Between the Waters (Symphony of Light) (19 page)

“Linden, I’m feeling pins and needles everywhere. My skin is twitching; this ain’t no fucking panic attack. What is going on?”

Just then, I turned the corner and in the distance stood figures beyond a high fence. I concentrated past the buzzing Clarence’s head emitted and focused my second site. Shit! There was magic everywhere and lots of it. More than I had ever seen in one place outside of Pittsburgh. One of the figures passed in front of a large floodlight as another exited. A nude Mary stretched her arms above her head and…fuck!

“Clarence, take your clothes off!”

“What? Are you crazy?”

We didn’t have time for his nonsense. “Now!”

I turned and grabbed the zipper on his coat. He tried to smack me away, but he had little control.

“Linden, I know you’re horny because of all the testosterone in the house. I love you girl, but damnnn. You’re not really my—”

“Shut the fuck up. You’re changing.”

“I don’t have a change of clothes.” We managed to get his shirt off, chest bared. And soon enough his pants were around his ankles.

“Not clothes. You. You’re going to be the beast soon.”

He pulled off the last sock. “There, are you happy now?

“No. Underwear too.”

“Are you this demanding with Overton? I know Cyril never let you get away with it.”

I grabbed him by both arms. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you mine soon enough. But look, I’m pretty certain soon your body is going to start contorting, and if you have underwear on, we don’t exactly know how it will hinder the process. You could lose a ball…or two.”

His underwear hit the ground in record speed. Damn. Clarence was fine. The enhancement of his change made him model perfect. Lean planes of muscle rippled, and his shivering almost incapacitated him.

“Stop fighting it. Try embracing it. Visualize the beast. Deep breaths. Stretch your arms over your head.” He did exactly as I asked.

Within moments, black fur sprouted all over his body. His arms slumped at his sides, but seemed to be out of socket. His head fell forward in a matter of seconds. Clarence, the man, no longer stood in front of me, but rather, the beast. Standing nearly three feet tall at the shoulder Clarence was much larger than his Mary counterpart. I eyed him suspiciously, trying to make certain he wouldn’t attack.

Clarence growled, but nothing menacing. I could not hear his thoughts. I reached out my hand to him slowly as you would when meeting a new dog for the first time and let him sniff. He batted my hand away with his nose.

“Can you understand me?”

He nodded with his impressively large cat-like head.

“Good. We’re going in there. Something in there forced you to change, and Mary is a shape-shifter. Either I didn’t kill her or there is more than one. We need more info.”

He stared at me. This would have been a very convenient time to be able to read his thoughts.

Clarence sat but made no other move to stop me. I unzipped my jacket. “I guess it would be wrong of me to ask you to turn your head.”

Never knowing how transforming into someone else would change my features, I made quick work my clothes, said a silent prayer, found my second sight, and cleared my mind of anything but the magic. The cold and Clarence’s leaning head and puzzled expression were the hardest to ignore. A confluence—the Laurel Hill Creek and the Youghiogheny River—explained the intensity. The intersection of ley lines was responsible for the quantity of magic. Only a trained magic user could be responsible for this.

I summoned the energy to me using the chant. “Nium parnum omsti narum.” I would have to maintain the form long enough to get the information we needed.

Imagine—her hair, large eyes, European features, and subtle innocence.

My skin rippled, and the changes took hold.

Clarence whined.

“Yes, I know, creepy…but we have to get in there. You’re going to have to follow me. Mary isn’t able to speak, or at least that’s the assumption we’re going with. Nothing about her is what it seemed.” I turned and reached for my clothes. Thankfully, Mary’s form was not that different from mine, so they still fit.

Once dressed, I grabbed Clarence’s skullcap and tucked my hair under it. Apparently, taking Mary’s shape didn’t change my hair color or my voice.

I leaned down, lifted one of Clarence’s floppy ears, and whispered. “We’re going in. We’re just going to take a look and then we’re going to leave. We can’t be heroes, only spies.”

He rubbed his head against my hand.

“By the way, you’re pretty freaking adorable in that freak-of-nature kind of way.”

He growled and bared his teeth.

“I’m kidding. Well, sort of anyway. It could have been much worse. You could have become a wereskunk.”

