Skin Walkers Conn (4 page)

Conn
shifted mid-drop and when he spread his wings the five foot span in golden eagle
form caught enough wind to send
him shooting in the direction he wanted to go.  He soared over the four chutes of his men as the
y
floated down to the forest floor.  He
split his beak and a high-pitched screech let his men know that he’d shifted
and would be in front of them.
  It also let them know they were free to change form. 

Chapter
3

Aries cursed aloud several times. 
Christ, am I
gonn
a
hit every fucking branch on the way down
!
 

The wind was knocked out of her as her ribs met another thick branch.  She couldn’t let go of the
opened
chute she held clutched to her chest, so she couldn’t afford her body any protection from the impact of her
poor
landing. 

When the other side of her ribs crunched against another branch, she dropped the chute and clutched the branch tightly with both arms before dropping her eyes to the ground. 
She sucked in a breath at the pain resonating from her ribs as she shimmied further out onto the branch then let go, dropping none to gracefully onto the hard earth.

She rose quickly and scanned her surroundings.  She listened for a moment before she ran in the opposite direction the helicopter was heading.  She knew they’d be after her soon
.  These mercenaries hadn’t traveled all the way to South America just to let her slip through their fingers,
so she’d make as much of her head-start as she could.

Her ribs ach
ed, and sawing in ragged breath
s only made
her side
hurt more, but she knew she had to push past the pain if she hoped to escape. 
My
brother’s looking for me?  These
guys are way off their fucking mark if I’m the best they could come up with.
 

She didn’t have siblings, she knew she didn’t.  There wasn’t even an ounce of hope that there existed a long lost brother.  She’d been raised by her mother and had been an only child.  She’d also been
six years old and
in the car with her mother when she’d lost control one fateful night and rolled
the vehicle
four times.  Her mother died at the scene.

Her
slippered
feet were nearly silent as she raced across the forest floor.  She had a general idea where she was,
but that didn’t mean much.  She had no provisions, no water,
no
food,
no
weapons, and she was wearing
nothing but a flimsy
slip
and ballet slippers
.  If the men on her ass didn’t catch her
or
kill her than dehydration or
jungle predators
would surely do the job.  Not to mention, torrential rains were frequent in the summer months
.
 
Unlike back home, South America’s summer months ran from September to March.  Aries
shivered at the thought of being caught in one of the severe storms wearing what she had on.
 

With little else to do, she pushed on.  She
knew the forest was littered w
ith small villages, but the ones that took kindly to strangers
certainly couldn’t afford to give her anything
she’d need to survive, and
mere coins would purchase
the platoon
any information the village
r
s had o
f
her whereabouts
.

Her run slowed to a pitiful excuse for a jog as her adrenaline wore off.  She was
exhausted, and her lim
b
s
were starting to feel like jelly
. 
Fucking tranquilize
r
!
  Add to that the fact that her brain was literally throbbing so badly she almost wanted to give up.  She was in bad shape, and her future certainly didn’t look too bright. 

Come on girl, you’ve eluded them for three fucking years.  You can do this!
  The pep talk did little to
raise her hopes
.
  She exhaled before stopping and dropping onto a log and
lowering
her head into her hands. 
If this fucking headache would just go awa
y.
  Her head snapped up at a noise in the trees
overhead
.
  She scowled at the bright eyed creature staring down at her from above.
 
Just a bird.
  She dropped her head back into her hands
and tried to catch her breath even as hopelessness descended on her. 
They’re
gonna
kill me.  They’re going to catch me and fucking ki
l
l
m
…wait a minute.
  Her head slowly rose from her hands as she lifted her face toward the treetops again
and slowly
straightened
from the log
on which
she’d been perched
. 
There aren’t any golden eagles in South America.
  She stood and turned, eyeing the bird suspiciously as it stared down at her, its head titling as it watched her. 

Aries watched the bird as she again started to jog. 
What is that eagle doing here?
  She’d
been born and raised in Colorado, she knew a golden eagle when she saw one, and the bird that was now flying overhead, following her path was definitely a golden eagle.
 
Is it a sign, an omen?  Damn, this doesn’t bode well for me.
 

She clutched at her aching ribs as she picked up her pace.  The beads of sweat on her
overheated flesh
had her slip clinging to her like a second skin.
  She jumped a fallen tree and the jarring motion caused when she landed had her pressing her hand tight
er to her ribs. 
God that hurt!

Her eyes darted overhead and she was startled to discover the eagle still shadowing her.  As she passed a tree she ripped off a branch and stopped long enough to throw it at the
massive bird.  The eagle
tilted his head back and its loud piercing scream rent the air.
 

