"Hey, Raine. What's up?" I asked after hitting the button that sent the call through the car’s stereo system.
"To know if you have plans for this evening."
I thought for a second before replying. "Nope, what's up?"
"Come to my place for dinner. We should talk."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing wrong. Just come over, I'll feed you, we'll talk."
"You going to tell me what you want to talk about?"
"No, just come."
"Mysterious ass." He laughed on the other end of the line. "What time you want me to show up?" I asked.
"Come by about six."
"Want me to bring anything?"
"Just you."
"All right, I'll see you then."
I ended the call, parked the car and went into the clinic, wondering what Raine wanted to talk about.
Chapter 26
Alexis let me go early that evening so I could get ready to go to Raine's. I went home and showered and changed before heading over to his place. He lived on the south end of town, and by the time I got there I was almost late. I knocked on his front door, and only had to wait for a moment before the door swung silently open, revealing my brother. He was close enough to me in height and age that I didn't really consider him a big brother, though he was almost a year older than me. I walked in and wondered what was going on, we saw each other every week at the family dinner, but it was uncommon for him to have one sibling over without the others.
"Hey, How you doing?" He gave me a hug as I stepped inside the house.
"Good, confused as hell, but I'm good." I watched as he closed the door and turned toward the living room.
"I've got enchiladas in the oven, they've still got a while to cook," He said, "Do you want anything to drink? I've got soda's, tea and water."
"A Pepsi would be great, if you have one. If not, I'll take tea."
"I have Pepsi, let me get that for you. Have a seat, I'll be right back." He invited, heading into the adjacent kitchen.
When he returned he handed me a glass filled with ice and the dark soft drink.
"So, what's up?" I asked.
"I thought we should talk."
"You said that on the phone, about what?"
"Life. Changes. What's happening with you, all of it."
"I'm not sure what you're talking about," I pretended ignorance.
"Yes, you do, Nickie." He said calmly, confidently, "But I guess I'll go first, since I've been keeping my secret longer."
I stayed silent, waiting to hear what he felt he needed to tell me.
"I have what I think of as a blessing,” He looked down at his hands, clasped together between his knees, “I've known some who've called it a curse, but more often than not, it's been a blessing to me." I raised one eyebrow in question, but didn't say anything.
"I've had it as long as I can remember, my grandmother, who had the same gift, taught me when I was very young never to tell anyone, ever, about it. So when Mom and Dad adopted me I kept it secret. You're the first person I've ever told." He looked back up at me, meeting my eyes.
"And why are you telling me now?" I wanted to know.
"Because it's time to share, Nickie, for both of us."
I tried to calm the panic in my chest. I could hear my own heart beating too rapidly, and I couldn't make it slow. I could only hope that Raine couldn't hear it.
"I don't know what you mean," I tried to pretend I didn't know what he was talking about.
"I think you do, but I'll continue anyway. I'm a seer, at least that's what Nan called us. I sometimes have visions. Bits of the future, events that could happen. Sometimes I can change them, sometimes not, and sometimes I don't even try, or want to.
Sometimes it's not events that that I get but insights into others, sometimes people I've just met, sometimes people I've known for years." I was trying to keep a straight face, not to let him know that I already knew about his talent.
"I know what you are, Nickie." He continued, "I've known about your kind, though not about you, for years."
I couldn't keep my shock off my face, how could he know? I blinked at him, unsure what to say.
"I didn't ask you here to make accusations, condemn you, or to rail at you. I just wanted to let you know that I know. So you don't feel like you have to continue keeping it secret from me. Someone to talk to is something we all need sometimes."
"How do you know?" I finally found the words to ask.
"I saw you shift."
"When? I've been so careful. I would have scented you if you'd been around." I was almost panicking at the thought that I had somehow missed him and if I’d missed him I could have missed someone else.
"I wasn't physically there, but as for where, I would say you were on the mountain. You were standing next to an old pickup." A blush rose up my face. It occurred to me that if he’d seen me shift he’d also seen me naked, but I tried to ignore that tidbit.
"How long have you known?" I asked
"A few days."
"Not about me, about the Kindred."
"I assume by kindred you mean the shifters?" He asked, when I nodded, he continued, "Years. The first time I encountered one and picked up a sight of them in wolf form, was when we were teenagers."
"And you've never said a word?" I wondered.
"I figured I had secrets too. I wouldn't want them to share mine, so I kept quiet about theirs."
I was amazed. I'd never imagined that Raine would know about us, but the thrill that I no longer had to keep my secret from him raced through me.
"You know, Mom and Dad know what I am." I shared, "But the Anikitos said I couldn't tell the rest of the family, as the whole race is a secret."
"I understand," he said, "I just wanted you to know, you don't have to keep it from me."
"I'm glad." A timer went off in the kitchen and Raine went to take care of dinner. We visited a bit more while we ate and then I went home.
Saturday morning, as soon as I'd eaten breakfast and dressed for the day I called Bill.
"Are you busy?" I asked.
