Forbidden

The Vanishing Point

Luca

When shifters are young- long before their first shift- they're warned of the dangers of the vanishing point. It was the space between human and animal, and if the shifter was in control, they hardly noticed it as they changed forms. For those who lacked mastery over their baser instincts, the vanishing point was a treacherous, drawn out moment in the shift, and if the shifter wavered, they could be lost forever. Slayers called female shifters who struggled with the vanishing point, Wildlings, but all shifters can fall victim to it if they're not careful.

Luca had always been the definition of careful. From his first shift, the vanishing point had only been something others had told him about. He and his panther worked seamlessly together- harmony between man and beast. Part of that was because of his firm grip on his emotions, but over the last few days that grip weakened. When he broke through the door blocking him from Van, only to find the room was empty, the grip shattered, and his animal instincts overwhelmed him.

"Get the tranq gun," someone shouted.

He snarled and lashed out as the human approached him. Blood mixed with dust and grit clung to his paws as he prowled around the room. Most of the blood belonged to humans, though his whiskers twitched as a strange odor filled his nose. It was earthy and wild and ancient.

"Wait for my signal."

He ignored the people crowding around him, though his ears flattened against his head when the blonde woman stepped too close. She paused, and he continued to sniff the floor, stiffening when he found Van's scent. So much blood. Too much.

"Should I shift?"

A girl with an eyebrow ring squatted next to Luca, her hand hovering over the spot he was smelling. "Sure, Scott. Because we need a grizzly bear lumbering around while we have a half feral panther to deal with too."

"Luce."

Luca lowered himself to his stomach and hissed. The girl flinched but didn't move as a light grew beneath her hand. He wanted her away so he could think, but about what, he couldn't remember. It was all fading, slipping away like sand through his... he cocked his head to the side and stared at his feet. Nothing was making sense.

"Luce, can you force him to turn?"

The gargantuan man glared at the blonde woman, his horror mirroring Luca's. There wasn't much left of him, but her words triggered something instinctual in him. Shifters considered forced turnings cruel and unorthodox.

"Scott," Luce snapped, "It's that or you go to the store and get a litter box because congratulations, you have a new kitty cat."

Luca snorted, earning a rueful look from the witch. She curled her fingers to her palm, and the light disappeared. Rising, she brushed off her jeans and sighed.

"They're both alive. Heading to the east."

"East? The Asylum is to the west."

Luca dragged himself out of the darkness. Alive. Van was alive. He could still hear the glass shattering. The screams. The inhuman roar and rapid fire of guns. But she was alive.

"How?" Scott gasped when Luca shifted back into his human form. As a shifter himself, he would know the strength it took to come back, but Luca couldn't say the truth out loud. Not in front of everyone. He would always come back for her.

"Is there anything to the east, Nancy?" Luca asked, ignoring Scott's blatant staring while picking up a blanket from the floor. The edges were singed, and splotches of red and black stained the cream color. But it would offer him a bit of modesty as his clothes were nothing more than strips of fabric strewn across the floor or hanging from his limbs.

She assessed him for a long minute before responding. "Nothing directly east, but I suppose you could head that direction and take a longer route to the lake house in the north. It's the home Gabriel Helsing built when he first settled in the area, but only a few know about it outside of the Helsing family. Mostly officers. I only know because my father was an officer. Neither myself nor Jake have ever been invited up there so I don't know it's exact location."

"Where's my mom?" Walker wailed from the hallway.

"I'm on it," Scott said, dipping out of view. His booming voice became low and soothing as he talked to the boy.

"How did they find us?"

Nancy and Luce shrugged. The witch responded, "I checked you both for tracker spells, and you were clean. Not surprising. The Slayers rarely ask for help from my kind."

The older woman pinched the bridge of her nose. "Unless Van was chipped. It usually happens on the first day of school for Slayers. Did Van mention it?"

Gripping the ends of the blanket, Luca shook his head. There was no way they put a chip in Van while she was awake, but Abe had ample opportunity to chip her while she was in his home. Not to mention the night of the accident when she'd been in and out of consciousness.

"I have enough blood, I think I can make a decent tracking spell. Even if they have the property warded, I think we can get close enough to find them."

"That's assuming they're even headed there."

Luca almost threw up his hands before remembering the consequences of such an action. His vision became edged with black. "We have to start somewhere."

"I agree, but we can't rush into this. Xandra wouldn't want us to risk the entire organization to rescue her."

The room flickered, and he knew Nancy was looking into eyes of inhuman ice instead of warm brown ones as he stalked across the room. In a matter of weeks, he lost his brother and his cousin. Two people who meant everything to him. Van had been willing to sacrifice everything to help him bring them home, and he would be damned if he wouldn't do the same for her.

Another person entered the room before he could unleash his rage on Nancy, but when he saw who it was, he almost returned to his animal form as flames of fury licked down his spine.

Trixie drew her long braid over her shoulder. "Am I interrupting something?"

"What is she doing here? She's the one who brought Tommy in."

"I made sure no one hurt him," Trixie snapped.

"Mom, what happened here?" Hailey rushed in behind Trixie, her mouth gaping as she took in the destroyed room. "Luca? What the hell is going on?"

He bristled. It was a question he'd been asking himself since before climbing in that car, but all of his typical level headed reasoning was spent. It didn't matter anymore. The only thing that mattered was bringing home the people he loved.

"Your mom is part of a secret society intent on bringing down the Slayers. Called the Deltas if Luce's slip is anything to go by. So she's been lying to your face since day one. I think that sums it up. Let's get a move on," he growled before leaving the room.

Hailey's shrieking followed him down the hallway, and he smiled. But that smile fell when Walker rushed out of a room and threw his arms around Luca's legs.

"They won't tell me where my Mom and sister are," the little boy cried.

Luca squatted, getting on Walker's level the same way he always did for Brantley. His heart clenched at the thought of his brother. He didn't know what today's attack meant for his family. The people who took Van made no move to go after him, but he was a fool to think he was safe. They needed to go into hiding immediately.

"Luca?"

Putting his hands in Walker's red curls, he ruffled his hair and forced the grin back to his lips. "It's okay, buddy. We're gonna bring them home. I promise."