Shifters (The Neturu Chronicles Book 3)

by Sarah Carter

  “Yeah, okay,” Claire breathes out, staring at her daughter. The ship suddenly jolts again. Lexi reaches down and the floor cracks and disappears in a straight line. When it gets to The Collector, the whole floor disappears. Waves crash against themselves below them. “You moved the ship! Do you realize how big this ship is?”

  Lexi smiles. “Mom, you will learn what it’s like having a super being as a daughter.”

  “That better not mean that you are going to be naughty,” Claire laughs, taking a readying stance.

  “Oh come on mom,” Lexi laughs. “What fun would being good be? Now, I’m going to close my eyes. I can’t witness this. I won’t remember until I’m older. Do your thing.”

  “Got it,” Claire replies, readying her sword.

  Looking at The Collector, Lexi asks, “Any last words?”

  “I can’t die,” she growls.

  “Wanna make a bet!” Claire yells. “Lexi now!” Lexi squeezes her eyes shut. With a jump, Claire leaps forward and runs at The Collector. She jumps over the hole and cuts down with her sword. When she lands, she spins around. The Collector’s head and body fall and fall and then disappears into the waves. Claire smiles but quickly looks at Lexi.

  She is staring down at Damien. “Daddy?”

  “Damien,” Claire cries. She runs over to him. “Oh my god. What do we do? I don’t know what to do.” She bends down and kisses his head. “You can’t die.” There is blood everywhere. Claire doesn’t even know where it’s coming from.

  “Mommy,” Lexi says. Claire looks up at her. “More powers.”

  “What?”

  Lexi holds up her fingers. “Two more powers. Help Daddy.”

  “What do you mean?” She whispers, looking back at Damien.

  “Collector make Lexi for two things,” she says. “Me together and me heal.” She bends down. “Mommy let go of Daddy.” Claire backs away. Lexi puts her hand on Damien’s head and his stomach. “Create energy. Daddy heal with energy.”

  “Oh my gosh. Like I do?” Claire gasps. Little Lexi nods. She closes her eyes. A blue glow forms between her hands and Damien.

  Slowly, he starts to stir. Finally, he opens his eyes. Damien looks around. “What? How?”

  “Your daughter saved you,” Claire cries. She tackles him on the floor. “I thought you were going to die. You were going to die.”

  “We both almost died in the last month,” he replies. “No more. Okay?” They kiss each other and lay there.

  “Lexi!” Lexi screams. She falls down on top of them. They open their arms and just hold each other.

  Damien asks, “Is our little family safe?”

  “She’s gone and will never return,” Claire says.

  Suddenly, there is a commotion. Guards flood into the doorway. They all have guns drawn. The head of the red squadron looks at them. “Where is she?”

  “She’s dead,” Claire says, standing up.

  “How she die Mommy?” Lexi asks, getting up with Damien.

  “She fell into the ocean,” Claire says. “Don’t worry about it. She’s not coming back.”

  “We have secured the ship,” the commander says.

  Claire walks over to the hole in the floor. “Can you fix this Lexi?”

  Lexi touches the floor and it becomes whole again. She turns around with her eyelids half closed. “Mommy…” she exhales. “Lexi tired. Lexi…” With that, she collapses down.

  “Lexi!” Damien screams.

  “She’s sleeping. She told me that she sleeps for days,” Claire says, picking Lexi off the ground. “We need to take her to the medical wing.”

  “I thought she couldn’t see her own future,” Damien replies.

  “Well, it wasn’t Lexi…now,” Claire says, turning to walk away. He follows her. “There’s a lot to explain. I got to talk to our daughter.”

  Damien shakes his head. “We were just talking to her.”

  “No, more like her 35-year-old self,” Claire states. “It’s a long explanation.”

  “Her what?” Damien gasps.

  “Let’s get her to bed and then we will talk. She has more powers.”

  “You’ve seen them all?”

  Claire stops and turns to him. “Yeah, except for the last one. She keeps saying together. I don’t get it. I still don’t understand why The Collector wanted to take her to Jiub.”

  “Does she know?” Damien asks, stroking his daughter’s head.

