Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle)

by Lee Morgan

  Mark helped him up and when he stood erect Connor made himself fly slowly over to the shady spot she pointed at because he couldn’t walk on his ankle for a short time.

  When Connor cut the flow of power he landed on his good ankle and sat down on the grassy spot. Sarah vanished for a few minutes and he could hear her running through the forest as she searched for something.

  She came back with an aloe plant. She took out her dagger and sliced off the barbs and gently coated the burn in its cooling, sticky sap. It felt refreshing and soothing. She wiped the dagger off on her pants and slid it back into its sheathe. He smiled and said “Thanks, Princess.”

  She continued checking on him and made sure he didn’t use too much energy from the counterattack. When she eventually finished, she sat by his side and watched Kara as she started her archery practice.

  While Kara was shooting at a new target she was trying to release her anger. After emptying the quiver she walked up to the tree and pulled out the clustered bundle. She made two shaft shots and threw the ruined arrows away into the woods. Letting nature benefit from her loss.

  Kara turned around and saw a black shadow standing above her and blocking out the afternoon sun. She looked up into her boyfriend’s sad eyes and his head hung down, looking ashamed for his actions. His fur was unwoven and soft instead of fused in a protective covering. “Can we talk?” He asked quietly, in his animalistic voice.

  She looked over at her brother sitting in the shade while it looked like he was conversing again with Sarah as they kept looking at each other without blinking. It is really annoying to not hear their conversations. She could see that Sarah sat in front of him and used her thigh to keep Connor’s ankle elevated.

  Behind Mark, Jillian and Mr. Branderson were talking while Jillian lounged her back against his exposed chest. They were talking about Jillian’s first client for needing a wedding planner.

  Kara returned the rest of the arrows in the quiver again and slung the bow over her shoulder before answering her boyfriend. “What about?” She couldn’t mask the annoyance dripping in her voice nor did she want to.

  “About earlier…when I tested your brother. I’m sorry he got hurt.” He said, raising his head to look at her.

  Connor yelled in their direction, startling everyone. “I’ll be healed enough to walk in an hour so quit beating yourself up already!” Kara looked at her brother who wore a grin.

  Can’t we ever get any privacy? She thought to herself. Mark’s head whipped to look at her brother. His lips pulled back over his canines in a smile then he nodded once. What did Brother just tell you?

  When he looked back Mark asked “Would you like to take this somewhere more private then?” Kara glanced at her brother who was smiling widely. Undoubtedly her brother had read her mind and gave Mark the suggestion to go somewhere else.

  She said “What do you have in mind?”

  She received the answer from Mark opening his tremendous and now dried wings. They were black, sleek, glossy and perfect. They really did look like a hawk’s wings, but they were all jet black like the rest of his hair. “Let’s talk in the sky, but you’ll need to leave your equipment behind.”

  She has always wanted to fly and she’s never heard of flying on a Fwen.

  Taking off the belt of arrows and setting the bow down she watched as Mark tucked his wings in and turned around. She asked “What should I do?”

  His eyes began glowing as he went down to all fours again. Both his front and back leg muscles began growing larger. Then he refused his back fur into its sleek armor again. When he raised his wings Kara saw that the armor on his back made a small saddle just large enough for her to sit on. His mane that came down his back was now threaded into two lines just big enough for each of her hands to hold on to. She also saw that his rudder like tail looked slightly longer as well.

  When he turned his head she saw that he was finished making all of his adjustment because his slit silver eyes had black pupils again. Kara took a slow, deep breath and released it. She could feel her adrenaline coursing through her veins from simply imagining what she was about to try and she could feel her heart beating rapidly behind her ear. This was going to be a very intense experience and one she’d hope to always remember.

  He lowered his left wing and allowed her to leap onto his back. He tucked his wings in again. She could feel the soft feathers of his wings kissing her thighs as they touched. His deep breathing became slower in preparation as her legs clutched tight against his ribs. He looked back at her with one eye as he said deeply “Here we go.”

  Kara saw her brother’s eyes on her as well as her extended families. Mark turned his body and she saw which way he was going to go. It looked like an airport runway.

  When she leaned forward and tightened her grip Mark dipped his head and with his back legs, he rocketed forward. He gained a remarkable amount of speed in such a short distance. Kara felt grateful that she had a good grip with both her legs as well as with her hands or she would have fallen off after the initial lunge. When he was blazing down the clearing, he unraveled his enormous black wings. With one powerful beat of his wings she knew they were airborne. With two more flaps they cleared the tree tops. Kara could feel the pleasant wind against her face and the cool breeze was refreshing. When he stabilized their altitude he turned his head and winked at her.

  She wasn’t upset any longer as she started to laugh. She took one hand off the reign and looked down. They were now high above the clearing as she saw what it looked like from this new angle. She could see where her brother made small holes in the ground and she could also see the actual size of the explosion that her brother later explained in detail about. All Mark did was circle the clearing and flapped his wings periodically. She also noticed why his tail was longer because he used it as a rudder as he flew high above the ground. He relied heavily on it.

