Poisoned Pen

by Zenina Masters

  He smiled down at her. “I am a bit of a romantic, as you may have guessed. Despite the fact that I can create a romance with a formula, I wanted more for myself. I have to say that with you, I never know what will happen next and I like it.”

  She laughed. “I am glad I can surprise you. That may pale with time.”

  “Then, I will look at the shadow and remember the light.”

  She froze in place. “That is beautiful.”

  Chuck blushed. “I plan to use it in my book. I just don’t know where.”

  They walked down the path and emerged at the pond. Ivy released his arm, kissed his cheek and quickly stripped, folding her clothing in the order she would need to get dressed.

  Naked, she walked into the water and dove under, coming up as her swan self.

  He sat on the bank and watched her.

  She arched her neck, dove, came up, and then, she lifted her wings, flapping and building speed to take off.

  Once she gained the air, she worked hard to acquire altitude until she could see the whole Crossroads from her vantage point. She turned on her wing point and dove for the pond. She folded her wings in and dive-bombed the water, surfacing with a pop and a flutter.

  Perhaps she shouldn’t have crashed, because Chuck was out of his clothing and half-shifted when she surfaced and shook the droplets free.

  She paddled her way over to him and set her dignity aside. Ivy climbed out of the water on her gangly legs, and she waddled over to him, hissing at him in an effort to speak.

  He looked down at her, scales covering his features. “Back in the water, stork. I can swim too.”

  She hissed and squawked at him before she waddled back to the pond, wiggling her tail feathers at him.

  When the twenty-foot anaconda joined her for her swim it was a little startling, but they eventually found a rhythm that had them meeting their heads in the traditional swan mating arches while their necks rubbed together. Snakes had some advantages as a mate to a swan after all.

  Chapter Seven

  After hours in their shifted shapes, they crawled back onto the shore and Ivy had to wait while Chuck claimed the privilege of dressing her.

  His moves were fairly hit and miss, but he got her back in her clothing. “I am going to have to go to the hostel to get a change of clothes.”

  “You can bring your bags to our place. You are also encouraged to move or change anything you like in the house.”

  “I have a few ideas, but they involve expanding your writing space. Maybe knocking a wall out to give the writing a room of its own?”

  He chuckled. “Now that I have you to occupy my nights, a little more room in the bedroom might be desirable. The things I could do to you on a backless couch with my body half-shifted.”

  “Kinky. I have never had sex with a half-shifted anything.”

  “What is your emergency shape?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “You wouldn’t believe it.”

  “Try me.”

  She sighed and looked around. “Fine, but not here. I will show you tonight. Today, you have a job to do.”

  “You are seriously making me go into work when I have a mate for the first time in a lifetime?”

  “I have never had a mate either, but I understand the importance of the regular routine. Writers need structure. Too much chaos scrambles your mind. You need to keep to a few bits of normal during your day if you are going to work on a book.”

  He looked grumpy. “Will you be there?”

  “Of course. I will get my bag from your house, and I will sit in that dark booth and work on my edits. I will be there when you leave as well, and I will come home with you. Then, I will show you my emergency shape.”

  He wrinkled his nose and nodded. “Fine, but I will take you to the hostel, and you will get your bag and bring it to my house.”

  “Done. So. We have a plan. Shall we execute it?”

  He got to his feet and hauled her to hers. With his arm around her, they walked back to the hostel, and she grabbed her luggage. Their next stop was his home where he put her bag in his room, and she went to the spare room to gather her workbag.

  She returned to watch Chuck hanging her clothing up. He lifted a charming sundress. “Would you wear this today?”

  She smiled. “Certainly. Any particular underwear?”

  “None. I have a break later in the evening, and I intend to send you spinning into a morass of lust.”

  “Oh, good plan.” She swallowed heavily at the image that formed in her mind of her leaning forward, her skirt flipped up and Chuck thrusting into her from behind. She shed her clothing and reached for the dress.

  “I need shoes to match it. Find them, please.”

  He dug around in her luggage and pulled out a pair of pumps that went well with the white dress.

  She laughed and slipped her feet into them, standing tall in the white pattered dress with the brisk skirt that would flare and shift around her.

  “There. Now, you have a job to get to. Go and observe some background characters.” She grinned and put her workbag over one shoulder.

  He offered her his arm, and they headed down the stairs and into the Crossed Star.

  Jim was at the bar, and he looked surprised to see Chuck and Ivy. “I thought you needed some time.”

  Ivy smiled. “He needs work more. I will be in the dark corner.” She turned Chuck’s head and kissed him in front of his friend and boss, uncaring that Jim was staring in surprise.

  Ivy slipped into her corner booth, and in less than two minutes, there was a Crossroads-colada in front of her with an umbrella in it and a cherry cut in the shape of a heart on the edge of the glass. Ivy blushed and sipped at the drink, smiling when it was still alcohol free.

  She got back to her reading list and made notes in her book. She completed three books for review before her pencil and reader were taken carefully from her hands.

  “You need a break.”

  Chuck smiled at her, and there was heat in his eyes.

