Shiftless: Tuatha Series Book 1

by Linton Bowers

  I turned to my wolf. “Miranda, would you follow Rodriguez’s scent and get the info we need to make a plan to save her? I want to take Tabitha with me to investigate this weird feeling.”

  “As you wish it,” Miranda said. She gave my arm a squeeze then headed off to the left. I watched as she walked worried that I may have made a mistake.

  Miranda was a capable woman long before I came along. I had to trust in her abilities and decision making skills. But a part of me wanted to send Tabitha after her to make sure she stayed safe. I decided to stick with the plan and not let Miranda think that I lacked faith in her.

  Tabitha followed me to the right. The hall was long, maybe three hundred yards but remained narrow. It seemed weird that a place full of big Lycan creatures would have narrow passages.

  The corridor dead ended at a steel door. It was something straight out of a movie submarine with a circle used for locking it. I grabbed the wheel, but stopped when Tabitha put her hand on my shoulder.

  “We don’t know what is on the other side,” she said

  “No we don’t,” I replied. “I’ll get ready just in case.” I opened the wolf and snake gates allowing enough of a trickle to infuse me with strength and speed.

  Feeling powerful, I nodded at my serpent then turned the wheel. It resisted at first but a little more pressure and the wheel relented. I pushed open the door to reveal a room with workbenches and computer workstations. With great caution I stepped inside. Since no death trap fell and took my head off I walked in fully.

  The pull came from a specific table which had a container on it surrounded by equipment I didn’t recognize. The container had a metal base which was half its three feet of height. The portion above that was a glass hexagon shell with a pedestal inside. Then a metal lid sat on the glass capping it off. I got right up to it so I could peer inside at the object on the pedestal.

  A plain bracelet an inch wide and probably made of gold sat on top. There were no markings or anything that made it look special but I could feel it. I circled the bench looking for a button to open the glass. There was no button, latch, or lever. Just a cable that ran to a computer on the closest workstation.

  I turned to go to the workstation when Tabitha wrapped her arms around the glass. The muscles in her arms bulged but nothing else happened. A second later the glass cracked. Another second passed before the glass shattered.

  “What the hell!” I grabbed Tabitha’s arms and gave them a good once over while turning them to see underneath. I expected to find a bunch of cuts along her skin but there was nothing.

  “My skin is tough,” Tabitha said. “Are you going to check it out?” She pointed at the bracelet.

  “Yeah.”

  I ran a finger across the smooth metal feeling a tingle from the contact with the bracelet. I pulled back and rubbed my arm.

  “You okay?” Tabitha asked.

  “Yeah, just felt weird. Didn’t hurt though.” My eyes were glued to the item.

  “Pick it up,” Tabitha urged.

  I looked up at my serpent surprised by her suggestion. “You think?”

  “Yes.” She had her eyes locked on the bracelet. “I feel like it’s the right thing to do.”

  “Fuck it.” I grabbed the bracelet and put it on my left arm.

  Light flooded my vision. My body went rigid. The light coalesced into a window like on a computer screen in front of me. “Oh shit.”

  “What is it?” Tabitha asked. She sounded winded.

  “It’s me.”

  “Huh?” She tilted her head to the side.

  “It’s a status page like in a video game with my information. This is so crazy!”

  “Does it have me?” Tabitha asked.

  “Um, no I… oh yeah! There are tabs on the side with your name and Miranda’s. Let’s check em out.”

  Tabitha

  Level 1 Wereserpent Tua

  Strength: 18

  Constitution: 12

  Agility: 16

  Charisma: 08

  Skills:

  Wrap 1

  Heat Vision 1

  I read Tabitha her stats.

  “That is so trippy,” she said.

  “There is a skill tree too,” I said. “I’ll open it and see what you have.

