by A. R. Cooper
My mom? “She was a shifter too? A fox?” Maybe that’s why her hair was always a vibrant silky rust color. Not orange, but… like a red fox.
“Yes. Both her spirit totem and shifter animal were foxes. I should’ve guessed yours would be a fox too with your hair color.” He folded his hands and leaned forward on the table, a smile spreading across his mouth. “That’s why she thought she could keep you safe. She was too cunning to get caught… but now…”
My knees wobbled, and I skidded down the cabinet between the bed and the sink onto the floor. Mom might still be alive.
She was a shifter too? The numerous phone calls and text messages, was that her?
My family… my life was so screwed up. Bile rose in the back of my throat. I had forced all my rage and bitterness onto my absentee father when my mother and he had both lied to me.
“I-I don’t believe you,” I whispered. Maybe he was the one lying and trying to taint her memory. Giving me a reason to have them on equal ground.
“No?” His light eyes held frustration. He rose from the table, then rummaged around in a box under the bed. “Then explain these.” He dumped out the box and dozens of letters, pictures, and small diaries tumbled across the bed. “They are your mothers. She sent them over the years. And if you care to read them, you’ll see that I answered her back, before you accuse me of something I didn’t do again.”
His booted feet echoed as they marched the few feet to the door, then left.
I stared at the pile on the bed. My mother was a shifter… a fox?
Amar paced the small cabin between the door and the bed, his brow furrowed.
Jacqui looked up at him. “What’s up, birdboy?”
“Will you stop calling him that?” I pushed her shoulder.
She held up her hands. “Sorry, habit. So your mom’s a shifter?” She let out a whistle. “And I thought I had it bad with my parents not telling me about the condo they bought last year.”
Giving her a tight smile, I rose from the bed and went over to Amar. I placed a hand on his arm to still his movement. “What is it?”
“If your mother was a fox shifter, then how was she killed so easily?”
“What do you mean?” I crossed my arms over my stomach. Was it my imagination or did the boat feel like it was trying to spin?
“Foxes are hard to hunt. They evade captors with agility, cunning, and a burst of explosive speed.” His voice took on an air of excitement. “They can even keep up a fast pace called the fox trot for hours.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “Unless she succumbed to a trap, I don’t see how even the Blood Spirits would have captured and killed her.”
“B-but what if Ms. Moor sent t-that thing? The blob of gooey pitch? It would’ve gotten her and…” And reanimated her body and voice to lure me back home. That’s what I’d thought had happened when I spoke with her before. Wait, I had told her I was meeting dad and she was fine with it, no lecture or anything. Did she change gears knowing I’d be safer with him than with her? Was Ms. Moor or someone else listening in our conversation and that’s why she sounded so weird?
Amar shook his head. “No, as a double fox shifter, she would have the missile-jump down, like being able to suddenly launch into the air like you displayed to get us into the truck. Only hers would propel her further. Her voice, like yours, would have been shrill… which some say sounds like a woman screaming.”
“And probably in the middle of the night, that would give me chills even knowing it’s a fox.” Then Jacqueline snapped her fingers. “Of course. All the ancient Celtic tales about a banshee. No doubt that eerie scream of the fox is what triggered the belief in that.” She smiled at me, then went back to sorting through the letters and diaries my dad had spilled onto the bed.
I needed to go over those too, but right now I had to figure out about my mom. Was there a chance I was wrong and she might be alive? “What other abilities do foxes have?”
“Amazing hearing. She would be able to hear a faint sound from over a hundred feet away.” Then he looked at me and merriment filled his eyes. “The grey fox is the only dog or wolf type creature that is able to climb trees because of their semi-retractable claws. In my day, they could be found using an abandoned hawk’s nest as a temporary den.”
I felt my cheeks heat. One of his shifters was a hawk, now I found out one of mine was a fox. One giving shelter to the other… even if it was by happenchance.
“Not to mention the grace and beauty of a fox.” His smile and words caused my heart to speed up. “In the sunlight, you even have traces of red in your hair. And the amber ring around your pupils should have given me a clue.”
