Knight Shift

by Paulette Miller

  Penny’s face lit up and she replied, “I would love that!” She jumped to her feet and mentally prepared to inventory everything she was going to see.

  While Sam and Ice stepped to the side to talk, Penny was escorted around the house. She was surprised to find a large, commercial quality kitchen, dining area that could seat twenty, and a well-stocked library. When they entered an unusual octagonal room located off the living room, Penny asked Susi, “What is this room designed for? “

  “It’s my moon room.” Seeing Penny’s confusion, Susi went to the wall and pressed a button. Penny watched as long panels rolled up, unveiling walls and a ceiling of glass. Once the covers were removed, the room filled with the light of the moon.

  “It’s beautiful!” Penny exclaimed with awe. She closed her eyes and sighed, letting the moonbeams caress her skin.

  “I had the same reaction the first time I came in here.” Susi mirrored her guest’s moves and took a moment to enjoy the night.

  As the twins dragged Penny to the next stop on their tour, they passed by a dark stairway that led deeper into a lower level. Penny asked, “What’s down there?”

  Ben answered, “Ice’s apartment. He likes his privacy so we don’t go down there. It has a separate exit so that he can come and go as he pleases. Most of the time we don’t know if he’s here or not.”

  Penny leaned over the steps to see if she could see into the darkness. Given how pleasant those she met were, she didn’t understand why Ice kept himself so segregated. Although she wasn’t able to see what Ice called home, she hoped that someday she might get the opportunity.

  While Penny was being led around, Susi noticed Ice’s eyes following their visitor with curiosity. With Ice showing interest in anything, Susi decided that she needed to find a reason for Penny to come back and visit again. As they walked through the living room, Susi asked, “Penny, would you consider doing some painting work for me?”

  Shocked but pleased by the request, Penny replied, “Sure. What do you have in mind?”

  “Since Sam and I are creatures of the night, we can’t go out into the sun. I haven’t seen a direct sunrise since I went through the change. I would love for you to paint my bedroom as if I’m on a cliff looking out over a valley as the sun crests the horizon. I want to hire you officially—a paid job—and you would have complete control over its design.”

  Penny’s face beamed. “I would love to. When would you like me to start?”

  “Whenever your schedule allows.”

  “I threw an overnight bag in the car just in case I needed it. If you don’t mind me spending the night, I could start now. I could do some sketches and show you a few ideas. Then once we come up with the approved design, I could write out a bid for the work.”

  “Great. I’m in no rush so, if we move forward with this project, you can come over on your days off.”

  Penny asked, “Why don’t you take me to your bedroom so that I can see my canvas?”

  As the two started to walk toward the room, Susi caught Ice’s body tense and, for a brief second, she caught what looked like an expression of concern. Since she knew he wasn’t worried about her, she guessed that his uncharacteristic show of an emotion was directed toward Penny. Susi thought it was interesting that Ice would be concerned over a Human, especially since she was brought to their home to decide whether she was to live or die.

  Susi responded to Ice’s unspoken concern, “I fed just before Penny arrived so we’ll be fine.”

  With his face once again neutral to emotions, Ice gave her a nod to proceed.

  Shortly after the two disappeared into the master bedroom, they heard Penny’s screech of delight.

  Tadd laughed and said, “I think Penny met Susi’s walk-in in closet.”

  Taylor added, “I think we all know Susi’s verdict about Penny’s fate.”

  Ice replied coldly, “She lives…for now.” Although he was secretly pleased about the fact that he didn’t have to kill his night-time amusement, in his typical style, he left the room without saying a word.

  After Ice was gone, Tadd said to his twin, “I know Ice has never lied to us, but he’s behaving so oddly that I’m glad that Penny is staying here tonight. This way we can keep an eye on her until we know that Ice will keep his word.”

  Taylor nodded and said, “I agree, Bro.”

  Chapter 9 - Hidden

  A couple of hours later, Penny and Susi emerged from the bedroom, still talking excitedly about the plan. Susi was intrigued by this unusual Human and wanted to get to know her better so, once they rejoined the rest of the family, Susi announced, “I liked Penny’s idea and decided to go ahead and hire her. She’s now my interior decorator.” She turned to the twins. “She’s going to stay the night tonight. In the morning, you can take her into town and buy all the supplies she needs.”

  When it was finally time to call it a day, Penny crawling into a large four-poster bed in one of their guest rooms. Although she wanted to stay up all night and watch what the night life of a Changeling was like, they had been kind enough to let her into their home and she didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize her welcome. As she stared up at the rock ceiling, she marveled at a narrow tunnel that cut up through the mountain, allowing the glow from the moon to gently light the room.

  During the night, Penny woke at her normal time. She closed her eyes and felt for the familiar tingle but, when she felt noting but the cool cave-like air, she whispered. “I wish you were here, Casper, to see this amazing house and to meet these wonderful people. It’s like a dream come true and the only way this night could get any better is if you were here to share it with me.” Feeling silly talking to the empty air, she crawled out of bed. Within minutes of her walking around the room examining all of the stone, a Great Dane came bounding in.

  Penny turned and, with a welcoming smile, said, “Hi, Chad.”

