Shifted (The Undari Trilogy Book 1)

by Sarah Reeves

  I found you, came a voice, cold and filled with a dark glee. And you are mine.

  Chapter Six

  The Unseen followed the trail for many days. Already he had sent an “emissary” to the home of the Young One, to mark their property and put them on the run. It was quite an effective plan. The Unseen tracked her to a flatter, hotter land, taking possession of humans along the way to try to move faster. It turned out to be more prudent to move independently, as there were very few humans that could withstand the power the Unseen had. He left their withered and broken husks behind for the other puny creatures to find, not caring about where or how they were discovered.

  Finally, he reached the home in the woods. The Unseen hung back and watched, patient, while the creature played with the younger child. He would wait until the girl was alone, before he killed her. Let the imbeciles inside find her body. Better yet, he would use her to slaughter the family. She seemed to have a connection to them. Making her watch herself kill them would be icing on the cake for his victory. The Unseen came out of his reverie when it saw his previous host, the other female and her offspring go back into the house.

  Time to die, he thought, and dove forward, knocking the girl down. Full of sadistic satisfaction, he watched as the girl’s eyes filled with terror in the second before he took possession of her.

  I found you, and you are mine.

  Alex couldn’t move, nor could she speak. It was a different story inside her head, though. It was like she existed there, able to walk in her own consciousness. It was completely dark, smoky with the presence of the Unseen in her head. Panic set in when Alex felt her consciousness being shunted aside into a kind of cage, and she fought like an animal does when it’s terrified. The cage slammed shut, and Alex watched as her body began to move on the ground.

  You are weak, came the voice again. They said you would be a challenge, but you’re nothing but a halfway realized fledgling. And since you’ve been nothing more than an inconvenience, you get to watch me kill your family.

  No, don’t do this, Alex pleaded. Please, don’t do this. They didn’t do anything! Kill me, take me instead! Helpless, she watched as her body stood, just in time to see Adrien, Jennifer and Teagan come out of the house. PLEASE!

  Of course I will kill you. Just as I killed your father, and the old man, and countless others before you. Making you suffer, though, that’s just for fun. The Unseen stepped forward, meeting Alex’s family halfway from the house. Alex screamed, wrenching at the bars of the cage, but it was too late.

  “Alex, honey, turn around,” Jennifer stepped forward, reaching to gently rotate her daughter. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

  Mom, it’s not me! MOM! Alex was crying now, desperate to get to her, watching as the Unseen lifted her hand and conjured flame effortlessly. He swung her hand down, hard, sending Alex’s mother flying backwards with a force that shouldn’t have been possible. Jennifer hit the ground and lay there, unconscious. Steam drifted up from the shiny burn now on her shoulder. Adrien’s eyes went wide and she grabbed Teagan, pushing her behind and lifting shaking hands filled with light.

  “You,” she said, “You’re back.”

  “In the flesh,” The Unseen spoke with Alex’s voice, a grotesque puppet. “I should have killed you long ago, but as you can see,” It lifted Alex’s hand again, displaying fingers that were already starting to purple and turn black. “It’s hard to find a suitable host body.” It lowered her hand again. “I can hear her, you know. She’s trying to get out of her little cage. You remember what it was like, don’t you? The torture of watching your children die under your claws?”

  Adrien! You have to run! Take Teagan and Mom and RUN! Alex tried to focus, tried to connect to Adrien’s mind, but it was of no use. It was like all of her powers were useless to her, the fear she felt leaving no room for that familiar warmth in her chest. She yanked at the bars again, desperate for them to give, to bend. Nothing.

  “Let her go. You know you don’t want to stay in her, she can’t hold you.” Adrien lowered her hands, but didn’t extinguish the light. “Take me back. Let them go, and you can have me.”

  The Unseen laughed. “You think that is enough incentive for me to let this one go? No. But you’re right, you were the perfect host. This one is weak. Helpless. But she will become powerful, won’t she? You and I both know that. You and I both know what she is, truly.

  “Which gives me an idea. I don’t think I’m going to kill this one. No, I’m going to keep her. She and I are going to have lots of fun.” It raised Alex’s hand again. Flames erupted, and Adrien barely got her hands up in time to block the inferno that shot towards her.

