Shifted (The Undari Trilogy Book 1)

by Sarah Reeves

  Shifted

  By Sarah G. Reeves

  Dedications

  This book is dedicated to everyone in my life, no matter how fleetingly or permanently they were there. Positive or negative, encouraging or detrimental, each of you have played a fundamental role in my story, and as a result, the making of this story.

  There are a few groups that deserve special mention.

  First the people that matter most to me in life, to all of those close enough to be called family. My rocks, the pillars I’ve had to rely on more than once to help hold myself upright. Stumbling upon people like you is a rare thing, and I can say with absolute certainty that God had a hand in my being accepted and loved by you. There is no way I deserve the kind of support and understanding you have given me over the years. Nobody deserves people like you.

  To my blood family, for raising me and molding me into the woman I am today. I think I turned out okay, but it definitely took some work on your part. I love all of you so much, and I hope with all my heart that you will be proud of me when you read this story, and that it shows you the importance of family.

  To the soldiers of my unit, past and present. You are the largest extension of my family, and one that I will forever be proud to be a part of. A select few of you (you know who you are) have made me into a more… let’s say sarcastic version of myself. It’s been said time and again that the friends you make in the military are of a different caliber than the ones you make anywhere else along the road, and there has never been a truer statement made. There aren’t enough words in this language to describe how honored I am to be a part of this family.

  There are so many other people that belong in this dedication. I hope that you know who you are, and wherever you happen to read this, know that I have such deep respect and adoration for you. There isn’t a single person that I can imagine my life without, because you all have become such an integral part of who I am. Thank you.

  Finally, to the reader. I can think of no greater motivation for writing this book. I love the feeling of losing myself within a world apart from this one, and I think that this novel will help you do the same. I hope you get as involved with the lives of Alex and her family as much as I have, and that you love every minute of it.

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter One

  Great wings stretched against the rocky backdrop of a cave, the tips barely brushing the stalactites that reached for the ground below, where a huge scaly dragon lay. She brought her wings back down, covering the bright, iridescent glow of her eggs, which lay tucked into her side. The mother was content, but hungry. Craning her neck, she narrowed her eyes, attempting to see past the glow of her young. Nothing. Her mate would be back soon, with food for the both of them.

  She snorted, wisps of smoke spiraling past her nostrils to the ceiling of the damp cave. There was no other place for them to go, without being found by Them. That didn’t mean the mother dragon had to like it, nor did she particularly enjoy being in this Form for months like this. She stretched again, vowing that she would make her mate watch the eggs the next time there was an opportunity to go and get food.

  Suddenly, her nostrils widened and the ear slits just below her great horns pricked, sensing movement. She raised her neck and sniffed again, confirming that this newcomer was not her mate. A whispered growl escaped, and she shifted, her razor sharp claws tightening around her young. Protectiveness surged and muscles tensed in anticipation of the coming fight. The smell, like rotting flesh and sulfur, grew stronger as slithering, scraping sounds tracked the movement of the unfortunate creature that had chosen to trespass in the cave.

  A snarl ripped from the mother’s throat, and the advancing sounds stopped, but only for a moment. They began again, getting closer and more rapid, until a misshapen creature threw itself into the light from the mother’s eggs. It was hairless, covered in pustules, and had a red gash of a mouth filled with rows of jagged teeth, chipped in places and oozing a yellow slime. The dragging, slithering sound had come from its tentacles, three of them. Each one was roughly four feet in length and tipped with serrated claws, dripping with the same yellow sludge.

  In a flash, the dragon was crouched over her young, fangs bared, wings flared, claws fully extended to rip into this creature. The thing launched itself at the mother’s face, appendages writhing, but was slashed out of the air by the mother’s razor tipped paw.

  She, however, was not prepared for the creature’s speed. Tentacles lashed out, wrapping around the dragon’s neck and yanking her head to the ground. Her neck thrashed, seeking to dislodge the creature, but it only served to tighten its grip. Before she could do more to free herself, claws slid under the scales, searching for the soft flesh underneath.

  Unable to dislodge the monster, the mother dragon began to panic, thinking of her mate, her children. She couldn’t think for much longer, as the claws had reached their goal. Sharp pain made the mother flail once more, then her muscles froze as the creature began to pump the yellow slime into her. Her blood felt like fire in her veins, and her consciousness thrust aside by the will of the monster, whose body had gone strangely still. Though the mother roared within her mind and fought with every ounce of her being, her body remained still, now under the control of the thing that had come for her. For her children.

  Alex sighed, barely registering the droning voice of her teacher. Just twenty minutes. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall above Mrs. Herrington, and swore that it had somehow frozen. It felt like more than fifteen minutes had passed, but the minute hand hadn’t moved farther than two slots. AP Statistics had never taken so long to end. Alex was itching to leave, and meet her two friends to go shopping for her little sister’s birthday. Teagan would be turning seven the next day, and Alex was frazzled, because she had no idea where to get a suitable present for the Birthday Girl.

