Shifting Fate (The Neturu Chronicles Book 4)

by Sarah Carter

  “We know that,” Yosiv states. “There is another outside influence.”

  “What are you talking about?” She inquires.

  “There’s another group that knows about you,” Yosiv says. “They know about the Neturu.”

  She shakes her head. “Who’s that?”

  He looks down. “It’s a group of humans. They want to out your people to the world.”

  “Then why are you coming to me and not my father or grandfather?” Lexi asks. “They can stop them.”

  “Your family cannot find out about us,” Yosiv says. “They can’t know. So, we have come to you.”

  “How do you know that I won’t go straight to my dad?”

  Yosiv looks at Connor and nods his head. “Your father can’t find out about him. So, we have no fear that you will keep it to yourself.”

  “But, they have to be stopped,” Lexi says. “They can’t out us.”

  “That’s why we have come to you,” Yosiv declares. “We wanted you to be careful with your powers. This group is watching you as well.”

  “Can they stop me?”

  He shakes his head. “We aren’t sure. One of our own is the one who started this group. We believe he took one of what we have.”

  “What do you have?” Lexi asks.

  Staring at her for a second, Yosiv obviously thinks hard. Finally, he reaches behind his neck and unclasps a necklace that Lexi didn’t notice. He walks forward and pulls it out. Lexi sticks out her hand, and Yosiv sets it down. It’s a blue stone within a metal cage. “This will stop you.”

  “What is it?” Lexi asks.

  “It’s from Jiub,” Yosiv states. “Supposedly, it’s called Rochita.”

  Lexi holds it up. “What does it do?”

  “Try and use your powers,” Yosiv says.

  Looking over at a garbage can, Lexi tries to knock it over. “Oh my gosh.” She looks at Yosiv and tries to make him feel pain. “Oh god.”

  Yosiv nods his head and takes it back from her. “I think it affects all your powers. But, it’s not a hundred percent of the time. Obviously, since you stopped my car.”

  She tries to see the future and can. “Wait, I still have my ability to see the past and future.”

  “That is something we haven’t figured out how you do,” Yosiv states. “The rest we know how your mother did it.”

  “Wait, you know how she did it,” Lexi gasps.

  He nods again. “Yes.”

  “How!?”

  Shaking his head, Yosiv says, “We will never tell you.”

  “How do you know all of this?” Lexi exclaims. “How do you have this stone and know all of this information?”

  “Your mother,” Yosiv states. “Your mother started us a long time ago. We detached ourselves from her after a while because she grew to be insane. She thought we had completely disbanded, but we didn’t. We hid from her. We have some of the technology.”

  “This is crazy,” Lexi snaps. “Holy crap.”

  Yosiv sticks his hand in his pocket and draws out a piece of paper. “Meet us at this address tomorrow night.”

  Lexi takes the piece of paper and looks at it. “Where is this?”

  “It’s a house an hour into the woods,” Yosiv answers. “Meet us there and we can talk more.”

  “How do I know I can trust you?” Lexi asks.

  He shakes his head. “We haven’t done anything yet, and we could have. We need to talk about this other group. You are our only chance.”

  “Maybe we should go to my dad,” Lexi replies. “He can do a lot more than me.”

  “We need to keep this group a secret, Lexi,” Yosiv emphasizes. “He can’t know.”

  “Why?” Lexi says.

  “Because, we monitor the Neturu. It’s only fair to the humans. Otherwise, you do rule over us. It’s fair for us to have a group that monitors and can stop you.”

  She thinks about it for a second and then nods her head. “That’s a good point.”

  “Please, meet with us tomorrow. Do not tell anyone about us,” Yosiv pleads. “We need your help.”

  “What have these people done?” Lexi inquires curiously.

  He shakes his head. “Nothing yet, but they have a plan in motion. They plan to out the Neturu very soon. They have video and evidence.”

  “Video of what?” Lexi asks.

  “Of your people shapeshifting,” Yosiv replies. “And of your ships.”

  “We can totally blame that on good CGI,” Lexi states. “That’s easy.”

