Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle)

by Lee Morgan

  She then notched the end of the arrow to the string “Mark, clear the range!” and he swiftly walked over toward the other immortals. With the arrow’s tip pointed at the ground she drew the string to her cheek. She held the grip with her left hand while she held the string with three fingers. The notch of the arrow sat between her index and middle finger. She raised the point up towards the tree and then stopped. Everything about Kara became frozen in place; she didn’t blink or even breathe. Simultaneously she exhaled and released the arrow into the air.

  Sarah could see the movements of arrow in the air thanks to her mind being faster. The zip of the arrow cut through the silence and was soon followed by a thud as it hit the tree. The arrow struck less than an inch from a perfect bull’s eye. “Lucky shot.” Jack said and Kara’s exceptional hearing heard the remark and took out another arrow. This time she hit a bull’s eye that sat a half inch from dead center. “Ok so maybe she is good.” he amended aloud.

  Kara shot five more arrows and they were all clustered together in the size of a person’s clenched fist.

  The lone human went up to the tree and removed her arrows. She walked up to everyone and asked “Would anyone else like to try?”

  She held the bow out toward all of them.

  Instantly Jillian started bubbling over with excitement. “I do. I do.” When Kara handed the bow and some arrows over, she said to herself “It’s been nearly fifty years since I’ve did any archery.” Quickly Jillian hurried over and fired a volley of arrows that all hit the tree, but they weren’t anywhere near as clustered as the human’s.

  While Sarah tried her hand at archery she found that she was the worst of them all. She only hit the tree twice and even lost one of Kara’s homemade arrows. Luckily for her she didn’t mind.

  Sarah had an idea to use her knife.

  From where Sarah stood, taking the archery shots, she slid the dagger out of its sheath. With her superhuman strength Sarah threw the dagger and hit dead center of the target, burying the dagger half way down the shaft of the blade. Connor whistled and she could feel how proud he is for her.

  When she walked back Sarah heard Mark ask everyone “What made this crater-like impression?”

  “Connor did.” Jillian said quietly, wearing a grin.

  “Brother, you did this?” Kara asked in shock.

  Sarah looked at the impression in the rocky ground. The surrounding rocks were still scorched black from the fiery incident.

  “I was demonstrating something dangerous for Jack. I showed him what happens to fire if you put it under pressure.” Connor said in simple explanation.

  “Can you show me?” Kara asked with a smile.

  “NO!” Jack, Jillian, Connor and Sarah yelled at the same time.

  She shrunk back into Mark’s chest as he held her and watched them at the same time in confusion. Sarah said in a calm voice “Kara, it is too dangerous. Connor had to show my father for him to comprehend the danger. Do you know what the Back Draft Phenomenon is?”

  “I don’t know how dangerous it is, but I have heard of it before.”

  “Sis, how about I show you a form of the dangers of fire. It won’t be the real thing, but just to give you an idea.” Connor said, looking serious.

  “Ok, Brother.” She sounded barely audible.

  “Be careful.” Connor walked away from the group as he smiled at Sarah. When he stood fifty feet away, he turned to them. Sarah felt Connor call upon his power as he gathered the heat from the atmosphere. She then saw his mouth open and heard Connor take a deep breath into his massive chest. His chest swelled with the heated contents and before he quickly released the air from his lungs at once, he pursed his lips.

  As he pushed the superheated air from his lungs, the outside air ignited in a roaring blaze of superheated fire. Connor blew a red and orange stream of fire from his lips. She could feel the intense heat kissing her face as it radiated from the flames. She wasn’t alone in feeling the strength of the heat.

  After Connor released all of the air in his lungs, and the flame jet disappeared, he walked back up to the group. “I was careful, right?” He smiled her favorite smile that makes her heart beat rapidly and the goose bumps began to rise all over. Sarah glance at her parents who wore unreadable expressions, then she looked over and almost laughed doubled over as she saw the other two.

