Natalie snuck a quick glance at him. “Did?”
“Maybe I had Shera built up too much in my mind. I mean, I knew her when we were kids, but she’s different now.” Turning to face the windshield, Jack let his head fall back on the headrest. “Everything’s changed. I don’t know what I want anymore. Not her. I’m sure of that. So maybe I’m wrong about the rest. I’ll always be a shifter, but maybe I could be something more.”
“Aren’t you… engaged?”
“It can be undone.”
“It can?”
“Yes. It happened to my mom. My dad was her parents’ second choice.”
They both fell silent. Twice, Jack heard Natalie take a breath as if she wanted to say something else. But they arrived at Jack’s house without further conversation. When she pulled her keys from the ignition, he spoke up. “Wait.”
She paused and turned her head just enough to see him from the corner of her eye.
“There’s more. Tell me. We have to clear the air completely.”
A tentative silence stretched out as Jack waited for Natalie to speak. “Did you…” She began and then shook her head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”
“Just say it.” The porch light illuminated the bottom of her face and Jack watched as Natalie pursed her lips and then squeezed them into a line. “For Emma,” he urged.
She took a deep breath. “I waited. Last night. I waited outside. I saw your family come out without you.” She kept her gaze carefully trained on the windshield. Her thumb worked back and forth over the jagged side of her car key. “They left without you.”
“My dad picked me up later.” But Jack realized how he got home wasn’t what was bothering her. “When they led us from the meeting room, they put us in an apartment in the back where visiting elders stay.” Natalie turned away, peering out the side window and Jack continued, telling her simply what she wanted to know—what she needed to know. “We talked. She told me a bunch of stuff I didn’t like—things I really didn’t want to know—and then she fell asleep and I called my dad.”
Natalie turned to him, eyes wide. “That’s it?” She scanned his face and then locked eyes with him.
“That’s it. Are we okay?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry, Jack. It shouldn’t have bothered me, I know. But it did. I blame it on yesterday at school.” She managed a weak laugh.
“Yeah. I know what you mean,” he replied gravely. Because he did.
He knew exactly what she meant.
They gathered their supplies at Jack’s house and said goodbye to his parents. Jack’s mom hugged him extra-long and then squeezed his hands. “I’ll call school in the morning,” she said. “Even if you’re back by then.” She hugged Natalie too.
“Watch each other’s backs,” Jack’s dad said as they stepped off the porch.
“Did you make arrangements for someone to call school for you tomorrow?” Jack asked.
Natalie shook her head. “I took care of it today. I’m accompanying my dad on a weekend business trip.” She grinned, but uncertainty held her eyes tight.
They stopped for gas just outside of town and Jack picked up a large cola to keep him fueled up. Natalie declined his offer for something from the gas station convenience store, opting to drive through a coffee shop just up the road for a large mocha. By the time they were on the road to Mesick, it was just after ten o’clock. Natalie turned on the radio and they rode for while, lost in their own thoughts.
Jack should have been thinking about facing down Zalnic, but he wasn’t. He was thinking about Natalie. Yesterday. The thrill of seeing her face light up when he rounded the corner to meet her. The way her small hand felt in his, soft and strong at the same time. How she was just the right size to fit in the crook of his shoulder, as if she belonged there. She was right. It had been too real.
So what happened if they were successful? Would they assimilate back into their previous lives? The occasional ‘hi’ at their lockers?
God, he hoped not.
He pictured the doubtful evaluation Natalie’s dad had given him when they were supposedly working on a project together. How would her dad look at him if he arrived to take her on a date? No, he didn’t think it would fly. The Jack Ironwoods don’t get the Natalie Segetiches.
Regardless of what the future may hold, he promised himself one thing. Natalie was coming back. Alive. Whatever it took.
A half hour later, as they neared their destination, Natalie turned off the radio. “Talk to me, Jack. I’m starting to freak out a little.”
