Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (23 page)

               
“You need to stop.”

               
Slowly, Damien brings his lips to hers and kisses her.  It’s soft but
electrically charged.  Kayla falls against him. 

They kiss each other,
tasting cake, until Damien pulls away.  “That was probably a little too
forward.  You’re so beautiful.”

               
Kayla exhales against his lips. “Uh-huh.”

               
“I really want to take you on a date, but that may have to wait.  You
can’t be out in public for the next week or so,” Damien murmurs, wiping cake
off her face with his thumb.  He takes the washcloth from her hand and
starts to clean her up.

               
 “What do you mean?”

               
“We have to make sure you don’t shift again, so we’ll keep you indoors. 
Well, we may be able to take you to Jackson’s.  You know what, I’ll cook
for you, make us dinner.  That can be our date.”

               
“I kind of like that idea.  Can we eat by candlelight?”

               
“Sure,” Damien replies, wiping cake off her forehead.

               
She grabs his shirt and pulls him down to her.  Trying not to laugh, she
licks his cheek.  “Mmmm, good cake,” she hums.

               
Damien chuckles. “See, that’s what I was saying.”  He turns around and
rinses the washcloth.

               
Looking at him, Kayla says, “You’re really nice.”

               
“Thank you, I try.”

               
“Can I ask you a question?” Kayla whispers. “Kind of an awkward question.”

               
Laughing, Damien retorts, “Uh-oh, go ahead.  You can always ask me
anything.”

               
“You seem so nice, but you also sound like a player.  Are you putting on a
show for me?”

               
“No,” Damien replies, meeting her gaze.  “Listen, I have expectations from
my parents.  One day, I will take my father’s place.  I have to do so
many things before then.  I’m supposed to behave a certain way.  If
I’m going to seriously date a girl, my parents have to approve her.  It
was really infuriating for a long time, so I chose to rebel in the only way I
felt would hurt them.  Sadly, they didn’t really care what I did with
human women.”

               
Kayla nods. “It’s awful, but it kind of makes sense at the same time.” 
She pauses for a second and then takes a deep breath. “One more question,
because I have to ask.”

               
“All right,” Damien says, wiping her face with a wet washcloth.

               
“Have you been with one of our own kind?”

               
He takes the washcloth away and looks down.  “Well...yes.”

               
“Ah, so it wouldn’t even be special your first time with your wife.”

               
Damien looks back up at her with a kind expression.  “No, it would because
it would be the first time I would be in love, or so I hope.”

               
“You’re only seventeen, you shouldn’t be this experienced.”

               
“I know that.” Damien sighs, wiping the last of the cake away from her
face.  “It’s not a good thing at all.”  He locks his eyes onto
hers.  “Is this going to make you view me differently, because I really
hope it
doesn’t.
”

               
She shakes her head. “No, I mean, I guess that’s how it is in this day and age,
but I want you to realize something.”

               
“What’s that?” Damien asks, starting to wipe cake off of his own face.

               
Taking the washcloth away from him, she returns the favor and cleans his
face.  “The thing is, I want you to realize I won’t just sleep with
you.  No matter how hard you try or what you do to try and change my
mind.”

               
“I wasn’t even thinking about that.  Wanting to date you is a whole
different experience for me.  I want to take this seriously, for the first
time in my life.  I want to try and really get to know someone.”

               
“Well then,” Kayla replies, smiling, “I think I’ll like that.”

               
Locking his eyes on hers, Damien says, “You really are beautiful you know.”

               
Diverting her eyes from his, Kayla shakes her head.  “No, I’m pretty, not
beautiful.  Beautiful is for super models and great actresses.”

               
“No, Kayla, stop.  Take the honest comment for what it’s worth. 
You’re beautiful.  Both Jackson and I think that, and I have a feeling,
from what Jackson has told me, that Jude guy has a thing for you too.”

               
With a huge grin, Kayla retorts, “I do have to admit, I
loved
that you
punched him.  I shouldn’t and it’s wrong, I know that, but it was
hilarious
.”

               
Damien laughs.  “I know, it wasn’t good, but I couldn’t very well have him
say that to you.  A guy should never talk to a girl like that, especially
with what Jackson told me.  Jude grabbed you; I should’ve knocked him
out.”

