Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (54 page)

He
dropped down to all four feet. Connor realized
what happen
ed
and smiled playfully.
Kara picked up Sarah and placed her on
Mark’s
back. Kara jumped on behind her and
he
said to Jack “Spare what
ever you can.”
Kara’s
tone
legs squeeze into his
side and
Mark
walked away
from
the others. Sarah struggled until
his
girlfriend told her why
they
did what
they had to
.

“Sarah, Brother
,
will soon meet up with us at Mark’s
diner
. He needs to change and get his wallet to buy groceries afterwards. Brother will also drive his truck to the diner. You and I need to shower and change clothes and I have some
spare
clothes at Mark’s. Brother understood exactly what we did or
else
he would be trying to stop
us from kidnapping you.
Even though he’s weak he’d still be strong enough to stop us. He didn’t
interfere
so he’s an accomplice to this kidnapping …
” Kara
began
laughing at her own
little
joke.
Sarah remained silent
and stoic
.
“Besides, I’ve used up almost all the hot water at your house this morning.
”

Ok here we go…
Mark thought.
Carrying two people on your back at once is har
der than it sounds. T
heir weight wasn’t the issue because
he
could carry over eight hundred pounds easily. The problem
lay in
keeping the two of them from falling.
He
had to trot through the forest.
At the pace he set they would need only
to
jog to keep up, but
with everyone so depleted he knew they didn’t mind the ride.
When Kara was riding on
his
back alone, he could run as fast as he
wanted and not fear her falling. With Sarah ad
ded to the mix, he
could only
hope to
trot.

Finally reaching the tree line behind Jack’s home, the girls hopped
off his
back. In
his mind Mark
saw
his
wolf form slowly change back into
his human
normal state
of a young adult
. Soon
his
bones started snapping and reabsorbing into
his
body. Brushing off
the black fur with quick palm swipes he
asked Sarah
“Do you still have Tool?
”

“Yes.” She pulled Connor’s weapon from her hip.

“May I?” Kara stepped into
Mark’s
vision and held her open hand out.

Understanding, Sarah handed Tool
over
to Kara. Mark
turned
his back to his
sandy blond girlfriend.
She
pull
ed
and tighten
ed
his
long hair into a single
long
strand. Tool
whistle
d
through the air and cleave
d
off all
his black mane in a single stroke. Mark
could still feel the wind on
the nape of his
neck from the new speed
and control
of Kara’s muscles.
He
became
extremely pro
ud that she had so much control at such an early stage
of her
transformation.
Turning around
,
he
saw Kara dropping
the fistful of
hair to the ground and then
she
returned
Tool back to its
temporary
owner. Gaining Kara’s attention
,
he
warned
“Sweetheart… We cannot reveal ourselves
to the outside world.” Her silver eyes were focused on
his
. “Keep your new speed and strength on a tight leash.
Be exaggeratedly slow. Watch me closely to see how to not frighten the humans…
I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything about your new eyes.”

She shrugged. “I’m over it now. Plus I’ve
already
made up a good cover.”

Sarah shifted her
weight to her left leg and mocked
“Oh
,
do tell.” And Kara shook her head playfully while grinning
, sensing the sarcasm
.
At least she understood Sarah’s ill tempered mood for Connor wasn’t well. Kara wasn’t going to reveal her ide
a
s, Mark
knew that much
at least
.
He
grabbed Kara’s hand and started leading her into the light.

Knowing Connor’s speed, Mark
hurried the t
wo
of them
to
his
jeep.

Kara sat
in the passenger seat
while Sarah sat in the back.

Arriving at
the
apartment
s
,
Kara showed Connor’s mate everything
his
home had to see
.
It wasn’t too much.
Soon after
,
Kara hopped into the shower
first
.
Mark
then
picked up the ph
one and dialed
his
Diner. On the second ring
the
manager
and head chef
picked up the phone.
Before the chef
could announce the customary saying
the true owner
spoke.
“Gerry, it’s Mark.”