In the greenish glow of the dashboard lights, she looked white as a ghost. “Okay…” Jack floundered for a topic far from their current undertaking. School. “I saw flyers that they’re casting for the spring musical. Are you interested? Even if you’re not going to be a movie star anymore?”
She laughed. “Yeah, actually, I am interested. Last year I couldn’t because of track—that’s one of the reasons I quit. I’m not sure if I’d want a speaking part though. But I’d love to be part of the chorus.”
“There’s a chorus?”
“Duh,” she teased. “It’s a musical.”
“If you say so.”
“Jack! You’ve never gone to a school play?”
“Nope.”
She breathed out with exaggerated exasperation. “Well, it’s about time. If I’m in this play, I expect you to see it. And if I’m not—you’re going with me to see it. What road am I looking for?”
Jack chuckled. “You’re not looking yet.” He pointed off to the right where the moon was still fairly low in the sky. “We have plenty of time. Let’s go into Mesick and find a bathroom, maybe a snack too.”
The normality of stopping for fast food subdued their anxiety. Although Jack offered to drive the rest of the way, Natalie declined, claiming her mind was better off occupied. Then they back-tracked to the west side of the Hodenpyl Dam Pond.
When Jack had researched the area, he learned that the ‘pond’ formed by a dam in the Manistee River served functionally like a lake that was popular with boaters, fishermen and campers. More importantly, hundreds of years ago Native Americans had built their burial mounds along the shore of the river.
“Are we going to the campground?” Natalie asked.
“No. It’s too late. I considered making a reservation, but thought it’d look suspicious with only a car parked in a site. I figure we’ll find somewhere to park close by.”
Once past the campground, they turned and went back the way they came to look for a safe place to park Natalie’s car. She didn’t want to leave it on the side of the road. “If my dad gets a call, I’ll be grounded for life.”
They decided to seek out an unoccupied summer home. Post Labor Day, quite a few lake houses would be closed and ready for winter. They could park in front of one and traverse the shoreline back to the burial grounds.
After scrutinizing four possibilities, they settled on a small cottage. Dock segments were stacked neatly offshore and the covered boat parked near a shed appeared buttoned down for the season.
“The owners still might come up for the weekend,” Natalie said.
“Maybe, but that should give us until tomorrow night before anyone would see your car.” Assuming the owners had to work Friday, which Jack didn’t bother to say out loud.
Natalie parked. They got out and retrieved their backpacks from the back seat. After making sure the doors were locked, Natalie bent down and shuffled alongside the car.
“What’re you doing?”
“Looking for a place for the key. Ah, here. Come see.”
Jack rounded to her side of the car. She reached her hand up under the sheet metal just behind the front tire. “Feel this?’
He followed her arm down to her hand and felt a small ledge. “Yeah.”
“That’s where I’m leaving the key.”
She didn’t have to explain. Jack got it. This way she couldn’t lose it in the underworld, but more importantly, if only one of
them made it back to the car, the key would be here. “Good thinking.”
“A little trick I learned camping with Emma’s family.”
They set off along the shoreline, clambering over the small piles of rocks which divided each property’s narrow strip of sand beach. Out in the open, the three-quarter moon provided enough light to see by. The occasional undeveloped lot required flashlights to slog through the marshy grass and weeds.
The smell of wood smoke alerted them to the campground ahead. A few minutes later, Jack caught a glimpse of colorful lights. He stopped and waited for Natalie to come up next to him. “We’re here.”
He heard Natalie’s shaky breath and reached for her hand. Her arm stiffened, but then she gripped his fingers tightly. Although Jack didn’t feel frightened, his adrenaline had definitely kicked in, making him hyper-aware—his senses razor sharp. “You lead,” he said in a low voice.
Natalie picked her way from the beach into the sparsely populated campground. Despite the chilly temperature, a few groups still huddled by their campfires. Natalie stopped and nodded toward an RV where flameless embers glowed in the fire pit. A small light lit the doorway to the otherwise dark camper.
