Shifters (Shifters series Book 1) (26 page)

Chapter 40

Kai Comes Out
—In Front of the Keepers

–TANNER–

Everything’s totally strange now. My sister’s being all serious and sullen. Solé looks like she
’
s been crying while Kai and Kyle are suddenly best friends. Ryland can get moody, but not that often since she’s usually the center of attention due to her annoying perfection. I can’t imagine what Solé goes through constantly seeing such terrible things. I
’
ve seen her cry too many times in our short time together.

Kai and Kyle are kind of freaking me out. They’ve always gotten along, but more in a I-wish-you-would-die-but-I-guess-you-can-live-since-I-sort-of-need-you-although-I’ll-never-admit-it kind of way.

Anyway, I’m in a great mood. I
’
m with Devon. Devon. I just love the way her name feels. I repeat it to myself several times.

“What are you doing?” Devon asks, sitting up next to me.

“Nothing,” I tell her. “I just love saying your name.”

“You
’
re a weirdo,” she says with the cutest smile. “Just my luck. I’ve fallen in love with a screwball.”

Kyle must be a genius doctor or something. She looks so much better, and it
’
s only been a couple of hours since . . .

I don’
t ever want to think about it. I almost lost her. I mean, if Ryland wasn’t there, I don
’
t know what I would’ve done.

When I look up, Ryland’s staring at us. Like staring. Devon leans into me and gives me the sweetest kiss before she wraps her arms around me. I look back up at my sister, and she
’
s still looking at us.

I mouth “Thank you” silently to my sister.

Ryland has this strange, almost determined look on her face. I just thanked her. She could at least acknowledge my gratitude. Instead, she just starts ordering us around.
Get cleaned up. Get some new clothes out of the closets. Get ready. We need to go. Come on. We can
’
t stay here.

I mean, come on Ryland. We were just in a gunfight with the DC cops. Give us a break and let us rest a little. This place is kind of relaxing.

Kyle says, “We should be okay here for the night. There’s been chatter about our little show, but nobody will be looking for us in a Keeper house.”

“Are you sure?” Kai asks.

“We
’
re good here for a little while,” Kyle repeats.

It takes some convincing, but Ryland reluctantly agrees to stay the night.

Kai picks up the TV remote and turns the TV on, saying, “We should see if they
’
re talking about us.”

Solé takes Devon into the bathroom to help her get cleaned up while the rest of us sit on the chairs and couch around the TV. By the time I hear the shower come on, I’m already missing her.

“A strange display today occurred in front of the Lincoln Memorial as Shifter cult members Ryland and Tanner Ascunse along with other unidentified cult members put on a strange public display,” a young female reporter announces. “In front of hundreds of witnesses, the terrorists performed several amazing illusions while telling a fictional tale of alien landings and of a great rebellion.”

“It wasn
’t fictional,
” Ryland says, clearly annoyed with the report.

Solé comes out of the bathroom asking, “What
’
s going on?”

“We
’
re on the news again,” I tell her.

“Oh, goody!” she says, clapping her hands. She takes a seat right next to me and looks in awe at the TV.

“Multiple witnesses caught amateur footage during the strange display,” the reporter says.

The broadcast cuts to several views showing Ryland shooting up in the air holding me on her right side and Kai on her left.

Solé claps her hands and turns to Ryland saying, “You look great, Ryland.”

“You look naked,” I tell her in an extremely disapproving tone.

Ryland scrunches her face and gives me an are-you-jealous look. The truth is I’ve always been jealous of her. Why did she get the gorgeous gene that makes all men and some women want to please her and do everything for her? Anything to make Ryland happy.

The footage cuts to Devon being pulled away from Kyle by what looks like an evil superhero. Kai looks brilliant in his black space-age suit, and I can
’
t help but smile watching Devon. The material on her toga costume flows like water over her perfect skin.

Solé puts her hand in mine, and my eyes meet hers. She gives me a tentative smile and tells me, “I told you she was adorable, didn
’
t I?”