  She said aloud “If I were to be like you, could I do this as well?”

  He turned his head and asked “Is that what you want?”

  She said in honesty “Yes I do, but I was wondering if you have ever tried to change someone else before?”

  He closed his eyes for a moment and beat his wings. That pained expression showed itself again. As he opened them again he said “Yes, three times, and no one has survived. It seems to be that two factors are needed to help someone survive the change. Or so I’ve been told.”

  “What are they?” She asked in simple curiosity as she could feel her heart rate slowing back to normal.

  “You must have an unwavering will to live and a physically fit body.” He said, still looking at her with one silver eye. His calm, catlike eyes made her heart leap and also showed how much he cared for her.

  She started laughing and saw him blink in confusion while raising an eyebrow. “You might have found the right woman.” He stared at her for a moment then started barking a deep laugh and it was incorporated along with hers.

  Kara put her head on his back and listened to his large heart beating, his deep breathing and his wings began flapping in a perfect, musical rhythm as they continued to fly.

  She lost track of the time as she had fallen asleep until she heard a curious male voice. “Well what have we here? A little girl riding a flying beast.”

  Kara turned her head and saw her brother flying all the way up here. She looked the other way and saw Sarah floating as well. They were both smiling softly. She looked back at him and saw that he held both her bow and belt of arrows in one hand. “Brother, what are you doing up here you should still be resting.”

  He raised his ankle and she saw that it looked almost completely healed. “It’s almost dark and both Jillian and Jack already went home.”

  Kara looked at the sky and saw it was about five o’clock. She looked at Mark as he looked at her again. “How long have I been asleep?”

  He had been flying for awhile, but didn’t look any different.

  “About four hours. You looked comfortable so I cont
inued to fly and let you rest.” He said while studying her with one silver eye.

  “Aren’t you the least bit tired?”

  “Sweetheart, I could fly for five days straight at this pace before I felt the least bit of exhaustion. I’m not completely human anymore, remember?” And for some reason she knew he wasn’t being factitious. He could actually fly for five days straight.

  “Would you like to follow us to our house and get something to eat?” Sarah invited the two of them.

  “I wouldn’t mind a snack.” Mark said, looking at her.

  Kara looked at Sarah’s sincere expression. “I missed lunch and I’m a bit hungry.” Her stomach rumbled at the perfect time.

  “Follow us then.” Sarah said with a loving smile.

  Connor flew around to her side. He spun and said to Mark “We will need to fly low.” Mark nodded understanding it would be easier to spot three big flying objects higher in the sky rather than closer to the ground.

  Both Connor and Sarah leaned forward and started flying at an angle, towards the trees and to their home. Mark looked back and Kara remembered to grab both handles of his split mane as he maneuvered his wings into a shallow decent to follow the two flying Balancer’s before them.

  Mark flapped his enormous wings as he made it just above the tree tops. It only took two minutes to fly to their home rather than three hours by hiking on foot. They needed to fly more often, she decided.

  Connor and Sarah landed first into the clearing of their house. From up here Kara could see all the work her brother put into the house that he built for his wife.

  Mark said “Hold on tight.” And she did with a white knuckle grip.

  He tucked his left wing to alter their course. He opened them in a more forward direction and held out his arms and legs as they came close to the ground. They were gliding slowly as they touched down. He skipped several strides trying to slow their speed and not crash into anything important. When they eventually stopped Kara dismounted.

  It took a minute to get her legs reoriented with the ground as Mark reared back on his back legs again.

  Connor walked up to them as Kara saw Sarah entering the cottage. He walked normally as if he didn’t get hurt. He handed the archery equipment back with a smile. She had to ask “Do all Balancer’s heal so quickly?”

  He looked down at his ankle. “No, but Sarah and I also regenerate much quicker than others.”

  “But not as quickly as we can.” Mark said, strutting up to them with his wings tucked in.

  She had a reasonable question. “Brother, if you can regenerate; why didn’t the brand on your chest disappear?”

  He smiled at her and said softly “When I became what I am, my body could only fix new injuries and not old ones that have already healed. Jack is the same way. He has a scar from his past, that is still there, but if you look at his left arm you would have never guessed that it was completely severed off at one point.” She was shocked yet again. Being an immortal must be amazing.

  Mark cut in by adding for his kind. “Changers can also regenerate, it takes no longer than five minutes to completely re-grow a lost limb. If we focus on closing the wound it heals faster. Or if we wanted we could keep it open…” He said the second sentence seriously. Connor nodded, understanding the two meanings behind keeping a wound open. To either change another or kill yourself from blood loss.

  “Come on in you three!” Sarah called from the front door. “Mark, if you want to come in you will have to get rid of those wings. I won’t have you wrecking my house or leaving feather debris that’ll need to be cleaned later.” She added with a smile.

  Connor rubbed his chin. “I don’t know Princess. I wonder if we should batter them up and have some barbecue wings with supper.”

  Mark’s eyes went wide and they suddenly started glowing. His bones began snapping as his feathers started molting. Seconds later, his wings were no more. She couldn’t help but laugh along with Connor and Sarah. Kara stared at one of his black feathers a few moments later. “Mark, your feather’s dissolving.”