  NO! Alex pulled with all her might as the fight began in earnest, knowing it wasn’t going to work, knowing that she had to keep trying. She couldn’t let Adrien die, or Teagan, or Jennifer. She wouldn’t. Flashes of light and spurts of flame shot from both women. Adrien’s face was filled with fierce grief, anger, and terror. Alex could hear Teagan screaming behind her mentor, unable to move from fear. The noise, the light, the heat and pain crowded Alex’s senses, and she let go of the bars, sinking to the floor of the cage and covering her ears. It was too much. She couldn’t take it, and she couldn’t get free.

  When the fighting stopped, Alex lifted her head and was horrified to see her hand around Adrien’s neck. Adrien was on her knees, and Alex could see past her to her little sister. Teagan’s face was streaked with tears and her eyes were wild with fear. She was still screaming, high, terrified, mindlessly desperate cries that tore at Alex’s soul. She knew she was next, after the Unseen killed Adrien.

  Adrien herself was gasping for air, turning slowly redder as the blood rushed to her face. Alex looked at her, then back at Teagan. Her little sister was about to watch someone die, brutally, right in front of her. Alex shut her eyes tight. All of her emotions, all the fury, all the terror, all the grief combined in a colossal tidal wave that crashed through her mind. She let loose a howl that rent the air and vibrated through her consciousness. Unbeknownst to her, the darkness in her mind got impossibly thick, no longer smoky but flame-like, a black firestorm that rushed through her mind and ejected the Unseen from her body. Alex’s eyes shot open when she felt herself snap back into control, disoriented for a split second before she realized what had happened. She released Adrien’s throat like it had burned her hand. The woman collapsed, hacking, to the ground. Dark flame swirled around and through Alex, and she looked up through the fire at the smoke above her head. Fury, hot and intense fury swept through her, and the flame intensified, tinged now with the gold that was it’s normal color.

  “I’ll kill you,” she growled, hearing her voice grow deeper with her Shift. She simultaneously had no control and more control than ever over her power. “I will erase you from existence for what you’ve done.” Wings snapped out, green scales fading to black, flared and ready. Alex raised her hand, palm out, and fire coalesced there into a sphere bigger than anything she’d produced before. The rush was incredible, adrenaline and power surging with the rage. She drew back her arm and launched the fireball at the Unseen. It passed into the smoke, which shrank back. Some of it dissipated, and before Alex could mount another attack, it vanished. Alex stayed where she was, her whole body tense, waiting for a sign of the Unseen’s return, but nothing happened. After ten seconds, she lowered her arms, and folded her wings. The dark flame coming from her body diminished, and she let herself Shift completely back to human. Her arms were trembling violently.

  “Alex.” The hoarse voice made the girl turn around, to face Adrien. Alex’s mentor stood behind her, fully upright but still breathing hard. Bruises were forming in the shape of Alex’s fingers, and Alex looked away, eyes burning. “How… how did you do that?”

  “I, uh.” Alex cleared her throat. “I don’t know how I was able to break free.” A whimper sounded from behind Adrien, and Alex’s heart almost stopped. “Teagan.” She pushed Adrien to the side, and looked down. Teagan was on t
he ground, face buried in her knees. “Teagan, baby, look at me. It’s me, it’s Alex. The bad thing won’t hurt you anymore, you’re safe, I promise you’re safe, okay?” Teagan didn’t budge, only held her arms tighter around her knees. “Hey.” Alex laid a hand on Teagan’s shoulder, then took it back when the young girl recoiled, falling back and throwing her hands up.

  “GET AWAY!” Teagan’s voice was shrill, and it shook. Alex jerked back as though she’d been slapped. “Don’t touch me!”

