Sexual Shift (7 page)

“Urgh! A shape-shifter!” She spit onto the carpet.

“Hey! Watch it.” But Tanner knew it was hopeless to stop his mother once she’d gone ballistic.

“For the love of Satan, they’re nothing more than human chameleons. What kind of power is changing your form? Big deal.” She marched in front of Tanner and thrust her finger an inch from his nose. “You’re sinking to a new low, and I will not have it. Get back to your playboy ways, or else.”

“Now, Bryna.” Setias tried to keep the smile from his face and failed. “If she has a kind heart, then why not give it a chance? She could be a good influence on him.”

“Don’t you ‘now, Bryna’ me, you old fart. You’ve made my point for me. A good influence? How despicable. Tanner, you will not get involved with this, this…shape-shifter creature.”

Tanner usually didn’t bother arguing with his mother. What was the use, anyway? She’d do what she wanted whether he liked it or not. But he’d never backed down before, and he wasn’t about to start now. He wouldn’t let what had happened to Mira happen again. Hilly was too interesting, too appealing, too everything.

“Back off,
Mom
.” He shot her a wicked grin, knowing she hated the term. “I’ll see who I want, whenever I want. Whether you like it or not.” He took a step closer.

“Good for you, son.” His father unfurled his wings, flapping them once as he shot him a thumbs-up.

“Oh, really?” His mother squinted at him. “I’ll bet a week in Alaska that she doesn’t know what you are. I’m right, aren’t I?”

His mother was up to something. He could see it in the gleam in her eyes. “Not yet. But she will. I’ll tell her what I am when the time is right.”

Suddenly, the anger in his mother dissipated, and she stepped away, smoothing her blood-red silk shirt over her long, flowing blood-red skirt. “Unless she finds out before then.”

“Stay away from her.” Tanner gritted his teeth. “Dad, can’t you stop her?”

His father shot him a pointed look. “You know your mother. It would take heaven and earth to stop her.”

“Maybe I should get to know her better. What’s her name?” She peered at the monitor. “Hilly Tristan. Yes, Miss Tristan and I should get acquainted.”

“Mother, don’t even think about it. If you do, I’ll—”

“Really, Tanner, don’t make idle threats. It doesn’t become you.” She blew him a kiss and vanished.

“Holy hell.” Tanner groaned and looked to his father.

“You can say that again, son.”

Chapter Five

A black mist swept over Hilly. She reached out, sensing others in the darkness but felt only the damp air against her palm. Where was she? How had she gotten here?

“Hilly! Help!”

Allie’s scream jerked her to the left but she could see nothing through the mist.

“Hilly! We need you!”

A tortured howl of pain followed Meg’s cry. Hilly’s heart jumped into her throat.

“Where are you? I can’t see you!” Although she could hear their crying, she wasn’t sure if they could hear her. “Answer me. Please.”

Hilly recklessly stumbled forward, her arms outstretched, her breaths coming in pants. Her sisters’ sobs grew louder, and she hurried on, picking up speed.

A roar ripped through the mist, making her skid to a stop. The chilling sound echoed in the darkness, surrounding her until she couldn’t tell which direction it came from.

“We’re here. Please come.” Allie’s voice was barely more than a whisper, and Hilly sensed she was trying not to attract whatever had growled.

“I’m coming,” she shouted, hoping to draw whatever was threatening her sisters toward her.

At once, the mist parted as she stepped into a large circular area of black grass. Meg and Allie crouched at the opposite edge of the circle, their arms wrapped around each other. A huge hulk of a beast towered over them.

Short, straight horns studded the tail that swished as the thing turned toward Hilly. Blazing red eyes flashed with hunger in a face covered with boils and warts. A short snout resembling that of a hog blew black smoke. Matted gray fur covered its fat body in patches that grew thicker along its six legs then disappeared on the furless feet. Red stains covered the long, curved claws.

She gasped at the blood. Were her sisters hurt?

