Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (17 page)

Jillian
finally moved and put a hand on
Jack
’
s shoulder saying “I’m sorry
for our actions
as well. We will hear all this out before we make a
ny
decision
s
.”

“That is all I
ever
ask
ed.
” Connor said. While
Sarah
remained telepathically
connected with his mind
alone
she
heard him call out
“Bud?”

“Yeah?”
Mark
’
s mind replied.

“It’s ok to come out now?”

“Is the light show over
already
? Awe man and that was so cool too.”
Mark said playfully yet he was cautious
ly leaving the brush where Sarah
last saw them
.

The leaves and foliage moved and shook until
Sarah
saw Mark on all fours as he slowly walked out of the thicket.
His large black form looked menacing
and overwhelming
in the morning lighting
.
She
saw
Kara riding on his back again
,
with her
long
bow situated
firmly
across her back
.
She rode with her hips
,
swaying like an experienced horse rider.
Sarah
realized
also
that Mark was prepared to run away
incase this didn’t turn out
well.
He would do anything to see
Kara
to safety
, even if it meant spiriting her away so that Jack would never be able to find her
.

Jillian
gasped
.
“Is that a Changer?”
Jack
said nothing, but his eyes went wide
.
The
y didn’t move and it seemed as if
they were also having a hard time breathing.
She
would be too if
she
didn’t know what was happening.

This
i
s what Connor wanted, a chance to show that all was well.

Neither Connor nor Sarah
said anything until Mark cautio
usly walked behind the two of them
,
for Kara’s
added
defense
. “Yes I am a Changer, but I would prefer it if you called me by my name
,
young one
s
.” Mark said in his deep voice and with
the
authority that came wi
th his age. Kara gently rubbed M
ark
’
s
,
now
armored
,
ribs absentmindedly as she quietly watched everyone
with excited eyes
and a smile
.

“Forgive me… Mark” Jillian
said quietly
, knowing her place as his junior
. Mark’s massive head nodded
,
accepting her apology and she sighed with relief.

Sarah
said “Is this enough
of a reason
to know that they aren’t a threat?”

“We still need to discuss…
”
Jack stopped when Sarah
heard a soft thud
from
behind
. T
hen
saw a small
pink
flash
zip
ped between her and Connor. Sarah’s
mind quickly registered it as Kara.

She ran as quickly as she could
,
directly at
Jillian
. She then grabbed
her
by the waist and spun her in the air laughing. “Good to see you again Jillian. How are you
doing
old
girl
?”

The five of immortals
were stunned
both
physically and mentall
y
,
until Kara easily
returned
Jillian
’s feet
back
down
on the ground.

A moment later
Sarah’s m
other started
making
a deep belly laugh. “Yes Kara
,
it is good to see you as well.
Y
ou
’
r
e
looking very pretty this morning.
” She turned to look at
her mate
with a smile. “
Jack,
I can say for a fact that this move has been the most exciting since we’ve been together.”

He
smiled
back
weakly
and unsurely
a
s
he
scratched his head and his other hand still
clutched the
ancient
weapon. “You are right
about that
,
Jillian.”

Kara captured Jillian
’
s attention again by asking “Are you really
and truly
Sarah’s mother?”

Her m
other shot
Sarah
a quick glance and then smiled at Kara. “The truth is yes I am her mother
,
and Jack is her father.”

Kara leaned on one leg as she peered around
Jillian
to look at
Jack
for a moment as he studied her as well. “Well you look good for your age
, old girl
.” She said complimenting Jillian
.

Jillian
started laughing again and
began
patting Kara’s back. Sud
denly
Sarah’s
father started chuckling
. As
he
swung his weapon high in the ai
r and thrust it into the ground,
suddenly
Mark blew past both Connor and Sarah, scooping
Kara in his
furry
arms. She yelped and was then flipped around to land
on his back. Before Sarah’s
parent
’
s could react to Mark’s speed
,
he had Kara safely
back
behind
his friends
once
again.

