Seeds of Autumn: A Dark Shapeshifter Urban Fantasy (Echoes of the Past Book 1)

by H B Lyne

  'I'll take you home,' he whispered.

  Rhys guided her carefully back to the car. They sat in silence on the drive back, Ariana rested her head against the cold glass of the window and kept her eyes closed to keep the dizziness and nausea at bay.

  When they arrived at her home, Ariana could hardly move her legs, they felt so dull and heavy. Without a word, Rhys lifted her from the car and carried her easily to the door. She fumbled for the keys in the pocket of her jeans. As she passed them to him her arm ached and she began to feel sick again. She clung tightly to him as he carried her inside and up the stairs to her flat. Her vision was blurred and she closed her eyes again, when she opened them he was lying her on her bed. He took her boots off her feet and sat down on the floor next to her, holding her hand. She tried to squeeze his hand, but wasn't sure whether she had managed it or not.

  Her eyes slowly closed. She saw the fox with amber eyes watching her, until a slick, black nothing slid over him and engulfed her too.

  14th November

  The fog was lifting, Ariana's mouth felt dry and her throat ached, her head was heavy and when she tried to lift her hand to her face that felt heavy too. Her eyes opened slowly. It was daylight, but only just, and her eyelids flickered closed against the light. A quick movement next to her gave her cause to try again to open her eyes, with a little more success.

  'You're awake.' The voice was barely above a whisper, mercifully.

  'Meh,' she managed to whimper and she rolled onto her side. Her eyes focused on Ben by her side and confusion set in.

  'Rhys called me this morning, I've been here for about an hour. He had to work.' Ben settled down on the bed next to her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 'How are you feeling?'

  'Like death,' she croaked.

  Ben held out a sports bottle and she shuffled nearer to take a sip. The water was cold and soothing. Gradually, Ariana felt able to sit up and Ben passed over her phone.

  'You got a message about ten minutes ago.'

  Ariana took the phone and opened her messages.

  Hi. How are you feeling? I hope Ben is taking care of you. I'm sorry I couldn't stay. Keep in touch and I hope to see you when you're feeling better xx

  Ariana put her phone aside, she would reply later, when she had some progress to report.

  'Why didn't you have to be at work?' she asked Ben.

  'I'm half there,' he smiled and pointed through her open bedroom door to his laptop on the table in the living room.

  Over the course of the day Ben helped her to eat and drink and even take a shower. As he helped her get undressed he saw the bandage on her arm and gave her an enquiring look.

  'Oh it's nothing,' she lied. 'I burned myself on a pan making chilli.' He seemed to believe her and when she gingerly unwrapped the bandage alone in the bathroom she found that the fang marks were almost healed, silvery scars remained and a little redness, but nothing too noticeable.

  The shower helped clear her head and by the evening she felt almost normal, but with that lingering fatigue of a bad flu.

  'You should head home. You've been great today, nursing me back to health, but I think I'll be okay,' she insisted.

  'Are you sure? It really is no problem for me to stay.'

  'Really. I can always call you if I change my mind,'

  He nodded sympathetically and took his time leaving, somewhat reluctantly.

  Ariana went to her window and watched him go. There was no sign of her guardian angel or the fox and she felt a deep longing for one or both of them. She couldn't explain the feeling, but she knew she needed them nearby, she wanted to talk to them, certain that they could explain to her why she kept falling ill and recovering again so frequently. She had no one that she could talk to about all of the strange things she had seen and experienced, even Ben wouldn't understand it if she told him that her stalker had turned out to be her body guard or that she had been saved from a pack of wild wolves by the odd couple of the wolf and fox. She hardly believed it herself.

  Ariana looked at her phone and thought carefully about how to reply to Rhys. She felt deeply embarrassed about being taken so ill on their date. She wished she could give him some concrete explanation, but as she had none herself there was nothing she could offer him.