  “I think you are the one who needs a break. Jim came down then?” She peered past him to find Jim at the bar and Lee perched on a stool sipping something that looked involved.

  “He is making an effort to give me time with you, and Jim is not a man who compromises easily.” He held out his hand. “Come on, you can put your things behind the bar.”

  “How long have we been here?”

  “Four hours or so. Are you enjoying yourself?” He tucked her bag behind the bar and took her hand to lead her out into the street outside.

  “I am. I have gotten more work done today than I have in weeks. I have no idea what I will do once I finish the reviewing backlog.” She swung his hand a little and skipped at his side.

  “You are in good spirits.”

  “I am. It has been a very nice day.” Colour came into her cheeks, and she looked at the people slowly entering the streets. “It comes alive at night, doesn’t it?”

  “It is traditional, though here, we don’t really need to stand on ceremony. People come and go as they will, but societal norms are hard to escape.”

  “What are you escaping by being here?”

  He shrugged. “A life of solitude, a life of hiding. I never knew my parents, and my first memories are of being on display behind glass. The forced shifting locked my eyes, teeth and tongue. Learning to speak was an effort, but I managed it.”

  She was quiet and then she asked, “Who got you away from it?”

  “A clan of cranes took me in as a teen. The circus stopped in their town, they slipped me a note, and I shifted into a small garter snake that Mr. Talifor lifted off with. I remained in the shape of the small snake for weeks until the circus was three cities away and their agents had ceased to look for me.”

  “They wanted you back.”

  “I was worth quite a bit of money.” His tone was flat.

  “Oh. Well, that is…horrible.” She moved close to him and gripped his arm with her free hand. “I hereby
declare that I want you for the same reasons you want me. If you have something sinister in mind, let me know so I can concoct a sly plan of my own.”

  She startled him into laughing, and Ivy breathed a little easier. His beginnings had been dark and that was probably why he fixated on happy endings and true love. You always wanted what you never had.

  She lifted his hand and trailed her fingers over the scorpion tattooed on his arm. “Where did you get this?”

  “It was done by one of the clowns at the circus. He marked me on my birthday so they could keep track of my age. The forms meant something to him, not to me.”

  “They marked you as a child?”

  “Yes.”

  “Damn. I am walking in minefields. I am shutting up now.”

  He put his arm around her. “You will learn it all eventually, and you have given me a new task to set myself.”

  “What?”

  “We are having a new start, so I will begin with a new skin. It might be a little disturbing, but these old marks are leaving one way or the other.”

  She stopped in place. “What? Normal snake shifters can’t do that.”

  “I am not a normal snake shifter. I can take the shape of any serpent and several mythological creatures.” He grinned and got her walking again.

  “Oh. Right.”

  He laughed. “You promised to show me your emergency form.”

  In moments, they were back on the path to the pond. Ivy made sure that they were alone before she removed her shirt and bra. “I have only used this shape once, and I was falling at the time.”

  Chuck was watching her with interest. “I like how this is starting.”

  Ivy snorted and concentrated on the shape she had taken on a school trip years earlier. Trips to the Grand Canyon were fun, but getting shoved off a cliff was hard on anyone.

  She reached inside her soul and pulled her swan out, overlapping it onto her human form. When the wings burst out, she gasped and arched her back, extending the span out completely.

  “You are an angel.” Chuck’s voice was reverent.

  She swung one wing over and tickled him under the chin with her wingtip. “I am a swan, the same as you are a serpent. Things that make us what we are do not determine who we are. We can always choose.”

  He grinned and stepped into the span of her wings, placing his hands on her waist. “That is what I am telling you. I am choosing you, you are choosing me, and when I shed this skin, we will have a fresh start with us, our bodies and our minds forging a new path.”

  He suddenly got serious and knelt in front of her. “Ivy.”

  She blinked and put her hands on his shoulders. “Yes, Chuck?”

  “I, Charles Penderton, have a very serious question to ask you.” He looked up at her with his eyes entreating.

  “I, Ivy Hector, am listening, Charles.” She stroked his cheek and smiled.

  “Will you be my co-author? Will you become a new name with me and share in my writing and my disasters, living your life in a series of plots and twists with me?”

  She folded her wings around him and kissed him. “Yes, Charles. I will. I don’t know how good a writer I will be, but I will try to formulate with you, and at the very least, we can try out some of the more physical scenes in person.”

  He laughed against her lips and stroked the base of her wings where they sprang from her skin. “That sounds like the best inspiration I have had all year.”

  Chapter Eight

  “You know, if this was happening later in our relationship, I would kick your ass. You have been a right pain in the butt over the last week.”

  Chuck frowned and scratched at the back of his skull. “It itches.”

  She reached over and smacked his fingers. “It is your fault. You decided to shed your skin, and now, it is almost ready to peel.”

  “It isn’t peel, it is shed or slough. Are you sure you want to be there?”

  “If your body is undergoing any kind of change, I want to be there. I want to make sure that I recognize you when it is all said and done.”