“Oh howdy
Boss, What can I do for you
today
?” He sounded
quite
chipper
today
.
The diner
must be running a little slow.
When it
’
s packed
with hungry customers Gerry
sounds tired
and irritable
.

“Listen, I’m going to be having a private party at the diner
in about an hour
. What I want you to do is let whoever is still eating finish up, but don’t let anyone else in.
W
e’re closing early.” Mark
said in an even tone.

He became slightly flustered. “But Boss, what about the workers?”

“Gerry,
I
will
pay everyone’s wages for the day; including
the
ir
tips
.
I know Jess needs the money
for her sick son
and so shall she get it. I’m feeling generous today.
Just t
ell them to have a good day on me.”

“Boss… What about…”

Mark
cut in
to the contradiction
,
sounding annoyed because he
was. “Gerry, I don’t want any
more excuses. Have everyone out in thirty minutes and shut the blinds. Got it
?
!”

He sighed. “You got it,
Boss.” As he hung up the phone Mark
could hear him shouting
out the
orders
to stop for the day
.

Mark
turned around to see Sarah staring at
him
.
She looked almost as drained as Connor.
He
asked
politely
“Do you need something?”

She smiled gracefully
despite her loss of energy
.
At least her air of dignity remained solid.
“Mark, I wanted to say thank you for doing all this for us.
I mean it.” Mark
couldn’t help but start laughing
. Sarah asked honestly “Did I say something funny?”

He
waived her off. “Yes, but for a different reas
on.” She walked with him
to sit on the couch. As she sat
he
said “Meeting Connor has made living
nine centuries
all worth it.
The violent passage of time pales when he is somewhere involved.
I’ve seen decades pass in a blink of an eye, but with him every day is some new event and I wonder what he’ll do next.
” She nodded vigorously. “He has been
the
closest friend I’ve ever had
in my entire life
. Originally I wanted to make him
into
a Changer
,
after he saw a few more years of life
, but Connor
made
the better choice
once you two met
.
At least I’ve never heard of a mistake occurring when a Balancer finds her mate and seals his fate.
Normally Balancer’s and Changer’s rarely befriend one another, but Connor did it without much effort
at all
.
He’s quite special
at making friends with the right people
.
” She smiled gratefully. “He has surprised me at every turn and is still doing it.
Never in my life has my jaw dropped as much as it does with him.
What’s more
,
he has saved the life of the woman I
’ve come to
love
, something I’ve given up on
. I can never fully repay the debt I owe
to my friend
or to you for that matter.”

She shook her head. “You
’
r
e
wrong on that last part.
You know as well as I do that Connor doesn’t do things for something in return, especially with his friends and those under his protection.
Plus you owe me nothing because I’ve never had so much excitement
either
.
”

“Let me add to what I said. He’s not only my friend, but also like a leader
,
I would do anything for
him
if he so much as asked
. He is humble and caring
, not corrupt and malicious
. A
very
rar
e person to say in the least.” Mark
said as
he
looked at the roof while throwing
his
head back
on the sofa
.

“On that, we can agree
” A moment later she asked “Why did you want us to go to the diner today?”

Mark
rolled
his
head t
o look at her while she rolled
Tool in
the palm of
her hand. “Because
the two of you have fed me so much recently and I must have killed
off
half of your pantry. Plus, I did tell you and Connor that
the next time would be my treat…
remember?” Sarah looked up and smiled.
He
knew she remembered.
Balancer’s rarely, if ever, forget
.

Kara walked out of the bathroom in
the
new clothes she brought to
the apartment
. Recently after learning
Mark’s
secret
they
would talk throughout the night or watch
his
old
, classic
and favorite
movies. He
found out quickly that she hates romantic movies with a passion. She would rather watch action or horror.
She’d laugh at thing
s that would make another people
sick to their stomachs.
Her sense of humor sometimes bordered on the insane.

She
continued
brus
hing her
blondish
hair and said it was his
turn
to
take a bath
. She warned as he
entered the bathroom “Don’t even come out if you smell like a wet dog.”