Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (35 page)

She said
,
looking directly at Connor
,
as Sarah
sat on his lap “We won’t be training tomorrow because we need to prepare for Monday; just incase
,
Brother.”

He said “Ok.” but Sarah
c
ould feel him worried for the
little sister that he has protected
for her whole
life.
He had a hard time putting on a good front.

Jack
said to everyone “How about we skip coming out here tomorrow
altogether
because I need to work with Connor anyways.”

“Are we done for today
?” Kara asked
,
looking up at Mark.

He saw all of
their
faces and not one of
them
felt up to continuing.
No one wanted to fight any longer.
They
were all too worried to
continue the usual training. They
were all stresse
d
.
He nodded down to her.

“Great! Can we fly back? It is so much fun!” She said quickly and joyous and her attitude changed the mood because Connor and the
others
started laughing.
It was a strained laugh though.

“Of course, S
weetheart.” She stood up and so did he
,
not long after.

His eyes lit up and his black wings soon were complete.
Sarah
felt
a little challenge coming on. She
leapt off of Connor
’
s lap and took to the sky. When
she
cleared the tree tops
she
saw Connor right on
her
heels as he was smiling.
Sarah
also saw
her
parents getting up and walking into the forest
,
their heads
were
shaking
at the rapid mood
that changes within
the group
.

Kara ran and jumped on M
ark
’
s back. A
s she touched
,
he started running until he unfurled his wings and soon caught up to
them
.

After landing at
the
cottage Mark completely went back to his human form and left
,
with Kara
,
as they held hands. Mark said he would meet Connor Friday morning and Kara said she would do the same.

Obstruction and path

Thursday morning at around ten
Connor
left the house with
his
well rested
mate.
He
wore new
, long
gray shorts, a solid black sleeveless shirt and hiking shoes. Sarah looked as stunning as ever in her white shorts and a black sleeveless shirt.
Her
luscious
hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and her soft porcelain neck glistened in the morning light.
Everything about her
seemed to
put him
in a trance.

She was feeling giddy for some reason a
s
she jumped
up
on
his
back. She wrapped her legs around
his
midsection
and encircled her arms around his
neck.
The feel of her skin was soft and smooth like the finest silk.
Connor
reacted by reaching back with both hands
and
cupping
her bottom
just to make sure she didn’t fall down
. “What has gotten into you
, Sarah
?” He
couldn’t help but start laughing at this sudden change
in her personality
.

She nuzzled her head against
his
back.
She then rested
the side of her face between his
knotted
shoulder blades.
“I just wanted to do it. Is there a problem
with me riding you
,
my Knight?”

“Not at all
, Princess
.
H
er
e
let me show you why it isn’t a problem.
” He
squeezed her bottom
playfully
,
showin
g Sarah why it didn’t bother him
.

She squeaked and dug her face in even more
in his
back
.
Through the shirt
Connor
felt her face heat up and it was all worth it.
He
began walking through the forest while giving Sarah a
piggyback
ride.

A few minutes later they
entered the clearing
of her parent’s property
and she dismounted off his
back.
With the grace of a
n athletic
dancer
,
she landed on one foot and barely made a sound.
They
continued walking hand
in
hand as t
he two of
them
entered through the backdoor of her parent
’
s log house.

Wh
en they
entered her parent’s home
Connor
was
soon
overwhelmed with the
delicious
smell of food being cooked.
They
entered the living room
by following their
nose
s
and Sarah yelled towards the kitchen
“Mother
,
we’re here!”

“We’re
in the kitchen.” Jack said aloud
from the next room
.

As Sarah and Connor
rounded the living room furniture
they
walked into the
average sized
kitchen. Jillian
wearing a brown apron over a red shirt and a light blue miniskirt
peeked beneath the apron cloth
.
She smiled at
them
playfully and then returned to what she was doing.
She was cooking up a storm of eggs, bacon, sausage, fried green tomatoes and toasted homemade bread. “Goo
d morning kids.” She waived at them
with a
plastic cooking spoon
.

Jack
started
fixing the drinks
of
orange juice, milk and water.
He wore new denim blue jeans and an orange/red t-shirt.
He looked up at
Connor
and smiled. “Are you ready for today
,
Son?”

“What do you have up your sleeve
s,
old man?”
Connor crossed his
arms and smiled back.
I
t wa
s odd to see him so secretive or
his
hear his
well placed words.
Usually he is the one to tell you how things are.
He was keeping something from Connor
and it was important.

“You will see soon enough. Oh and I
don’t
give you permissi
on to peek into my mind.” Jack
said
that
because Connor
usually ask
s
for permission before entering someone’s mind.
It is only a
courtesy he
live
s
by.

“You have my word
,
Jack.”
H
e
didn’t need to say more.

Sarah and Connor
helped
carr
y
the plates of f
ood into the living room
,
after Sarah’s mother filled the tray
s
.
Each tray was stacked with all kinds of food.

Jillian called
late
last night and invited
them
over
for breakfast
.
They
accepted graciously and
arrived at their request. Jack
also requested that they
come in through the back door
.
His voice over the phone made Connor’s
instinct tell
him
that something was up.
It wasn’t a bad
feeling, but it still raised his
guards.

The four of them
started eating together
,
after
they
all sat down in the living room
. When the food
had been
completely
consumed Jack asked “So tomorrow is your first day for
the start of
your
new
business
venture
. How do you plan
on
get
ting
there?”

“Mark said I could ride with him to the park.” Mark did
make an
offer
for
Connor
to
ride
with him
until he could afford a vehicle on his
own and not
sponge
from his
mate.
Connor was raised to
be self-reliant
.

Jack stared at the muscle bound child
for a few moments until he looked at Jillian. When
Connor
saw her she had a soft smile aimed
directly
at
him
. When
he
looked back to
his
father-in-law he had the same expression on.
He stood up saying “Follow me.”

Connor
looked to Sarah and she too had a puzzled expression as she looked
to her father
.
H
er green eyes said she was out of the loop as well.
Connor
shrugged and
stood and so did she as
they
followed Jack
down the hall and toward the garage
.
Things had gotten interesting.

Jack
stopped at the garage door and turned around. “Connor
,
this is a gift from me and my mate.
You can’t run everywhere or you’ll reveal yourself
to the humans
.
” He opened the door
with a prideful smile and stepped through first
. Connor
went through the door
after him
and froze
as
he
saw what was just outside the opened garage
.
This was why
Jack
wanted
them
to use the backdoor.

Before Connor
sat
a brand new
super
truck. Its painted coat was the exact shade of green as Sarah’s eyes. It
had a fift
high enough off the ground to be used in the brush
and not get hung up
. It was a king cab that could hold up to five people
at once
. Connor
saw that the truck was a four wheel drive and the tires were knobbed for keeping traction if
it
ever got bogged down.
The underside of the truck was shielded by a protective piece of
reinforced
sheet metal.
He
looked up and saw that the truck had a snorkel across the roof incase the engi
n
e
ever
went underwater.
The bed of the truck
sat
three feet deep and twelve feet long
and
had
a lockable lid that can close and seal
off
the bed of the truck
and protect its contents
.
Connor
opened the driver side door and saw it had a stick shift system.
It also had that new truck smell. He
unlocked the hood and looked at the engine. This engine was spotless and looked like it could fly a
space shuttle because of all the
latest
technology that
had been integrated
.
He
couldn’t imagine all the horsepower it contained
within
, but
would soon find out
.
Connor
looked for an emblem from the manufacturer, but couldn’t find one.
All that he
found was an illegible signature that looked like Jack’s ancient
Viking hand
writing.