Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (40 page)

Their father
Jim
said
sincerely
“Thank you for giving them a try.
” His tone dropped as he leaned closer to Connor.
“
Tell me, h
ow did you do it?”

Mark
jumped in. “H
ey they were the ones who got it
started
for us
.”
T
he kids beamed with pride.
Then they resumed playing
in the high grass
.

Nothing is more fun than seeing hyperactive children playing around.

Connor
and Mark
stood up. “I need a volunteer to tend to the fire while I show everyone how to find food.”
J
anet
volunteered
for that task
as the rest of
them
followed Connor into the woods.

He showed how to dig up edible roots
and
pick
flowers
. He
then
showed
them
what kind of plants
that they
could and couldn’t eat. He picked up
a handful of
peppermint leaves
and put them in his pocket
as
they
started to head to the
stream
. He ordered everyone to fil
l up their canteens in the water
. “But don’t drink it yet.
The water’s stagnant.
”

Mark
kept being more and more impressed with Connor as he knew every plant by name.
He
had all but forgotten Connor’s impressive intelligence.
He
had forgotten
Connor
had a
n eidetic
memory even before becoming an immortal.
It had become more frightening after mating.

During the long
walks
through the forest,
he showed everyone all of the different tracks in the forest and told them the
corresponding
animal. He calmed everyone when he pointed to fresh wolf tracks and told them that they are more terr
ified of
human
s than we are of them, but he ordered everyone to stay close to the fire when
it got dark
and if they had to go to us
e
the buddy system
.

When everyone
returned
,
the fire
had grown into a nice
size.
Janet did well in drying out the extra wood that would be used during the night.
They
listened to Connor as he showed everyone how
to boil the water in their
metal
canteens.
Rolling boil meant it to be safe.
Then they cool
ed
the canteens in the river again to make the water refreshing
ly tasty
.

It
grew
dark out as everyone cleaned their food they collected. Everyone ate gratefully. Before everyone went to sleep
,
M
anny
looked at
Mark and Connor
. “Could I ask you two several questions?”

“That’s why we are all out here.
You have questions and we’ll do our best to answer them.
” Mark
nodded in agreement as
he
bit into a wild apple.
Earlier Mark
caught the
apple
tree’s scent
only moments before Connor did and
he
brought the group to the tree
to find many of the fruits were surprisingly ripe
.

“First off
,
I wanted to
apologize
for my
earlier
behavior
this morning
. I thought I was being conned from you kids. You
really
know your stuff
and
I’ll
be the first
admit it.” He sighed as he looked into the
fire. “With your skills
why don’t you charge more for your services?”

Connor leaned forward and hooked one arm under his leg. “Because
Manny,
I don’t want to overcharge
my customers and have them become unsatisfied with me or my teaching methods
,
if I ever make a mistake
.
I too make mistakes.
I want people to keep paying a small fee and continue to be repeating customers. I also would like it if you might tell others about me. I want people to become more into nature and the best way for them to do that is to see how diverse and special it is.
It is my passion
and my life.
”

The man looked at his wife and she nodded. “You have surpassed my
judgments
. And I would like to do this again next week.”

Mark
felt
his
jaw drop
slightly
.
I didn’t expect that!

“Ditto.”
Connor continued smiling at the man. “Thank you for that
, Manny
. I would be happy to do this again for you. What is your other question?”

The man smacked his leg. “Can you do something about these
blasted
mosquitoes?
At this rate I’ll die from blood loss.
”

Connor
smiled as he
took the
wild
peppermint from his pocket and threw half
he collected
into the fire.
A minty smell sprung forth from the blaze. It was almost intoxicating.

Mark
said “That will take care of the mosquitoes for a few hours
at least
.”

The
n
Brittany
said “That’s peppermint.
Isn’t it?
It smells very nice.”

An hour later Connor stood. “Alright everyone
,
it’s time to sleep. Mark
,
I’ll take first watch. Get some rest
,
Bud.”