  He trotted past her to the bathroom and returned moments later with a towel wrapped around his waist.

  Appreciating his modesty, Penny said, “Thanks. I don’t want you to think that I don’t find you attractive, but I’m not used to having naked men popping up around me.”

  “I understand. It wasn’t easy for me either at first but, unlike in the movies, clothes don’t shift with me. I’ve had to throw modesty over the cliff and learn to adjust. By the way, what are you doing up? Are you having trouble sleeping?”

  Not wanted to talk about her sleeping issues, she replied, “Just restless I guess. What are you doing up?”

  “Just making my nightly rounds.” In reality, the twins had asked him to stand guard in case Ice changed his mind about the family’s verdict. He shifted his ears and nose to a dog’s and asked, “Do you want to take me for a walk?”

  When a tail grew and started to wag, Penny couldn’t stop herself from letting out a loud laugh. “Nice trick! Thanks for the offer, but I promised Ice that I wouldn’t leave my room all night and I don’t want to do anything to upset him since he’s letting me live.”

  “He’s very protective of us. Without him we would all be dead or worse. But if he really wanted you to die, he wouldn’t hesitate to tell you that he’s going to do it. He may be a lot of not so nice things, but he never lies. “

  “I wish he would trust me.”

  “Give him time.”

  Penny changed the subject of Ice by saying, “We didn’t get to talk much earlier. Would you be willing to tell me how you and Ice met?”

  After only deliberating for a few seconds, he pointed to the bed and said, “Get yourself tucked in and I’ll tell you my story, although I have to warn you, it isn’t pretty.”

  Penny did as instructed and, once in position under the sheets, she patted the bed next to her and said, “Tell me only what you want to share.”

  Over the next couple of hours Penny listened intently as Chad told her about his first painful shifting, running away from home, and his life in a research lab before being rescued by Ice. By the time he was done, Pen
ny had a pile of used tissues next to her. To help her regroup, Chad shifted into her favorite dog and she hugged him so tightly around the neck he feared she might strangle him.

  *~*~*~*

  In the morning Penny rose from bed as a beam of sunlight streamed into the room from the opening in the ceiling. The twins, Ben, and Chad—this time as a Bulldog—were waiting for her when she came into the kitchen. After a quick bite to eat, she asked the twins to drive her into town to get her supplies so that she could have the whole day to work on her project. As the twins went to get the car, Penny stood in the sun and got her first glimpse of their home from the outside.

  The home was expertly tucked inside of the gaps between massive slices of stone that protruded from the cliff face. With large trees growing right up to the house, as well as in gaps located up the side of the cliff, she had a hard time telling it was even there.

  She said out loud, “I wonder if this home can be seen from above?”

  A voice from behind her said, “No, it can’t.” Ice approached and said, “A helicopter could hover over it and not know it’s there unless they knew exactly what to look for. I checked before I bought it.”

  Penny asked, “So you didn’t build it?”

  “No. I’m always on the lookout for secluded places that Changelings could safely call home. When this place popped up in a private auction, I bought it. It was actually built by a retired artist that wanted to hide from the world. It was put on the market after he died.” When she gave him a look, he replied, “No, I didn’t kill him. He was old and his health forced him to leave. I was told that he loved this place so much that he died within days of leaving.” Picking up a large broken branch laying on the ground, he added, “It’s in need of some work, but I can’t risk hiring anyone to come here.”

  “I would be willing to help. If you have original pictures of what this place looked like when you first bought it, I could use it to guide me to the design that the artist was striving for. I could pick up where he left off.” Seeing his disbelief, she quickly added, “Integrating nature with modern living is exactly what I want to do for a living so it would be great practice. I’m not afraid of a little hard work and everyone here could help me.” When Penny heard the twins coming, she said, “Just think about it.”

  He replied, “I will.”

  As the twins pulled in next to her, she looked at Ice and said, “Before I forget, I wanted to thank you for letting me live.”

  “Don’t make me regret my decision.”

  Penny replied, “You won’t; I promise.” After a brief pause, she asked, “Do you happen to have a long scrap of material on you?”

  “Why?”

  “So I can be blindfolded. Until I gain your trust, I want the location of this place to remain a secret.”

  Ice easily ripped off a strip from the bottom of his black t-shirt and, after blindfolding her, he took her hand in his and helped her into the car. She gave it a tight squeeze to enjoy his cool touch and to thank him for his assistance. He returned the squeeze, liking the feel of the heat as it seeped into his skin.

  Later that day everyone, including Ice, helped clear out Sam and Susi’s bedroom. Once all of the drawing and painting supplies were precisely laid out per Penny’s instructions, Penny took in a deep cleansing breath. Then, using her sketches as her guide, she drew the first line on the wall and began her first paid painting job.

  Chapter 10 - Hunter

  It was several hours before dawn and Penny was still busy working on Susi’s room. While painting cliffs on a mountain side, a deep male voice from behind her asked, “It’s late. Why don’t you go to bed?”

  Startled by the sound, she turned to see Ice leaning against the door jam. Trying to keep their exchange non-confrontational, she continued to work while replying, “I can’t sleep.”

  “Bad dreams?” he suggested.