  Mark’s muzzle was completely hanging open and his long, pink tongue also lolled off the side. His silver eyes were wide with shock. What proved to be the most funny was Kara looked the exact same way. Her hyperactive personality was finally put on hold. Even their postures remained identically stunned and slumped.

  A minute went by before Mark spoke quietly to his friend. “You’re also a fire breather? I’ve only seen Keepers breathe fire.”

  “No I just figured different variations of that element.”

  “Buddy, that was Amazing!” Mark started a barking laugh. He turned to Sarah asking “Can you do it as well?”

  “Yes. Connor taught both me and my father.” And if a wolf could ever whistle she’d bet Mark would try.

  Connor walked up to his sister and knelt on one knee as he looked her eye to eye. Mark released his hold on her and took a step back to give them some room. His clawed feet scratched the rocks as he walked backwards. “That ability I just showed you is nothing compared to the destructive capabilities of what came from that.” Connor gently turned his sister and pointed to the charred crater.

  An hour later after everyone talked and rested under the shade of another Red Pine did Kara ask “Brother, you said that you spar. Can you show me exactly what you do?”

  Kara couldn’t help herself as she immersed herself in the world of immortals, fantasies brought to life. She watched her brother and saw him in a new light. Throughout his entire life she’s seen him hide and not have fun with anyone, afraid to let go, but out here she could see that he enjoyed showing off in his own way. She liked seeing him do things that other people couldn’t and she wanted to see him really push himself. Sparring would be the best show of his skills. She just knew it.

  Her brother turned his head sharply when she asked. Sarah sat by his side in her beautiful black top that looks good on her. Both of her parents sat across from Kara and Jillian smiled at the youngest one’s curiously. Kara could also feel Mark’s eyes on her, but she didn’t need to look. They looked at her like she grew another head, that was until Connor sighed.

  Connor smiled at her and then he looked at Mr. Branderson. “Jack, are you up to a match? I’ve come up with some new moves.”

  “I can’t wait to see this.” The silver haired ancient said looking at Jillian and then began laughing. He then looked at Connor while asking “Weapons or hand to hand?”

  Her brother stood up saying “Doesn’t matter to me because you’re going to lose this particular match either way.” and then he smiled over at the silver haired man. Connor looked at Kara and handed over Tool and continued smiling.

  “Don’t get cheeky with me, Son. You’ll regret it.” Mr. Branderson warned while smiling and standing, looking forward to the challenge. He picked up his metal club that Kara recently learned its name; Haunt.

  “I’m not being cheeky, just confident.” And Kara then stood with everyone to watch the spectacle about to ensue.

  As Sarah’s father and Kara’s brother walked into the rocky clearing, she felt Mark standing behind as he rested one of his clawed hand gently upon Kara’s shoulder. He made sure his sharp claws didn’t cut into her. She looked up into his dreamy silver eyes to see him intently watching the two combatants. Both Jillian and Sarah were standing on either side of Kara, watching their mates prepare for a skirmish. Sarah in her black sleeveless shirt had her hands clasped in front of her. And Jillian had one hand on her hip and that red bikini top made most women take a hit on their self esteem.

  When Kara’s attention was riveted on the spar she forced herself not to blink. Remembering how quickly both Mark and her brother ran this mor
ning Kara knew that this was going to be too quick and undivided attention was a necessity. Earlier she marveled, between bouts of nausea, that they didn’t run into anything in the forest, but all she saw from the woods had been a blur.

  The speed of combat would be faster than that.

  Mr. Branderson made some fire and coated his weapon with the liquid-like flames. “Isn’t that cheating?” Kara asked, but no one answered her question because she soon found out it wasn’t illegal at all.

  The two men were standing and facing each other, with fifty open yards between them. Suddenly her brother ran directly at Mr. Branderson at an inhuman speed. He was unarmed or she so thought. Suddenly as the blazing club swung at her brother’s head… he disappeared.

