Roth: Protector(Shapeling Trilogy #1) (2nd edition)

Chapter 17: Comfort

Roth returned to his hotel room and pulled out his keycard to insert it into the slot, but then noticed a slight crack between the door and the frame. He pushed the door and it opened. His heart hammered as he stepped inside the room and called, "Rainey!" She didn't answer. He looked down and saw papers scattered on the floor. Bending to retrieve one, he cursed profusely in his native tongue when he realized what Rainey had done. He slammed the door and stalked to the stairs, taking them two at a time to reach the lobby. He scanned the lobby for Rainey before approaching the desk clerk to make a casual inquiry. The clerk explained he'd just come on duty.

Frustrated and becoming angrier by the second, he left the hotel and entered the hustle and bustle outside. After walking a few blocks he ducked into an alleyway, shifted into an eagle, and soared above the buildings using his keen eyesight to search the city. After an hour of canvassing he still hadn't located her. The thought that she'd been kidnapped lodged uncomfortably in his mind.

A bright color below captured his attention—a street vendor waving a royal blue cloth for a customer—Rainey. Relief and anger vied for control of his emotions. Circling, he watched her haggle with the vendor, and after much debate, she finally handed over a bill. From the smug expression on her face, she'd knocked a home run on the price of the scarf. Roth watched her drape it over her head and shoulders, tying it into a knot at the base of her neck. She looked upward and her mouth fell open. He continued circling and her gaze never strayed from him. He dove low so she could see him clearly and then streaked skyward, out of her sight. Banking and returning to the earth he landed behind a dumpster and shifted.

He ran toward the bazaar and reached it within minutes brushing past vendors hawking their wares and customers looking for deals. He found the place he'd seen Rainey and turned in a circle, searching for a blue scarf. The second time he circled, he glimpsed something blue disappear into the crowd. He followed the color. When he came within twenty feet of the scarf he saw Rainey still looking skyward and bumping into people.

He heard her repeated words, "Excuse me. Excuse me."

Moving in an arc around the crowd he walked a few feet in front of her and then turned around. She bumped into his chest.

"Excuse m... Uh oh. Hi, Roth."

"Rainey, imagine my surprise to find you shopping when you were given explicit instructions not to leave the hotel room!"

Rainey looked upward. "Roth, I don't have time to argue with you."

"Why do you keep looking at the sky?"

"I saw an eagle."

"Rainey, eagles do not fly in the city."

"I know. That's why it's so weird. I think it's my..." Her voice trailed.

"Your what?"

"Forget it. You wouldn't believe me."

Roth placed an arm around her shoulders and guided her through the throng. "We're going back to the hotel, now."

Back in their room, she walked to the window and drew open the drapes, gazing skyward.

Exasperated, Roth said, "Will you please stop searching the sky!"

She closed the drapes and turned around. "I wish you could understand..."

"What?" he prompted softly.

"Forget it."

* * *

Roth stared into the darkness above his head. His mission to protect Rainey had taken a shocking twist and his head hurt from trying to piece together the puzzle. Since Rainey's mother was a shapeling, it meant Rainey was half-shapeling, but Roth had never experienced the "knowing" around her or her father that alerted him to the presence of another of his kind. Perhaps her father had once been a shapeling and chosen to change his genetics, like Endesha. Whether natural human or changed, why would Stella marry him? Was it for love or something more? And did Rainey have latent shapeling abilities?