Shift (The Pandorma Adventures Book 1)

by Mikaela Nicole

  I skid to a halt where the sandy beach meets grass. Ryan gets off. Lissa. He takes my hand and starts leading me into the water flanking the beach. It's fairly chilly and my shoes sink into the squishy sand. We wade deeper and deeper until it comes over my waist and the calm waves brush the edge of my mouth, the water is salty and stings the wound on my left hand and the few scratches I have.

  “Wait,” I say.

  Ryan is trying to lead me out further, but I plant my feet down hard. “I’m not going out any further.”

  “The farther out we are the safer we’ll be. They can’t swim.”

  “I don’t think we’ll really be safe anywhere and I don’t want to go any further.”

  “We have to, they’ll be able to reach us from here,” he insists.

  “How do you know it’s safe? What if megaladon is out there? In fact I’m positive he is.”

  “In a small inlet like this? We can practically see the other side. Come on, before they spot us.”

  “But I . . . I can’t.”

  “Why? There’s nothing to be afraid of.” He pulls again, but I stay rooted to the spot.

  “I’m still afraid.”

  “I told you—”

  “No,” I close my eyes for a moment; I hate admitting something so ridiculous. “I’m afraid of—of not being able to see what’s beneath me—of the things lurking in the water. Just give me a minute.”

  The water is crystal clear so far, but I can see it getting darker and that’s sending fear through me. My fear almost strictly revolves around my imagination—except for my encounter with the mermaid. I can just imagine things coming up beneath me and sucking me under, things I can’t see until it’s too late. Usually I can fight against the fear, beat it. But it’ll take a few minutes, depending on the level of fear.

  Ryan moves closer. He gently places his hands on my shoulders and looks me in the eye.

  “Fish are most likely the only things under there.”

  “What about the things that eat the fish?”

  Ryan’s eyes slide behind me before coming back to mine. “I’ve got your back, plus what are you afraid of? You could top anything swimming below.”

  “Not until it's too late,” I mutter.

  Ryan smiles and plants a kiss on my forehead then wraps me in a quick hug. He lets go, takes my hand and begins heading farther out. I force my paralyzed legs to follow.

  When the ground has long vanished from beneath our feet—I have to keep telling myself there’s nothing there—we start heading parallel to the land, back to the forest. The thunderous pound of footsteps behind us makes me turn around. A T. Rex catapults itself into the ocean. Giant waves rip my hand from Ryan’s and knock me under the water. I claw my way to the surface and gasp only to be pounded by another wave.

  Under again, I spew out water that had washed into my open mouth. Again I strike out for the surface. When my outreached fingers don’t break the surface, panic starts worming through my stomach.Otter. I look around. How did I get so far down? I swim up. Lissa. Before I can blink the water from my eyes a hand covers my mouth and a strong arm comes around my waist and pulls me sideways. I blink the water out of my eyes and look into Ryan’s worried face. He pulls his hand away and his eyes ask if I’m okay, but not a word escapes his lips. I nod. Ryan places a finger on his lips, shhh.

  I turn around and realize we are hidden behind a rock, waves lap angrily against the front of it. Ryan carefully glances around the edge then pulls back after a few minutes. He gestures forward with his hand and begins quietly swimming away. Before following, I peek around the rock.

  Both Rexes are shuffling through the water. The larger T. Rex speaks to the other one, it responds and then they move farther out. Still looking for us.

  Keeping my strokes low and quiet I follow in Ryan’s wake. When we are a good distance from the T. Rexes we move to shallower water and walk with our shoulders level—more like his shoulders and just under my jaw line for me—with the water.

  “That was close. Those things were on steroids or something.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  Ryan gives me a skeptical look. “Animals on steroids? Here?”

  “Basically the animals here are already on steroids, if you want to call it that. I wouldn’t put it past Xavier and Medusa to give them something extra anyway. But that’s nothing compared to trying to turn people into werewolves.”

  “What?”