“What was that about
!?” Kara demanded
of
Mark.

In his deep rumbling voice he said apologetically “Tha
t was a
mistake
on my part, Sweetheart
… I thought he was going to hit you with that club of his
and
in my assumption
stole you away from his side
.”
Sarah
turned to see Mark’s silver
,
catlike
eyes aimed
directly
upon
her
father. “I’m sorry for taking your actions wrongly
,
Jack.
But you know how protective
we
can be with those we love.
”

He waved the apology away. “No harm done
,
Mark.” He looked down at his mate
. “I think we need to discuss this?”

“Forget it!” E
veryone turned to look at Connor’s sister as she straddled Mark
’
s back. “Mr. Branderson, you have nothing to fear from me telling anyone your secret. As you can see
,
my boyfriend is a Changer
after all
and my brother is a Balancer. I don’t want anything to go wrong or for them to get hurt so I wil
l keep this secret to myself.” Sarah
turned to see
her f
ather studying
the pink child
intently. Suddenly she caught everyone by surprise by saying “Well since Brother said this is where you train and practice; I’d say let
’
s have some fun.”

She
swiftly stood on M
ark
’
s back and dropped to the ground gracefully. Mark pushed himself to a standing position as he watched her intently. She then grabbed her bow and pulled it from around her back.
S
he
held the bow
’s
grip as she
turned to study
Mark’s hand
. “Honey
,
can those claws of yours cut into bark?”

He looked at his right claw. He then looked at her saying “
T
hey can cut steel so, y
es
. w
hat do you have in mind
Kara
?”

She grabbed his
wrist
and led him over to a Red Pine. She pointed to the grey-brown
bark and with her finger
,
traced an invi
sible pattern. Connor stood at Sarah’s
side as he watched the two over at the tree wearing a smile.
“Watch closely because she is the best archer I have ever known.
World class I’d wager.
”

“We’ll see soon enough
now
wont we?”
Sarah
smiled as h
e wrapped one arm around her
shoulder.

B
oth of
her
parents
were
intently watching the little human and a C
hanger in his transformed state
.

Loose s
tones crunching under
their
foot fall
s
gave away that
Kara
began
marking her distance.
Sarah
looked back to see Kara walki
ng away from Mark as she drew a
metal tipped arrow from
the
quiver at her hip.
Sarah
then saw Mark using
only his right clawed hand
to
carv
e a pattern
into the tree. With his fingers spread and his claws sharp
enough to cut steel
; he made a perfect ringed target into the trunk of the tree.

Mark stepped
back to look at his handy work.
W
hen he
seemed
satisfied he turned to Kara and yelled in a deep voice “All set!”

Kara stood
two hundred
and thirty to two hundred and fifty
yards away from the target as she put tension on the bow. “She can’t be serious.”
Jack
said and Connor
looked at him and smiled at the
skepticism.

She then notched the end of the arrow to the string “Mark, clear the range
!
”
a
nd he swiftly walked
over
toward
the other immortals
. With the arrow’s tip pointed at the ground
she
drew the string to her cheek
. She held the grip with her left hand while she held the st
ring with three fingers. The notch
of the arrow sat
between her index and middle finger. She raised the point up tow
ards the tree and then
stopped. Everything about Kara
became
frozen in place; she didn’t blink or even breathe. Simultaneously she exhaled and released the arrow into the air.

Sarah
could see the
movements of
arrow in the air thanks to
her
mind being faster.
T
he zip
of the arrow cut through the silence and was soon
followed by a thud as it hit the tree.
T
he arrow
struck
less than an inch from a
perfect
bull’s eye. “Lucky shot.”
Jack
said and Kara’s exceptional hearing heard the remark and took
out
another arrow.
This time she hit a bull’s eye that
sat
a
half
inch from dead center. “Ok so maybe she is good.”
he
amended aloud
.