She was most worried about Cristobal, however. He was still critically injured. If not for his shifter metabolism, he’d probably be dead. But whatever toxins were making the others sick would have a far stronger impact on his weakened physiology.
“Sir, how are you feeling?”
“Pain,” he said, meeting her gaze steadily, and somehow she understood he was talking about more than himself. He was telling her that it wasn’t some toxic smoke effect that was making the others so sick, it was pain. But what—
A huge cracking sound filled the air. Someone shouted a warning, and then one of the giant trees came crashing down, smashing through the forest, tearing off branches and shoving weaker growth ahead of it as it fell, burning.
“Fuck,” someone swore softly.
“We need to move. Now,” Aidan snapped.
The other shifters, even Fionn, responded with an alacrity that she associated with military discipline. But before she could think about that, she was receiving her own orders.
“Rachel,” Aidan growled. “Get over here.”
She spun back and saw him gesture at the head of the stretcher they’d rigged up for Cristobal. She could tell from the distribution of weight that she wouldn’t be carrying as much as the others, but she didn’t protest. They were all taller and stronger than she was. But she was no weakling, either. This wouldn’t be the first big man she’d helped evacuate under less than ideal conditions. She could carry her share of the weight.
Taking up the position Aidan indicated, she got a good grip on her section of stretcher and waited.
“Up,” Aidan ordered.
She lifted with the others and started forward. The fire was a steady heat at their backs, the smoke everywhere, already thick enough to fill her lungs and burn her eyes. She could only imagine what it was doing to the shifters with their mysteriously heightened susceptibility. But she didn’t waste breath asking how they were. There was nothing they could do about it, except get away as fast as possible, and they were already doing that.
She freed one hand to reach for her canteen, wanting to refresh the cloth someone had placed on Cristobal’s nose and mouth. Her muscles strained to support her share of the stretcher’s weight with one arm, until Aidan saw what she was doing and called one of the others back to take her place. Giving him a grateful smile, she stopped long enough to pour water over the cloth, then caught up, and placed it over Cristobal’s lower face again. Letting her canteen slip back to its position on the outside of her backpack, she tapped the other shifter’s arm and resumed her position carrying the stretcher.
“How long will the fire burn?” she asked. She’d seen other wildfires like this and knew they were nearly impossible to fight. Especially without air support, which Harp didn’t have.
“The Green has natural defenses,” Aidan told her, his voice gritty with strain, not from the weight, she knew, but from pain. “It will burn itself out eventually.”
They were nearing a river, and the path was becoming both overgrown and strewn with rocks. “Are we crossing the river?” she asked.
He grunted affirmatively.
“Will the river—?”
“Rachel,” he snapped, then bit back whatever he’d been about to say and softened his next words. “Are you getting tired?”
She flashed him a disbelieving look. “Hell no, I’m not—”
“Then questions later, woman. Now, move.” He shouted a single word that she didn’t understand, but the others immediately started running.
Vowing privately to pay him back for the woman thing, she kept pace, spurred on by the sound of flames that were now roaring like the very fires of hell behind them. She spared a moment’s thought for the men who’d been trapped in the invading ship, slowly suffocating to death. But it was no more than a moment. They’d written their own fates when they’d signed up to sell human beings.
…
“Rachel.”
She didn’t know how much later it was when she turned at Aidan’s call, barely aware that they’d stopped walking. She was exhausted, her hands sore, her clothes and everything else filthy with soot and soaked from a rain that had begun falling not long after they’d begun their escape. They’d stopped once to wet down throats parched from smoke and exhaustion. She’d taken the opportunity to check more thoroughly on Cristobal, to give him water and take a look at his wounds. He hadn’t had a chance to shift yet, and he’d lost a lot of blood, but even so, his wounds had already begun to heal. The researcher in her was intrigued by the potential for medical science, but the woman who’d saved a big cat’s life and lost her heart to a shifter saw only the twisted motives that would drive a man like Guy Wolfrum to sacrifice shifters on the altar of his own profit.
