First Born (Lily Moore Series)

by Tricia Zoeller

  Lily stood in the middle of a narrow wooden bridge, a fine mist rising up around her from emerald green waters. The evil triumvirate: Blood, Violence, and Pain had fled. Fishermen sang their songs to her from flat-bottomed shanban while women washed laundry in the Tuojiang River. In the distance, the verdant Nanhua Mountains imposed their majestic presence. To the south of the river stood the ancient city wall composed of mauve sandstone. Two watch towers loomed one to the east and the other to the west of the Great Wall.

  She was in Waipo’s dream. In her village. She walked across the bridge and down the narrow flagstone alleys between the high-gabled wooden houses on stilts. Upon these diaojiaolou or buildings with hanging legs, red lanterns bloomed like poppies in a vertical field.

  She felt compelled to walk through town greeting everyone, instinctively knowing their names and faces. Stopping in front of one house, Lily sensed a mystical breeze beckoning her inside. The first floor was a storage area for firewood and gardening supplies. Climbing up the stairs to the second floor, she passed through a front room to the rear where she found an ornately carved kitchen table in front of a fireplace. On the table, steam rose from a cup of tea. Lily sat down on the bench and leaned her face forward allowing the warmth to kiss her face. She enjoyed the aged fuzhuan black tea with lonyan honey. The tea brought to mind sweet red dates. She began to smile, but stopped when her eyes drifted to the corner. A red votive candle flickered in front of a memorial ancestral tablet.

  There was no sense of time, no feeling of urgency. When she felt ready, Lily ascended to the third floor, traveling down the hallway to a small room at the end. A bird more magnificent than any she had seen in her life caught her attention. It did not see her gazing upon it from the doorway, but continued a haunting song of wutong trees, warm springs, and mountains.

  Before she knew it, she had crossed the threshold and settled upon a twin bed dressed in plain white linens. Mesmerized by the bird’s song, she studied it. Although it was the size of a blue heron, it was more elegant than a peacock. Its head and body was that of a pheasant in various shades. The tail consisted of the five sacred colors: red, blue, yellow, white, and black. The fenghuang’s story lulled her into a deep sleep. The lightest touch woke her.

  Again, she had no knowledge of how much time had passed. Lily gazed up into Waipo’s amber eyes saying good-bye to her. Then her grandmother was gone. The bird disappeared. The bed disapparated from underneath her.

  When Lily opened her eyes, grief overcame her. Torn from the utopian place that felt as comforting as the womb, she felt cold and naked. Actually, she was naked. She was in a different bedroom. A small lamp illuminated the corner, allowing her to discern the outline of Seth crumpled in an armchair. Warm blankets covered her, but that was all, except for the crucible around her neck. As she went to move her hand, she noted clear tubing tethering her to an IV pole. Using her free hand, she reached up to feel a bandage on her head. She took a moment to allow the silent tears to flow. Her chest tight, she dried her face with a corner of the sheet.

  “Seth?” He stirred, knocking his jacket to the floor.

  “Seth!”

  He jerked upright, “Dude!” He focused his eyes on her. “Lily?” Seth stretched his long legs in the process of getting to his feet. She watched his slow approach, each footstep cautious as if it might send a jolt through her frail body.

  Good Lord, how bad do I look? “Where are we?”

  “Dr. Gladson’s. I brought you here last night. How do you feel?”

  “A little wonky in the head. What time is it?”

  Seth looked at his watch. “Eleven o’clock in the morning. He has blackout drapes. Do you want me to open them?”

  She shrugged.

  He stepped over and drew the cord. Involuntarily, she held her breath. Despite the closed blinds, daylight filtered into the room displaying dust moats as they swirled in the sunbeams.

  “Open the blinds,” she said.

  He did. Outside, she saw buildings, but they were not diaojiaolou.

  Seth’s eyes were teary when he turned from the window. “God Lily, I thought you were going to die.” He came over and sat on the edge of the bed. He seemed afraid to touch her for fear she would scream in pain.

  “I think I’m okay. Nothing really hurts anymore. I just feel weak and extremely stiff.”

  He nodded. “Your wounds healed before our eyes.”