  Oh. I completely forgot to tell him. “That’s why they had those people down there.”

  “How do you know?”

  “It's in Medusa’s journal, which is why it’s important we get it back. There could be lots of information in there that we need.”

  “What else was in it?”

  “I didn’t get to read much more.”

  As the forest comes closer we wade further in, then walk out when the edge of the forest brushes against the sand. My waterlogged shoes squish with every step. When we are under the cover of trees I stop. I pull off my dripping shoes then my socks and wring them out. I start forward without putting them back on. Ryan shakes his head, laughter glinting in his eyes.

  “What?”

  Ryan just shrugs and presses forward.

  It’s easy to get back to where we had camped. A trail of broken, damaged trees creates a clear-cut pathway. Finding the exact tree we had slept beneath was a little harder, but the greenness of the box gives its position away. One corner is trampled but the rest of the box is unharmed. Ryan slings the bow and quiver over his shoulder then picks up the box and takes off the lid. I tug on my still soaking socks and shoes.

  “What are you doing?” I ask.

  “We might as well look at what’s inside now. This thing tends to get left behind.”

  That makes sense, but I don’t want to stand around, vulnerable to another attack. “Can’t we look and walk at the same time?”

  “Always have to be on the move,” Ryan says with an exaggerated sigh as he stands. Ryan gives me a lopsided smile and says, “A kiss is always a good motivator to get moving.”

  “U-huh,” I say sarcastically, but don’t protest when he pulls me in for a short kiss.

  “We can save longer ones for home, or on clouds,” he says, grinning.

  “Since you’re obviously in a mushy mood, give me the box.” I take it out of his hands, pull off the lid and start walking. I hand him the journal and rifle through the papers.

  “It's not mushy,” he protests, “I am just showing my deep, inner feelings.”

  “I see,” I laugh. I frown and turn the paper I’m holding upside down, then sideways.

  “You know, you can be really irritating at times. Like when you give short answers. It makes it very hard to know what you’re thinking.”

  “Maybe I don’t want you to know what I’m thinking,” I tease, then say, “These words are written in some kind of—” I flip it on the other side. “I don’t know.”

  I place the paper in Ryan’s open hand and pull out a few more. They too are written with the same strange letters. I rifle through more, but none are written in English, and the few diagrams scribbled down make no sense to me. I let out a frustrated sigh and slap the lid back on. I give him the box and he hands me the journal. I open it to the page I had left off on.

  “I want to know what you’re thinking,” he says seriously.

  “We go through all the trouble of keeping this thing—” I’m cut off as Ryan makes a frustrated grumble then grabs my waist and starts tickling me.

  “Stop tickling!” I yell and break free.

  “You’re not paying attention and I’m trying to have a discussion with you.”

  I bite my bottom lip. “About?”

  “That’s it.” Ryan prepares to tickle me again, but I yell, “Hold on! I think I found something.”

  Ryan’s face instantly gets serious. “What?”

  “The page is bent.”

  Ryan traps me against his chest, but before he can
do anything I say, “You can be irritating too.”

  “How?”

  “Look,” I say, and hold the journal up for him to read. Ryan’s breath tickles my ear as he reads a few sentences.

  “That has no value at all,” he says.

  “But you read it.”

  Ryan pokes me in the ribs before letting go and we start walking again.

  “So from now on you’re going to give me more detailed answers right?”

  “Umm, sure.”

  Ryan hitches the box under his arm and takes my hand then says, “You’re just saying that.”

  “Giving detailed answers isn’t my thing.”

  He sighs. “Read the important stuff out loud,” he tells me after a pause.

  “Sure.” I flip the page and scan through a few paragraphs before finding one of interest.

  “Iru, the rabbit at the lab, has finally done something worthwhile. He created a kind of super potion. The animals drink it and it enhances speed, flexibility, etc. Cataloged side effects on page 34,” I say more to myself.

  “No wonder those Rexes had out-of-character abilities.”