  The skill tree was a tiered system with her current skills at the bottom and four more tiers above it. Her current skills were a vibrant green and sat in the middle of the four columns. The two on the outside were a dull gray. The stuff on the upper tiers were a dark gray and the words were not legible. The two skills she didn’t have were Viper Strike 1 and Poison Shot 1. I had to wonder about those as I had seen Tabitha shoot a stream of fluid from her mouth already.

  I reached out to touch Viper Strike 1 but my hand passed through without doing anything. Then I thought of what I wanted to happen.

  Viper Strike 1

  Cost 1 SP

  Requirements Snake Form, Viper Strike 0.

  Snake strikes with hands, feet, or head are performed faster than the eye can see.

  Plus 20% speed to attacks.

  Next level Plus 40% speed to attacks.

  Ten second cool down

  I found the information to be fascinating. Not only did she have a skill that looked like something from a game, but the skill functioned with game mechanics. That brought the question of what my own skills looked like.

  Going back to my main page I found the skills tab. It was a different animal then the tree my women had. At the bottom was a sphere with the word, Tautha, written in it. There were two bright blue lines leading to more spheres. One said wolf and the other serpent. From there…

  “Terry! I found her!” Miranda shouted in my head.

  With a thought the window closed. “You found Rodriguez?” I thought back.

  “Yes, but you are not going to like this. You better hurry up and get here.”

  “On my way, love. Hold tight and don’t move until we get there.”

  “Holding,” Miranda replied.

  “Come on, Tabitha, we need to move. Miranda found Rodriguez,”

  Tabitha followed me as I moved through the hall at a jog. My heart raced as my excitement level rose. I was primed for battle, but a big part of me was excited to see Rodriguez. What did that say about me?

  Chapter 26

  Miranda was in the hallway peeking through a half open door. I crept up behind her sending a quick message so as not to alarm her. “What do we have, love?” I asked.

  The opening was not wide and Miranda stood in the way. “Take a look,” she said as she moved to the side.

  I slid into the spot my wolf had vacated. The room beyond the door was more a large cavern than a room. I saw more workstations and workbenches like those in the room with the bracelet but many more. Unlike the other room this one buzzed with activity. Men and women wearing white lab coats and various business casual outfits went about their work.

  The scent of Rodriguez was strong but I didn’t spot her right away. It wasn’t until enough people moved away from my line of sight that I saw her. They had her chained to a table with an IV sticking out of her arm.

  A growl rumbled in my throat and changed the pitch of my words. “I’m going to kill someone.”

  “Hold on, Terry. We have to…”

  I kicked the door open and walked in. All movement stopped and every head turned to watch me.

  “...have a plan,” Miranda mumbled. She let out a sigh.

  I stormed over to Rodriguez. Three of the lab guys jumped out of my way, but one was too slow and was knocked over when I clipped him. I stopped next to the wereturtle and gave her a quick once over.

  She was still naked from her change earlier, but they put a blanket on her covering her legs and pelvis. Her torso appeared to be unharmed. With her Lycan healing she could have been tortured and all signs of it vanished. I put my fingers to her neck feeling a strong pulse and the warmth of her skin. A little of the tension held in my shoulders melted away. One concern alle
viated.

  “Tell me,” came a deep male voice off to my left. “Is this one a member of your…” he sniffed the air then gave me a puzzled look. “I don’t know what you are so I can’t determine if a pack is the proper term. Is she yours?” He asked.

  “What she is doesn’t matter. All that matters is that she leaves with me.” I waved my hand gesturing to the rest of the room. “And that all this ends now!”

  The deep voiced man smiled. “Is that so?” While he was tall and wide in the shoulder he also wore a really expensive looking black suit. I didn’t think he looked like someone willing to get their hands dirty. “Tell me, have you looked behind me, or do you have blinders on because of her?”

  “What the fuuuuu…” Behind the man were cages stacked up to the ceiling. Each one held a Lycan creature that was an amalgamation of several different Lycans. This is where the monsters had ran off too.

  “So the real question is, you and what army?” He asked me.