Apparently having decided they’d reached a safe distance from the fire, Aidan had called a halt in an area surrounded by trees, but with a relative flat center of short grass and moss. He took over her share of the makeshift litter, working with the others to set Cristobal beneath a big tree on the far side of the small clearing. Aidan stopped her when she would have gone to the Ardrigh’s side. “Watch,” he said quietly, as Fionn and another man cut away Cristobal’s clothes, with much grumbling from Cristobal himself.
She saw the telltale shimmer, and then it was no longer Cristobal lying there on the ground. It was a giant hunting cat, looking ready to pounce, with a mouth full of teeth and a predator’s golden eyes. He bared those teeth at her now in what she supposed passed for a smile, and then he lifted his head in a cry that was answered by every shifter, including Aidan, whose not-so-human vocal cords managed to produce a serrated yowl that chilled her bones. It didn’t matter that she knew him, that she’d had sex with him. Her earth-born hindbrain recognized the danger in that sound and sent shivers of fear trembling over her skin.
As if he understood, Aidan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back to his chest, and putting his mouth against her ear. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll protect you.”
She reacted to the laughter in his voice and shoved an elbow into his side. “I’ll protect myself, asshole,” she muttered. She couldn’t help smiling when he laughed again, but she sobered quickly when Cristobal seemed to collapse back to the ground. She started for him, but Aidan held her back once more.
“He needs to shift again,” he explained.
Rachel held her breath, almost hurting for Cristobal as he shifted back to his human form in a storm of golden sparks. There was no way that shift wasn’t painful. He knelt on hands and knees, breathing hard and deeply, like a man exhausted from running a race. The tube she’d inserted was long gone, his side completely healed where she’d cut it. He didn’t look at anyone, just knelt there, panting, head hanging low. Fionn crouched nearby, murmuring words too low for her to catch. But the look on his face said he was offering what comfort he could. The idea that a man could heal himself by shifting back and forth was beyond her experience, though it made some sense from a scientific standpoint. There had to be some cell regeneration involved in the shift process. An animal’s lungs weren’t exactly the same as a human’s, and neither were the muscles and bones. Although she’d be willing to bet that if she took tissue samples of a shifter in his human form, she’d find that they weren’t entirely human norm, either. It simply couldn’t work any other way. She didn’t know who’d done the genetic modification on the original shifters, but they were geniuses. It would be a tragedy if their records really had been destroyed.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Aidan murmured.
“No, you don’t.”
“You want a look at our medical records. Maybe even the original science logs.”
Rachel knew the surprise showed on her face, and so she was careful not to look at him. But she was struck again at his intellect, and that of the other shifters, too. It must have been part of the original DNA sampling for the modification process. They weren’t only strong and able to shift—they were also unusually smart.
�
�Forget about it,” Aidan said in a voice that held more than dismissal. He was warning her. “I told you. The records don’t exist.”
But the way he said it… They clearly did exist, just not for her. She was about to ask why, when Cristobal shifted back to his animal form again. He seemed inclined to stay that way, as Fionn stood and walked over.
“We haven’t met,” he said, somewhat surly, but with an abashed note.
“Rachel Fortier,” she said, offering her hand. He shook it briefly, and she felt the same calluses on his fingers and palm as she’d felt on Aidan’s.
“Fionn Martyn. You arrived with them?” he asked, jerking his head back the way they’d come.
“Not precisely. I was with the other ship. You know about that, right?”
He nodded impatiently.
“I didn’t know…” She drew a long breath, her mouth pinched unhappily. “I had no idea what Wolfrum planned to—”
“Wolfrum,” he repeated, suddenly dangerously intent. “He’s behind this?”
She felt Aidan move up behind her, close enough that she could feel the heat of his body.
