Changeling Dawn

by Dani Harper

  “You told me, silly. Remember how we figured it was a mutation?”

  No. No, they hadn’t, because they’d never discussed it. Ever. She laughed a little, trying to play along even as her eyes darted back to the gate that was now slowly closing. “Oh right, I forgot. See, Nate, I told you I was an emotional wreck.” She pivoted fast to launch herself into a run, fast enough that a human would be unable to react to it. To another Changeling, however, her move was obvious and Nate’s reflexes were as sharp as hers. Knife-like pain jabbed her hard in the thigh and set fire to her entire leg. Momentum carried her only a few steps before she stumbled to her knees. Her eyes were already blurring as she saw a grinning Nate hold up a bright orange dart.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The concrete was cold against her cheek. Layers of scent, laced with the cloying reek of disinfectant, crowded her brain with information. There were Changelings in the room with her, several of them, and all in wolfen form, but they were strangers to her. Wolves, real ones, were somewhere close by. Humans had come and gone recently, people that she didn’t know. But as for Anya, there was no sign the little wolf had ever been here. Wherever here was.

  Do not panic. Do not Change. She talked sternly to her wolfen self, so close to the surface that any surge of fear from her would cause it to take over. It was a survival reflex that could backfire badly in the modern world. Be calm, be calm.

  Kenzie opened her eyes then, taking in the galvanized steel mesh that formed the walls and ceiling of the enclosure. It was like a dog kennel on steroids, about 20 by 10 and everything heavy-duty enough to hold a rabid grizzly—or an angry Changeling. She was in the end unit of a long set of these big runs, inside a room that could double as a warehouse. She turned her head to see who her neighbors were.

  A huge jet-black wolf was sprawled in the adjacent cell. She’d never seen fur so dark on any animal. The creature’s sheer size told her he was Changeling, and scent confirmed it. One green eye was open, regarding her with guarded interest.

  “Hey there,” she croaked, suddenly aware of how thirsty she was. Her mouth tasted like she’d been sucking on nickels. As she struggled to sit up, she didn’t think the dark wolf was going to answer but finally a word crept into her mind, slowly as if unsure of its welcome. Hey.

  She found a stainless steel bowl set into an iron bracket at the side of the cage with a continuous water feed. The water looked and smelled clean, and she scooped some into her mouth with her hand. The cool liquid soothed her throat and she cupped her hands and drank deeply.

  You okay? It was the dark wolf. Other Changelings in the cells beyond were now sitting up and looking in her direction.

  “I think so, thanks.” Her thigh was sore as hell where Nate had jabbed it with the dart. She ran her hands over it, noting that it was swollen and bruised, but she could use her leg. “How long was I out?”

  Maybe half an hour. Name’s Roy.

  “I’m Kenzie.” Others chimed in then. Dempsey, Keith, Dan, Guillermo ... Roy introduced one grizzled wolf as Shaggy Sam. With the longest fur she’d ever seen on a Changeling, he could have passed for a giant collie. Two of the other wolves, Beau and Rico, didn’t speak or move, but remained huddled, unmoving, in their cages. Were they unfriendly or were they ill?

  Drugged, explained Roy.

  She realized suddenly that all of her fellow prisoners were male.

  “What, am I the only girl here?” She’d intended it to be humorous, but to her surprise, several of the wolves hung their heads. One whined softly. Another howled, a bone-chilling sound that reverberated off the concrete walls.

  Roy was the one who answered. There was another female, but she had a bad reaction to the tranquilizer dart. They brought her in and put her in your cage, but she didn’t wake up. She seized and died within a few minutes.

  “That’s horrible.” Kenzie had to suppress her wolfen self again—it was going to be damn tough to stay in control in this dangerous situation. Instinct kept pressing her to assume lupine form. She took a deep breath and asked, “How long ago was that, Roy?”

  When he told her, she gripped the chain link and sat slowly down on the concrete. “Anybody know her name?” No one did. Maybe it was some other female ... it could have been some other Changeling woman, couldn’t it? But one of the other wolves, Guillermo, piped up.