  She drummed her fingers on her desk and looked around. Similar vacant expressions were all around the room, and Alex wondered if Mrs. Herrington had noticed. If she had, she gave no indication, and kept prattling on about the voting system and the different ways to count ballots. Glancing at the window to the hallway, Alex was rewarded with a small shock as she saw two faces staring back at her. She recognized them as her two best friends, Oliver and Hannah. They both waved at her, Oliver with his slightly large nose pressed against the glass and his bright blue eyes sparkling with amusement. The other girls in Alex’s class made eyes at Oliver, and he grinned back, making them blush and hide behind their textbooks. Alex herself had to push aside that little jump her heart always did when she saw him. Hannah rolled her eyes and grabbed his dark hair, pulling him back and making Alex giggle quietly, watching the show. Hannah, model beautiful with brown hair that fell below her waist and stormy blue-gray eyes, danced backward out of Oliver’s reach when he went to grab at her. She then turned and motioned to Alex.

  ‘Get out here,’ Hannah mouthed. Oliver pressed his lips against the glass and blew out his breath, making his cheeks puff out. This time, Alex laughed out loud, which earned her a loo
k from a couple of her classmates. She hastily coughed, knowing she wasn’t being convincing, and raised her hand.

  “Yes, Miss Fleming?” Mrs. Herrington didn’t look pleased to be interrupted, and when Alex asked to use the restroom, she sniffed disapprovingly. “Fine,” she said, and without another glance, returned to her lecture. Alex jumped up and walked as calmly as she could from the room. She turned to her friends, who had moved to stand in front of the door as it opened.

  “You guys could have gotten me in serious trouble,” Alex hugged Hannah first, then Oliver. “Why aren’t you in class?”

  “All we were trying to do was check up on you, and this is how you repay us?” Oliver, ever the dramatic one, put a hand on his heart, wounded. “I can’t believe this.” He gasped loudly, miming death and ignoring Alex’s attempts to placate him.

  “Oliver, stop, she’s sorry,” Hannah tried to admonish him, but was laughing with Alex at his display of betrayal.

  “It’s not like I stabbed you, Olly,” said Alex, still giggling. This made Oliver stand fully upright, looking at Alex with mock anger.

  “Hey now.” Oliver stood up straight and pointed at Alex severely. “I told you not to call me that.”

  “So I have an idea,” Hannah said, cutting off Alex, who was about to retort. “How about we take this elsewhere, because if we keep standing here, we’re going to get caught.” She led the way down the hall, passing the rest of the math wing and heading to the lunchroom courtyard.

  “You do realize that the reason there’s a chance of being caught is because of you in the first place, right?” Alex put her arm around Hannah’s shoulders, then looped the other one around Oliver. “I would still be sitting in class if it weren’t for you.”

  “Yeah, and your brains would have mixed with that drool we saw coming out of your mouth, too. And don’t blame me, Oliver had a hand in this just as much as I did.”

  “Who?” Oliver was indignant.

  “You!” Hannah said with exasperation.

  “Me?”

  “Yes!”

  “Oh,” Oliver laughed at the expressions of both Alex and Hannah.

  “You are sometimes the most annoying person,” said Alex glaring in mock irritation. They had reached a small picnic table that was slightly apart from the rest, and as Alex sat, the final bell for the senior class rang. She always thought that it was pointless to let seniors out three minutes earlier than the rest of the school. Then again, she was also sure that opinion would change the next year when she joined them.

  Hannah sat on Alex’s left side and leaned against her. “What are we doing tonight?” she asked, grabbing a strand of Alex’s blonde hair and beginning to braid it. “We said we were going to buy your sister a birthday present, but what are we doing after that?”

  “Well,” replied Oliver, “I don’t know for sure, but I think that maybe since it’ll be about that time anyway, we should try to get some food while we’re out.” Both girls ignored the blatant sarcasm in his voice.

  “Ooohhh, we could try out that new thai place that just opened up next to the mall, it looks so good,” Hannah let go of Alex’s hair and took her face in her hands, turning her best friend’s face towards her. “Can we?”

  “God, it’s like you’re five years old sometimes,” Alex pulled away, laughing as the doors to the picnic area burst open. Seniors poured out to the parking lot adjacent to the building. “Of course we can go, and it’s not like I have any say in the matter anyway, seeing as how you’re the one driving us there.”

  “Hey, you’re right!” Hannah clapped her hands together.

  “Is there any way we can leave now?” Oliver stood up, holding his hand out to Alex. “Because I’m starving, and if we don’t leave now we will be stampeded by lowerclassmen. The bell is going to ring in, like, a minute.”

  Alex took Oliver’s hand and stood, and the trio left for the parking lot, intermingled with the final few seniors that had meandered from the opposite side of the building. The final bell rang just as they got to Hannah’s blue Elantra, and they stopped for a moment to watch the ensuing chaos as swarms of younger students flooded the grounds at an alarming rate.

  “You know, it’s almost like they hate being at school,” said Alex, and got into the car with Hannah and Oliver, who were laughing.

