The Change

by Lori Aisling

  “Mornings have always been my favorite, too,” Bristol said. “For the reasons you state, plus I just feel like the whole world is laid out before me. I can do anything I wish, get as much done as I want when I start the day early.”

  “This is what I want to work on today- wait, do you mind talking about serious things before your first cup?” He questioned.

  “Fire away. I’m anxious to get started,” she said.

  “The power you were able to harness and focus when we fought the horde was impressive; we told you that. However, I don’t think you really understand how impressive. In the past, you were able to accomplish such feats only by using all four of your Others and we would push our power into you. In this instance, you were able to grab our power and pull it from us. Your pull in the past was always weak. With this newfound skill, I would like to see how far you can go. I want to experiment with you pulling our specific strengths without touching us. If you can collect magic from us without us being in contact with you, this will greatly increase the range in which we are able to fight. I want to use the Fae, too. If you can use him as a vessel for your power it will be like you being in two places at the same time. He would be able to see through your eyes from a separate location. Using his superior archery skills, this will enable us to engage the enemy from a greater distance.”

  “When I take magic from you, it saps your strength. How do we address that? I can’t pull from you in a battle and risk weakening one of you. If you are unable to fight, you could be injured or killed. I won’t risk that, Ristan.”

  “We’ll work on that. Bror and I will be gaining power as well. Using our gifts is like using muscles you haven’t exercised in a long time. You’ll be weak at first, but the more you use the muscles, the stronger they become and the longer you can use them. We can also pull back from you if need be. It’s not in our nature, as we were made for your use, so we willingly give all that you ask. But in this case, we can practice constricting our feed to you to keep from over-exerting ourselves.”

  “I called to Bane and Caspian last night,” she said softly. “Do you think I should keep doing that? Will it help?”

  “I think you should. Yes, it will help. I realize that Bror and I were close, but the pull was undeniable. There is no way that my brethren did not feel it, also. We need them, but we need to admit that it could be months, or even longer, before they find us. We have no idea how far away they are. As long as we continue to fight, we will be creating chinks in Chaos’s armor. It costs her a lot of power to manifest just the amount of chayn we have taken out already. Let alone the Empurin.”

  “I thought you said the Empurin was a gift from Hecate?” She questioned.

  “Yes, she was. But all gifts from the gods come at a price. Power is the fee. Neither Hecate, nor any of the other gods, will aid Chaos without her paying for services rendered. That is why it’s so important for her hordes to continue to pillage and plunder. She needs a constant stream of emotion to build her empire. That is where you have an advantage. You are The Balance. Right now, at this little cabin, you are centered. Your friends and Others; we all have created a perfect example of teamwork and cohabitation. When your life is in balance, you are receiving a steady stream of power of your own. Chaos is not so lucky, her Others must constantly wreak havoc to fuel her We can work on some exercises to strengthen and focus your magic, then we will head out again. Find another horde and eradicate them. Keeping people safe and prospering will create harmony in their lives as well. Again, this is more power for you. Does this make sense? Am I explaining this property?”

  “Oh yes. I really am understanding now. I know I told you I wasn’t the woman you were looking for. I said there was no way it was me. But I was born for this. I can feel it, and I want to win. I am promising you one thing, Ristan- I will not lose you again. I will not play this cruel game with the gods on an endless loop. I am determined that there is a solution and dammit, I will figure it out this time.”

  Chuckling as he palmed his coffee cup, Ristan smiled at her. “I believe you. And I will do everything I can to aid you in this task. I don’t want to start over again, either.”

  The sun had started to make its appearance on the horizon and their surroundings were encased in a reddish hue. Bristol pointed to the open spot where the Ponderosa pines met the edge of the forest. “See that section over there? Walk with me; I saw some movement last night and I think it was livestock guardian dogs, but I couldn’t tell for sure. They didn’t even spook the horses and they were gone before I could get close. I want to see if they left any tracks.”

