Shiftless (The Neturu Chronicles Book 2)

by Sarah Carter

  Claire does.

  “Okay, you still have excess energy. Try to shift into something smaller.”

  With some concentration, Claire shifts to a tiger.

  “Wonderful,” Dr. Rollins murmurs, examining her tablet. “Your abilities are incredible.”

  “So, for bigger shifts, you need to extract more energy,” Dr. Galliger declares. “Very interesting. Kayla, are you ready? We want to start testing with you.”

  Kayla shrugs. “Sure, why not? Is it going to hurt?”

  “No,” Claire’s grandfather replies. “You’ll need to go to shima afterward, though, to regain your energy.”

  “All right,” Kayla says.

  “We need to put these electrodes on your temples, just to monitor your energy levels,” Mr. Paulson states. He walks over and places them on Kayla’s head. “Okay, you’re all set.”

  Claire steps up to Kayla. “You’ll probably have to push your energy into me. I don’t think my energy will have the same reaction as it does with guys.”

  “Okay,” Kayla says. She puts her hand on Claire’s shoulder. “Ready?” Claire nods. Kayla takes a deep breath, and then Claire feels her energy.

  “Steady now,” Dr. Galliger says.

  Claire closes her eyes and concentrates, slowly pulling Kayla’s energy.

  “Stop!” Dr. Rollins demands. “You’ve taken about 50 percent.”

  “I feel woozy,” Kayla declares, holding her head. Jackson grabs her and sits her down. He rubs her back.

  “You can go to shima to recharge,” Dr. Rollins suggests.

  “No, I want to see what she can turn into,” Kayla states, staring up at Claire.

  “Try to turn into something really difficult,” Dr. Galliger instructs.

  Closing her eyes, Claire concentrates. She doesn’t know what to pick. Exhaling, all she can think about is what Kayla would turn into. She focuses hard on that, thinking Kayla, Kayla, Kayla. She shifts. A little shocked, Claire opens her eyes. She wasn’t even thinking of anything specific. When she looks up, everyone is staring at her with their jaws down.

  “Oh…my…oh my...god,” Kayla stammers.

  “What?” Claire squeaks. Her hand quickly comes up to her mouth, because…that isn’t her voice. She thrusts her hands out and she realizes that they aren’t her hands either. “What’s going on?” she screams.

  Mr. Paulson touches something on his tablet and holds it up in front of her. All she sees is a mirrored surface. When Claire steps up to it, her heart stops. She isn’t looking back at herself. All she can see is Kayla.

  “You shifted into…someone else,” Damien gulps.

  “Holy…” Claire exhales before she falls over.

  Chapter 15

  “Claire…come on…wake up,” Damien whispers.

  She opens her eyes. Grabbing her head, Claire asks, “What happened?”

  “From what we can tell, you fainted from shock,” Dr. Galliger answers.

  “Come on,” Damien says as he grabs her hand. He pulls her up into a sitting position. “How do you feel?”

  “Fine,” she replies. “What was that?”

  “Amazingly enough, you shifted into Kayla,” Mr. Blakely explains. “We didn’t even know that was possible.”

  Claire looks up at him. “You didn’t know a succubus was real either.”

  “True,” Mr. Blakely agrees.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Damien asks. “No pain?”

  Shaking her head, Claire says, “No, there was no pain. It didn’t feel any different. I didn’t even know it until I heard my voice and then saw myself.”

  “Incredible,” Dr. Galliger murmurs.

  “Incredible?” Kayla quips. “Dude, that was awesome! I wonder if you can only shift into me.”

  “That’s something we need to figure out,” Dr. Rollins states seriously. “We need to make sure Claire is okay first.”

  “I feel fine,” Claire declares. She rolls over onto her knees and gets up. “Honestly, I don’t feel any different.”

  Damien stands up next to her. “How are her levels?”

  “At a normal point,” Dr. Rollins replies. “She used all of the energy Kayla gave her.”

  “Let’s try it with energy that isn’t Kayla’s,” Mr. Blakely suggests. “We need to see if this is because of morrae energy.”

