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

  “That’s good enough for me.” Kara became startled to see that Sarah was the one to say it as her green eyes bore into her brown.

  “I second that!” Kara’s boyfriend said, now wearing a smile.

  Connor took a deep breath and sighed. “Ok, Kara what you need to know is that I’m no longer completely human.” She felt her eyes widen at this sudden turn of events. Kara knew he was different after seeing those flames above his head, but not human... “Before you say anything, let me finish what I have to. I am known as a Balancer now. I am now Sarah’s eternal mate.”

  “Eternal? You mean to tell me that you are now…” Her voice suddenly disappeared.

  “Immortal.” He said simply and smiled at her new sister-in-law intimately. “Kara, I also have many other new attributes that I will show you.”

  “Come on Brother, give me something more than that. How have you become immortal?” She pleaded and the icy look he gave almost stopped Kara cold, almost. “Why did you hide this from me? And why is this secret so guarded that you would keep it from me?” A delicate and warm hand touch her forearm gently. Kara turned her head and saw Sarah’s serious yet gentle eyes again. Her rosy red lips now had a haunted smile.

  “Kara, please listen to me carefully. In our laws we can only tell those who are the most trustworthy and can be of use to us or our future mates. If word surfaced with what we are and what we can do, it would be unbelievably devastating. More than you can possibly imagine.” She said softly, but Kara felt the threat.

  “Why?” was all she could manage to ask.

  Kara’s attention shifted to Mark when he cleared his throat. “There are only two options we immortals have when our true secret is exposed to humans. We either flee the area, hope that they can’t track us down and don’t have proof of our existence or we kill any who threaten our secrets and survival.” He said in an icy tone that swept through her like a blizzard and she was the only one naked to the elements. She has never heard this tone from him and she never wants to hear it pass through his lips ever again.

  “I understand just a little of the weights that you all bear by telling me this.” She said softly, tearing her eyes away to look at the fire. The red and orange flames danced and offered her warmth from the coldness she felt in her soul.

  “Kara, we are only doing this for you to understand just how much danger you’re in now. It is a law that we all have to live by and if you were the source of the leak, you need to know of the consequences. We hid this secret to protect you from such dangers. If others of our races learned you were the culprit for the exposing of us and we didn’t eliminate you, someone else would step in without hesitation. Then they would punish us with the same fate to be an example so that others won’t forget why our secret must remain as such.” Sarah said while gently rubbing Kara’s back again. “Being what we are is a good thing most of the time, but human reactions aren’t uncommon when they are faced with change to their lives. Your history is filled with hatred of the unknown. There are many verifiable stories in your legends and things I’ve seen that show humanity has a short tolerance for coexistence. Religion has always been the worst for I know beings older than the first human religion and when they realize their beliefs are wrong… let’s just say it won’t end like a fairytale. It has gotten better since more have come to believe in the logic of science rather than religion, but it isn’t in anyone’s best interest to start something without permission from those who make the rules.

  “We only tell you the harshness of our laws now so that you understand why you’ve never heard of us before tonight. We do this to protect you.”

  “And because we all love you.” This came strongly from Mark as he smiled at Kara. His icy tone had disappeared and was replaced with a calm warmth. Her soul had begun defrosting, but the fine hairs on the back of her neck remained erect.

  An idea came rushing in. “Sarah, how old are you…really? You’re not really twenty two are you?” Kara just had to ask.

  The way Sarah comforted her was a little too old fashioned for how young she looked and spoke.

  She smiled softly and shook her head. “No, I am actually three hundred years old.” She said gently while removing her hand from Kara’s back to put her hands in her lap. Her grandmotherly touch was an accurate analogy.

  “HA! You’re just an adolescent!” Mark said loudly and laughing at the same time. And then Kara knew Sarah was actually telling the truth.

  You have got to be kidding me…? “What about you, Mark?” Kara asked.