His grumble sustained.

“OK, let’s go. I don’t know how much longer we have. I’ve never tried to hold someone’s form for more than a few seconds, but then again, it’s much easier here.” After a moment, I refocused myself and confirmed my grip on the energy remained solid.

I headed down the road with Clarence at my side. Mary’s mannerisms were easy to mimic with her short stride and arms always hanging at her sides.

As we approached the gate, no one stood watch, but a security camera mounted on the highest fence rail faced us. I looked up and a buzzer sounded. The gate popped open. It closed automatically behind us. In front of us was a large iron walk bridge that spanned the Youghiogheny River, leading to the front door of the large structure, which was at least five stories high. It sat between the two rivers, and the closer we got to the building, the stronger the magic grew. I grabbed the beads made from Cyril’s tears and tucked them into my shirt.

As we approached the large industrial-looking entranceway, Mary opened the door. She walked past, paying no mind to us. I hoped she could not hear my heart beating as it raced in my chest. Blending in was essential. The intensity of the magic in this part of the compound made maintaining the illusion effortless, but anything with this kind of power was a huge concern. We opened the door. Clarence and I walked through a dark corridor. A low hum from the lighting, the only sound, gave a green glow to the walls. Two large iron doors stood tall and reminded me of something one might find in an old steel mill. It was possible this structure had been repurposed, given Pittsburgh’s history as the Steel City.

I wrapped my hand around the iron handle and eased the heavy door open. Nothing could have prepared me for what lay ahead.

A huge, circular cavernous room, four stories tall, lined with cells. One of the cell doors opened, and one Mary stood inserting an IV into the arm of another Mary. Not wanting to look like a tourist and giveaway my impostor status, Clarence and I continued to walk. On the upper floors beyond the metal railing that defined the walkway around the cells were several Marys in beast form.

Every cell I passed contained a Mary, bed, sink, and toilet. Some contained IV bags dripping fluid into a tube, which connected to an IV catheter in the Mary’s arm. What the fuck was going on? On the far side of the room was a nook containing paperwork, several computers, and office supplies. On a rack hung several coats—men’s coats. I hadn’t seen a man. Why all the coats? But that was my cue we needed leave. Whoever was behind all this was beyond clever, and it was quite possible they might be able to see through our guise. The silence of the place, beyond the rumbling of the HVAC, made it eerie. Something shiny pinned to one of the coats caught my eye. A large ornate pin just like the one Moreaux wore to lunch. Son of a bitch. He couldn’t possibly be involved in this, could he? The idea that he could somehow be connected to the Marys made no sense, but it was enough to shake my composure.

We were already risking too much. But I needed that pin. I reached up, removed it, and stuck it in my pocket. No one seemed to notice, but the rippling skin on the back of my hand was not a good sign. We had to get out fast. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold the form. Continuing around the circumference of the room, just before we reached the doors, a Mary emerged. She stopped and stared at me, blocking our way to the door. I nodded to her, as I had seen the other Mary do many times. She stood, fixing me with her gaze. Her hand reached out toward my throat. I looked down. Fuck. The beads were no longer concealed by my shirt; they hung free around my neck. I smacked her hand away.

Clarence must have noticed, because he barreled into her, jostling her to the side enough for me to push past.

As I opened the large door and allowed Clarence to maneuver through, I looked back to find her heading for us at a steady pace. I slammed the door shut and yelled on a whisper, “Run!”

My speed matched Clarence’s, and we made it through the hallway in seconds, but she was close behind. The greenish light began to flash as we pushed through the main doors, not bothering to close them.

Floodlights lit the walk bridge. Snorting and the sound of sharp nails on concrete made me glance back. Three beasts emerged from the door behind us, snarling while giving chase. On the other side of the bridge stood another foe—the gate. Shit.

“Get back here! Your departure is unauthorized!” A man crested the apex of the footbridge, running toward us.

The twitching under my skin grew stronger the further from the compound we went. Son of a bitch.

Clarence stood before the camera looking up at it while I tried to force open the latch. After a moment, a click sounded and the gate slid open. I nearly fell through it, never expecting it to give way.