  “You are just now telling me this?” Ristan growled at her and stalked towards the clearing. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Stop growling at me, Ristan. They posed no threat and if they had stuck around, I would have come and got someone. I told Boz when he took over for me and I am sure he told Bror. There are other creatures out here that are just native and natural to this realm, ya know. There isn’t a beast behind every bush.”

  “Remember that swat you got on your ass last night? You want another?” He looked over his shoulder at her, his eyes serious, but the corner of his mouth pulled up in a smirk.

  “Don’t you dare threaten to spank me for not telling you about dogs!” She squeaked and blushed bright red.

  “You didn’t seem to mind it last night,” he teased as they reached the spot she had pointed out.

  Walking around the area, Bristol could see no sign of the animals she had spotted in the dark. Hearing a grunt from Ristan, she turned to see him squatted down, looking at a bare spot of earth where the trees had shaded the ground enough to keep vegetation from growing.

  “Not dogs, Bristol. Not fucking dogs,” he snarled.

  Walking up to him, she looked at the prints in the bare earth. They were large and embedded in the dark soil.

  “Well, if it wasn’t dogs, then what was it?” She asked.

  “I have no idea, but let’s go get Bror and get him out here to take a look. Jessie, too. I need to get a comparison. This is a feline track, not canine. And judging from the size, not a cat native to this area. How big are the mountain lions in this region?”

  “They were too light-colored to be mountain lions.” She mused. “I saw the coats of both of them in the moonlight. If they weren’t white, they were cream-colored, at the darkest. And mountain lions can get big, especially adult males. Maybe around 150 pounds or so? But I just don’t think that’s what it was. Mountain lions have smooth coats, these seemed fluffier. Like a Great Pyrenees or Kuvasz. That is why I thought a livestock guard dog. No way was the coat on these from a cougar.”

  “Dammit, woman. I wish you would have told us. We could have tracked them down last night but it’s too late, now,” he said, scolding her.

  “I will remember that next time. I guess I should apologize for what I did instead, huh?” She replied, sarcastically.

  “Stop that. My job is to keep you safe and you leaving out crucial information is not a good definition of safe, Bristol. But I will never let you apologize for wanting to be with us. Nor will I apologize for the next time I have to spank that ass.” He jumped at her from his squatted position on the ground and grabbed her around the waist with one arm, scooping her up and tossing her over his shoulder. She squealed and squirmed as the flat of his palm connected with her butt cheek.

  “Ristan! Stop it! Damn you!” she laughed and continued to wiggle, trying to get down as he carried her back towards the cabin.

  He laughed and ignored her pleas to be put down. As they approached the front porch, Jayson stepped out of the woods on the other side. Shaking his head he smiled at the couple as Ristan bent forward and put Bristol back on her feet.

  “Jesus. Don’t wanna know, not askin’,” he said, laughing. “Is there coffee in there? Everything looks fine out here. Horses are relaxed and no sign of any of the dogs Bror told me to watch out for.”

  “Yes, there is coffee and since I sp
illed the rest of mine being treated like a sack of potatoes, I need more, too,” Bristol said, giggling, as they stepped through the door. Boz, Jessie, and Bror sat around the table and the coffee pot was percolating on the wood-burning cookstove. Bror stood and walked to Bristol, palming her face and kissing her lips before pulling out her chair.

  “Mornin’, bitches,” Jessie mumbled into her coffee cup before giving Bristol a sleepy grin. “You ready to rock the power grid?”

  “Yes, I am. But before we do that, we need the kitty cat,” Bristol replied. Jessie gave her a puzzled look before looking at Ristan and Jayson.

  “Ok, but why? Do we have a problem?”

  “Bristol saw a couple of animals last night on first watch and she thought they were dogs. The prints are feline, though, and big. I want to compare them to your tigress prints so we can get an idea of size,” Ristan responded.

  “Let’s do it, then. No time like the present,” Jessie said. Walking out the door, she stripped off her clothes and tossed them to Jayson before shifting into her tiger. Ristan led the way and Jessie followed, reaching out a couple of times with her paw to try and trip him up as they headed to the open ground. Turning to her and smiling, Ristan teased the large cat.

