Soulshifter

by Barbara Pietron

  “Cool. See you later.”

  “Hey, thanks. I appreciate you coming over to help.”

  “Right.” Wes shrugged. “You can pay me back later.” He grinned, then trotted down the porch steps.

  Natalie looked up as Jack returned. “I found her family tree.”

  He sat down on the couch and studied the document on the computer screen. “Schmidt? Can you get any more German than that?”

  “I don’t think so,” Natalie agreed, her eyes crinkling. “But I’m not sure about these.” She pointed to the opposite side of the diagram. “We’ll have to Google them. There’s probably more than one website that lists the ethnicity of surnames.”

  “Yep. And then we’ll need to look up the associated lore or mythology.”

  “Do you really think this could work, Jack?”

  Her somber expression told Jack she didn’t want to get her hopes up just to have them crushed, so he chose his reply carefully. “I think I have a better chance than anyone who’s gone before me.”

  Chapter 7

  Relationships

  As the bus lumbered toward him, Jack instinctively took a step back to avoid the pursuing dust cloud. The door opened with a screech and he clambered aboard. His face looked a lot better this morning. Most of the swelling was gone and thanks to his mom, the black patches under his eyes were minimal and his nose was straight. Still, many curious stares followed him as he made his way to an open seat near the back.

  He spent the next few minutes feigning interest in something on his phone until Wes got on the bus. Motioning with his head for his friend to sit behind him, Jack turned his back on the gawkers.

  “So what’s gonna happen when you see Hanley today?” Wes asked.

  “Hopefully, I won’t. But if I do see him, I’m going to ignore him.”

  “Dude, don’t you want to get him back?”

  “It won’t solve anything. I’d just like to know how he happened to see me with Natalie. We don’t even talk to each other at school.” He hated to, but he had to ask. “You haven’t been shooting your mouth off, have you?”

  “Me? Why would I want to talk about you when I’m far more interesting?”

  Jack snorted. “That’s what I thought. So, what? Is he stalking her or something?”

  “Beats me.”

  Jack asked Natalie the same question after second hour.

  “Stalking me?” She switched out books in her locker.

  “Think about it. How else could he possibly have known we’ve been spending time together unless he was watching you?”

  Natalie scowled. “He better not be.” She jammed a book on the top shelf.

  Just then Jack was shoved, hard, into the locker next to his. Natalie looked up in surprise and then behind her for the perpetrator. He thought he heard her mumble ‘cheese and rice’ and then she marched down the hall after Brett who sauntered away, snickering.

  “What’s your problem?” She jabbed her ex’s shoulder.

  Brett turned around. “Don’t touch me, tramp.”

  “Tramp? How dare you?”

  “Oh please, your sheets hadn’t even cooled off before you hooked up with your buddy over there. I bet you were cheating before we even broke up.”

  “WHAT?” Natalie rose up on her toes to get right into Brett’s face. “You WISH you were ever in my sheets! Jack and I are working on a project together—not that it’s any of your business. Get over yourself!”

  Brett opened his mouth to say something, but Natalie cut him off. “And by the way, grow some balls and fight your own battles. Three against one—way to look like a coward!” She spun on her heel, snatched up her backpack, and slammed her locker door.

  Brett attempted to laugh it off, but Jack swore he read confusion in the guy’s eyes before he turned and drifted into the current of students.

  Jack quickly finished at his locker and melted into the traffic, careful not to meet anyone’s gaze. He felt like an idiot. Anyone who wondered what happened to his face had just been given enough clues to figure it out. And when they did, he was going to look like a wimp who needed a girl to stand up for him. But that was nothing compared to his bigger worry. Jack wished Natalie hadn’t mentioned a project. The ruse was flimsy at best. It might have worked on Natalie’s father, but if anyone at school noticed or bothered to check—he didn’t have any classes with Natalie. The lie would likely make Brett angrier and Jack didn’t need anything extra to worry about right now.

