Shifting Currents (2 page)

“What will you offer for this shepherd dog? Its breed is called a Great Pyrenees. She’s a female and probably fertile.”

“Five pounds of coffee and three pounds of tea,” a young man said.

The crowd whooped, and a voice shouted out, “Dog that big will eat you for breakfast.”

“No, no,” the farmer said. “This is a very docile animal.” He had to yell over the jeers and catcalls. “She’s only a bit skittish because of all the people here.”

“Three woven wool blankets,” a woman said from the crowd.

Bethany looked over in interest. She would like to barter for those blankets. The Connecticut nights were much different from the Floridian mugginess, and she still felt the chill in her bones, even though it was nearing five years since she’d traveled away from the Orange Grove tribe and her brother.

“Five turkeys and seven rabbits,” Keith said.

Bethany felt that now familiar pain, and she looked over to see Keith looking proud and happy in his wedding regalia with his lovely bride hanging on his arm.

She has a big nose, Bethany thought. And a grating giggle.

“Buy her for me! We can breed her with one of our shepherds.”

The dog whimpered and sank down on its haunches. The eagle squawked. Bethany looked from the dog to the eagle and back to the happy couple.

“Two hours of watching a movie of your choice, six hours of music, and an hour of a video game.”

The crowd grew silent, and the farmer nearly tripped over himself and the dog to hand her the reins. “Sold, Lady Tech, sold.”

Keith shot her a narrowed glare. She nodded at him, turning away before hearing his answer to his bride’s shrill question “Who is she?”

Bethany was already cursing herself for ten kinds of a fool when the dog tried to make a break for it again. It weighed about as much as she did.

“Look,” Bethany gritted out. “If I let go, you may make it into the woods. But there are more hunters here than in a normal tribe, and not only will they find you, but they’ll drag you back and maybe even hurt you. Not to mention they’ll make me pay an even steeper price to get you back.”

The dog settled somewhat.

“I’m not a complete idiot. Or maybe I am. But I think you’re a Shifter and so is that big eagle. I don’t know your situation, but maybe I can help. I’ve got a room in the Tech cabins. I can make sure you have a hot bath and some clothes. Then you can go on your way. I won’t tell anyone. Hell, the look on that bimbo’s face was worth the energy I’m going to have to expend to pay for your freedom.”

The dog looked back at her with surprised eyes.

“My brother was a Shifter.” Bethany looked away. “He went feral. He liked to shift into a dog to spy on people. Then he started shifting to a wolf. Then a bear…” Bethany sighed. “Never mind.”

The dog whimpered.

“Yeah, it was a long time ago. But I still miss him enough to see Shifters in every animal that comes by. I’m usually wrong.”

They walked in relative peace toward the Tech cabins. She sensed the eagle was following them, catching a glimpse of his wing or profile as he skimmed the trees. The dog barked at something behind her, and Bethany turned. The cabins were in sight, and the only people crazy enough to bother Techs at work or at play were people who wanted to hire them. Or in this case, old boyfriends.

Keith looked annoyed at having his stealthy approach shattered and tried to cover it up by speaking harshly. “You did that just to be spiteful. What do you need with a dog? It doesn’t plug in.”

“Where’s the little woman?” she asked, trying not to search his craggy face for a sign of affection. He had the greenest eyes she’d ever seen, and Bethany had overlooked a lot of his faults just for a chance to look into them. She was such a fool. Maybe Maya had told him to sleep with her too. That thought made her dizzy and ill, like how she felt when she drew in too much energy and channeled it into a machine to make it run.

“She’s still at the auction. I told her I would see if I could convince you to sell the dog.”

“Nope.” Bethany turned around. The dog growled deep in her throat when Keith grabbed her arm.

“It’s not my fault she picked me out of all the eligible men in the tribe,” he said.

“You could have said no,” Bethany said. “If you wanted to.”

Keith’s eyes slid away from her. “We weren’t exclusive.”

“You weren’t exclusive,” she reminded him. The Bluff tribe wasn’t so big she didn’t know where he spent some of his nights. Still, she hadn’t cared as long as he came back to her. Maybe that was pathetic, but it was nice to have someone hold you as you fell asleep—even if it was only three nights out of seven.

“You’re a little creepy,” he said. “I’m sorry. I said it. You blink and lights flash. You get excited and the radio turns on.”

Bethany felt her cheeks grow hot. Of all the things she was expecting, this attack wasn’t one of them. “So? You can sight down a deer at a hundred yards.”

