Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (64 page)

A familiar
, husky
voice came across the phone. “Hello Mrs. May. It’s Deputy Burrow. May I speak wit
h Connor please?
Is he close by?
” H
is voice sounded restrained and he didn’t sound like his happy
and cheerful
self either.

Something happened...

Knowing something was up
she
said “Sure, let me go outside and get him.”

Jillian, Jack
and Kara were standing along with
her
. Their faces were
searching
for an answer. Sarah
held
her
hand
over the mouthpiece to cover her
yell. “CONNOR! The call is for you. It’s Deputy Burrow!”

The dog fight came to a
n abrupt halt when they heard her
call. They released their hand
s
from each other’s because they were having a
,
who’s stronger
,
match.

Both Mark and Connor dropped to the ground
,
face first
using
the full speed
of gravity
. Connor flipped
again,
making his feet become
aimed at the ground and then
used Pressure to shoot from his feet
just before landing. He landed hard
and bl
e
w dust
in
every
direction
, but so did Mark. He kept his wings tucked tight against his body
and his arms and legs were streamlining his form
. Just before impacting with the ground he unfurled his wings and landed on all fours. His extraordinary weight made the ground
show
four
new
small holes as it took the brunt of the impact
from his paws
.
Together their noise level was no more than a gust of wind ruffling tree leaves loudly.
As Connor walked closer to
everyone she crossed
a
finger over
her
lips as a sign for everyone to remain quiet.

Sarah
took
her
hand off the mo
uthpiece when Connor coolly asked
“Who is it
again
?”
he and the others were all playing along perfectly.

“It’s Deputy Burrow.”
She
then entered Connor’s mind.
“He sounds worried about something.”
Connor’s
hazel
eyes narrowed
and his facial expressions became serious
.
“Can I listen to the conversation?”

“That’s fine by me.”
Handing Connor the phone
,
he answered casually. “Hello Deputy, what can I do for you today?”

“I need to call in your favor
, Connor. I just got a call from another county about a missing little girl.”
The deputy said seriously
and clearly
.

“Ok, where did she go missing
,
how long ago
did she vanish
and has anyone found her trail
?” He said and
Sarah
saw everyone around C
onnor staring intently at him.
Kara’s eyes
began
glowing and her ears began to grow and both of Mark’s ears focused entirely on his
best friend. They were both
listening in
on
the conversation
as well
.

“She has be
en presumed missing for over eleven
hours and the little girl lives in a secluded house with her grandparents up in the mountains.
No
,
they haven’t found any traces of her, but they do know that she wasn’t kidnapped. That is the only piece of news that gives us hope that she’s simply lost.
Apparently there are many
dangerous and
wild animals
. T
hey are calling everyone within the vicinity.
Can I count on you
r help
?”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes
, but I might break the speed
limit.”

“Then
I better see you in ten
.”
The deputy hung up the phone and so did Connor.
Her
husband looked worried, but not for himself. His tense features made that one call all the more realistic for
Sarah
.
This
i
s a tense situation
with a shortening timeline
.
The more that passes the greater the chance for disaster.

“Connor, what is it?” Jillian
asked in a worried manner.

“There is a missing little girl that is lost in the mountains.” That
was enoug
h for
Sarah’s
parents to u
nderstand
. He turned to
them
and
towards
his sister. “Are you coming with me?”
Connor already knew Mark was in without even asking.

As one
,
the
other
three said “Yes.”

“First things first, Kara and M
ark will fly together and meet us at my truck. Jillian,
I’ll need both
you and Jack
to get
going
and
run to your home as fast as possible.” Kara was already on Mark
’
s back as he ran and soon took to the sky
without a moment’s hesitation
.
Sarah
also saw that
Kara
had her clothes
tucked
under her
left
arm.
At least she thought enough to cover up because
the
leathers were a little risky for those who didn’t understand.
“You
’re
both going home quickly
to
make a small bag of food. The little girl will
most likely
be very hungry and probably thirsty. You’ll have two minutes
before we take off
.” Connor looked at Sarah
and
she
saw
her
parents
suddenly disappear
in
to the woods.

He asked for his shirt, and
Tool. Connor used his advanced speed and put everything in
its
place within one second. “Let’s go.”

Sarah
gathered
her
energy and focused it down
her legs.

As one,
they
took to the sky.

She
had to project a small shield of
solidified Pressure in front of her
face because the
fierce
wind kept making
her
eyes sting
and instinctively shut
.
They
flew just above tree level and
ten
seconds later
,
she
spotted Mark and Kara in the distance.
And twenty seconds later they dropped into the tree line. Knowing
where
her
parent’s
property
,
Connor and Sarah
dropped down in the same spot they did.

Connor and Sarah
dropped in on them
just
as they were changing back to normal and they each cut the other’s hair back to their original lengths. When that was over
and they looked reasonable
,
the four of them
ran normally
,
like
humans
with a purpose,
to Connor’s green truck.

He
had the engine
fire up
immediately
and
Sarah
sat in the forward passenger seat. Kara sat on Mark’s lap
,
looking focused
in the back seat
. W
hen her
parents came out
of their house
with a small
brown
bag of food along with two bottles of water
,
they were running in
the truck’s
direction
.

They
had
to hurry, but not reveal what they truly
were.

The moment
Sarah’s
parents sat in the back with Mark and Kara, Connor put the truck in ge
ar.
They
went well beyond the speed limit
and left skid marks
on
nearly
every back road
and shortcut
that
her
mate knew by heart
.
He used his sonar to make sure that he could turn and not get into an accident with anyone.
Connor took the hairpin turns like a pro car driver and having better and faster reflexes made it less dangerous.
Everyone trusted his judgment and didn’t voice any concerns with his style of driving. At least the truck
had been
built solid enough to take the violent strain Connor put it under.
If this wasn’t a
stressful situation
she
’d bet Kara would throw her arms in the air and scream like this was the best rollercoaster she’s ever ridden.

They
made it to the police station in exactly
ten minutes.

Connor
pulled into the police parking lot quickly
and came to an abrupt halt
.
He
looked at everyone in the cab of
the
truck as
he
p
laced
the truck in neutral.
Everyone looked calm and focused.
“Stay here, I’ll be right back.” Kara
had
put on her clothes as she cov
ered her leather battle gear
, but Mark was out of luck.
Connor
hopped out of
the
truck and ran towards the door.

He
opened the
glass door of the
police
station
and saw Deputy Burrow ris
ing out of his desk as he saw Connor
storm in like a tank
.
He
said and pointed
“I’m here
Deputy Burrow
, let’s go
find us that lost little girl before something unfortunate occurs
. Oh and can I borrow one of your walkie-talkies?”

Deputy Burrow
walked over to where they were recharging
in the stand
. He grabbed two and tossed one to
Connor
. “Are you ready?”
Connor nodded.

Together
they walked out the front door and Connor
noticed him still
wearing his officer’s clothing, but
brown
hiking boots
safely encased his feet
.
At lest he wore proper footwear.
When
they
were outside he said “I’ll provide a police escort. Turn the radio to channel nine
so we can speak privately
.
Not many officers use that channel.
”
They
split up
as he went to his cruiser and Connor
walked to
his
truck
while
turning
the receiver
to channel nine.

The
siren started wailing as
the deputy
pulled onto the street with
Connor
right
on his heels.
He
handed the radio
over
to Sarah
. When she took it
,
Connor
shifted gears and kept pace with the speeding police cruiser. When
they
were flying down the
empty
road
he
glanced at
his
mate. “Contact Deputy Burrow for me
,
please.”