“No. He still can, but being top dog, um… possum, won’t come easy as long as you’re around.”
“Are you saying I’ll be okay if I go back to She-car… Chicago?” He shot Monica a dirty look for corrupting his vocabulary.
She ignored him to pick up the tale. “I’m not sure you should. In the past, I’ve heard of McDaniel wives who’ve carried out the duties for the Jack while husbands fought in wars. While the rightful Jack is alive, however, the designated leader senses them. In fact, one such lady experienced a sudden increase in ability the instant her husband died in combat thousands of miles away.”
“What now?” Seth scrubbed his hands over his face, suddenly even more tired.
“Now we get you ready to face the next full moon. Dustin had three cycles to name Irene’s successor. We’ve passed two. In just shy of a month, it’ll be time.”
“What do I have to do?” Was there a rule book somewhere he should be reading?Shapeshifting 101? Or maybe,Werepossum Culture-Volume One?
Dustin answered him this time. “First, make sure the people know who you are, what you stand for, and why you’re the only rightful choice. Your family resemblance will go a long way toward ensuring your acceptance.”
Seth gave Dustin all the scowl he could manage to muster in his worn-out state. “Are you talkin’ ’bout my nose? ’Cause let me tell you, I got enough grief about my nose in grade school.” He passed a hand over his prodigious sniffer.
“I like your nose,” Dustin inclined his head to say, eyes crinkling at the corners. He leaned across the table and planted a kiss on the McDaniel family legacy.
“Alright, lovebirds, enough kissy-face.” Monica slammed her cup down on the counter. “Seth holds a legitimate claim, but still can’t be seen to be playing favorites between you and Junior. Dustin, between the two of us, we have to make sure he captures the hearts and minds of the townsfolk.”
Seth wrenched his attention away from Dustin’s suggestive gaze and the promises it held for later. “I thought all I had to do was fight Junior and win.”
“Seth, what century are you living in?” Monica gave him “are you serious?” glare. It wasn’t pretty. “Everything’s political now, and we’re off to do a little politicking.”
“Damn, I have to post flyers and stuff envelopes after all, don’t I?” Seth groaned, recalling his earlier misconception of what Junior wanted of him. Now, however, instead of Junior’s smiling face and a “Vote for Me!” slogan, Seth saw his own somewhat bewildered expression and “Vote for Me… Please!”
“We’ll stuff envelopes in the nude,” Dustin promised. The clothes on Seth’s image on the imaginary flyers fell off.
Chapter 19
“OKAY. First thing you gotta learn is the secret handshake.”
“The secret what?” Seth stared at Monica, wondering whether or not she was kidding, not that he’d ever seen her kidding before. Or had he?
“The secret handshake.” She approached, hand outstretched, a twitch at the corner of her mouth the equivalent of a caution flag.
After wiping his sweaty palm on his gym shorts, Seth slowly, slowly, brought his hand up toward the woman he half expected to pull some kind of kung fu move, leaving him sprawled on his ass. Particularly when they now stood in the barn, where she’d insisted they spread a layer of hay as padding before beginning Seth’s training.
“Now,” she explained, “the extra something the virus provides that allows us to shift gives off energy. That, along with a slight change to your natural scent, is how the folks in town can tell you’re now a jack.” Did she add “ass” or was that Seth’s imagination? “The stronger the energy the more respect you’ll get from the passel. Remember how the Johnson boys toed the line in the grocery store? Well, they didn’t want to be on the receiving end of another jolt from me.”
“You’re going to shock me?” Seth jerked his hand back, cradling the appendage against his chest.
Monica’s lip twitching grew more pronounced. “Nothing that will do permanent damage, and like shifting at will, you can learn to control the amount of power, hide it if necessary, or amp it up to warn an enemy, though you seem to have inherited a natural shield. A good dose of shifter mojo is like taking a hit of some really good shit for these people, if that’s what you intend. Or you can deliver a good hard swat, like I do occasionally to the triplets. Wins them over, or keeps ’em in line, depending on what’s needed. Now, quit being a wuss and give me your hand. I want you to concentrate, focus inward on your animal. He knows where the energy lives and will help you find it.”
With great reluctance Seth raised his hand, mentally poking at his inner marsupial. It growled, rolled over, and hissed,Go away! I’m sleeping.
As though sensing Seth’s predicament, Monica urged, “You’re the host body, your animal is a symbiont. You’re the boss.”
Seth poked again, harder this time.Yeah, yeah, yadda, yadda,his inner beast seemed to say, yawning and stretching a many-toothed mouth wide. A sensation began in his fingers and toes and moved inward, a mass influx of raw power. Every hair on his body stood on end.
“Good, good,” Monica praised. “Now, concentrate that power to your hand.”
Imagining a movie poster he’d seen of Iron Man, Seth shoved the tingling sensations toward one palm. Confidence surged through him, and he no longer hesitated to slap hispalm against his teacher’s.
The smirk left Monica’s face. She sailed backward across the barn, smacking into a stack of hay bales. The hay tumbled to the ground, burying her.
“Monica! Monica! Are you all right?” Seth flew across the barn, grabbing bales and flinging them aside, terrified he’d killed the woman.
Monica lay flat on her back, staring at the rafters. “Holy shit!” she exclaimed. A dazed grin split her face. “I can’t wait to see the sparks fly when you hit Junior!”