  Yosiv shakes his head again, more dramatically this time. “No, this time it’s different, Lexi. It shows.”

  “Tell me where they are,” Lexi instructs. “Trust me; I can get the video.”

  “They know about you and may have ways to stop you,” Yosiv returns. “We need to talk.”

  “I will be there,” Lexi promises.

  Nodding, Yosiv says, “Thank you. I have to go. They are watching.”

  “Okay,” Lexi replies.

  Yosiv quickly turns and gets into his car. Lexi doesn’t stop him this time, and he drives away. Connor whispers, “We should get in my car.”

  “Yeah,” Lexi replies. “Let’s go.”

  They make their way to his car. “Whoa,” he finally exhales.

  “This is crazy,” Lexi whispers. “They have kryptonite for me.”

  “Rochita,” Connor corrects.

  “Whatever it’s called,” Lexi says. “It can stop me. How did my mom not have it when I was little?”

  “We will have to ask them,” he replies.

  “We are doing nothing. I will ask them,” Lexi emphasizes. “You are not going.”

  He jerks back and stammers, “You can’t go alone!”

  “I won’t,” Lexi replies. “I am going to take Lana and Ashe along.”

  Connor puts his hand to his chest. “So, I am supposed to sit home and wonder what’s going on?”

  “This is serious, Connor,” Lexi presses. “I can’t put you in danger. We at least have powers. You have nothing.”

  Glaring at her, Connor finally shrugs. “Fine, I will just go tell your dad.”

  “What?”

  “Sure, I care about you, and you are putting yourself in obvious danger. So, I will gladly forget about you if it means protecting you,” he states, raising an eyebrow. She knows he’s playing a game.

  “That’s not funny, Connor.”

  With another shrug, Connor puts his hands up. “Just looking out for you.”

  “Fine,” Lexi groans. “You can come. We should take your car anyway, because mine gets tracked.”

  “See, I’m useful for something,” Connor says, obviously proud of himself for winning the argument.

  “I don’t even know if I could jump us there anyway,” Lexi states. “If they have this rock that stops me, who knows if I will be able to use any of my powers.”

  He shakes his head. “That is so crazy.”

  “It’s scary,” Lexi gasps. “I could be powerless.”

  “It’s not scary,” Connor replies, rolling his eyes. “You’d be like the rest of us.”

  Her eyes widen. “I would be like the rest of you with no protection,” Lexi snaps. “All this stuff up in my brain, and I can’t do anything about someone taking me.”

  “You said you have a tracking chip in you,” Connor counters.

  “If they had an association with my real mom, they probably know how to deactivate it,” Lexi says.

  “I hate to say this but maybe you should tell your dad, or arm yourself,” Connor says. “Don’t you guys have ray guns or something?”

  That makes Lexi laugh. “Ray guns?”

  “You don’t have wicked cool weapons?” Connor scoffs. “Seriously? Can we say lame?”

  “Of course we have awesome high-tech weapons, but that doesn't mean we call them ray guns,” Lexi laughs some more.

  “What kind of weapons do you have?”

  Smiling, Lexi says, “We do have something like a ray gu
n.”

  “Like those things from Star Trek?”

  “We have guns that shoot electrical bursts,” Lexi explains. “Kind of like a ray gun?”

  “Does it shock you or kill you?” Connor inquires, looking completely excited.

  She rolls her eyes. “It can do either,” Lexi answers. “It depends on what level you set it at.”

  “So, it’s totally like Star Trek,” he gleefully replies. “I love that show.”

  Lexi looks at him and says, “Where do you think the idea came from?”

  His eyes widen. “No way.”

  “Yeah, it’s a secret, but a Neturu thought that would be a great idea. It was too late by the time we found out.”

  “That's crazy,” Connor emphasizes. “Ha! Star Trek all the way.”

  “Anyway, we do have weapons, but it’s getting one without my dad knowing that’s tricky. We monitor stuff like that. No one is allowed to use those weapons but guard members. That’s strictly enforced.”

  Connor rubs his chin. “Well, they are human. What about a real gun?”

  “Like with bullets?”

  He gives her a deadpan stare. “No, Cheetos. Yes, bullets.”