  “Feeling frisky this morning, kitty?” He asked. She growled and flicked her tail. As the group reached the spot Ristan had found the tracks, he pointed at them.

  “Jessie, can you make an imprint next to that clear one on the edge?”

  Jessie walked up to the prints, sniffed at them and sneezed. Placing her huge paw next to the track, she pushed her weight into the ground, leaving a clean impression in the soft soil. When she backed away, Boz whistled through his teeth.

  “Damn. Whatever that is, it’s big,” he said.

  Bror knelt down next to the tracks and felt the edges. “Heavy, too,” he observed. “How much does Jessie weigh?”

  Shifting back into her human form, she grabbed her clothes from Jayson. “You should know better than to ask a girl how much she weighs! How rude!” She laughed, then replied. “I really have no idea how much my cat weighs, I never thought to step on a scale.”

  “She is really big as a cat,” Jayson said. “ Don’t get pissed at me sugar, but as a cat, you are one hefty girl. I bet her tigress weighs in around 300 pounds, give or take,” Jayson said.

  “I agree,” Boz said. “She is bigger than a wild tigress, more along the size of a male.”

  “In that case,” Bror said, “this creature has ta weigh around 400 pounds or more. Look at how much deeper the print is than hers. Jessie, do ya think your cat could track them?”

  “I’m a cat. Not a bloodhound. I would if I could, but honestly, my cat didn’t smell anything when we approached the site.”

  “Since we don’t know what they are, and we can’t track them, I vote that we just keep an eye out and continue with our original plan. We are still doing watches at night and we know they were here. We now know they aren’t dogs, but if they were out to cause a problem, they could have done that last night I would think.” Bristol said. “I am sorry I was so lackadaisical about them. I really thought they were just big dogs.”

  “It’s ok, Bri. It was really calm and peaceful last night. There really was no reason for you to think otherwise,” Boz said. Breaking the tension, he smiled. “So who’s cooking breakfast?”

  Bristol

  After breakfast, Bristol and Jessie broke from the group and took time to bathe in the creek before coming back to the cabin. Bror, Ristan, and Boz were stretched out on the ground relaxing when they returned.

  “You ready for this?” Ristan asked her.

  “Yep. Let’s get going,” she said as the men rose to their feet and headed towards the clearing next to the cabin. Reaching the crest of the hill where Bristol had set up her watch the previous evening, she saw that the guys had placed targets along the tree’s edges, some of them partially hidden, some of them higher in the foliage.

  “First step: call your power, then pull from Bror and I. We will do this the same way we did it when fighting the horde, but we will work on moving away from you and see if you can still draw. I want to see if you can use Boz as a vessel without either Bror or me touching him as well.” Ristan said.

  Jayson and Jessie settled down onto the grass behind them to watch, she between his legs as he plaited and started braiding her hair.

  For hours Bristol pulled her magic, drew from her Others and channeled Boz. She succeeded at some tasks and failed at others. Her draw at one point brought Bror to his knees when he attempted to constrict the siphon she had created. Another time, she channeled too much into Boz and he yelped, dancing around the clearing saying it felt like she had filled his chest with bees. She got frustrated and swore, laughed, celebrated, and even cried once when she thought she was hurting her Others. Through it all, Bror and Ristan counseled and supported her. Boz gently cheered her on and Jessie not-so-gently cheered for her and razzed the guys while Jayson looked on, obviously intrigued. By mid-afternoon, she plopped down on her butt and fixed the guys with a stare. “I’m starving and exhausted. Can we take a break?”

  “You did well, Bristol. Really well. You are absolutely amazing.” Bror said, sitting down next to her and lacing his fingers through hers. “I can feel your draw getting stronger, more stable and more focused. Those last targets weren’t even hard for ya ta focus on. Boz had them bulls-eyed before I could even tell which ones you were going for.”

