Shadow Bloodlines (Shadow Bloodlines #1) (15 page)

“Worse things? Like what?” I asked, but I didn’t want to know. Truly I didn’t. This thing was bad enough. Ms. Moor and her goons that disappeared and reappeared like puffs of smog. What could possibly be worse? Goosebumps raised the hackles on my neck as my dad turned and stared at me.

“Other shifters.”

“What do you mean
other shifters
?” I followed Dad and Amar inside his ship’s cramped cabin. Jacqui trailed behind.

“Others, like us.” He gestured Amar to the bench by the table.

Leaning against the closed door, I crossed my arms over my stomach. Weren’t Ms. Moor and her goons and Blood Spirits enough? I had taken solace in the fact it was shifters versus the bad guys… now I find out our kind were evil too?

Blood, welts and cuts covered Amar. No space on his exposed skin larger than a hand’s width was unmarred. Even his hair was wet and darkened with blood. His T-shirt hung in strips across his chest. I didn’t have to look at his wings or back to know they’d probably taken the brunt of it. Amar stood beside the table, but when he wobbled like he was dizzy, I made him sit down. Even though I gestured to the bench, he plopped down on the floor as if moving an extra foot would be too difficult. Blood pooled underneath him and his skin looked ashen.

“W-what can we do?” I dropped my arms and took a step forward. “About his wounds?”

“I’ll have to do the blood ritual again.”

“What? No!” I grasped my dad’s arm when he dragged his feet to the sink. “Not again. It almost killed him last time.”

“This time, it will be much easier.” He patted my hand still gripping his arm. “His body has developed an immunity to the poison. Though he might sleep until tomorrow evening.” When I didn’t let go, he sighed. “We can’t allow him to heal naturally, it would take too long. He’s lost a lot of blood and this is the fastest way to heal all of him, including his wings.”

As Dad’s blue-green eyes stared back at me, I finally responded with a nod and released him.

***

After he finished the ritual, Dad and Jacqui cleaned the dishes. I sat on the floor next to Amar. Before he passed out, he insisted I not leave the boat and get into more trouble. He gave me a half smile and a wink.

Amar’s cuts were healing almost like time-lapse photography. Some of the marks on his skin were deep and ripped his flesh. Others, like the ones beneath his shirt, were less severe. I was tempted to touch those but didn’t want to hurt him. His face was lined with agony and the muscle in his jaw twitched like he was gritting his teeth. I wanted to soothe his pain. Kiss his swollen lips and even the cut over his eye. Now in the light, his injuries were more noticeable and worse than I’d thought. Gashes of various lengths and depths spread across his arms and legs. His wings quivered and were splintered as if someone had used a razor to shear through them. Gaps and broken feathers were coated in blood. One wing looked as if it was broken in several places. I strolled around behind him and covered my mouth with my hand. The wing that I’d thought had the least damage was completely severed at the bottom.

Would he even be able to fly again?

My free hand reached out and brushed his upper back where the wings met. It too was striped in red ribbons, but I had to comfort him somehow. He shivered at my touch and I nearly fell to my knees and hugged him.

It was because of saving my dad from the blood spirits, and then me too, that he was broken and bleeding now.

Words twisted up inside me. Thank you didn’t seem enough. How could I repay him for this? Would he hate me if his wings never healed? “I-I wanted to th—”

“Your staying alive is the only thanks, I need.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he spun slowly on the floor and, falling to his knees, pressed a fingertip to my mouth. “I need to sleep for now.” His voice sounded tired. “Tomorrow, we can talk about how to thank me.”

My heart fluttered and I thought he was going to kiss me, but he lay down on the floor. My dad’s boat was no longer tied to shore and I wondered how long we’d drift, or if Dad would set our passage for the mainland.

After the dishes were finished, Jacqui knelt beside me. For a while, she didn’t say anything. “I know this is bad timing, but did you bring anything back from the restaurant?” She bit her lip and her eyes pleaded. “I’m starving.”

Smiling, I shook my head. “No. Sorry. Even if I had grabbed it when I ran out, that thing would have whipped it to pieces.” I rubbed a hand down my arm, feeling the few cuts that were red and swollen on my skin.

