said “So the rumors are true! You guys are what everyone’s been bu
zzing about. I have never seen such gossip spread so quickly or feel the excitement in all who speak of it. And I’ve never seen the Keepers looking forward to something like this with so much enthusiasm. Of course I’ll be there and rooting for all of you.”

  “Thank you, Liz” Kara leaned forward and hugged the now stunned manager. “We need all the support you can give.”

  They exited the lodge and realized Liz wasn’t being facetious. The second level truly was buzzing with people and Keepers so early this morning. It wasn’t crowded, but that was only because not everyone has yet to arrive to this meeting yet. Usually at this time everyone was just beginning to wake up, but today it seemed like everyone was already awake and lively. Some people from yesterday’s game remembered Connor and watched them as they continued along on the way.

  He carried and held the bat over his shoulder, following everyone down to the cafeteria.

  Sarah was right about Veronica, Clarein and Firon waiting on them, but they weren’t overly late. The giants stood and walked over to them. As they did, Connor glanced around the cafeteria. The room was almost a quarter full with everyone eating and having a great time. It has been the largest turnout since they arrived here. Clarein was the first to speak. “It seems like everyone is talking about you guys this morning. That is all anyone wants to talk about. I’ve never seen our three races agree on something with such passion in all my years.”

  “I told you that sticking with all these hatchlings would be worth it. Didn’t I, Clarein?” Veronica smiled and then turned to look at Connor. “I am ready for the game. Are you?”

  “I will be once I get some food in me.” Sarah said playfully.

  This was going to be an exciting day for sure.

  Veronica’s smile grew, but then she noticed the bat resting on Connor’s shoulder. He handed it to her after she handed her egg to a very grateful Clarein. She was careful to only hold the head to the bat as she studied its new handle shape. He felt her summoning her power and then felt her mind shifting so that only they were talking in privacy. “Did you do this, Connor? It has your energy written all over it, Connor.”

  He instantly understood when she said that it had his signature. The question was more of a statement. Connor focused power to his eyes and looked at the bat. The bat was enveloped in a dark blue aura and he realized too late that his energy left behind an invisible fingerprint of what he had done. He couldn’t lie to her so he thought “Yes, Veronica I did it. You must swear to Never repeat or think to anyone about what I’m going to share with you unless I give you expressed permission. Do you understand?”

  “I do.” Her gold eyes said she would take this secret to her grave.

  Sarah gently entered his mind, but she didn’t say anything because she knew Veronica and he are talking privately and they didn’t want to reveal all their secrets all at once. “Veronica, I have the ability to manipulate all of the elements. Liquid, Fire, Pressure, Terra and even Metal and they are all within my grasp to manipulate.” Her gold eyes widened and her tail stopped swaying to become stone still. “We cannot let anyone know about this. As far as you know I can only use Liquid and Sarah can only use Fire.”

  She swallowed thickly and looked at an impassive Sarah, she did well seeming oblivious. “I can understand why you want this as a secret. I will never tell another soul. You have my word.” She lifted the bat and continued studying it. Her mind shifted again and returned to everyone. Her tone became casual, like their conversation never took place. “This is a unique design. It has been modified so you can hold it and this beam supports the stress given from the weight and velocity of the swings. It is an ingenious concept.”

  “Thank you. Connor thought it up and had a friend manipulate it to his exact specifications.” Sarah said evenly and the only two persons to believe her is Clarein and Firon. She has become more adept at leaving out certain details, but not actually lying either.

  Veronica handed it back and he grabbed it by the handle. They all ate breakfast together at the usual table away from everyone, but Ben and Amber joined in once they awoke. Firon said he was off from work today and was coming out to watch the game. Connor could tell he was excited to see how his mother played ball for the first time. They all silently went over the strategy and Veronica and Connor went over the hand signs again. She memorized everything he taught her yesterday. Pretending to hold an invisible baseball, Veronica held her claws up and changed the positioning of her fingers to the shape of the different pitches.

  It was almost eleven when they wrapped up breakfast, even though they finished eating nearly three hours ago. Veronica allowed Clarein and Firon to head up first and Clarein was allowed to hold the valuable egg until the game ended. The seven of them remained and continued going over as much strategy as they could. Everyone had questions and they were mostly answered by either Connor, Mark or Jack since they knew most about sports. During that time the cafeteria became less and less populated and Connor knew that they were heading up to get a seat at the stadium.

