"No, you were right. And even if you did use your mojo, it obviously didn't work on me."
"That's good." He looked at me. "If I do have this power, I hope it never works on you. I wouldn't want that."
"Don't worry. You can count on me to keep telling you you're full of crap. And in this case, I'm not sure it was working on anyone. Corey stayed undecided. I think you have to switch it on, like you do sometimes."
He nodded.
Another quiet moment. Then, "So you can tell when I switch it on?"
"I can."
"Good. If I ever do it with you, accidentally, stop me, okay?"
"You think I wouldn't?" I knocked his shoulder. "Believe me, you are not using any of that mojo on me. Ever. You want to convince me of anything, you gotta be you."
"Good." He caught my gaze and held it for a moment, then looked away quickly and said again, "Good. Still up for talking about your powers? What you've been feeling?"
"Absolutely."
Unfortunately, any discussion of my powers led to thoughts of shape-shifting, which led to thoughts of Annie, which led to worry. Worry? Hell, no. Let's call it what it really was. Outright panic. If I even started thinking of it, my heart pounded and my mouth went dry.
When I tried to skate over the subject, Daniel brought me back, and we hashed it out. Turning out like Annie wasn't a certainty--she was the only subject we knew who'd begun to shift. Growing up in a medical research town meant we knew all about side effects and outliers. Her case might be a one-off.
And if it wasn't? Then we knew where to find the scientists who'd done this to us. We didn't trust them. We didn't want anything to do with them. Still...
"If that happens to you, we're getting their help," Daniel said.
"But--"
He put his hand over my mouth. "No buts. If it happens to you, we go to them. We'll force them to fix you on our terms." A wry smile. "I can make people do things, remember?"
I was sure it wouldn't be that easy. But having him say it? Be willing to take that risk for me? It meant a lot.
We talked until ... well, until we weren't talking anymore. I suppose I fell asleep first. I dreamed of Rafe. I dreamed he was out there, in the forest, lost and hurt and calling me. Needing me. This time, though, I didn't bolt awake thinking it was real. Maybe I was just too tired. Or maybe, finally, I knew it wasn't real, couldn't be real, however much I ached to believe it.
Next thing I knew, I was waking to Kenjii licking my face and Corey saying, "Now this is when I really need a camera."
I'm sure that when I fell asleep, I'd been lying on my back, looking up at the sky as I talked to Daniel. But when I woke up, I was on my side, nestled with my back against him, his arm over me. I jumped up so fast I kicked him in the shins and he let out an "Oomph."
Corey's laugh rang out through the silent forest. "Oh, come on. You guys looked so cute."
"Cold," I muttered. "It got cold."
"Then let's hit the trail and warm up," Corey said.
EIGHTEEN
AFTER ABOUT AN HOUR of walking, I started thinking maybe I'd cuddle up with Daniel again, just to make Corey laugh. The morning had started on a light note, but it darkened fast. The sky darkened too. We'd escaped the threat of rain on our first night, but now the black clouds gathering overhead said it had only been a temporary reprieve.
The rain began as a light drizzle. Being part cat, I'm not keen on rain, but I've always liked a light one, especially on a hot summer's day, tramping through the woods or rock climbing, enjoying the cool mist on my face, the sweet fresh smell of it, the inevitable rainbow afterward. But this wasn't a refreshing mist on a hot summer's day. It was an icy drizzle that slid down the backs of our necks and plopped off the end of branches and froze our ears and soaked our shoes.
"Can we stop?" Hayley asked.
"If I see a sheltered spot, we'll hole up for a while."
"Can we look for one? I have a blister--"
"We all have blisters," Sam said.