In order to see the distinct shades, people had to look closely into my eyes. My hand flitted to my hair; he thought I had red highlights in my brown hair?
“Give me a break.” Jacqueline huffed and leaned against the cabin wall. Her legs were stretched out on the bed and her arms crossed over her chest while letters littered the crumbled blanket around her.
I stuck my tongue out at her then, dashing over to her, shuffled the papers on the bed, picking up a diary. For the first time in days, I had hope that maybe my mom was alive. Amar, as though grateful to have his wings fully concealed, went up to the deck. No longer did he have to hide in the shadows from the world. He looked so different without his black feathers. More human… more approachable. And just as gorgeous.
“Let me sort through these with you.” I picked up another handful and moved on the bed until I was next her with my back leaning against the opposite wall. A patch of sunlight poured through the porthole above us.
“Thanks. I was worried I’d have to get a mop bucket and dry up the drool between you two.” She rolled her eyes and made a gagging face.
“Are you jealous?” I was not drooling. Maybe crushing, but that’s completely different.
“Me?” She folded the paper and put it in the read pile.
I raised my eyebrow at her.
“Ok. Fine. Yes, I’m just…”
How could she be jealous? I was joking when I asked. She was the pretty one with gorgeous blonde hair and tons of boyfriends for years. And she was the one who not only was raised by both parents but knew about her shifter abilities. “Why?”
Did she like Amar? Maybe all this bickering between them since they met was a ruse.
“Cause you’ve got three shifters.” She waved a hand. “Do you have any idea how special… how rare that is? Any animal that has ever been alive, including a dinosaur, could be your spirit totem and, having three, you might have the ability to shift completely into that animal form. I haven’t heard of it in our history for hundreds of years.”
“Depends on the animal.” I nearly signed in relief that she didn’t like Amar. Having to choose between your best friend and a gorgeous guy… well, I’d just have to let him go.
Then her words hit me. “Our history?” Great, so now there was a complete history of shifters besides the Ancient Egyptian that Amar told me about. Of course, there was. And neither she nor Amar had told me this. It’s like they were in a secret club and reluctant to share information with the new kid. “I didn’t ask for this. For any of it. But I’m doing the best I can.” Sighing under my breath in frustration, I stalked up the few stairs and to the edge of the boat.
“Problems?” Amar stood by my elbow.
I gasped at his nearness. How did he get that close to me without me hearing? So much for my fox hearing abilities. Or maybe I had to focus it like I did with the octopus arms? I closed my eyes and breathed in; imagining a fox cocking its head at a sound.
Amar breathed in and out, but in-between sound beat his heart. Concentrating, I searched for other sounds. The waves lapped at the boat. A crab skittered across the anchor’s chain and my dad’s watch ticked as he let out the sails to take us inland. Holy cow! I was hearing things no human could. Wait, like I did when one of Ms. Moor’s goons swept out of the room with his cell phone. He said, “We got one.”
/> Inhaling, Amar’s scent of musk, powered granite, and cinnamon, swirled through me. Dad scrambled below deck. I leaned against the railing, watching the turquoise waters with Amar. Boats lined the distant shores and buildings rose among pine, palm, banana and what my dad had called Brittle Thatch Palms when I had asked him earlier.
A group of seagulls called overhead and Amar wrapped his arms around me when I shivered from the wind.
“There’s a chance my mom could still be alive.” It was the first time I’d voiced my hopes and it made them seem more real. Concrete. “I still can’t believe she’s a fox shifter and I never knew.” I liked his arms around me and his body next to mine. It made me shiver again, but not from a chill. “If I’m a fox shifter too, wouldn’t have I been able to tell… somehow?”
“Not necessarily.” He turned his head toward me and my hair snagged on his dark stubble. I wondered if his whiskers would tickle if I kissed him.
“Your octopus appears to be more dominant than the fox. I knew a fox spirit shifter—my sister.”
