Shift (Shifters #5)(33)

That time I was sure I saw Brynn stifle a smile. She was laughing at me on the inside. I knew it.
“No elevator. No tunnel. There is only Cade and Coyt.” Brynn slapped a hand on one monstrous triceps of each of the huge cocks who’d stepped up on either side of her.
I almost choked holding back laughter at that thought.
“So, you’re Cade, and you’re Coyt?” I glanced from one impassive, craggy male face to the other, and when neither answered, I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, I guess.” Then I shot a grin at Brynn. “Those are some big…birds you have there.”
She frowned. So much for that sense of humor. But before Brynn could reply—or I could form a sincere-sounding apology—light, scratchy footsteps echoed from inside, and a small figure raced through the open doorway on mostly avian legs.
It was the little diaper-clad girl from the nursery, long brown hair now falling down her back. “Mama, catch me!” she shouted gleefully, and her arms Shifted rapidly into a diminutive pair of wings. She flapped furiously, and managed to put nearly a foot between her tiny feet and the ground before she started to sink. Brynn’s eyes widened in alarm. Her arms shot out and she snatched the child from the air before she got near the edge of the porch, then settled her on one hip, unfazed when the small wings reformed into human arms.Brynn was a mother! And suddenly I saw her in a completely different light.
“Listen…” I let go of the post—risking my fear that either Cade or Coyt would shove me off the porch—and turned to fully face Brynn. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but I am going to get your proof and help you avenge Finn. And I will be back for Kaci. But I need to know she’s safe here until I get back. You can understand that, right?” I smiled pointedly at the girl on her hip and resisted the urge to touch the smooth skin of her now human—and chubby—cheek. Even human mothers were testy about stuff like that.
“You’re the kitten’s mother?” Brynn asked, obviously surprised.
“No.” Damn, how old did she think I was? “Her mother’s…dead. I’m all she has right now. Is she safe here? With you?”
Brynn hesitated, then nodded, rocking her daughter gently on one hip. The child’s beak became a mouth and she stuck one thumb into it. “Of course. We wish the girl no harm. But if you fail, we will stand by our word.”
I nodded uncertainly; that was probably the best I was going to get. “Thank you.” After a deep breath and a moment to collect myself, I glanced up at Cade. Or maybe it was Coyt. “I’m ready, boys.” Though truly, I was anything but.
Without even a glance at each other, the male thunderbirds Shifted almost simultaneously and rose into the air at the exact same time. Fortunately, the porch roof was very high, no doubt to accommodate just such a takeoff.
The upside to having no luggage is that there’s nothing to accidentally drop when a giant bird swoops and grabs you by both arms, then dangles you over the earth from a height no cat was ever intended to experience.
From two hundred feet up, would I land on all four feet?
“Oh, shiiiiit!” I shouted, no more able to close my mouth than my eyes. The ground raced toward me, then the second bird grabbed my ankles in midair, halting our plummet. The birds flapped in unison, and we bobbed for a second—jarring my entire body—before soaring down again at a terrifyingly sharp angle. Three flaps later, they let go of my arms. I fell the last yard or so to land hard on my feet.
I squatted to absorb some of the impact in my knees, and to avoid falling over face-first; I couldn’t afford to catch myself with my bad arm and risk hurting it worse.
I straightened just as the flyboys landed in tandem in front of me, and though they both watched me with evident disinterest—maybe even outright disgust—neither said a word.
“Jeez, could you two hold it down? I’m getting a headache from all the witty banter.”
They only blinked.
We stood in a narrow valley between two small mountains—foothills, if I had my guess. When I turned, I saw that the nest was at one end of the valley, built on an outcropping jutting from the juncture of two hills. Behind Cade and Coyt, far beneath the nest, the gravel road ended in a huge pile of rocks, obviously fallen from the hills. Probably knocked down on purpose, to make the path to the nest inaccessible to humans. Which made choosing a direction a real no-brainer. 
“So…where does this road go?” I gestured to the gravel trail leading away from the nest, and finally one of the flyboys spoke.
“North.”
