Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle)

by Lee Morgan

  Mark blinked until he figured that he asked how much he would like to be hired for. “What are you charging people?”

  “I’m charging thirty dollars a day for a family of any size beyond four, twenty five per couple, fifteen dollars per single person and children ten years or younger will learn for free.” Connor said in a businesslike manner.

  Mark scratched his chin. “That’s a little cheap don’t you think?”

  “Not at all. If they want to learn more, they will know what a bargain they are getting. Also if people see that my rates are more than fair they will tell others and I might need that partner anyways. Word of mouth is the best form of advertisements. I was going to ask you anyways when it did work out that way.”

  “I like it… It has been around sixty years since I have even remotely taught someone how to survive in the wilderness.” Mark smiled. “When do I start and how long will these sessions be?”

  “We will start Friday morning at five a.m. and it will last until mid afternoon on Sunday.”

  “Three days.” He said aloud for him to remember. “What will I need to bring?” Mark was starting to become more businesslike too.

  Connor looked up as he thought. “Bring a machete and some rope.”

  Mark nodded and turned to look at Kara. She looked at his stomach and saw that the bump from his stomach was already slightly shrinking. “Ready to go?”

  “What?” She was too engrossed in their discussion.

  “It’s dark and I need to get you home.” Kara saw through the window that he was right. “But…” she tried saying.

  Sarah said gaining her attention “Don’t worry we’ll still be here in the morning for more training.” She stepped closer and whispered in Kara’s ear. “This weekend how about we have another girl’s night out?”

  Kara nodded, feeling revived, knowing that it meant more shopping. “Just us or are we bringing our mother’s too?”

  “This time, it will just be us.” Sarah smiled at her as her green eyes were still penetrating. Her gaze was starting to become as predatory as her brother’s.

  Mark and Connor moved off into a corner and looked skittish for some reason. Kara asked “What’s wrong now?”

  They looked at each other and Mark said “We were just discussing how much trouble we’ll be in when we get back. We’re taking bets on who will get it worse.”

  Kara turned to Sarah and saw a feral grin spread across her face and Kara knew she was wearing one as well. “Let’s make them suffer!” Sarah said in her mind.

  “You got it, Sister!” She thought back.

  “Mark, run!” Connor said playfully while pulling on Mark’s arm. Before they were out of the door he said “I know that grin, its meant danger for every man that has ever lived. Get a move on, Connor!” They ran out the door laughing with the girls chasing not too far behind.

  After five minutes of chasing and laughing Sarah’s extended family split up and went home for the night. When Connor and Sarah went to bed she had to check on his ankle again just to be sure. It healed very quickly. Before, it looked deep red and blistered, but now it was pink with new skin and he had a barely noticeable blister lingering behind. He caught her looking down at his ankle. “Look’s good doesn’t it? If I was normal it would have taken me at least two months to heal properly, but now it took only half a day.”

  Sarah rested her head on his chest as she pulled the covers up her back. “Connor, I have never felt so scared in my life. When I saw you falling towards at the ground …” She didn’t want to finish that sentence, her emotions alone offered better understanding. Her body shuddered anyways. She pulled her arm and pressed her open breasts into his ribs because she needed to be absolutely sure he was still alive. She knew he was because of his steady heartbeat and his pleasant, manly smell.

  “It was my only option I could do and I took it. It gave me enough time to think of a plan and win. Be thankful Jack didn’t use his sonar or my plan wouldn’t have worked so well. I truly needed to learn that lesson even though I ended up getting a little injured.” He slid his big left hand down her bare back and pulled her closer knowing that she craved his embrace.

  “Next time, I suggest you inflect more pain if they ever try a sneak attack on you again.” Sarah said while yawning.

  He started rubbing her back gently and with the combination of his heartbeat she quickly went to sleep.

  In the morning both Kara and Mark met them at their cottage again. Connor said for them to go on ahead because he had to make some phone calls. Sarah asked if she could listen in and her mate nodded.

