Shift (Castlerock Shifters Book 1) Read online

  She wanted to call her brother and cry to him, but she knew he would make her leave, or he would come. She just couldn’t handle either of those situations. In the end, she called Josh and left him a message when she figured he’d be in class. She was falsely happy in the message, saying everything was going just fine. She explained that she was just spending a lot of time hiking, so not to worry if she didn’t return calls right away. He had to stay away from this mountain, every bit as much as she had to stay on it.

  This mountain… it had been a place of magic. Now it held only terror, tragedy and indecision. Still, it held her like a magnet. She could not leave. Not until she knew if Seff had lived or died. Her fate had become entangled with his.

  She had trouble sleeping, and being awake. She kept waiting, hoping that someone would come to tell her Seff was fine. And in her more deluded moments, she pictured Seff himself strolling out of the forest from any number of directions, assuring her his injuries had only looked bad.

  It was after one such delusion that she heard a quiet knock on her door. She heard low voices as well. Jack barely reacted to the visitors.

  So, here it is. They finally thought to come to tell me he’s gone; just an afterthought. The random girl he spent a few afternoons with, she thought bitterly. Why did they wait so long to come?

  She ripped the door open, expecting… well, she wasn’t sure what she expected. Perhaps she expected the man from the road that had glared at her with such anger. She couldn’t even recall what the other man had looked like. He had taken off so quickly with Seff in his arms.

  Well, whatever she had been expecting, this wasn’t it. Standing on her porch were two boys, one probably Seff’s age, the other a few years older. They both looked worn, with bags under their eyes as if they were losing sleep. Grieving? She shook that thought off before it could settle. She could relate to the sleepless nights. Her own circles under her eyes were just as pronounced. They looked very similar in coloring to Seff; the long dark hair and same skin tone. Relatives? Friends?

  “Yes?” she asked, quietly. Her voice cracked – from the fear of what they would say, or from lack of use she didn’t know.

  The smaller of the two met her eyes. He looked so sad and so tired. Her heart started to break. The news she had been dreading was coming. She braced herself for the onslaught of emotion that was about to be unleashed.

  “Are you Jaisey?” he asked.

  She nodded, unable to find her voice again.

  “I’m Tate, and this is Caleb. We’re friends… of Seff,” he said. “I… well, we came because…” he trailed off. It seemed he didn’t know how to tell her.

  The other, an older boy placed his hand on Tate’s shoulder, “What we came for is… well, a couple of reasons. First, to thank you for bringing Seff to us, he would have died if you hadn’t. Seff is doing better. The Healer did all he could, but… well, he won’t wake up,” he explained.

  Jaisey felt a rush of emotion flow through her – relief! Seff was alive! She staggered a bit and the boy reached to catch her as she swayed.

  “Oh, thank heavens,” she muttered, clutching the boy’s sturdy arms. But then his actual words caught up to her. Seff wouldn’t wake up? She looked into the older boy’s eyes. The sadness was still there. Did they think he would never wake up? Was Seff going to die anyway?

  He watched her process the information and nodded gravely. “Our elders asked us to come to you… to ask a favor,” he explained.

  What could they possibly want from her? Drive Seff to a hospital now? Maybe the doctors could do something at a big hospital. She was about to get her keys when he continued.

  “They would like you to come and talk to Seff. The Healer thinks that might help wake him,” he finished in a rush.

  It was clear in his voice that he was expecting her to say no. That surprised her. Why wouldn’t she be willing to help her friend? But as she thought it through, she realized why. They were probably afraid she wouldn’t want to after the reception she’d been given when she took Seff to them in the first place.

  She took a deep breath to steady herself. This was exactly what she needed – something to do – to help. She didn’t need their gratitude; she needed to know Seff was all right.

  “Give me just a moment,” she replied.