  Hi. I'm feeling a bit better, thanks. Thank you for bringing me home and getting Ben to come over, I really appreciate it. Assuming I'm at full strength at the weekend, maybe we could try that date again then? Xx

  She hit the send button and tossed her phone down on the bedside table. She lay down and drifted quickly into a restless sleep.

  He came to her out of the shadows, he circled her, his amber eyes fixed on her, unblinking. She looked up at the black sky and could see clouds rushing overhead. As they parted the full moon shone brightly over her and illuminated the trees around her. The trees shifted into tall buildings and span around her in a confusing blur. They twisted and became crooked old things with broken windows and crumbling walls. The city turned to ruins all around her and then she was among the trees again. She looked up and the moon was changing rapidly before her eyes, waning from full to half, quickly shrinking to a crescent and then it disappeared. The new moon was black and she could no longer see the trees. Her body began to shake violently and when she held out her arms they were monstrous, with huge claws jutting out from thick fur. She screamed, but the noise that came out was a hideous howl.

  Ariana woke with a start, sweating and shaking. She looked at her hands, but they were fine; totally normal and human. Tears were streaking down her face and she couldn't stop trembling. She knew these were not just nightmares. They were connected to the strange animals, that nagging memory that she couldn't quite place and the mysterious bite on her arm. It was all too real and she finally acknowledged to herself that she was deeply afraid of what she was changing into.

  Chapter Five

  15th November

  It was with some fierce determination and sense of obligation that Ariana dragged herself from her bed and got ready for work. She felt awful; still full of this “new-moon-flu”, as she had decided to call it, still shaken by her nightmares and her head spinning with questions. A lifetime of martial arts training wasn't for nothing, however; she could be disciplined and diligent when she set her mind to it, and that afternoon she had classes to teach. She shoved the thoughts and feelings that were so unwelcome deep into the darkest recesses of her mind where they could not trouble her.

  She walked through St. Mark's in the rain, again. One of these days she would stop off at a shop and buy an umbrella. It was early in the afternoon and cars sloshed by, sending torrents of water across the pavement. Ariana trudged on, knowing that dry clothes and shoes were secured in her locker at work.

  She arrived and got changed, made idle chat with her colleagues when she saw them, greeted students as warmly as she could muster and warmed up her body for her first class of the day. Regular deep, cleansing breaths helped to keep unwanted thoughts and feelings at bay throughout the afternoon, but as the sun set outside and the windows of her studio grew black, the aching set in.

  Throughout her last class, Ariana felt her body growing more and more tired. She shouted instructions to her students and leaned against the wall to take the weight off her aching feet. Her eyes felt tired and she closed them briefly to rest them. Her head pounded. All of her senses seemed to be on overload, crowding her head up. She could smell the sweat of her students so strongly it almost made her retch. The studio lights were too bright and she cursed Ron out loud for not installing dimmer switches. The teenagers in her class were so loud and boisterous that she felt like her ears might begin to bleed.

  As her class drew to a close she hurriedly threw her kit into her bag and bolted out of the door ahead of some stragglers. She ran out into the street, hoping that the air would quieten the noise in her head. She breathed deeply and looked up into the sky. There was no rain, the downpour had stopped and she stared at the clouds overhead as
they drifted across the sky and parted. It was so black and Ariana knew without needing to look that it was a true new moon.

  As that thought took root something shifted in her gut and she thought she was going to be sick. She ran to the kerb and retched, but nothing came up. She felt her bones groan and muscles stretch. She stumbled backwards and slammed into the window of the old electronics shop as a strange sound rose in her throat, part growl and part howl, it was a sound so alien to her that she started running, trying to flee from herself.

  Her eyes darted around for her guardian, but he was nowhere to be found so she just kept running. She knew she needed to get to him, wherever he was. She didn't know how she would find him, just that she had to.

