Rebirth (Rogues Shifter Series)

by Gayle Parness

  Chapter Thirty-three

  They were already there waiting for me; Sinc and Kyle arguing about his driving her car and Ethan waving at me. I was really glad to see them and hoped that we could get through today without any serious temper tantrums, hurt feelings or injuries. I thought about what Liam had said, but shrugged it off. Today I was with the team, and that made it a good day.

  We parked on a side road out of sight of the highway and walked deeply into the forest following a narrow trail. Kyle and I took the lead, Kyle carrying his duffel and me with my backpack slung over my shoulder. Bringing up the rear were Sinc and Ethan holding hands and whispering. For fun I pulled on the lines and reached out toward the couple just to see their auras. Ethan’s was a vibrant turquoise and Sinc’s was a clear red, slightly brighter than Kyle’s. Maybe that’s why she and Kyle fought a lot, they were so similar.

  We came to a clearing and Kyle dropped his duffle with a loud thump, making me realize that it must have been heavy and reminding me that Kyle was very strong, despite his smaller frame. I sat on a stump and took a swig from my water bottle, then passed it around to everyone else, along with the four apples. Ethan walked over to help Kyle set up his little experiment and Sinc strolled over to me and whispered. “So, how are things with you and Garrett? Has he bitten you yet? It’s supposed to be erotic.”

  “Garrett and I are doing fine.” I ignored her other questions. “How are things going with Ethan?”

  She pouted and looked in his direction. “I'm trying to get him to move in with me. He’s very sweet and he makes me laugh.” She sighed dramatically. “I’m kind of falling for him.”

  I laughed softly. “I’m pretty sure he’s falling for you too.”

  Kyle’s voice broke into our conversation. “We're ready so come over, we’ve set up the experiment.” He’d assembled an elaborate crossbow with a power pack attached.

  He looked at me. “I’m turning this sucker on and you need to tell me if you can mentally connect to the mechanism.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “I’m trying to create weapons that can be controlled through one person’s unique connection with the ley lines. Once it’s synchronized to your energy, you would be the only one who could fire this baby and you’ll be able to make the shaft go where you say it should go, even if it’s pointed straight up in the air when it’s fired. Eventually I’m hoping that I can develop a weapon that all shifters can use, even if their connection to the magic only happens when we change forms. Some of us may be able to learn to use that part of our brains at other times too. Of course, it won’t be a cross bow, this was just the simplest weapon for us to program.”

  My throat felt dry. I swallowed, feeling just a little nervous. “Ok, tell me what I need to do.”

  “Since I can’t use the energy, I’ve had to research how it works. I did get a better feel for it when you touched me last night, so I’m pretty sure this is gonna be awesome. Open up to the lines and then give me a signal when you’re ready.”

  I tapped in to build my wall, and then waved at Kyle. He flicked a switch and immediately I felt an oddly familiar pulsing vibration pushing out from the computerized pack. It wasn’t the same as the lines or someone's aura, but it was similar. I looked around and no one else seemed to be feeling anything at all. I tentatively reached out with my mind, felt a sharp jab and heard a computer come online. Kyle, Sinc and Ethan started jumping around, whooping and hollering.

  “Don’t do anything yet. I’m going to load it and then hand it to you. Ethan, you and Sinc go behind those trees to the right. Jackie when I give you the go, aim at the fir tree straight ahead. Try to make it hit where the bottom branch connects to the trunk. I think you’ll need to give it a strong mental push to fire it. You don’t need to actually push a button; your mind should do it all.”

  At first I couldn’t figure out how to get it to release the bolt. Eventually I could get it to fire, but it didn’t go where I wanted it to. After about seven or eight tries, and several lost bolts, I was getting tired, but I also knew that I was close. I started visualizing the target instead of the bolt and amazingly that was all that was needed. The bolt flew home time and time again. Kyle and Ethan were dancing around and Sinc was laughing at them. I lowered the crossbow and sat down on the stump, exhausted beyond words from using the lines for almost an hour. I pulled out my granola bars, threw one to each of them and ate to get some of my energy back.

