Free Richfield & Rivers Mystery Series 3 - Venus Besieged by Andrews, Austin

I
thought it was my story.'"
    "Was
she yelling at you?" Callie frowned, having heard Barrett's voice through
the phone and seen my dejected expression.
    "Yeah,
redeveloping my story and then shouting at me because I don't get the plot. By
the time this project is over, I won't recognize this as my story, which is
good because it will probably be about a psychologically abused aardvark that
has sex with a chicken, and there will be enough writers on the credit roll to
start a ball team. The entire shape of the story is shifting...subtle at first,
a tweak here, a tweak there.. .and soon it's unrecognizable, like a screenplay
suffering from Alzheimer's, the original idea still buried inside there
somewhere, struggling to communicate something...but it's forgotten what."
    "Your
story—subtly shifting like the wolf."
    "What?"
I glanced over at Callie, wondering why, when I was baring my soul, all she
could talk about was the wolf, which as far as I could see had no relevance to
my current trauma.
    "The
Navajo clan in which Manaba was reared." The faraway look on Callie's face
was making me squirmy.
    "I'm
afraid you're about to tell me something that would be very interesting over cocktails
in L.A., but in a cabin in the woods might scare the shit out of me."
    "For
your own protection I have to tell you."
    "I
hate this part." I winced.
    "The
wolf could be a shape-shifter or, more aptly put, a shape-shifter has taken the
form of a wolf," Callie said, facing me full front and resting her hands
on my knees, I presumed, to keep me from running to my car and fleeing into the
night. She seemed to weigh my reaction before going further with the
explanation.
    "I
was studying the aspects in the chart and thinking about my time here with
Manaba and realizing she once told me about shape-shifters in the tribe. Not
everyone can do it, of course. It's a very special talent."
    Running
my hands through my hair, I fretted. I'd had a terrible review on my script and
now this. "When I first met you and you told me about astrology and then
psychics and then ghosts, I didn't believe you. Now I believe everything you
say, so I have to draw the line here. This is way too voodoo for me. I can't go
around looking into the eyes of every animal out there to see if it's
really...Ethel."
    "I've
walked into their energy field, Teague. I've entered their space and gotten
involved in someone else's drama. Now he's after me too, as evidenced by the
attack on me in the bedroom."
    "He
who?" I was breathing rapidly, despising that anyone would threaten
Callie. "You haven't done anything to show anyone you're involved in
whatever's going on here."
    "People
in tune with this know, the energy knows...the wolf knows."
    "The
wolf knows? I'm sorry but that's insane."
    Callie
didn't chastise me for my negativity, perhaps knowing I'd reached the limit of
my willing suspension of disbelief and, instead, went to the kitchen and brewed
me some coffee and let me settle down.
    Watching
her from behind, the small hips, well-formed shoulders, and the way her
gorgeous hair swept back off her features, I sighed. "The one thing I
don't want shifting is my relationship with you, unless it's a good shift,
however you define shift. .."
    She
approached, coffee cup in hand, and we stared at each other for a moment. Then
I ducked my head and put it against her chest, and she draped her arms around
my neck.
    "It's
only energy, Teague, don't be afraid. When an athlete stops putting his energy
out there and retires, he often gets sick because that outwardly directed
energy turns in on him. There's no way to dissipate it. When a woman is
repressed and unable to express herself—put her energy out there and say what
she feels— that energy goes inside her and she can get diseases of the heart,
the mind, the body."
    "Do
you really believe that?" I flashed on the myriad of women's illnesses and
was incredulous that Callie thought merely speaking out could cure them.
"I don't think it's fair to