Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (7 page)

Mark’s
best friend figured out what
he
was without any difficulty.
He has
gone through centuries without anyone even noticing or hinting
that
they knew he
w
as different. Yet here,
Connor figured it out and didn’t run away
or try to kill
him
.
Mark
knew
exactly
what Sarah was the moment she came into class
because of her scent
, but
he
didn’t realize that Connor would become her mate.
He
knew what she was because her race always has a unique smell and the way she moves shows she had
an ancient
power
born in her blood
,
unlike normal humans.
They
usually smell like a sickly
sweet honey
to him
. But Connor also has a musky scent which seemed odd
because human men have a slightly different musk
, but he was always odd.
He wasn’t like the normal kids and that
i
s what drew
Mark to befriend him
so long ago
.

At least
t
he
y
w
on
’
t die on me anytime soon
.
Mark
laughed silently as
he
withdrew
him
self from Kara and the sleeping bag.

What
came as
a bigger shocker was how well Kara
was handling all of this news. When she saw
him
in
his
transformed state
M
ark
thought she would scream in terror or faint, but she di
dn’t. What she did do shocked him
through every cell in
his
body
;
like when Mathew ta
s
ered Connor during graduat
ion. She slapped
and then ordered
him
to sit like an obedient pup
.
His
body reacted instinctively
to her command
. She was
more
afraid he
didn’t like her, but that
couldn’t be further from the truth
.
Mark
ha
s
never seen someone so beautiful and have such a buoyant
personality
.
I
n his
nine hundred year opinion
,
she was perfect
.
He has
never followed a
nother’s command in
his
life,
until
he
met the May siblings.
Mark knew not why he did
,
only that it
just feels right to be near them. That’s not to mention how much excitement that they bring along with them wherever they
go
.

Mark
looked over and saw Connor’s bulk was leaning against a post.
When did he make a post?
He
didn’t see Sarah sleeping on her side of the shelter and
he
saw that the campfi
re still smolder
ed only slightly weaker
from the
eventful night.
Mark
wanted to make sure that Connor kept his promise to keep a look out for the night.
He
took
only
one silent step
in that direction an
d
suddenly felt the oddest sensation flowing
through him
. It
felt
like
a slow
st
r
eam
of cool water
caressing
his forhead
.
Connor
ha
d
never felt this unique sensation
before
,
outside of
swimming
.
“Shh… keep quiet when you move
,
Bud. Sarah is still sleeping
o
ver here.”
Mark
went stone still because it w
as actually Connor talking by
using his telepathy.
Things had become even more strange
than he
explained
.

Mark
did as he said
.
W
ith stealth
Mark
walked towards him and the campfire
without making any noise. When he rounded the post Connor
laid
against
Mark
saw
him turn his head slowly and looked at
him
with his
watchful
predatory eyes.
Mark knew without doubt that
he didn’t
sleep all night
,
so
he
whispered silently “Good morning.”

Connor shook his he
ad slowly while still holding Mark
in his
raptor-like
gaze. He took his right arm and tapped his temple without disturbing Sarah.
S
he
remained
sound asleep
,
cuddled
tightly
against his bare chest.
“Let’s talk this way
,
my friend. It is much quieter.”
M
ark’s
eyes went wide because
he
didn’t
just
imagine
Connor’s
voice in
his
mind.
“What is with that look? I promise not to go any deeper into your mind than this
,
Mark.
I won’t read your random or private thoughts. Think like you would speak.
”
H
e thought
and Mark
still
stood
frozen in place. Connor gestured with his free hand
“Sit down. You look like something’s wrong.”

Mark
e
ventually
felt
able to think again as
Connor
lowered his eyes to Sarah
.
“Connor
,
this can
’
t be real!
It just can’t…
”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m a Balancer
,
remember?”
He tilted his head to the side in confusion as he wrapped his arm
slowly
around Sarah again.
“Reading minds is part of the job description
.”