  Lack of eye contact didn’t diminish the prying eyes he felt boring into his bowed head or the barely whispered conversations that stopped when he passed by. He hated it. He preferred to fly under the radar, not be the blip that drew everyone’s attention.

  When Natalie didn’t show up after third hour, Jack took the opportunity to get out all the books he needed for the remainder of his classes. He was ticked off and didn’t want to be. Maybe if he avoided her for the rest of the day he’d calm down before he talked to her. Since he had a few classes with Wes, he dropped the extra books off at his friend’s locker.

  Unfortunately, Jack did run into Brett later in the day—or maybe Brett had sought him out. The latter was likely, because he challenged Jack to fight him one on one.

  “There’s nothing to fight about,” Jack said firmly, meeting the eyes of his aggressor directly while continuing to his next class.

  Brett stepped into Jack’s path, forcing him to stop. “You’re a scavenger. Feeding on rebound chicks.”

  Jack rolled his eyes. Really? That was the best this idiot could come up with? He stepped around the other boy without saying anything.

  “After school,” Brett shouted behind him. “Just you and me. It’s on.”

  In history class, Jack dumped his books on the desk next to Wes and slumped into the chair. “Brett just challenged me to a fight after school. One on one,” he sighed heavily.

  “Are you going to fight him?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to. His reason for the fight is stupid, although he’s managed to make messing up his face sound really inviting.”

  “Can you take him?”

  “You mean without both of my arms pinned?” Jack said wryly. He shrugged. “Probably. My dad is a hand-to-hand master. He taught me how to fight when I was a little kid.”

  Wes eyed his friend dubiously. “He’s pretty big, man.”

  “Big’s got nothing to do with it. I’m fast and skilled. And I’m certainly not afraid of him.”

  “Do it, then. Get him off your back.”

  Jack shook his head. “I’m not going to go looking for a fight. If he approaches me, I’ll try to talk to him first, but if he throws a punch, I will defend myself.”

  At the end of the day Natalie was with a friend and Jack didn’t say anything to her. He gathered his books like any other day and headed for the bus. Wes waited for him at the exit doors and they stepped outside simultaneously. Ten feet from the bus door, just as Jack thought he might be able to climb aboard and just go home, he heard Wes mumble: “He’s here.”

  Jack didn’t look. He took another step toward the bus, not acknowledging when he heard Brett shout.

  “Here he comes, man,” Wes muttered.

  “Hey, Jack-ass.” The guy was a regular cut-up. Was this really the caliber of guy Natalie was willing to put up with?

  Jack turned reluctantly. He didn’t want to do this, but he didn’t want to get sucker punched either.

  “We had a date, remember?” The larger boy stood with his hands balled into fists, frowning at Jack.

  “Look man, I don’t even know what you want to fight over.” Jack twisted his head toward Brett, the rest of his body still facing the bus—as if he had every expectation he’d continue in that direction.

  “Natalie.”

  “Dude, you broke up with her.”

  Brett cocked his head slightly, again wearing that odd confused look.

  Jack drew in a sharp breath. Brett’s eyes. He could swear they just flash
ed red. Only for a second—so short that Jack had to ask himself if he’d actually seen what he thought he saw. He passed his books to Wes. “Watch his eyes,” he said quietly.

  “You’re a scavenger that takes advantage of girls,” Brett said.

  It was as if the guy was on autopilot. “Really, what girls?” Jack played on the confusion, hoping he might snap out of it.

  A crowd was beginning to form around them.

  “Natalie.”

  “And?”

  Again, puzzlement passed over Brett’s face. Jack had stepped outside the predetermined script. The other boy tipped his head to the side and this time there was no mistake. His eyes flashed red. Jack glanced at Wes. His friend frowned and nodded.

  Brett reached out his hand and attempted a jab at Jack, but Jack quickly pulled his head back. He easily danced out of the way of Brett’s next swing, too.