“Beth’s sores look infected.” She scrunched up her nose and glanced back to my dad. “Should you do a blood ritual on her too?”

“She’ll heal in a day or two. Her injuries are not as severe as Amar’s.” My dad rubbed his bearded chin, staring at Jacqueline. “I may have a can of chili here somewhere.”

“Tell me you have cheese.” She stood, dragged herself to the table, and sagged onto the bench. “I’d be happy to take it off your hands.”

“Cheese Whiz count?” He closed an open cupboard over the sink. The ship’s cabin only had a tiny porthole next to the bed. Surrounding the sink were cupboards and a stove and vent shoved up in between.

Jacqui shrugged, swirling a fingertip across the tabletop. “Better than nothing.”

“How about you, Beth?” He rinsed out the sink. “You didn’t eat much earlier. You want some chili?”

“Sure.” I joined her on the bench and watched Amar sleeping inches from my feet, his heavy breaths playing in my ears like a tune. His wings were still out, one bent into an L shape as it propped up against the fridge door, and the other squished between his body and my seat. I had already confiscated a pillow from the bed and rested it underneath his head.

“Dad, if we take the bed, how will you sleep on this short bench?” I patted the wood between me and Jacqueline. It was only wide enough for two people to sit on. “And Amar’s taking up half the floor.”

My dad pointed to our seating. “That with some blankets will be fine for me. Don’t worry about it.” He dumped the chili and cheese into a pan and set the burner on low. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to drop anchor. In the morning, we’ll head to land. The Blood Spirits will search all night, especially after tasting shifter blood. Tomorrow we’ll be able to tell if they’ve given up the search or not.”

With a shiver, I adjusted until my legs were tucked underneath me on the bench. My stomach started rumbling and I was glad I didn’t turn down dinner this time. The boat slowed. We still rocked with the waves, but there wasn’t as much sense of traveling as before. How far from land had we traveled?

I was going to peek but figured it would be too dark now to see much. The way Jacqui’s stomach rumbled beside me, I feared she’d eat all the chili before I could get back if I left.

I bet way out here there were thousands of stars, not like in the city back home. I missed home. Would this be what it felt like at a university? Maybe that’s why local college kids always brought their clothes home to wash; it wasn’t just to save some money and time, it was missing their old life.

Except, my old life was gone. I’d never get it back. Mom was dead, and I was a shifter. I fisted my hands… I still thought I’d have been able to save her if I’d known all of this beforehand and been able to practice my abilities.

“I may fight you for the whole pan.” She bumped me playfully with her shoulder.

“Didn’t even think you liked Cheese Whiz.” I teased her.

“Well, I do when there’s little else to eat.”

Dad entered and stirred the bubbling chili, the smell permeating the tiny cabin. Yeah, I was even hungry for canned food.

I noticed a TV the size of my head nestled in the corner. “That thing work?”

“Yeah. Just the main channels, though.” He flipped it on and PBS flashed.

“Welcome to Nature’s Bounty …”

When he moved to change the channel, I nearly toppled the table onto Amar as I jerked to stand. “No, wait!” It was showing an octopus scampering across a reef. “Turn it up, please.”

“Many know about one of the octopus’ defense mechanisms, ink. But even it has a purpose besides blinding its predators. The ink contains various chemicals such as dopamine and L-DOPA. It is believed that the ink dulls the victim’s sense of smell and possibly touch. So, it’s not a matter of the shark, shown here in a cloud of ink, swimming out and pursuing the octopus, it is unable to until the ink’s effects wear off.”

“Can you do that?” Jacqui flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. “Do you have a shower, Mr. Bender? Beth stinks and we’ve not had one since we left the hotel this morning on the mainland.”

“Thanks a lot!” I crossed my arms. “But I don’t squirt ink.”

“Not exactly, but I think your yell incorporates two of your shifter abilities into one.”

“Really?” Maybe something was going well for me after all this mess.

“Just a theory I have. Eat first. Then I’ll show you the shower and we can talk after.” He dipped out bowls of the steaming chili and handed them to us.