  She ran to the bedroom and changed clothes quickly. She hadn’t even changed from her old tattered sweats and nightshirt in… how many days had it been? She couldn’t remember but knew it was important now because that was exactly how long Seff had been unconscious. Her frame of reference was completely gone, and she felt off balance.

  She threw on a pair of shoes and hurried back out to them. She really didn’t care what she looked like. She just wanted to get to Seff.

  “I’m ready,” she said.

  The look of relief on each of their faces was gratitude enough. She looked around her clearing. Just like Seff, no sign of a vehicle was present.

  “Should I drive?” she asked.

  “It would be faster,” the one named Tate replied.

  She turned without a word and grabbed her keys.

  “Stay,” she commanded Jack and they took off.

  They reached the dirt road and the one named Caleb jumped out and opened the gate. It had been repaired in the few days since she’d rammed it. It bothered her that someone would take the time to deal with that, but she let it go. She was too anxious to get to Seff.

  The road seemed so much shorter this time. She’d been so focused on her last crazy drive down this road, she hadn’t really seen much. It was very well hidden. After turning corners, she would see the road disappear behind her – invisible through the trees.

  She passed the curve where she thought she had met up with the men before and cringed a little. To her relief, no one waited in the road this time to stop her. She continued on, and the next left curve pulled her into a clearing of sorts. It backed up to a few buildings. And as she started taking it in, she realized it was more than a few buildings. It was a whole community, like a little village.

  She stared, eyes wide, mouth hanging open until Caleb cleared his throat.

  “You can park here,” he suggested, nodding his head to the right.

  She nodded dumbly and pulled over to park. There were two pickup trucks and several cars parked nearby. He came around and opened her door. She was still dumbfounded. She had expected – well, she didn’t know what she expected but it was certainly not this. She knew Seff had a secret about his family, but this was way beyond her grasp. How did a whole village remain so hidden?

  She followed Caleb toward the homes. A rush of dizziness passed over her briefly, making her stagger. Tate glanced at her with concern, but she waved him off with a mumbled, “I’m fine.” She was sure it was from lack of sleep and probably hunger. However, all she needed right now was to get to Seff.

  There was a huge fire pit in the center of the homes. It was massive. She could imagine the size of fire that could be produced within it. Impressive, she thought.

  The boys had her circle around the fire pit. She glimpsed several people on their porches and looking out windows. She tried not to meet any curious eyes, but they were everywhere she looked. She felt so exposed under their stares. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling nervous and defensive all at once. No one approached her – still, she couldn’t help but feel apprehensive.

  They reached their destination, stopping in front of one of the larger houses. Caleb opened the door for her, muttering a heartfelt thank you to her as she entered.

  The boys stayed outside and closed the door behind her. There was a single person inside. A little old man sat in a wooden rocking chair. He was looking at her; measuring her, she thought. Then he smiled at her with crinkles around his eyes, so that like Seff, she trusted him immediately. He had long hair pulled back the same way Seff wore his, only the old man’s hair was as grey as Seff’s was black.

  “Welcome Jaisey.” He smiled warmly, “We’ve
been remiss in our actions. We owe you an enormous debt of gratitude and I’m sorry to ask you to help us once again.”

  Jaisey held up her hand to stop him. “Please… where’s Seff?”

  He smiled again, though the strain showed through this time. He rose and led her down a hall to the room at the end, passing a few closed doors on the way. Seff was stretched out on a twin bed in the center of the room. It was exactly like a hospital room, right down to the beeping monitors and sterile, medical smell.

  There were chairs haphazardly surrounding the bed. It was clear the room had held several visitors before, but they were absent now. That both comforted and bothered her. She was grateful to see that these people had been there trying to help Seff. But, had they left to keep from overwhelming her or to avoid her? She shook the thoughts from her head. She needed to get to Seff’s side.