  He stopped laughing, but he still wore her favorite smile. “I am just over nine hundred years old.”

  “You old geezer!” Connor said while gently punching Mark’s shoulder. Meanwhile everything inside Kara went utterly blank. “That gives a whole new meaning to robbing the cradle.” Her brother actually started laughing after saying it.

  “It’s better than robbing the grave!” Mark retorted with his own punch.

  “Mark, you mean to tell me that you’re still unmated at your age?” Sarah asked evenly and her eyes were gentle. She changed the subject so quickly.

  Mark’s eyes dropped to the floor in a sadness that Kara didn’t yet understand and his voice matched. “Yes, I am unmated. Please don’t ask any more of me on that subject. It is something I wish to forget, but my mind won’t let go. It is not something I wish to elaborate on, Sarah.” Connor stopped laughing and gently squeezed Mark’s shoulder in empathy.

  Kara had to change the mood quickly. “Mark, what are Changer’s exactly?”

  His head quickly rose to meet hers. Kara smiled and tried conveying that ‘Whatever happed in your extensive past is yours alone unless you want to tell me about it.’ He smiled softly after his haunting expression dissipated, then he said “Changers were human once upon a time too and when we become Changers, we gained the ability to mold our bodies into pretty much whatever we like. I tend to like changing into a wolf. We cannot completely mimic the exact shape of certain animals, but we can come close; some more than others. And we can sometimes mix up animals like adding wings on a horse. The Greek myth of a Pegasus stemmed from a Changer actually. Same with a unicorn, griffin and many other manner of mythical creatures. Once we get in the habit of changing, we usually find certain characteristics more appealing than others and can change into them much quickly with practice.

  “Changers have the ability to augment their features to serve different purposes. We can look however we want; we can look like teenagers and over time we can add wrinkles and change our hair pigmentation to look old. There are two things we cannot change though and that is our sex and color of our eyes. We are able to blend into a society longer than Connor and Sarah ever could.” He said smugly.

  “What do you mean stay longer in a society?” Kara looked to her brother for clarity on that subject.

  “Kara, we can no longer age. Within a few years people will start to notice that we still look like this,” He pointed to his handsome face. “when our peers start getting wrinkles. I would say that Sarah and I would have to leave in five to ten years from now. It is inevitable, but it is for our safety and for those we know.” He said evenly and without emotion.

  She turned her head to see Sarah watching and studying everything she did. Suddenly her eyes shot to Connor’s and Kara saw her nod silently.

  “What did you two just do?” She looked between them.

  “Sarah and I are different from any Balancer’s that’s known. When a pair of mated Balancer’s become one; they are unable to read their mate’s minds. Sarah and I can.” Her brother said happily while pointing between them.

  “You mean to tell me that you can read minds?” Kara looked at her brother skeptically. She couldn’t tell if he was joking or telling the truth.

  “Yes Kara. I can read minds and project my thoughts to you.” She heard him speak like he was talking right next to her, but his lips didn’t move until a smile of satisfaction crept in at her openmouthed expression. He was
n’t joking, but he was playing around with his sister.

  “No way, that is really something.” And she felt her jaw hanging open.

  “Yes way.” Connor said back at her and smiled even more when her mouth hung open. Her sandy blonde hair hung wild and she made him smile brighter.

  “Connor, you were really serious about reading your mate’s mind?” He turned to look to his left and saw Mark’s own dumbfounded expression as he sat shirtless at his side. Mark’s shoeless feet were stretched out towards the fire. He still looked astonished and a little skeptical now.

  “He is telling you the honest truth.” Sarah said backing her mate up with a smile of her own. “We don’t know why we are different, we just are.”

  “I can honestly say that I have never seen your kind’s eyes glow before… Somewhat like ours, I mean.” Mark said before scratching his chin with regular fingernails. “I also have never seen a Fire Balancer accumulate flames that big and that quickly before.”