  The rest of the page lists the ingredients and which creatures she wanted to give the drink to. Ryan and I cross a small stream, grab a refreshing drink then continue on. I silently read a few more pages on how they could become billionaires using Pandorma, how they were going to exploit every single inch of the planet. I wrinkle my nose in disgust.

  I read out loud: “It seems things on Pandorma aren’t entirely how I expected. The creatures oppose my using the natural resources for my own gain and they absolutely refuse to allow people to visit the planet. Many of the creatures fear the power Xavier and I possess but some of them are rising up against us.

  We are now at war. I expected a quick win, but unfortunately those lowly creatures are more skilled than they let on. As of now, they are banning together to force us to leave. Unfortunately those brainless beings don’t know who they're up against. I am being forced to take some extreme measures to stay on top—blasted these animals with a brain. I’ve had to threaten creatures with their life to get them to fight on my side.

  I’ve decided that we will use Earth animals and/or shifters (werewolves) as a shield so that my warriors will get hit less. Shifters and Earth animals aren’t easy to obtain and transport discreetly though, and my officers are repulsed by the idea of using other creatures as a shield. Perhaps I should explore giving my warriors some kind of armory.”

  I flip to the next page and continue. “I’ve bribed their commander, a tiger named Cobalt. In return for misleading her army she can have as much territory as she can control.”

  “So Cobalt is definitely working for Medusa,” Ryan says grimly.

  “Looks like. I don’t think Cuven is in on it though.”

  “Probably not but we can’t be too careful,” Ryan says. “So the animals fighting for Medusa are only fighting for her because they fear her and Xavier.”

  “Yes.”

  “She’s not promising them anything?”

  I start reading again. “Well, it looks like if they fight willingly they are given something they want and are placed near the back instead of at the frontline.”

  Ryan tugs on my hand and I realize he’s stopped walking. We’re at the edge of the forest and about to enter a field.

  “How about I read while you be lookout since you’ve got the better senses and stuff,” he says.

  “But I’m reading it,” I say, feigning protest. Ryan gives me the box and his bow and we start walking. I notice some herbivores far off but nothing else.

  “It looks like you threw a big wrench into Medusa’s plans when you showed up. Cobalt sent someone to tell Medusa about you.” Ryan sighs. “Darklily and Trevor were sent on a wild goose chase. Medusa has been keeping tabs on you the whole time.”

  “How?”

  “Just through reports by other animals. That’s why the wolves went back to the cave after I left—they realized who we were. Medusa wants you dead but doesn’t see you as a threat. Cobalt was instructed to have you trained so you wouldn’t get suspicious but you weren’t supposed to be trained well.” Ryan murmurs a few more sentences to himself. “There isn’t much else but she has marked down that they have a battle planned tomorrow. She’s hoping the bombs discourage anymore creatures from resisting her.”

  “We need to get to that battle,” I say determinedly.

  Ryan opens his mouth, but never gets to say anything, because he slumps to the ground.

  “Ryan!” I begin to bend over him, but something pierces my thigh. I fall to the ground and blackout.

  Chapter 24

  I moan quietly. My head throbs with pain and my joints feel like jelly. I try to get up, but I’m tenderly pushed back down.

  “Easy,” a voice whispers.

  My head is so foggy I can’t recognize who spoke. A hand brushes hair away from my face then begins caressing it. It has a lulling affect and I’m soon washed back into sleep.

  * * * *

  When I wake again the hand is gone and I’m colder. The dirt beneath me is glazed with millions of tiny pebbles that bore into my skin, and the earth is bitterly cold. The air has a mountain chill to it that gives me goose bumps and freezes my core so that I wonder if I’ll ever be entirely warm again. The pounding in my head has gone down to a pulsating pain that I can deal with. My body trembles with weakness and hunger, but I ignore it and wobbly stand up. Halfway standing, strong arms take my shoulders and hold me steady. It's dark so I can’t see the person next to me, but I know it’s Ryan.

