Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (10 page)

The two of
them
quickly exited the water together. As
Kara
began
drying
her legs she
noticed that
her own
legs had
three
day
s
of
stubble
growing
.
She
looked at
S
arah legs
and asked curiously “Did you shave your legs
recently
?”

Sarah stopped drying her long brown hair and giggled softly. “Nothing like that
, Kara
.
Balancer
’
s don’t grow any hair belo
w their neckline.
We are a bit more evolved if you wish to make a comparison.
” Sarah’s
green eyes
peered
at
her
softly yet innocently.
She wasn’t making fun
.

“Well that’s
a
convenient
trait
.” Kara
said to
her
self, but Sarah took it as a statement towards her.

“You’re brother is the same way as well.” She started giggling to herself.

I have to see that for myself.
Kara
th
ought evilly and a grin appeared
.

After Sarah brushed
the tangles out of
her
waist length of silky brown
hair
they
swapped
the hair
brush for deodorant.

Returning to the campsite they
walked through the
thick
brush after put
ting
on
fresh
clothes
.

Kara watched in wonder as her
big brother’s hands mov
ed
in a
blinding
blur as he untied the knots of rope from the shelter.
The movement suddenly stopped.
He turned to
recognize their arrival
and smiled
appropriately
. His chest muscles were bulging and his X contrasted his pristine form yet
it also
made him look commanding.
Kara witnessed
that he no longer had any arm hair and when
she
looked at his legs
,
below his shorts
, she
saw that they
truly
were hairless as well.
Oh I have new ammo for him when he makes fun of me next time…

The
other end of the shelter
i
s lively as well
and
she watched
Mark’s
hands and limbs b
lurr
ed
as quickly as
her
brother’s did.
It was like
the
two men no longer needed to hold back themselves from each other and could do things as casually as they came for immortals.
He unfastened his side of the shelter and threw the rope across the top and
Connor
caught it mindlessly.
He
looked at Mark and asked “Could you help pack up the rest of the gear while I wrap these up?”
He
jiggled the ropes in his left hand
for clarification
.

“Sure.”
Kara’s
boyfriend answered
and quickly wrapped up the sleeping bags and secured them to the
top of the
ir
packs
.
Her brother moved too quickly for human
eyes to follow a
s he bundled the ropes together and
he actually made Kara
motion sick
from watching
.
That has never happened before, feeling motion sickness. She
had to turn around before
she
lost control
over her
stomach.

Kara’s eyes were unable to keep open
and it made
her
stomach heave.
As luck would have it, she held on to her breakfast.

A
small
, tender
hand
began
rubbing
her
back. “Are you feeling ill?”
She
heard Sarah ask
ing
soothingly.

“I’m alright
Sarah.
I just became a little dizzy watching
my b
rother
’
s movements
…
that’s all
.”
Kara
answered as she still continued to rub gently.
Then
Sarah
tucked
an escaping strand of
hair behind
Kara’s
ear.

A few seconds later
she
heard Mark say “I’m finished over here.” Then turning
back around
,
after
her
stomach settled,
Kara
saw
that
her b
rother was finished as well and
began
putting the rope bundles in his pack. He holstered Tool
to his hip
a
s
he stood and walked slowly to
the women
,
holding
her
silver longbow as well as
the
quiver of arrows
in his left hand
.

“You brought it
,
you carry it.”
Connor
said
in
a
teasing
tone
,
but Sarah didn’t catch the intent correctly.

“Don’t be mean to her
,
Connor.
She’s not felling well.
” Sarah’s
green
eyes were intense
, but nonthreatening
.

Kara
put my hand on her shoulder. “S
arah, he was
joking
. H
e was just
politely reminding me of
Granddaddy’s camping rules.
When we bring something
camping
we don’t leave it behind
and risk complications
.
It’s a
running
joke Brother and I pull on each other when we
’d
go camping together
and see who’ll be the first to say it
.”

“Ok, but you tell me if he starts picking on you because
I’ll
take
care
of it.”
Her
sister-in-law
informed
while putting
an
arm protectively around
Kara’s shoulder. She
saw
her b
rother and Sarah make
sudden
eye contact and then for some reason she stuck her tongue out at him. And he started laughing
. I
t was contagious because Sarah and
Kara
joined in.
She
didn’t know what they said to each other, but
she
’d leave that
up
to
her
imagination.

Moments later
,
Mark came up to her with a smile while Kara
strapped on the hip belt that held
the
quiver of arrows.
He said
“Well if this wasn’t this an informative gathering I don’t know what else to call it.”

Kara
came up with a better name for this weekend
instead of a
gathering
. “How about we call it
the first ever
B
.
C
.
me
eting.” T
he three
of them
looked at her
in honest
confus
ion
. “You have
all
heard about A
.
A
.
meetings where they spill their secrets
abou
t how bad drinking has made their life
a living
hell
? Well I named this weekend a B
.
C
.
meeting; Balancer and Changer.
But we’re not anonymous, seeing as how we’re family and all…
”

At
hearing
that
mediocre joke,
M
ark came
up to her and pulled Kara
up into a twisting hug. “I thought you would freak out, but apparently you have a little of your brother in you.”
His suddenness made
her
laugh.

“Was that supposed to be a compliment?”
Connor
crossed his arms
while
faking a pouting bottom lip.

“For you or for her?”
Kara’s
three hundred year old sister-in-law
questioned
with a hint of a laugh.

He looked down at her and then to the rest of
them
. “What’s this? Pick on Connor day?”
The three
nodded with zealous enthusiasm. He sighed in total de
feat as they
all playfully
ganged up on him.

He walked over and opened his bag
to
put on his sleeveless black shirt. Mark took the hint and
also
put on a
fresh
silver t-shirt. As the boys finished tucking the
i
r shirts in; they put on their camping packs and Sarah did the same.
Connor
helped her fasten
the
pack securely to her abdomen and her breast.

Taking one last look at the campsite
Kara
noticed that everything was secure and
nothing of theirs had been left behind
.
She
looked beyond the clearing
,
to the adjacent mountain and smiled at the majestic beauty of nature.

The four of them
walked back to the
brown
jeep
,
following
Connor as he led them
safely back.
Kara
sat i
n the front passe
nger seat
on the way back home. It was now about midday when
he
broke the peaceful silence. “I have thought about it and I think that the two of you should meet at my house tomorrow
at
around five in the morning
, before the sun rises
.”

Connor held
Sarah’s
hand as
she
rested
her
head on his arm
,
on the way back h
ome in Mark’s jeep. He caught her
off guard and half asleep when he told Mark and Kara his plan.
Kara turned in her sea
t to look back at Connor while Sarah
spotted Mark’s eyes glancing in the rear view mirror. “Why should we be there so early in the morning
,
Brother?”

“So that we can all get there
beforehand.” He squeezed Sarah’s
hand gently.

“What
else
are you planning?”
Mark asked
warily
,
smiling in the mirror.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Her
mate said in a dismissive voice.
Fully lucid
now she
contacted Connor’s mind.
“Can you tell me?”
Sarah
said
,
almost pleading because he was
heavily
guarding his mind
for some reason
.
All
she
could see
i
s his
mental
block of green eyes
that were
closing
off
that part of his mind.

He looked down at her
and smiled
warmly
.
“Sure, but make it quick Princess. We are almost within range of your parent’s mental reach.”