I turned to see his face and he kept his arms around me, but lowered them to my waist. “You have a sister?” Ever since I’d met him, I’d thought of him as a lone soldier. I hadn’t even pictured him with parents, but somehow made or carved like the granite gargoyle his entire life.
“Had. She was captured, tortured and killed before I could rescue her.” The sadness in his voice made my heart clench. “You would have liked her. Her curious nature got her into trouble, but she was brave and kind.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. She sounds like she was amazing.”
He swallowed hard and nodded.
Don’t kiss him… don’t kiss him. But I couldn’t resist. His grey eyes darkened and there was a sad smile on his lips. Those full lips that lured me in. I brushed my mouth across his and excitement coursed through me as his hands tightened, bringing my body flush with his.
His stubble tickled and thrilled me at the same time. Slowly, he swept his tongue along the edge of my mouth. I groaned in pleasure. Answering me with a groan, his kiss grew hungrier, urgent.
Chapter Twenty-one
I pushed aside my unease and focused on the satin caress of Amar’s lips on mine. When his tongue teased at the edge of my mouth, I let out a soft moan and grasped his shoulders to guide him closer to me. He growled in response and sent a shiver of pleasure through me. One of his hands cradled the back of my head and the other slid around my waist. Our kiss deepened, and I yearned for his lips to…
My dad cleared his throat as the cabin door whipped shut. I jumped apart from Amar, breaking our kiss. My lips and face burned from embarrassment and our kiss.
“Ready to go ashore?” Dad’s cheeks reddened as he sidestepped Amar to the anchor on the other side.
Amar turned to help Dad pull up the thick chain. Sunlight glimmered across the turquoise waves as they lapped against the side of the boat. The salt in the air filled my nostrils, and I yearned to stay here forever, cruising the seas and pretending the shadow creatures didn’t exist.
“Have you told her what you know about fox shifters?” my dad asked Amar.
“Not enough.” He scouted back to get more leverage on the anchor’s chain. “She needs more. And training.”
My dad nodded, but said nothing.
“I’m right here; you don’t have to speak in the third person about me.” I strolled closer while they hauled up the anchor. “And don’t you have a machine to do that?”
“I like doing some things with my hands, and I haven’t gotten around to replacing the old engine,” Dad grinned over his shoulder.
“I thought you were a mechanic?” I asked with a hand on my hip
“I can’t fix rust and corrosion.” He shook his head. “The parts I need are on the mainland, and I try not to go there unless I absolutely have to, or after dark.”
Before I could ask why they locked the anchor. My dad let Amar take the wheel, and the smile on Amar’s face was that of a small kid going toy shopping. Dad directed him to a port lined with hundreds of ships.
“I’ll take the wheel when you get close to the dock.” Dad walked to the mast and cranked the rigging, hosting down the sail. “If it’s clear of Blood Spirits, we’ll eat lunch at Wharf’s Bar, I know the owner and I can get a shave next door too. Best if I change my appearance before we leave. Too many people recognize me now with this.” He stroked his beard.
I watched the town draw closer with its mix of hotels, restaurants, museums, and homes in-between the beach and swaying trees. What would be waiting there? Here on the waves, I could pretend I was safe, and nothing evil outside of the norm lurked. Just thinking about getting trapped again by the Spirits of Blood made nausea churn in my stomach.
“How much do you know about foxes?” Amar asked me as he steered the boat.
I moved closer to him so he wouldn’t have to shout over the motor and waves. His arm brushed mine. I wished we hadn’t been interrupted earlier.
“Not much. Do you have a history with them, besides your sister?”
“Foxes are curious and playful when they aren’t being cunning. Long before humans domesticated dogs, I met a man in Jordan who had a fox as a pet. They were even buried together.”
My smile widened as I remembered what he had said about foxes sometimes making temporary dens in uninhabited hawk’s nests. Perhaps that was one reason I felt so at ease with him, maybe we were meant to work together.
