Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) Read online

  Changer’s Blood (Book two of the Balancer’s Soul cycle)

  Published by H. LeeMorgan at Smashwords

  Copyright 2012 H. Lee Morgan

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  ISBN 978-1-4761-8587-3

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  Clandestine and Exposed

  As Kara angrily thrust her silver longbow next to the positioned log, that rested alongside the fire pit, she sat down feeling the most resentment she’s ever experienced in her entire life. The campfire continued giving off just enough light for her to see the three figures that stirred and caused these angry feeling to swell up inside her until all surged beyond her threshold. Her irritation was understandable with current circumstances, but no less heartbreaking. Her heart wouldn’t cease thundering and even though the dramatic situation had calmed, she couldn’t begin to be carefree at this very point in her life. The people Kara loved more than anything in this world carried secrets so huge that they could tell no one and didn’t even think she could handle it. Too late now, she’s already seen far too much to pass this night off as a conjured fantasy from her vivid imagination.

  This situation is completely unfair.

  Not too long ago Kara sat calmly before the warm and comforting fire while leaning on her boyfriend’s shoulder. The silence was so comforting and his warmth made all feel perfect. Mark has always given off a quiet and relaxed personality that she adored because her own personality is the exact opposite. Kara loves keeping him on his toes and for some reason he hasn’t been scared off like her previous boyfriends. He was such a steadfast friend to her and her brother. Sometimes he’d joke and play like any other person his age, but other times he gave her the impression of ageless maturity beyond his appearance. He’s slightly taller than she is, but not as tall as her brother. Mark has jet black, spiky hair that feels a little different than most other guys, it’s coarser to the touch yet still feels silky, and his silver eyes are to die for. It is like they’ve seen everything there is to see in life, but couldn’t find anything boring. Kara knows beyond a hint of doubt that he likes her more than a friend, but she had a nagging feeling that either he’s hiding been something or he is such a good actor that he truly doesn’t care for her like she does with him. It just must have been her mind getting carried away, which isn’t unusual.

  Sitting across from them, on the other side of the campfire, sat Kara’s big brother and her new sister-in-law, Sarah.

  Her new sister moved here several months ago and turned Kara’s family upside down. The first time Kara recalled seeing her she was running away from her father, Mr. Branderson, as her brother pulled her home in a wagon that he built for her on her thirteenth birthday. Sarah ran into the woods and Connor looked sick with worry that she had ended up lost in the woods. So he tracked her down on the darkest of nights and brought her back safely. Not too long after meeting her for the first time Kara knew nearly immediately that Sarah and her brother were meant to be together. They just seemed to fit perfectly, like two long lost puzzle pieces. Even Kara could tell that fate had brought these two lovers together.

  And while her brother had left to go track her down Mark came over and kept Kara company. During that time Kara fell in love with Mark, after spending some quality time alone with him. They’ve known each other for many years, but that night had been the first time that they really had a chance to be alone without any outside interference or disturbances. Usually her brother and Mark would hang out and do guy things. That night was theirs.

  Her big brother is just that, he’s Big. Everyone at school made fun of him because of his large size, but he let them do it because he doesn’t like hurting people. Connor is nineteen years old, six foot two and weighs over two hundred and forty pounds, but he hasn’t any fat that she could ever tell. He’s layered and knotted with solid muscle that made him look like the perfect male specimen. He trained nearly day in and out everyday by either running or camping. There wasn’t anyone in the school that could outrun or out muscle her big brother. But he always seemed alone, until Mark became his only friend. Even with a friend there was always a piece of him that always seemed to be missing, a companion.

  That was, until he met Sarah.

  Several years ago Connor had been in a terrible accident that left him scarred for the rest of his life. He was working at their grandfather’s forge, working with hot metal. Kara’s granddaddy, David, uses ink to quench his metals and on that day he quenched a large crossbeam, in black ink, and hooked it up on the cooling rack. Somehow the still hot metal almost fell on their granddaddy, but her brother was there and pushed him out of the way, just in time. Unfortunately the crossbeam landed in the center of her brother’s sternum and seared the black ink into the flesh of his chest and cracking several ribs; making a big black X tattoo that nothing could remove. Each line starts at each of his shoulders, crosses at the center of his sternum and wraps around each of his ribs. The design seared perfectly onto his chest, making his physical attributes stand out even more. The weight and heat from the crossbeam cracked almost every one of his ribs as it conformed to his chest and the pain from the heat made him go unconscious. He lost a year from school and because of it he had to graduate with her class.

  Connor hid his chest like a deformity, but it only makes him look even stronger and dangerous; in a good way. One day towards the end of the school year, he vanished for a month and when he returned he showed everyone the home he made for him and Sarah. It was a beautiful place and one that Kara will never forget because she felt jealous and wanted one of her own.

  And a week or so after graduating Connor married Sarah in the same place that he found her in the woods and Kara suspect that it was where they first fell madly in love. Sarah’s father did the ceremony, making it both short and beautiful. The way it should be. When they sealed their vows with a kiss everyone became overjoyed for them.