  Mr. Branderson searched around in confusion for a moment then suddenly looked up. Kara followed his line of sight and heard herself gasp along with Jillian. Her big brother was suspended in the air by some unseen force and stayed there. Connor flew about fifteen feet above the ground with his arms crossed over his chest and a confident smile was written all over his face. Her brother was flying under his own power.

  Kara knew beyond doubt that this is the world her brother truly belonged.

  Kara could faintly hear the short conversation between the two men. “Connor, how do you plan to fight me all the way up there?”

  “Like this!” She saw that his eyes didn’t close, but knew his tells to understand when he started concentrating. Connor was up to something.

  With his attention diverted, while looking at Connor in the air, Kara saw Mr. Branderson suddenly disappear down into a hole. Somehow a hole appeared beneath him. As he dropped, the hole closed around him to restrain everything except for Mr. Branderson’s shoulders and head. That was all that now stood above the ground. Kara also didn’t see the club as it too had been consumed within the ground.

  Kara saw Sarah sigh with relief and suddenly Jillian started giggling. She explained the chuckle quietly “My mother did the same thing to him. When Mother found out Jack liked me she buried him just like that.” She kept giggling.

  Mark removed his hand off her shoulder and walked over to the buried man first. He walked slowly and his long black tail swished from side to side.

  Connor slowly descended to the ground as the girls walked up to see the spectacle. When they all arrived Sarah was the first to ask “Connor, how did you use two elements simultaneously?”

  He scratched his head saying “I just made one part of my mind concentrate on my flight with Pressure while I used another thought of Terra to capture and restrain Jack’s movements.”

  “Speaking of me,” Kara looked down at the silver haired stump. “Will you please help me get out of here?” He asked, struggling in the earth.

  “Ok.” Connor said and suddenly Kara felt the ground under her feet tremble. She watched in wonder towards Mr. Branderson and saw the ground pulling away from him slowly. And then she understood what the vibration of the ground meant as Sarah’s father started rising out of the ground. The ground at his feet began pushing him up like an elevator. He still had Haunt in his right hand and the flames were completely extinguished. After Mr. Branderson finished brushing the sand and small rocks, he started laughing.

  “What’s to laugh about?” Kara asked.

  He turned to set his azure eyes on her while smiling. “Connor did say that he would win this round. I’ll have to admit, he had a flawless strategy.” He lifted his hand towards her brother while saying “For once in my life I don’t feel jealous after losing in a fight. I’m strong and experienced, but I’m proud to have you around Connor. It gives me all kinds of ideas I’ve never considered before. It’s still hard to imagine just how much stronger you’re going to be in the future, if you advance so quickly.” Connor shook his father-in-law’s hand with reverent respect.

  Sarah started another conversation moments later. “Connor, can you show me how you flew?”

  He turned to look at her and didn’t say a word. Kara soon figured they were conversing with their minds. She turned to look at Jillian. “Does that telepathy thing that they do annoy you too?”

  When Jillian understood the question she said “Not anymore because it proves just how unique those two really are.”

  “What’s unique about them?” She asked innocently.

  Apparently Kara knew nothing from the way Jillian looked at her.

  “Everything.” She stated with a proud smile. “Your brother is inventive, strong, smart and powerful, but those qualities aren’t hard to come by. There is something rare about him that no one has yet to fully realize, not even he himself knows with a certainty. Normal Balancers can only use one element or in rarer cases two. My daughter and your brother can use every element. It is unheard of for us to do so. Also mates can’t read each other’s mind, yet they can. Luckily they can’t read the other immortals races minds.”

  “You’re wrong on that account.” Mark said suddenly, walking up behind Kara. “Those two also have already been able to enter my mind, without effort.” His deep animalistic voice reverberated through Kara’s entire body, in a good way. He rested a warm hand over her left shoulder as he walked to stand beside her. Kara felt remarkably comfortable, even as he looked like he was. They had a relationship that went past the bonds of physical attraction and couldn’t be articulated properly or accurately.

  Mr. Branderson shook his head saying “Let’s hope that the Keeper’s know what might be happening in their case.”