  She had been dealing with a cranky child in a man’s body for the last two days. His skin was not in great shape at the moment. Parts of his tanned skin had turned white under the tattoos and he looked so grumpy that Jim had given him a few days off.

  Ivy sighed and took his hand in hers. “When do you peel yourself?”

  “I think it is loose enough to do tonight. You can tend the fire while I work my way through the woods.”

  She nodded. “Yay. What are you going to do with the new unmarked skin?”

  He grinned. “I have already made the arrangements. I will not be unmarked very long.”

  Ivy sat down. “What do you mean?”

  “I am getting a new set of tattoos. These ones are going to represent my life at the Crossroads and my life with you.” He smiled and held her hand at the kitchen table of their home.

  “Are you sure you want to wear the tattoos so soon after you get rid of the first set?” She frowned and tried to make sure that she was reading his emotions correctly. Even his face was peeling, so it was difficult.

  “I want anyone who looks at me to know that I belong to you. It is also a celebration of finding a mate in a species I thought would never look at me. I mean, you are a swan. The very epitome of grace and beauty…while you are in the water.”

  She snorted and glanced outside. Their brainstorming for the day was over, so the approaching sunset was a herald of the evening’s events. “Where do I get the firewood?”

  He winced. “Right. We should get going if we are going to have a large enough blaze.”

  “To burn all of your skin. Gotcha. I will grab the matches, you keep your skin on.” She winked and opened the drawer, picking up the pack of matches and rattling them in the air.

  He sighed and got to his feet. He was wearing a pair of jeans and nothing else.

  Ivy was wearing a vest-style top and a blousy skirt. Running around the Crossroads in bare feet had come naturally after two days. She enjoyed not only the feeling of freedom, but also the release from standard social stricture. She literally felt like a new woman in a world with nothing but other shifters.

  Chuck took her hand, and together, they headed into the woods. Ivy sighed and walked with him, keeping close in case any of the males that were out on the crawl for the night decided to see her as a likely target. The first time it had happened, Chuck’s bite had rendered the hawk insensate for two days. The second time, he had just punched the hapless leopard out.

  Ivy had decided just to stick with him from then on. It saved unneeded bloodshed until their mating bands were ready. With his moult progressing, his temper was short, his creativity was erratic and the only thing that calmed him down was touching her. It had been a weird few days, and she was ready to see the end to his temper, though it was never directed at her.

  The clearing in the woods had a carefully arranged fire pit, one of the strange concessions that the designers of the Crossroads had made. There were odd bits like that everywhere. Ruins that were less than a hundred years old and could shelter and interest a pair of lovers.

  The fire bowl was set in the small clearing, surrounded by trees. Ivy tucked the matches in her cleavage and headed into the woods to gather stray branches, twigs and dry leaves.

  She carried her armload of wood and bracken to the fire bowl and set up the basics of a burnable arrangement.

  When Chuck returned to her side with enough wood to burn until dawn, she stood and kissed him. A last kiss on his original lips and he removed his jeans, shifting into his half-form and slithering away.

  He had walked her through the procedure. He would shift into Naga form and use the wood and branches to snag the loose skin until he could simply back out of his human form. It was her duty to start the fire.

  Ivy started the leaves, and when it didn’t catch properly, Ivy looked from side to side to make sure she wasn’t being observed. She reached under her hair and
made a slight shift while she pulled sharply. Instead of it being a down feather, it was a flight feather. For a swan, it was her only personal parlour trick.

  She used the feather to fan the flame, and soon, she was sitting in front of a cheery blaze while a combination of hissing and cursing came from the woods around her. She hummed and continued to fan the flames with her feather. She felt a trickle down the back of her neck and frowned. Normally she didn’t bleed when she yanked a feather. She sought a source of the feeling and another strange feeling ran over her hand.

  “Very funny, Charles.” She turned, and he was inches from her face with his face flushed and pink. He flicked her lips with his tongue, smiling at her as his coils slid past her to the edge of the fire pit.

  “I thought sso, Ivy. You were waiting in silence and that isn’t like you.”

  His coils made a dry hiss as he shifted completely next to her.

  She blinked. “They are gone!”

  He laughed, his fangs gleaming. “That was the idea, love. A fresh start with fresh skin. I don’t need to wear an unhappy childhood on me when I have such a glowing future to look forward to.”

  “You are very sure of that.”

  “When you walk through shadows, you look forward to the light. Even dimness is a difference.”

  “Are you calling me dim?”

  He hissed happily and his coils rustled and looped restlessly. “Never. You are my glowing angel. Now, let’s start new.”

  He extended his hand to her and the scraps covered with ink were in it. She took his wrist, and together, they tossed the moult remains into the fire.

  He lifted her in his arms, and they sat together as his past burned and curled in the heat. The skin of a Naga burned very slowly, and all the wood was consumed by the time the last fleck turned to ash and magic. As a final gesture, Ivy put her feather on the embers and watched it curl and join the singed dance of his skin.

  “And as it ends, so it begins with a swan feather.” She nuzzled his neck carefully, not sure that his skin was up to much.

  He rose up and whispered, “Can you grab my jeans?”