"Not really, what's up?"
"We should talk, and I think it should probably be in person."
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. It's not urgent but it should be soon."
"All right, I believe you. How about noon? Come see me, and we'll talk."
"Noon's great, I'll see you then."
"See you then." I disconnected the call and sat down the phone, trying to figure out the best way to say what I knew I had to tell him.
I knocked on Bill's door at exactly noon. I'd asked for the meeting and I felt like it would be rude to be late after he'd made time for me. After a few seconds Gabriel answered the door. I'd forgotten that he would probably be there.
"Hey Nickie, how you doing?" He asked, ushering me into the house and closing the door to keep the cool air inside.
"Pretty good, you?"
"Staying busy. Bill said you'd be coming by, and to tell you he's in his office when you got here."
"Not going to escort me down there and guard him from me?" I teased, making him smile.
"No, I know you won't hurt him. Besides, he said not to." Gabriel admitted.
I laughed. "I guess I'll see you later, if you're still around." I said over my shoulder as I headed down the hall for the office. As much as I wasn’t looking forward to it, I wanted to get it I over with at the same time.
I didn't see Bill in the room when got to the door. I stepped inside anyway and looked around the room, still not finding him. I was about to turn around and go back to Gabriel when Bill appeared in the doorway. He was carrying a plate piled high with cut fruit in one hand and a pair of glasses in his other.
"Have a seat; I got us something to eat." He motioned toward the seating area we generally used. I sat down, but on the edge of the black leather chair, instead of all the way back like I normally would.
"You said w
e needed to talk?" Bill prompted, setting the plate and glasses down and taking a seat in the other chair.
"I did." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking again. "I wanted to be face to face when I told you that Raine knows."
"You told your brother?" Bill was carefully showing no emotion, keeping me from being able to judge his reaction.
"No, I didn't have to. He already knew."
"Who told him?" He seemed to be running short on patience.
"Let me tell you what happened last night, then you'll know as much as I do."
"I think that would be a good idea." His voice terse.
I explained to him what Raine had said to me last night, and finished with, "I already knew he was a seer, but I didn't know he’d be able to tell that we were shifters."
"How did you know he's a seer?" He seemed less angry, less on edge now.
"One of my talents, it took me a while to figure out what it was. It was Hank who solved the mystery."
"Hank?"
I explained to him about the first time I'd met Hank and the shocking sensation I'd felt. I continued with what Hank had explained to me at the barbecue at his place later. Bill seemed surprised to learn about the talent.
"So to clarify, you didn't tell Raine about the Kitsune, and you believe him when he says that no one told him?"
"Yes." I answered briefly.
"And in your opinion, will he continue to keep the secret?"
"I think so. He's already kept it this long, and his own secret. He told me he didn't want his secret told, so why would he tell someone else's."
"I see. I tend to agree with you. But should an issue arise, I need to have asked the right questions, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Has it occurred to you that this ability to sense power may be why you feel like you can sense Devon's wolf?" Bill changed the subject.
"It has. I believe the combination of my powers, the sensing power and the calling animals is why I can feel it. I didn’t realized what it was until after I shifted someone the first time."
"Hmm…. It's an interesting theory. Sensing powers is not common; it's possible that the rarity is why no one knows anything about calling a non-shifter's animal."
I didn't know what to say, he seemed to be talking more to himself than to me anyway. I listened to him think for a few minutes before he seemed to realize I was still there. We ate the fruit he'd brought for us and visited for a bit before I left, promising to call when Devon made a decision. I didn't see Gabriel on my way out. He must have been busy in the back of the house.
Chapter 27
A few days later I was on my way home after work, walking through the courtyard when I heard someone shouting my name.
"Nickie!" Devon called again across the open space, causing me to turn, I watched him cross the courtyard toward me, not bothering to yell back. He approached quickly, jogging smoothly.
"I've been watching for you. Could I convince you to come to my place? We can find something for dinner and watch a film if you'd like." I looked at him for a second, wondering why he really wanted me to come over. I knew that food and a movie weren't what he really had on his mind, and after a second or two I realized that he probably wanted to talk about my trying to shift him. That wasn't something that we wanted to discuss out in the open like this.
"Sure. Let me run upstairs and change into something more comfortable, and I'll be right down." I watched him only long enough to see him nod before hurrying up the steps to my apartment. I was eager to hear what he'd decided, and pretty sure he'd have made a decision or he wouldn't have made a point to wait for me to invite me over.
Less than ten minutes later I knocked on Devon's door. He let me in and invited me to sit down.
"I hope you don't mind, I ordered a pizza. I offered food and a movie as an excuse to get you to come over more than anything. I'll do both, but I wanted to talk to you more."
"I don't mind. I figured that you had other reasons, but you didn't have to wait for me or come up with an excuse to invite me over. You could have just sent me a message asking me to stop by."
"That never occurred to me." He shook his head at his own lack of forethought, "I guess I've been so preoccupied with making this decision that normal things just aren't registering."