The morning
Connor left
Sarah
began
clean
ing
up the house.
It is going much quicker now that I’m balanced
with
Connor
.
She
thought to
her
self as
she
finished sweeping the hardwood floor
, the newer way
.
Sarah began
using
her
ability of Terra to make all the dirt
and dust
swirl
around
and fly
outside
where it belonged
.
It went quicker than ever.

Around noon
Sarah
met Kara
over
at her house. Jenny told
her
to take care of Kara and for her to behave. Through
the
bond
Sarah
knew Connor was further away from
her
than ever before.
She already missed his touch and close proximity that always soothed her.
Or
at least it felt that way. Now Sarah understood why her
parents hate
d ever
being apart.
Her bond with her
mate was like an invisible
rubber band
that want
ed
to come back together.
Unfortunately the more it stretched the more edgy
and tense
she became.

Kara
got into
the
blue car
without much coaxing. As Sarah
turned onto the road she asked “That truck I saw on my way home last night, who’s was it?”

Sarah
turned to look at her. “Father
,
made it for your brother.”

“Really?” T
he feral grin crept on her face again. “Can I drive it?”

“It
’
s Connor’s truck. Ask him yourself
,
when he comes back Sunday.” A sad look flashed
with
in
Kara’s
eyes as she became suddenly fascinated with her lap. “Kara
,
what’s wrong
,
Sweet
ie
?” For some reason
Sarah
used an endearment on someone other than
her
mate.
Sarah
was
finally
getting slightly more accustomed to the words.

“On
Sunday
…
I have decided to go through with it.
All day Thursday I sat with Mark on all that could go wrong.
I
f I don’t make it I made a few recordings to leave behind
for mom and my grandparents. It will look like I ran off with Mark and started my new life. I never knew how heart wrenching it was to put on a good face when inside I feared that those tapes actually being used. It wasn’t any easier for Mark either, but we made it look as if we moved overseas.

“
Nevertheless
I’m
still
going to try and become a Changer.
He wants to do it Monday, but waiting
any longer than I have to
just makes me feel
more frightened. Better to get it done and over with…
” Her voice was barely audible
,
like she didn’t believe it herself
.

Sarah
pulled the car
off
to the side of the road
after hearing this confession
. When the car
completely
stopped and
put it in park
Sarah
turned to look at her.
Her
voice was calm as
she
asked
“What’s bothering you
so much
?”

Kara’s
brutal honesty
remained
present
,
even in her
state
fear
. “I’m
so
afraid I will die.”

Sarah
rubbed her back gently as
she
restrained
her
strength. If
Sarah
wanted to
she
could pick up this car
as if it were
no more than
a pillow
.
Sarah
spoke as soft
ly as she
could
to say
“Kara
,
I don’t want to
ever
hear that from you ever again.”

Her head snapped up and her attitude kicked in. “Excuse me?”

Sarah
had to smile tightly. “That’s more like it
, little
sister. That’s the fire that will make you pull through and survive
the ordeal
. Don’t do anything except fight. Think of all the people you love
and love you
. Remember your brother, David, Rhoda, Jenny and especially Mark. He’s the real reason why you’re doing this
,
right?”

“Of course he
is. I want to be with him forever and this will be the only way
we can
. Recently
,
he is all I can
ever
think about.
I want to be with him more than what we’ve been because holding back isn’t who I am. He knows it, but is even more afraid I’ll die than I am.
We want each other
in every way
, but he knows that to do so will put me in a pain that I’ve never experienced apparently. What’s worst is that I love him, but he is so afraid our love will end tragically.
” Her
chocolate brown
eyes stayed focused on
Sarah’s
through the entire confession
.

Sarah
tapped
her
temple. “Kara
,
are you forgetting that I can read another
’
s thoughts. You don’t need to explain your feelings aloud because I know that Mark is always on your mind.
You’re on his too.
”