  “Never used one, and we don’t have guns like that.”

  “My stepdad has one,” Connor says. “I say we steal that.”

  She shakes her head. “No, that’s not a good idea. We should steal one from somewhere else.”

  “Like where?”.

  Tapping her finger on her lip, Lexi says, “Tonight, I will go to the gun store.”

  “They have cameras.”

  “I can shut everything down, jump in there and have everything back up and running in a minute,” Lexi says. “But, that I will do alone. What should I get?”

  Connor shrugs. “I have no idea. Something small so we can hide it.”

  “Do you know anything about guns?” Lexi asks. He shakes his head. “Great. I know nothing about human guns.”

  “Derrick does, though,” Connor says. “He knows a lot about guns.”

  “Well, let’s go ask him,” Lexi replies.

  He raises an eyebrow. “What are we going to tell him?”

  “Just ask what’s a good concealable gun,” Lexi says. “As simple as that.”

  “I know that boy,” Connor counters. “He's going to want to know why.”

  She presses her lips together. “Well, we need to come up with a story then.”

  “Dude, I won’t lie to him. I’m sorry. I know you have a secret and all, but he’s been my best friend since I was little. I refuse to lie to him.”

  “We, sure as shit, aren’t going to tell him that I’m an alien,” Lexi gasps, her eyes wide.

  Obviously, thinking hard, Connor says, “No, but we can say someone’s messing with you, and you need protection.”

  “And if he says tell my parents or go to the police?” Lexi counters.

  “He won’t,” Connor answers. “He’s all damn the man and rebellion. He will arm you before he tells you to go to the cops.”

  “Well,” Lexi starts. “That’s good.”

  Connor nods. “Let me call him.”

  “Can we just talk to him at school?” Lexi asks.

  He raises an eyebrow. “You want to talk about guns at school?”

  Opening her mouth, Lexi finally says, “Good point.”

  “Yeah, let’s keep this a big secret but talk about it in a building with hundreds of people,” Connor snorts.

  “Call him then, lippy,” Lexi demands, rolling her eyes.

  With a smile, Connor whips out his phone. “Watch this,” he says. He presses something on his dash, and the phones starts ringing over the speakers.

  “My car totally doesn’t do that,” Lexi laughs.

  “Hey man,” Derrick answers. “What’s up?”

  “Wanna play hookie?” Connor asks.

  Derrick laughs. “You want to skip school?”

  “I need to talk about something important,” Connor says.

  “Sure, where are we meeting?”

  “The spot,” Connor answers.

  “All right, leaving school now. See you there,” Derrick replies.

  “Yeah, see you there.” Connor then ends the call. “Okay, let’s go talk to him.”

  She smiles. “What’s the spot? Is it where you guys go to make out...with each other?”

  “No, it’s where we take girls,” Connor replies, deadpan.

  They stare at each other for a minute before Lexi’s jaw drops. “Why would you tell me that?”

  Connor shrugs. “You asked.” Lexi just glares at him. Finally, Connor starts to laugh. “No, we don’t take girls there. It’s where we have gone fishing since we were little. It’s hidden away, and I’ve never seen anyone else there.”

  “Okay, let’s go then,” Lexi says slowly, eyeing him up. He raises an eyebrow, and she smirks.

  They drive through town and then out into the country. “We are almost there,” Connor says.

  “You guys came out here when you were little?” Lexi gasps, shocked. “Your parents let you come all the way out here.”

  “No, Derrick’s grandparents live out here. We would go stay with them on the weekends. Maddie, too. She is the only other person who knows about the spot. So, feel special that I am taking you there.”

  “Never taken a girl to the spot before, huh?” Lexi teases.

  He shakes his head. “Nope, you are the first. Trust me. Derrick will be surprised that you are there.”

  “Will he be angry that you are giving away a secret?”

  “Nah,” Connor answers. “He likes you. If it were Jackie, it’d be a whole different story.” Connor suddenly takes a right and drives down a dirt road. Finally, they come to the end. “Okay, we have to walk the rest of the way.” They get out. Connor tilts his head to the left. “We have to walk through there.”

