Shift

Thirty-Eight

Roman

     I kissed her forehead as she gave in to sleep, her eyelids drooping down and covering her beautiful blue eyes. “Buenas noches, querida,”  I whispered. Good night. “Te amo.” I love you.

“Je t’aime.” French.        

“Volim te.” Croatian.

“Ich liebe dich.” German.

“Ti amo.” Italian.

“Te iubesc.” Romanian.

“Eu te amo.” Portugese.

I could say it in every language, and it’d still ring true. “I love you.”

Ava

Bang! I jolted up in my bed, my forehead hitting something hard.

“Ahhh!” I cried, holding my head with my hand. I glanced up, wondering what the **** had hit me.

Roman was cupping his chin. “Oh… Roman, I’m so sorry. Wait… How long have I been aslee-“

“Shh!” he snapped. I raised my eyebrows, and he gave an apologetic glance.

“What was-“

“I don’t know… Shh.”

“And why didn’t you tell me about our little visitors, Infinity?” a loud voice demanded right outside our cabin. Bang, bang, bang!

Roman

“Father, you’re going to break the bridge, and the whole village will collapse. I can explain,” Infinity said. I could barely hear her- even with my kind of hearing.

“Then tell me. What the **** is a human doing here? And… Something else. Infinity, I smell something else. What is it!” he demanded. That was the Alpha.

“We, uh, we don’t know, Father.” Bang! Bang, bang! “You were out for what was supposed to be at least a week-long hunt. Father, it’s just Jace and-“

I jumped off the bed and threw open the screen door. “Damn it, David, it’s us. Our boat capsized, and this was the closest known island. The human’s harmless, I swear. As for the ‘other thing’ you smelled, that was-“

Ava popped her head out of the door. “Um… Hi?” she whispered.

I cleared my throat. “Um, this is, uh, Ava.”

“Impossible,” he whispered, eyes wide.

“What’s-“ began Finn.

“No. She looks just like-“

Ava

           “Natalie,” I finished for him with a smile. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

           “But you’re not a Shifter.”

           I shook my head. “Nope.”

           “Well? What the **** are you?”

           I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

           “Father,” Infinity interjected, “she thought she was human. I think she’s a necromancer, but it seems like she’s got a little extra, eh, flavor, to her.” I raised my eyebrows. What the **** is a necromancer?

           “And how,” David asked, “did you come to that conclusion?”

           “Well, Father, she brought a dead dog back to life. And she sees Natalie in mirrors, and Natalie can talk to her. Of course, Natalie can’t speak- anyone educated in the basic ideas of necromancy know that only the most powerful, well-developed necromancers can actually hear ghosts. And she has a, er, “special connection” with animals. I don’t know what to say about that.”

           I whispered, “I can hear the voices.”

           “What was that, niña?” asked Roman.

           “I can hear her voice. In my head. I just thought… Wait a second, how do you know any of this?” I demanded, my gaze focusing on Infinity.

           “I… If- I didn’t- Jace. Jace told me,” she whispered, rubbing her arms.

           I sighed. “Our voices sound alike. I thought I was just going crazy. It only happens around mirrors. I try to avoid them as much as possible,” I muttered. “I-I’m sorry. I have to go,” I whispered.

           I climbed down the ladder and tore down the beach, the sand burning against my feet. He told me I could trust him. Jace lied.