Chasm Read online

  “Who are you?”

  “Nala. The mind of this facility.”

  Razi looked up to the opening of the tank and gauged her odds of making it out.

  “Do not attempt to escape. Your reworking is almost complete.”

  A trill of dread ran down Razi’s spine. “My what?”

  “This facility creates shifters. Your companions are already full-blooded with mastery of their bodies. You require additional adjustment.”

  “I am not Oefric, I am Terran. There is no reason for adjustment.” Reasoning was her only recourse as her body tensed with panic.

  “It is a requirement before any personnel leave this facility. You are not an employee or management.”

  She considered her options. “Where are my companions?”

  “They are restrained in the outer quarters. They were quite insistent that you not be altered, but that would go against my protocols.”

  “I see. What alterations have you engaged in?”

  “You have been enhanced with Oefric genes. Your body will soon be able to shift shape and accommodate your mates as well.”

  Her body shook with shock. “Please define the alterations.”

  “Physically, you will be able to mate with both of your males at the same time. It is a wish in their minds that my scanners determined to be a primary concern. With the alterations, you need never choose between them.” Nala’s monotone took on a smugness that irritated the hell out of Razi.

  Shock ran through her as she floated in the liquid. The mask kept her from looking down so she quickly ran her hands down her torso, relieved when she only found two breasts. With a sense of dread, she continued her exploration to her clit, further to her slit and with a blank mind, she found her second slit beyond it. Her rectum had been relocated an inch northward.

  Thrashing around in the tank, screaming invectives into the mask was not productive, but it exhausted her until she could do nothing but pant into the mask.

  “Your blood pressure is too high. I will sedate you until the procedure is complete.”

  “No, no…” Razi felt her consciousness give way and she floated into blackness.

  “Razi. Razi, wake up.” Ailan was holding her and her body was still shining with the liquid from the tank.

  A ripple of sensation ran through her skin. It wasn’t arousal, a strange energy was inside her and trying to crawl out of her skin.

  “Let me at that damned AI. I want to see if it can feel pain.”

  Eckhar snorted in relief. “Thank goodness. We thought she killed your personality.”

  Razi sat up, Ailan’s arm behind her. “What the hell did she do to me?”

  Her skin rippled again and she flinched as the visible creeping moved down her arm to her fingertips. “What the hell is that?”

  Ailan whispered in her ear. “Calm down. The change will come on you if you don’t calm down and this is not the place for it.”

  She hissed, “What change?”

  “From her lecture, she treated you to an Oefric reset. Your genes are being rewritten to make you into a shapeshifter.”

  “Fuck.”

  Ailan and Eckhar looked at each other and grinned.

  Ailan admitted, “I haven’t heard you curse before.”

  “I save it for special occasions.” She looked around and grimaced. “Where are we?”

  “Nala had the bots dump you in here. We are in a holding cell.”

  The walls were blank. Half a dozen bunks were around the exterior of the room. There was a small dispenser on one wall and a tiny lav enclosure.

  “Why did she dump me in here if she was done with her tampering?”

  The hated voice came through a minute speaker at the top of the wall. “You will not be released from this facility until you are proven to be a working shifter. At that point, you will be allowed to leave. Not before.”

  Razi tried to reason with the computer. “You don’t understand. This facility is going to be destroyed. The tectonic waves are getting closer.”

  “I am aware of the degradation of the local strata. It does not mean that a defective Oefric will be allowed to leave. You were brought here to be changed and you shall not leave until you are complete.”

  Frustrated, she yelled, “How long will that take?”

  “That is up to you. You cannot leave until you take another form so your mates had better work to help you. The moment you shift, you are free.”

  Razi was gearing up to yell, but Eckhar clamped a hand over her mouth. “Calm down, Razi. You are experiencing Oefric history in person. Consider it an experience most archaeologists would kill for.”

  She snorted and glared up at him with narrowed eyes until he freed her. “That would be an anthropologist. I would be content to simply observe.”

  Her skin rippled again and she gasped.

  Eckhar sighed. “Calm down. Your first change will be run by adrenaline if you are not careful. That is not a good way to start.”

  Muttering to herself, she left the men and went to one of the cots. A few short yanks later and she was wearing a sheet, toga fashion. “That is better. I am in favour of public nudity as long as it doesn’t involve me.”

  They seemed surprised but gestured for her to take a seat on the floor of the cell.

  Ailan asked. “Do you want to shift quickly?”

  “I have no idea, what are my options?”

  Eckhar sat on her right, Ailan on her left in a strange triangle.

  “You can do a slow shift, controlled and complete, but you might stall out halfway through. That would leave your transformation incomplete and uncomfortable.”

  Eckhar continued, “Or you can focus on an image in your mind, get your adrenaline high and shift quickly.”

  Razi weighed her options. “Like ripping off a bandage.”

  Ailan nodded. “Something like that.”

  She bit her lip and noted the tightening of Eckhar’s jaw.

  “How exactly will I get the necessary adrenaline going?” She grunted as her skin rippled again.

  “Fear, pain, anger or arousal. The choice is yours.”