  Jack knew it didn’t matter what he said to Brett. The guy was programmed with a mission: to beat up Jack. The only thing he could do to stop the fight was to end it as soon as possible. He bent his knees slightly and put his hands up while his eyes followed Brett’s movements. When Jack saw the opportunity he was waiting for, he clocked Brett in the side of the head. The guy sagged like a sack of rice and then toppled over.

  Jack took his books from Wes. “Come on, we can still make the bus.”

  As Jack suspected, he didn’t have to tell Natalie what happened. News like that traveled fast. He was still on the bus when his phone buzzed.

  “Heard about the fight. Guess I encouraged him, sorry.”

  “It wasn’t you,” Jack replied.

  “Right.”

  “Seriously. I’ll explain. Are you heading home? I could meet you there.”

  “Sure. Just got here.”

  The entrance to Meteor Lake subdivision was a regular stop on the route so Jack got off the bus there and walked to Natalie’s house. She swung the door open with a frown, took stock of his face, and then quickly scanned the rest of him. Her eyebrows rose, smoothing the crease in her forehead.

  “I didn’t get hit,” Jack responded to the unasked question as he stepped inside. His voice seemed to echo in the vaulted ceiling of the foyer. “I can hold my own in a fair fight.” He shook his head with an ironic laugh. “You heard about the fight but no one bothered with the details?”

  Natalie wrinkled her nose and shrugged. “Uh… no.” She motioned Jack inside so she could close the door. “How does Brett look?”

  Jack followed her into the kitchen, which opened to a family room, or great room, at the back of the house. His eyes widened as he took in the sweeping staircase and exposed second story walkway. The living room he’d been in on his first visit was modest in comparison to this vast space. “Probably just a bruised cheek or black eye. I only hit him once, just to knock him out. I don’t know if he’s usually a jerk, but going after me wasn’t his idea.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “His eyes reflected red.”

  Natalie gasped. “You mean he’s possessed?” She rounded the granite-topped island in the center of a room at least three times the size of the Ironwoods’ kitchen. Cherry wood cabinets accented with brushed aluminum handles flanked stainless steel appliances.

  “Possessed, compelled, whatever you want to call it, he wasn’t acting on his own.”

  “Great,” Natalie commented sarcastically and opened the refrigerator. “Something to drink?”

  Jack peeked over her shoulder. “Dr. Pepper. Thanks.”

  She handed Jack a can and then retrieved a vitamin water. “What’ll happen to him?”

  Jack slid onto a stool at the island and lifted the tab on his soda can. The snap and crunch of aluminum seemed magnified in the large room. He lifted his shoulders briefly. “I’m not sure.” As the exposed carbonation hissed and popped, the distinct spiciness of the soda rose to assault his nose. He took a long drink, still considering Natalie’s question. “He’ll probably be fine as long as he stays away from me. He seemed kind of brainwashed; coached to believe I was taking advantage of you while you were on the rebound. When I stated some facts, he couldn’t reconcile the information in his head—he was confused.”

  Natalie spoke softly, her eyes on the bottle in her hand. “He was never a jerk while we were dating… well, until Emma disappeared. Even then, he tried to be understanding for a while, but he just couldn’t accept that I saw what I saw.” Her gaze flicked up to Jack then returned to her fingers as she picked at the label on her vitamin water. “Now I feel kind of bad that I went off on him this morning.”

  Jack took another drink of his soda to avoid looking at her. “Yeah. It was kind of a scene.”

  After a moment of silence, Jack detected her breathed “oh,” barely more than a whisper. “Is that why I didn’t see you the rest of the day?” She phrased it as a question but her even tone indicated she already knew the answer.

  Jack’s gaze slid up to her face. “I’ve been trying to keep this on the down-low to protect you. Anyone in the vicinity now knows we’re up to something—and if they know we don’t have any classes together, it’s going to raise questions.”

  Natalie groaned. She rounded the counter and sat one stool away from Jack. “Dang it. I’m sorry, I didn’t even think. Gosh darn my temper. I try to control it—believe it or not I’m much better than when I was younger.”

  Jack didn’t reply.

