by Kade Cook
His face lightens, and his arms relax as he leans back onto them. “I knew you were there.”
“How? I pulled in my aura and tried to silence my presence.”
“I could smell you.” He taps the side of his nose. “I didn’t hear you, but I caught a subtle waft of your new scent briefly.”
“I’m sorry.”
His face twists. “Why?”
“Well, when I saw you on the beach, I wanted to ask you a question, but then you disappeared so quickly into the woods. And then, once I started following you, I forgot why I was there and became curious as to why you were sneaking around in the underbrush. When I saw you change, it frightened me—the stories and all.”
“I should have said something. I feel bad, but I didn’t know what to do. Then, Ethen showed up right before I could get my courage up to say anything.”
Stopping for a moment, something dawns on her.
“Wait a minute. You said Borrowers started the story and you hid from them.”
“Yes, them and the rest of the world that wanted us gone.”
“Ethan saw you.”
“Ethan and I go back a long way. We have seen each other’s darkest hours and have come to build an alliance.”
“Oh,” she announces, picking at the grass.
“Oh.” Kaleb leans back into his arms.
“Well, I want you to know that I won’t tell anyone either.”
“I know.” He grins.
Their eyes meet, and she can see the resolution in his gaze. Happy that he has so easily accepted her vow of silence, she picks at the grass, confused by his easiness about it. She knows his secrets, his life is in her hands and her ability to keep her mouth shut about it, and her mind.
“So, how is your shifting coming along?”
She glares at him, biting her lip, and he just gives her a lazy knowing grin, pointing down at her hands. Gabrian eyes her fingers and notices her hands have melded into the undergrowth that she has been playing with the entire conversation. Long slender blades of grass entwine and envelope her hands. Vines slink and twist upward along her wrists. Her eyes grow wide, inspecting the phenomenon, and she pulls free, revealing the shape of her fingers, green and lush like the very grass they were just entwined beneath. She pushes the foliage away and gathers her hands back to clutch around her knees, watching the green of her Magik fade back to her human flesh.
“This is how I didn’t hear or see you in the woods. The earth Magik dwells within you. I didn’t need the cauldron to confirm it. I kind of had my suspicions for a while.”
Gabrian shoots him a quizzical glance.
“You look at me like no one else does. You see me, the real me yet you say nothing.”
Gabrian purses her lips, listening, and curious to where he is going.
“Your birth mother did the same thing.”
“You knew Cera?” She shakes her head, hearing her words. “Of course you did. She was the head of the table in the Covenant of Shadows.”
“Yes, but she was also my friend.” He offers her a sweet smile, his eyes shining as the moon peeks out from behind another cloud. “A friend who kept my secrets as well.”
“I didn’t know any of this.” She drops her eyes.
“How could you?” Feeling a strained and uncomfortable ripple of energy surge around his young friend, Kaleb tries to end on a good note. “You are very much like her, you know.”
Gabrian looks up again, meeting his soft gaze, and the sincerity within.
“And because of that I ask again, how is your shifting coming along?”
“How did you—”
“Did Theo have a friend over earlier?”
“Ah, it was you. I knew it.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” he teases. “If it was me, would you be mad?”
Gabrian laughs out loud, releasing her hold on her legs, and leans back on her arm in the grass. “Now you are in cahoots with my already obsessive stalking Raven?”
She sits up with a quick jerk, her face wiped clean of humor, and her eyes wide. “Wait, is he a shifter too?”
“No, he is what he is, no worries.”
Her face heats against the night’s coolness, and she purses her lips at his inquiry. “Um,”
“Seriously you just watched me reveal myself as one of the most wanted poster boys in the Realm and you are holding back on me? Really?” He clicks his tongue and shakes his head, trying to look offended.
She sighs, rolling her eyes at him, and realizes how foolish she is being. The trust factor is no longer an issue.
Chapter Fifty
Inside Scoop
Gabrian explains how she only changes the smallest parts of her body—she is not sure how much she can do or if she can do more.
“That is because you are thinking and not feeling,” he explains. “Every one of earth’s creatures knows who they are because they feel it. You have to feel the fire inside. It will respond and show you what your true inner shape is. Once you find it, the animal awakens, and all you have to do is let it out.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Awakening it is the easy part. Keeping it in check? Not so much, and there are those who would end you without question if they found out.”
Gabrian shudders at the thought. She remembers all too well what that is all about, the scene of Caspyous leaping over the Head Table in his last effort to end her coming to mind.
Kaleb looks away, studying the stars. Only a few more hours before daybreak. Gabrian’s thoughts race with all the new firsthand information. She continues to play around, reshaping the formation of her hands. It feels nice to be let in and have the inside scoop on what is going on with her.
“Well, we should probably head back down the mountain before the rangers find us here and start questioning our intentions,” Kaleb says, interrupting her experiments. “No need in starting any rumors.”
Gabrian chuckles. “No, that is the last thing I need.”
“Do you have time for tea?” he asks, getting to his feet and reaching out his arm, offering her a hand up.
Her face scrunches, clasping onto his hand as she gets to her feet. “It is probably midnight, Kaleb, and you want to have tea?”