  With a nod, Claire walks over to one of the guards. “I’m going to have to completely drain one of you.”

  They all look at each other.

  “There will be two weeks of paid vacation for whoever does it,” Mr. Blakely announces.

  Three guard members raise their hands.

  Claire walks up to one of them. “It’s probably better if you lie down, otherwise you’ll collapse.” The guard member nods and lies down. Claire kneels next to him. “Are you ready?” He nods. She quickly pushes her energy into him. There is a pulse of his energy, and she grabs hold of it.

  Claire keeps pulling until Dr. Galliger says, “Okay, stop!” Holding it in, Claire concentrates really hard. “Now, try to shift into someone else.”

  “Like who?”

  “Anyone,” Dr. Galliger replies.

  With a thought, Claire shifts. Everyone gasps.

  “Oh, baby, that’s creepy! Stop it!” Damien exclaims.

  She looks at her hands and grins.

  “That’s seriously messed up,” Jackson agrees.

  “Honey, there are two of you now,” Kayla giggles. “I thought we could only change into the same sex.”

  “It seems as though Claire doesn’t have any rules,” Mr. Blakely says. “This is so…outside of my understanding of what’s possible.”

  “For the love of God, shift back!” Damien yells. “Ugh, I have to kiss you!”

  Laughing, Claire shifts back to herself. “Sorry.”

  “Uh…gross.” Damien gags. “Never…ever…shift into a guy again.”

  “Son, you cannot make those demands,” his father retorts.

  “That’s my girlfriend, not my boyfriend, and especially not my cousin!” Everyone laughs and Damien glares. “It’s not funny.”

  “This is absolutely incredible,” Dr. Galliger states. “What we’ve known to be true for so long just doesn’t apply to Claire.”

  “So, really…I can change into anyone,” Claire declares. “That’s kind of weird.”

  “Neturu or human, too?” Jackson asks.

  Claire shrugs. “I can try.”

  Mr. Blakely waves at the guard members.

  Claire walks over to one of the volunteers. “You should lie down.” He nods and does exactly that. Claire bends over and extracts his energy. Then a few seconds later, she shifts.

  Damien cheers. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

  “I thought you’d be happy about this,” Claire groans, rolling her eyes.

  “Honey, you’re already a supermodel to me, but yes, it makes me feel a little better than you shifting into a dude,” Damien replies.

  “You could have a different girlfriend every day of the week,” Jackson comments. Kayla turns and smacks him upside the head. “I was joking!”

  “Now, we need to know if you still have all your skills in that form,” Dr. Galliger says, looking down at the tablet. “Stay in that form, because obviously she’s not bred to fight.”

  Waving his hand, Mr. Blakely calls Lucas forward. “See what she’s capable of.”

  “Take it a little easy?” Lucas asks looking at Claire.

  She nods. “Maybe for the first few seconds, just in case.”

  “Very well.”

  He jumps at her and kicks. Claire ducks out of the way, spinning around and kicking out at him. She nails him, but he grabs her leg and flips her. Claire goes down, but she quickly twists out of his grip and gets back on her feet.

  “Full-on?” Lucas asks.

  Claire nods, and he goes after her. They go back and forth for a while. Then Claire finally gets him down on the ground and strikes his chest lightly.

/>   “And you’re immobilized,” she declares.

  “Very good,” Mr. Blakely cheers. “This is excellent. Do you know how powerful you are? What you’re actually capable of? You’ll literally be the most powerful guard member we have. You can be and do whatever we need. This is astounding.”

  Claire shifts back to herself and grabs her stomach. “Okay, I’m really hungry.”

  “We just ate.” Kayla giggles.

  “She’s burned off a considerable amount of calories,” Dr. Rollins interjects. “Claire should probably eat something.”

  “Duly noted,” Mr. Blakely declares. “After shifting, she needs to eat.”

  “A massive amount of food,” Claire replies. “I’m so hungry.”

  Tilting his head, Damien says, “Come on baby, let’s get you to the kitchen.”

  Following behind them, Mr. Blakely murmurs, “This opens so many doors. You’re special ops potential. Your training must start right away.”