  “I should have figured that Arnold would be involved in something like this,” Miranda said as she walked into the room with Tabitha at her side. Both my women were still in their beast forms.

  “Is that you, Miranda? What the hell happened to you?” the man in the suit asked.

  Miranda turned her head slightly in my direction. “Terry, this is Clause one of Arnold's lieutenants.”

  “I’m talking to you, Bitch!” Clause snapped.

  I growled and stepped forward. “You will watch you tongue when speaking to one of mine, mutt,” I snarled. “Or I will rip your tongue from your face!”

  Clause looked at me and snickered. “The question still stands, creature. You and what army?” He raised his arms up to indicate the cages at his back.

  I cocked my head toward my women. “They're all the army I need to deal with those things,” I said.

  “Be careful not to write a check our asses can’t cash,” Miranda sent me.

  “I may have to agree with that,” Tabitha thought.

  “I have faith in the both of you,” I thought back. “With you at my sides there is no challenge we can’t overcome.” I glanced at my women and saw them both smiling.

  “If you say so,” Clause replied. He pulled a small device from his pocket. “I guess that makes it play time.” His thumb pressed down on the device.

  Red lights mounted on the walls next to the cages flashed and a siren sounded. The doors to the cages opened out and up. The monsters inside howled and hooted with excitement. More than a few jumped up and down or slammed against the doors. In waves they left their cages and rushed at us.

  Figuring the guy with the remote was our best bet at ending the fight quickly. I ran at him as fast as I could. If someone were to direct the action that was about to take place I knew exactly who I would want. I jumped up and shouted, “John Woo, motherfucker!”

  I spun through the air sending kick after kick at Claude. He blocked each hit with his left hand. As my jump started its downward arch he slammed his right fist into my kidney. All the air was knocked out of me as sharp pain flooded my brain. I hit the ground.

  Claude kicked me sending me tumbling away and snapping a couple ribs. Every rotation as I rolled away was a new wave of agony. A workstation was kind enough to stop my tumble with just a little extra pain from my ribs as they impacted the corner of the desk.

  I rose to my feet opening both gates a little wider and winced at the onrush of power. My ribs mended themselves and my soft tissue healed becoming stronger. A blinking red dot at the corner of my vision caught me by surprise. I focused on the dot and a window popped up in my field of vision. I read it as I climbed to my feet.

  !WARNING!

  You have chosen to allocate some of your pack’s power to yourself during group combat. The effectiveness of your packmates has diminished as a result. Proceed with caution.

  “Well damn,” I mumbled.

  Scanning the fight looking for my wolf and serpent to see how they were doing. A monster thing slashed at me. I ducked then slammed my palm into it’s chest making it fall away. I found my wolf then.

  Miranda was backed up to a wall slashing at several attackers keeping them at bay, but not gaining any headway. I closed the wolf gate. Her body shuddered and Miranda dashed forward. She quickly dispatched her opponents then paused long enough to give me a nod.

  Tabitha was not far from Miranda and in a similar situation. I closed the serpent gate. Tabitha lashed out with her tail knocking over two then spun and performed several roundhouse kicks. Momentarily free of combat, Tabitha took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She jumped into a large group knocking them over with strikes from her hands, feet, and tail. The pleasure my women felt from their strength and victories let me know I had made the right decision.

  I turned to face Clause but instead found a wall of scales, fur, claws and teeth coming at me. A quick glance to my right showed me Rodriguez was still out and none of the creatures had gone to attack her.

  “Fuck,” I said to myself. “Gotta stick by Rodriguez until she can move on her own.” I did just that. A couple steps to my right put me between the oncoming attack and the wereturtle. I turned to the side and spread my feet to meet the charge. The first creature to hit me tried bowling me over. Even without the influx of power from my pack I was strong. It’s sternum hit my shoulder with a crunch and it bounced off. It howled and whimpered as the next attacker met with my fist.