I whistled loudly. “Come on.”

Clarence charged through the gate. We ran. Clarence in his beast form was able to keep up with ease. I glanced back to see the man in blue overalls and the three creatures still in pursuit.

I clicked the button on the key fob, hands trembling as my form threatened to reveal me. I opened the rear passenger door for Clarence, closed it, and ran to the driver’s door. I started the car and slammed it in reverse. The man turned the corner, and the floodlights illuminated his face. I had never seen him before, but he was tall with a large frame and dark hair.

A hairpin one-eighty turn and I hit the gas. The acceleration slammed Clarence against the seat, and he snorted.

The further away from the site the more my muscles twitched and tingling grew. It was only a matter of time. Clarence whimpered in the back seat.

“Look, I don’t know what it’s like for you, but the last time I shifted back it hurt like a mother. I need to find a place to pull over.”

His whine grew louder.

At the top of the hill was a biker bar, infamous for its rowdy patrons. I needed a place to park the car so Clarence and I could change back. But in case we were being followed, it had to be out of sight.

I turned in to the bar’s parking lot. The sign outside side read Bikers Welcome. If row after row of Harley-Davidsons didn’t clue in the patrons, the sign was always there as a backup. These weren’t your casual bikers. These hog riders were hardcore. The light dusting of snow that covered the leather seats was a testament to the Pennsylvania biker’s sanity.

The tires squealed as I pulled into the parking lot and drove behind the building accented by neon signs advertising a dozen or so beers. The tremors in my feet made driving difficult. I put the car in park not a moment too soon. The muscles twitched under my skin, and my pores began to ooze the thick shifting residue. The pain was there, but not as bad this time. As my features regained their original shape, Clarence cried out. Still in beast form his body contorted. There wasn’t enough room in the back seat for him to change. His leg wedged under the passenger seat, and he yelped.

I wiped the dripping ooze from my face and slicked back my hair. As soon as I was sure I was back to my old self, I jumped out of the car and ran around the front and threw open the back door. I tried to drag Clarence out of the car, but he was too large. His writhing and my slick hands made it difficult to get a grip.

“Come on. Help me out here. You’ve got to get out of the car.”

I struggled, pulled, grasped, and tugged, grunting with each try. Finally he slid out of the car on to the ground. He was still half beast. The process to change back wasn’t as smooth as his shape change or it could be the absence of magic.

Voices sounded behind me. I looked back to see what was causing the commotion. Three bikers exited the building, laughing and staggering to their bikes. I couldn’t let them see Clarence.

I threw myself over him and grabbed his shoulders for support. But his thrashing made him difficult to hang on to. A hand shot up and palmed my face. I was relieved to see the human appendage, but his hands were huge, and my task became impossible.

“Calm the fuck down,” I whispered between my clenched teeth.

He growled.

Great. My fear was validated when one of the bikers yelled, “Harry, what the fuck is that?”

Managing to dodge the hand that kept pushing back on my head, I leaned down close to his ear. “Hurry up!”

The crunch of snow announced the bikers. “Ma’am, are you OK?”

One arm. His head was the last thing to change. I moved up and straddled his face. “That’s it, sweetie. Just like that.” I tossed my head back, threw the skullcap aside, made eye contact with one of the bikers, and screamed, “Get out of here! You sick bastards. Can’t you see I’m busy?”

One of them cleared his throat. “What kind of kinky shit is this?”

I looked at Clarence. He was back, but gasping for air.

Jumping off of Clarence’s face, I turned and headed toward the bikers. It was hard to move because the residue had crystallized all over my body.

“Get the fuck out of here. It’s none of your business.” I snarled. And prayed silently that Clarence didn’t asphyxiate. This was our virgin shifting voyage, and I didn’t exactly know what to expect.

“Look lady…we were just trying to help. What the hell happened to you?”

I turned to Clarence. “Get in the car.”

Engaging the bikers once more, I tried to play it cool. “Look guys, my husband had this fantasy and well…got a little out of control. Thanks for worrying about me, but I’m OK.” I ran my fingers through my hair unconsciously and they stuck. Son of a bitch! I palmed the top of my head, trying to act cool.