Shepherd's Moon Read Free Page A

holstered the weapons as it slowed to stare at me from a safe distance, flicking its tail back and forth almost as though it knew what I had planned to do.
    Bored and growing more impatient by the minute, I toyed with the idea of entering the cat’s mind. To let my shields down meant an immediate assault on my senses and a certain migraine, yet the information I might gain about Azrael’s whereabouts could be invaluable. The potential benefits outweighed the risks. Dropping my psychic shield, I did my best to ignore the noise of hundreds of animals who resided within the vicinity, and let my thoughts drift towards the feline who was making her escape and allowed my mind to merge with hers. Feeling the touch of my thoughts, she immediately slowed to a walk and glanced around suspiciously, feeling me enter her mind. Dropping all the shields now, I allowed her instincts to fill my head; giving myself over to her enhanced senses: The feel of cold asphalt under hypersensitive paws, the amplified sense of smell, the stench of decaying blood permeating my awareness… I stumbled back from the sensory overload. Taking a deep breath, I managed to curb my response to retch, and stabilized my senses enough to begin sifting through individual scents. Cats don’t have the best sense of smell, not like those of a dog, but hers would do for the moment.
    Billy’s voice echoed in my ear, drawing me out of the half-hearted mind exploration. I cursed silently, frustrated at the interruption. Snapping the locks into place, I closed out the noise of the world and focused on his voice.
    “Alex, can you hear me?”
    Cupping my hand over my ear, I pushed the tiny transmitter, forcing the device to increase its wavelength and make his voice audible over the howling wind.
    “Yeah, Billy. I hear you. See anything unusual out there?”
    It was a silly question, as his thoughts briefly collided with mine before I stopped the process. At least now I knew he was within a few blocks of where I stood. My ability had its limits, and distance seemed to be one of them. If it were a person I knew as well Billy, I could sense their presence from a much further distance, but the clarity of his thoughts told me he was nearby. It really doesn’t matter how much I try to stay out of my pack’s heads, it happens occasionally—especially when their thoughts are more animal than human, and most especially when I am emotionally close to the one transmitting. Billy has been my best friend since I was ten…
    “What’s your 10-20?” Billy asked, his voice popping into static until I couldn’t even hear him.
    I tapped my earring, then tried re-routing the call to the phone. Still static, but he seemed to be able to hear me just fine. I sighed.
    The hell with this . I thought, closing my eyes to dial into his subconscious. I kept my touch light. Billy hated anyone being in his head, but he especially hated me in there. And trust me when I say that his pet peeve came in handy on occasion — particularly when he’s being annoying.
    Which is often…
    “Hold tight,” I said aloud, hesitant to move from the building’s shelter to see where I happened to be. Traffic along the central Phoenix road had been reduced to a single car once every twenty minutes. Waiting for a lone car to pass by, I stepped from the shadows. The fierce wind hit me, whipping my hair against my cheek as I beat a quick retreat back to the relative protection of the old buildings. Cursing softly, I touched my face, half expecting to see blood on my fingers, but found none. I deftly twisted the unruly hair into a thick braid and pushed it into the back of my duster.
    I didn’t need any more scars to add to my growing collection.
    Despite having excellent vision, I could barely make out the words on the street sign. “First and Adams, I think.” I kept my voice low. “What’s your ETA?”
    His mind filled with a chain of thoughts, “Jefferson’s a one-way street, so I’ll have to drop