  “Of course it is.” He said, showing his canines. “When I shed anything off my body, it dissolves because I’m no longer a part of it. It’s the same way with my hair because it too will break down into the soil when I shed. Without my blood it dies in a few minutes”

  Her boyfriend changed back to his normal human self before they entered the cottage. She saw that his black fur dissolved into the grass as well.

  Sarah gave Connor a heaping tray of ground beef that he went outside to grill. She then handed Kara a knife and punchbowl full of mixed fruits. The bowl was filled with red and green apples, bananas, peaches, mango’s, honeydews and other assorted fruits. She started cutting up the fruit and put it onto a serving dish.

  Sarah’s hands blurred into motion as she cut up potatoes and started frying them in a skillet. Her speed was amazing to witness, but Kara’s motion sickness didn’t act up this time.

  Mark headed in and out the front door, carrying grilled meat patties to which he slid between hamburger buns.

  When the last of the meat was cooked, Connor came in and put Tool in a box and headed into the shower. When he came out shirtless, he took over Sarah’s job and let her take a quick shower. A Balancer’s quick shower.

  As Sarah returned to the dining room, wearing clean clothes Kara asked “Could I take a shower too?”

  She offered a heartfelt smile. “Go ahead and you can borrow some of my clothes.” Sarah was always so nice and gracious.

  Kara took a hot shower and it pulled every knot out of her muscles. Apparently Mark wasn’t the best place to sleep on while he was flying. She came out of the shower and went into their bedroom. Kara opened one closet and knew it was her brother’s because it was filled with black sleeveless shirts that were far too large. He never had much variety to the color scheme of his clothes. Kara opened up her sister-in-law’s and surprise; it too was filled with smaller black shirts, but it had only six shirts that had a different color and none were pink. She also saw Sarah’s wedding dress tucked in a corner. Sucking it up Kara borrowed a brown t-shirt and a pair of blue shorts.

  She needed more color variety in Kara’s opinion.

  When Kara reentered the kitchen, the dining room table was stacked with food. She sat down next to Mark as the other couple sat together on the other side. She couldn’t see Sarah because of the mountain of hamburgers. There were six bottles of soda and four glasses filled with ice. Why is there so much food? Who could eat so much? They are probably going to give us some to take home I bet. That has to be it. They finally started eating.

  Kara became full after three hamburgers and six pieces of the mixed fruit.

  She watched in awe on how much her new family really needed to eat.

  Kara counted Sarah finishing off with eleven hamburgers, three plates of fried potatoes, four plates of fruit and she drank two of the two liter bottles of soda.

  Mark ate fourteen burgers, one plate of potatoes and two plates of fruit. He also downed a full bottle of cola before asking “Do you have any milk?” Connor pointed to the fridge with his thumb before continuing eating. Mark walked over and drank an entire gallon of milk while taking a breath only once before finishing it off. As Mark sat down again she saw her brother finish off the rest of the table.

  Connor ate a total of nineteen burgers, five plates of potatoes, seven plates of fruit and drank three bottles of cola. Kara sat wide eyed as she stared at him. I knew that he would be hungry from all he did, but this… When he caught her gawking he asked “What? Did I spill anything?” Connor rubbed his face and looked down. Not one of them made a single mess as they ate.

  It wasn’t a disaster. It was a massacre of a meal.

  “Are you all full yet?” Kara asked them all.

  They all shook their head saying no.

  Kara felt a wave of fear if any of them went to an all you could eat buffet. The poor establishment would go bankrupt within hours.

&n
bsp; Now that Kara could see Sarah’s head again, she said softly “Anything we eat gets instantly converted into energy.” She stood up and lifted her shirt high enough to show off her flat belly. If I ate eleven hamburgers I would look like I was four months pregnant. And Kara saw Sarah smiling at her as she knew she was reading her thoughts again. It was so unfair.

  Connor also stood up, but he wasn’t showing off his washboard abs. He walked around the table and opened a drawer that was next to the sofa. He pulled out a new cell phone and put it to his ear as he wrote down the messages.

  Kara turned around to look at Mark. “Don’t tell me that you have already processed your food as well.”

  “Nope.” He stood up for her. His washboard abs were pushed out, but only slightly. “Right now my body is processing the food’s nutrients to replenish my stores that I have used up today.” He looked at Sarah. “Thank you for the meal Sarah. How about you two come over to my place one day and let me treat you.”

  “That would be nice.” She smiled as she started to collect the dishes.

  Connor gained everyone’s attention by saying “I’ve got two families and a couple who want some survival training. They seem willing to do this.” He disappeared from where he stood suddenly and Kara turned to the sound of laughter and saw him spinning Sarah in the air. He moved faster than Kara’s eyes could follow. “It looks like my business might work out for the best after all.”

  When he put her back on the ground Mark asked “I don’t have much to do for the summer, would you like a partner?”

  Connor held up his fist three feet from Mark’s face. Mark smiled and connected his fist to his best friends. “What kind of a rate would you like?”