More Than Meets the Eye

  Tasha stilled. “Changing into what, exactly?”

  The little man gave a chortle. “That’s the million dollar question now, isn’t it?”

  Henry spoke up from the position he had taken next to Jake. “This would be her first change, but I can’t recall any change taking this long to get started. Nor taking place at her stage in life.”

  Dr. Reinhardt took a step back, his hands reaching behind his back again. He rocked back onto his heals and then up onto the balls of his feet before going back to his heals again. “I do not understand it either, but I have a suspicion,” he muttered as he bent down to retrieve a black leather bag that he had set down when he had entered. He pulled out a rather sinister looking knife.

  Tasha let out a quiet yelp of alarm.

  Jake tried to make a lunge for the doctor, but Henry held him back.

  “Not to worry, I am not here to harm you,” the doctor said softly, “though, I am sure that this will sting a bit,” he gave an apologetic smile. “Will you please assist me, Dietrich?”

  “Indeed,” the bushy man said as he accepted a length of cloth from Reinhardt and cupped it underneath Tasha’s outstretched arm. “Rest your hand here, on the cloth please, Natasha, your palm up. Very good.”

  Dr. Reinhardt glanced back and noticed Jake’s anxious demeanor. “You all right there, son? You look more like an expectant father than her employer.”

  “I’m alright,” Jake said in a low base. The doctor looked at Henry and raised one eyebrow. Henry nodded his head for the doctor to continue.

  Dr. Reinhardt looked Tasha in the eyes and said very seriously, “I am going to cut your hand. I am not going to harm you; I just need your blood. Are you alright with this?”

  Tasha nodded once, her eyes never leaving his.

  “Alright, now, no jerking away,” he gave her a wink, brought the knife up and made a clean, quick slice across her palm.

  Tasha gave a little grunt, but held still. Her hand tingled a bit and understood immediately why he had used a knife instead of a syringe; the blade had an enchantment on it.

  Dr. Reinhardt took a small Petri dish and collected some of the blood as it dripped down off of the back of her hand. Maven took the dish at a nod from the doctor and closed it up while Dietrich bound her hand tight with the strip of cloth.

  “This should give us some idea,” Reinhardt said as he held the knife aloft, point down, his free hand taking yet another piece of clean cloth from his bag and wiped the blade clean. As he did so, he leaned in close and sniffed the crimson stain. “Interesting,” he murmured. “A waste bin, Henry, if you don’t mind.”

  Henry handed him a small waste can, which he retrieved from under a desk. The doctor then lit the cloth on fire, holding it over the can. The flame burned purple then green, giving off yellow sparks. “Well now, there’s one question answered,” he smiled at Tasha.

  “What is that, doctor?” she whispered.

  “Magic.”

  “Is that why she is not changing?” Maven asked, her forehead furrowing slightly.

  “Yes, I would say so. Any idea who may have done such a thing to you my dear?”

  “No sir,” Tasha said, perplexed. “Magic?”

  “Indeed,” Reinhardt said as he dropped the burned remains of the cloth into the trash. He wiped his palms together, bent to repack his bag, took up the Petri dish with the blood sample and straightened. “I can do some additional tests on the blood, but at first take, I’d say you are more than simply a changeling. I smell faery, not sure what type, but definitely faery.”

  Tasha sat back, pressing her undamaged palm to her face. She felt light headed and the room had began to spin. “I don’t understand.”

  “But how do we help her?” Jake burst out. “If she doesn’t change, it could damage her mind beyond repair.”

  “Of course, you are correct young Jacob,” the doctor frowned and pursed his lips in thought.

  Tasha struggled to keep her composure. She looked over at Jake, the sight of which upset her more; the man was in definite distress.

  Maven stroked her shoulder and began making gentle shushing noises, as a mother might a fussing child. The physical contact helped to sooth Tasha and she absently wondered if Maven was using Fae magic to calm her.

  “I can give you a sedative, but I’m reluctant to give you anything substantial, not until I know all of your physical attributes.”

  “And I don’t know them and I can’t reach my mother,” Tasha gave a frustrated sigh.