“That’s a normal skill. Your skill didn’t exist B.M.”

“You didn’t exist before the meteor,” she said bitterly. She had been born the year of the meteor, which was now thought of as a bad omen to have hanging over one’s life. Her brother had only been ten when the meteor destroyed the world, but he’d made sure she knew how it used to be.

However when he hit puberty, Daniel turned into a dog. Apparently, that hadn’t happened B.M., but it happened plenty afterward. Something about the strike on the Earth had awakened something inside humans. It made some of them…different.

They hadn’t been separated once they were found by the other survivors. And she’d been lucky to have her brother while she was growing up. When her powers sprouted at puberty, Daniel told her that they would be superheroes. It didn’t turn out that way. Shifters were treated as enforcers, brutal beasts to protect and intimidate in some cases. And Techs, well depending on the chief, Techs could be a home entertainment system or a research assistant. It wasn’t as glamorous a life as she had been hoping for.

“Yeah, well, that’s another thing.”

“What? My age? I’m sorry I’m not a young, blushing virgin, but I got news for you, pal, not a lot of people are.”

“Don’t talk about my wife like that.”

His possessiveness pained her. Had anyone ever stuck up for her? Or her brother? The closest she could remember was lowered gazes and a shuffling of feet. They were too afraid to be painted with the “creepy” brush for speaking up for someone not completely human by the Norm’s standards.

“I wasn’t talking about her. Look, congratulations. Best wishes and all that. Have a nice life.” Bethany started to walk away.

“I promised her I would get her the dog. It’s our wedding day. I can’t go back on a promise.” He smiled at her, showing the two dimples in his cheek that she thought gave him a roguish air. He was really attractive. Too bad he was such an ass. Actually, the more he pushed, the less she hurt.

Bethany stopped in her tracks. “How badly do you want the dog?”

“I’ll do anything.”

“Would you continue to sleep with me?”

Keith grinned even as the dog made urgent sounds. “Sure, but only if we keep it a secret.”

Bethany shook her head. “So much for the promise of being faithful. Congratulations. You just broke your second promise to your bride today.”

“You’re a desperate old maid. Not too pretty and a little weird. I’m young, handsome, and broke up with you. There’s not a person here who will believe you,” he sneered at her.

“They don’t have to,” she said and took out a pocket tape recorder. She pressed Play, and his voice said, “Sure, but only if we keep it a secret.”

“You little bitch,” he said. He made to grab it, but the dog got between them, and its growls impressed even Bethany.

“Now, get lost before I play it on the loudspeakers,” Bethany said.

“Why are you being so mean?” Keith tried out his green eyes on her. Bethany looked at him and felt nothing. It was a relief.

“I’m weird that way,” she said, using his words back at him.

“Look, I’ll get my way anyway when we come back to the tribe. It’s not like you’re going to be sleeping with the mutt. You don’t relate well with animals. You scare them when you reach for the Tech. She’ll come around when it’s a choice between dried meats or fresh kills that I can provide. You’ll see. I’m just trying to get you something for your trade. What do you say, the turkeys and rabbits for the dog? I’ll even smoke the meat for you so it’ll keep longer.”

Bethany ignored him and continued on to the Tech cabins. “That’s what I get for sleeping someone ten years younger than me,” she said to the dog. “Thirty isn’t old. And I’d rather be weird than married to him. For what it’s worth.”

“I didn’t ask you,” he called after her.

“Maya didn’t tell you to,” she countered back and felt that same dizzy illness when he didn’t deny it. Maya was a good chief. She knew how to keep her people happy and productive members of the community. Apparently men like Keith and Lem didn’t mind selling themselves for power. There was a logical part of her deep inside that knew Keith was not her mate, but still Bethany was going to miss that little thing he did with his tongue.

No one glanced up at her when she walked into the Tech cabin. Computers were lined up against the walls, and there were people in various forms of relaxing. Someone had put on a pop album, and even though no one grumbled about it, Bethany could tell it wasn’t a favorite. But when it wasn’t your energy you were channeling into the DVD player, it was all ice cream.

