Death Be Shifted (The Terra Vane Series Book 6)

by Katie Epstein

  He laughed, shaking his head. “You and Kaleb suit each other. And I thank you. For jumping in the water to save one of my own and for digging in your heels where I can’t with Theodulf. But, most of all, thank you for making my friend happy.”

  The hard facade Brent liked to present to me melted, and so did my heart. “He makes me happy, too.”

  “Good.” He nodded. “I’m glad. I’ll be off.” Stopping at the door, he turned in my direction. “Know you’re welcome here anytime, Terra. As an agent, or as a friend of the pack.”

  Warmth filled my blood. “Thank you.”

  A light smile flickered upon his lips, and then he was gone.

  Kaleb shuffled into the room, a sheet around his waist. His eyes squinted at the light. “Where’s Brent?”

  “He brought coffee.” I picked up his and handed it to him. “And news your father is going out into the woods as we speak to lay the traps.”

  “Bastard,” Kaleb muttered, taking a swig of the drink. I directed his half-asleep self to the couch. “But I’m not surprised.”

  “So, what’s the plan?”

  “We go out there and dig faster. Harder. Show our surly faces.”

  “Maybe not,” I said, my head whirring.

  He blinked a few times, coming round. “We can’t let this slide.”

  “I know. And we won’t. But why do we have to dig with them on the south side of the forest? If Torroro is smart, he won’t return to the hunting ground where we took his kill from him. He’ll look for new ground.”

  “So we set the trap elsewhere?”

  “Why not? It’s a big forest.”

  He grinned. “My father won’t like this.”

  “Yeah, I know. And I don’t mind being the proverbial finger for you to stick up at him.”

  “I’m not doing that.” He frowned, rubbing my leg. “I hope you don’t think I’m using you in that way.”

  “Maybe not intentionally, but I wouldn’t blame you if you did.” I sighed at his touch. “It was late when you got back last night.”

  “Yeah, I know. I caught up with Brent. Some wolves who travel with my father are idiots. But some I like. They only follow my father around because he orders them to do so. When I got back, you were fast asleep.”

  “It’s fine.” I smiled. “I’m glad you found time to catch up with them. And you were right before. When you said about how Chris and Rosie never expecting me to back down because of them Not when doing the right thing. I shouldn’t have fallen into line so easily with Cole.”

  “And I shouldn’t have thrown that at you either. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I needed it. I respect Cole as my boss but when you reiterated to me what was in the contract, it made me realize how much I’ve doubted myself in this role. As if I’m a booby prize.”

  “You’re not. Stop underestimating yourself.”

  “It’s sometimes draining.”

  “What?”

  “Fighting all the damn time, just to be heard. But if it makes a difference, then I’m all for it. I’m also not stupid enough to think my actions won’t have any consequences. Especially when it concerns your father.”

  “If either my father or Eli hurt you, they’re done for. I mean it.”

  “Kaleb…”

  “No.” He took my hand in his, curling his fingers around mine. “With you, I won’t step back. Not against them. Not against anyone. Not ever.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. But I think I’ve earned a kiss for such a manly statement. Don’t you?”

  A smile tugged at my lips. “That’s what I love about you. You never change.”

  “You love me?” His eyes lit up, his upper lip twitched, and I nearly fell through the floor.

  “I mean as a friend. Metaphorically. In a statement. Whatever the hell it means.” I blushed, and his laugh bellowed across the room. “Shut up!”

  “Nah. You’re just too easy. And sweet.” He brought me closer, laying a soft kiss on my lips. “I spoke to Chris and Rosie earlier. I shifted and rode out to get privacy and a signal.”

  “And?”

  “I warned them about my father. Told them to stay on their guard.”

  “You did?”

  “They’re my family, too, Terra. Do you really think I’d make you the proverbial finger without covering their back?” He winked.

  “You, Kaleb Cipher… you…”

  “What?”

  “You’re a welcome pain in my ass.”

  “Thank you. That’s one of the greatest compliments you’ve ever given me.” He pulled me closer. “Might not want to say that in public though.”

  “Yeah. I knew that the second I said it.”