  He is always so easy to work with.

  Lately Connor and Sarah could immerse their minds together, to a deeper level and they learned they could actually hear from each other’s perspective, but they haven’t been able to successfully see through each other’s eyes yet.

  The three of them walked again to the training area. It was really foggy this morning, but Mark evened the odds as he turned into a wolf. Both Kara and Sarah followed him as he sniffed his way on the trail they left yesterday.

  With Sarah’s mind connected with Connor’s she asked “What are you setting up?”

  “I need to get permission from the Park Ranger first.”

  “Oh ok.” With their minds linked he started dialing on the phone.

  “Ranger’s office. How can I help you this morning?” The Park Ranger initiated the greeting upon answering.

  “Hey Bill, its Connor May.”

  There was a very short pause on the other end of the line. “I haven’t heard from you in well over six months. How’s Granddaddy been?” Bill asked politely. So everyone does call David, Granddaddy…

  “He’s fine, still working up a storm. You know how he is.” Sarah felt Connor’s satisfaction from their bond.

  “Yeah, that old man never takes a day off. So what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

  “I’ve started a new business, teaching people to survive outdoors. I was wondering if I could use your park for my business?” Connor asked hopefully.

  “Of course you can, but there is a small fee as you know.” Bill said evenly.

  “It’s free as long as you clean up your own mess or get charged fifty dollars.” Connor said, reciting the rule.

  “Good boy. So what district would you like to set up? Anything special you would like reserved?”

  “Yes actually... Are either section forty six or seven available?”

  Bill became silent on the phone for a minute. “Yes they are. And you picked some of the deepest parts of the park. Very secluded from the other local routes. Why would you want that place?”

  “Bill, it’s called survival training for a reason.” And Sarah could hear the man laughing on the other end of the phone.

  When he settled down he continued. “That’s true. So when are you planning to do this seminar?”

  “Friday morning, till Sunday midday. I’ll have everyone meet at pavilion nineteen.”

  “All set Connor. I will see you on Friday then.” And they each hung up the phone.

  “That went well. So what are you doing next?” She asked casually.

  “I have to call my customers and tell them what they are allowed to bring and where to meet us.” He answered mentally.

  “Sarah, we’re here.” Mark announced, pulling her mind away from Connor.

  They arrived at the rocky clearing. Sarah reached back to Connor and said “We made it!” and then severed their mental link.

  Sarah’s parent’s arrived later looking as good as ever. Jillian had on her usual red bikini top and brown short shorts. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a ponytail. Jack attired blue jeans and nothing else; he stood shirtless and barefoot. Jillian skipped up to the three. “Where is Connor? Is he still hurt?”

  “No Mother, he is just making preparations for his job. He already has three parties lined up already.” She smiled at Sarah. As Sarah looked to her father his eyes twinkled and had a hint of a smi
le on his lips.

  “So what’s on the agenda today?” Mark rumbled.

  “I’m going to shoot at the immortals!” Kara blurted out.

  “WHAT?” Jack shrieked in his deep voice.

  “Oh relax, Mr. Branderson. I have seen how well your reflexes are from your fights. I promise to miss on purpose if that will make you feel better.” Jillian started laughing along with Mark as he towered behind his spirited girlfriend. “Just one thing; please don’t burn my arrows. I just made some new ones and they aren’t easy to make.” And that got Jack laughing as well.

  First up went Jillian. She stood nearly two hundred yards away from Kara. She raised her bow and loosed a volley at her ancient friend. Kara intentionally missed by aiming just to the outside of Jillian’s torso. Jillian caught every arrow by its shaft and tossed them together on the ground. Soon the entire quiver was loosed.

  Sarah too did the same as she stood where her mother did and caught every volley Kara fired. Sarah could see the arrows flight through the air like it was in slow motion, captured by a high speed camera. Sarah knew it wasn’t that, but her mind working much quicker to make time and the world seem slower. Her body’s reflexes and speed allowed her to catch each projectile by the shaft.