Just then I remember. She did tell me. In the car. I totally forgot. Back then, I thought maybe she was talking about Alice. She knew! She saw this! I hadn
’
t even met Devon, and Sol
é knew!

“You did! I remember,” I tell her as I get a huge smile.

Meeting my enthusiasm, Solé smiles warmly at me, and I can
’
t resist giving her a hug. She wraps her arms around me, and I thank her.

When I start to release her, she pulls me closer and whispers in my ear, “Promise me something.”

I try to pull away to look at her, but she holds me and reiterates, “
Promise me.
”

I notice her tone has changed. “What is it?” I ask, still holding her.

“Promise me you
’
ll never give up,” she says.

I can
’
t see her face, so I
’
m not really sure how to take that. “Give up on what?” I ask her.

“On Devon,” she says, now serious.

“Why would I . . . ?” I start to ask.

“Never give up on her. No matter what,” she says, still holding me like she’ll never let me go. “You love her, right?”

“I do,” I whisper to her.

“Tell me you always will. No matter what. Promise me you
’
ll always be there for her, that you
’
ll always fight for her, that you
’
ll never give up on her,” she whispers with her lips touching my ear.

“I promise, Solé. I love her with everything in me. I’ll always fight for her. I’ll be there for her. I’ll never ever give up on her,” I whisper quietly. “I promise.”

She pulls away and I can see she has tears in her eyes. “Thank you,” she says. “She loves you, Tanner. Devon loves you and needs you more than you know,” she adds, finally releasing my hand.

There were several shots of Kai and Solé Shifting and appearing directly in front of the cameras.

Solé says with a strange look on her face, “
I don’
t remember this.”

“Yeah,” Ryland says. “What did you say here? It was in some other language.”

Solé shrugs like she doesn
’
t know. She watches herself give some kind of speech in an unintelligible flow of words. “Is that what I look like? I look terrible.”

Kyle holds his arms out, beckoning her to join him on his lap. She gets up and walks over. As she seats herself on him, he tells her, “I think you
’
re beautiful all the time.”

Kyle gives me a dirty look like he thinks I was trying to steal his girlfriend. As if. I mean, I love Solé, but I’m
in
love
with Devon. I love Solé like I would a sister. A bizarre sister who is half child and half two-thousand-year-old wise man.

I
’
m the last one to shower, and by the time I’m done, everyone else is in bed. So I quietly walk into the bedroom where I hear Kai and Kyle both breathing deeply on two of the three double beds in the room. I get into the empty bed and look around the moonlit room. It’s so strange to think we’re all taking refuge in a Keeper safe house while the Keepers are trying to hunt us down.

I look up when I hear the door quietly open to see a shadow walk into the room. Oh, God! Am I about to die? They must know we
’
re here. I lay motionless on the bed, waiting to spring on the intruder.

The figure steps into the moonlight, and I completely relax. Looking down at me, I see Devon holding her finger up to her lips as if she is shushing me. I start to say something, and she holds her finger to her lips again. She looks amazing wearing nothing but a thin—almost nonexistent—t-shirt as the silver light dances across her body. I forget how to breathe.

She slowly and gently pulls the covers off of me. I’m not sure what to think since I’m only wearing my new boxer briefs. I can
’
t stand wearing pajama pants when I sleep because of the way they always twist around. She stands looking at me for several seconds. My heart’s going to jump out of my chest at any moment.

She looks me directly in the eyes and gives me a long smile as she crawls into bed with me. I
’
m about to say something when she holds her finger to her lips one more time. She turns her back to me and wiggles herself into a comfortable position. I quiver and suck in a quick breath. I swear every cell in my body is standing at attention as electricity flows through me.

She starts to get up, and I think I must’ve done something terribly wrong. Instead of leaving, she turns around, presses herself against me, and quietly begins to kiss me. She molds herself to my body. I become totally lost in everything Devon. The taste of her tongue, the warmth of her lips, her skin, her smell, her hair falling against my face and chest as she kisses me.