  “Whoa, Dad,” Damien starts. “Can we take this one step at a time? We’ve only known about this for a few days. Give her a little time.”

  “No, of course, I’m just in shock,” Mr. Blakely replies. “I never would have thought this was possible.”

  “Neither did I.” Claire laughs. “I thought I couldn’t do anything, when in actuality, I can do everything. Except I need someone else’s energy. I wonder how much energy I can absorb at one time.”

  “We’ll need to test that,” Mr. Blakely states. “Definitely need to test that.”

  Damien takes Claire to the kitchen, and she eats a sandwich, fruit, cottage cheese, another sandwich, cake, and some ice cream. Everyone stares at her.

  Kayla grimaces. “I would so puke all over the place.”

  Claire shrugs. “Let’s do more.”

  They spend the day testing Claire’s abilities. Her strength and skills stay the same, even while shifted. And she can shift into anyone. By the end of the day, seven guard members are unconscious.

  “Okay, I think that’s enough,” Mr. Blakely declares. “We aren’t going to have any protection, at this rate.”

  “I’m all the protection you need.” Claire teases.

  Mr. Blakely laughs. “That’s probably true. Why don’t you go rest for a while. We’ll eat dinner later.”

  “I’m actually tired.” Claire yawns. “I’m drained and a little sore.”

  “Come on,” Damien says, sticking out his hand. “I’ll rub your back.”

  “Sure you will.” Jackson chuckles.

  “Jackson!” Kayla yells.

  “What?” he counters.

  Rolling his eyes, Damien takes Claire’s hand and pulls her out the door. When they get back to their room, Claire stretches her arms up in the air. “I’m so worn out.”

  “Most of us would go to shima,” Damien says. “I think you just need a nap.”

  “Or a bath…a nap and a bath.” Claire sighs. “The nap will have to do.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “We have a shower, Damien.” Claire laughs. “Are you going to fill up a bucket for me?”

  A wicked grin passes over his face. “We have whirlpools.”

  “What? Where?” Claire exclaims.

  “There are a couple of them in rooms. Did you want to go sit in one?” Damien inquires, wiggling his eyebrows.

  Gleefully, Claire says, “I’ll change!”

  “I vote naked!” Damien yells.

  “Well, come watch then!” Claire retorts, stopping just inside the room.

  “Say what?” Damien exhales, looking at her through the doorway.

  “I said, come watch,” she reiterates.

  The look of shock and suspicion doesn’t leave Damien’s face. “You aren’t serious.”

  With a huge grin, Claire says, “No, I’m not serious.” She laughs and shuts the door.

  “That was neither funny nor fair!” Damien yells through the door.

  “It made me laugh!” Claire retorts back.

  She changes into her pink bikini and goes back out into the living room. Damien turns and looks at her. “Well, you’re pretty much naked in that, anyway.”

  “I’m covered.” Claire giggles.

  “If that’s what you call it,” Damien snorts back. He walks up and kisses her. “You’re mighty fine, my love.”

  “Go change. I want to lower myself into a hot tub.”

  “Well, you can watch me change. I don’t care if you see me,” Damien states.

  “Just put your trunks on,” Claire groans. “I don’t need to see you naked.”

  “Your loss.” Finally, he comes out changed. “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah,” Claire replies.

  Damien takes her hand and they walk out into the hallway.

  Claire looks around. “Where are these rooms?”

  “A few hallways down,” Damien answers. “Not very far.”

  When they get to the room, Claire looks inside. “That’s not a hot tub. It’s a pool.”

  “No, it’s a hot tub. You pick the temperature and what you want the jets to do,” Damien states. “Come on.”

  Claire follows him in. Damien presses a few buttons on the wall and the bubbles start to form.

  “Can I get in?” Claire asks.

  “Of course.”

  She walks over and goes down the steps. The water is perfectly hot. Claire moans. “Oh, I needed this.”

  Damien walks in behind her. He pulls her down to the ledge, sitting her in front of him. Claire sighs as he starts to rub her shoulders. Damien leans over and whispers, “My job is to take care of you now.”

  “Oh really?” she murmurs back.