  “You’re wrong about him being a Fire Balancer.” Sarah said in correction and wearing a new smile. She smiled his favorite smile. She grabbed a lock of her hair and started twirling it with her fingers. She was trying not to laugh.

  “What do you mean by that? I saw him use fire with my own eyes.” Mark sounded appalled like he was just called a liar. He firmly placed his hands on his knees in preparation to defend himself.

  “Connor can manipulate all of the five elements, and I can as well.” Sarah beamed with more pride as she looked at both men. Connor and Sarah were becoming used to their differences and it wasn’t as difficult to accept new things.

  Mark turned to Connor with wide eyes. “Really? Show me. I need to see this for myself, Buddy.”

  “Brother? What are you three talking about with the five elements? I don’t understand your meanings…” Kara said, hating to be left out of the loop.

  Connor looked at Sarah. “I think I can kill two birds with one stone?”

  She looked between Kara and Mark before mentally replying. “Do you have enough energy? How are your reserves holding up?”

  “I feel that I have enough, but stand behind me just incase.” Sarah nodded and quickly moved behind him after jumping over the fire. Connor watched Mark’s eyes as he easily kept up with each of Sarah’s movements.

  Kara’s eyes went wide as she noticed that Sarah appeared to standing behind him. She turned her head where Sarah originally sat and then back at them. “How…? How did you get over there so quickly?” She asked in her chirpy and quick voice.

  “Kara, we are much faster and stronger than humans. And to answer your thoughts, we cannot teleport either. Magic isn’t real. All we can do is manipulate nature, that’s all. No it isn’t telekinesis either, but if it helps you to understand go right ahead.” Sarah stated from behind. Connor felt her place both of her hands on his bare shoulders, but she didn’t transfer any energy. She would wait for the signal.

  “Both of you listen to me.” Connor spoke to his sister and his best friend. “I will show the two of you how different Sarah and I are.”

  As he held their attention Connor took a small flame from the fire as he released warm flowing energy to his hand. The small flame danced in the palm of his right hand like a lit candle that fed from his energy rather than wood. Mark didn’t seem too impressed, but his sister’s eyes went wide as she stared into the delicate flame. “This is the energy element known as Fire!” Connor returned the small flame back into the campfire and stopped using his energy.

  Connor closed his eyes and imagined a flowing sphere of water over his palm. He opened his eyes as he released the cool flowing energy. The moisture in the air accumulated into a golf ball sized rotating water ball. Kara went stone still as did Mark, but they did so for two completely different reasons. “Princess, I know you’re thirsty.” Connor turned in his seat and handed her the ball of water. She used her power to take the orb away from him and then she drank the water graciously. “That is the shifting element, Liquid.” She then returned her dry hands back on his shoulders after smiling at him.

  Connor scooped up a handful of clay dirt from the ground and held it out for the two of them to see. Connor focused his mind and made the sand come together in his mind’s eye and then released a solid flow of stamina. Connor watched how the clay’s shape started forming together. It started forming small hooves, legs, a roundish torso and then finally a head, mane and a tail. Moments later Connor held a miniature clay pony of perfect detail. “This is the solid element, Terra.” He then handed it to a smiling Kara because her favorite animal is the horse.

  Mark finally spoke, but quietly to himself. “This is really impossible. What’s going on here?” He stared at Connor in disbelief. “You were really serious?” His tone was of quiet astonishment.

  “Let me finish, Bud. I still have two more elements to go.” Connor said while looking him in the eye with a smile. Connor then focused his mind and made invisible jet’s under each his feet. “Sarah, please step back for a moment.” When her loving touch came off his shoulders he stood. An intense flow of energy flooded down to his feet and the soles of his feet left the ground, but only up by five inches from the surface.

  Connor began flying for the first time.

  “Connor, when did you learn this?” Sarah said while giggling from behind.