“I think so,” she said. “He planned the mission. He hired me. I knew this was a closed planet, but he said he’d obtained permission from the Ardrigh”—she nodded in Cristobal’s direction—“to conduct research. He told me the plan was to study a race of big cats, not to capture, but just to observe. Nothing more. He never said anything about you being shapeshifters, much less human. And he sure as hell never mentioned that this mission was for the fleet research labs. I’d never have agreed to be part of it, which he obviously knew.” She unclenched her jaw and asked the question that had been haunting her. “Am I right? Does Wolfrum know about shifters?” She felt the air leave her lungs as she waited for the answer.
Fionn exchanged a look over her head with Aidan. “He wasn’t supposed to,” he growled. “But he’s lived here for two years. Hell, he married a Harp woman. It would be impossible to keep it from him.”
“But that’s…monstrous,” she whispered.
“No kidding,” Fionn snapped, then glanced at Aidan again. “Did you kill him?”
Rachel answered before Aidan could say anything. “He was never with the ship I came in on. We thought he was here, with the second ship, but now—”
“Two of the lads checked inside,” Aidan said. “All dead, but no Wolfrum.”
Fionn swore. “He was in the city when we left. No way he got here before us.”
“In the city?” Aidan repeated. “Fuck. He’s probably been hiding in there the whole time, was never out here at all. We need to let Rhodry know. He and—”
Aidan’s words suddenly cut off, and she looked up to see Aidan and Fionn sharing a secretive look. She remembered Santino suddenly clamming up at the mention of Amanda Sumner and gave Aidan a shrewd look. “I know about Amanda,” she said impatiently. “Everyone does. So, what’s going on?” she demanded.
Chapter Sixteen
Ciudad Vaquero, capital city of Harp, aka “the city”
Amanda was outside again. The twins seemed to rest better out among the trees, and they’d finally quieted down after a bad morning. Fire was still burning in the Green. Fires didn’t happen often on Harp, but when they did… Everything that affected the Green affected shifters, including her twins. She’d hoped their umbilical connection to her would blunt the worse of the pain. She could hear the trees’ song, but she wasn’t tied into the Green at the cellular level the way shifters were. Despite all of that, however, she could feel their stress and knew their little shifter minds were feeling the Green’s pain. There was nothing she could do about that, except give them every ounce of love and comfort she had.
The saving grace had been that the fires were far away, and that a rain storm finally had moved in to help douse the flames. Rhodry had told her the fire was connected to whatever the second ship was doing, and he’d gone over to the Guild to dispatch a team of shifters to reinforce Aidan’s group.
She heard the door open downstairs but didn’t move. She could tell it wasn’t Rhodry, and she wasn’t prepared to risk disturbing the twins for anyone else. She heard Cullen’s deep voice, and then…her mom, laughing. Amanda wiped her cheeks, wanting to erase any sign of tears. She pushed her awkward body out of the chair and turned toward the open doorway.
“Did you come to visit Cullen or your grandchildren?” she called.
Elise stepped onto the main level at that moment, her sharp gaze lingering over Amanda’s puffy eyes, before scanning the rest of her body. Her expressive face tightened briefly, then she smiled and said, “I’ve told you, sweetling. I’m much too young to be a grandmother. Now, how are my babies?”
“Your baby is swelled up like a balloon, thanks to my babies,” Amanda said, walking over to close the patio doors before sitting on the couch. “Where’s the Vice?”
Her mother was “dating” Vice-Admiral Randolph Leveque, a relationship made easier by the fact that they were both assigned to Admiral Nakata’s fleet. Leveque also happened to be the son of one of the wealthiest industrial families on Earth, which meant he could claim any assignment he wanted. And since what he wanted more than anything was Elise, he could make sure they stayed together.
On the other hand, Leveque wasn’t entirely fond of Amanda, since she was living proof that Elise had, at one time, chosen another man over him. But Amanda and the Vice had reached an accord of sorts, since they both loved Elise. As long as Leveque took good care of her mother, Amanda could get along with him just fine. Not that Elise needed taking care of, but Leveque did it anyway.