  The ride to the Asheville Mall was filled with loud music and obnoxious singing, and when they pulled into the parking lot, the lyrics of Panic! At the Disco’s “King of the Clouds” echoed in the dim garage. Alex got out of the front seat, still humming the song even after it cut off. Hannah and Oliver got out on the other side. They began to walk to the entrance of the mall, planning to cut across the food court to get to Belk's for clothes as one of Teagan’s presents, then to Build a Bear to see if they could get a Tigger for her collection (Teagan loved Tigger, and had about twenty of them in her room). As they reached the door to the escalator, however, Alex felt a trembling hand on her shoulder, and turned around.

  There was a small man behind her, ancient in the way that made his skin look almost transparent. His eyes, nearly hidden in the many folds of wrinkled skin on his face, were very nearly gold, and they widened as they focused on Alex’s face. Alex got the uncomfortable feeling that he could see through the nervous expression on her face to the thoughts underneath. A large wrinkle above his chin split, revealing shockingly white, even teeth. He began to speak.

  “You,” he breathed, so quietly that Alex had to lean in to hear him. “I know you.”

  Alex exchanged looks with her friends. Hannah placed herself next to Alex, arms folded, and Alex saw Oliver do the same on her other side. His arms weren’t folded, but he was analyzing the small man.

  “I, uh, I don’t think I’ve met you sir,” Alex dug into her back pocket, found a couple of five dollar bills, and held them out. “You should go and get yourself something to eat, though. They have some pretty good food in the food court, down there.” She pointed, smiling in what she hoped was a way that didn’t betray her wariness.

  The man looked down at her hand, still holding the money and the smile grew wider. “No, I don’t want your money, Alexandra.” Alex took a startled step back at the use of her full name, and listened with wide eyes as he continued. “I know who you are.”

  “Alright,” said Hannah, stepping slightly in front of Alex and staring menacingly down at the old man. “I don’t know who you are, or what you want with my friend, but you need to beat it, before I call the police. We don’t know you, and we don’t want to. Bye now.” She turned, taking Alex’s arm and tugging her away, but the man’s eyes seemed to glue Alex’s feet in place. His face fell.

  “You… don’t know who you are. Do you?” He opened his mouth to continue, but froze as he caught sight of something over her shoulder. Terror clouded his vivid blue eyes, and he began to back away. “M-my mistake. I thought you were someone else. Good day to you.” With that he turned and hurried away in the opposite direction. Alex watched him go, then when he disappeared, looked in the direction he had just before he left. Whatever he was looking at, however, was gone. What had terrified him so much? And who the hell was he, anyway?

  “Let’s go, Alex.” Hannah tugged on her arm again, and Alex started, snapping out of her thoughts.

  “Yeah,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “Let’s go.”

  The shopping trip turned out to be fruitful, and the trio walked back to the car with their spoils. The elderly man didn’t come up the entire time they were in the mall, because they were too busy looking for the perfect gifts for Teagan, but as they loaded their purchases and left the parking garage they fell silent, until Oliver spoke.

  “So who was that guy, anyway?” He looked back at Alex, who was sitting behind the driver’s seat. “He seemed like he knew you.”

  Alex shook her head. “No idea,” she answered. “But he freaked me out. What I want to know is what he meant when he said that I don’t know who I am. And why he was so scared before he lef
t. Did you guys see his face?”

  Hannah met Alex’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, I caught that. I chalked it up to me just being extremely intimidating though.” Alex smiled at this.

  “No,” interjected Oliver, “It was something else. He was seriously afraid of whatever was behind us. I didn’t see anything, though, so maybe he was just seeing things.”

  “Certain drugs cause hallucinations, that could have been what made him scared,” said Hannah, flipping her turn signal to enter the restaurant parking area. “Maybe we should have called the police, Alex. He could have been dangerous.” She parked, and they all got out of the car. “Either way, he was clearly unstable. We shouldn’t have talked to him at all.”

  Alex nodded absently as they walked inside and sat down. What she didn’t say was that the man didn’t look at all unstable. He was genuinely crestfallen when Alex hadn’t recognized him, and he knew her name, her full name, which was creepy in and of itself. Only her mother used her full name, and that was reserved for when Alex was in trouble. But he had also been really happy when he’d seen her. No, thought Alex, shaking her head slightly. No, happy wasn’t the right word. If she had to guess, she would say it was something more like awestruck, like he’d seen something he hadn’t quite realized existed. But that was also weird.

  Dimly, Alex became aware of a hand waving in front of her face. “Alex!” Hannah was trying to get her attention, and judging by the exasperated tone, this wasn’t the first time. Alex looked up at her best friend.

  “What?” she asked. Her attention was directed to the waitress, who was waiting for Alex’s order with a bright smile. “Oh,” said Alex, embarrassed. She ordered something random off the menu, handed it back to the waitress and the woman bustled off to put in the orders. Alex looked back at her friends, sitting across from her in the booth. She had been so deep in her thoughts that she hadn’t even noticed her surroundings. The restaurant was quaint, with a cozy oriental style and lights that gave off a soft glow, almost like candlelight. There weren’t many people inside, which was odd for the time of day, but Alex didn’t mind. Large crowds made her uneasy. She turned her attention back to her friends.