  “I have no idea,” Claire replies, looking down at her. “She knew this entire time that there was no time shift. I have no idea how she works. Maybe it was her older self this entire time. Maybe it is her now. I think it’s going to take a while to understand this little girl. All I know is that we are in a world of trouble if she misbehaves. She moved the ship.”

  His eyebrows rise. “She did what?”

  “We are over the ocean now,” Claire declares. Damien’s jaw drops. “Yup, pretty sure our daughter is the most powerful being in the universe.”

  “Oh goodie,” Damien laughs. Claire laughs with him. Lexi stays still, sleeping on her shoulder.

  Chapter 20

  Xander

  He knocks on the door. Trinity smiles at him as they wait. Suddenly, the door opens. Claire exhales and rolls her eyes. “Is it that bad?” Xander laughs.

  “Who knew a kid’s birthday party could be such a headache,” Claire groans. “Come in.” They enter the house. There are pink and purple balloons and streamers everywhere.

  “You guys went all out,” he says.

  “This would be Aunt Kayla,” Claire snorts. “She started at 6am.”

  “Where is Lexi?” Xander asks.

  Claire puts her hand on her hip. “Grandma and Grandpa Blakely have her. They shouldn’t be too far behind you. So, come in, come in. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

  They walk farther into the house. Everyone is crowded in the living room. One of the kids screams, “Xander!”

  He lifts him up and hugs him. “Hey you.”

  Damien comes walking in from the other doorway. “They are on the way here.”

  “Okay, we all yell surprise. Remember?” Claire calls out to everyone.

  “Surprise!” The kids yell.

  “Just like that,” Claire laughs.

  “Are you sure she doesn’t know about this?” Xander asks.

  Shrugging her shoulders, Claire says, “She says she doesn’t know her future. It’s been three years since she said anything about herself.”

  “That’s true.”

  “What a massive 5th birthday,” Trinity says. She looks at the three tiered princess cake. There is a long table piled high with presents. Other tables are set up all over the room with different project stations set up. Xander wonders how many hours went into this.

  “When she first made contact, this is one of the first things she talked about. She wanted a surprise birthday party. A big one. So, I figure this year is the year.”

  Trinity shakes her head. “I still can’t believe it’s been three years.”

  “I can’t believe that I’ve survived this long,” Claire snorts. “Having a super being as a child is hard work.”

  “She’s a good kid,” Xander laughs.

  “A good kid that blew up the microwave because the popcorn burned. A good kid that literally hid in the wall because she didn’t get her way. A good kid that makes her door disappear when she’s sent to her room, so she can’t go in there.”

  Xander and Trinity burst out laughing. “I guess she’s somewhat naughty.”

  “No, she’s such a good kid. She healed the neighbor’s dog when it got hit by a car. The neighbors never knew. She loves to help clean. She does her schoolwork even though she knows more than me. She’s a good kid. I wouldn’t give her up for anything.”

  “Wait until she’s a teenager,” Trinity says. “You’ll have your hands full then.”

  “Ugh, don’t remind me. Teenage girls.”

  “You’re only 22.”

  C
laire beams. “I know. I barely survived my teenage years. I am afraid of what’s to come with Lexi’s.”

  “You survived and are now a prestigious member of the guard,” Xander says.

  “Lexi says she wants to be in the guard like mom,” Claire sighs.

  “Why would that be a bad thing?”

  She shakes her head. “It’s not a bad thing, but like Damien would ever let that happen. That’s his little girl. I mean his little girl. He’s so overly protective of her. Even though she’s the scariest thing on this planet.”

  “She doesn’t shift,” Xander points out.

  “No, I worry about that,” Claire whispers.

  “Why?”

  Looking up at him, Claire says, “She’s the only one like her. I don’t want her to feel alone.”

  “There’s all the other kids,” Trinity says, looking at them.

  “They’re like siblings,” Claire replies. “I just worry. I’m a mom.”

  “It’s not going to be easy,” Trinity sighs. “Like us, she won’t be able to have kids.”

  Claire gives her a kind look. “I’m so sorry that there’s nothing they can do.”