  29

  “Who would have thought I’d be out here pissing off a bunch of shifters so early in the morning,” Zax said on a yawn.

  “I appreciate it,” I told him.

  “I know you do. And I’ve got a plan to work out the mechanics of it all. Mayra and I put our heads together last night. But do I have to dig, too?”

  I handed him a shovel from the hole. “If I do, we all do. That’s the rules.”

  “Hang on a second. Mayra got out of digging.”

  “Oh no, I haven’t,” Mayra said from across the land of the grove we’d found. She pointed to the shovel at her feet. “After I’ve prepped the spell, I’m also on digging duty.”

  Zax frowned. “Damn. Fine. I’ll dig.”

  “Thanks, Zax.”

  “Yeah, yeah. But I don’t relish in physical activity in human form. Especially digging in the dirt.”

  “You’re a dragon shifter. I thought you guys love the stuff?”

  “I like caves. Clean underground caves. And that includes my basement in the city. Don’t tarnish all of us reptile shifters with the same brush.”

  I hid a smile. “Sorry.”

  “Sorry doesn’t cut it when I have to dig for you. Even if you’re my boss.”

  “Boss on paper.” I slammed my shovel into the ground. “Together, we’re a team.”

  “Didn’t sound like it last night.” He grinned beneath the lantern light Kaleb had hung on a pole and poked into the grass.

  “Got to throw my weight around some time. No point having a boss title and not taking pleasure in its advantages. I suppose we all have to thank Mayra for the save.”

  “Maybe. But a twisted part of my soul wanted to see you kick Eli’s ass. Would have made me happy, anyway.”

  “I doubt I can kick his ass.”

  “Yes, you can,” Kaleb said, shoveling into the ground beside me. “A shifter as sexy and as strong as me you might struggle with. But not Eli. He’s not trained like the other Enforcer Field Agents. And you’ve taken down a few of them easily enough.”

  “As strong and as sexy as you, eh?”

  “Yeah. Don’t deny the truth, baby. The truth will set you free.”

  Zax laughed.

  Mayra lifted her shovel to join the party. “We all bask in your love, Kaleb.” Zax assisted her into the hole we’d dug out to Kaleb’s shoulder height. “The love you have for yourself, of course.”

  I grinned, digging away. “So,” I addressed Mayra and Zax, “aside from, ‘Terra and Kaleb, start digging a hole,’ what’s the plan?”

  “We dig a hole.”

  “I think I got that part. Even though I’ve voiced my concerns about reptile shifters finding ways out of those.”

  “Not with Mayra’s spell casting an invisible shield bordering the hole,” Zax replied.

  “We have our Pulsar weapons if things go awry,” Kaleb reassured me, nudging his head toward the weapon on my belt.

  “Hopefully, we won’t need them.”

  “Mayra will handle it,” Zax told us. “There’s more to the plan. Tell them, May.”

  Flicking some soil out of the hole, barely a smidgen, Mayra said, “I can get the spell to hold for a few hours without me having to keep channeling magic. And I can manifest a second spell that
hovers a transparent net above the hole. Once he’s in, I lower down the net, and, hopefully, if my magic has leveled out enough by being back over here, I can direct the net and bring him out of the hole.”

  Zax dug into the ground. “When I spoke to the healer about borrowing the chains they used to tie down the injured wolves, I noticed some bloodied sheets she hadn’t discarded yet. She said I could have those, too. So we’ll throw them in the hole once we’re done. The blood should draw him in.”

  “As well as the dead rabbit,” Kaleb offered. I shuddered. “What?” he said, noticing my reaction. “You eat meat.”

  “So? It’s not like I want its dead and bloody carcass shoved in front of my nose before I eat it.”

  “That’s worse.”

  “Thanks for making me feel even more guilty about eating it.”

  He laughed. “You make me smile. It’s a wonder you don’t have a sore ass sitting on the fence so much.”

  “It’s a wonder you don’t have a sore head after I hit you with the shovel several times.”

  “Now, now you two,” Mayra reprimanded. “I thought having lots of sex would have curbed the bickering.”