  Although it was only around 3:00 PM, I noticed it was getting much darker. Grey clouds moved through the sky and a strong breeze picked up, making the leaves rustle on the surrounding trees. A potentially heavy storm was coming in, so Kyle and Ethan packed up quickly and we started back down the trail. I stumbled a few times, feeling dizzy, so Kyle tossed the duffel to Ethan and picked me up and threw me onto his back. I started to protest, but he said, “Relax, you worked hard. I forgot how draining the mental crap is. Just hold on.”

  Carrying me didn’t seem to strain him at all so I closed my eyes and rested my head against his shoulder. His lemony scent was pleasant and he moved with the same shifter powered grace that I’d come to expect. There was a dim flash of lightning followed by distant thunder. We picked up the pace.

  I smelled something and dug my nails into Kyle’s shoulders, my body growing tense. He’d felt my reaction so he put me down gently, his eyes instantly on the woods around us. ”Something’s watching us,” I whispered. The familiar smell wasn’t human or shifter so I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and Garrett answered on the first ring. “Vampires,” I whispered into the phone.

  “I’m coming, stay open to me.” He answered.

  Ethan and Sinc had run up beside us as Kyle pulled weapons out of the duffle in a blur of movement: long silver knives for Ethan and Sinc and a silver Katana for himself. To me he said. “Change and run.”

  “Give me the freakin’ crossbow.” I insisted.

  “We don’t have time to set it up.” He growled back.

  “Then give me a knife.” I stared stubbornly at him refusing to budge so he grimaced and handed me a long silver knife with an ivory hilt. It felt comfortable in my hand, but I had no experience using it. I remembered to reinforce my mental shield and crouched down and waited with the others.

  Appearing on the path ahead stood a beautiful young woman, around my age. She had lovely Asian features, dark eyes and thick straight black hair which blew around in the wind from the approaching storm. Her skin was as pale as porcelain and looked just as brittle and cold. She wore a long purple tunic with a plunging neckline which clung closely to her body along with skin tight black pants.

  Kyle stepped away from us and started down the path toward her. “Lily?” he called in a pleading tone. His sword hung uselessly by his side.

  “Sweet Kyle, you and your friends look particularly delicious this evening.” Kyle stopped where he was. Her fangs protruding when she spoke and her scent, which carried on the breeze, smelled rotten with old blood.

  “I smell two new recruits.“ She jabbed at me mentally but my wall was too strong for her to penetrate. The sound of dropping weapons caused me to glance to my left toward Ethan and Sinc who stood unusually still. Fear raced through me when I realized I was the only one not affected by her powerful glamour.

  She moved closer to Kyle, using speed faster than I could track. Without thought, I rushed to stand in front of him because he was completely helpless, unable to defend himself. I clutched the knife a little harder holding it up in front of me, realizing too late that I was just as helpless.

  “Hmmm, so what are you?" She took a sniff and smiled. "Another cheetah? Eleanor will be so pleased.” She swayed down the path the last few yards as graceful and deadly as a snake. She took her time, convinced that I couldn’t outrun her, and I was pretty sure, now that I'd seen her speed, that she was right. She could probably smell my terror. Her eyes filled with silver as she fed from my fear.

  She was next to me now and I was so scared I thought I might
throw up. Her delicate hand slowly reached out to touch my pony tail, pulling it toward the front, playing with my long locks the way a cat might play with its prey before taking the first bite. I tried to take a step back, pointing my knife at her in a weak gesture of defiance, but she yanked hard on my hair and I stupidly dropped the knife.

  I whimpered from the pain as she twisted my hair around her hand. Lily whispered in a tone that sent shivers through my entire body. “You smell so delicious, pretty girl. Eleanor will want to eat you up. She’ll share you with me when she’s done. We’ll have such fun together, pretty girl. Tell me your name.” She’d put all of her powerful Influence into that command and it almost broke through my defenses, but not quite. She hissed in frustration and dropped my hair when I didn’t answer.

