Read The Shadow of the Progenitors: A Transforms Novel (The Cause Book 1) for Free Online

flutes and animal-hide drums.
    Lori took the spear and bowed.  “Thank you, Arm Haggerty.  The Cause thanks you as well, and thanks your companions, who risked mind and limb to prove the Progenitors real.”
    Prove.  Proof.  Real.
    My horror deepened when Lori raised the spear above her head and said “The minds of the Progenitors imprinted a picture in the spear, a picture visible to all Crows and those of us familiar with the ways of the Crows.  This I will show you, now.”
    She did, breaking the last crumbs of my self-confidence and denial.  The scene, built by her exquisitely trained illusion-projection capabilities, but guided by the spear, showed an Eskimo tribe.  Of Transforms.  Over two hundred of them.  And just three Focuses and four Crows.  No Arms, Chimeras or Monsters.  No non-Transformed normals except for the multitude of children.  An equal number of men and women.
    All these years we had hoped we would find a way to solve the Transform survival problem by allowing the Focuses to support more than a couple dozen Transforms, and support as many male Transforms as woman Transforms.  Here was proof that such a way existed.  We had also hoped we would find a way around the intractable Transform infertility problem.  Here also was proof.
    The audience cried for joy, save for a few of us stony types.
    I felt loss as well as joy.  Joy that we finally had the proof, loss and horror over the means: heroism and adventure instead of good, hard, science.
    “They killed their Arms and Chimeras,” Bass said.  I had no idea how she picked up on this, but I read truth in her words.  “Ma’am, let’s go.  These people, who are going to follow this path, are our enemies .”
    I shook my head.  “This way lies survival.”
    “Not for me.  Not for us.”  Bass stood and stalked away, radiating anger and disgust.
    So much for my tag seduction.
     
    ---
     
    “Congratulations,” I said, to Lori and Amy, after I corralled them in the Arm corner of Room D.  I lied; I felt no such emotion.  I had gone numb inside, as robotic as Webberly, the most closed off Arm.  “Do you have any idea how so few Focuses were able to support so many Transforms?”
    “None at all,” Lori said.  “The only thing I know for certain is that these Focuses and Crows worked differently than we do.  No juice patterns, for one.”  She paused.  “I believe you two have something to discuss; I’ll leave you to it.”
    I still hadn’t seen or metasensed Sky.  Was he as messed up about this as I was?
    Haggerty’s eyes shifted around.  “Not here,” she said.  She led me out into the now deserted back hallway.  I knew what was coming.  “I won the wager.  Acknowledge me as your superior.”
    Our stupid wager.  She had pledged to follow my orders and cease her heroic nonsense for five years if her quest came up empty.
    “Bullshit,” I said, my anger growing.  “All I’m willing to acknowledge is your right to continue your crazy heroic crap.  You’ve proven something here, I’m not sure what.”  This was the term of our wager.  The wager said nothing about who would be boss.
    “No way,” Haggerty said.  “Acknowledge my…”
    She didn’t get to finish her insulting demand, because my anger peaked and I attacked.  She attempted to sweep my legs out from underneath me and failed.  We both went invisible, and backed off from each other.
    An unseen blow sent me flying.  Then another.  I complained about her lack of political acumen, not inviting Keaton or Rayburn, or any Transforms or normals.  She countered with her own psychological ploy: “It’s time for you to dedicate yourself to the Cause for real, instead of dicking around with Keaton’s self-serving shit.”
    I had no hope of winning this, not with my own damn traitorous subconscious agreeing with her arguments.  She wanted to force the Cause on the Transforms and research our way to victory.  Our political enemies would see