  Both Jack and Mark did it as well and Kara didn’t seem disappointed nor surprised at how they all thought it was child’s play.

  It took up just the perfect amount of time.

  Connor ran into the clearing not long after Kara put all the unharmed arrows back into her quiver, after she examined each one intently. He came up beside Sarah and said to the group “I’m all ready for Friday and my first class as a teacher.” He looked down and winked at her.

  “Connor, I am sorry about my behavior yesterday.” Jack said and Connor waved his apology away with a smile. Jack smiled and then said “Before we come out here tomorrow, I want you to come by our house in the morning.”

  “Alright Jack.” Connor turned to look at Mark. “Now, since the three of us played all day yesterday, I think we should let the girls have some fun.” Mark had a wild canine grin as he looked at the women, and in a way, Jack had one on too.

  After a short discussion the girls decided that it should be that Jillian would fight Sarah in hand to hand, no powers were allowed.

  Jack embarrassed his mate by making her squeal after he pinched her bottom. She swatted at his shoulder, but missed as he ran behind Mark for protection. Needless to say the whole group shared a small laugh at his teasing. It felt good to witness her mother to get embarrassed for once, rather than it always being Sarah on the receiving end.

  Jillian and Sarah walked out to the arena. Sarah felt Connor enter her mind to give a suggestion. “Princess, don’t be obvious about it, but you should only fight with one arm. From my fights with Jack, I have noticed how much faster I am. See if it is the same way with you.”

  “I can try.” And she would.

  When they squared off Sarah decided that since she’s right hand dominant, she’ll only use the left.

  Jillian charged first and wasn’t holding back. She lunged and tried grabbing for Sarah’s long hair. Sarah was glad she also had it pulled back in one strand or her mother would have caught some of the loose strands and gained an easy advantage. Sarah pivoted on her left heel and caught Jillian’s arm as she tried sidestepping into her path. With her left hand Sarah continued spinning and pulled her mother off her feet before throwing her fifteen feet away. Jillian rotated in the air like a nimble cat and landed on her feet before she lunged again. This time she tried punching at Sarah’s face. Sarah used her right shoulder to deflect the left punch. Jillian continued traveling past her, but Sarah then plunged her left elbow into the middle of her Mother’s back, making her land face down in the sand.

  Seconds later Sarah thought her mother was finished, but she rolled on her back and tried tripping. Sarah jumped, avoiding the sweep and Jillian used her momentum to spin up on her heels. As she was coming down, Jillian tried one last strike. She swung her right leg around in an arch. Just before the roundhouse kick landed in the middle of Sarah’s sternum she leaned forward and wrapped her left arm around her mother’s toned upper leg while minimizing the impact by shorting the distance and spreading it across her sternum. Before the pain could register Sarah swung again and threw her mother across the gravel.

  Jillian’s golden eyes looked at Sarah in an impressive manner. “Not bad, Sarah. Have you been doing any special training with your mate?” She arched her eyebrow in a provocative manner.

  “You just never know.” Sarah said in a drawn out manner.

  Connor entered her mind. “See. I knew you could do it. You did remarkably well.”

  Sarah loved getting praised by him. It made the dull pain in her chest all worth it.

  “I can’t let my mate always show me up, now can I?” Sarah looked over at him to see Connor smiling a smile that is strictly for her.

  It made life worth living.

  “MY TURN!” Sarah heard from a chirpy voice. Everything had gone silent. Sarah turned to it and saw Kara walking up to them without her bow or quiver.

  “What do you mean your turn?” Jillian asked politely.

  “I want to see how well I stack up to you guys.” Her honesty and innocence is still astounding. Does she even understand the dangers?

  “Ok then, who would you like for a partner?” The eldest woman asked with a gleam in her eyes that meant; ‘She is so adorable.’

  Kara glanced at Sarah and smiled in a knowing tightlipped smile. From the look in her mother’s eyes Sarah knew she entered Kara’s mind. Her golden eyes went wide and went a little pale. She asked breathlessly to Sarah “You intentionally fought me with only one arm?”