  As I dodged claws and teeth I found myself wishing I could transform as well. As a set of claws racked down my arm and split skin I realized how useful a thick layer of fur would be. “Wish in one hand and shit in the other,” I said.

  The next attack stopped and tilted its head to the side at hearing my words. I capitalized on the pause with two jabs to the gut. The beast doubled over and I sent an uppercut to its jaw knocking it back into more of his friends.

  Time passed and my knuckles broke and healed as much as a pro fighters would over a lifetime. Constant glances stolen during the fighting at Rodriguez kept me apprised of her situation. And her situation never changed. Because of the size of the monsters I fought I couldn’t see my women. While I knew they were okay I no longer felt joy from them. The battle was taking its toll on all of us. I didn’t think we would last much longer.

  We needed things to change and we needed to get out of there. Which is why I ran forward and knocked one of the larger beasts down. It had to be almost three times my height, but my strength was not based on my size. I dropped low and grabbed its ankles. Then I stood and spun. The monsters head knocked down a group of others as I spun him. I let go letting its momentum carry it into the next group of fighters.

  I turned without seeing the result of my toss and ran to Rodriguez. I scooped her up and tossed her over my shoulder. More monsters reached us so I jumped onto the bed and leapt up over the head of the closest beasts. I used the next two as stepping stones and landed behind the group. As always there were more coming.

  I ran to Tabitha as she was closest. “We need to go,” I thought at my women.

  I jumped and drove my knees into two monsters packed close together. Riding then to the ground I lashed out with my fist knocking down another. Tabitha grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to my feet. She spun and smacked another on the snout with her tail sending it running and whimpering.

  The two of us ran to where Miranda fought. Tabitha and I grabbed a target each and pulled them away from Miranda. With a few quick blows we took them out of the fight and moved to the next. In quick succession we took down a force of more than a baker's dozen.

  “You okay, Miranda?” I asked my wolf. She was standing straight up with her hands on her hips and her head tilted back taking in gulps of air.

  “Yeah. Just. So. Many. Of. The. Bastards,” Miranda said.

  “Can you run?” I asked. Miranda nodded. “Good. As far as I’m concerned this is mission accomplished. Miranda, you take point. Tabitha you have the rear, make sure they don't sneak up on us. I'll c
arry Rodriguez and help where needed. Let's move.”

  Miranda lead us at a fast run through the hallways and back to the stairs. Only when we reached the stairs there was a solid piece of steel blocking our exit. Miranda hit the door and a metallic bang echoed through the hall.

  “I don’t think that’s going to work,” Tabitha said as she skidded to a hault behind us.

  “I agree,” I said.

  Miranda growled in frustration. “How the fuck are we supposed to get out of here?” She hit the door once more.

  “I don’t know, but let's move before we get trapped here between a rock and a horrible mutated rock with claws and teeth,” I said.

  We made it five feet before the corridor started filling up with monsters. We backed up as our attackers came at us. They all seemed to be programed to act like horror movies monsters by moving at a slow walk.

  As we moved back Miranda pushed past me to join Tabitha. “Stay behind us and keep Rodriguez safe,” she said.

  I turned and set Rodriguez on the ground against the steel door. Then I pulled off my tattered shirt and tried to cover her, but my chivalrous gesture didn’t work as planned. My shirt was wrecked. Oh well, I did what I could and figured saving her life to be more important than saving her modesty.

  I faced my women and waited for the first combatant to reach us.

  Chapter 27

  “Bring it, Motherfuckers!” Miranda screamed.

  The crowd of monstrous shifters surged forward. One particularly large one shoved it’s way to the front and answered Miranda’s challenge with an ear splitting roar.

  “Oh that’s rank,” I said as I waved my hand in front of my face. “Is it normal for Lycan breath to smell that bad?” I asked

  “Don’t look at me,” Miranda said. “Mine smells like roses.”

  “Same here,” Tabitha added.