“Wow. Thanks.” I squinted at them, shielding my eyes from the setting sun, and noticed that I was virtually eye to eye with both thunderbirds—they were the tallest I’d seen yet. “Could you at least tell me where we are? How am I supposed to get to Appalachia if I don’t even know which way to walk?”
“We’re in New Mexico,” said the bird on the left. His partner hadn’t even bothered to Shift his beak. “East of Alamogordo.”
Now that, I could use. “Thank you.”
“Two days,” the vocal bird warned. Then they both took off, their powerful wings blowing hair back from my face.
I turned to watch, again shielding my eyes from the sun, until they landed smoothly on the front porch. They didn’t look back, and no one came out to watch me leave. I was truly on my own, for the first time in my entire life.
Wait, is that right? While I was in college, my father always had someone watching me. Even when I’d been kidnapped by Miguel, I’d had my cousin Abby for company, and my brother Ryan to manipulate and spy on.
Now I had nothing. No company, no plan, and no transportation.
Fortunately, I had my cell, and already knew there was reception on the side of the mountain. What are the chances I can get a signal in the valley, as well?
Two bars. It could have been worse.
I walked as I autodialed, and again my father answered on the first ring. “Faythe?”
“Yeah.” My boots crunched on gravel, and the rumble from my stomach reminded me that I hadn’t eaten in…it had to be nearly fifteen hours. “I’m on some tiny gravel road in front of the nest, somewhere east of Alamogordo, New Mexico. Any idea how far it is to the nearest town with a car rental place? Also, I need a plane ticket to Kentucky. As near as you can get me to Malone’s property.”
“Whoa, slow down.…” Leather creaked as my dad sank into the armchair in his office. I wanted to be there with him. I wanted to be planning things behind the scenes, instead of hiking my happy ass across New Mexico alone in search of the nearest Hertz. Not to mention a restaurant. Fortunately, I’d visited the birds’ bathroom before I left.
“I don’t have a lot of time here, Dad.” Twigs snapped beneath my feet when I stomped over fallen branches, gone brittle with age.
“Faythe, you cannot go looking for proof of Malone’s guilt in his own territory.”
I kicked a broken stick out of my way and stepped over a rain-filled dip in the road. “They’re going to kill Kaci in less than forty-eight hours if I don’t.”
“You really think they’ll go through with it?”
“There’s not a doubt in my mind.” I shoved hair from my face, where it had come loose from my ponytail. “They’re not like us, Dad. They’re fanatically loyal to their Flight members, but won’t put themselves out on anyone else’s behalf unless it will directly benefit them. They don’t care if Kaci lives or dies, but they know we do. And they know they’re only as good as their word. They’ll go through with it.”
His pause was heavy with thoughts I could only begin to imagine. He had to think about all of us. About what would be best for the Pride. Kaci was just one member, but she was ours, and she was defenseless. “Okay then, we have to get her out. If they won’t negotiate, we’ll have to go in by force.”I shook my head again, though I knew he couldn’t see it. “Won’t work. There’re too many of them. And if we invade their home—where their children are—they’ll fight even more fiercely. Unfortunately, they’re not limited by space in their own home, like they would be in ours. Their nest is cavernous, with plenty of room to swoop and dive. And, anyway, we can’t get up the side of the mountain in human form, and in cat form, we can’t carry weapons.”
Glass clinked over the line. Scotch. I could certainly have used a drink right about then. My father sighed. “I didn’t say it would be easy. But it’s better than taking Malone on.”
“I’m not talking about fighting him, Dad. Not yet. This is a total covert op. I’ll be in and out before they even know I’m there.” As soon as I figure out what I’m looking for…
“No. You’re too vulnerable on your own.”
“So send me backup.” I stepped over a rotting log lying across the gravel road and silently cursed the fading daylight. I wouldn’t be able to travel very well or very quickly in human form, but if I Shifted, I couldn’t carry my clothes or my phone. And it was cold in the foothills in February, yet I had nothing but my jacket to keep me warm. “Put a couple of the guys on a plane. I’ll wait for them.” If I ever find an airport…