Keeper's Knowledge (Balancer's Soul cycle) (60 page)

“I’ll remember that…and if you ever do it, I’ll bring your senses back as well.”
She winked and
they both
smiled.

“Then it is a pac
t
between two good friends.” Connor offered his hand as did Veronica and they shook to finalize the agreement.

The rest of the day Connor and
Sarah
sat together and listened to Veronica
as she tried to imag
ine what her mate would be like.

T
hat night Connor and
Sarah
melded
their
minds together and
they
watched
their
little treasure still developing.
O
nly this time she noticed their
child’s egg seemed different
,
it looked like a tiny manatee
, but it was developing and she
wasn’t sure if it should be brought up.
It still looked off for some reason. It looked like the image was slightly blurred.
It has always been clear to
her
before…
how strange.

The next morning
they
ate together
like usual
and Veronica
remained
ecstatic about who might be chosen
for her
.
Then they
made
their
way back down to resume
another day’s
meeting.

The short and handsome Head
Elder Raphael stood and started the meeting
this time
. His black robes and hair made his presence all the more real. The crowd quieted as he began speaking. “I welcome you all back this mo
rning. Today is
the day
for my children
to come up and have their turn to speak. I first ask that all newcomers to our life please come forward first. I also ask that their makers please accompany them up to the stage. All others will
have to wait their turn. Please make your way to the steps.”

Sarah
looked to
her
left to see Kara take a deep breath through her snout and out her mouth. This morning she was in the Fwen form and her wings were tucked into her side. “Wish me luck.”
Sarah
did as did
her brother
. Mark stood up and gave Kara a hand till she stood with him. They walked towards the steps to
the
right and avoided stepping on anyone as they made their way. As they stepped down the steps
Sarah noticed
six others making their way through the crowd. By the time Kara and Mark made their way to the front marble steps four other Changers had made it before them. Each maker stood the left of their
new
charge. T
he
first two were both males and looked similar to a
bull, but neither of them had horns. They were both furred in dark brown. The next two in line was a female and male. The female was the maker and she wore only brown wings and the man was on all fours and shaped like a horse. Then there was Mark and Kara. The last two
in line
were both women and they looked like furry foxes.

The Head
Elder spoke to them after they bowed to the others. They spoke their names and the Elder Changer on the far end had a scroll and wrote do
wn their names on a long list. Sarah
knew
her
name was on a bloodline list for the Balancers and only the Elders had exclusive access to those scrolls.
T
he only way to look at it is if an Elder gives permission and
they accompany you as you looked.
The documents were more than valuable and offered insight to who’s ones ancestors or descendants are.

The first two left and the second two were just as expedient.

Sarah
entered Connor
’
s mind and asked
“Can I listen to what they say through your mind?”

“Go right ahead, Princess.”
She
pus
hed deeper into his mind until she
could hear what he heard.

After the two exited the stage and passed them, Mark and Kara made their way up the steps
,
after they were given permission. They walked on all fours until they made it to the center. Kara mimicked Mark as he put his head between his front legs as a
bow. After he bowed last to Head
E
lder Damian he looked up at Head
Elder Raphael.
They waited until he spoke and Sarah
was grateful to Connor for
letting her
in because
she
wasn’t able to hear
half
as clearly as he d
oes
.

“That
form… is that you Marcus?” The H
ead
Elder’s silver eyes were looking very interested.

“Yes it is Head
Elder. It is good to meet you
once
again my maker.” Mark pushed himself up on his hind legs and Kara followed his lead.

Sarah
couldn’t believe it. The
H
ead
Elder
himself
was Mark’s maker. From the look on Connor’s face he also was unaware of this development.
The ancient Elder
leaned
forward in his huge chair and Sarah
could tell he was looking down at
her
sister-in-law. “And who might you be, Child? Are you two mates?” His tone was merely curious and held no other implications that
she
could tell.

Kara’s animalistic voice was
as
even as her posture. “I am Kara
Connolly
May. Mark is my one and only mate
.” Sarah
looked to see the Elder at the end scribbling down on the scroll.

The Head
Elder leaned back in his chair and laughed. “This young one has some spunk. That is just what my child needed. I am proud that you have finally found someone to share your life with, Marcus. You m
a
y go now
…
”

“Head
Elder,
”
This stopped everyone for the moment. “
there is something
else
you should know before we depart. If I remember correctly, you like surprises.”

