I met my father’s gaze. “Do you think the protection dome is necessary? Is there really a possibility that by joining, they are just going to completely lose their shit and start trying to kill marked?”
He was focused on the center of the room. “Sometimes control takes a while,” he said. “After a few times joining, they should have the same mental-control of the Four, but the first times can be a little dicey.”
Control of the Four. That was exactly what we wanted … said no one ever. I wanted the Four to cease to exist, and I wanted to be the one to wipe them off the face of the Earth. But … when everything was all said and done, I had to keep reminding myself that if the dragon king rose, the supernatural community would need them for the fight. I wondered what role my quads would hold if the king rose?
Everyone fell silent as Quale addressed the Compasses. “You are free now to join your power. I believe you have been instructed on the manner in which to do this?”
Four heads, just one single nod. I was surprised. After twenty years of friendship there weren’t many secrets left in our pack, but I had no idea when they’d been instructed on joining their power. They had had a few private classes in the history of supernaturals, and in Family Ties class … it had to have been during these lessons.
They’d told me at the time those classes had been about the unique abilities of multiples – a class I probably should have attended also, but back then my twin status had been a hugely guarded secret.
Wanting to see everything that was about to happen I shuffled forward, Jonathon stayed by my side. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was acting all bodyguard-like, which meant he didn’t have that much faith in the protective ring surrounding the boys. I couldn’t really blame him. It was always better to be safe than sorry with the Compasses. They often did … the unexpected.
For the first time, since entering the dome, unease flittered across the quad’s faces. But they also looked intrigued. I could tell they wanted to know what their calling was, but were concerned about the damage they might wrought. A concern we all wore.
I felt the surge of power then, even through the shielded cage. The boys were starting their joining.
Maximus vamped out first, energy drifting over his hair and down his body. Suddenly everything about him was changed, and yet he was also the same. It was hard to describe. His hair grew richer in color, his eyes black as a night sky, his skin glowing a tawny color. His fangs elongated as his body increased to even more massive proportions. He was spectacular. I could see Cardia licking her lips as she dragged lustful eyes over him, but along with her clear attraction, there was also dilation of pupils, paling of her skin, accelerated heartbeat. She was like the rest of us, fearing what this change might bring to her very recently discovered mate. I had the same fears churning inside of me, only times four, as I loved all of the Compasses.
Jacob was next. He called on the elements, and even here, inside a glass and metal building, they came to him. The most prominent was fire, definitely his specialty, whipping in burning arcs around his head and down his left arm. His right hand held a single ball of water, like a large dewdrop. Wind thrashed around his blond hair, and the scent of fresh dirt filled the room as earth responded beneath his feet. Green eyes burned as energy surrounded him and joy split across his face. The elements made him feel alive.
Tyson stepped up. He would be the least showy. Much of his power relied on spells and nature. Yet, as he spoke rhythmically, spell casting, chanting too low for me to hear, energy cascaded over him, a subtle glow, which like Maximus enhanced his already dangerously beautiful features. Grace drew forward now. I’d been mostly focused on my boys, so I hadn’t realized that the healer witch and vampiress had left the wall and were now just on the outside of the barrier, as if they had to move closer to the Compasses – the quads’ overabundance of life force drawing all of us like magnets.
Tyson and Maximus had predator eyes locked on their girls. Their energies filled the huge space, and I was starting to understand what everyone was worried about. Individually, the quads were so powerful. What the hell was going to happen when they fully joined with each other?
All coherent thought fled when it was Braxton’s turn. He would finish the quartet of energy. I knew he couldn’t shift into dragon, there wasn’t enough room in the dome. He dropped his head, light reflecting off his black hair, and then it hit me what he was going to do. I scooted further forward, not wanting to miss a single thing. This was something very few shifters had ever achieved.
A fusion shift.
I’d seen Braxton succeed at this once, in shifting class. He had been the youngest to ever achieve this feat. This wouldn’t be like the dragon spirit Mischa had called, this was attaining a form somewhere between man and beast. Almost like the loup-garou myth, which humans both feared and worshipped. That Braxton could fusion shift so young was one of the reasons he was considered to be so very powerful.
Lines of scales formed on his cheeks, before spreading down his neck and across his arms. There weren’t enough blue and black scales to be creepy, but enough to look scary and dominating. His eyes glowed the yellow of the dragon, and his body became much bigger, his clothing tore as it stretched to accommodate his new form. Which was almost double his regular size. Suddenly I was just like the other girls, my dragon straining inside to get to her mate, my feet pushing me forward, fear of the unknown flooding me. As I moved Jonathon stuck to me in the same way bitch stuck to Giselda. Permanently.