“I’m pretty sure this is the site we were in. There should be a trail up here,” she whispered.
“How did you know about the burial mounds?”
Natalie pointed to a sign and directed her light at it. It read: Burial Mound Trail.
He caught her smirk and chuckled. “Right.”
“Plus, in the daylight,” Natalie kept her voice hushed, “the trees are thin enough that you can see the mounds.”
She hesitated at the trailhead. Jack squeezed her hand before releasing it, then stepped on the path first. Once they were enveloped by the forest, he stopped, turned off the flashlight and closed his eyes. Natalie drew up close enough for him to feel her body heat on his back. After a few moments, his eyes had adjusted to the dark and he could make out the silhouette of the landscape. “I see them,” he murmured. To his left, the ground swelled fifteen to twenty feet higher than where they stood. In the distance on the right was another, smaller hill.
Natalie pointed to the large mound on the left. “We were at the top of that one.” Her voice wavered slightly.
Jack turned his light back on and helped Natalie as they left the trail, pushed through the thicket and climbed up the rise. The otherworldly presence of the mound permeated his feet, spreading a slight vibration throughout his body. Near the top, Natalie tugged on his arm. He looked back to see her moonlit pale face, eyes wide with terror. She shook her head.
“It’s okay.” Jack stepped close. He touched the front of her jacket where he knew the brimstone amulet rested on her chest. “We’re protected, remember? Dan gave us back the element of surprise. Nothing is waiting for us.” He looked into her eyes and repeated the mantra which fueled her resolve. “For Emma?”
She gazed back for a second, inhaled deeply, then finally nodded.
They reached the summit of the mound and Jack searched the gray sky, breathing in the earthy smell of forest. The moon hung suspended above the treetops, an occasional wispy cloud drifting across its yellow light.
Natalie shrugged out of her backpack and stepped up behind him to look over his shoulder, her fingers clutching his jacket sleeve. “Now what?” she whispered.
“We can descend when the moon reaches its apex—the highest point in the sky. Brody said it would be around one o’clock.” Jack pulled his phone from his pocket. “It’s just after midnight.”
Natalie shivered and took a half step closer to Jack, peering into the surrounding darkness anxiously. “So what happens when it’s time?”
Jack returned his gaze to the rising moon, careful to keep his tone light. “I’ll be able to feel the membrane—the veil between worlds—and I’ll push against it. Or, actually, we’ll push against it together.”
“Oh.” Natalie didn’t retreat from her position, but she stiffened and released her grip on his jacket.
Even though they’d cleared the air, the emotional confusion caused by the fake relationship was going to make getting close awkward. Jack let his backpack slip to the ground. “We might as well sit for a few.”
They sat for a while listening to an occasional noise from the campground—a door slam, the murmur of voices, footsteps on blacktop—or the rustle of an animal nosing through the dry leaves on the forest floor. The moon inched its way up the sky. Natalie pulled on her gloves, then drew her knees up so she could wrap her arms around her legs.
“Cold?” Jack asked. When she nodded, he moved next to her, hoping she’d benefit from his body heat. As he studied her from the corner of his eye, he noticed she was staring at their backpacks. He assumed she’d come to the same conclusion that he already had: if they wore backpacks, there’d be only one way to embrace—face to face.
A few minutes later he checked the time and then contemplated the moon for a moment. “I think we should get ready. I don’t want to miss it.”
Natalie got up and rubbed her hands together before reaching for her pack. As she swung it up from the ground, Jack said, “Try putting it on in front.”
“What?”
“I’ve seen a lot of Jase’s friends wearing their backpacks on their chest. Try it that way.”
Her eyebrows rose, but she stuck her arms through the straps and pulled the bag to her chest.
Jack hefted his pack onto his shoulders and came up behind her. He slid his arms around her waist. Part of him couldn’t help but notice her soft warmth and the tropical scent of her hair, but he pushed the thoughts away, concentrating on the hum which reverberated from the mound. He felt for the barrier.