  The most fun person in Sarah’s family is her older sister Jillian. They look somewhat the same, but with only a few differences. Jillian and Kara get along so well because they have the same outgoing personalities. She like Jillian’s quick wit and she likes Kara’s bluntness.

  After a traumatic incident during the graduation ceremony a student named Mathew used a stun gun on her brother while Mr. V., an unforgivable science teacher, held Sarah hostage in a headlock. Kara’s brother miraculously stood after getting kicked and stunned once he looked at his wife and saw that she was in danger. She’s never seen her brother look so murderous before and the blood that poured down his face made his entire outlook that much more threatening. He knocked out Mr. V. with a punch to the gut after Sarah freed herself. While this happened Kara made Mathew go unconscious with a single strike to the back of his head.

  Kara still feet smug about doing it.

  Yet the past memories of the previous months still kept coming.

  The next morning the four of them drove up to these mountains for a graduatio
n camping trip or a double date as she heard Sarah say on the ride up here. Kara thought it would be a great idea and everyone had agreed with her. Sarah and she walked together, up the mountain’s trails while the boys went on ahead and set up camp. They had some quality conversations that eased some of Kara’s deeply feared worries.

  As Kara looked at the three that still stood shoulder to shoulder she remembered the dramatic events that took place minutes ago. Like I could ever forget?

  Kara sat contently in front of the warm, crackling fire while resting on Mark’s shoulder when everyone heard branches snap loudly under a heavy weight. Her brother and Mark moved too fast for her eyes to follow, and sensing a problem Kara grabbed her bow and notched an arrow quickly. They had all moved and reacted to the strangely approaching sound.

  As Connor and Mark stood together, facing the intruder and blocking the fairer sex from the threat, her brother and Sarah were talking about something that Kara couldn’t follow nor understand. Then Kara’s heart nearly stopped when she saw her brother’s eyes literally glowing a pure white in the darkness of the night. It was the most freakish thing she has ever seen in real life. He told Sarah and Kara that a bear approached and he told her to take Kara away. When Kara hesitated Sarah picked her up like she was as light as air and moved from the area at an unbelievable pace and before Kara knew it she dropped her longbow and was hidden behind the tree line of the camp.

  Sarah moved too fast and felt too strong to be that of a normal girl.

  As Kara turned to see what unfolded on the other side of the tree she tried asking questions to Sarah. She gave such a cold look that it silenced Kara and she turned to watch the boys. When she finally unfroze, Kara turned back and became immobilize yet again as she saw her brother standing with both of his hands raised in the air and blazing above him floated a ball of fire that looked like a miniature sun. She couldn’t fathom what was happening as she tried searching for Mark who somehow vanished. Kara could barely hear the roaring of the bear over the sounds of the fireball over her brother’s head. Things became too confusing to comprehend. And for a single moment Kara believed she was either hallucinating or having a very, very vivid dream.

  It was too strange to be a dream.

  After Connor threw the ball of fire Kara saw a black shadow vanish into the trees. From her angle a few moments later she could see a wall of fire blazing and two undistinguishable shadows stood before the blaze. Then she saw that her brother had somehow extinguished the fire and relit the fire pit.

  It all ended in a few seconds.

  When the bear fled for its life Sarah put a firm grasp on Kara for nearly a minute. Then when the hand released they ran back to their men together. Connor stopped them by holding up one hand. Kara felt worried about what happened and where Mark was. Her brother said something about being a Balancer, but she cut him off to ask about Mark. He wasn’t around and that made her worry more than the bear. And not long after her brother moved did she get a good look at her Mark.

  Usually Mark’s appearance is slightly taller than Kara and his muscles are hard and taut, like a smaller duplicate of her brother’s, with the only difference being that Mark has a hairy, manly chest, but now…

  Kara knew it was Mark immediately when she saw those warm silver eyes, but they were now slit, catlike, instead of circular. Mark now stood as tall as Connor, but didn’t look anything like his usual appearance. Where his mouth had once been now produced a muzzle with sharp, deadly teeth and his tapered ears moved back and forth, apparently listening to everything around them. His flat, human chest had barreled out and soft black fur covered his entire body. A solid mane of black hair tumbled down below his shoulders. Kara saw movement as something twitched behind his bottom and saw that it was in fact, a black tail. Where his fingernails once were, now held long, sharp claws that made him look all the more menacing. He is dangerous.

  Kara realized this was Mark’s real secret.

  Sarah called him a Changer and he made a remark like it was obvious. It was a remark like Kara would usually make. She began to rub off on him.

  As she finally forced herself to move Kara walked up to her boyfriend, smiled up into his silver eyes and then slapped him as hard as she could.