  Lily touched the crucible. Seth’s eyes followed her hand. “Where’s Mr. Liu?” she queried.

  “The police think he’s been kidnapped. He didn’t do this, did he?” Seth asked, bolting to his feet.

  “No. Some man took him.”

  “What man?” he asked gently.

  “The Dark Watcher. He wore a mask.”

  “You’re sure it was the same guy?” Seth asked, settling back down.

  “I smelled him.”

  Seth eyes flew to the necklace again.

  “It’s Waipo’s. She sent it to Mr. Liu to give to me. It’s a crucible. Supposedly, it balances things. Not everyone can touch it.”

  “Dr. Gladson touched it,” he said.

  “Shifters are the ones who need to be wary of it.”

  Seth wiped his eyes. “I’m going to get the doc, let him know you’re awake.”

  Ten minutes later, Dr. Gladson stood over her checking her vitals. I never thought I’d need a vet, for myself. She studied his gray hair, young face, and small hoop earrings through each ear and couldn’t guess his age.

  “Amazing. This is like a month’s worth of healing in one night,” he said as he checked her head and shoulder wound. “How do you feel?”

  “Hungry.”

  Both men looked at each other. “I’m thinking we should start you on a liquid diet.” Her stomach protested. Dr. Gladson looked worried. “What do you feel like?”

  “A fourteen pound steak, loaded potato, salad and a chocolate mountain lava cake covered with raspberry sauce.”

  Dr. Gladson blinked. “Why don’t we start with some broth?”

  She capitulated since he had saved her life. He redressed her wounds with smaller bandages then went back to the clinic. Seth made himself useful in the kitchen, making Lily a cup of chicken broth that lasted two seconds.

  “Easy, Lily!”

  “My body needs some fuel. Now go see if this man has bacon, eggs, and biscuits. I’m starving.”

  Thirty minutes later, she wiped her mouth with a napkin and belched ceremoniously, setting off Seth’s car alarm in the driveway. The low rumble didn’t alert the humans in the next building, but the dogs barked no doubt hearing it and feeling the vibration.

  Seth grimaced, “Must you do that?”

  “I was paying my compliments to the cook.”

  “Dude, that’s really not normal.”

  “Sethasaurus, we passed normal weeks ago.”

  “Yeah, but if you keep doing that someone’s liable to call the cops!” He fished the keys out of his jacket in order to deactivate the alarm.

  Returning to the wood-paneled bedroom, he pulled a shaker-style oak chair up to the side of the bed.

  “What happened, Lily?” he asked, using a stern Dad-like voice. She wondered if he was even aware of lowering the pitch of his voice.

  “Well Seth, someone slapped me so hard I saw Elvis,” she said, lowering her pitch like his.

  He folded his arms across his chest then stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankles. “I’m aware you got knocked upside the head.”

  “Were you aware that it was Mr. Liu’s ancient halberd that’s been in his family for eons?”

  Seth sat up, “But you said it wasn’t Mr. Liu?”

  “No, some evil man. Actually, a man and a woman. Someone came up behind me.” She eyed the IV needle stuck in her arm. “Hey, do you think he can take this shit out; it’s really bugging me?”

  “Two? Lily. Focus. He’ll take the IV out once he sees you tolerated breakfast okay and you’ve finished that bag of fluids. Now
please tell me what the hell happened yesterday or I’m going to lose it.”

  Pulling the blanket more tightly around her first, she turned to fluff the pillows. Once she was settled in comfortably, she began.

  “Waipo passed away.” She watched him squirm. “I had tea in her house.”

  Seth’s eyebrows shot up in question.

  “Before she passed, I went to her guest room to listen to her pet fenghuang sing me to sleep.”

  “Fenghuang?” queried Seth.

  “It’s a sacred Chinese bird whose head is the sky, her eyes the sun, her back the moon, her wings the wind, her feet the earth, and her tail the planets.”

  “Lil’ hon’. You have major narcotics still in your system.”

  “Seth hon’ come look at this crucible!”

  He scowled.