  Kara had to ask “What’s a Keeper?”

  Mark answered. “You’d probably refer to them as Dragons.”

  “Dragons are real?” She felt suddenly out of breath, but her imagination wasn’t. She pictured a terrifying, scaled creature with leathery wings that destroyed and burned medieval villages with the breath of flame.

  “Yes, and they know more about anything than anyone else alive.” Mark said as Kara glanced over at the newlyweds and saw they were still in their own little world. The look in her brother’s eyes said that he was still explaining things to her.

  Kara then saw Sarah nod a minute or so later. Everyone else stopped talking to watch what was about to happen as she began to crouch down. Suddenly she closed her eyes and jumped in the air and gained altitude and soon she flew above the tree tops.

  Suddenly she screamed “I’m too high!” She stopped at around six or seven stories in the air and even Kara could see terror in her eyes.

  “SARAH! Don’t break your concentration!” Connor yelled up to her.

  As Connor shouted for his wife to maintain focus, she lost it and started plummeting towards the ground. As Mark tried moving to catch her before she crashed to the ground, he saw Connor’s eyes go completely white.

  Suddenly Mark could actually feel a tremendous force emanating from him. It was like nothing he’s ever experienced before. Never before has he felt another’s energy, but Connor’s felt so thick and heavy that Mark was almost able to taste it permeating the air. The ground and air began to reverberate from the power Connor contained within, in an instant. His body started glowing again, but not for a demonstration. He crouched down and as he jumped Mark felt a wave of air pressure push against his my body and saw the sand spreading away from the force of the blast. It knocked him back. Connor propelled himself into the air at a speed that Mark’s Changer eyes could barely keep up with.

  Connor caught her in midair, about thirty feet above the ground. He caught her with one arm under her legs and the other across her back. It was a perfect catch, but she was truly afraid of what she did. He could smell the fear.

  As he started descending slowly to the ground, the four of them ran to him. Connor’s body stopped glowing as he finally landed. She looked shaken and he looked pained. Mark could clearly see that Connor was feeling her unbridled terror from their link as mates.

  Jillian asked in near panic “Sarah, are you ok?”

  Mark got a good look at Connor’s mate. She was shaking all over and her eye
s were tightly shut from the frightening experience. Her head buried in his chest. Both of her hands clutched his shirt in a death grip. Her knuckles were white as he saw Connor’s head lift up.

  Kara walked up to Sarah and rubbed her head gently. “Brother, we should let her lie down in the shade over there. She needs to know that she is safely on the ground.” Connor agreed and all of them walked her over to the shade tree.

  She still clung to him as he gently sat down, still cradling her. “Princess, you’re safely on the ground. I’m right here. Everyone was worried, but they can see that you are alright. Relax, you’re alright.”

  Jack and Mark stood together and off to the side as Kara and Jillian tended to Sarah; who still didn’t move except from her excessive shaking.

  It soon became obvious that nothing anyone was doing had an effect.

  Suddenly Mark heard Connor talking in his mind and saw penetrating hazel eyes focused on him. “Can I ask for a favor?”

  “You never need to ask me that, Buddy.”

  “I need to get her mind off her fall. It’s almost too much for me to feel myself. She thinks she’s dying and won’t let me in her mind. Nothing I’m doing is working. It’s time to break the shock. I need you to spar with me and it’ll get her to focus on me. I know her and the way she thinks. If she thinks I’m in any danger she’ll stop being so worried about herself. It will…help with this situation.”

  Mark nodded while saying in his mind “That sounds logical.”

  “I’m going to get Jack’s opinion. Hold on.”

  After Connor looked at Jack and he consented as well they ushered the women away. They went reluctantly at first, but Sarah didn’t seem to notice what was happening around her at the moment. Mark couldn’t remove her hold off of him because of his claws and even then her grip already put holes in the fabric. Jack tried nonetheless, but wasn’t strong enough to pry open her hands.