Shift - 02 Read Free Page A

back from Drakar, there hadn’t been any. I’d never gone more than a few days, let alone weeks, without a demon coming after me. It should’ve been comforting, but all it did was make me nervous.  
    I flicked the TV on, stretched, and flopped onto the couch. I tried to fight it as a yawn crept up on me, but I was unsuccessful. It was early and last night’s lack of sleep was already getting to me. My eyelids were starting to get heavy, but the sound of wings and footsteps snapped them back awake.  
    Rayna came down the stairs with Rai not far behind her.
    Two sets of white wings flapped rapidly, landing on the iron railing that separated the third floor library from the main floor living room. Her golden feathers gleamed as flickers of light flashed in her eyes.
    “Hey!” Rayna stepped into the living room with an unusual bounce in her step. She had showered away the filth, and her skin was glowing. You’d never guess that less than twenty-four hours ago she’d nearly turned into a werecat.
    A yellow halter top hugged her small frame and dark blue jeans hung low on her hips, covering long, toned legs. Her hair hung down over her shoulders, red strands mingling with the black, decorating the thick locks.
    “Hey...” I said, clicking the television off. “Feeling better?”
    “I'm starving, but otherwise, great.”
    “Well you'd better hurry. We’re leaving soon.”
    “Leaving…” Rayna brought a hand up to her forehead. “We have a meeting at the Circle tonight. I totally forgot.”
    “Are you going to be up for it?”
    Rayna pulled out a huge sandwich from the refrigerator and took a bite. “Well, I don’t want to go explain myself to a bunch of old guys who think they’re better than me, but yeah, I’ll be fine. Why?” she asked, watching me out of the corner of her eye.    
    “I don’t know, maybe because you nearly became a giant cat last night?”
    “It’s just like before. It’s not a big deal, especially now that we know how to handle it.”
    “Rayna, it’s far from fine, and from where I was standing, it wasn’t like before. That monster inside you keeps trying to rip itself out, and last night was the worst. How do you figure we know how to handle it ?”
    Rayna winced as I said monster , and I realized I was almost yelling. I hadn’t meant to get angry, but how could she act like this was no big deal?
    Rayna closed her eyes and took a breath. “Your element stopped the beast in its tracks last night. If it happens again, we know that works.”
    “For all we know it was a fluke. The beast inside you is getting stronger each time. We need to find a way to subdue it. Permanently.”
    “The full moon has passed. We don't even have to worry about it for another month."  
    “Well, I’m worried now. I’m not going to lose…” I cut myself off. “We’re not waiting ‘til next time. We need to figure this out before it happens again, or next time you might not be so lucky.”
    “Will you relax? Nothing is going to happen to me. Besides, as long as you stick around, we have nothing to worry about. Wait…you’re not planning on leaving are you?” Rayna smirked.
    “Really, you're joking about this? With everything that’s happened during the past few weeks, we need to find out how to fix this, not deal with it.”
    Rayna’s smile faded. “Look, I know it’s been hard with everything that’s…happened. With Riley still alive–”
    “We don’t know that for sure,” I snapped.
    “All I’m saying is we’ve had a lot going on. If you need someone…you know…if you need to talk…”
    “You too? Really?” I asked. I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be.
    “Me too, what? What are you talking about?”
    “Forget it.”
    Silence filled the air around us and I thanked the gods when the buzzer rang.
    “I’ll get it,” I said.
    I moved to the stainless steel box in the wall and pushed the talk button down. “Hello?”
    “If you