  “Finally. I thought you’d sleep forever.”

  Instantly the fogginess clouding my brain leaves at the sound of her voice.

  “Dark?”

  “I hope you mean me and not the one surrounding us,” she half-heartedly jokes.

  Darklily comes and sits in front of me. I can clearly see her now that my eyes have adjusted. I fall to my knees and hug her tightly. Her fur is matted and sticky in places. I bring my fingers close to my nose. Blood.

  “Dark are you okay?”

  She brushes me off. “Of course. A few scrapes won’t kill me,” she says nonchalantly, but I can feel pain vibrating off her.

  There’s a snort. “More like a few gashes. She picked a fight with Cobalt when she came to tell us that they’d be bringing you guys in here soon and she didn’t want us to cause trouble.”

  I whirl around. Trevor is leaning against the wall of our confine. I walk over and give him a quick hug.

  “I’m so glad to see you guys again. Is Shiver here by any chance?” I ask hopefully.

  Ryan shakes his head.

  “Well that makes one of you. Ordinary Boy over there wasn’t exactly brimming with enthusiasm to see us.”

  “I was knocked out. Besides I could say the same for you,” Ryan says.

  “Oh shut up you two. At least you didn’t have to listen to their mindless bickering the whole time. And I thought the males of our breed were bad.” Dark gives me a sympathetic look. “I feel for you.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic,” I tease.

  “You aren’t exactly the greatest company yourself,” Trevor retorts at Dark.

  “I’m the best company you’ve had in years you immature hunk. Now that you’re here, Lissa, we can finally get out,” Dark says with vexation.

  “Not that we couldn’t before—” Trevor begins.

  Dark cuts him off with a hiss. “Seriously I could break the darn door down with the way these guys ruffle my fur every wrong way,” Dark growls.

  I laugh. “I think you’ve been trapped here for too long. I’m sorry you had to put up with them.”

  Dark sniffs. “So you should be. You’re the one who brought them.”

  Trevor comes closer to me. “You’ll never guess who was playing us,” he says sarcastically.

  “We were right all along about Cobalt and Cuven. They were never on our side,” Dark says.

  “No, Cuv
en was on our side,” I say quickly.

  Trevor’s brows furrow. “You positive?”

  I nod. “Ryan and I found this journal . . . which doesn’t seem to be with us anymore,” I say when I notice its missing. I note that Ryan’s weapons have been taken as well. I feel my pocket. The healing water is gone too. Darn. Hopefully Ryan won’t get badly hurt.

  Ryan clenches his jaw angrily. “They took everything when they tranquilized us like animals.”

  When it comes to me, that’s true. Almost.

  “I think they gave you a different kind of drug,” Dark says to me. “You’ve been out for a while but Ryan woke an hour after he was dumped here.”

  I sit down. My head is starting to feel dizzy. “How did you guys find out about Cobalt?”

  Trevor cuts in before Dark and says, “We came across a mangled bear.”

  “He was on his last leg,” Dark interrupts sadly.

  “I told him where we were headed—”

  “Against better judgment,” Dark scolds.

  “Would you let me finish? Anyways, when I told him where we were headed, he became furious and started ranting about Cobalt being a traitor and leading everyone to their death. We asked around a bit, picked up a few fragments and put them together. Cobalt is working with Xavier and she sent you there to get killed. We rushed back as soon as we realized it, but you were already gone. We told Cuven then got a—”

  “One-way ticket to jail,” Darklily finishes for Trevor in an angry voice. I hear her mutter idiot and I snort softly.

  “But why would Cuven do that? He’s on our side.” Ryan says, glancing at me.

  “He must have had a reason,” I say. I pull my knees to my chest and close my eyes.

  “The final battle starts in less than half an hour,” Dark warns, her voice sounding funny in the silence. “We need to get out of here and stop it before it gets started.”

  “I don’t think we can stop it. We need to fight,” Trevor says with conviction.

  I look at the four walls of our prison. “Where’s the door?”