Fuck!  Stupid bitch!
  She’d just given
away
her position.  She dropped her hand from her side and broke into a dead run. 
How could I be so fucking stupid! 
Shiiiit
!
  Her ears picked up the heav
y
thud of foot fall from somewhere close behind her.  They were on her tail. 

She was in excellent shape.  She had to be
.  H
er
impressive
fitness had kept her alive
more times than she could count
and today she’d relied on it more than she ever had
before
. 

Her arms
pumped back and fort
h and she sawed in harsh breath
s as her legs pounded the earth.  She jumped fallen trees, logs, and stumps and ducked under low lying branches. 
The long black hair that didn’t cling to her sweat soaked face, trailed behind her like a satiny flag. 
Her only choice was to run until she couldn’t run
anymore and pray that her enemies
couldn’t keep pace.

She saw a cliff up ahead and
heard the thunderous rush of water and
instantly knew her loca
tion.  She’d made it to
Iguazu
F
alls.
The f
alls were located where the
Iguazu
River tumbled
over the edge of the Paraná Plateau.  Numerous islands along the long edge divide the falls into
around
two-
hundred and seventy-five
separate waterfalls ranging from
two-hundred to two-
hundred and sixty-nine
feet high. 

She’d never survive a drop off even the lowest of
the
falls, but if she could traverse the sheer cliffs down to the rapids, they’d carry her more quickly than she could
run to a junction of the water flow that mark
ed
the border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. 

The
mercenaries on her tail would be forced to split up.  With four men and three directions, her odds of escape would improve exponentially
.  She just had to get down to the rapids. 

A resurgence of hope sprung to life even as she dropped to her knees to crawl under a fallen tree that blocked her path.  Her progression halted just under the tree when the eagle landed on the ground in front of her blocking her path. 
She didn’t have time for this.  She waved a hand towards the bird in an attempt to shoo it away.  Instead, the eagle spread its wings and threw its head back before …
Holy shit!  I
s it growing?

Aries watched in horror as the animal grew.  Its feathers shortened, pulled tighter to its body as its legs and arms lengthened.  She was frozen with shoc
k, her
now
ashen f
ace
concealed by the shadow of the trunk overhead. 

After mere moments, the eagle had changed, shifted to the form of a man.  A fully clothed man. 

What the…
I didn’t just see that.  Did I
?  She blinked hard and
lifted a hand to her head. 
Did I hit my head when I landed?
 
That
couldn’t have
just happen
ed
!

Aries couldn’t see the
man’s face from under the tree.
S
he slowly inched backward hoping he hadn’t seen her.  Her whole body was trembling and she was having trouble remembering to breathe. 

When the man dropped to h
is haunches to peer at her, she gasped before scrambling backward awkwardly. 
Conn?

A strong pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and hauled her to her feet.  “There you are
!
”  She recognized York’s voice instantly, and much to her surprise she’d never been more relieved. 

She turned to stare up at him with dazed eyes and York’s smile faltered as he looked from Aries to Conn.  “Oh boss…you didn’t.”

“I had to stop her before she
made it to the falls.”  Conn’s words w
ere
clipped.  He wasn’t offering excuses. 

“But if she’s not
Mason
’s sister, we’ll have to…” York’s words died off as Aries
’
mouth fell open and she stared up at him. 

Kill me.
She finished the sentence
for him
silently
, reading the intent in his eyes
.  “Look,” she turned to Conn, “I-I didn’t see anything.”

“Fuck!
” York muttered from behind her, releasing her arms.

“Really,” Aries’ tone was imploring.  “I won’t say anything, I swear it.”  She turned to stare up at York, “On my life, I swear it.” 

The man she now knew as Shane stepped to York’s side to frown over her head at Conn.  “We can’t let her go now, even if she’s
not
Mason
’s sister.”

“Yes!  Yes you can.”
Her tone was
shrill with panic
.  “Who am I
gonna
tell?”  She jumped as Conn’s feet smacked the earth after he’d vaulted himself over the fallen tree.  She turned and walked up to him, “I don’t have anyone Conn.  There’s no one to tell.  No parents, no
siblings, no lover, no friends.  I-I don’t know anyone.
  You’ve seen where I live. I’m all alone out here.  It’s just me.
”

Conn stared down at her
,
his hard features softening momentarily with…
pity?
  “Good.”  He looked over her head.  “There’ll be no one to miss you.  Shane.”

She turned just in time to catch
Shane as he shoved
something hard against her arm.  He pulled his
hand
back and held his palm open as he smiled at her. 

NO!  Not
another tranquilizer
!
  Aries turned, debating on making a run for it, but she was too slow.

“York, restrain her.  No more chances with this one.”
Conn stared down at her
for several moments, watching as her surprise turned to anger.

Strong arms grabbed her shoulders and slid down to her wrists before she heard the metallic click of the handcuffs locking her arms in place
behind her back
.