“Is there some place else you need to be?”
She hears his jab though he makes no mention he will snitch about her escape. There are tons of other places she would rather go than back to being a captive. So, tea it is. “Nope, tea sounds like a great idea.”
“Excellent, also I thought it would be fun to let you in on a couple secrets that you might like to know.”
“Okay, sure. Like what?”
“Like how to talk to your black feathery friend.”
“You can actually talk to him?”
“Every creature has a voice. You just have to know how to listen to it. Kind of like your mindreading skill.”
Gabrian grins. This kind of learning is helpful and fun. Kaleb reminds her of Ethan, Ashen, and well…even Arramus does in their instruction. They all seem to be so patient with her learning. It could be worse. They could all be like Cimmerian, although, she had been sucked into Erebus before any of her training with him had commenced.
Kaleb’s soft low voice stirs her from her pondering. “Do you want to race down the mountain?”
Turning quickly, she stares at him and the cheeky grin painted on his lips. “What?” She had a hard time trying to keep up with him going up the mountain, but since they are going down, surely she has some chance of winning. “You got it,” she cheers, running off into the darkness, back toward the road.
Kaleb laughs at her and easily catches up. Gabrian pushes her legs to go faster, only to see him gaining ground as she peeks over her shoulder. Kaleb’s eyes gleam in the partial moonlight, form shivering and shifting, lengthening. He lunges forward and lands on his front hands—paws—body slender and sleek followed by a strong black tail swishing behind. His face is feral, feline-like, and edged with feathery points. His mo
uth is wide, wadded full of cloth—no doubt his clothing.
His wild form is the one from woods and the one she saw in her dream with Cera. She laughs, no longer afraid of what she sees—no longer terrified of him attacking her. Tonight, it is exciting and fun.
“Hey, no fair,” she shouts at his tail as he passes her once more.
“You try,” is all he says, leaving her in the dust.
A strong stir in the pit of her stomach flutters. She tries to run faster in order to catch his black phantom, but it is no use. He is winning. The fluttering turns to a warm burn, begging her to acknowledge it.
So she does.
Stretching her arms wide at her sides, she submits to the animal inside of her scratching to get out. The ridge of her spine warms, and her entire body burns the same way the tips of her fingers usually do. Vibrations tremor through her extremities. Long feathers sprout out of her extended arms as they elongate and narrow, marbled in silver and black to resemble the colour of her hair.
The pounding of her feet against asphalt becomes less jarring, smoothening out. The stormy night air catches under her form, giving her a lift from the ground. Her toes no longer touch the earth as she glides inches above the road on newly sharpened wings at her sides. The weight of her body, fully air born, strains her arms in this unknown use of muscles. She waves them just the same, lifting herself higher, and tries her hardest to stay centered on the narrowing space of the road. Hitting something this low would provide an abrupt halt and damage. There is no room for quick maneuvers of recovery here.
Her eyesight sharpens, and the darkness melts away like the Derkaz gift of night vision. Nightfall and shadows are no longer an obstacle. She might not be able to catch him down the winding road without maiming herself, but she can still win. Taking an alternative route, she turns against the course, the wind catching her wings, pulling her upward, and over the treetops. Gabrian inhales the cool ocean air and gasps at the view from her new vantage point. It is nothing less than stunning. With miles and miles of boundless freedom, she has a new appreciation for her friend and a sadness that he must hide within his skin.
A slip in the shadows below catches her attention and regains her reason for shifting in the first place. Her eyes narrow in, watching the Elder nearing the bottom turn on the mountain road. She yells out ‘bugger’ but a loud screech shrills through the night instead. Cool.
Dipping low, her feathery body cuts through the air, faster and faster. Her balance falters. Gabrian’s mind cannot catch up with her eyes. The air currents play havoc on her descent, shifting her side to side as they push against her tiring arms. The continual strain is a throbbing ache that depletes her momentary confidence. She falls, her height too low, and the sting of the treetops nicks at her, knocking her off course into an inevitable collision with the uprising ground.
Kaleb watches, helpless from the ground as she falls from the sky, and pushes his shifted form into overdrive, racing to find her, hoping she has not managed to hurt herself too badly. Gabrian lands with a heavy, painful thud. Her world spins, and she hurts everywhere upon making contact with the ground. Her body twitches violently as it rolls into the ditch and finally stops as a thorny bush ends her journey.
Hearing the quick smacking of footsteps nearing, she opens her eyes. Gabrian pushes away from the sharpness of the bushy entrapment and sits up, grateful to have her fleshy arms again even with the new scratches she is given. A familiar voice calls out her name. She exhales, thankful it is not a park ranger who she would have to explain just how she managed to fall from the sky. Kaleb’s bellows continue until he is at the edge of the ditch.
“Stop yelling,” she croaks out, winded from the fall. “You are hurting my ears.”
Scurrying down into the ditch, back in human form and clothed, Kaleb surveys the damage. “Are you alright?”
She moves her newly transformed arms, and nods, knowing that it might be sore now but it is going to really hurt later. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“Well, that is one way to come down the mountain.”