  He was still so small and fragile looking, but his color had returned to a small degree. He wasn’t quite as pale as before. She saw his arm was in a cast and knew his midsection would be bandaged as well. Everything seemed professional and an IV was hanging next to the bed, with a clear fluid dripping steadily. She had worried nonstop that Seff wouldn’t have the care he needed, but that was clearly not the case. Clearly, their “healer” was an actual doctor. Now, Seff just needed to wake up.

  She heard the old man shuffling back down the hall. He was leaving her and Seff alone. She had to admit she preferred it that way. She just felt like theirs was a private friendship that no one else would quite understand. Of course, that was mostly due to Seff’s secrecy. It made no difference; she was here to help him.

  “Seff,” she said quietly, “It’s Jaisey. I’m here.”

  She paused, but there was no response.

  Well, she hadn’t really thought it would be that easy. She’d hoped, but that was all she seemed to have these last few days anyway. She leaned in closer and touched his cheek gently, moving his hair back from his forehead.

  “Seff, you need to wake up. I know you’re in there and I know you can hear me. Everyone’s waiting for you to wake up.” She paused, thinking of what to say.

  “You know, I’m a little put out with you. I can’t believe after all the things I confided in you, here you had a secret as big as a village.” She smiled to herself, “Would you believe that they brought me here to you? After all your secrecy, they broke the secret – not you.”

  She thought she heard a chuckle from down the hall, but glancing she saw no one. The old man? Could he hear her? She shook her head, turning her attention back to Seff.

  “So, you know I only have about a month before I have to go. I sure hope you wake up soon so we can hang out some more. I miss you.” The sadness was creeping into her voice. She stopped it immediately. If he could truly hear her, he needed something positive; something to give him a path back.

  “I still owe you from our game too, remember? You need to pick something for me to do. Although I think that fighting off a wolf for you should really give me an out.” She sighed heavily.

  “Why were you out there anyway, Seff? You said you weren’t going to come over for several days.” She stopped herself again. She didn’t want to blame him for what happened. This was clearly her fault. He wouldn’t have been out there if she had just stayed at the cabin.

  She started again, “So… I made it to the bluff. I managed to say my goodbyes to my mom. I thought I was going to spread her ashes, but in the end, I couldn’t. I think she’ll be happy just being wherever I am. Or maybe it’s that I’ll be happy just having her wherever I am.”

  She stopped. Had Seff moved? She refocused and started again, “If you’ll just open your eyes for me, I’ll make you any sweet treat you want.” Yes! His finger moved slightly. Was that normal? She looked around. Where had the old man gone?

  “I saw that Seff… I know you’re trying to get to me… come on… you can do it,” she encouraged. But nothing more happened. She was flooded with disappointment. She knew she had seen him move.

  “Oh Seff, you just have to wake up. I can’t even explain it, but if you don’t wake up…” she muffled a sob. She put her head down on the bed and started crying. She’d felt such a relief to see him, but now she felt so helpless. She didn’t know what to do. She had come to care for this boy the way she would a family member. She’d lost enough – she couldn’t lose him too.

  “Don’t cry, Jaisey,” a familiar voice said quietly. Almost so quiet she didn’t hear it. Her head snapped up and she found herself looking into his golden eyes. He was awake! The relief made the tears flow even faster. She heard the old man shuffling down the hallway. At the same time, a door shut and then a loud cheer rang out from outside.

  So, they had been listening and hoping. She couldn’t pull her eyes from his. He was awake and looking at her with that same expression of concern.

  “Knock it off Seff! I’m not the one that almost got eaten by a wolf!” she said irritably.

  The old man chuckled from behind her. He worked his way around the chairs to Seff’s other side. He listened to Seff’s heart and checked his pulse. He shined a light in the boy’s eyes and made Seff answer a few questions, but the whole time, Seff just stared into Jaisey’s eyes. He was back. She was sure of it.

  She smiled and then looked up again. The hallway was filling with people headed to his room. It looked like the whole village was headed in to see him. People began crowding around and Jaisey suddenly felt very self-conscious.

