Authors: Paulette Miller
Penny and Jax slept late the next day and, after packing up the camp, drove several hours north to Estes park. After spending a leisurely afternoon and evening finding a place to spread the ashes, they ran into an astronomer taking pictures of the night sky. Although Jax wanted to pass by without stopping, Penny wanted to say hello. Seeing that the man posed no threat, Jax agreed, although he knew that if Penny wanted to do something, he would have done it no matter what he thought.
When the man saw hikers coming his way, he stood to greet them. Jax used his night vision to examine the Human. He noted that he was a tall, stocky man in his mid-twenties that was dressed in a vest with a hundred pockets, each bulging with a lens or some other electronic gadget. His clothes, hair, and stubble on his chin told him that he had been there for at least a couple of days.
The astronomer stepped forward carrying a flashlight giving off a low red beam of light. Although Jax knew that the red glow would have given him an even more intimidating appearance, the man held out his hand and said, “I’m Bobby. I’m way off the beaten path, so you’re the first people I’ve seen since I setup camp.”
After introducing herself and her fiancé, Penny asked, “What are you doing out here?”
“I’m a doctoral candidate at Colorado State, working on my PhD in mathematics. I’ve been stuck in a lab for weeks so I decided to come out here to spend a few days reigniting my inspiration. Astrophotography has always been my passion and it led me to my latest education path. I’m currently doing research on video data processing.” When Penny stared at him blankly, he explained, “You know about facial recognition where the computer takes an image and determines who you are? Now imagine letting a computer examine a video image to determine if you’re doing something bad, such as walking toward a building carrying a gun. Think about how the capability could change the way we do law enforcement.”
Jax examined the large amount of equipment spread out on the ground, multiple large telescopes, and countless junk food wrappers. He asked, “How many are with you?” Based on what he was seeing he was guessing at least three more people.
Bobby replied casually, “It’s just me.” He spoke as if he didn’t understand why his guest would even have asked the question.
Penny looked up into the moonless night at the wide, open sky filled with exceptionally bright stars and said, “You’ve picked a wonderful spot to stargaze.”
“I did a lot of research to find this place and I think it’s the best in all of Colorado. I just got all of my equipment setup for the night. Would you like to join me for a few minutes?”
Penny glanced at Jax, trying to read his mood. When he gave her a nod, she turned to Bobby and said, “We would love to.”
Although Jax only watched from the sidelines, Penny spent the next hour listening to Bobby share his knowledge and it was obvious his passion lived in the sky above them. When Penny explained why she and Jax were traveling across the country and that they were creating a picture diary of her spreading her family’s ashes, Bobby pointed to the east sky and said, “It isn’t the best time of year to see it, but if you look at the constellation Gemini, you’ll see two bright stars that are close together. These are the twins, Pollux and Castor. In Greek mythology, Pollux was one of two brothers. He was the son of Zeus and immortal, while his brother Castor had a mortal father. They were very close and now they’re shining brightly in the night sky as inseparable brothers for all eternity. Whenever you look at these stars, think of your brothers twinkling above you.” Seeing Penny’s emotions welling, he said, “I can take a picture for you. It will take a few days to process once I get back to the university, but I could email it when it’s ready. It would be my gift to remember me as part of your journey.”
Penny was truly grateful for his thoughtfulness and nodded silently. After staring at the twins for a while, Bobby let her use his telescope to look at the rings of Saturn while he stepped into the trees for a quick nature break. As he attempted to return to the camp, he found his path blocked by a large wolf. The animal was stalking slowly toward him with blood dripping from a severe wound in his neck.
As Bobby froze in place, Jax appeared next to him and whispered, “He’s fatally injured, making him very unpredictable and dangerous. I’ll distract him while you back away slowly.”
As Bobby did as instructed, Penny walked through the trees. Jax yelled, “Stay back.”