  “Ok everyone.” They all turned to look at Connor. “It is time.” Everyone said he should be first to lead since he is the captain after all. The seven teammates all walked from level three up to level one.

  When they arrived on the top floor, each one of them stopped. There wasn’t anyone at either the football or wrestling arenas, but thick lines of people were packed tightly, just waiting to get a seat in the stadium. Scattered, hundreds of long black tails were hanging down between the large bleachers. It was a sight Connor expected to see in person. He’s never been to an actual major league baseball game, but he’d seen them on TV. During the playoffs he had seen crowed stands before, but it was nothing like this. It seemed like everyone currently here for the meeting was here to see this match, but that seemed just like a wandering thought. During the night they brought in more lights for lighting up the ball field. Connor could easily distinguish people who were excited and those who were pushy. Those people were trying to force their way through to get to a better seat. Even the crowd’s noise level was loud, but tolerable for his hearing. The room felt like it was vibrating through him.

  It was a sight unlike any other.

  “Brother, get a move on!” Kara kicked his bottom from behind with her bare foot. Apparently she stubbed her toe as she kicked him, which was instant justice. She hopped on one foot for a moment until her eyes lit up and healed the minor toe injury, but it was too bad for he had a witty retort.

  Connor moved the bat off his shoulder and held it in both of hands. “Don’t get too lost in the crowd.” He said to everyone behind himself.

  They made their way to the thickening line. Several people rushed to get ahead of them even before they made it to the crowded line. There were mostly short people or transformed Changers and even Keepers trying to get a good seat. He could easily see that there wasn’t any way to get through them without flying, but knew that it wasn’t an option to reveal anyone else that ability. There was another option and she stood right behind him. Connor turned around and looked up. “Veronica!” he had to yell over the crowd to get her attention. She looked at him as he pointed over his shoulder at the crowd. She nodded with an evil grin.

  He stepped back with Sarah as Veronica got up close and personal with the tightly packed crowd. He saw her open her massive jaws and take in a tremendous amount of air into her lungs. Quick thinking saved him from pain as he plugged his ears before what was to happen next. It all came out in a single, brain splintering roar. Those too close to her cowered and fell in fear and those further instantly turned to look at her. Veronica then began entering in everyone’s mind within range. “Move out of our way! We need to get to the baseball field so we can play! Make room or I’ll do it for you.” She growled to make her point even more threatening. It worked out perfectly.

  Everyone crammed instantly together so that a path opened up, just for them. She turned her head and quickly winked at Connor. He knew she enjoyed that and wanted hi
m to go first so he did. He was followed by Sarah who walked close behind, Mark and Kara walked side by side, Jillian and Jack did the same and Veronica brought up the rear since she towered over them all. The stadium quieted down once they made their way to the fence. The stands were packed tightly and in most places was standing room only. The outfield stands still had some room, but they were quickly disappearing. Just about everyone was looking right at them.

  He reached up, lifted the latch and opened the gate to allow everyone to enter the infield. The dugout of the home team held the entire Rampage team. They all stopped moving as every one of team Equal made their way to the open dugout. Once everything was put down in the visitor’s dugout the teams were ready.

  The crowd quickly quieted down as the reddish eyed Xaon and his team walked onto the field in a single line. Knowing it would be proper, their team did the same. The two teams lined up next to each other as Xaon and Connor met at the pitcher’s mound. Team Equal lined up to his left whereas Xaon’s lined to his right. Each Keeper on his team were male and were much larger than Veronica. Connor looked up at the Keeper as he peered down at him.

  Xaon bent down on his left knee and spoke first. “It is good to see you again, Hatchling. Is there anything you need before we have our little rematch?”

  “Just one thing. I need to borrow another of your baseball bats. Veronica down there cannot use ours. I had it modified for us to be able to grasp the handle.”

  “Very well.” He looked at the member of his team. “Go and get them another bat from the supply room.” The member bowed quickly and set off to do his task. Xaon turned to look at Connor. “May the better team win.”

  “We will.”

  Xaon’s leathery lips drew back to reveal his dangerous teeth, but Connor knew that he was grinning. “That’s the spirit I’ve been waiting so long for!” Connor offered his hand for a handshake. Xaon curiously looked at the hand. “What are you doing with your paw, Connor?”