  “You’re right, Jack. If my dad ever got wind that the ‘project’ we’re working on is actually related to Emma’s disappearance, he’d go ballistic.” Natalie peeled the corner of the label away from the plastic bottle and then pushed it back up with her thumb. “So, what do we say if people ask? I guess we should get our story straight.”

  “I don’t know.” Jack swiped his hand through his hair. “Maybe it doesn’t even matter. Planning this gets more dangerous every day.”

  “Do… do you want to call it off?”

  “No. Just the opposite. I want to get to it. If I’m gonna get hurt or—or anything—it might as well be while I’m trying to rescue Emma. Not here while leaving a coffee shop or fighting some idiot at school.”

  Natalie dropped her hands into her lap. “Okay. When?”

  “I’m thinking Thursday night.” He’d had his sights set on Friday night, so he wouldn’t miss a day of school—and more importantly, band practice on Thursday—but now that he had a plan, waiting simply provided more time for Zalnic to try and stop him.

  Natalie stared at Jack’s hand as he bent the tab on his soda can back and forth. “All right. I guess I’ll tell my dad I’m spending the night at a friend’s house.”

  The tab snapped off and Jack set it on the counter. “Why?”

  She tilted her head to the side, frowning. “Because, I’ll probably be gone all night?”

  “No. You won’t. You’ll be here.”

  “I’m going with you, Jack.” Natalie sat perfectly still.

  He shook his head without looking at her. “We talked about this. You’re not a shifter.”

  Natalie slid off her stool and threw her hands up. “So? Callie wasn’t a shifter either! That’s not an excuse. Obviously there’s a way. We just have to ask the Mannings.”

  Jack frowned at her, flustered. “It doesn’t matter. I’m the one who signed up for this. I never said you were going with me, just helping me prepare…”

  “But didn’t you say that girl had to talk her sister into leaving with her? You don’t even know Emma.”

  She was right, but Jack didn’t want to admit it.

  Natalie stood with her hands on her hips. “I don’t care if it’s dangerous. Don’t you get it? Emma was more than just a friend to me.” Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to spill over her lashes. “First my mom, now Emma.” She blinked quickly trying to dispel the tears as they leaked from the corners of her eyes. “I’m tired of being left behind. I—” She swiped at her wet temples, frustrated.

>   “Okay.” Jack broke in. He couldn’t sit here and watch her cry. He reached out and captured a hand, wet with tears. “Okay,” he repeated softly. “You’re right. I need you.” What was he saying? How would he keep her safe?

  Natalie stepped forward and put her head on his shoulder. After a few shuddering breaths she whispered, “Thank you.”

  Feeling awkward, Jack used his free hand to pat her shoulder. His inclination was to put both arms around her and hold her so he could absorb some of her pain, but he couldn’t. They were barely more than acquaintances; the gesture would be inappropriate and possibly misunderstood. He dropped the arm back to his side. She extracted her hand from his and crossed the room to a box of tissue. She passed one to Jack with a little laugh when she caught him rubbing his wet hand on his jeans. “Sorry.”

  He shrugged. “Just salty water.”

  “No, I’m sorry about getting over-emotional.”

  “You’ve been through a lot.”

  Natalie held his gaze for a moment and the wide, blue depths of her eyes communicated gratitude Jack knew she couldn’t speak out loud. She blinked, blotted her eyes again and took a deep breath. “Okay, where were we?” She returned to her stool. “Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you. I did some research last night. The other names from Emma’s family tree? Finnish, mostly.”

  “So Finnish or German, but we have no way to figure out which one to use.”

  “Well, I went a little further and learned this: Finland, of course, part of the Nordic countries, so Norse mythology. Then I looked up German mythology and guess what? Norse mythology is a subset of Germanic mythology, so we don’t have to choose.”

  Jack must have worn a confused expression because Natalie slid off her stool. “Hang on a sec.” She darted from the room and he heard her feet pound up the stairs. She was back in seconds with a handful of papers she set on the island in front of Jack.

  “Nice. I can’t believe we actually caught a break,” he said.