  “I have a solution,” Dr. Dietrich stood. “Henry, do you have any silver about?”

  “Of course,” he said and walked over to a large, oak cabinet, with ornate designs exquisitely carved into it. Henry took a brass key out of a drawer that was inset into a long library table just in front of the cabinet and unlocked the cabinet door. “I have a number of silver bands located throughout the house, just in case of emergencies. We can put it on her wrist.”

  “Why?” Tasha looked over at one man and then the other.

  Dietrich smiled kindly at her. “If you are wolf, it will, hinder the change, though only for a short time.”

  “If I’m not?”

  Dietrich furrowed his bushy eyebrows together. “Henry, have you got any copper as well? And brass?”

  Hank disappeared behind the opened door of the cabinet, appearing with a wooden, lidded box. He brought the box over to the low coffee table and opened it. He pulled out a copper pendant stamped with an arcane symbol. He took his silk pocket square from the front pocket of his jacket, dropped the silver band, the pendant and the brass key into the bit of silk and handed them over to Dr. Dietrich.

  Dietrich opened the silk to examine the contents before he folded them up in the silk, placing the little bundle into Tasha’s hand. “There. No matter what manner of were-creature you are, any one of these metals will suffice. Do you feel any relief in the tension of your muscles and joints?”

  Tasha took a breath in through her nose then slowly blew out through her mouth. She waited a moment before answering. She nodded her head slowly. “Yes, though the tension is still there, it doesn’t feel as if my bones are being pulled from their sockets.”

  Jake visibly relaxed.

  Dr. Reinhardt leaned in close to examine Tasha’s face again. “Eyes continue to have a dark silver ring around the iris. Not as white, and I see the tiniest bit of grey flecks popping up, but the, open please, the teeth, while not elongated, still have a point.” He stood back and smiled. “This will have to do for now, but it is imperative for you to change and sooner rather than later. I will run some tests on the blood and see if I can find a reversal for the spell that is hindering your change, but it would be better for you if your mother could be contacted. It will take all guess work out of the equation, as I believe it is your mother who either cast the spell, or at least knows who did.”

  “I will try to call my mother again, then, if that is alright,” she looked about the room at large for confirmation. All nodded, except for Jake who remained in a general state of agitation.

  Maven stood, and taking Tasha’s hand, gently pulled her to her feet. “Henry, is there someplace where Tasha can make her call that isn’t quite so public?”

  “Absolutely. Follow me,” Henry said as he extended an arm out to indicate the direction of a smaller room just off of the library. It looked like it could be Henry’s private office. He led her in and closed the door quietly behind her.

  Tasha sagged against the closed door, one hand clasping the metals, the bandaged hand, she noticed, was trembling as she pulled her phone from her pocket. She called once, no answer, called again, same results. She tried her mother’s work phone number, only to be told that her mother had turned in her notice three days previous. She called her mother’s number six more times before she finally let her hand drop and dangle at her side for a long moment. She leaned her head back against the solid wood of the closed door and allowed a sing
le tear to slip past her closed eyelids. “Momma, I need you,” she whispered.

  Someone’s phone rang in library. She heard Jake’s voice, followed by a soft knocking at the door. Tasha opened it and Jake handed her his phone. “It’s Avery,” he said simply.

  Tasha took Jake’s phone and motioned for him to join her. “Hey Avery, what’s up?”

  “Jake told me to keep an eye on the place since that Richard Roberts guy has been hanging around.”

  “Yeah, okay, so?”

  “So, I drove by and saw this tiny little blond lady pounding on the door.”

  Tasha’s breath caught in her chest. “Who, Avery, who is it?”

  “Don’t know. She ran off as soon as I parked my car to find out who she was.”

  “How blond?”

  “What?”

  “How blond? Strawberry blond, dirty blond, what? And how tiny?”

  “Blond blond, almost white. And how tiny? I mean tiny, like five foot nuthin. And she was hollerin in some foreign language.”

  “Russian? Avery, could it have been Russian?”

  “Yeah, that might have been it.”

