Page 19 of Awakened By the Guardian

Mr. Baldner’s expression tightened. “I don’t know, son.” He took a deep breath. “Thing is, when the gene is passed down, most shifters change in their teens. I thought you would, but you didn’t.”

“So, what happened? Why did I change last night?”

“Someone dumped shit into the city water system. It wasn’t detected at the purification plant, and it sure as hell wasn’t filtered out.”

“It’s turning people into bears?” Margaret asked.

Mr. Baldner shook his head. “Not normal folk. For them, it’s headache, fever, hallucinations. The old and the very young are dying.” He peered at her. “You feeling anything?”

Margaret shook her head.

“Good. Stay away from the tap.” Mr. Baldner turned to his son. “But you’ve got shifter DNA, so you changed. I’m full, so you’re half. Those with less than half—we call ’em hybrids—don’t fare as well. Most go stinky and crazy.”

“From the water?” Margaret asked.

Gary frowned. “I couldn’t stop guzzling it yesterday.”

His father nodded. “Then you shifted—and now you’re one of us!” There was pride in his voice, and a fond smile curved his lips.

Margaret leaned forward, anxious. “What does ‘stinky and crazy’ mean?”

Mr. Baldner grimaced. “We don’t understand it—or I don’t. It’s not like I’m a doctor.”

“You may be a plumber, Dad,” Gary said, “but you understand more than we do.”

Mr. Baldner grimaced. “What I’ve been told is that people with less DNA than you only half turn, become part wolf or bear. There’s cats too, and other stuff. The less-than-halfies stink something awful when they change. We’ve got a doc at the CDC who’s helping, and she says that most of the ones who change partway lose brain function and go crazy. They start attacking whoever’s around and won’t stop.” His hands tightened on the back of the chair. “That’s what I’ve been doing since this whole thing started. I’ve been patrolling. Saving normal people and any hybrid we can help.”

Margaret frowned. “Can’t you leave it to the police?”

Mr. Baldner looked at her. “Tensions are high out there and every-damn-body has a gun. Most cops are out with the flu, and the others…well, like I said, magic hides itself. They can’t see what we see, so they can’t react appropriately. No, it’s better to have shifters watching out for everybody until this is all done.”

He finished talking and looked like it was the end of the conversation. As he started to rise, Gary held out his hand.

“You’re saying I can change into a bear at will?”

“We call it shifting.”

Gary frowned. “How? How do you control it?”

His father blew out a breath and ran his hand through his hair. “Can’t explain that, exactly. You just…do it.”

“Any time I want?”

His father snorted. “What do you think? Feel like you have the strength right now?”

Margaret looked at Gary, intrigued. Gary was staring at his hand as if he could will it into a paw.

“So, it just happens?” he pressed his father. “Or I can control it?”

“You’ll learn,” his father promised. “But it takes a lot out of us to do. I can’t shift more than every other day, which is damn fast. Makes me a strong shifter. That’s why I thought you’d become one of us while you were a teen. Guess it took the water to push you over.” He squeezed his son’s arm. “But you’re one of us now. Try again in a week or so.”

“A week!” Gary straightened in his chair. “Dad, my legs worked. If I drink more water⁠—”

Margaret’s head snapped up. “You want to put random poison in your body so you can tromp around as a bear?” She took a deep breath. “Look, I know this probably seems like great fun, but think about the risks. You could be losing parts of your brain!”

Mr. Baldner shook his head. “No, he’s a full shifter like me. His brain is safe.”

Margaret doubted that. “It’s dangerous, Gary,” she pressed. “And what are you going to do as a bear in the city, anyway?”