Chapter 28
For the last two months, Brynna had thrown herself into working on anything she could to keep her mind occupied and empty of worrying thoughts. This is why she hated being away from Shona for so long. It distracted her to the point she was near useless in some situations and Brynna was the type of woman who abhorred being useless.
She grunted as she took another swing at Donovan who expertly parried the attack and swiftly landed his own across the blonde's shoulder.
"Very distracted, you are. On your mind, Shona is?" Donovan tried making his sister-in-law laugh with his Yoda impression but she was too caught up in her own head and the much-needed sparring session.
Brynna cursed silently as her arm numbed consequently making her drop her sword and change tactics. She side-rolled when Donovan brought down another swing and kicked out hard, knocking the weapon from his hand. He laughed and rubbed his wrist slightly before gaining better footing when Brynna came at him in a charge. She managed to knock him over and as soon as his back hit the ground, she moved into position to immobilize him.
"What do ye think?" Brynna asked the question rhetorically as she frogged Donovan's arm before grappling with him. He managed to throw her off just by his superior height, muscle, and weight and made a moved to put her into a lock. Unfortunately for him, Brynna moves faster and hurriedly went for the dagger behind his back. Her deft movements gave Donovan no idea that she had taken it and before he knew what was happening, she had kicked his legs out from him and placed the blade to his throat.
"I hate when she's gone. I can't think straight." She took the blade away from his neck and handed it hilt-first to him. It signaled the end of the sparring session and they went to sit on the old metal chairs the found when cleaning the place up. Donovan handed her a bottle of water and they sat their just watching the noon sun. They had always done this, just sit in silence until one of them feel like talking out their bottle feelings. Since her best friend married her sister, they hadn't been able to do this for a while.
"Have you talked to Lorna about those security cams Kenzi wants put in?" Donovan begins, starting off light.
"No. She seems to be holing up with Kieran more lately. I haven't seen much of them at all."
"That's because they aren't them." Brynna look confused at Donovan. Before she could ask him what that meant, he had the dagger in his hand and buried the blade in her chest.
Brynna awoke with a gasp, sweat dripping from her body as she instinctively looked to the now vacant spot in her bed. The blonde sighed heavily wishing Shona were here to help her interpret this and flopped back onto the sweat-soaked sheets. Why did she dream of Donovan stabbing her? Surely after being with them through so much he wouldn't betray them, would he? No he wouldn't. Brynna had known Donovan since they were teenagers and he had helped her push back many of Horvis' armies during the years of war; she trusted him with her life.
Brynna could feel her frustration rising at how bizarre the dream was and decided to see if Shona was up yet. From the gray light barely lighting her room, Brynna thought she might be.
She looked over at the faintly glowing alarm clock and sighed at seeing it was barely past four in the morning. She had to wait another hour before Shona would awaken. And there she went again acting like a sad mutt waiting for her owner to come home.
She knew she wasn't sleeping anymore this morning and thought it would be a good idea to go out to the dusty lot in the back to let off some of her frustrations and then try to call Shona and tell her about what she had dreamed. The blonde grabbed her swords and a pair of dirks, securing them in their respectable positions and headed down the stairs.
She heard a slight whispering coming from in the kitchen as she stepped off the last stair. She realized it was someone calling for her attention and so she cautiously made her way into the kitchen. She grabbed the handle of one of the dirks, flashes of her dream running through her head had her on high alert. She sighed when she saw it was Kenzi and took her hand from her weapon.
"What is it? You're usually not conscious at this hour." Brynna asked, keeping her tone low. She watched the small woman before her check around her and down the halls and possible hiding places before returning her attention to the blonde and answering her questions.
"Freaky shit's been going down with Sexy Librarian and Highlander."
"What do you mean 'freaky shit'? Are Lorna and Kieran alright?" Brynna had long since picked up who the odd woman was referring to when she used her numerous nicknames for them all.
"Last month, Moira and Don saw them going out close to curfew. When they asked them where they were going, they said they were going to talk to Trick about the murders in the surrounding counties. I called up our fav bartender and he told me that the pair hadn't been in since three days before."
"And what do you think is happenin'?"
"I think they're kitsune." Kenzi whispered, eyes shifting back and forth along the room as flashbacks of being trapped by the crazy kitsune came flooding back to her.
"Shape-shifters...Shona had to shut off part of our security system for Dyson to come through." Brynna's eyes widen as the realization that they've been breached by the enemy sunk in.
"Have ye seen any of the others acting strange?" The blonde asked as she handed the short woman one of her daggers, advising her to slip it into her boots or behind her back.
"So far, Trigger-Happy and Dundee are kosher. Its hard to tell with the Lady/Tramp."
"Has she been actually listening to orders lately?" Brynna asked, knowing her younger sister's penchant for disregarding rules.
"Yeah. Yesterday, she actually picked up her clothes from the bathroom floor the first time ever."
"Then she's on the list with Lorna and Kieran. Now my dreams startin' t' make since." Brynna muttered the last part under her breath as she checked the windows surreptitiously. "Have you seen their eyes do anything strange? Shine oddly, shift like Dyson's, glow?"
Kenzi concentrated before shaking her head. "No. Just them being off. So you think its a case of the body-snatchers?"
"Most species of shifters have one singular form while others have a set amount of forms or are only restricted to certain families of animals. Not many can take human form. I know of three species that are extinct, so that leaves very few that could possibly have the power to do this."
"You got a lead on which yet? Does body-snatching count as shifting?"