When the animal began to crouch and snarl menacingly, Jax knew he needed to address the situation immediately. Seeing no other options, he shifted. By the red light of the flashlights, Ice quickly put the animal out of its misery. After returning to Jax’s Human form, he turned to look at his audience.
Bobby staggered and announced, “You’re a Changeling.”
Although Penny instantly began to attempt to calm his fears, Bobby squared his shoulders, stepped forward, and held out his hand to Jax. He said while his body shook, “I suspected what you were when I caught your eyes reflecting the light like an animal. But I don’t care. All I know is that you most likely saved my life and are welcome here.” After they shook hands, he added, “I know that wolves are rarely alone so this one may have friends nearby. I have absolutely no ability to protect myself unless you count shining a laser in their eyes. If you would be willing, I would be very grateful if both of you would camp here for the night.”
Knowing how kind he had been to Penny, Jax replied, “We’ll stay, but I doubt another wolf is something you need to worry about. The injuries on this animal were done by a Night Walker. I can smell their unique scent.”
Bobby had heard horror stories about this type of Changeling and instinctively cowered as he began to scan the shadows all around them.
Feeling his fear spike, Penny said, “Don’t judge all of them by a bad few. Not all Night Walkers need to be feared. Actually two of my favorite people in the world are Night Walkers and I trust them with my life.”
Although Jax understood why Penny wanted to ease Bobby’s fears, he wanted to make sure he knew the other side. “Penny is right, but don’t take all of the stories you hear as campfire tales designed to scare children. Some are very real. I don’t want to scare you more, but I feel obligated to tell you since you’ve been very kind to Penny and accepting of me. You need to be aware that there’s a group of Night Walkers that are furious at the world for what they’ve become. Although they would never admit it, they miss being Human and are taking out their anger on any Human that gets in their path.”
Bobby asked while scanning the trees, “Do you think that the pissed off ones are here?”
“This isn’t their normal stomping grounds, but I won’t leave you until I know for sure.” Trying to project calm, he added, “Why don’t you get back to your stars and I’ll stand guard? I have a bit of a reputation myself among my kind. I can pretty much guarantee that you won’t be bothered while I’m here.”
Penny reinforced Jax’s words by taking Jax’s hand and saying, “You couldn’t ask for a better protector than Jax.”
Bobby replied, “But he’s just one Changeling. If the wolf was attacked by a Night Walker, we have no idea how many others might be out there.”
Penny said with absolute confidence, “I would take one Jax over a hundred of the most vicious Night Walkers.” She gave Bobby her brilliant smile and asked, “Would you teach me how to take pictures of the stars? I don’t know much about cameras other than to point and click, so you’ll have to start with the basics.” She held out her hand and, when he took it, she guided him back to his equipment.
As Bobby slowly and nervously went back to the stars he loved, Jax circled the camp keeping his senses on high alert. He knew that if it was one Night Walker, odds were he was just feeding and posed no threat. But if it was several traveling together, they had a tendency to act like a pack of wolves and attack anything in their path.
Later when he spotted Penny nodding off, Jax helped tuck her into her sleeping bag. He turned to Bobby and said, “You should get some rest as well. I don’t need much sleep, so I’ll stand guard until the sun is up.”
Bobby knew that closing his eyes meant that he would be putting his life in the hands of a Changeling but, after watching his tenderness with Penny and her absolute faith that Jax would keep them safe, he decided to put his trust in this stranger. Soon the only sound filling the camp was deep breathing.
Jax continued to search the deep shadows and his senses suddenly began to prick. He took off his shirt and shoes and stretched his muscles. With his eyes locked on the dark, he let his body shift. After the transformation stopped, he squatted in front of those he was protecting and waited. When he knew they were no longer alone, he breathed in the air around him. He instantly identified at least half a dozen Changelings nearby and also confirmed that they were Night Walkers. They were spread out and approaching from all directions.
They were surrounded.