  That slap hurt her far more than hitting his thick skull, but his expression was even more shocked than her own personal pain. She commanded “Sit Boy!” and he dropped down obediently on his haunches. As he understood what he just did, his expression changed into disbelief. Kara just sounded like an obedience animal instructor. He did exactly what she said when it was said. He was a good boy.

  She then tackled him, now that he moved in the right position for her to do so. As Kara pinned him to the ground relief washed over her. She just had a glimpse of his secret and knew that it wasn’t really her that was holding him back. He could do something freakish and inhuman, but he was the one afraid she’d reject him and that’s why he hid it.

  The images finally faded and her senses came back under control.

  It wasn’t easy accepting any of this.

  Looking up at the three solid pillars Kara finally asked “Ok how about the three of you tell me what Balancer’s and Changer’s are?”

  Sarah wore brown jeans, hiking boots a green blouse that matched her intelligent eyes. Her lovely green eyes looked up at Kara’s brother and her left arm wrapped around his right. “I think we should tell her everything. She’s already seen too much of what we can do and we cannot let her remain like this for it shall be more dangerous. It’s best she understands her new position.” She suggested.

  “No,” Connor said calmly, looking at his sister with reluctance. “Let’s tell her just a little bit for now. It is a lot to take in and process at one time. We don’t need to overload her with all the little details.” Kara’s overly muscled and protective brother now stood shirtless after the fight and she couldn’t see where his shirt went to. Her brother was trying to placate her and it would work, usually. Not this night though.

  “Brother, I know I can take it. Tell me.” Kara’s brown eyes shifted to his left. “Hello, I’m looking at my boyfriend who is a flesh and blood Werewolf!” She said trying to be calm, but it came out as a plea. Her heart finally began to slow down very slowly after saying that aloud. At least she didn’t sound hysterical.

  In a deep rumbling voice Mark asked, while his eyes spoke in disbelief “Do you still think of me as your boyfriend?” She nodded and he smiled with his sharp white teeth, glistening in the firelight. Then he shook his head saying “Connor’s right… Let’s take things slowly for now. And I’m not exactly a Werewolf, Kara, I’m a Changer. This form I’ve adapted is a just a wolf.”

  “Well who should start the explanations?” Kara asked the trio, trying to get somewhere and not continue to be treated like a child. She don’t like being treated like one and they all knew it.

  “I guess I should.” Mark said by tilting his bulky head. “But first, I need to change back. It might make you slightly more comfortable to see me as I usually am. I know my voice is a little disconcerting for you. It is a side effect of the transformation.” He dropped his eyes to the ground. “Just one thing, my eyes might scare you and so will the noises.”

  His pupils started to glow and then she saw him use his clawed hands to brush off his fur from all over his body; he began shedding. Then Kara began to hear his bones cracking and saw that his body started shrinking slowly back down to his former size. His barreled chest cracked and became flat and well muscled again. His muzzle, teeth and ears started breaking, shifting and getting absorbed back in his normal facial structure. His tail retreated and disappeared into his pants and so did the claws on his hands as well as his toes. The only thing that really didn’t change was his loose, thick, black mane. His jet black hair now hung long and came to the middle of his back.

  As the lights in his eyes died down, he finally looked like a normal human once again, like nothing happened. He looked around the ground and picked up T
ool, which is her brother’s half hammer and half hatchet weapon.

  “Hey Buddy, can you give me a quick trim for now?” Mark asked Connor while handing him his weapon back.

  Sarah let go of Connor’s embrace and walked over gracefully to sit quietly by Kara’s side. It felt completely reassuring as she rubbed her back with a smile. She had a grandmotherly touch; the one which can always comfort you.

  “Turn around.” Connor said and Mark spun on his heel.

  Her brother pulled all of Mark’s long hair into a tight fist. He swung Tool faster than Kara’s eyes could keep up, but she felt the wind on her face from the speed of the chop, even from over here. With a handful of black hair Connor threw the bundle into the fire. The flames rose for a few moments and Kara glanced at the hole in the back of Mark’s pants, his crack visible to all. She giggled and glanced at Sarah who smiled at the view too.

  When Kara finally felt able to calm her heart rate both Mark and her brother sat down on the log opposite of Sarah and her.

  “I think I should actually be the one to start this off.” Connor looked at Sarah first. She nodded and then he did the same to Mark who mimicked her gesture. “Before any of us tell you anything you must promise us all something.”

  “What is it I should promise, Brother?” Kara asked while crossing her legs.

  “This secret you’ve seen puts us all in grave danger. You must make this your absolute number one secret that you cannot share with anyone. Not even our mother and grandparents are allowed to know about this. This will be the biggest secret you will carry for the rest of your life because the consequences aren’t desirable. Many lives are at risk now. You must promise.” Connor said slowly, leaning forward and interlacing his fingers on his lap. He is dead serious.

  “I promise.” Kara said being more solemn than she have ever made her word before. His face formed a cold, stone mask and she felt a chill of fear as Mark mirrored the expression. She’d take this secret to her grave so long as they never show her such a look ever again.