There. He sensed a hollowness to the left. “Lean with me,” he breathed, and they pressed in that direction. Jack pushed into the membrane with his shoulder but immediately shifted out of line with Natalie as if her shoulder had encountered a wall. “Damn,” he muttered.
“What happened?” Natalie’s voice sounded an octave higher than usual.
“This isn’t going to work.” Jack stepped away and dropped his arms to his side.
“It has to.” She wriggled out of her backpack, shrugged it onto her back, then stepped up to Jack and hugged him close. “Try it again.”
Unfortunately the result was the same.
“I’ll just go,” Jack said.
“The hell you will.” Her adamant response startled Jack into a smile. “If Callie could do it, so can I.” She crinkled up her forehead, thinking hard. “One in body…” she muttered. Then the wrinkles disappeared and her eyebrows shot up. “Wasn’t it summer?” She yanked her gloves off and unzipped her coat.
“What?” Jack struggled to catch up with her line of thinking as Natalie reached forward and pulled on his jacket zipper. “What are y—”
“Their nephew visited them in the summer,” she said. “They wouldn’t have had all these layers of clothes. Unbutton your shirt. Is that tucked in?” She plucked at the collar of his t-shirt.
“Yeah.” He was already working on his buttons.
Before he could finish, Natalie had slipped her hands under his shirt to pull his t-shirt from his jeans. “Hurry.” Then her cold hands were making their way around his waist and onto his back. “My shirts aren’t tucked. Get your hands on my skin.”
Jack obeyed, pressing her tightly against his chest, fingers splayed on her bare back. He could feel her heart flutter on his right side as his own thumped on the left. The membrane flowed around them like gelatin, but as Jack began to slip through, Natalie lingered.
She hooked her arms under his by curling her fingers over his shoulders. “No!” she gasped.
But Jack had entered the gravitational pull of the other world and couldn’t stop his momentum. Natalie’s face contorted in anguish. God, was this hurting her? He started to release her.
“No, Jack,” she pleaded. Then he felt her lips on his and her resistance waned. He pulled her closer. They kissed in
a vortex—a crazy carnival ride that strove to tear them apart even as they strained to stay together. Jack doubled the effort by covering her mouth with his. Her lips parted and she gasped, drawing in his breath.
One.
They broke through.
Chapter 10
The Underworld
Jack fell hard on his back, driving his pack against him and trapping Natalie’s arms. The impact broke the kiss.
“Ouch.” Natalie wriggled on top of him, attempting to pull her arms free.
“Hang on.” Jack freed his arms from her clothes and hugged her loosely, rolling both of them to their sides. Then he rose up on an elbow so she could extract both of her limbs.
“Are you okay?” Jack anxiously watched her bend and twist her arms.
“Yeah. My arms were just kind of squeezed between you and your backpack.”
Jack stood and helped Natalie up. “We made it—thanks to you.” He regretted the last three words as soon as he said them because immediately his hands remembered the softness of her skin and the warmth of her lips. An awkward silence hung between them for a moment.
Natalie shrugged a little and dropped her gaze, shifting her pack. “I thought you were—”
A screaming yowl split the air. Jack yanked Natalie to a crouch and they scrambled for a nearby boulder.
As he’d glimpsed in his spirit-walk, the landscape in the darker realm was much different than the shadowlands where he met with ancestors in spirit or entered on the summer solstice. The rocky and barren panorama surrounding them reminded him of pictures he’d seen of a national park in Utah—except the warm brown, orange and reds of those photos were replaced here by cold and bleak shades of gray. And in place of the graceful rock formations of the world above, stone protrusions rose violently from the terrain while boulders resembling giant used charcoal briquettes dwarfed the patchy, withered brush. The pencil sketch effect was completed by a colorless sky and broken only by a single orange glow on the horizon.
“Cheese and rice!” Natalie hissed. “What was that?”
“Not sure. Hellcat maybe.”
Soulshifter Page 15