“I still can’t believe this…”
Mark
finally sat down on the
other
log
;
sighing quietly. He
knew Connor was waiting patiently becaus
e when Mark
took
his
eyes away from the fire
Connor
was still watching
,
studying
and analyzing his reactions
. “Connor
,
I haven’t met a single Balancer that could enter a mind of a Changer. I have only known Keeper
s who could such things
.”

“You mean to tell me that if I w
ere
a
normal
balancer
,
I couldn’t enter a Changer
’
s mind.”
A sly smile crept on his face.

“That’s
exactly
what I’m saying
.”
Mark
couldn’t help but smile back at
his
amazing friend.

“Well Sarah and I told you before you went to sleep that we were different.”
Mark
saw
Connor
smile deepen as he looked
down
at the small woman
cuddled to his breast
.
She looked so frail
next to him
, but looks are always deceiving
, especially among immortals
.

She could be just as dangerous as he
i
s
, if not more
.

These two truly are something else.

“
I can see that the two of you are truly remarkable.”
Connor nod
ded
slowly
for the
compliment.
Mark
changed the subject.
“When did you first suspect that I was different?”

He looked up
and had on his goofy smile that could make t
he most hardened criminals crack up
.
“I first suspected something was off when you first we
nt camping with Granddaddy and me
six years ago. While on our hike you
sprained
your ankle. I looked around
for the hole or slip on the stones
and didn’t find any traces
or disturbances
from where you fell. Also when I could see how quickly your ankle swelled and began to bruise
after the accident
I wondered if you ha
d
a medical condition, but you didn’t mention anything so I wondered then what happened that day
.
It happened too quickly. A normal human would know that it takes more than a day for a bruise to surface like that.
”

“It goes back that far?”
Mark’s
mind spoke in disbelief
.

“Yes, but I
do
have
three
question
s
,
Bud
?”

“
Only three?
Go ahead.”
Mark
nodded
with
a
furrowed
brow
.

“First; how did you make your ankle do that?”

“Changers have the ability to control every cell within their bodies. For my ankle I made some of the water in my body collect around my ankle
,
just
to make it swell. Then I
had to
make some of my blood vessels
burst
just under the skin
and mak
e them
come to the surface to
mimic a bruise.”

Connor looked
up
at the morning sky.
“That makes sense in a way.”
He looked
down and
back at
Mark
.
“Next; when I was using my sonar I saw how you’re organs shifted and how your bones broke and reformed. My question is; does it hurt to do that?”

Mark
smiled in spite of
him
self.
“No
,
it doesn’t hurt at all unless you change shapes
repeatedly
or too quickly
on low stores
.
Here’s an easy to explain example; it doesn’t hurt to breathe does it?”
Connor shook his head slowly.
“Does it hurt to breathe when you are completely exhausted from an extreme workout?”

“It makes thing difficult and uncomfortable, but not really hurt.”

He says
that, but
to this day Mark has yet to see
him worn out
except after the accident
. He’s always been healthy and had a lot of endurance for a kid his age.

“It’s the same way with me.
It doesn’t hurt to shift, but it ge
ts uncomfortable if you do
multiple
changes in rapid succession.”
He looked up again processing what
has been
said.
He likes new information and explanations
, the more details the better
.
“What’s the last question
you have for me
?”

Still looking up he asked
“Why do your muscles look like mine?”

That question took Mark off guard and when he
collected
his
thoughts
he
answered
“You
’ve seen
my eyes glow
.”
Connor
nodded and allowed
him
to continue.
“
When I make any adjustments to my body
,
my eyes will flicker
, more so when I do a full body transformation
. Before you became a Balancer and attained all of these abilities, I never knew someone could be built
the way
you are. In all my years I have never seen someone with your
level of
development and not be an immortal. That being said, I used you as a template and made my body
reform
accordingly. As a human, your speed, stren
g
th and stamina
couldn’t be matched. And as I slowly made my adjustments while studying you
,
I observed that I was correct. I was able to run faster and longer than I ever could have imagined in my normal human form. Even my superhuman speed and reflexes became more developed
and adept
thanks to you.”