  I heard the scientists talking about her cub. I guess it got away, because they were pretty pissed about it. They really wanted the kid, more than all of us put together.

  The sickening truth washed over Kenzie. The cub had escaped all right, but then she’d told Nate about Anya—and Nate had told IBC exactly where she was. He’d even had the damn GPS coordinates from that first visit to Kenzie’s site. Anger and pain at his betrayal surged through her system, along with grief and guilt. She’d all but put Anya on a silver platter.

  “They’ve got us both now,” she whispered, unshed tears making it hard to speak. “The child was with me.” Actually, the child had been with Stanton at the time. Where was he? She asked if anyone had seen an older silver Changeling, but no other wolves had been brought in. Did that mean he was all right or was he another casualty of IBC? Kenzie felt sick. She’d endangered Anya and Stanton both by trusting Nate. But never in a million years had she expected him to turn on his own kind. To turn on her.

  So much for her work. She hadn’t yet found enough evidence to prove that Changelings and humans had the same origins, and now it was everlastingly too late. The world was going to know all about the existence of shapeshifters, and the humans would start hunting the “monsters” among them. History was going to repeat itself and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

  I don’t think so. Roy got up and paced his cage. Had she been broadcasting her thoughts? Some of us have been here over a year now, and we’ve been able to piece some things together. The facility’s funded by a group of foreign investors.

  Extremely well-funded, Dempsey added. We’re talking about people so rich they can buy whole countries.

  “Well, they’re going to get a whole lot richer when they tell the world about us,” sniffed Kenzie, unable to keep the bitterness out of her words.

  Roy shook his head, a distinctly un-wolf-like mannerism. That’s just it. They’re not interested in capitalizing on that. In fact, they don’t want anybody ever to know about us. They’re researching our longevity—and how to replicate it in humans.

  “What?” Kenzie goggled at him. “You gotta be kidding. You mean like a Fountain of Youth?”

  From the other end of the cell block, Shaggy Sam finally spoke. If you own half the world, you don’t need more money. You need more time to enjoy it.

  Kenzie had tried and tried to make contact with Anya, but without success, in spite of pushing her mindspeech abilities to the max. Either the child was still too scared to talk to her or she wasn’t awake. Were they keeping her drugged like Rico and Beau? Exhausted herself, Kenzie was half-dozing in a corner, despite the fact that the concrete was chilling her right through her jeans. Without the high body temperature that was typical of her kind, she would have been ill in no time. Suddenly the last person she ever expected to see again walked into the room and in a flash she was on her feet, gripping the front of the cage.

  Nate Richardson’s expression was smug. “Not so high and mighty now, are you, Dr. Macleod?”

  “Nate, what the hell is wrong with you? Let me out of here! Let us all out!”

  He surveyed the long row of caged runs. “Why would I do that when I worked so hard to put all of you in here? It’s a pretty good collection, don’t you think?”

  “Collection for what?”

  “For research of course. You’ll be making a great contribution to science, just not the way you planned.”

  “Nate, please—you can’t betray your own kind.”

  “My own kind,” he mocked. “Like hell you are.” His expression grew hard.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “N
o? Of course you don’t. It’s all so easy for you.” He paced in front of her cage as if he were the captive. “You and your werewolf family and friends. You’ve all been around for a century or two or six and you’ve all made your fortunes long ago—you’re fucking rich now without even trying. Well, some of us weren’t born Changelings, remember? Thirty years ago, I was human—then one of you bit me. Three decades might be long enough to benefit from long-term investments, even though I didn’t have much money to put into them back then. Then the market fell and took everything I had with it. Everything. Well, thanks to IBC, I don’t have to sit around and wait a hundred years or so to be able to live the lifestyle I deserve.”

  It was all about money. Of course it was about money. She should have known, should have at least suspected. “How long have you been planning to sell me out?”