  “No.” Not wanting to discuss her medical history, she looked at her watch and asked, “What are you doing up? Can’t sleep?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t need much sleep and these last few months I seemed to have gotten into the habit of roaming at night. The twins tell me that you have something roaming around your cabin. They say you think it’s haunted.”

  “Although no one believes me, I know it is.”

  “How do you know someone is there?”

  “I don’t hear or see anything. It’s odd. I swear I can actually can feel his presence.”

  This was his chance to research into how Penny sensed him so he asked, “Can you describe the feeling to me?”

  “It’s hard to describe. It’s a tingling sensation that tickles my skin. It reminds me of the feeling I get when my brother’s and I used to play hide and seek and I was the one hiding. I always knew when they were getting close. At times I swear I can feel my ghost pass right by me.”

  “Maybe he’s toying with you, waiting for the right time to strike.”

  Penny shrugged her shoulders and replied, “The twins think like you too, but I don’t think he’s dangerous. This may sound stupid but, next to the twins, he’s become one of my best friends. I look forward to our conversations each night.”

  “But he can’t talk back to you. How can you be friends and have a conversation?”

  “As the twins most likely have told you, I talk enough for both sides of any friendship. Even though it’s a one-sided conversation, it helps to know he’s there and listening to me. And I can talk as long as I want and he never complains.” Since Ice was relaxed and talking to her, she decided to try and learn a little more about him. “Tadd says that you disappear for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. Do you have friends or a home someplace else?”

  He let out a laugh that made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. “Friends? I’m not the friend type. I have other places to be; jobs to do.”

  Although she wasn’t sure she wanted to venture into this topic, her curiosity got the best of her and she asked, “What kind of jobs?”

  “The world is a rough place, especially for Changelings. I help keep it safe.”

  “I wish I could argue with you and say that Humans pose no threat, but I’ve seen how we’ve treated your kind. It makes me sick. I wish it wasn’t like that.” In an attempt to explain how she felt about his race, she added, “I want you to know that I don’t feel that way about Changelings. I wish our two races could live together in peace. There’s so much we can learn from each other. The skills some of you possess could be used for all if people would stop being ruled by their ignorance and fears.”

  “But some of us should be feared.”

  “There are Humans that should be feared as well. There’s some real ugliness out there.”

  He nodded, accepting her statement as fact.

  “I’ve seen what Tadd and Taylor can do, since they love to show off.” She chuckled at some memories.

  Ice took advantage of the momentary pause and replied, “Those two should be locked away. I try to keep us hidden and they do everything in their power to expose us.”

  Her face fell and she said, “Like becoming friends with me.” It was said as a statement, not as a question. Before he could respond, she added, “As I said before, I would never expose any of you. You’re the closest thing I have to family out here and I would never betray your trust.”

  “I know that you mean what you say, but letting anyone in could risk all of us.”

  “But our two worlds can never join if we don’t put aside the hate and fear and try to embrace our differences.” Seeing that this discussion could lead toward an argument, she decided to change the topic. She put down her paintbrush, looked at Ice and asked, in a serious tone, “I have a general idea of the skills the others have, but I know very little about you. What do you do to keep your Changeling world safe?”

  He gave her a devilish smile and said, “I do whatever it takes.” If she really wanted to get to know his world, she needed to understand the dangers out there—especially f
rom himself. He decided it was easier to show her than to explain in words. Without making a sound, he disappeared.

  Suddenly she felt a chill. Before she could turn around, she felt a cool breath on the back of her neck and knew Ice was standing right behind her. His low growl made her body tremble.

  He whispered, “You can think of me as a very gifted hunter.” When he spoke, his voice was different. It was much lower and guttural. The twins had explained that Ice shifted into a creature designed for battle. Given the change in his voice, she assumed that he must have shifted. She wanted to see his new form, but wasn’t going to move a muscle. She stood motionless, waiting for him to make the next move.

  Just then, an arm snaked around her waist while a hand, now with his fingers as claws, appeared at her throat. He pressed her body back against his and she went without a fight, her heart racing. She knew she should be afraid and she even thought about using her self-defense moves, but she knew that they would be useless. Instead she focused on remaining calm and not provoking the hunter. To show that she was completely submissive to him, she leaned further into his touch. His original plan was to scare her away and his actions weren’t having the desired effect on her, but his actions were affecting him. He thoroughly enjoyed feeling the inner fire that radiated heat off of her body, so he decided that if he couldn’t scare her, he wanted to play with her.

  With a claw under her chin, he guided her head to the side to expose the line of her neck. She moved easily into position for him, knowing that she was putting her life completely in his hands and, most likely, very sharp fangs.

  He leaned further in and brushed his lips up and down the line of her neck, breathing in her sweet scent. She closed her eyes and concentrated with all of her might to keep her breathing and pulse under control. When his mouth was next to her ear, he whispered in a low growling voice, “Do you surrender, Human?” His words, although intended to frighten, had a hint of playfulness in it.

  She spread her arms wide and whispered, “I appear to be at your mercy, Hunter. Do as you see fit.” His cool breath on her neck caused an unexpectedly pleasant shiver to roll through her body.