  She blinked. “Any one of those?”

  Her companions nodded.

  Ailan spoke in a low and calming tone. “It is your first transformation, you can choose. At home, family would guide your first change. Here, we will stand in for the elders of your clan.”

  “I would vote for fear, but neither of you scare me. Anger is not a constructive emotion and I don’t want to remember my first shift like that. Pain isn’t really my thing.” She hesitated before finishing her thought. “I suppose that just leaves hormones as my route to shifting.”

  Eckhar held up a hand. “Not that we don’t appreciate it, but we don’t want you shifting or fighting for control whenever we are together. Are you sure that this is the method you want for your first shift?”

  She ran her fingers through the damp tangle of her hair. “I don’t know. What are you thinking?”

  “We have ways to trigger all of those emotions in this space. You need only give your authorization.” Ailan leaned forward, a peculiar light in his eyes.

  “Will you stop if I say no?”

  “You will need another word. Something that you would not say in reflex.” Eckhar was stripping off his shirt while Ailan removed his boots.

  “Why are you removing your clothing? You can shift with it on, can’t you?” She was getting nervous and the tremor in her skin became more visible.

  “We can, but the arousal factor is easier if we are able to engage in skin-to-skin contact.”

  Ailan stripped off his shirt and Razi’s mouth watered.

  “Razi, I want you to concentrate on an animal that you think of frequently. Fur or feathers, claws or paws. Every detail you can think of should be there.”

  Eckhar removed his trousers and stood straight, his eyes glowing and gaze fixed firmly on her. She couldn’t help but notice the enticing curve of his erection, including the dr
op of glistening fluid on the broad head.

  Her heart began to beat heavily, moisture emanated from her core and an aroused lassitude came over her.

  When Ailan completed disrobing, she bit her lip. She couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. They were both facing her, both aroused and her body was starting to shake with instincts that did not belong to her species.

  They did nothing, simply stood there with precum beginning do drip from their cocks. At an unseen signal, they moved and the faces that she was used to shifted into feral animals with open jaws and flashing eyes.

  Razi screamed and flung her hands up, hiding her face from their attack, but they brought her to the ground and held her there while their jaws tore at the wrap she was wearing. Teeth flashed, fabric tore and two pairs of clawed hands held her while the shifters eyed their meal.

  Her skin was pulsing rapidly now--fear, arousal and confusion driving her body into a welter of conflicting signals.

  Teeth fixed on her limbs at random intervals, not piercing, but pressing hard enough to bring a prickle of pain to her. Her eyes watered and then widened in surprise when tongues replaced the teeth.

  Ailan had taken on a feline head, Eckhar a wolf’s. The rough versus smooth tongue ran over her breasts, down her ribs and between her thighs with a random frenzy of tasting and caressing.

  Razi winced when Ailan moved between her thighs, lapping with his barbed tongue. Her body didn’t care what the stimulator looked like, as long as it got what it needed. The arousal spiralled to dizzying heights as his tongue scraped her clit, delved into her channel and then dug deep.

  When he removed his tongue from her channel, she thought he was done, but as he dug into her second channel, she found extra sensations that the moronic AI had installed in her. Nerves that had not been wired for this purpose woke under the methodical scrape of the feline appendage.

  He lapped obsessively at her, a deep purr coming from his chest.

  Eckhar held her neck between his teeth in warning before his attentions turned to her breasts and shoulders.

  She was trembling under the dual onslaught, the difference in sensation enough to make her dizzy. Just when she thought she would shatter in orgasm, they both retreated.

  A roar of frustration followed amazement. She lunged up, intent on straddling one of them to find satisfaction. They were waiting for her move.

  The moment she was up off her back, they flipped her to her belly and drew her up on her knees. Her skin was vibrating violently and the moment that Ailan moved behind her to bite the nape of her neck while caressing between her thighs with his claws, she shifted.

  The world was brighter, smells stronger. Her own arousal was heavy in the air, but so was the scent of male. Their musk made her shake her head and twitch her whiskers. She was panting, but her body felt wonderful, as if every cell she had had sneezed at the same time.

  When her acute vision took in her mates, a low growl came from her throat.

  They thought they had the right to tease her and it was not the case. She could and would teach them that they could not arouse her and then leave her to shift into a bobcat.

  Eckhar shifted completely into a wolf, Ailan a lion and they stalked her, low snarls in their throats.

  She lunged and swiped her claws along Ailan’s rear flank.

  Eckhar got his claw on the front shoulder.

  She hunched low and lashed her tail, waiting for the response.

  Razi, can you hear me?

  She blinked and tilted her head in surprise. Ailan, yes, I can.

  You need to shift back now.

  She shook her head, loving the feel of her fur shifting with her motions. Why? I like this form.

  It is dangerous to let the instincts take hold. For the first few shifts, you need to make them short and complete.

  This is complete. She stretched in a slow showing of her wonderful new shape.

  Now it is time to make it short. Come back to us.

  Her cat form snorted. Spoilsport.

  Eckhar rumbled in her mind, his wolf form nuzzling her side. If you shift back to human form, we will be released from this place and can return to the surface.