  A sad look creeps across Trinity’s face but she smiles anyway. “There’s adoption. There’s always adoption.”

  “True,” Claire agrees, trying to stay positive.

  “They’re here!” Damien calls out.

  Everyone hustles into the living room and waits. Lexi, with her purple pigtails, comes skipping down the hall. Everyone suddenly screams, “SURPRISE!!”

  Lexi waves her arms in fright and half the balloons pop. She starts crying. “Oh honey,” Claire says, rushing over to her. “Hey. Calm down. It’s okay.”

  She gasps heavily. “You scared me.”

  “You said you wanted a surprise party,” Claire replies, hugging her close.

  “Yeah Mommy. I wanted to know about the surprise,” Lexi sniffles.

  “Then it’s not a true surprise is it?” Claire laughs. Lexi’s lip quivers and she sniffles. “I think it’s a good thing that you can’t always see the future,” she whispers. “What fun would that be?”

  Looking around at everyone, Lexi says, “Did I get presents?”

  “Yes, but let’s say hi to everyone first and check things out,” Claire says. “We have all sorts of things to do. We have a lot of different games.”

  Lexi is suddenly gone and across the room at one of the tables. “Painting!”

  Jackson comes from across the room. “Everyone’s going to paint their own puzzle.”

  “Thanks Uncle Jackson!” Lexi exclaims. “I love painting.”

  “I know. I’m going to teach you all sorts of things,” Jackson replies.

  Lexi hugs him hard and says, “You’re the best Uncle Jackson. I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Should we start?”

  All the kids yell, “Yeah!”

  They all crowd around the table and Jackson starts handing out the supplies.

  Trinity and Xander stand back and watch. Xander puts his arm around her and says, “I can’t believe we are here. Everyone has normal lives. Everyone has adapted for the most part. She’s gone. We’re safe now. We finally know what true happiness is. Look at the kids. They are so happy.”

  “I’m looking at the kids,” she whispers. “They do look happy.”

  Xander sighs and hugs her close. “We can adopt honey. I know you want children. Damien will help in that.”

  “It won’t be our own,” Trinity says. “We won’t have a bloodline. Who’s going to want to marry a kid from a non-existent bloodline.”

  “They will be Neturu,” Xander replies. “It will be alright

  “Yeah,” Trinity whispers. Xander catches Lexi watching them. He smiles and she smirks, but it’s not a usual smirk. Before he can say anything, the look disappears and she goes back to painting.

  Four hours later, Claire huffs, “I need a nap.”

  “Super shifter is worn out,” Xander laughs.

  “You have no idea,” Claire snorts.

  Lexi comes running up and hugs Trinity. “Thank you for my Barbie dolls.”

  “No problem,” she says, hugging her back.

  “I have a present for you,” Lexi states.

  “What’s that?” Trinity laughs.

  “The Collector,” Lexi declares.

  Everyone in the room gets quiet. “What do you mean?” Damien asks, coming up from behind them.

  “What makes me so special. The reason she wanted to take me to Jiub,” Lexi says. She grabs Xander’s hand and Trinity’s hand. “Together!”

  “Do you know what that finally means?” Claire asks.

  “I have always known, but it wasn’t the right time to say it, Mommy.” She looks up at Trinity. “Together!” Suddenly, their hands start to glow a bright white and it sweeps over their bodies.

  Trinity let’s out a gasp and looks down. Blue liquid pours down her leg. She looks up panicked. “What did you do?”

  “Baby!” Lexi yells.

  “That happens when Neturu become pregnant,” Claire says.

  They all look at Lexi, who has wide eyes. “I made Auntie Trinity pregnant.”

  “Oh my god…” Xander exhales. “You can combine the species. That’s what she wanted you for. She wanted to take you back and combine the species.”

  “Lexi use her powers to get to Kenga King. The Collector wanted to take over. She wanted to bring the two species together. That’s what I was built for. Kenga and Neturu could finally be together.”

  “Holy cow,” Claire stutters. “This whole time…you knew.”

  She looks up at her mom. “I know a lot. I just don’t say anything. Can I open my barbies?”

  “That’s it. Just, can I open my barbies?”

  Lexi nods. “Uh huh. Can I?”