  “Give her a push with your mind. Aim it at her chest.” Garrett was here somewhere, but I didn’t let my relief show on my face, not wanting to give anything away.

  Even though I was exhausted, adrenalin pumped through my system. Our survival might depend my ability to keep her away. I pulled in some extra energy from the lines, formed it into a brick and slammed it at her chest. She stumbled backwards, looking shocked, which gave Garrett all the time he needed to grab her from behind and hold her immobile. The action had cost me and I swayed and stumbled backwards into Kyle who grabbed my arm at the elbow to steady me and keep me from falling down. I was relieved to see that my friends had come out of Lily’s spell as soon as Garrett had grabbed her. They scrambled to pick up their weapons.

  “Lily, Lily. Why are you here causing trouble?” Garrett whispered into her ear as she hissed and struggled. “I’m sure that Eleanor has not approved this little side trip. You may not hunt in shifter territory, surely you know my rules.” To me he sent, “She’s probably not alone, stay alert.” I nodded and scanned the trees, giving Ethan a sign which he relayed to the others.

  “These tasty children are outside of their territory, Garrett dear. They crossed over the highway as you well know. Maya’s pitiful bubble of protection doesn’t extend this far.” She'd spoken teasingly but her tone turned harsh. “You’re slacking off, Garrett. Has your juicy little cheetah distracted you?” She fixed her eyes on me. “I bet she’s yummy. I can smell you all over her.”

  He twisted her arms in an unnatural way and she snarled at him. “Let me go Garrett, I’ll be good. I wasn’t really going to hurt them. I was going to bring them back to the villa to play.” All the while she continued to stare at me, silver streaks swirling in her black eyes. She licked her lips and I shivered.

  “You-will-not-touch-them.” His voice held a deep resonance, using his Influence to control her. He let go of her roughly and she stood pouting and angry, but didn’t make another move toward any of us. Garrett was high up in the nest’s hierarchy so had some power over his younger nest mates. He leaned over to whisper in her ear. ”If you touch them I'll take great pleasure in ripping out your throat, Lily. Not even one little finger.” He held up her hand and started to bend her fingers back.

  “Fine, I’ll stay away from them for now. You should know, Eleanor sent me here. She’s heard about your new toy and wants to play too. You have one week to share with us. If you don’t show up with the new cheetah, then Eleanor will come after her personally and you’ll end up locked in a box for ten years, after you’ve watched her die, slowly.” Lily looked at me hungrily then ran her hand down Garrett’s chest and laughed. “He’s delicious isn’t he?” She dropped her hand and took a step toward me.

  Garrett shoved her so hard that she flew across the path and into a large fir tree. In a silent blur he took a protective stance in front of us, his darkened eyes flashing silver and his mouth curled up in a wicked snarl. “Leave now, Lily, or it will be only your head crashing into the next tree.”

  Lily hissed at Garrett and then turned to smile at me. “Sweet cheetah, enjoy your week. Goodbye, Kyle. Antoine, we’re leaving.” A male vampire appeared at her side just as the rain began to fall. He was around 5’11” with a bald head and lots of tattoos up and down his arms and around his neck. He turned back to me and smiled wickedly, his sharp fangs glistening and his mouth and clothing covered in fresh blood. I flashed on him feeding from a helpless human, and took a step back. If these two were typical of the vampire race, I could live a long and happy life never coming into contact with another one: Garrett being the exception of course.

  When they’d left, Garrett turned to us, his eyes still smoldering with anger. His voice was strained when he spoke. “You’ll drive back to my house immediately and we’ll discuss the stupidity of today’s adventure.” We stared down at the ground, ashamed that we’d been so careless and left ourselves vulnerable. The rain and wind had picked up speed, making us shiver and rub our arms, trying to warm up our limbs.

  Ethan spoke up.”It’s my fault, Garrett. I should have looked at the maps. We should have stayed in our territory.” He pushed his dripping hair out of his face and pulled his collar up in a feeble attempt to protect his neck from the rain.