“In here,” she said and led the dog into her room. She shut the door behind her. Walking into the bathroom, Bethany concentrated. The water coming out of the faucet gradually became warmer. She could feel the background pull of the Techs assigned to the job to heat the ancient water heater. Reminding herself to check the duty log and see when she had to sit a turn, Bethany concentrated harder. She had to sit down and rest her head on the sink by the time the water had filled the tub. Even with all the Techs keeping the unit running, it was still old and needed more energy to jump-start the heat. But hot water that didn’t come out of a hide bag heated by the sun was pure bliss. The dog jumped in, soaking Bethany and the floor.

“Okay, I guess you needed a bath either way.” She got up and rummaged through her cubby hole. “Here’s a dress I bought when I thought I might have a date, and some soap made by Lelinda. It smells like honey and almonds.” Bethany held it out to the dog, who licked it. “Yuck.” Bethany snatched it away and put it out of licking distance. “Anyway, I’d lend you jeans, but I’m not sure what size you are. Of course, if you really are a dog, that will change the plans somewhat, and I’m going to feel like an idiot. I’m going to get changed for dinner. Take your time.”

Bethany stripped out of her wet jacket and cargo pants and looked at her rangy frame in the mirror. She had good muscle tone. Sleeping with a hunter made sure she had plenty of protein, and she was lucky to be able to barter playing opera music records on the milkmaid’s record player for a bottle of milk every day. Her brother taught her the importance of trading looters for medicine, so she was in good health all around, although she thought the vitamins were a waste of energy. The mirror was dusty, and she used her soaked clothes to wipe the image so she could see her face a little better. She grinned and noted her teeth were good. Keith was right, though; there wasn’t anything special about her looks. Her eyes and hair were the same color brown as dirt, but at least she didn’t have any grey hairs yet. And her nose wasn’t crooked.

Have fun kissing around that beak, she thought sourly about Keith’s bride, whose name she still hadn’t bothered finding out.

Bethany changed into a pair of jeans and a thick wool sweater. She’d wash her other clothes in the tub, if it wasn’t too dirty after her Shifter was through with it. Plaiting her hair off her face in a sloppy yet functional braid, Bethany lay down on the bed and tried to clear her mind. She channeled a lot of energy for the tape recorder and for the hot water, and she felt a little thin. Bethany slipped off into a light doze, helped by a kind soul who replaced the pop music with some pleasant instrumental.

About an hour later, Bethany woke up feeling a little disoriented. The music playing was now had a deep bassline that made her think of sex, which was depressing because it didn’t look like she was going to have a bed partner tonight. Forcing herself up, she knocked on the bathroom door. The Shifter should be ready by now. When there wasn’t an answer, she cautiously peered inside. The wet dog stared dejectedly at her.

“Oh well, it was worth a shot.”

Bethany tried not to feel like a moron when she leaned over and started soaping the dog up. It took another hour to rinse and dry the dog, and the sopping wet chamois cloths she used for the job were aromatic to say the least. She hung them and her wet clothes outside to dry and changed her clothes for a second time while the dog padded happily after her.

“This is my last outfit, aside from that dumb dress you’re not wearing. Can we try and keep it presentable until the rest of my stuff dries?” Bethany repacked her knapsack. She checked to make sure the safety was still on her pistol and the box of bullets still dry. The pistol was worth a lot of livestock and other goodies on the open market. The bullets even more so, but that wasn’t why she kept it. It had been her father’s. He had been a policeman, and if he survived the earthquake and tsunami that overtook Florida, they had never seen him again. They travelled with another band of survivors. Daniel said their mother had been trampled before his eyes. She survived the impact, only to die a few months later. The Orange Grove tribe adopted them and everyone took a hand in raising them. Bethany didn’t remember either of her parents. But sometimes she thought she could, based on the stories Daniel would tell.

The pistol was loaded, and she knew how to use it. Daniel had taught her as their father had taught him. She didn’t expect trouble, but Maya had been right. Techs were kidnapped by other tribes during conclaves. By the time they were released, they were too far away from home to do anything but settle in with the new tribe. Although Bethany had a feeling she wouldn’t put up too much of a struggle if her last conversation with Keith was any idea on how living in the tribe with him and his bride were going to be. Maybe it was time to move on again. But where? She didn’t want to go back to Florida. Too many bad memories. Maybe she’d head west, like Daniel always talked about. He wanted to walk from one end of the country to the other to see what it looked like. Just set his compass and keep walking. Bethany snorted; yeah, she’d last about three days before she starved to death. Keith had one thing right. She was a bad hunter and a worse gatherer. Her head was stuck in the clouds or listening to radio waves that only she and the other Techs could hear without a device.