They both let out a howl of laughter. Every move jars her torso, yelling out its need for her to end the madness. “Hey, I still beat you, so there.”
Kaleb sits back on his legs and exhales, patting her on the head sweetly. “That you did.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Midnight Tea
Taking the conventional way of transportation, Gabrian climbs inside the cab of Kaleb’s aging quarter-ton pickup truck, parked just around the bend, and he drives them to his home. She bellies up to the pine-board bar as he sets the kettle on the stove to heat.
Two cups, a glass infuser, and some loose burgundy tea leaves are set in front of her. “Now, are you going to tell me how you escaped the wall of Guardians surrounding your house or do I have to ask you?” he says, attending to the whistling on the stove. “And don’t tell me that they just let you go.”
Gabrian knew it was too good to be true. The silence he had kept on the mountain about her presence there was just a ruse. Of course he was going to eventually ask her. He would not be a responsible Elder if he had not. Gabrian bites her lip and looks away, studying the glass infuser as it fills with hot water. The steaming liquid transforms from clear to crimson, reminding her of blood.
They have a bond now, more so than before, and are dependent on each other not to spill the beans about who and what they are. Secrets are a thing of the Realm, and she has managed to rack up a few of them. What is one more, shared among silent tongues? She slips her hands inside the neck of her shirt and pulls out the white metal amulet.
“Hm, I thought as much.”
Gabrian shoots him a wide-eyed stare of wonder. “You knew about this thing?”
He chuckles in his soft hearty way and returns the kettle back to the stove, passing her a cup of the midnight blood-coloured brew. “Your mother used to play the same tricks on her father.”
“She did?” Gabrian never knew her mother really, just knew of her, and some strange encounters with her essence or spirit, or whatever it is that keeps showing up.
Kaleb leans into the counter and picks up his cup, blowing away the steam misting over the top. “Yes, she lived in the same home, and under the same kind of ‘home captive’ life that you are doing now while she grew up training to take her father’s seat at the covenant.”
“Oh,” is all she can say, feeling a twinge of sadness wash over her—sorry for her mother. She had only been under house arrest for a few days. She cannot fathom living a life that way. No wonder why she chose a wreck like her father as her mate. First class teenage rebellion case if Gabrian ever saw one. Good girl, bad—really bad—boy. It makes perfect sense to her.
“Don’t feel too bad,” Kaleb continues, taking a sip of the crimson tea. “She was very resourceful and enjoyed her life like most teenagers, only with a touch more excitement and danger involved.” He chuckles as if he is remembering something that is not privy to Gabrian. “I knew that if she still had it, eventually you would come across it. I am sure there are a few other interesting things hidden away within the walls just waiting to be found.”
She nods, not ready to divulge to him that she has already found something. Her mind lingers along the edges of the walls in her secret room. Raising her cup, hints of a peppery cinnamon scent tickles her nose as she sniffs the edge of the white porcelain mug, and peers over at him through the steam. “What kind of tea is this?”
He grins as if he has another secret of his own. “Do you remember the bright red flower in my greenhouse? The one that I kind of overreacted to you touching?”
How could she not? The image of him rushing through the greenery and yelling at her like a crazed lunatic was pretty hard to forget. “Yes, I remember.”
“Well, this is made from its blossoms.”
“The ones you told me would completely destroy the insides of a Borrower?”
“Hmm, maybe not destroy exactly, but wreak massive havoc on. But yes, the
very one.”
She sets the cup down and grimaces. “First, you say don’t touch it and now you want me to ingest it? Are you trying to get rid of me?”
A rumble of laughter echoes through the small earthy kitchen as Gabrian pushes away the cup. “No, no, nothing like that.” Setting his cup down, Kaleb leans in on his elbow, wanting nothing more than to see this open-minded youngling excel. Maybe with her sitting at the High Table, the fear of what he is, of what she is, can finally be put away. “You, obviously, are immune to its ill effects, or at least you were. And it not only repels Borrower and Vampire bites, it actually has a property in it that helps keep the animal inside in submission.”
Narrowing her gaze, she glances from Kaleb’s serene green to the deceptive tincture awaiting her in the cup.
“Seriously look, it is harmless, I think.” Picking his cup back up and taking a large sip, he grins at her cautious stare. “See? No harm, no foul. Only a nice warm sip of animal control.”
“Alright,” she says, a little leery. “If you say so.”
“Just try it. If it didn’t burn you then, chances are, you are immune.”
She gathers the mug back in her hand and slowly raises it to her lips, letting a small amount of the warm bloodlike liquid slide across her tongue and down her throat.
“And hey, it will either help you control your urge to shift or it will cause massive internal paralysis,” he teases, watching her eyes flare wide open as she chokes on her mouthful of tea. “Sorry, maybe I should have started with that tidbit.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Nothing but a Monster
Having survived the tea, Gabrian takes her leave and flips the eye of the Window of Souls to face inward to her chest as the manual had instructed. The solid edges of her form pull into her center, and within a blink, she is standing beside the small wooden desk in the secret room. Flickering orbs end their wandering and scurry to circle her in a frenzy. Gabrian’s sudden appearance is an exciting event for them, it seems.