  “I’ll get better. I really want to be able to draw and bring us all together without touch, but it just feels like I start to lose my focus as soon as I let go of you for any period of time. However, I have some other ideas. I want to work with you and Ristan’s other gifts. I know you have elements from numerous gods and I think we should try and hone those skills, too.”

  “This is a good time, and you have two opposing elements to work with using me and Ristan. Since I am water and Ristan is fire, perhaps we can try and do something with that?”

  “I don’t even really understand the limits of the power the gods gave you. If you are water, does that mean you can control the tides? Make it rain? I mean, how far can your powers push nature?” She asked.

  “I canna say. It has varied greatly depending on the control of our Other; meaning you. Since you have manifested so much power already, with you demanding our gifts we may be able to reach levels that were previously unattainable.”

  “I am excited about this. I have some cool ideas. Let’s go get some food so we can get back to it,” she said with a big grin.

  Boz groaned as they made their way back to the cabin to roust up some lunch. “Does this mean I have a chance at drowning or being burned alive? I really wanna help, but this is getting into some territory outside my comfort zone, Bri.”

  “I don’t think I want to get you involved in this next step, Boz. Not yet at least. I have no idea what we are going to do and I would never want to risk any of you guys,” Bristol stated.

  “If that gives Boz a free pass for the afternoon, I have something I could use his help with,” Jayson said. “It is going to create a tiny bit of extra work for you, Bri, but I promise it will be worth it.”

  “I’m intrigued!” Bristol said. “Go for it. We will be busy for the rest of the day, there is no reason for the three of you to get bored watching us if you have something else to do.”

  Making a meal out of dried fruits, nuts, and jerky, the team made quick work of their basic sustenance needs. Jayson, Jess, and Boz headed out for their mysterious errand and Ristan, Bror and Bristol headed back to the clearing.

  “Keep in mind, Bristol. Bror and I are basically like vessels for our power. It’s there, but it is up to you to channel it. So as you envision your goal, use us to manifest your desire,” Ristan advised.

  Sitting on the ground and crossing her legs, Bristol motioned for her men to join her. Resting on either side of her, each of them placed a hand on her knee. Closing her eyes, Bristol just relaxed and
let her magic flow. It danced around them and flowed into her Others. She thought about Bror’s gift of water and let her mind drift to peaceful streams, cool pools of crystal clear water and raindrops on a hot summer day. Feeling his power elevate, she grabbed onto it with her mind. Revisiting the image of cool rain on a hot day, she wished it, pushing her power to manifest her vision. When nothing happened, she pushed harder, demanding her wish to become her reality. Taking a deep breath she pushed more of her power into Bror’s magic, ordering her will to be done. Suddenly, she felt raindrops hitting her skin. Fat, cold drops began falling faster and harder. A rumbling of thunder and crack of lightning followed and suddenly, they were surrounded by a torrential downpour. Rain pelted their bodies, soaking the three of them to the skin. She felt Bror’s magic pulsing in the air around her as he opened himself to her.

  “Pull back, Bristol,” Ristan advised. “Just a little. Calm the storm. Control it.”

  The rain increased, water running into her eyes and she squinted as she focused on the storm. It continued to fall harder and faster. Lightning crashed to the ground close to them, splitting a tree trunk, and smoke rose from its core.

  “I can’t. I don’t know how!” Bristol cried out. “Bror, take it! Pull it back!” Another crash of lightning lit up the sky and she felt the rumble of the ground as it pierced the earth close to them.

  “No, love. You can do this. I am not goin’ ta let you quit. It’s just rain. It’s fine. Grab ahold of the magic and rein it in. Think of this power like a spirited horse. Like Phase when you lept onto his back. You controlled him with your will and this is no different. You can do this,” Bror whispered, encouraging her.

  As the rain continued to pelt them, stinging with its intensity, Bristol tried to focus on Bror’s words, trying to imagine the storm easing up, the rain turning to a light drizzle, but her insecurities clouded her mind. Her magic ran rampant around her, crackling in the air, and she felt as if she was losing control. Suddenly, Bror grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap. Cupping her face in his hands, she stared into his ice blue eyes as water ran down his face.