Although Jax could have called on his stealth mode and hunted them down, he turned to look at those sleeping behind him and knew he couldn’t leave them unprotected for even a second—especially Penny.
As reflective eyes appeared in the dark, Jax stood tall. When faces joined the eyes followed quickly by thin and pale bodies, Jax scanned the new arrivals.
When the leader stepped forward, he closed his eyes and breathed in a scent carried on the cool early morning breeze. Liking the aroma, he opened his eyes and nodded toward those in the sleeping bags.
Jax knew he was asking for permission to come forward and take what they wanted. He was also aware that it was Penny’s scent that was calling to him and he would not allow her to be touched. He shook his head, silently informing his visitors that they needed to go back where they came from. Several snarled and bared their fangs to show that they were willing to fight for their prey. As the camp became cold and the air prickled with electricity, Jax returned their gesture by spreading his arms wide and let out a low growl that informed their intruders that he was also willing to fight to protect those he was guarding.
Seeing the Human’s protector in his fully shifted form, the leader suddenly recognized that it was Ice standing before him. His reputation among their kind was legendary, but he was confused by Ice’s odd behavior toward insignificant Humans.
The Night Walker stared intently into the eyes of the warrior, trying to decide what his next move should be. When he scanned the faces of his followers and saw the unfocused expressions of those new to their life as Changelings, he knew that they were still very unpredictable in battle. They had no chance getting past Ice without he and his followers being killed. The scent in the air continued to call to him, but he decided their prey wasn’t worth the risk. He motioned to his companions to stand down. Although he gave Ice a deep bow of respect before disappearing back into the dark, he knew that someday he would confront the large warrior. Ice needed to explain why he chose the enemy over his own kind.
Although the Night Walkers disappeared, Ice remained on high alert until his senses told him that they were once again alone. When he finally turned around, he found Bobby lying down, but staring up intently at him. When his lips moved to say something, Ice pressed his finger to his own mouth to tell him to remain quiet. The Human nodded at his protector, his expression of fear and gratitude informing Ice silently that he knew what he had done for him. Ice nodded in acknowledgement and returned to circling the camp while Bobby went back to sleep.
As the glow from the sun started to light the sky and Ice knew the danger had passed, he returned to his Human form. He stared at the those sleeping at his feet and was surprised that he was genuinely pleased that no one, on either side, was hurt or killed. He wasn’t sure how to process the emotions that also told him that he would have killed his own to protect these helpless Humans.
He was struck by the overwhelming need to hold Penny and, to his complete shock, the need was coming from his darker side. His body instantly shifted back to Ice, crawled in next to her, and pulled her into his arms. To his delight, she sighed contentedly into his embrace.
In the morning as the stargazers shared a breakfast together, Jax told Penny about their night time visitors. Although he downplayed the event, Bobby shared what he had seen. His face glowed with his admiration for Ice’s actions and Penny was extremely proud of what Ice had done for them.
After they helped Bobby pack up all of his supplies into an SUV, he gave Penny a hug and shook Jax’s hand.
Jax said, “My kind are becoming restless and very angry. As their numbers increase, the threat they pose to Humans is growing rapidly. Always stay on alert.” He handed Bobby a piece of paper and said, “This is a number for someone that runs a Changeling safe house in Fort Collins. Whenever you want to come up here again, call him. He’s part wolf and an exceptional hunter. Although I used to laugh at his theories on how Humans and Changelings need to work together to find a way to peacefully coexist, recently I’ve begun to understand his point of view. You can trust him and he can provide you protection. I’ll call him right away to make him aware, because if you told him what I did last night, he won’t believe you.”
Bobby wasn’t sure what Jax meant by his last comment, but he wasn’t going to question the man that saved his life twice in the same night. Instead he tucked the number in his pocket and said, “Thank you.” He turned to Penny and added, “I’ll get that picture to you as soon as I can. Whenever you miss your family, look up into the night sky and know that they’re each shining brightly and watching over you.”