               
“No, that would be going too far.”

               
A knock on the door interrupts their solitude.  “You guys are really quiet
in there, and I don’t think I want to know what you’re doing.”

               
“Just licking the cake off of her,” Damien yells through the door.

               
“What!”

               
Kayla playfully smacks Damien.  “Not even, we aren't doing anything.”

               
“Now,” Damien whispers with a smirk, making Kayla blush.

               
“Whatever,” Jackson mumbles through the door.  “We need to get her ready
so we can train her.”

               
Damien reaches over and opens the door.  Jackson’s body fills the doorway,
still covered in cake.  “You need to get cleaned up too.” Kayla laughs at
him.

               
Jackson smiles. “There will be payback.”

               
“I don’t doubt that.  I’ll go shower, so I can be
trained
, whatever
that means.  Do I get a prize if I do well?  Like a dog?”

               
“Sure,” Damien replies.  “We’ll do something cool.”

               
Kayla grins.  “Awesome.  I’m going to take a shower.  Jackson,
there are washcloths and soap in here.  I’m sorry I don’t have clothes for
you.  I can put both your shirts in the washer.”

               
With one swift movement, Damien takes his off.  Kayla’s eyes widen,
because she wasn’t really expecting him to. “Here you go,” he chirps.

               
“Okay,” Kayla barely squeaks.

               
Jackson sighs, taking his shirt off. “You may as well wash mine too.”

               
All Kayla can think is, Dear Lord have mercy on me.  “Okay.” Kayla
gulps.  “Let me go put these in the machine and I’ll shower.”

               
“Do you need help?” Damien quips.

               
“No, she doesn’t,” Jackson retorts, almost sharply.

               
Damien rolls his eyes.  “I was joking.  Really, Jackson?”

               
“Okay, I’m going now,” Kayla whispers, turning to walk away.  She exhales
and mutters under her breath, “I’m in trouble.”

               
“Okay, what exactly does this training entail?” Kayla asks.  “Do I turn
into a dog and you pat me on the head?”

               
Damien laughs. “Yes, that’s exactly what we do.  Good girl, good Kayla.”

               
“Shut up.  I’ll bite you.”

               
“I only want that if you’re human.  Dog bites suck.”

               
Kayla rolls her eyes.  “Okay, what do I do?”

               
“Sit down,” Jackson instructs.

               
“Sit?”

               
He nods his head. “Yes, sit down.  We need to find your balance before you
jump headfirst into shifting.”

               
“All righty,” Kayla says, sitting on the floor of the living room. 

               
Jackson and Damien follow her.  They both cross their legs and look at
her.  Jackson asks, “Have you ever meditated?”

               
“Nope,” Kayla replies.

               
“Oh boy,” Jackson sighs. “Okay, close your eyes.”

               
She does and then opens one. “Now what?”

               
“Keep your eyes closed,” Jackson snaps.  She closes them and waits. 
“Now, I want you to do what I say.  Take in a deep breath and then exhale;
deep breath and then exhale; deep breath and then exhale.”  Kayla sort of
follows his instructions, but she just wants to laugh.  “Kayla,” Jackson
sighs.  “You need to be serious.”

               
“Wait,” Damien says. “I
’
ll
do this.”  He jumps up and walks over to Kayla.  He sits down behind
her.  “Here, scoot back against me.”  Kayla complies and Damien
straddles his legs around her, pressing himself against her back.  It
makes Kayla all too aware of him being there.  “Now,” he says, “close your
eyes. Okay, deep breaths again.”  Kayla inhales, but this time she can
feel Damien breathing against her back.

               
They sit there for a few minutes regulating their breathing.  “Okay,”
Jackson says softly.  “I want you to clear your mind.  Totally empty
it.”  With the rhythmical breathing, Kayla easily relaxes.  “Now,
what I want you to do is feel your energy.  It’s coursing through you all
the time.  Try to remember that feeling when you shifted.  Don’t try
to shift, just think of that energy.”

               
Kayla concentrates on what she is feeling. A blue light starts to shimmer in
her vision.  “What in the…I see light.”

               
“All right, that’s good,” Damien whispers gently behind her.  “Now,
concentrate on the light.”