"If it is a case of body-snatching then they could possibly trick the sensors. The difference between possessing someone's body and taking on their form is certain physical and mental traits are compromised in the disguise."
"So if the body-snatcher had a limp then the person they snatched wouldn't, but a shifter with a limp transformed into a person would still have the limp...right?" Kenzi scratched her head and thought.
"Exactly. When a body-snatcher acquires a body some have the power to access their captives memories. That's why I suspect shifter more than body-snatcher; they don't have all the information about how Lorna and Kieran act." Brynna confirmed as the sound of a door opening upstairs silenced the rest of their conversation. "Listen, Kenzi. Keep your wits about ye around here and pay close attention to the others when they come in from outside the perimeters of the clubhouse. Don't warn them until I give you the word that they're themselves. Understood?"
"Gotcha." Kenzi nodded as they both acted as if they had just met up in the kitchen when Moira and Donovan made their way down the stairs. Morning greetings were exchanged as non-weird as possible and everyone ate in relative comfort.
"So, Don...feel like putting your sword arm to good use and sparring? Need t' burn off some energy today." Brynna asked good-naturedly while she texted a few instructions to Kenzi.
"Sure thing. Let me just grab my gear." he smiled and kissed his wife on the cheek, promising to see her later that evening for some date, before dashing up the stairs.
"Hey, Trigger-Happy. I think it's high time I learn me some awesome sniper tricks" Kenzi distracted who she hopefully thought was still the real Moira. She had just received a text from Brynna telling her to keep her eyes on the brunette while she tested Donovan. Kenzi didn't like the added command of if she wasn't back in the kitchen in an hour, to get out and go to the Dal.
"Sure, but let's start you out with something that doesn't go through concrete like butter, okay?" Moira said as she grabbed her Stetson and lead Kenzi to her room to choose a suitable training gun.
As soon as all of them were out of her sight for the moment, Brynna sent two texts each saying the same thing: perimeters been breached, shifters, have at least L & K & C, Kenzi & i r on it
* LOST * GIRL *
Drip. Drip. Drip. Kieran knew now why the Chinese Water Torture was so effective for extracting information...or for him, induce insanity. The constant dripping of cold rain water through the porous limestone of the cave's interior onto his thighs and shoulders were chilling him and raising his blood pressure at the same time.
"I hope the next time we get held captive, it's in a nice, dry, and warm house." he groused as another drop landed on his shoulder making him flinch.
"There won't be a next time if we don't get out of here. I've got an idea on how we could get out. It's a long shot but I'm sick of sitting in our collective filth. No amount of Purell is ever gonna wash this away." Ceili said as she looked up at the steady rain coming in through the hole in the cave's roof.
"What about all the electroshock we've been enduring?" Kieran asked, his frustration clear in his tone.
"Not going to happen if we amplify it through the water..." Lorna trailed off as she suddenly got what Ceili was trying to say. "You're...you're going to try and summon your father?"
"Do we have any other choice. We all know it'll take days for this water to drain and dry up and by then we'll all be dead."
"It's the best chance we have." Lorna reasoned. "Go ahead. Call him, but be quick."
Ceili began to even out her breathing the best she could in her weakened state as she trained her attention on the small pool forming at her feet. With the little light siphoning through from the hole in the ceiling, the blonde entered a trance state calling to her father. All she had to do was keep repeating the message long enough for him to track her location and soon they should be freed. She hoped...
* LOST * GIRL *
"Break." Shona announced as she absently brushed the dirt and sweat from her brow. She smiled when she heard the silent 'thank God' from Lauren as the blonde plopped down on a log to rest her aching bones, muscles, and mind. Even though training had significantly picked up, she could already begin to see cracks in Lauren's psyche, of her opening up and soaking in this mystic knowledge that her people had passed down through their blood. Shona could see her whiskey-colored eyes were clearer and more astute than she had seen, and she had begun to quickly pick up communicating with elementals. The redhead chuckles inwardly at their first excursions around the cabin, seeing Lauren touching every tree, rock, or water trying to greet herself and ease the tension she could feel from them at having energy radiating into them.
Lauren heard her cell vibrating and looked at the screen. Her brows furrowed as she saw Brynna's name light up and opened the text before she heard her teacher's go off and knowing from the ring tone that it was the same person. The two women looked at each other with alarm clear on their faces.
"What's the matter?" Maureen asked as she began picking some berries for a light snack.
"Shifters have infiltrated the clubhouse disguised as some of Bo's family. I need to go back and reinstate the shifter shields."
"You can't. Lauren's training -"
"My training isn't as important as my friend's lives. What good would it do to become a druid because I hid and waited until the enemy had obliterated the people I wished to protect?" Lauren's eyes shone fiercely as her nostrils flare. Maureen was surprised by the sudden outburst and promptly began feeling the tiny shocks around her aura signaling Lauren's agitated state was beginning to mount.
"You'd be no good to them either if you go in there half-cocked." Garrett stated calmly as he emerged from the surrounding forest. "I just got done talking to Bo. She must have gotten the same text and she's worried too, but she also knows that you leaving now would never solve them problem. They may be waiting for us to flock back and then trap us. She's already called the detectives and they're meeting up with Brynna tonight."
Lauren remained silent as she thought over these new events. She knew her aunt and uncle were right. She sighed before looking to Shona. "You're sure they'll be alright?"
"I can't make and promises, but I have faith in Brynna and the others to keep their wits about them and survive long enough for our return."
"Then I hope you're right in your decision." Lauren stood again, cracking her neck. "Let's start with training again." Shona studied the blonde before nodding and beginning the next lesson.
