Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (13 page)

After the meat and brea
d
thoroughly
cooked
and toasted
Mark
ate and drank everything
that
he
bought.
A
warm
, welcoming
shower
came next. Eventually the night culminated by
f
a
ll
ing
asleep
in
bed.

After
completely
waking up and s
tepping out of the shower
Mark
walked over to the
dresser and thought about what he
should wear.
Mark
took Connor’s warning about this
day
being potentially dangerous
seriously
so
he
opted
to wear
his
hardened leather pants that
he’s
had for a very long time. It fit perfectly and it also moved
easily
,
giving
a perfect range of motion without hindrance. It also has a small flap that cover’s a smal
l hole at the base of his
bottom
,
just incase
he
need to transform quickly and grow a tail.

Prudence in any situation always needs to be addressed. Shoes were usually a good idea to wear, but for a Changer they sometimes get in the way.
For the unexpectedness of today he
decided not to wear shoes, but
to lessen risks he
changed the bottoms of
his
feet from
being
soft to calloused
.
The calluses
will keep his
feet from taking any damage while
he
travel
ed
through the woods
to Connor’s place.
He
decided not to cut
his
hair thinking it lo
oked ok as
it
is as
he
walked out
the
apartment
door while
locking it.

Mark
drove up to Jenny’s and Kara’s home
in the dead of the night
and turned off the ignition as
he
pulled in the driveway at
four in the morning.

The May’s house
looked
closed up
since
the lights were all off.

Remembering the message that Sarah whispered in
his
ear
Mark
silently walked around the house. When
he
reached the backside
he
saw Kara sitting on the windowsill of Connor’s old bedroom. She was looking up at the stars as she swung her feet idly. Below her
,
on the ground
,
her bow and quiver of arrows lean
ed
against the house. She had on a pair of denim blue jeans and her tight pink top that would send shivers down any man’s spine. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled back
and tied with a pink hair tie. When she heard
him
intentionally
step on the dry grass she looked and smiled
beautifully
. “Good morning
,
Mark.”

She launched herself off the ledge and strolled right up to
him
,
kissi
ng
his
lips. The attraction
he
felt
towards
someone such
her has never been matched through
out his
countless years.
Not even his late wife held a candle to Kara.
When she released her embrace
,
she shut the window
,
strapped on
the
packed
quiver and held the center of her bow in the left hand. “Why are
you bringing that?” He
asked after
regain
ing
his
senses
from her sudden
,
ambush
kiss
.

“I thought it would be
a
good
idea
to get some practice in while we are at Brother’s training grounds.” She answered with a shrug.
He
sighed in defeat.
Mark
ha
s
been worried about the danger she might soon face and here she is thinking of getting in
some
target practice
that he knows she’s perfected to a frightening degree
.
At least she hasn’t changed after learning about everything.
She still enjoyed life, even after learning about an entirely new world.

Together they
walked silently across the
dirt road without anyone else awake
except for nighttime animals
and when
they
entered the tree line
,
heading to
his
friend’s house
,
she asked “It’s too dark for me to see. Can you walk in front of me?”
he didn’t miss a beat as he listened out for any signs of danger.

“Sure, but why?” Mark
turned to look at her fair
and flawless
f
eatures
.
She was squinting at the ground while trying not to trip.
Her hiking boots crunched dry twigs.

“Because you said you can change your body. Can you make your eyes more sensitive to the light?”
She looked up at him
and she still squinted
for normal human’s lack necessary
night vision
.

She is as observant
as her brother.
“Yes I can, but my eyes will glow.”

“I know and it doesn’t bother me at all.”
His
heart leapt with joy
at hearing this simple confession
.

“Ok, then.” He spun back around and
started walking again
as a smile spread
and played
across his
lips
.
Mark
focused on
his
eyes and made them focus
to
take in more light.
He made the rods and cones in his
eyes become more sensitive
to the weak lighting
from the overhead stars and absent moon
and moments later saw the dark forest
now look
ed
as if
it w
ere
about
midday.

Walking through the forest became much easier.

When
they
were
about
five minutes from Connor’s home
Mark
felt something
poke his
b
ackside
.
Cool morning air chilled his
suddenly exposed
crack. He
spun quickly to see Kara pull the end of her bow away and try hiding it behind her back.
She was acting like nothing happened
and failed miserably
.
S
he always had an inquisitive
and uninhibited
personality
, but it
i
s a trait that
he
adored
.
“What did you do that for?”

“I was curious about that little leather flap
thing
covering your butt
. I saw that you aren’t wearing any boxers.” She started giggling and
he
couldn’t help but join in too.

As they
reached the clearing to Connor
’
s home
he
changed
his
eyes back to normal because the kitchen l
ights
were on,
emanating from the cottage window
.
If he didn’t desensitize his eyes he’d be blinded by the light.

Connor built this small cottage
for Sarah when he showed her the
black mark
up
on his chest. Off to the side of the house runs a spring fed stream. Connor built a closed system of electricity for his house and the main generating source of that energy comes from a waterwheel that’s propelled from the stream.
It is
one of the most amazing places Mark
ha
s
ever
laid eyes on
.

Kara and
Mark
walked up to the front door and she knocked. Before someone answered
he
looked up at the eve above the door and
silently laughed to him
self. There is the carving of an old scale with two plates held evenly by a center point.
If that isn’t a redundant
sign. Why doesn’t he just say “
Welcome
…
this is a home of
Balancer
s
.
”

Connor opened the door and invited
them
in with a smile. “Sarah will be out in a moment. Did you two already eat
breakfast
?”

“I’m fine
,
Brother.” And Mark
nodded in agreement with her.

Surprise and Shock

Both Mark and his
strangely subdued
sister sat together in
his
small living room
,
talking amongst themselves. Sarah finally
stepped
out of
their
room looking as beautiful as
ever. Her long luscious hair had been
pulled back in a single ponytail. She had on a
solid black
,
short sleeved shirt and
black pants.
Her
shirt
formed a second skin
and
her
fair
and curvaceous assets
offered total movement
and a sexy appeal
. I
t didn’t have any loose material that would be
easy
to grab
in a tense situation
. There
i
s
a diamond shape
cut out of the fabric
in her sleeveless shirt
that
was cut out just under the neckline
that showed
a classy amount
of her
firm
cleavage.
Her ethereal beauty could
n’t
b
e built upon by any makeup
because she
i
s absolutely perfect.
The anklet
he
made couldn’t be
easily
seen, but Connor
knew
that it was covered by the jeans
she attired
.

When they
got married
they
merged bank
accounts
for ease of use and access
.
At the
market y
esterday
S
arah walked across the street to the
clothing store while Connor
paid
for
rest of the groceries. After putting the groceries in the car
he became curious and
walked into the store
since nothing else needed attention
.
It was a clothing store with a lot of high end apparel
with designer labels
.
He
knew through the bond
they
share
d
that she was close an
d suddenly happy
about something that went beyond being closer
. Connor
tried forcing
his
mind
to understand her excitement
, but she blocked
him
out saying
“
U
h.
Uh
.
Uh
.
Wait a moment and you’ll see for yourself soon enough.”