  “Just now, Princess. It just popped into my head.” Sarah hit his bottom playfully. Unfortunately the tap broke his mediocre concentration and Connor fell back to the solid earth, hitting the ground flatly. He felt lucky that he didn’t go any higher or he would have stumbled a few steps into the fire. Connor looked at Sarah and all she did was smile beautifully.

  “Brother, did you just fly?” Kara blurted out, without blinking.

  “Yes, but I need to practice that move a little more though.” He sat down again on the log. “That’s the power element, Pressure.”

  “Connor, are you sure you have enough for the last bit of show and tell. Remember…last time?” Sarah put her hands back over his shoulder and still didn’t give over any energy. Her hands remained both soft and warm.

  “Just enough, but maybe you can fix it back when I’m done.” Connor looked back to see her nod. Her green eyes were focused on helping in an emergency.

  Lastly, Connor reached over and picked up his clean metal fork from dinner. He then held it up for Sarah to get a good look at its original shape. She squeezed his shoulder once she was finished studying it.

  His eyes and mind began to vividly picture the metal fork, then he saw it change and reshape. As the enormous flow of energy released down his arm it now felt somewhat different, less intense and taxing. Connor opened his eyes to see the metal levitate from the palm of his hand and hover for a moment before its shape began to change. The four metal spikes began glowing red, then folded in on themselves before fusing together to then bow out. As the finally metal cooled it fell into his hand as a spoon. “This is the final, malleable element, Metal.” He handed the spoon over to Mark for inspection.

  This time when Connor used his power over Metal there was an unsettling sensation of his own making. The metal manipulation didn’t drain him as it did before. It still used the same amount of energy, but his imagination supplied the difference. This attempt for price of metal manipulation was like he barely took a bite out of a foot long sandwich instead of eating well over three quarters.

  “This is truly remarkable, my friend. Do you know why you have the affinity for all elements?” Mark said while studying the spoon.

  “Jillian has a theory. She thinks that because I was so powerful as a human, before I became a Balancer, that means when I became a Balancer my abilities became more dramatically different than anyone else’s. And my abilities had another side effect because Sarah has the exact same abilities that I do. Usually the female brings her mate to her level, but I did the opposite.” Connor said and Mark looked down to contemplate what was revealed to him while still studying the spoon that cha
nged before his very eyes. Disbelief warred with the logic he witnesses first hand.

  “Wait… Sarah, is your sister Jillian and your father Balancer’s as well?” Kara asked innocently moments later.

  Connor bit his lip, trying not to laugh, but it turned out impossible to contain himself. Then Sarah pinched his shoulder muscle and walked around to sit on his lap. “Kara, there is something that you must know.” Sarah’s shoulders lifted to take in a deep breath and sigh. “Jillian is not my sister.”

  “Really? Then how is she related? She looks like you.” Kara said cutting in on Sarah’s explanation. His sister has a knack for jumping to conclusions.

  With another sigh she explained “She does not look like me, Kara. In fact I look like her because she is actually my mother.”

  In the minutes of silence Connor studied Kara’s expression. First wide eyed disbelief, then to skepticism and then when she could speak she asked “Are you serious, Sarah?” And he saw his wife’s head nod as she shifted her bottom in his lap. Kara’s lips barely moved as she said “Then…?”

  “Yes… She and my father are mates just like Connor and I are. They are both my biological parents.” Sarah said evenly.

  Kara’s blurting and brutal honesty came back with a vengeance. “But it’s so creepy. How could she be married to someone who looks so much older…?” She then looked over at Sarah and Connor after she visibly shuddered. “Sorry you were right Brother, it is a lot to take in all at once. Sarah’s three hundred and no guy alive is near her age. We all must seem like infants in comparison…” She sat down the clay pony Connor made for her beside to her bow and then put her hands together. “I have just one more question, Sarah?” She asked.

  Everyone raised an eyebrow at that.

  “Go ahead.” She said softly while leaning forward on his lap.

  “Why do you tell people that she is your sister?” She asked quickly.