  “Teagan…” Alex felt her eyes get wet. “Teagan, honey, that wasn’t me. I didn’t do this, you know I wouldn’t hurt you or Momma, or Adrien.” Her heart was thudding in her chest, the heavy weight of confrontation and guilt making the beats sluggish. Her stomach churned. “Please look at me, Teagan.” Teagan didn’t answer, instead jumping up and running into the house. Alex heard her sobs before the door slammed, and her own tears began to spill down her cheeks. She looked around for Adrien, not knowing what she was going to say, but she was gone. Alex turned further and saw Adrien crouched next to her mother, who was still unconscious on the ground. “Mom,” she shouted, getting up and rushing over to her. “Oh, god. Mom!”

  “She’s still breathing. The Unseen hit her hard, though. She’s most likely got a concussion.” As Adrien said this, Jennifer stirred and woke up.

  “What happened?” Alex’s mother caught sight of her daughter and flinched. Alex’s heart sank further, and she sat back on her heels.

  “Momma I’m so sorry. I couldn’t stop him.” Alex’s voice broke on a ragged sob, and then she was crying in earnest, shaking all over, arms wrapped around her body as though she could hold herself together like that. Her family was terrified of her. All they saw was Alex attacking them. The only person with any clue as to what truly happened in Alex’s mind was Adrien. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.

  Gentle hands made her sobs stop on a hiccup. They pulled her forward into a soft hug, and Alex smelled her mother’s perfume, tinged with the scent of burnt skin. That made the tears start again, and she buried her face in Jennifer's shoulder.

  “It’s not your fault, baby, I know that,” Jennifer murmured, holding her daughter close and stroking a hand through her hair. “It’s okay.” She held Alex while she cried, rocking back and forth like she used to when Alex was a little girl. “Shhhhh, everything is going to be okay.” Alex felt another hand on her back, steadying her, and knew it was Adrien trying to lend some comfort of her own.

  After a few minutes, the tears slowed, and Alex was able to look up, using her wrist to wipe the tears from her face. She met her mother’s eyes, and took a deep breath. “Teagan’s going to hate me.” Saying those words made her lips tremble, but she fought back the fresh wave of tears and stood, shaking the feeling back into her legs.

  “No, honey, she’s not.” Jennifer stood too, and placed her hand on Alex’s cheek. Alex leaned her head into the touch, drawing more comfort from the motherly gesture. “You’re her big sister. She’s just scared is all. Let her be scared for a minute, and we’ll explain everything that is going on when she’s ready. Okay?” When Alex nodded, Adrien stepped forward.

  “We’re all pretty shaken up, and we need to treat your mom’s burn, and the scratches on your wings. Then, we need to talk about what happened. I’ve never seen anything like that before, and I’m concerned.”

  “What do you mean?” Alex studied the grim lines of her mentor’s face. “Are you talking about my power?”

  “Yes.” Adrien began to lead everyone back into the house. “There has never been an Undari with abilities like yours, and I’ve never seen anyone throw off the Unseen’s possession like that. Not once.” She fell silent as they entered the house. When they did, Teagan looked up from her spot on the couch. She saw Adrien first, then her eyes lit up when she saw Jennifer. Alex, fearing the worst, hung back. Jennifer glanced back at her eldest daughter, then nodded her head.

  Alex took a deep breath, and stepped forward. “Hey, Teagan.” The younger girl looked up at Alex, but didn’t make eye contact. She didn’t run, either, so Alex took it as a sign and advanced slowly. “Teagan, I want you to know something. Can you look at me?” Teagan shook her head, and looked at the floor again. Alex felt another piece of her heart break, but she pushed forward, determined to at least explain what had happened. She took an additional step forward and crouched down, keeping a few feet of distance between herself and her little sister. “Okay, you don’t have to look at me. That’s fine. Can you listen, though? Is that okay?” Pause. Then, Teagan gave a minute nod. “Thank you,” said Alex. She took another deep breath. “I wanted to let you know that what happened out there, that wasn’t me. It was my body doing those things, but I couldn’t control it. Remember that puppet show we went to last year?” Another small nod. “It was like that. I could see what was happening, but I was being controlled by something else. You know I would never hurt Momma, right? I love her, and I love you. I wouldn’t hurt Adrien, either. You know that.