  Nate shook his head. “I didn’t. Not at first. I wanted you to be with me, remember? I wanted you by my side from the very beginning. Remember when we were students together? We were the perfect team. I had so many plans for us but then you went and changed your mind. I hoped maybe this summer we could get it back, that if I could just get you by yourself, then you’d see the incredible potential we had. We could have had it all, you and me. But you didn’t even want to consider it. You didn’t even want to talk about it. And suddenly, there you were at the side of the road, just begging me to bring you here ... kind of a sign, don’t you think?”

  “So you’re leaving me here?” she asked, incredulous.

  “It’s not hard to do the math. Since the beginning of the project, we’ve captured ten males and only one female, but she died.”

  “I heard. You killed that child’s mother.”

  He shrugged. “Allergic to the tranq, who knew? The cub got away, but now we’ve got her back plus you. And as for me? I collect a hefty bonus—that’s hefty as in my second home in Mendocino is paid in full as of right now. So, yeah, too bad for you but I’m leaving you right where you are, babe.” He leaned in close to the mesh and lowered his voice. “Wouldn’t want you to miss me though. I have a copy of the lab schedule and I know exactly when they’ll tranq you for blood and tissue samples. I’ll be sure and stop by for a visit. After all, you still have the best ass going—and this time you won’t be able to say no to me.”

  She lunged at him, jamming her fingers through the mesh and raking one side of his face with her nails before he could jump back. Swearing, he pulled out a handkerchief and blotted the blood from the long furrows that marred his all-American face from cheekbone to chin. His eyes were cold, and there was neither wolf nor human in them. “You want to play rough, babe? Good. I’ll make sure we do when I come back.”

  He stalked out and she slid down the unyielding mesh to the cold concrete floor, her hands fisted on her knees. Fury and revulsion vied for dominance until finally she let the Change take her.

  When awareness returned, Kenzie’s cheek was resting on the cold concrete again, only this time her skin was cushioned by storm-gray fur. She rolled to her belly and sucked in her breath as her paws protested sharply. The pads were raw and bleeding, every claw cracked or broken.

  You okay? Roy asked. You went a little crazy for a while there.

  Kenzie looked around. The concrete was spotted with garish rosettes of blood—her own paw prints. The chain mesh at the front of the cage was bowed outward in several spots. She vaguely remembered clawing at it and howling out her rage and frustration when it didn’t give way. After that, she didn’t remember anything.

  At the moment, her inner wolf was quiet yet very far from subdued. It was waiting. Watchful. Didn’t you go a little crazy too when they locked you up?

  Didn’t get the chance. I was drugged when they brought me in, and they kept me that way. At first, I wouldn’t eat the food they brought me, thinking there might be something in it, but they would just come along with dart guns and shoot me through the cage mesh. Went like that for the first couple of months. Same with everyone else. If you make any noise, give the docs or the handlers any trouble, you get juiced. Beau and Rico, they’ve been shot up more than anybody because they won’t play along. The handlers probably would have done that with you too, except the jerk that brought you in here wanted you awake.

  He said he brought you all here. How?

  Simple. He’d become a wolf and hang around the area for a few days on four legs, although I don’t know how he figured out where anyone lived. Maybe he was just fishing to see if there were any Changelings around and sometimes he’d get lucky. Anyway, he’d strike up a friendship, propose a run or a hunt. Not hard, considering how rarely any of us see another shapeshifter here. There are few packs in this state, and most of those are just members of a small family.

  No, not hard at all to get close to another Changeling, Kenzie thought. Nate could be charming and personable and oh-so-entertaining. It was what made him so successful as a fund-raiser. People enjoyed his company, wanted to be around him. Liked him.

  Sooner, rather than later, he’d make the switch to two legs—and then punch us with a dart. Call in his IBC buddies with the chopper for pickup.

  Where the hell did these people come up with a formula that would work on us? We’re usually immune to pharmaceuticals.

  Don’t know. Somebody’s been working overtime, that’s for sure.