  “Listen to me. Nothing is as it seems. Our father was part dog. I’m part dog-bird creature. Mom’s still out to lunch, most of the time. Grandma held some sort of sacred family secret related to shapeshifters. Mr. Liu was beaten and abducted because of his knowledge of our family. You gonna listen now?”

  “You need to calm down!”

  The tingling in her back started as a slight tickle. Exhaling slowly she regrouped and told him the previous day’s events, ending with Detective Simms seeing her in the woods. He then relayed his ordeal with the police interrogation, explaining that he had to describe the Koko Hitomi incident. Lily had a strong feeling he had edited the version he relayed to her about Hitomi.

  “What the hell is the deal with that lady anyway?”

  “She has some kind of obsession with me,” Seth said.

  “Yeah, Peter mentioned that, but I didn’t know she still stalked you. Can’t the police do something about it?”

  “That’s the least of their worries right now. They suspect I’m aware of your actions. They were trying to lean on me to see if I knew your current whereabouts. In fact, I’m waiting for a call from them today. I’m sure they will want to follow up.”

  “What else? Did they say anything about Peter or Mona?”

  Seth averted his eyes. “They are investigating Peter’s death as well as Mona’s in conjunction with your disappearance.”

  “I want to know what’s going on, Seth!”

  “What do you mean?”

  Before she could answer, Seth’s whole body stiffened and he swung his head toward the door.

  “What?”

  “Stay here Lily. Lock the door!”

  With that, he moved faster than she imagined he could, leaving her to fend for herself with the darn IV pole. Some yelling at the door had her frantically ripping the tape off her arm, pulling the needle out, and applying pressure to the site with a bare hand. Rifling through the dresser drawers, she found a man’s large Georgia Bulldogs shirt. She got her head through, but only her right arm due to the soreness in the left shoulder.

  As she tiptoed down the hallway, she grabbed a walking stick from the corner of an office to use as a weapon.

  “You can’t come in,” hissed Seth to someone at the door.

  “What is she, Seth?” asked the voice.

  “Stay away from her!”

  As Lily entered the living room, something broke through the doorway, sending an explosion of feathers into the air. It was the most surreal experience. Having been frightened and vulnerable, Lily shifted into a Shih Tzu, losing the stick. Suddenly there was a soft body covering her and growling. “Leave her alone!” boomed a voice overhead.

  The pressure on top of her lifted in a flash of fur and cat squalls. Her instincts kicked in. She wanted to chase the kitty. When the scent of another bird wafted to her, her body wavered toward it directionally, like a divining rod to water.

  The beast was in her territory. Tashi leapt over the sofa heading for the commotion of feathers and fur. Mid-flight the voice screamed at her, “Lily. No!” That’s when she identified the voice. It was Barry White. She recognized that deep baritone anywhere. But, Barry White is dead. Distracted by the voice, she crashed against an end table coming to rest on her back with her paws in the air.

  Her shoulder and head throbbed. A laugh erupted overhead followed by a whoosh of feathers. Something grabbed her feet and she felt weightless as she flew through the air upside down. The cat tackled the bird, digging in its claws.

  CH-CHK.

  Lily fell on her back. Looking up, she watched as feathers and fur swirled slowly down, coming to rest in the living room like fall leaves on a forest floor. Dr. Gladson stood in the doorway with his cocked shotgun trained on the scariest looking bird creature Lily had ever encountered.

  “Don’t shoot,” said the cat sitting oddly with his left paw up in a wave position. The cat was talking like Barry White. What the hell kind of narcotics did Dr. Gladson give me?

  The cat did a free-running move involving a back flip over the couch. Two seconds later up popped her brother pulling on Calvin Klein boxers.

  Lily was stunned.

  “What the hell?” Dr. Gladson asked. Lily wasn’t sure which scenario was more bizarre: the free-running, talking cat or her gun-slinging hippy vet.

  “Koko is leaving. Aren’t you?” Seth directed.

  Koko?

  Dr. Gladson kept his gun on Koko the bird. For some reason that made Lily think of cuckoo birds and she started to chuckle.

  She had to give the vet credit. When Koko the cuckoo bird shifted back into a hot naked woman, he kept it together. Unlike Seth, Koko was unfazed by her nakedness. She stared at Lily like a hawk does its prey. Don’t worry, I just want to talk.