  She scowled, her furry face wrinkling. Well, if we can get out to where I can run free…How do I change back?

  Just relax and concentrate on your human form. Thinking of your hands does the best job.

  With that advice, Razi walked in slow circles until she took up a sphinx-like pose. She stared down at her paws and concentrated. Fingers…thinking of fingers.

  Her hands shifted back to flesh with no fur. She looked at the pale expanse of her nail beds and the long middle fingers on each hand. Her body was suddenly cold where the metal floor pressed against her.

  “Well, I am back. That was fun.” Her voice was hoarse to her own ears and with a little concentration, she was back to normal. A light clearing of her throat tested pitch and when it sounded right, she nodded.

  Ailan and Eckhar joined her on two legs. They quickly dressed and she couldn’t help but watch all that muscled flesh disappear with a certain amount of disappointment.

  Eckhar nodded. “Nala should let us out of here now.”

  The voice came through the loudspeaker. “You have met the transformation criteria. You are free to go. Be a proud member of the Oefric species, serve your masters well.”

  Eckhar wrapped a hand around Razi’s mouth as she opened it to screech at the computer. She was no male’s slave.

  The door to their cell opened and they left. Her Oefric companions lifted her off her feet to haul her out of the find of the century.

  Chapter Four

  Her boots were the only piece of clothing that was in one piece when they got to the outer chamber where the bots had come upon them. The remainder of her garments had been shredded.

  Razi glared at the men while she put her feet in the boots and relaxed as they wrapped their way up past her knees. Thigh-high boots were not in her normal fashion sense, but extraordinary times called for bizarre measures.

  Ailan brought a medical sheet to her and she wrapped it around herself while muttering.

  Her companions kept quiet and Razi knew why. Nala may be an AI, but many computers had come up with logical paths to explain unusual decisions. It was time to get back to safety as quickly as possible.

  The chasm that had swallowed her and started this whole mess loomed above them. “How am I going to get up that?”

  Ailan stepped in front of her and turned his back. “Climb on. We agreed to take turns bringing you to the surface. I will carry you for the first leg and when I tire, you will climb to Eckhar’s back. Together, we will all get to safety.”

  Razi leaned back and murmured to Eckhar, “Do you still have the recordings?”

  At his nod, she smiled, “Then let’s go.” She hopped onto Ailan’s back and held tight as he shifted his hands into elongated claws and started pulling her to the surface.

  Eckhar was in a similar shape, long bodied, long claws and feet that resembled hands quite closely. They moved up the rough walls of the chasm rapidly, but daylight was a tiny slit far above for a very long time.

  Razi’s arms ached and her legs were cramping, so she could only imagine what Ailan was feeling with her wrapped around him.

  When he stopped and made a coughing noise, Eckhar was at their side in an instant. The transfer had sounded acceptable when they were on the ground, but stuck to a rough wall with a drop that almost killed her once, it was an effort of will to let Ailan go and transfer her grip to Eckhar.

  They were moving more slowly now but still a steady climb. While the fall had seemed to be almost instant, the re-emergence to the surface took hours.

  The edge of the crevice was so welcomed that they all simply lay flat on the ground next to it while their muscles twitched and trembled. Amusing quips were beyond Razi for the first time in her life. She was exhausted and all she had done was to hang on for dear life.

  The sun
was taunting her, flirting with her lids and warming her hands. Razi groaned, every muscled in her body screaming. With superhuman effort, she sat up and perused her surroundings.

  She was still in the chamber with the rift in the floor and Ailan and Eckhar were asleep on either side of her. Blood covered their hands and feet, while cuts and bruises decorated the rest of them.

  Razi staggered to her feet, walked slowly to her shuttle and pulled on a ship suit. She snagged her medical kit and returned to her companions. Triage meant that the long gash on Eckhar’s back be tended first. He woke while she was puttering but lay still until she finished sealing the wound.

  Ailan was next, the bruises on his biceps and open fingertips on his left hand getting her attention while he blinked at her, pain in his gaze.

  She went back and forth treating the more serious injuries, until minor scratches were all that were left. When they were both sitting up and as patched as she could get them, she got some supplies from her shuttle and brought a tray of food and water to them.

  “Is anyone going to mention what happened down there?”

  Their exhaustion was still obvious, but before they could answer, the ground shook again. En masse, they ran for the shuttles and waited out the earthquake.

  Razi’s panic ceased when she realized that, wounded as they were, the Oefric were bracketing her on either side with arms around her waist. She wasn’t going to fall again.

  “I think we need to evacuate this world. We have learned that it was indeed the home of the Oefric species. With the data I was able to grab, we should be able to figure out why the facility was abandoned.” Eckhar leaned back and let Razi get back to her own balance.

  “They had to deal with Nala, that’s why.” Her grumble made her companions smile.

  The men shared a look over her head. “We need to get you somewhere safe. You need far more medical exams than I have equipment for.”

  “Fine, we can send a signal and have an Alliance warship pick us up.”

  Ailan disagreed. “I believe that your condition would be best examined by an Oefric medical team. It is definitely a more suitable facility.”