  More than that, she thought. Somebody’s been practicing on Changelings for a very long time. Thick fear rose like bile in her throat, threatening to cut off her air. Her worst nightmare had exploded into raw life and she was a child trapped in a pit again. Rising to stand on her lacerated feet, she willed the pain to clear her head, keep the terror from choking her. She had to remember that she was a full-grown Changeling, a grown woman, powerful and smart. She wasn’t a little girl anymore, but there was one depending on her. She had to find Anya and get her out of here. Had to. Had to get all of the Changelings out.

  We’re going to have company soon. It’s almost time for Nikki to make her rounds. Dr. Yeung is the veterinarian here.

  Great.

  She’s pretty decent, actually. I’ve overheard her arguing with her bosses about our care. She fights a lot with Gessler, the guy in charge of the handlers. He’s the muscle around here. He’s some kind of expert on capturing and transporting wild animals—the big ones, like elephants and rhino. Used to work for zoos in Europe. Mostly he’s an asshole.

  Does he come here too?

  Not often, thank God. Only if he’s got a new prisoner. Nikki tore him a new one when the female died—she was trying to protect her cub and he darted her twice. She wasn’t allergic to the drug, she was overdosed.

  Kenzie felt sick. Speaking of the cub, why isn’t she here with us?

  Don’t know. I heard she’s upstairs somewhere.

  She didn’t even have to think about what her next move would be. She Changed and checked her hands—the shift healed most superficial wounds. Then ran her fingers through her hair and smoothed out her shirt.

  What the hell are you doing?

  “Getting ready to meet the veterinarian.”

  You’re not going to get special treatment by cooperating, you know. Or by providing the scientists with more footage of the Change. Roy inclined his head and she followed his gaze to a camera high on the wall near the ceiling. She spotted three more. None of us perform for this crowd.

  “Believe me, Roy, I’m not performing.” She understood his surprise. All of the Changelings were in lupine form, a natural reaction to a dangerous situation. And instinct would press them to conceal their abilities, their identities. The way she saw it, however, her identity was already out of the bag. And all those anthropology classes just might come in handy after all. She adopted a casual pose, leaning against the wall of the cage just as a young woman in a white lab coat entered the room.

  The woman didn’t notice her at first, starting at the far end of the runs. Nikki looked over Shaggy Sam with a practiced gaze, but her voice was kind. “How are you today? Y
ou didn’t eat all of your kibble again. I got the boss to send Carl out to get a couple of deer so there’ll be fresh meat for you soon.”

  Nikki talked to each and every one of the Changelings. They didn’t move, didn’t trot over to see her or anything, but some of them wagged their tails ever so slightly, which pleased her. She came over to speak to Roy and stopped dead in confusion as she caught sight of the woman in the cell next to him.

  “Hi,” said Kenzie. “I understand you’re the veterinarian here. My brother’s a vet too. Nikki Yeung, isn’t it?”

  She nodded slightly, still bewildered.

  “I’m Dr. Mackenzie Macleod. Could you please tell me where the cub is? I’ve been really worried about her. Is she okay?”

  “Fine,” said Nikki, who then abruptly left the room.

  That went well. Roy chuffed as if laughing.

  “Actually it went very well. You’ve never shown her your human side, have you? Any of you?”

  Nope. Better for them not to know.

  “I disagree. They see you as animals. Different from them, and different is easy to dismiss or ignore. If you’re not people, then it’s easy to do the things they do to you. The Nazis did the same to concentration camp inmates—dehumanized them so they were different, treated them worse than livestock so the guards couldn’t relate to them. And the more they saw the prisoners as different, as somehow less than human, the easier it was to brutalize them.”

  Several of the Changelings were looking at her now. “I have nothing to hide—these people already know what I am. So I plan to use my human form as much as I can. I’m going to talk to my captors at every opportunity, whether or not they listen to me. I’m going to remind them in every way possible that I am like them. That woman just fled the room because she was unprepared for that reality. I’m not a wolf, I’m not a zoo animal, and I’m not a lab rat. I’m a person, and I’m being held prisoner. Somebody’s bound to get uncomfortable with that.”