“Back off, beast.” She spoke with more authority than she felt, but she had no choice but to try.

The monster snarled at her, then opened its mouth wider to expose row after row of sharklike teeth. A purplish-black tongue flicked out. “Who says?”

Hilly swallowed hard. “I do. Get out of here before I pull your guts out through your fat ass.”

The horror threw back its head and laughed. The sound, at first deep in tone, changed, becoming higher in pitch like the voice of a woman. “You miserable piece of mortal, how dare you tell me what to do.” It shook its head, throwing spittle into the air. With another laugh, it twirled and snatched up Allie, then held her high in the sky.

Allie screamed and beat her fists against the creature’s claws, but she was no match for the monster. Meg threw herself at one of its legs, but it only laughed and kicked her away. Her body flew through the air to land in a lump at Hilly’s feet.

“Meg!” Hilly fell to her knees and turned her sister over. What was once Meg’s beautiful face was now a bloody mess. “No! You can’t die.” She shook her sister’s lifeless body. “Don’t leave me. Please don’t die.”

But her pleas were useless. Meg was gone.

“Hilly, help me!”

Hilly looked up to see blood spurting out of Allie’s mouth. Gurgling red bubbles ran down her chin, a second before she slumped over the monster’s paw.

“No! You can’t have her.” Hilly morphed, changing into an exact replica of the creature. Growling, she rammed into the monster, shaking Allie free from its hold. Allie fell to the ground in two pieces, the top of her torso rolling several feet away from her bottom half.

Hilly howled a tortured noise, clutched the creature’s fur and hung on. They rolled, each with a death grip on the other.

But Hilly couldn’t match its strength. Claws raked through her, and pain seared into her soul. The creature pinned her to the ground and held her down.

A wicked gleam shone in the monster’s red eyes as it gazed down at her. Hilly struggled, but couldn’t get loose. She morphed into her human form, hoping the change to a smaller body would give her room to wrench free, but the monster only tightened its hold on her.

“I hope it was worth it.”

Hilly tried to catch her breath and panted out the words. “What are you talking about?”

Saliva dripped off the chin of the monster and splattered on Hilly’s forehead. “You foolish changeling. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into, have you? But it doesn’t matter. You’ll be dead soon. Just like your sisters.”

The monster cackled then opened its mouth. The rows of teeth glistened with blood and saliva. Hilly’s heart stopped as the monster lowered its head, ready to plunge its fangs into her.

“No!”

An inch from enclosing Hilly’s head in its jaws, the monster stopped. Twisting its neck, it stared at Tanner.

“Tanner, please help me.” Hilly reached for him, then dropped her hand, her strength gone.

He stood with his feet apart, his hands on his hips, his attention leveled on the creature. His hair flared outward, electrified. The silver-blue of his eyes changed, growing to a crimson red. “Leave her alone.”

“You know this is for your own good. Now go away.” The monster opened its jaws wider, exposing the hideous tongue.

“Like hell it is.” Thrusting out his arm, he sent a surge of power toward the monster. The air rippled with electricity as the wall of energy struck the creature, throwing it off Hilly. Black blood squirted from one leg.

The creature scrambled to its feet but was knocked down again as Tanner struck out with another burst of power. The thing roared a deafening sound, and Hilly clamped her hands over her ears. She crawled toward the edge of the clearing, her gaze averted from her sisters’ bodies.

“I won’t let you do to her what you did to Mira.”

“She was no good for you and neither is this one. I did what had to be done.”

“You did what entertained you.”

“Mira was a coward who took the easy way out.” With a huge roar, the monster struck back. The energy blow struck Tanner in the head, knocking him on his back.

He scrambled to his feet. A black liquid ran down the side of his face.

“Don’t make me hurt you again. Remember, you’re just like me.” The creature pointed a curved claw at his cheek. “See? We share the same blood.”

He wiped the black blood from his face. “I won’t allow you to invade Hilly’s dreams.”

