Body Master Read Free

arrogance.
    Jack suddenly vanished in a puff of black smoke and materialized a few feet away. Terrific, he was one of the more powerful ones. All Shifters were killing machines—lightning fast, deadly hands, thick armor skin. But one of their deadliest weapons was the ability to thin their structure to reduce friction so they could move fast—really fast. Becoming shadows. It was going to be a challenge to get her hands on him without being sliced to ribbons.
    She breathed and harnessed her anger and anguish, pushing them deeply into her concentration. She’d rather die here with Riley than leave this monster alive, or worse, allow him replicate to Riley’s DNA.
    Her right hand flexed in anticipation and hope. Just work one more time, she said to herself. And so far, it had. Which was why she still used it. Luck was for suckers.
    He poofed, and her second vision followed the trail he left behind. He seemed surprised as she turned to face him before he re-formed.
    He said, “Aren’t you gonna try to run? I’ll even give you a head start.”
    That’s more than I’ll give you. “No, I’m good.”
    He rushed forward in a cloud of black smoke, bringing him a few feet away. She saw the hunger in his black eyes and felt the evil in his black heart. Cold air flowed around her.
    “I like killin’ the girls,” Jack said, thoroughly enjoying his little game.
    Bud, you are in for the surprise of your life . She repositioned her hands around the shotgun. “Then you should know, I’m not like other girls.”
    “You all taste the same to me.” He lunged then, mouth open, and she jammed her gun down his throat. For a split second, he gagged, and in that second, she pressed her right hand to his chest.
    Concentrate, breathe . . . “Shift!”
    A burst of heat pumped through her hand, coming from a source she didn’t understand and didn’t question. All that mattered was what it did to Shifters. It changed them, forcing them to shift back to whoever they were last.
    She wasn’t kidding. She really wasn’t like other girls.
    The intense energy hurt, driving electricity up her arm. She pulled her hand away, stretching a ribbon of white residual energy between them until it snapped. The Shifter knocked the shotgun out of his mouth with a roar and then took a few steps back.
    She held her ground, waiting. Jack’s eyes widened as his chest began to contract around where her hand had been, and he clutched his stomach and stumbled to the floor.
    His body contorted grotesquely, and his joints began popping, skin rippling with twisted bones. The clawed hands sprouted rudimentary finger buds. The thick legs narrowed. His head imploded and then reshaped.
    All the while, she listened to his screams with cold indifference. This was what he deserved. The same mercy he’d shown Riley and the other innocent people he’d murdered. There was no compassion in his soul, no conscience in his mind. Nothing worth saving.
    She walked over to Riley and knelt to check for a pulse, even though she knew it wouldn’t be there. His Kevlar vest and chest had been sliced open cleanly.
    “Oh, Riley,” she whispered.
    A sudden sob clutched her throat, piercing her heart beneath all her armor. A hundred thoughts flooded her mind, but one was crystal clear—she’d failed him. She hung her head. I’m sorry.
    The Shifter had stopped writhing by the time she pulled herself together. Tranquilizer gun in hand, she stood over Jack’s human form, the last shape he’d used, created from stolen human DNA. He was just your average guy. Could have been her neighbor or a Wall Street broker or a husband with a wife and kids. Shifters didn’t care where or how they got their “skins.”
    In her mind’s eye, the Shifter’s demon form shimmered around him like a ghost. He was still an alien, but right now he was as vulnerable as any human.
    She fought the urge to use her Glock instead of a tranquilizer. She could easily blame it on self-defense. She could