“I still do.” The young looking H
ead
Elder leaned forward in his throne and
Sarah
could
just barely
see his bright white smile. “What is it that you think might surprise me
? I
t better be good, my boy.”

Mark’s smile turn
ed
into a grin. “My mate here is a Bone Changer!”

The E
lder’s eyes widened and he threw his head back to laugh at the top of his lungs. The sound echoed a few more times after h
e finally ceased his outburst. Sarah
could see him wipe his tears from his eyes as he said “That is the best joke I’ve ever heard you say.”

Sarah
watched
Connor fist tighten
and
his eyes became serious. Since she
was still in
his mind she
felt his
consciousness
reaching towards the stage.
“Kara! Don’t you do it!”
Sarah
turned to
Kara and
saw
her teeth were showing, but not in the fun and playful mood. She turned her head to look at the two of
them
.
Sarah
could barely see her silver eyes. They looked lik
e the point of a needle from their
distances.
“Listen to me. I think a demonstration is in order. This will get him to stop laughing at Mark and take his words seriously. I want you to make your Bone Bow and fire a bone arrow at my chest.”

“But, Brother! What if…”

“Kara you need to trust
me. I need you to do this
.”

“If you say so, Brother. Just don’t die on me and make me regret this.”

Sarah
turned back to Kara. She had taken a step back from Mark. He turned to look at her with wide eyes
. Through Connor’s hearing
she
heard the sounds of bones breaki
ng and growing at a fast rate. Sarah
was able to see her straighten her left arm out
just as
her radius and ulna’s bones broke through her
furry
skin. She
was
also
able to see all of the Elder Changers become wide eyed. A few seconds later her bones took on the shape of a pure white longbow. Then
Kara
pull
ed
out a string of hair and she strung her bow with only her right hand. Once that was finished
came
the sounds of more bones snapping.
Sarah
guessed she flipped her hand back like she did in the cave with t
he short sword. Even from here she
could tell the bone was perfectly straight.
Kara
use
d
her left hand to break the arrow from her wrist. She put the arrows end into the string and put tension on it. She looked at wher
e Connor and Sarah
were sitting. She raised her arm
and pointed. Then even
Sarah
could
clearly
hear the H
ead
Elder yell “What do you think you’re…
!!!
” Kara pulled the string back and released her hold.
The strange thing was is that Sarah
felt really calm
and realized it all radiated from Connor
’s confidence
.

The people around them
,
who just realized what she did
,
reacted too slowly.
Some began to scream, but they didn’t know it was planned
beforehand
and she wasn’t firing recklessly.
T
he arrow easily zipped
through the air
at incredible speeds
.
Sarah
knew everyone was having a hard time keeping t
rack of the flying projectile. Sarah
couldn’t hear the zip, but
she
knew the arrow was traveling much faster than your average archers bow.
T
he bolt
spun in a counterclockwise rotation as it made its way closer and closer
to
its
intended
target
.

By t
he
time it was
about ten
feet away
,
C
onnor’s right hand moved at its
quickest speed. His fingers wrapped around the front end of the shaft and slammed closed. The arrow only slid a half inch at most
,
closer to the
very
center of his chest.
Sarah
then heard the crashing sound of the zip and Con
nor’s hand stopping the arrow. T
he head of the arrow was tipped to a spiraled point. The fletching was also
made of bone. Sarah
then realized that Kara had more ability to sha
pe her bones than she
previously
knew.

The sudden and startled screams died down as they looked around
to see where the arrow went. Connor pulled the arrow away from his chest and laid the radius thick bone across his lap. He smiled and wa
ved at Kara and his wa
ve attracted everyone’s startled attention to
them. Sarah
then noticed
they
were the only ones that didn’t move within a fifty foot radius. Even
her m
other and
f
ather
had scattered
,
she
had forgotten to warn them.

Before anyone could yell, Head Elder Damian stood
commandingly
and said
“Little one, be careful with your next move.”
Kara turned around to look at the calm Elder.
“Yes we can all see that you are indeed a Bone Changer, but your actions leave something to be desired. I will not tolerate an
assassination
attempt
in
my presence. Now tell me why you did that to the crowd. If your excuse isn’t true you will be put under arrest
and tried
…”