  “Yeah…” her mom breathes out. Lexi disappears.

  Everyone looks at Trinity. “I think you should get checked out,” Damien says.

  “I’m sorry that she did that without your permission,” Claire adds on. “If that’s what she really did.”

  Trinity gags and covers her mouth. Her eyes get wide. “Yeah…” Damien draws out. “Neturu get morning sickness, too, but at three months when the hormones shift.”

  “What?” She gasps.

  “I’m so sorry,” Claire whines, going over by her.

  “No!” Trinity yells, pushing her away. “I’m pregnant!? With a baby!”

  “I hope a baby,” Xander says. “It might be hard to push a horse out.”

  She turns on him. “Shut up Xander.”

  “Let’s get you tested out,” Damien says. “He presses under his ear. Please, take them up.”

  “How far away is the ship?” Xander asks.

  “Oh, we can do it from great distances,” Damien answers. “Dr. Galliger is on the ship here, so he can check you out.”

  Trinity looks at Claire. “Can you come with?”

  “Let me ask Lexi,” Claire replies. She looks over at her and Lexi nods her head. Claire looks back them. “She says the party was awesome and now I have important stuff to do.”

  “Take up Xander, Trinity and Claire,” Damien says.

  A second later they are on a runner ship. Trinity’s hand flies to her mouth. “Oh god. That made me sick. I need a bathroom.”

  “I will take you to one. Come on,” Claire says.

  By the time they have gotten to the main ship, Trinity has been sick multiple times. Dr. Galliger meets them in the bathroom. “Are you alright?”

  “Oh god. I’m so nauseas,” Trinity gags.

  “Here, drink this,” Dr. Galliger says. Trinity takes it and does as he says. “There, that will help until we figure out what’s going on.” He grabs her arm and helps her up. “Let’s get you to the medical wing.”

  They slowly make their way over there. Trinity gets on a table and lays down. Dr. Galliger pulls a thin, rectangular box from the ceiling and positions it over Trinity. “What’s that?�
�� She asks.

  “A scanner,” Dr. Galliger answers. “We can now make them portable and have mini hand held scanners. This is just for in here.”

  “How cool,” Trinity whispers.

  “Okay, lay still and we will turn this on,” Dr. Galliger says. He pushes a button and then looks at the computer screen. They all stop and stare. “Oh my gosh. You are pregnant. You’re four months along.”

  Trinity looks at him. “What does that mean?”

  “You only have roughly three months to go.”

  Her face whitens. “I’m going to have a baby in three months.”

  “Yes,” Dr. Galliger replies.

  Claire quickly jumps in. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea she could do this. All these years she’s been saying together and I had no idea what that meant.” Trinity’s eyes start to tear up. “Oh my gosh,” Claire gasps.

  “No, I’m not mad. I’m overwhelmed. We’ve wanted this and for it to be true. It’s incredible,” Trinity sniffles. “I have to get ready for a baby in three months.”

  “We will get you whatever you need,” Claire says. “Whatever. The thing is though, I don’t know anything about babies. Lexi was potty trained when I got her. I’ve never changed a diaper in my life. I can’t help you there. But everywhere else, we will help.”

  Xander shakes his head. “We will be alright. We helped raise the kids before.”

  “I have to learn to change a diaper but I don’t think it will be that hard,” Trinity says.

  Dropping her hands, Claire says, “You know what this means.” Trinity shakes her head. “Kayla is going to want to throw you a baby shower.”

  Trinity goes, “No, that’s great.”

  “Okay, you’re letting Kayla do the baby shower. I don’t think you quite know what you are getting into, but I will let it be.”

  She looks up at Xander. “We’re going to be parents.”

  “We are,” Xander replies. He kisses her hand.

  “Do you want to know the sex of the baby?” Dr. Galliger asks.

  Her jaw drops. “Yes!”

  Dr. Galliger smiles. “It’s a little girl.”

  Trinity starts to cry. “I’ve always wanted a little girl.”

  “You’re going to have to think of a name now,” Claire says. “That will be fun. Damien and I have been talking about our future kid’s names and I want Olive. He made a face.”