  “We’re not having lots of sex,” I let slip.

  Oops.

  “You’re not?” Both Mayra and Zax asked in unison. They stopped their shoveling to stare at us both.

  “No wonder Kaleb dug the hole so fast,” Zax commented.

  Mayra said, “May I ask why?”

  I looked at Kaleb, who had nothing to say for once. He continued to hack away at the soil. But I didn’t want to throw him under the bus.

  “You may not.” I turned my back to her and continued to dig. She poked my ribs. A lot.

  “Ow!”

  “We’re your friends. Why can’t you tell us whether Kaleb is impotent?”

  “I am not impotent!” Kaleb roared, and the hole shook.

  “Okay, okay,” Mayra covered her ears. “How about you tell us and not the entire world?”

  “I thought you put your magic crystals around the grove so the others can’t hear us while we dig?”

  “Oh yes. I forgot. But consider my ears, Kaleb. I can’t help it if you’re…”

  “I’m not impotent,” he said through gritted teeth, and I tried so hard not to laugh. He looked at me and growled. “Fine. Tell them,” he muttered.

  Zax put his hand up. “Erm, I don’t need to be here. I can go plan more up top.”

  “There’s nothing more to plan,” said Mayra.

  “Dig,” Kaleb bit out.

  “Fine,” Zax sighed, resigned, continuing to dig. “But no juicy details. I’m in a hole with you all, remember?”

  Mayra poked me again.

  “Ow!” I gasped. “Okay. Okay. We did it once, all right?”

  “Is that all we’re getting?”

  “Kaleb struggled at the end.”

  Zax snorted at that. Kaleb glared at him, so I hurried on. “Not because of him not being able to finish,” my cheeks flamed, “because of his wolf.”

  “His wolf.” Mayra turned to Kaleb. “Your wolf?”

  “He wants to claim her,” he sighed. “He tried to claim her. I barely held him back. After I finished,” he emphasized.

  “What? Oh,” she said, understanding something I didn’t. “Oh, I see.”

  “See what?” I asked her out of interest.

  “The wolf can’t help it either if my understanding is correct. He’s driven to claim his mate. Kaleb’s wolf already sees you as his, but Kaleb doesn’t—” She shut up.

  “Kaleb doesn’t what?”

  “I’m still here, you know!” Kaleb waved at us both. “So how about we leave it at that? Terra and I haven’t even had time to discuss it yet, so can we drop it, please?”

  “Sure.” Mayra grasped her shovel once more. She came to dig beside me, and whispered, “How was it?”

  “I can still hear you!” Kaleb growled from beside her. And I couldn’t help it. The giggles came unbidden. It was a good job for the magical sound barrier as the noise of my laughter reverberated through the forest. If Torroro had heard that, me in total hysteria, he’d have kept on running and never looked back.

  “You’re such a goof,” Kaleb muttered at the tears streaming from my eyes. But his lips curved regardless. Mayra grinned at us both, and Zax frowned as if I’d finally lost it.

  “Don’t worry, Zax,” Mayra reassured him. “She’s just happy Kaleb isn’t impotent.”

  “Amen to that,” Kaleb muttered. And I cracked up even more.

  30

  “How much longer?” I whined, leaning my head up against a tree.

  “Who knows?” Mayra whispered, crouched on a blanket she was savvy enough to bring along. She adjusted her draping skirts. “But you realize we’ve only waited half an hour, right?”

  “Longest half hour of my life,” Kaleb muttered.

  “Oh, you two!” Mayra snapped. “You’re as bad as one another. The hole’s dug. We’ve laid the trap. The bloodied sheets are at the bottom. He might not even show if he can’t catch the scent from where he is. But he might. So we wait. Be patient. And lower your voices. We removed the stones that created the sound barrier, remember?”

  Sitting at the border of the trees, the four of us waited. Mayra had prepped as much as she could, casting a spell as a shield against the soil in the hole. Nothing shimmered or sparked to confirm its completion, but she reassured me it had worked and that the magical barrier would stop Torroro from burrowing into the dirt of the hole.

  That’s if he turned up.