  Garrett turned his glare toward Ethan and spoke, his voice icy, “You should have done a lot of things differently. Everyone of you acted irresponsibly. The fact is that this could have happened even if you’d been in our territory. Vampires don’t always pay attention to boundaries set by shifters or even other vampires.” He looked directly at each one of us and we looked away. He was right, we were idiots who could all be dead or worse right now. “I’m going to make sure they've gone. I'll see you at my house in forty-five minutes.” He was gone when we looked up.

  They stared at me, probably wondering why Garrett hadn’t taken me with him. He knew I was exhausted and that the trek back to the car would be rough in the cold rain. I sighed, put on my hooded sweatshirt and started walking. Payback’s a bitch. Halfway there, Ethan picked me up and threw me on his back the way Kyle had. I’m not sure I would have made it on my own. By the time we crawled into the car, we were soaked and cold and miserable.

  When we got to the house, the door was unlocked and a fire was blazing in the fireplace. Pizza and hot coffee was laid out along with a stack of towels. We dried off as best we could and then dug in, grateful for the food and the fact that Garrett wasn’t there glaring at us while we ate. Despite the warmth of the flames, the mood was somber and tense. We knew that he was pissed and none of us were looking forward to facing him, especially me.

  He entered the room after we’d mostly finished eating and sat in an arm chair facing us. He looked from Ethan to Kyle to Sinc to me and said, “Who’d like to begin?”

  Ethan and Kyle took turns explaining their idea of testing out Kyle and Sinc’s great new invention and that I was able to make the weapon work using my mental abilities after only a few tries. They were getting very excited as they rattled on about how accurate my shots had been and what this could mean in the future when Garrett raised his hand to stop them.

  He turned to Sinc. “And why were you there?” he asked.

  “I did a lot of the programming. I wanted to be there to see if it would work.” She was nervous around Garrett, probably more in tune than the guys were with what might be coming.

  He turned to me. “And so they called you, and you just agreed to go? You didn’t think that maybe Rob should know where you were?” Our emotional connection was in full swing, his disappointment, anger and concern making me squirm. “I know that Liam tried to discourage you.” Another well deserved jab.

  I nodded and sighed, remembering my reaction when Liam had objected to my leaving. “Liam told me that it was dangerous. When I told him I’d be safe with the team, he said I was being arrogant and should tell Rob. I was sure nothing could happen if we were all together.” I watched the anger glow in his eyes and felt ashamed that I’d played a part in putting us all in danger, including him.

  Garrett wasn’t yelling; that would have been easier to take. Instead his voice was calm with an intensity that made the hair stand up on my arms. “You foolishly disobeyed
my orders and put yourselves in danger. You've been told previously that these two vampires have been seen in the area causing trouble." He looked at me, and his gaze made my mouth dry. "Lily likes to drain her victims slowly as they scream and struggle. She particularly likes to torture shifters because your life force is so strong. You usually take a long time to die. Your deaths would not have been easy."

  He looked back at the others, and I let out the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. "I know how Eleanor trains her nest. Lily would have drained Ethan on the spot and given Sinc to Antoine, since he likes to rape his victims as he feeds. " He looked at me and Kyle. "You two would have been forced to watch them die. Then they would have taken you to Eleanor. There you would have wished you could have died like the other two."

  We sat in silence, our faces pale, while he watched us. Kyle made a move to protest how Garrett had described Lily, but when those silver streaked eyes met his, he thought better of it. Ethan and Sinc were holding hands in support while I thought seriously about crawling under the rug and hiding there for about a month.

  Garrett continued. “You’re being trained as a team that will one day be able to take on vampires like Lily and Antoine. You would have put up a fight today, one of you might even have escaped, but over time, that would have been a worse fate.”

  “Rob and I see great potential in all four of you. Don’t do anything else to make us think we might have been mistaken.” No one spoke. Really, what could we say? We all felt that we’d let Rob and Garrett and each other down. “Go home and rest. I’ll see you here tomorrow night at 8:00. Bring the crossbow.”