The metal spoons we ate with resembled a toddler’s favorite chewing toy. At least I knew what to buy my dad for father’s day if I ever felt guilty enough to do so… a new set of silverware. Or maybe his birthday. I didn’t even know when that was.

“Umm… when’s your birthday? Mom never told me.” I asked between bites. “Guess I never thought to ask, either.”

“December seventh. I’ll be forty—something.” He winked.

“So, a Sagittarius.” Jacqui twirled her spoon in the air, then dipped it into the chili for another bite.

“Actually, the more accurate astrology has me as an Ophiuchus.”

“Is that a shifter sign?” I’d never heard of it. Then again, I barely knew my own sign.

He chuckled. “No. It’s the thirteenth sign; our planet has shifted and all of the signs or, rather dates, changed with them. The whole point of astrology, or at least the sun sign portion, is the sign the sun is in at the moment of your birth.” He washed the chili pan. “Beth, your birthday is January fifth… so I bet you think you’re a Capricorn.”

“That’s what the astrology books say.” I nodded and ate another spoonful. This was delicious. I’d have to remember how to make this stuff.

“In the old system, it was.” He rinsed out the sud-filled pan. “But at the time of your birth, the sun was in Sagittarius. So you’re…”

“Oh my God!” Jacqueline squealed. “I’ve always wanted to be a Sag. But with my birthday in April, I at least got Aries.”

“Depends on when in April.” My dad dried the pan and set it aside. “If your birthday is before mid-April, then you actually are a Pisces.”

“Fish? That should be Beth’s sign… she’s the one who loves water.” She stood and took our empty dishes to the sink. “I’ll wash these. Have a seat.”

“How do you know so much about the astrological signs?” I asked my dad as he squished up next to me.

“I use the stars to navigate, and it’s standard procedure for shifters to know both astrology and astronomy.”

“Navigating with the stars?” Wasn’t that what GPS was for? “Why not use your compass or something?”

He folded his hands on the table and a dimple rose in his cheek as he smiled. “And if you were alone in the middle of nowhere? Your compass lost or broken? How would you survive?” His smile faded. “What if something came after you like it did tonight and you had nothing on you? How would you know which way was which in the darkness with no sun to guide you?”

“He has a point, Beth. You get lost at the—”

“Shut up.” I tossed my wadded napkin at her as she washed the dishes. She laughed, kicking it aside. Biting my lip, Amar’s heavy breathing reassured me. He must really be passed out not to balk at all this commotion.

“And the two-faced signs, like Capricorn and Sagittarius, point to our history. A time when men knew shifters existed.” His eyes brightened, making them look like the ocean here during the day. “A man with the body of a horse, a goat with a fish tail. It’s all there if anyone knows what they are looking at.” He laid his palms face up on the table, and his smile lingered.

With a shiver, I realized he was right.

“And, as a shifter, you being born under one of them, which you are, would have been celebrated centuries ago. People would have thought you exceptionally gifted and special.” He reached over and patted my hand.

“But I’m not.” I shrugged. “I’m just me. And a lousy shifter.”

“You’ve just not been trained.”

“Cause you weren’t around to train me!” The words blurted out before I realized they’d left my mouth. Now they hung in the air between us, forcing their acknowledgment.

Dad’s cheek’s reddened and his face appeared to twist into sadness and remorse. “I-I didn’t plan for any of this to happen. If I could have been there, I would have, but there are reasons why I did what I did. Just trust me that I only had your best interests in mind.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “But no more secrets or hiding the truth from me.”

The air in the tiny cabin was stifling and, though Dad gave me a smile, the tension pressed in on me.

Jacqui looked over her shoulder at me then went back to scrubbing the dishes. “Do you have a dishwasher hidden in one of these panels?”

“I’m looking at the dishwasher right now.” Dad drew back his hands. She stuck out her tongue.

“Okay, I’m done.” She rubbed her hands down her shorts. “Show us the shower.”

My dad chuckled but led us to the top of the boat. The ocean was quiet, except for the dark waves that lapped against the boat. No seagulls or swimmers. The water appeared to be dark blue, nearly black, except for where the boat’s lights shone on the water and that was a dark emerald color. Would the water still be warm from the sun? Or cool?