  This was a moment for Seff and his family. She didn’t belong here. Seff had torn his eyes from her to smile at his friends and they were all babbling on and on about different things.

  Jaisey rose and ducked out as inconspicuously as she could. There was no one out front so she just headed back toward her Jeep. She had done what she had come to do. Seff would be just fine. She felt another release of emotion coming and barely made it to the Jeep before it hit.

  She felt such a sense of gratitude that he had survived. Seff would be the miracle that she was owed for losing her mother.

  It’s enough, she thought.

  The tears were streaming down her face. She slumped next to the Jeep and put her head in her hands and cried, but this time, they were tears of joy.

  She was unsure how long she sat there crying, but she soon felt worn. The day was getting late and she had been through such emotional turmoil.

  Time to go, she thought with a sigh.

  She wished she had said goodnight to Seff, but she didn’t feel comfortable going back with all the people there. For some reason, they had an aversion to her, and she didn’t want to make them uncomfortable any longer than necessary.

  She started to get in her Jeep, but she heard a soft sound behind her. Caleb, the one who’d brought her, was there.

  “Seff wants you to come back and say goodnight before you leave,” he said softly. “You know… you are actually welcome here.”

  While she was sure he was exaggerating that point, she was grateful she would get to go say goodbye to Seff.

  She followed him once again back to the little house. There was no one outside, so she worried that they were all still in the room. But thankfully, no one but Seff was there. A look of relief crossed his features. What was it with this kid?

  “I’m fine. I just didn’t want to get in the way of your well-wishers,” she explained.

  He smiled a bit and then frowned, “You look awful. Are you sick?”

  She had to smile, “No. I’m fine Seff. I was just worried about you. I didn’t know…” she stopped, trying to keep the tears from welling up again.

  “Yeah, I heard about the reception you were given. I’m sorry about that Jaisey. No one should have been rude to you. But don’t worry, it won’t happen again. You can come and visit whenever you want now.” He smiled.

  “How do you feel?” she asked, trying to divert his attention.

  “I’m fine and don’t think you are changing the subject. You don’t have any cookies on you this
time,” he smiled again, but then looked hopeful, “Do you?”

  She had to laugh. Leave it to Seff to want food the minute he could open his mouth.

  He smiled warmly again. “I mean it. You have to come back and visit again. Aatu says I have to stay in bed a few days to let my stitches heal more. I can’t even think about being bedridden unless you promise to visit.” He smiled evilly, “If you don’t, I’ll assume something is wrong and I’ll have to get up to come looking for you. Don’t think I won’t.”

  She took the threat seriously. She knew he would do just that. Stupid kid! She gave him an exasperated sigh, rolled her eyes and replied, “Fine, but you’re really messing with my busy schedule.”

  He laughed and then a look of pain crossed his face. “Ow! Don’t make me laugh!”

  She smiled again, “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

  “Promise?” he glared at her.

  “Yes,” she said with a chuckle.

  He looked thoughtful for a minute and then smiled again, “So remember our game? You asked if I’d ever had any broken bones. Well, guess what?” He grinned and held up his casted right arm.

  She shook her head, “That is so not funny Seff!”

  He grinned even wider. The kid was demented.

  She leaned over him and kissed him on the forehead. “See you tomorrow,” she said affectionately.

  He smiled back, and then closed his eyes.

  She wandered back toward the Jeep not really paying attention this time if anyone was watching. She was just so happy that they were going to let her see him again. She had almost reached Yellow Jeep when she had the feeling someone was watching her.

  She turned to see a man standing several houses down in the shadow of his porch. She couldn’t see his features, but it was clear he was watching her. She watched him for a moment, wondering if he wanted something. Her eyes searched the darkness where his eyes would be. Feeling suddenly drawn to him, she wanted to close the distance between them. She held herself in place with effort. He didn’t move to approach her either.

  Feeling ridiculous, she turned and climbed into Yellow Jeep to head back to the cabin. The passenger door opened unexpectedly, making her jump.