I try to maintain any semblance of rational thought. In my mind, I know we’re both far too young to take this any further, so I pull her into me, and she lays her head on my chest. She smiles up at me, and I know this is the best night of my life. God, she is so perfect. I have no idea how long I lay holding her before I fall asleep, but I have the most restful night of my life.

–RYLAND–

I wake, curled in a fluffy white down comforter on some kind of memory-foam mattress. Everything around me smells like fabric softener and summertime. I can
’
t remember where I am or why on Earth I’d be here.

My dreams are still lingering in my mind. Kai was telling me something. He was telling me how he felt about me. This isn’t something I imagine he does very often, so I’m not confident I’m having visions or whatever it is Solé suspects is happening to me. This wonderful golden-orange sunset was lighting up the sky. He was kissing me, and he felt so warm and rough against my lips.

Then there was a loud flash, and my shoulder was on fire. I was burning with pain. I was bleeding everywhere.

I’m shot
, I realized in my dream with a start.
I’m not going to die, but Kai shot me
.

I wake up, curlling into the warm soft blankets. My brain is so fuzzy, so confused. Who shot me? Kai? No, that can
’
t be right. But
was
it Kai?

I’m still trying to shake the dreams from my mind when I walk into the massive living room. Kai is standing in the kitchen in only his boxers. He
’
s making breakfast.

The warm, buttery scent of pancakes washes over me along with the savory smell of bacon. My stomach rumbles. He must hear me because he turns, resting the spatula on his shoulder like a little leaguer batter.

A grin washes over him, and I realize I’m wearing some ridiculously sheer, short nightgown presented to me by Devon
’
s mother Aleksandria. Wow! Not exactly something I planned on wearing around everyone. Especially after that dream.

“Hey,” I mumble, wrapping the throw on the couch around myself and heading toward the kitchen.

“Hey,” he says, turning back to the pancakes. “I thought everyone could use breakfast this morning.”

“Smells great,” I say, as I slide into one of the bar chairs at the counter.

I hear a creaking and notice Devon sliding casually into the living room from . . . Oh! My! God! That
’
s Tanner
’
s room!

I feel myself grinning at her. She glances down shyly and blushes deep scarlet. “Good morning,” she murmurs almost inaudibly in her embarrassment.

Kyle, who I notice for the first time has been sleeping on the couch, sits up and grins, “
Busted!
”

“Shut up and turn on the news,” I say, throwing a pillow at him.

He laughs, but follows my orders, turning on CNN.

We all turn to stare when we hear Sol
é’s strange voice
. A couple seconds later, the news anchor interrups, saying,
“Just in this morning: the translation of the terrorists’ bizarre message.” She lifts her manicured, wrinkled finger to what I’m sure is an earpiece behind her ridiculously poofy blonde hair. “I’m being told that the speech is in Romanian.”

“Romanian?” I say, dumbfounded. “Does Sol
é speak Romanian?”

“No,” Solé says quietly from the doorway to her room. “
No, I don’
t.”

She
’
s still half asleep, rubbing her eyes, but she’s scared. I can tell she
’
s worried about what she may have said.

The camera tilts slightly and a short, balding man with glasses and a pale gray suit, barely covering his pudgy frame, appears on-screen. “
Uh
. . . ummm . . .”
he mumbles, and I know he isn’t used to being on camera. “What the young lady—er, terrorist—said translates to something like, ‘The hidden are revealed. The Young have come to fulfill the prophecy and restore order to the universe. They will rule with honor and integrity. The road will be long. Many will suffer and die. It has come to pass, so shall it be.
’”

The camera slides away from him like he’s something shameful. I wonder where they found this expert in Romanian. Something in me decides he’s a janitor at the TV station.

“Oooh . . . that sounds ominous,” the news anchor says with a nervous laugh. “Later this hour, we’ll have several experts in to discuss what the purpose of this little display might have been. Stick around.”

A commercial comes on, and Kyle says, “Way to stump ‘em, babe.”

Solé doesn
’
t smile. She doesn
’
t even raise her head. She
’
s thinking. She
’
s dissecting what she said. She’s tearing it apart, searching for meaning, discerning how this may change our plans.