  Lexi gestures that way. “Let’s go.”

  “He’s obviously not here yet,” Connor says. “So, we can enjoy the view.”

  “The view?” Lexi laughs.

  “Yeah, wait until you see it,” Connor states. “You will appreciate it.”

  They walk slowly through the trees. “There’s no actual path. Do you know where we are?”

  “Oh yeah,” he answers. “Look at that tree, right there.” He points to the right of them.

  There sits a tree with initials in it. “Oh my gosh, are those yours?” Lexi asks.

  “Yup, Maddie’s and Derrick’s too. We did that when we were eight,” Connor declares. “Can you tell by the handwriting?”

  “That’s so cool,” Lexi whispers.

  He smiles. “Thanks.”

  It takes them a few minutes, but they finally come to a lake. “Oh wow,” Lexi exhales.

  “Told you you would like the view,” Connor says.

  There is a river that runs through the woods. Tall milkweeds cover the embankment. There is a little cliff off to the side, with a giant tree in the middle. The branches hang over the water and adds shade to that spot. “Is that where you fish?” Lexi asks, pointing over to that area.

  “Yeah,” Connor answers. “Come on.” He grabs her hand and pulls her over there. “This is perfect. The tree blocks the sun, and there’s usually a nice breeze that passes through here. We played down here almost every day.”

  “Did you actually catch fish?” Lexi inquires.

  “Not usually,” Connor laughs. “We would throw them back if we did. The fish are so small. We only had little kid poles, but it was fun. It wasn’t about catching fish. We’d play cops and robbers and tag. It brings back a lot of good memories.”

  That makes Lexi smile. “That sounds amazing.”

  Connor nods. “They were some of the best times of my life.”

  “Thank you for sharing this with me,” Lexi whispers. She grabs his hands. He smirks and pulls her towards him. Gently, he places his hand on the side of her face. Leaning in, Connor presses his lips against Lexi’s. It is soft and sweet. L
exi wraps her arms around his next and deepens the kiss. Connor eagerly meets her. The kiss turns heated very quickly.

  They press against each other hard. Lexi can’t believe how she feels. She never knew she could feel this connected to someone. She didn’t know she would feel this close to him so quickly, but there is something about Connor. Lexi just can’t get enough of him.

  Time passes and they never separate from each other. Finally, they hear, “Come up for air. Geez.”

  Pulling apart, Lexi wipes her lips. Derrick is standing there. His arms are crossed, and he is smiling. “Sorry,” she mumbles.

  “No, don’t mind me,” he teases. “I can come back another time.”

  “No, we need to talk to you,” Connor states, seriously. “It’s important.”

  Derrick’s smile fades a little. “What’s up?”

  Connor and Lexi look at each other, and then Connor says, “We need to know what a good, small, concealable gun is.”

  “A gun,” Derrick says slowly. “What do you need a gun for?”

  “My protection,” Lexi answers. “Someone is messing with me, and I’m worried.”

  “You know it’s illegal for you to have a gun,” Derrick counters. “So, it’s not like you can go buy one.”

  Lexi shifts her weight nervously. “I have the means to get one. I just need to know what to get.”

  He eyes her up. “Well, you need a holster if you are going to carry it on you, but you can’t bring that to school. You will go to jail for a really long time. You actually could still go to jail for a really long time. Are you sure you are up for that?”

  Nodding, Lexi says, “Yes. I need this. Not to carry around all the time. I just need it for something.”

  “Are you going to use it on someone?” Derrick asks. “I’m not going to be an accessory to murder.”

  She laughs. “No, I’m not going to hurt anyone. It just a safety thing. I want to make sure I have some sort of protection in a situation coming up.”

  “I’m all for screwing the man,” Derrick declares, with a half smile. “But this is serious. How are you going to get a gun?”

  Not saying anything, Lexi waits until Connor says something. Finally, he speaks, “We have our ways. If we tell you, then you would be an accessory.”

  “What’s going on?” Derrick asks. “This sounds serious.”

  “It is serious,” Connor replies. “But, trust me, we can’t tell you.”