  “Mmhmm.” He rubs along her spine and Claire leans forward. “Your skin is really soft.”

  Giggling, she replies, “Thanks.” He continues to massage her and Claire enjoys every second of it. “I’m so tired,” she finally exhales.

  “You did an enormous amount of stuff today,” Damien states. “Most of us would’ve passed out on the floor. What you are and can do is amazing.”

  A sheepish grin passes over Claire’s face. “This is all new and foreign to me. I had never really shifted before in my life, and now I’m shifting continuously. It’s different, that’s for sure. I’m just so sleepy.”

  “Do you want to go lie down?” Damien asks.

  “No, this feels good,” Claire says. “Don’t stop.”

  “I won’t,” Damien says. He starts to rub down her arms.

  “A girl could get used to this.” Claire snickers. “A hot guy, whom she adores, massaging her aches and pains away in a hot tub.”

  Damien laughs. “I’ll give you a massage whenever you need it.”

  “Oh, really?” Claire whispers.

  “Anyway, I’m returning the favor. I remember someone massaging my back last time it was sore.”

  “I just wanted to touch you.”

  “Interesting,” Damien replies. “I wish I had known that at that time. I would’ve let you touch me more than that.”

  Claire turns around. “Oh, really?”

  He smirks. “Most definitely. It was quite thrilling having your hands on me. Many impure thoughts were going through my head.”

  “Impure thoughts, huh?” Claire leans in closer to him. “What were these impure thoughts?”

  “How I wanted to feel how soft your lips were. My heart was nearly jumping out of my chest when we almost kissed.”

  “Then Alex had to come ruin it.” Claire sighs.

  Narrowing his eyes, Damien says, “Yeah, you almost kissed me and then went and actually kissed him in the hallway. I didn’t find that humorous.”’

  “We’ve already covered this,” Claire whines. “I didn’t think I had a chance with you. If I had known we’d get here, I would’ve slammed the door myself and jumped on you.”

  “Jumped on me?” Damien says. “Well, I’m right here in front of you. Jump away.”

  Claire grins and leans in. “You think I should,
huh?”

  “Oh, yes. Jump away,” Damien murmurs.

  Claire smiles and kisses him. He grabs her and pulls her up onto his lap. Claire wraps her arms around him. They sit there kissing each other. Her heart swells as each second passes.

  She pulls away from him. “I really care about you.”

  “I feel the same way,” Damien replies. “You have no idea.”

  Claire smiles. “I’m going to need a break before I start my training. It is the summer before I start college, after all.”

  “What would you like to do?” Damien asks.

  “Get some stuff together. See my friends. Go to the racetrack because I’m taking the Ducati out. Alex promised.”

  “Do you think that’s a good idea,” Damien says, furrowing his eyebrows. “You could seriously get hurt.”

  Giving him a look, Claire says, “I’m a great rider. You have no idea. I’ll be fine.”

  “I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Damien grumbles.

  Claire chuckles. She puts her hands on the sides of his face. “Nothing is going to happen to me. I promise.”

  “Well, my sister’s competition is next week. She’ll disown me if I miss it. Where do you live anyway?”

  With a snort, Claire says, “A suburb of Los Angeles.”

  “Really?” Damien replies. “That’s very close to San Diego. And to think I never knew about you.”

  “I didn’t get involved with Neturu. Alex, Felix, and my brother were it. Ben knows a lot of Neturu, but I avoided them like the plague. My parents literally forced me to go to the rendezvous.”

  “Aren’t you glad that they did?” Damien asks, with a huge grin.

  She looks up at the ceiling and sarcastically says, “I guess.”

  Damien picks her up and throws her into the water. She goes under and when she comes up, Damien yells with a smile, “I’m glad you were so happy about meeting me.”

  Claire laughs. “I was joking! I plan to get my mom the best birthday present ever!”

  “I plan to send her two dozen roses.”

  “Her favorite flowers are hydrangeas. Send her those.”

  “I’ll send them in the morning.”

  Swimming over to him, Claire grins, “Will you send me flowers?”

  “Do you like receiving flowers?” Damien inquires, with an even bigger grin.