               
As Kayla focuses, the light gets brighter and closer.  Then it’s like it
pulls her in.  When she puts her arms up to resist, she realizes she can
now see herself.  A shining blue wave runs across her skin. 
Suddenly, she is sucked through the light and thrust forward on her hands and
knees.

               
When she looks up, her breath vanishes.  Light surrounds her, nothing
else, just light.  Kayla can’t see a floor, walls...anything.  “Don’t
freak out,” she hears from behind her.

               
She spins to find Jackson behind her.  “What…where are we?” she asks.

               
“A different plane of existence,” Jackson replies.  “This is where our
energy sits.”

               
“Like heaven?”

               
Jackson laughs. “I don’t know.  I haven’t been there yet.  This is
where you can come to replenish your energy.  Sleep usually recharges us,
but this can do it too.  It also helps keep your energy in check so you
don’t shift accidently.  You’ll be doing this four or five times a
day.  If you feel like you may start to shift, you can sit down and
meditate.  It will help.”

               
“So if I’m in the mall, I’m supposed to sit down and meditate on the floor?”
Kayla asks, trying not to giggle.

               
“That is why you won’t be out of the house for a week or so.”

               
Kayla reaches her hand out. “Can I touch you?”

               
He brings his hand out to meet hers.  Their fingers touch and Kayla
smiles.  Jackson wraps his fingers through hers.  “Yeah, you can
touch anyone in here.”

               
“You can do…anything?”

               
“Mmhmm,” Jackson hums in reply.  He stands there for a second just holding
her hand.  “Kayla…” he starts.  “I…I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

               
She looks down. “It’s all right.  I made a snarky comment.”

               
“That doesn’t matter,” Jackson whispers, stroking his thumb against her
skin.  “I can’t treat you that way.”

               
Stepping forward, Kayla brings him closer.  “I just wish you would tell me
why you fight it so hard.”

               
Exhaling loudly, Jackson states, “It’s complicated.  One day I will tell
you, if you don’t figure it out on your own.”

               
Suddenly, they hear, “See, you did it.  Good job, Kayla!”

               
Jackson and Kayla quickly step back from each other.  “Yeah,” Jackson
almost spits out.

               
“Did you show her anything?” Damien asks.

               
“No, I thought that would be a little much for her first time.”

               
Kayla looks at Damien. “What do you mean show me?”

               
“Well, the cool thing about being here,” Damien says, “is that you can go
wherever you want.  You have to have been there before or have seen it.”

               
“It doesn’t actually take you to that place,” Jackson interjects.  “It’s
not a transporter, but you can create your own world.”

               
Confused, Kayla says, “I don’t get it.”

               
“Here,” Damien retorts.  “I’ll show you.”

               
In an instant, trees surround them and Kayla recognizes that they appear to be
in the woods outside her house. “This is weird.”

               
“It will be at first,” Jackson states.  “We try to take baby steps, but
obviously Damien wants to throw you in headfirst.”

               
“We're looking at what Damien wants to see.  How does he control
that?  Can you overpower him?”

               
With a groan, Jackson answers, “No, he’s too strong, but let’s say, if you were
going to do it right now, I would be able to overpower you.”

               
“So everyone comes to this plane of existence.  Why aren’t we seeing
anyone else?”

               
“It’s who you want to see,” Jackson replies.  “We are all meeting here
together.”

               
Kayla frowns. “So you don’t have any privacy?”

               
“Once you get stronger, you can block out whomever you want,” Jackson states.

               
Suddenly, Jackson disappears.  Kayla shrieks and looks at Damien.  He
smiles in return.  “Like he said, he can’t overpower me.”

               
“What?  Where is he?” Kayla exclaims.

               
“I don’t know,” Damien replies.  “Either sitting by himself here, or he
snapped back into your living room.”

               
Kayla crosses her arms.  “That is really rude.”

               
“It’s a male domination thing.  He would do it if he could.  I think
we need a different view.”  Suddenly the woods disappear and they are on a
cliff.  Ocean waves crash onto the rocks below them.

               
“Whoa!” Kayla yells, taking a huge step back.  “Where are we?”

               
“On the shores of Ireland, I always find it serene and beautiful.”

               
Inching toward the edge, Kayla says, “Can I fall?”

