Page 21 of Shifter's Homecoming

Humans?Trent had repeated incredulously.They kill humans for fun?As someone who had been born and bred to protect humans, he could not understand such a thing then, and he could not understand it now. He sat up straight and looked at Troy in the front seat, wondering what his brother in this world thought of humans. Since Troy was a part of the Human Rights League fighting for change, he couldn’t possibly condemn them, could he?

The airstrip caught Trent’s eye. They were driving in a grassy field toward what was really a dirt strip. The plane sitting on the far end was tiny, and possibly… homemade? Trent bit his lip against the string of questions that flooded his mind. He couldn’t ask one.

He let himself be hauled onto the plane. He didn’t say a word as they sat him down and figured things out. His leg stuck out in the tiny aisle and everyone was careful of it. The pilot looked about a hundred years old, small, bent, human, and female, dressed in an old-time aviators outfit.

Trent had been determined to stay awake on the flight, until he realized there were no windows in the passenger area of the plane, he wouldn’t be able to see a thing on the flight. His leg throbbed and his strength ebbed.

And so he slept.

13 - Tranquility

He woke. They were on the ground and the sun was setting. His brother hauled him out of the tiny plane to a car that was waiting for them. A hard-faced wolf shifter in a dark, nondescript uniform stood by the dark sedan and watched Troy haul him to the car and help him into the back, then Troy slid into the passenger seat. There were no seat belts. The wolf shifter got in without a word, and drove them over the grass to a road. The area was flat, rural farmland. Trent saw nothing but corn everywhere he looked. Still, he could tell they were heading due east.

They drove for an hour on a road that looked like home. Cars passed them all around, most looking like dark sedans, some looking like dark long bed pickups, and that was all the variety there was. If Trent had to guess, he would guess that none had seat belts. He saw no model names or emblems on any. No bumper stickers, either.Weird, Trent decided.

They entered a neighborhoods with house that looked normal to him. He could not tell if they were shifter homes, or human homes. Then he saw something that made his jaw drop, even though both Crew and Dahlia had described it to him. It was a statue of a bear on its hind legs, snarling into the sky, almost exactly like the one at home, but instead of the green and white sign next to it readingWelcome to Serenity, it read simply…

TRANQUILITY

Trent’s heart quickened in his chest. His brother turned around in his seat to look at him, head cocked to one side, eyes hard and watchful. Trent snarled a what-the-hell-are-you-looking-at snarl at him, then leaned back, acting like it was no big deal, like he’d seen it all before, not knowing if he had or not. Troy rolled his eyes and turned around.

They drove into town, no one talking at all. Trent could tell Troy didn’t like the guy who was driving. Trent ignored them both and focused on what was passing by their windows. It looked mostly normal to Trent, and itdidlook a hell of a lot like Serenity. There were stop lights and stop signs. There were no street signs though. Where the police station would be in Serenity, instead there was a large building with that looked more like a school gymnasium. It had no sign out front saying what it was.

Tranquility seemed like a smaller town than Serenity, with less houses and buildings on the city streets. Many houses in Tranquility looked to be on some sort of a permanent lock down, surrounded by high fences and razor wire, like a prison would be.

Trent stared at the sights while trying to seem indifferent. They hit downtown and passed a few restaurants Trent recognized from home, same name on the sign out front, same looks.

The driver hung a right on a road Trent recognized immediately. In Serenity, it would be the main thoroughfare heading north out of town and the street name was Blue River Way, but there was no street sign here.

The houses and buildings thinned out immediately, even quicker than they would have in Serenity. On their left, Blue River paralleled the road, then it crossed in front of them and they went over a wooden bridge. The slats clunked under their tires.No,Trent corrected himself. Back home the river paralleling this road would be called Blue River, but this was not home, and he could not expect it would be called the same here.

Back home, the wolf statue would be coming up. Trent expected to see it and he was not disappointed.There it was.Trent held his breath and locked eyes with it as they passed it. It looked exactly like it did in Serenity.

Trent shook his head hard, trying to dislodge the feeling of unreality that was hitting him again. His hand crept to his left shoulder and he wondered if he had arenquain this world. If he did not, would that be enough to prove to him that he was in the exact world that Crew used to travel to?

No, from everything thedragenhad said about similarities from world to world, it could not be enough to prove he was in that same world, but Trent suspected it just the same.

What’s the point, Smokey?he growled in privateruhi.What is the point of all of this… all of these convolutions? All these mysteries? All this bullshit?

He got no answer. It made no sense to Trent. Why couldn’tRhen, orSmokey, or the stupid-assangelwho apparently got himself caught byKhainin thePravusfor 30 motherfuckingyears, just … snap their divine fingers and fix shit? Trent held his growl in. He didn’t need Troy eye-balling him again.

Dark was coming swiftly, but Trent could still see a large body of water on their left. Trent marked it right away. Back home, this was a manmade lake that connected Blue River with the Harlem Reservoir and it had been dammed off for 30-plus years, ever since Khain had poisoned all the female shifters, because the Harlem reservoir was where he had spilled his poison that had made its way into the drinking water of Serenity.

Trent had recently discovered something about the Harlem Reservoir that he did not think his brothers knew. Trent only knew because thedragenhad told him, and thedragenonly knew because he could fly… and because he barely slept. Before his young had been born, he flew over Serenity most nights while his mate had slept. Graeme would ask Trent to keep watch over her, and Graeme would leave for a few hours. On some nights, he kept in contact with Trent, telling him what he was seeing, or having longruhidiscussions about traveling or echoes ordragenhistory.

Trent had once asked him what he was looking for. Graeme had answered that all land birthed new secrets every day and night. Graeme had said his job as adragenwas to know all secrets, but to tell none. Trent could hear Graeme’s Scottish brogue in his memories, and for just a moment, it made Trent feel like he was home.

Trent called into his mind everything thedragenhad said about the reservoir.

It had been just before noon one morning last spring. They were talking inruhi,even though Trent lay in the forest as a wolf, concealed in a place where he could see glimpses of the main house and the pasture land far behind it at the same time, and Graeme was inside the cabin he shared with his mate on the other side of the plot of land.

There’s something going on at the reservoir north of town, he’d said,his mental voice strong and thick with brogue, as always.

Like what?Trent had grunted.

There’spumaiiin the forest, always. Twice a month Wade meets with them and inspects the reservoir and the old pumping station. Sometimes, he meets a human male there. Tall guy with round glasses.

Trent had thought about that for a long time, but before he’d had any guesses to venture, Graeme had more to say.

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