  “Avery, that sounds like my mom! Where are you?”

  “I’m still here at your office.”

  Jake motioned for the phone. “Avery, park in the back. You remember the code to access the office?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Go in and open up the office and wait for her to return.”

  “What if she runs away again?”

  “I don’t know, use one of your mage tricks, I don’t care. We need her. Fast.”

  “Okay, Jake, I’ll do it. I’ll call you as soon as I have her.”

  Jake hung up the phone, Tasha looking hopeful. “Soon, Tasha, soon.”

  Chapter 17

  Henry had settled Tasha in a quiet sitting room that over looked a beautiful flower garden full of fall flowers. The furnishings were as beautiful as the view outside of her window. She tried to appreciate the view as well as her surroundings, but couldn't concentrate on scenery and was more comfortable pacing instead.

  The Alpha had left strict orders for her to be left alone until her mother arrived, which was fine with Tasha, as the crowd of people in the library had cause her anxiety level to reach its limits. She’d asked that Jake wait with her. His physical presence was reassuring to her, yet at the time, his emotional state had put her on edge. But she still wanted him with her. It was Dr. Reinhardt that suggested that Jake be given a tonic that would dull the edge of his primal need to protect. With him finally calmer, she was able to relax a little herself.

  “Tasha, you’re going to wear a hole in Henry’s carpet,” Jake reminded her. “The metal still working?”

  Tasha stopped her pacing long enough to flex the wrist that sported her new bracelet of silver, copper and brass. Before they had received information from her mother, Clancy had swiftly collected the materials needed and braided fine strands of all three metals together, and then wrapped the entire circlet with a thin, silk mesh, to keep the metals from burning her skin. Once she had been able to speak with her mother, her mother had told her she was a wereleopard and that the brass would do the same for her that silver would do for Jake. “Yes, still working. I just wish Avery would hurry and get Momma here.”

  “It’s been an hour since Avery called. He should be here shortly.”

  “Unless he had trouble with our friend Mr. Roberts,” she reminded him.

  “True. Still, she agreed with Dr. Dietrich that the metals would help.

  “I know,” Tasha finally settled on an antique ottoman that accented the antique wing backed chair where Jake was seated. His eyes were gold, no flecks of green to be seen. They were the color of his wolf’s eyes, so Tasha knew he was still fighting to control his baser, wolfish instincts. “If you let go, would you actually hurt someone?”

  “Probably.”

  “Who would you hurt? I mean, no one is actually harming me, so, who would bear the brunt of your anger?”

  “Oh, I suppose I’d mostly tear things up, and if anyone got in the way, I’d hurt them. If I went completely out of control, I could even hurt you. Maybe.”

  “But I’m the one you want to protect,” Tasha reminded.

  “The beast doesn’t always know reason,” he said quietly. “I don’t like to think about it, so let’s change the subject.”

  “No, let’s stay on the subject. Why do you feel the need to protect me so much?

  Jake sighed and sat quietly for a moment before answering. “Look, werewolves need a pack, or they get a little,”

  “Squirrely?”

  “We go crazy. Literally, and once that happens,” Jake raked his fingers through his dark hair, “well, someone has to put us down.”

  “Oh,” Tasha said quietly.

  “When I came to River City, I was in a bad way. So when I arrived here, Lord Henry took me in as one of his own. But I still wasn’t very happy. Something about me having alpha tendencies, er, something like that. Anyway he suggested that I take on my own pack.”

  “You mean, take a mate, settle down and make baby werewolves of your own?”

  Jake chuckled. “That’s one way, sure, but I didn’t want a mate, and no, I’m not going into why, so don’t even ask.”

  “Fine,” Tasha held up her hands in surrender. “So, what did you do?”

  “I adopted a pack. Blood is the best, but sometimes friends are closer than family, right?”

  “Yeah, I suppose. Not having much of either, I wouldn’t know.”

  “Well, I didn’t go looking for a pack, but I found it anyway. First one was Franklin.”

  “Wait, did you take him in as part of your pack, or did he take you in?”