               
“Not really, though if we could, Jackson would probably push me over the
ledge.”

               
Kayla laughs.  “Sometimes I think he would push me.”

               
“No, he likes you, Kayla, he really does.  He lets himself get in the
way.”

               
“Mmm, Jackson and I will get through this as long as nothing romantic happens
between us,” Kayla murmurs, looking farther over the edge.

               
Damien walks up next to her.  “Do you like Jackson in that way?”

               
“I’m not allowed to.” 

               
“That didn’t exactly answer my question.  I do have true interest in you,
Kayla. There are a lot of reasons why, but I won’t lie, some of it has to do
with my family.  I want to get that out there before we go any
further.  And I don’t really want to compete with Jackson if you have
feelings for him.”

               
Turning to him, Kayla asks, “I don’t know what I feel for Jackson, apart from
fury.  What does your family have to do with it?”

               
“It’s your bloodline.”

               
She throws her hands up.  “My stupid bloodline again. What about it now?”

               
Damien holds his hands behind him and looks out over the ocean.  “I am of
the council’s line, the Merjyet line.  They want to keep that line as powerful
as possible.”

               
“The Meeerrr what, huh?”

               
Laughing, Damien enunciates, “Merjyet, it’s what you would call the royal
family.”

               
“Okay, I told you I’m bad at foreign languages.  We’ll call it the Mer
line,” Kayla mumbles.

               
“Fine. My family wants me to marry someone who is a powerhouse of our species.”

               
Kayla nods.  “Because I can change into anything, they want you to marry
me.  Is that why you’re here?”

               
“That’s why they sent me, yes.” Damien sighs.  He turns and looks at
her.  “Kayla, I didn’t come here with the expectation of marrying
you.  I came to appease my father and the council.  They weren’t
happy to find out that there was a girl in your bloodline they didn’t know
about, let alone had no idea what she was.”

               
“Are my parents in trouble?” Kayla whispers, not hiding her worry.

               
“Not like you think.  They were called before the council to explain
themselves.  The worst that would happen is that you would be taken away
from your parents.”

               
Kayla’s eyes widen. “What!  I can’t lose my
family.”            

               
“You wouldn’t lose them.  They would still be your parents.  You
would just be under the protection and guidance of the council.”

               
“So I’d have to live with a group of strangers and learn how to become a bunch
of animals?  What about school?  What about my life!  I love my
life here.  I don’t want to go anywhere.  Wait until I’m done with
school and then take me to some alien college.”

               
Damien grabs her arms.  “Listen, Kayla, if they put you with anyone, it
will be me.  I won’t make you go anywhere.  You can stay here. 
I would not want to destroy your life.  I only want to make it better.”

               
“What about Yale?  You can’t put your dreams aside because of me.”

               
“If you are going to be an important part of my life, like I hope, then we will
attend a college together.  It’s my duty to see you through this. 
It’s my duty to the council and also to you.”

               
Kayla looks at him thoughtfully. “You’d do that for me?”

               
“Yes, if you would let me try.  That’s all that I ask, is to try. 
I’m not asking you to kneel with me on the floor, I’m not tying your wrist with
flowers, I am just asking for you to give me a chance.”

               
With a smile, Kayla says, “What would you be doing with my wrist?”

               
“For our species, proposing is asking the other person to get down on their
knees.  Whoever is proposing takes a string of flowers and wraps it around
the other’s wrist.  If that person accepts, the flowers will bloom to
life.  It is quite magical and beautiful.  I’ve seen it twice.”

               
“That sounds perfect!  How wonderful!  What about rings?  What
do you wear to show signs of marriage?”

               
“Once you connect your energy like that, when you touch your right hands
together, you can make them glow.  It’s a sign of affection, but nothing
other than that, especially since we live here now.  There’

s
also an exchange of rings.  The
male gives the female the ring of their family, signifying that she’s joining
that line.”

               
“It sounds enchanting. Now it makes me want to marry one of our own species.”

               
Damien takes her hands and brings them up to his face.  He gently kisses
them and then looks into her eyes. “I want to see where this takes us. 
You are so smart and wonderful.  You’re incredibly fun and have a great
sense of humor.  Most of all you are a beautiful girl, both inside and
out.  I’m drawn to you, even though we just met.”