  Her heart pounded, she was terrified and her body felt so alien, it was as if she were no longer inside it, but rather watching from somewhere just above her head. Sometimes she was sprinting on all fours, at others she was leaping along in huge bounds, her hands grazing the pavement at the same time. When she looked down she saw wolf paws pounding the pavement one second and the huge claws of a lion the next. Her arms and hands were no longer her own, they were covered in thick fur. Her throat felt strange, the noises coming from it were wrong. She was aware of her tail, swishing behind her as she ran, and of the strength of her legs as they propelled her along at an alarming speed. She felt she could launch herself twenty feet into the air if she tried.

  The street around her kept changing too, flickering like an old TV with bad reception. It was normal one second, but another it was twisted and wrong, the cracks in the pavement became gaping maws to be traversed, which she found she could do easily with those powerful legs of hers. The buildings alongside her loomed overhead, bigger and darker and looking down on her as if they were alive. In the road to her right, a sleek, black shadow glided along beside her, turning out each street light as it passed, keeping her in darkness.

  Her head was filled with panic, she had no idea how far she'd travelled, fear and pain were ravaging her mind and body.

  Suddenly the street went black, all the lights went out, there were no cars, no people, nothing and she collapsed in a shop doorway, shivering. Her clothes were torn, hanging off her in shreds and she began to scream, her body convulsed and tears streaked down her face. She looked at her human hands, they were covered in scratches and scrapes.

  It's just another nightmare, she thought, just another nightmare. I'm going to wake up any second now. Any second now.

  Her vision began to clear and she saw them running towards her, her guardian and the fox. She could hardly see them in the blackness of the night, but she knew it was them. Her guardian dropped to his knees by her side and unzipped a large duffel bag, pulling out clothes and trying to cover her with them. She resisted at first, her mind a fog of uncertainty, she twisted and writhed and scratched out at him. He stayed utterly calm and silent, but persisted in his efforts to cover her and calm her body down. He caught hold of her wrists and pulled her into his strong embrace.

  Ariana sobbed against his chest and gave in to him, a feeling of warmth and safety gradually overtaking the terror. The fox sat silently beside them, his amber eyes connected to her own and as she stared into them she felt his thoughts inside her mind.

  We are family.

  She felt the heartbeat of her guardian against her ear and gradually his thoughts entered her mind too.

  Shhhh. I have you. You're going to be just fine.

  Further away she felt others. She could almost see their faces.

  My pack? She asked in thought. The fox glanced at the man, who pulled away from her in order to look at her.

  'Yes,' he said aloud. 'Our pack.'

  Ariana felt a wave of calm wash over her, followed by complete and utter exhaustion, and before she could say or do anything about it, she slipped into blackness.

  Chapter Six

  When Ariana woke she was in a bed in a dimly lit room. She felt the residue of sweat all over her body and her skin was covered in goosebumps, though she lay under a warm blanket and had been dressed in loose sweats. Her eyes adjusted to the low light emanating from a lamp in the corner. She could hear traffic and the occasional yells of passing people from the busy street outside. Ariana sat up slowly, her arms shook under her weight as she pushed herself up.

  There was a tall glass of water on the bedside table and she took it, and holding it with both hands she sipped slowly. Her eyes scanned the room, the walls were faded and peeling. As her eyes passed the dark corner next to the door her heart leapt into her throat and she let out a cry, sloshing water over herself at the sight of someone sitting silently in the shadows. He leaned forward, his arms resting on his knees, his face slowly entering the reach of the lamp light.

  Ariana drew her knees up to her chest and put the glass down slowly, not taking her eyes off him. She felt suddenly very confused as the memory of what had happened in the street came rushing back to her. Her breathing quickened and her eyes left her watcher to dart around the room. Her gaze went to the bare window, but all she could make out was that she was in an upstairs room, orange street lamps cast their eerie glow.

  'Be easy,' the dark figure finally spoke and Ariana's eyes snapped back to him. He was staring intently at her, his dark skin glistening in the odd light, the whites of his eyes standing out in stark contrast. 'You are perfectly safe here and you will soon understand everything that has happened to you.'

  Ariana was shivering slightly but she stopped at the sound of his voice. She had expected to hear a Indian tang to it, but there was none. She looked at him carefully and saw something familiar in his eyes, there was a spark there that she had seen before and as she stared into them she saw the amber eyes of the fox.

