Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (32 page)

Kara
turned around to look at Mark. “Don’t tell me that you have already processed your food as well.”

“Nope.” He stood up for
her
. His washboard abs were pushed out
, but only
slightly. “Right now my body is processing the food’s nutrients to replenish my stores that I have used up today.” He
looked at Sarah. “T
hank
you for the meal Sarah. How about you two come over to my place
one day
and let me treat you
.”

“That would be nice.” She smiled as she started to collect the dishes.

Connor
gained
everyone’s
attention by saying “I’ve got two
families
and a couple who want some survival training.
They seem willing to do this.
” He disappeared
from where he stood suddenly
and Kara
turned to the
sound of
laughter and saw him spinning Sarah in
the air
.
He moved faster than
Kara’s
eyes could follow.
“It looks like my business might work out for the best
after all
.”

When he put her
back
on the ground Mark asked “I don’t have much to do for the summer, would you like a partner?”

Connor
held up his fist three feet from
Mark’s
face. Mark smiled and connected his fist to his best friends. “What kind of a rate would you like?”

Mark blinked until he figured that
he
asked how much he would like to be hired for. “What are you charging people?”

“I’m charging
t
hirty dollars a day for a family of any size
beyond four
, twenty five per couple
,
fifteen
dollars per single person
and children ten years or younger
will learn for
free
.”
Connor
said
in a
business
like
manner
.

Mark scratched his chin. “That’s a little cheap don’t you think?”

“Not at all. If they want to learn more
,
they will know what a bargain they are getting. Also if people see that my rates are more than fair they will tell others and I might need that partner anyways. Word of mouth is the best form of advertisements. I was going to ask you
anyways
when it did work
out that way.”

“I like it… I
t has been
around sixty
years since I have even remotely taught someone how to survive in the wilderness.” Mark smiled. “When do I start
and how long will these sessions be
?”

“We will start Friday
morning at five a.m.
and it will
last
until mid afternoon on Sunday.
”

“
Three days.” He said aloud for him to remember. “
What will I need to bring?” Mark was starting to become
more
businesslike too.

Connor
looked up as he thought
. “Bring a machete and some rope.”

Mark nodded and turned to look at
Kara. She
looked at his stomach and saw that the bump from his stomach was
already
slight
ly
shrinking. “Ready to go?”

“What?”
She
was too engrossed in their discussion.

“It’s dar
k and I need to get you home.” Kara
saw through the window that he was right.
“But…” she
tried saying.

Sarah said gaining her
attention “Don’t worry we’ll still be here in the m
orning for more training.” S
he stepped closer and whispered in
Kara’s
ear
.
“This weekend how about we have another girl
’
s night out?”

Kara
nodded
,
feeling revived
,
knowing that it meant
more
shopping. “Just us or
are we bringing
our mother
’
s too?”

“This time
,
it
will just
be us.” Sarah
smiled
at
her
as her green eyes were still penetrating.
Her gaze wa
s starting to become as predatory as
her b
rother
’
s.

Mark and Connor moved off into a corner and looked skittish
for some reason
.
Kara
asked
“What’s wrong now?”

They looked at each other and Mark said “We were just discussing how much trouble we’ll be in when we get back. We’re taking bets
on
who will get it worse.”

Kara turned to Sarah and
saw a feral grin spread across her face and
Kara
knew
she
was
wearing one
as well. “
Let’s make them suffer!”
Sarah said in
her
mind.

“You got it
,
Sister!”
She
thought back.

“Mark
,
run!” Connor
said playfully while pulling
on
Mark’s arm. Before they were out of the door he
said “I know that grin, its meant
d
anger for every man that has ever lived.
Get a move on, Connor!
” They ran o
ut the door laughing with the girls
chasing not too far behind.

After f
ive minutes of chasing and laughing
Sarah’s extended family
split up and went home
for the night
. When Connor and Sarah
went to bed
she
had to check on his ankle again
just to be sure
. It healed very quickly. Before
,
it looked
deep red and blistered, but now it was pink with new skin and he had a barely noticeable blister
lingering behind
. He caught
her
looking
down
at his ankle
.
“Look
’
s good doesn’t it? If I was normal it would have taken me at least two months to heal properly, but now it took only half a day.”

Sarah
rested
her
head on his chest as
she
pulled the covers up
her
back. “Connor
,
I have never felt so scared in my life. When I saw you
falling towards
at the ground
…” She
didn’t want to finish that sentence
, her emotions
alone
offered better understanding
.
Her
body shuddered anyways.
She
pulled
her
arm
and pressed
her
open
breast
s
into his ribs because
she
needed to be
absolutely
sure he was still al
ive. She
knew he was because of his
steady
heartbeat and his pleasant
, manly
smell.

“It was my only option I could do
and I took it
. It gave me enough time to think of a plan and win.
Be thankful Jack didn’t use his sonar or my plan wouldn’t have worked so well.
I
truly
needed to learn that lesson even though I ended up getting a little injured.
” He slid
his big left hand down her bare
back and pulled
her
closer knowing that
she craved
his embrace.

“Next time
,
I suggest you inflect more pain if they ever try a sneak
attack
on you
again.”
Sarah
said while yawning.

He started rubbing
her
back gently and with the combination of his heartbeat
she
quickly went to sleep.

In the morning both Kara and Mark met
them
at
their
c
ottage again. Connor said for them
to go
on
ahead because he
had to make some phone calls. Sarah
asked if
she
could listen in and
her
mate nodded.

He i
s always so easy to work with.

Lately Connor and Sarah
could immerse
their
minds together
,
to a deeper level
and
they
learned
they
could actually hear from
each other
’
s perspective, but they
haven’t been able t
o successfully see through
each other
’
s
eyes
yet
.

The three of them
walked again to the training area. It
was
really
foggy this morning, but
Mark evene
d the odds as he turned into a
wolf. Both Kara and Sarah
followed him as he
sniffed his way on the trail they
left yesterday.

With Sarah’s
mind connected with Connor
’s
she
asked
“What are you setting up?”

“I n
eed to get permission from the Park R
anger first.”

“Oh ok.”
With their
minds linked he started dialing
on the phone
.

“Ranger’s office. How can I help you this morning?”
The
Park R
anger initiated the greeting
upon answering
.

“Hey Bill, its Connor May.”

There was a very short pause on the other end of the line.
“I haven’t heard from you in well over six months. How’s Granddaddy been?”
Bill asked politely.
So everyone does call David, Granddaddy
…

“He’s fine
, still working up a storm.
You know how he is.
”
Sarah
felt Connor’s
satisfaction
from
their
bond.

“
Yeah, that old man never takes a day off.
So what do I owe this
unexpected
pleasure?”

“I’ve
started a new business
,
teaching people to survive outdoors. I was wondering if I could use your park for my business?”
Connor
asked
hopefully.

“Of course you can, but there is a small fee as you know.”
Bill said evenly.

“It’s free as long as you clean up your
own
mess or get charged fifty dollars.”
Connor said
,
reciting the rule.

“Good boy. So what district would you like to set up? Anything special
you would like reserved
?”

“Yes actually
..
. Are either section forty six or seven available?”

Bill
became
silent on the phone for a minute.
“Yes
they are. And you picked
some of
the deepest parts of the park.
Very secluded from the other local routes.
Why would you want that place?”

“Bill
,
it
’
s called
survival training
for a reason.”
And Sarah
could hear the man laughing
on the other end of the phone
.