Aside from the growl earlier when we were kissing, I had yet to see the manifestation or anything of his wolf totem animal. What if it was severely limited because of his sacrifice to become the gargoyle?
Had he ever heard the tale of The Wolf and the Fox by the Brothers Grimm? Even though wolves are larger and fiercer than the fox, the former was still outsmarted by the latter.
Wait. He had never told me what his other shifter was. “What was your other animal? The one you gave up?”
“A badger.”
I’d heard of badgers but didn’t know much about them. Another reason bio should teach about animals rather than just how to cut them up.
“That figures,” Jacqueline said from behind us.
I flinched at her voice.
“Nothing too special about them.” She picked at one of her nails. “I’d have given it up to over a hawk and a wolf.”
“Careful.” Amar straightened his shoulders while keeping his hands on the wheel. “Badgers have been known to force even bears and wolves away if confronted.”
In answer, Jacqui tossed her blonde hair over a shoulder. “Beth, can I speak with you alone?”
With a shrug, I followed her below deck as we passed Dad going up to switch out with Amar. If she was going to tell me to stay away from Amar, I was going to put her in her place. If the situation were reversed, I’d be supportive, not brash.
She closed the door behind us and leaned against it. When I saw her biting her lip, I knew she was nervous. “Sorry about earlier. I-I’m… envious.” She weaved fingers through her hair and shrugged. “Here you have three shifters, all with amazing abilities. The potential to completely transform into at least one of them like the ancients.”
When I opened my mouth to protest and say I only knew of two of them, she held up a hand.
“Let me finish. I’ve always wanted to do what you could do and swim like you were part mermaid. And when Amar paid attention to you more than me, I-I didn’t know how to handle it. I used the excuse of Amar’s and my shifters being enemies to justify my attitude. It was wrong. I was wrong. You’ve always been there for me, the best friend whenever I had a boyfriend or the breakup after. I didn’t know how to do the same for you.” She kept her back to the door as though afraid I’d come after her and she needed a quick escape.
My hands fell to my sides. “You’re jealous of me and Amar?” I didn’t add that we had just kissed when I was alone with him. “He’s already told me he’s a soldier, a guardian and no relationship can exist between us othe
r than that.” Though his kiss told me he didn’t agree with the rules.
“Yeah, right. I see the way he stares at you.” She strolled over to the cabin’s bed and plopped down by a stack of opened letters.
“But you don’t like him, do you?” Every girl’s worst nightmare was that their friend had a crush on their boyfriend. Please don’t say yes.
“No, I’m not attracted to him in the least.”
Relief zipped through me. Yet, I was still miffed at her that we fought over her jealousy. Though, I’d be fighting back my own possessiveness if Amar had shown interest in her.
She picked up one of the pieces of papers off the bed. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t see how gorgeous he is.” Winking, she handed me the letter. “Read this one.”
And she said he stared at me? I hadn’t noticed. Definitely would have to check that out later.
I sat on the bed as the boat’s engine cut out. “It’s time to go eat.”
“Read first.” She pulled on her tennis shoes. “Food can wait for a bit. I’ll meet you on deck.”
I nodded, wondering why she was so serious. Before she closed the cabin door, I scanned the letter.
Dearest Jack,
I miss you so much. Call me when you reach a payphone.
You’d be pleased to know Bethany has developed your octopus abilities while my own fox in her is less noticeable. Though in these trying times, I think both equally serve her better. Last week she caught me on the phone with you and I had to lie and tell her it was a salesman. I hate lying to her, but it’s the only way I know we can keep her safe.
A woman came by the school today. But the principal remembered me protesting a mandatory eye exam when Bethany was in first grade. Thankfully he did because she had forgotten to give me the newsletter showing it. Now here again, in fourth, they returned. But I had thrown such a tantrum last time that the principal had the school nurse call me to ask permission to check her eyes. Panicked, I whisked Bethany away from school that day saying she had a dentist appointment I had forgotten about. Then I got Dr. Zovo to write an excuse and complete a shifter eye exam for me to take to the school.