“You won’t
allow
me?” The monster threw back its head and laughed. “You are a fool.”

“You have no place here.” Fury pulled his features into a dreadful mask. Power, both beautiful and frightening in its terrifying strength, whipped around him. Tanner waved his arm, striking out with even more intensity, and sent the monster flying into the mist. “Go back to hell where you belong.”

With a roar that vibrated the ground, the monster whirled head over heels, its image blurring as it spun.

“This isn’t over.” Convulsions shook its body. Fury seared from the ferocious red eyes and smoke poured from its widened nostrils. Suddenly, an enormous boom filled the air, and the creature was gone.

Several minutes passed as Tanner and Hilly stayed motionless, each of them staring into the blackness. At last, she pulled Meg’s body into her arms, then turned to stare at Allie’s glazed eyes.

Tanner knelt beside Hilly and slid his hand down her arm. “You’re okay. You’re not hurt.”

She buried her face against his shoulder and dragged in a breath of air, trying to come to grips with the carnage around her. “They’re dead. They’re both dead.”

“Hilly, trust me. Everything will be okay.”

She sought his eyes, saw the sincerity and wanted nothing more than to believe him. Yet she had no strength to do anything more than mourn the loss of her sisters. “Meg. Allie.” She leaned against him and wailed.

“Listen to me. You’re safe now. I won’t let her hurt you again.”

Hurt her? What did it matter now that her sisters were dead? She clutched Meg’s body, unable to believe what had happened. Yet as she gripped her sister’s body, Meg seemed to grow less tangible, becoming less solid. She gasped and stared at the empty place where her sister had lain.

Meg’s and Allie’s bodies had disappeared, leaving no trace that they’d ever existed. Hilly reached for where they’d been, her hands digging through the black grass as though they hid in its dark recesses. “No. Where are they? What happened? Bring them back.”

She scrambled to her feet and rushed toward the mist, but Tanner grabbed her and held her.

“Hilly, listen. This is a nightmare. Your sisters are all right. They’re home. They’re safe.”

Hilly glanced around. “A nightmare? No. It’s too real. Where are we?” She slumped against him, trusting him not to let her fall. “I don’t understand.”

“Come with me.”

She closed her eyes and nodded, her mind whirling with the images of her dead sisters.

He pressed his lips to her forehead in the spot where the monster’s spittle had struck her. “Trust me.”

In the next second, she opened her eyes and found herself lying next to him in a large bed. The room was warm and lit with several candles of various sizes, their soft light flickering shadows against the walls. She let out a long moan then let her body relax against the silk sheets.

“Where are we now?”

He brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. “In my home.”

“But—”

“Shh. For right now, just breathe.” He pulled her closer.

She tried to do as he told her, but she couldn’t stop shaking. “What was that thing? Was it really a nightmare?” She reached for the phone sitting on the nightstand. “Are my sisters all right? I have to call them.”

“Let it go until later. I promise you they’re fine. Concentrate on my voice and on my touch.” He slid his hands along her back, both comforting and caressing her.

Meg and Allie were safe. She was sure he spoke the truth. As long as they were alive, nothing else mattered. “Is this real or am I still dreaming?”

He smiled. “This is real.”

She pressed a palm to his chest and watched her hand rise and fall. She sighed, the trembling of her body easing until, at last, she could draw in a soothing breath, then let it out again without a shudder.

“Thank you for saving me. For waking me up. That was the worst nightmare I’ve ever had.”

“You need to remember that. It was only a dream. Nothing more.”

He kissed her, soft at first, then harder. Surprised by her renewed energy, she answered his fervor with her own. She clutched his hair, holding him to her. Moaning, he gave her his breath and, somehow, his strength. Heat lit inside her, swirling in a ball of fire in her stomach.

She answered the heat by moving her leg on top of his. He shifted his thigh, pushing against the moistness between her legs. A memory of the monster rushed through her to create another tremor, but the warmth of his body next to hers rid her of the fear.