“Randy’s in orbit for now. We have the pinnace,” she said, referring to Leveque’s private ship, which was far more elegant than anything the fleet could provide. “He’s getting some work done, but he’ll be down to visit soon. Never worry.”
Amanda scoffed privately. As if she was worried about Randy visiting.
“And Rhodry?” her mom asked, leaning over to kiss her cheek as she sat next to her.
“He was called away this morning, but he’ll be back soon. Um, Mom…” Amanda bit her lip. The timing sucked, with the Wolfrum situation still going on, but she had to tell her mom about shifters. Rhodry had assured her that while the babies would be born in their human form, they’d start developing shifter traits while still in the womb. Hell, Amanda was already feeling tiny claws, even though he’d assured her they wouldn’t begin shifting fully until they were at least a month old. But how do you tell your mom that her grandchildren would be kittens? And not just any kittens, but little shapeshifters who could bounce between baby and kitten at will? And what about the Green, with its special connection to shifters and its singing trees? Her mom didn’t need to know all of Harp’s secrets. It wasn’t safe. Wolfrum’s horrendous scheme had proved that much. But she needed to know about shifters. Even Rhodry had agreed with that much.
“Amanda?” her mom asked now, leaning over and cupping her cheek in one soft hand. “Baby, you look so tired. Is something wrong? Are you and Rhodry having—”
“Of course not,” she said quickly. “We’re fine. He’s fine. Well…” She laughed. “He’s terrified, but otherwise fine.”
“Then, what is it? Come on, you’re scaring me. Just out with it.”
“Okay. First, and this is really important, you can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. Not even the Vice. Not anyone.”
Her mother frowned. “All right.”
“There’s something about Harp that you don’t know.”
“I’m sure there are many—”
“No, Mom, just listen. Harp’s…unusual.” She was making a mess of this. She needed to simply come out and say it. Her mom was a scientist. She’d understand. “All right, look. Everything on Harp is connected, like a single organism. I know, I know,” she said, raising a hand to stop her mom’s predictable protest. “I’m simplifying, but if you let me finish, you’ll understand.”
Elise’s lips tightened into a
flat line of disapproval, but she gestured for Amanda to continue.
“Life was incredibly harsh for the survivors of that original crash. It was as if the entire planet was against them, from the smallest plant to the biggest and deadliest predators and everything in between. The colonists were desperate, so they took a chance. They needed people who would be part of the Harp ecosystem, people the planet would recognize as its own, so it would stop fighting them at every turn. Which meant genetic modification, right? No big deal, but…and this is where it gets complicated.
“Every trace of data from the original experiments was destroyed—maybe intentionally—so there’s no record of exactly what their geneticists were thinking or what they did. I do know that it was a last-ditch effort. They were running out of everything. Even their genetic samples were in danger because they couldn’t generate the power necessary to store them properly. And, the equipment, well—”
“You’re telling me they succeeded,” her mom interrupted with forced patience. “That Rhodry is a product of this genetic modification, which means the twins are, too. And that’s fine, Amanda. It’s not exactly rare these days. So, what’s the problem?”
Amanda smiled at her mother. “It’s not a problem. It’s the most remarkable genetic modification I’ve ever seen. But first…”
She crossed over and opened the stairway door just as Rhodry loped into view. He grinned up at her as he climbed the steps, taking them three at a time. He normally would have come in over the balcony—shifting and leaping in from the trees—but he’d known her mom was there and taken the stairs instead. She grinned back him.
“Missed you,” he murmured as he came even with her.
She went up on tiptoe, her arms around his neck as she kissed him. “You, too.” His hand stroked her belly, and the babies bounced happily. “We all did,” she said dryly, lifting her head to smile at Cullen, who’d come up behind Rhodry. “What am I missing over at the Guild? Any news?”
Shifter Planet: The Return Page 26