  She had spoken in Lily’s head and she sure didn’t look like she just wanted to talk.

  Dr. Gladson kicked her clothes to her. She shimmied into the dress then slipped into her heels. Seth handed the purse to her like a perfect gentleman. He had managed to slip on torn jeans, but his shirt lay shredded on the floor from the violence of his shift.

  “What is she, Seth?”

  “She’s a dog, that’s it.”

  “Bull shit.” Koko Hitomi glared at Lily who cowered by Dr. Gladson’s legs.

  “She’s guarding something. Whatever it is, it makes my skin crawl.”

  They all watched from the doorway as she backed her Range Rover out of the driveway. The front door hung askew on its hinges. Dr. Gladson rested the gun against the wall so he could attempt to fix the door. It creaked and squeaked as he tried to force the splintered wood back into the space.

  He was a determined man. After he shoved it in somehow, he turned to them. “I should call the authorities, but I have no idea what the Sam hill I’d tell them.” He looked over at Lily. “You all right?” She limped over to him in order to lick his hand. She had new wounds on her legs from psycho bird’s talons. They both stopped to stare at Seth.

  “Dude, I told you she’s crazy!” He laughed while raking his hands through his hair. Deep gashes across his back oozed blood. “I’ll be fine,” he said in response to their shocked faces. “I heal almost as fast as Lily.”

  Lily scurried past Seth to the back bedroom, dragging the t-shirt in her mouth, her Shih Tzu tail between her legs. After she found a baseball bat and beat him, they were going to talk, but she needed to shift first. Returning a few minutes later in the Georgia Bulldogs t-shirt, she walked in on Dr. Gladson reaming him out.

  His tirade ended with, “You should have told me, Seth. You need to leave now!” He looked at her. He meant both of them.

  Chapter 26

  From the Lost Notes of Peter Marx

  July 28, 2010

  Dr. H’s secret side project relates to shifters—she is attempting to trigger the condition in dormant subjects she refers to as Vestiges.

  Vestiges are individuals born into shapeshifter families who don’t exhibit the ability to shapeshift. According to her, the phenomenon triggers during adolescence. I continue to refer to this as a phenomenon because scientifically, I cannot differentiate the difference between shifters and humans at the cellular l
evel.

  For Subject T and C, she is attempting to suppress their shifting with Inderal because they are having difficulties controlling their condition.

  For the Vestiges, she is utilizing anabolic steroid injections in the hopes of activating the dormant condition.

  Subject T and C are dear friends. I’m concerned for their well-being. The Vestiges worry me as well. I assume they came to the clinic initially to receive care for PTSD. This doesn’t strike me as an efficacious treatment protocol. At this point, I’m keeping such thoughts to myself in order not to jeopardize my graduate work. Dr. H doesn’t involve me in the work with the Vestiges. She doesn’t even allow me to meet them or review the notes. What I know, I’ve garnered piecemeal from her pedantic lectures while working together.

  —Peter

  Chapter 27

  Lucky Cat

  Lily and Seth pulled up to the McDonald’s drive thru. They were both wearing some of Dr. Gladson’s old clothes. He had actually gotten them in decent shape, attending to their wounds and providing them with pain meds, antibiotics, and a first aid kit before sending them on their way. Lily didn’t feel so much like an ejected house guest, but a kid whose mother has packed her things and sent her off to summer camp.

  She removed her seatbelt so she could lean in to read the menu. Neither stress, nor death threats, nor crazy homicidal cuckoo birds hindered her voracious appetite. She ordered enough food to feed a football team.

  Seth stared at her. “A Big Mac and a Quarter Pounder?”

  Lily shrugged then winced from her wound. “What’ll you have kitty—a Filet-O-Fish sandwich?” she asked.

  Scowling at her, he placed his order which included a Filet-O-Fish sandwich. He pulled into a parking space while she gorged.

  “Don’t you dare belch,” he warned as she dipped the French fries in the shake before eating them.

  Once Lily put herself in a food coma, she reclined back in the seat. They both stared out the windshield watching children on the playground. “We used to be innocent,” she said more to herself than Seth.