  Mayra, with sheets of foolscap held in place by a bright crystal in front of her, waited on alert to cast the magical net spell she’d pulled together. If Torroro showed his scaly face, she’d ensnare him long enough to use one of her potions, which Zax had helped her mix using ingredients from nature and a bit of belladonna she always keeps in her purse. It wouldn’t keep Torroro down for long, but it may be long enough for us to transport him back.

  “How’s your magic now?” I whispered to Mayra, aware of how much she’d given of herself to heal Ethan. And how much it had faltered when over on Earthside.

  “Confused,” she replied. “It’s stronger here as if it knows it’s come home. But I haven’t had time to let it adjust to the vibes on this side. It’s doing what I ask of it in the sense of the spells and potions, but I still can’t perform them or any light magic without the initial groundwork.”

  “I’m sorry all of this is screwing with your gift.”

  “Don’t apologize. It knows its purpose. Just as I do. And it’s learning as we go along. Being part of the IET is challenging it in a way it never would have experienced over here. It’s growing, blossoming, and thriving. Stop fretting.”

  I gnawed at my lip. “I’m sorry.”

  “Say sorry one more time, and I’ll set a fireball on your ass.”

  “You can do that?”

  She hesitated. “No. Not while my magic is all over the place. But I can still try.”

  “Fine.” I sighed. “I’m not sorry.”

  “Good.”

  “So what’s the plan when we’ve caught him?” Zax asked from beside Kaleb. Kaleb’s eyes had gone all hunter, focusing on the trap, his hand resting lightly on his Pulsar weapon. At least he knew turning furry would be no good against a reptile shifter when there was only one of him.

  “We chain him up. Take him in,” I replied. “It will save time with Cole being here. He can make the arrangements for transportation to take Torroro back to the Evolvers at the prison.”

  Mayra adjusted her skirts once more. “Do you think they’ll still let him go back to the prison, or will they put him into the shifter hold?”

  I looked at Kaleb for an answer. He shrugged. “Who knows? He’s killed more people now. Shifters, too. So the Consilium may consider putting a death sentence on the table.”

  I gasped. “But why?”

  “He’s killed on shifter lands now.”

  “And
killing the people before he got thrown in prison isn’t as important? That’s ridiculous. They can’t say he deserved a chance at reform back then and now throw a death sentence at him just because shifters have got hurt. That’s not fair.”

  “He escaped prison and killed even more people. He’s also regressing if your psychic vision is anything to go by. They’ll assess him and realize that. What’s the point in putting him back on to the reform program if he won’t reform?”

  “But they could put him into the shifter hold?”

  “Throw him in with rogue shifters after he’s tasted their blood? They’ll deem it not fair.”

  “Goddamn it,” I growled, hating how messed up all this was. “Torroro has a disability. His brain can’t comprehend his human side. That’s not his fault. And his own family turned him in to see if the Evolvers could help in understanding why he’s that way. They were making progress with him. Not a lot. But some. And then some idiot decided he would be a good person to take with them when the prisoners broke out of the prison. Torroro didn’t know what was going on. The other prisoners goaded him into hurting Dill Hemmingway, treating him like their guard dog. And his mother knew it. She reached out to you, Kaleb, telling us about how she still had a telepathic link with him that should have broken but didn’t. She stayed connected to him through dreams, through a link that should have dissipated after adolescence. She saw him hurting, crying and not wanting to hurt anyone. And I felt the same. He’s confused. Hurting, calling out for his mama. He’s hunting to eat purely on instinct alone because he’s regressing. All for us to throw him back in prison so they can deem him worthy of a death sentence.” I took a deep breath. “He doesn’t understand.”

  Kaleb put an arm around me. “I know. But we have to take him in. We can’t let him roam free to keep killing people.”

  “I know that, jeez. We have to do this. But when I felt his pain. His anguish…”

  “And who’s saying the Evolvers won’t think the way you do?” he reassured me. “Especially if you write up what you saw, what you felt, through the visions. Your words may help him and possibly support their decision.” He sighed. “And I was only assuming a death sentence. I might be talking out my ass.”