  Sarah said nothing and diverted her eyes back at Connor. “Did you tell your sister your plan?”

  “No I didn’t. Don’t forget she also trained like I did so don’t put anything past her.” Sarah knew that he had said nothing to his sister because he allowed her to look into his most recent memories and conversations.

  “Jillian, would you please give me a workout?” Kara asked and her words almost sounded like a plea.

  Jillian pushed some of her loosened dark brown strands back behind an ear and smiled. “It would be a pleasure.” Sarah’s mother looked at her and she felt her wanting access to her mind. Sarah granted it and she said in an annoyed fashion “At least I’m stronger than someone around here.”

  “Be gentle, Mother.” She smirked at the warning.

  Sarah walked back over to the standing crowd as they intently looked at Kara and her first lesson with an immortal.

  Sarah stood at Connor’s side and placed her hand on the hilt of the dagger, absent mindedly. Connor put his arm around her as he could feel her apprehension for allowing Kara to fight. When she looked up at him, he smiled as he continued watching his little eighteen year old sister and Sarah’s seven hundred year old mother squaring off. “Don’t worry about my sister. She’s not as defenseless as you might believe.” Sarah looked over at her father who was smiling and Mark was looking intense and worried. At least he was using the right emotions and expression at this point.

  Before they began to fight Kara rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a long black cloth. Connor said approvingly “She’s using her head. Good girl.” He looked down at Sarah and explained. “She knows her eyes can’t keep up with our movements so she’s taking them out of the equation.”

  Sarah watched as Kara wrapped the black cloth around her eyes and tied it to the back of her sandy blond hair. Jillian started laughing. And when Sarah saw Connor’s eyes fixated she knew this was going to be surprising for them all.

  At the moment Kara finished adjusting her blindfold, she ran directly toward Sarah’s laughing mother. Jillian took one step to her right and thought that Kara would run right past her; she thought wrong.

  The moment Jillian moved, Kara adjusted her course as she ran. Jillian was stunned for one moment too long and Kar
a leapt in the air, tackling the statue of Jillian. Kara stood and said “I know you can do better than that.”

  When Jillian finally stood she had to adjust her bikini top. When she was finished Connor yelled for everyone to hear. “Jillian, there is something you should know.” She turned and looked directly at him. “Granddaddy taught us how to do things if we ever became blinded. He would use blindfolds for two or three days and sharpen our hearing and teach us how to survive. When we went camping we had to learn to listen for a person’s footsteps and follow them. We even had to learn to run as we followed him through the woods. The eyes can be tricked easier than your hearing. You’re at a disadvantage now because we are in a rocky clearing and your footfalls are amplified due to the loose gravel and stones. This training helped develop our acute sense of hearing. Nothing around here can break up the noises you’ll create.”

  Jillian looked at the ground and tested Kara’s hearing. She took a small and soft step forward. As her foot touched the ground Kara turned her head directly at her. She tested her again by picking up a stone and throwing it a few feet behind her. Kara’s head snapped to the new noise for a glance and then back to where Jillian still stood. “Nice try Jillian. I have been trained enough to know the difference between a person’s step and a distraction.”

  Jillian smiled pleasantly and asked “Would you like to go again?” Kara squared her shoulders as she prepared for another round.

  Jillian started running slowly at Connor’s sister and she had to step back as Kara kicked straight ahead and missed Sarah’s mother by only an inch. Her mother tried something new. She stepped a few yards back and bent her knees. Jillian then lunged into the air and then Sarah saw something frightening; Kara’s smile.

  Just as Jillian entered Kara’s personal space, Kara leapt up into the air, colliding with her and she wrapped her arms around her elder’s midsection. The force of the collision stopped the others momentum and they both landed on the ground with a soft thud.

  Mark couldn’t hold his feeling in anymore. He dropped down and raced over to his girlfriend. The rest of them followed after him quickly.