"I understand, it's a big decision. Something you never thought you'd get the chance at. I'd probably be in a state of shock too."
"Shock…" He seemed to mull the word over for a minute, "Yeah, that's about right." Devon sat down on the edge of the recliner he'd picked up recently and scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to clear his mind.
"I assume you've made up your mind?" I prompted, curious about his decision.
"Yeah, I want to do it. But I have a couple of conditions."
"I can't promise that you'll get what you want, but I'm sure if they're reasonable then Bill won't object."
Devon nodded, "I know you can't make promises, and I think the things I want are more than reasonable."
"What is it you want?" I slid forward in my seat until I could reach him. I laid my hand on his knee, the simple touch seemed to calm him, and he looked up, laying his hand over mine.
"I realize that there is no guarantee that this will work. Actually, I fully expect it not to. Because of that I want as few people as possible to know. I want as few people present as possible, and above all, my family's not to know."
I nodded, understanding where he was coming from. "I can tell you Bill's already told me that should you decide to do it, he wants to be there. And Alexis should be there, I want her to use her healing talents to monitor you for the whole thing, I don't want to accidentally hurt or worse, kill you by trying this. Even if Bill doesn't insist on her presence, I will." Devon nodded, accepting my reasoning, “Having the two of them there will necessitate at least one, but most likely both of their personal security." Devon was rubbing his thumb back and forth over my hand again, the motion seemed to sooth him so I didn't stop him.
"So that's four, I can't say that Bill won't want more there, but I do understand not wanting a crowd. I don't really want one either, and if it comes to it, I’ll fight to keep a crowd away."
The doorbell rang. Devon released my hand as he stood; he answered to the door and took the pizza from the delivery guy, signing the receipt before closing the door.
"Let's eat in the kitchen" He carried the pizza to the other room. I followed him into the kitchen, and pulled napkins out of the drawer while he grabbed a couple of paper plates for us to eat off of. We sat down at the table he’d recently added to the room, each taking a couple of slices of pizza from the box and taking a bite.
"I don't want anyone told. Anyone. I want it kept secret as possible. At least until it's done. If it work's then it won't matter who finds out." Devon spoke again as he finished his first slice of pizza.
"I can't promise that. I think it's a good idea, but it's not up to me."
"I know." He continued eating. "How soon do you think we can do it?"
"I don't know. It will probably be a weekend. We can try it when you're off, or in the evening after work."
"I'd prefer when I'm off. Always before, when they tried to get me to shift, something would happen. It didn't hurt much at the time, but I was really stiff and sore the next day. It'd be best if I don't have to get up and go to work the next day."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that trying to get you to shift had been a painful process."
"It's okay, I'm aware of it, and I'm okay with it. It's a choice I've made knowing it's a possibility."
"So this weekend, or two weeks from now. I'll let Bill know that when I talk to him. He may get a hold of you. He will probably want to speak to you in person about it."
"That's fine. If he doesn't already have my number, give it to him."
I h ad finished eating so I picked up my plate and napkin and dropped them in the trash, cleaning up after myself. "Will do. Do you wanna watch that film yo
u offered me?"
"Do you?"
"I'd like to, but if it was just an excuse to get me to come over, that's okay too."
"Well," he drawled, "It was, but I’d love to watch something. I’ll get my mind off this and keep me from overthinking it."
We put the left overs away and went into the living room. When the film got over I went home and because it was late, I sent Bill a message instead of calling him. I relayed Devon's decision, and his requests, and I included Devon's number in case he wanted to call him himself.
Bill called while I was on my lunch break the next day. He said he'd already spoken with Devon and the others.
"We'd like to do it Saturday, but in order to comply with Devon's request for privacy; I don't have a location available."
"What kind of place do you need?" I wracked my brain for places we could use.
"Ideally? Some place rural, we want it far enough from people that no one would hear screams, just in case. Sometimes forcing an animal form can be pretty painful. Normally we go out to the desert at night, but because Devon has requested we do this during the day, and because he doesn't want anyone to know, indoors would be good too. It would guarantee that there were no spectators. During the day you can never be sure there's not a birdwatcher with binoculars on the next hill top."
"Hmm…Give me a couple hours to think about it, I may come up with something."
"Let me know if you do, I'd like to get it all set up tonight if I can."
"I'll call you tonight, either way." I assured him before disconnecting the call.
Saturday morning we gathered at my parent’s farm. I'd arranged with Dad to use one of the barns, one that didn't have any animals in it for the time being. I'd called Dad Thursday afternoon, telling him that we needed it, but not why. He had no reason not to let me use the old barn so he'd given the key for the door to Devon before he'd left the day before, saving me a stop this morning. Not seeing the point in taking two vehicles on the same drive, Devon and I made the trip together. I kept the driver’s door open and sat sideways in the seat, waiting for everyone to arrive, while Devon went ahead, carrying a small duffel bag, to unlock the door for us and make sure there was a clear space for us to work.
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