  “I want you to know that I tried to stop it. I fought so hard, Teagan.” Alex stopped for a second. It was hard to speak past the lump in her throat. “I fought with everything I had to stop it in time. But I couldn’t. Not until that thing hurt Momma and Adrien, and scared you. I’m so sorry.” Her voice cracked, and a tear broke free, sliding down her face. Hearing this, Teagan met Alex’s eyes for the first time. “I broke free, though. Before he could hurt you, I made the monster leave. I couldn’t let him get you. Not you.” More tears fell, and Alex let her head hang. “I know you’re scared of me. You probably will be for a while, and that’s fine, I understand that. But I just wanted you to know what really happened.” Alex wiped her face and stood, turning to leave, but she froze when a tiny hand pulled on her pant leg. Slowly, not daring to breathe, she turned to see Teagan holding onto her, staring up at her big sister.

  “You didn’t want to hurt us?” She asked. “The bad thing made you do it?”

  “Yes. I would never lay a hand on any of you.”

  “Promise?”

  Alex smiled, abandoning all hope of keeping her emotions in check. “I promise.”

  Teagan let go of Alex’s pants, then wrapped her arms around her waist. “I believe you.”

  Alex raised her head, and met her mother’s eyes. Jennifer was smiling and crying. Adrien’s eyes even looked a bit damp. Alex crouched down enough to wrap her baby sister in a hug, pressing her cheek to the top of the younger girl’s head.

  “I will always protect you. Okay?” Alex felt her sister nod her head, and squeezed her once before letting go. She stood, turning to Adrien. “What’s the plan? Are you going to study me or something?”

  “We have to. We don’t know what this is, and we don’t know how it could affect you in the long run. It could be dangerous.”

  “The Unseen said that you know what I am. What did he mean?”

  “I’ll explain in a minute. First, I need you to conjure fire.” When Alex didn’t move, Adrien sighed somewhat impatiently. “I promise I will tell you what I know, but I would like to make sure you’re not going to blow up first. Would that be okay?”

  Alex waited another moment before responding. “Yeah, that’s okay.” She raised her hand, and made the flame appear. What came forth was no longer the bright gold flame with the dark interior, however. It was quite the opposite, the black flames nearly overtaking the gold until only the tips of the tongues of flame were the original color. The core of the flames was also that golden color. Alex looked up at Adrien, who was watching the fire dance in Alex’s palm with an unreadable expression.

  “It doesn’t seem any more dangerous than your normal power. Do you feel any different?” Asked her mentor, meeting her eyes. Before Alex could answer, Adrien sucked in a breath, still staring at the younger woman’s eyes.

  “What is it? Is there something on my face?” Alex reached up and wiped at the area near her eyes. She stopped when Jennifer moved to stand next to Adrien, and she watched her mother’s
mouth open slightly. “What’s going on, guys?”

  “Your eyes,” replied Jennifer. “Here.” She took Alex by the arm and led her to the bathroom off the living room. “Look in the mirror.”

  Obeying her mother’s request, Alex leaned forward, placing her hands on the sink and gazed at her reflection. “Huh. I should really pluck my eyebrows. They look terrible.”

  “Focus.” Adrien’s command was sharp. “This is serious.”

  “Okay, okay. I will stare into my own eyes. Calm down.” Alex did so, then pulled back. “They aren’t supposed to look like this.” In the mirror, Alex’s irises were deep purple, shot through with the holly leaf green she’d always had. Her pupils were slitted, like a reptile’s.

  “We know. You’re changing in more ways than one, it seems.” Jennifer left the bathroom, and Alex followed her and Adrien back into the living room.

  “We need you to Shift again, after we treat your mother’s burn.” Adrien went into the kitchen, and grabbed the med kit, which was sitting on the counter. “It’s very likely that your other Form has changed, as well. We need to know the full extent of this.” She treated Jennifer’s wound with quick, sure hands, applying first a burn cream and antiseptic, then placing a pad of gauze over the site. After putting it away, she went to the front door, beckoning for Alex and her mother to follow. Jennifer went after her, motioning for Teagan to stay where she was. The little girl did not object, instead sitting in an armchair in the living room and giving the front door a frightened look. Alex stooped to hug her again, before going outside, as well.