  'It's you. This is your human face.' A trace of confusion prickled at her senses as they worked hard to wrap themselves around this reality, but she had faced the worst of it already; her own change. As she remembered the panic, the disorientation, the random shifting of form, her heart began to pound furiously and her senses again started to feel too big for her body. She shook violently and felt her body start to change. 'No!' she screamed. 'Not now!'

  The man stood and moved swiftly to her side. He was whispering words she could barely register through the pounding in her ears and the overwhelming feeling of her senses being amplified. Something about the sound of his voice soothed her and she felt the panic begin to dissipate. Every now and then she recognised a sound he was making as he drew closer to her and gently stroked her clammy arms.

  'Quiet... safe... help you.' The familiar words penetrated her foggy mind.

  She fell into an uneasy sleep again, with this stranger at her side, stroking her hair and speaking those soothing words.

  She didn't sleep for long, however, and when she woke again it was still dark. She opened her eyes and looked towards the chair in the corner. He was sitting there watching her intently, a small smile on his lips. 'Are you ready now?' he asked softly, and she sat up slowly and nodded. She knew he had answers for the thousand questions she was ready to ask now that the shock was wearing off a little.

  'What's happening to me?' she asked, her throat felt hoarse and dry and she reached for the water by the bed. He watched silently as she sipped the water and took a deep breath before speaking.

  'You are changing. You have always felt different from those around you, your passions have always bubbled close to the surface and you've been in trouble for your short temper before.' Ariana blinked at him, surprised at his insight. 'Your body is now catching up to your feelings, you are...' He paused, considering her for a moment.

  'Please,' she whispered, 'please don't be afraid to tell me the truth.' He nodded slowly and moved forward in the chair.

  'In terms you will understand, Ariana, you are a shape shifter. As am I. You have always been one, but you have never shifted fully before tonight.'

  'I don't understand,' she said slowly, rubbing her temples. 'How can I be a shape shifter? How is this pos
sible?'

  'I know it's a lot to take in. Your entire perception of the world is changing. It will take time for you to accept it. Ariana, tell me, have you always felt connected to the moon? Have you ever dreamed of being an animal and woken up needing to check in a mirror to reassure you that it was just a dream?'

  Ariana remembered her recent nightmares and the occasional dream throughout her life that had had that effect. He was right. She nodded slowly as images flashed through her mind, memories of the monsters in her dreams.

  'It wasn't a dream, running through those twisted streets, the fox...' She faltered and looked into his eyes again. 'That was you.' He nodded and looked at the floor.

  'I am Shadow's Step. The one who was following you for the last few weeks is Fortune, he is the leader of our pack. This awakening of your abilities is not a sudden one, it builds gradually and over recent months you have been slowly changing, sometimes even crossing into our own realm, Hepethia. I found you there, tracked you and tasted your blood so that we could easily find you when you changed in this realm. I am sorry that it had to be that way.' He looked sad, his eyes fixed resolutely to the floor. She watched him closely, looking for any sign of deception. She could see none.

  'You were the snake too?' She spoke slowly, her mind racing to catch up to everything.

  'Yes, though not all of us can take multiple forms.' Shadow said, a small smile playing on his lips. 'We all have an animal form, which is determined by which moon we change under. You, like me, changed under the new moon, the fox's moon.' He smiled and she couldn't help smiling back.

  She was going to be able to change into a fox and run through the city at night. That thought ignited her enthusiasm.

  'Hepethia?' she asked, her curiosity was intense and hopped from one subject to another.

  He smiled and looked up.

  'We are not human, we can live like humans most of the time, but we are not of this realm. Our magic comes from another place, Hepethia. It's a sort of alternate reality. It's a place we can go to recharge our spirits, get away from the white noise of the human world and shift freely away from prying eyes. There is a veil that separates this realm from Hepethia, a sort of cloak that hides Hepethia from human eyes.'