  “A little of both. You know how Franklin is. He became my friend, helped me get my head on straight. As a result, I feel like I owe him. I do what I can for him. He helped me to feel like I belonged.”

  “So, you have known Franklin for a long time. By my math that would make Franklin very, very well preserved.”

  Jake gave a laugh. “Haven’t you guessed yet? You’ve said yourself that he must be a song faery.”

  Tasha stared at him. “You mean Franklin actually is a faery? Well, I’ll be. Anyone else a faery? Vince perhaps?”

  “No, Vince is human. He’s a tolerated human, but still, he’s human.”

  “What’s his story?” Tasha asked.

  Jake shook his head. “You’ll have to ask him as it’s his story to tell, not mine.”

  “I suppose Avery is part of your pack as well.”

  “Yes, he came along not long after Franklin.”

  “Wait, our Avery? He’s not that old, maybe thirty five!” Tasha exclaimed.

  “Try eighty seven.”

  “But I thought he was human?”

  “He is. Mages tend to live longer than most humans. It’s part of their elemental powers. Their life force is connected to the land and the land helps to sustain them. Which, by the way, is why mages don’t live as long as they used to. More population, more pollution,”

  “Yeah, I get it. So, Franklin and Avery are part of your adopted pack. Gil too?”

  “Yes, and now you. Once Franklin vouched for you, well, I chose to take you in as part of the pack. That means responsibility as well as protection by the way. So, no goin all crazy and makin problems for me once you learn to change.”

  Tasha smiled slightly. “I promise.”

  Tasha stared down at her hands in silence. There was a clock ticking somewhere in the room, though she hadn’t noticed it when she had first come in. “Why?” she finally asked.

  “Why what? Why did I choose you to become part of our misfit family?”

  “So now I’m a misfit?”

  Jake smiled. “Well, you don’t exactly fit the ‘normal’ bill now do you? Look, Tasha, from the moment I met you, I knew there was something, different about you, and knew you had some kind of, oh, I don??
?t know, an issue, for lack of a better word. See, I don’t think it was an accident that you ended up in River City. This place just draws all kinds of people like us. Most of the fae population here have come through River City looking for an escape from whatever trouble they are running from whether they know it or not. This place is kind of a supernatural refuge, and, though it’s completely on a subconscious level, our kind always seems to end up here. Some beings get what they need and move on. Others get what they need and stay.” Jake shrugged. “You were running, were you not?”

  “Yes,”

  “And you ended up here. You were in trouble and I’ve taken you in as part of my family.”

  Tasha stood and resumed her pacing. “I’m grateful, Jake. But I’ve got to tell you, I don’t know how to react to that. I mean, someone taking me in just because I’m in trouble? The concept is totally foreign to me. It’s been just me and my mom for so long, with only a few casual friends thrown in, that I don’t understand why you would do that for me,” she said as she shook her head.

  Jake shrugged. “Blame Franklin, he knew I’d take you in since he had. I’m kind of a sucker for damsels in distress,” he grinned then sobered. “I’ve been in trouble. I needed help. Call it paying back the universe.

  She snorted lightly and gave a small smile. “Jake, I, uh, thank you.”

  A knock at the door interrupted her, making her jump slightly. “Come in.”

  The door opened and Henry stuck his head through the opening. “Your mother has arrived. She will meet us downstairs.”

  “Thank you sir,” Tasha and Jake said together.

  They headed downstairs; to the basement.

  Chapter 18

  Anna Tereshkova stood as soon as Tasha entered the room, practically throwing herself into her daughter’s arms. “Oh Natasha my darling!” She exclaimed in a heavily Russian accented English. “I am so sorry you have had to endure this. I will explain all in time, but now, we must be getting you ready for your first change.”

  The petite woman drug her much taller daughter to a room that resembled a jail cell. When she saw her destination, and more importantly what it looked like, Tasha glanced back at Jake and Henry with a touch of alarm.

  Henry tried to soothe her with an explanation. “It is secure to protect both you and us. The interior has no sharp corners so if you thrash about, there won’t be anything to cause damage to you.”