Toby the white dog shifted easy as breathing. As a bald and stark naked humanoid he ran out the door past Craven and disappeared down the hall, butt cheeks bouncing like twin tennis balls.
Veronica called after him. No use. Toby wisely preferred to keep his distance from demon breed like Craven.
She gestured for Gabriel and Craven to come inside.
"Craven's been channeled," Gabriel said.
Veronica glared at him for stating the obvious.
She led them into the living room, leaving the apartment door open so Toby could return. A part of her mind was preoccupied with Toby. He tended to remain mainly dog whatever form he had. What if he watered the plants in the lobby again? What if someone saw the white mini-man marking his territory?
She'd made sure none of the neighbors never saw anything that may fuel the rumors as to what she really did for a living. This was a new upscale high rise, with upscale, uptight, over worked High Tech employed tenants. She'd bought the condo because the north corner of the high rise was spot on a strong Ley line junction combined with a new geological fracture connected to the San Andreas fault line. Living on top of a raw power source had been great for business. Five years later and the tower already leaned beautifully. Veronica's neighbors would disagree.
"Veronica Ward, focus. There isn't much time," Craven said.
She nodded.
"You have a message for me, Glass?"
Craven's mouth turned into a line when she used the name Glass. Veronica could almost taste Craven's fury over being utilized like this.
"Set her free," he said.
Veronica had no doubts. He was talking about the Herald of Doom, her ran-off-with-the-slick-thief dog walker.
"She's not bound to me, so I don't see how I can set her free."
"I'm just the messenger," Craven said with a large side of snark.
Craven talking like Glass, strange.
Stranger still, she could see Craven physically fighting to break the channel. Veins bulged on his neck, his fisted hands trembled with the effort.
It was a fight Craven was doomed to lose. It didn't stop him from trying.
Stubborn as sin, if you could say that about a demon.
"The second message is for your familiar," Craven said through clenched teeth.
"Toby?"
Blind white eyes turned her way like lasers set to burn.
"You have another familiar?" he snarled.
Craven sounded too much like Glass. The dangers of a change of heart, Veronica thought.
"I'll get him," she said, relieved to get away from Craven's glazed eyes.
She didn't get far.
Toby the dog returned, his claws clattering on the hardwood floor.
He wasn't alone.
Jacklyn and the Venetian stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Craven.
It was another moment before Veronica noticed the Norse high altar ceremonial axe slung over Jacklyn's shoulder. The Venetian was armed with a paper bag with the logo of Veronica's favorite pastry shop.
You had to hand it to them, Veronica thought. The apocalyptic renegades knew how to make an entrance.
She raised a hand.
"Craven's been channeled," she heard herself say as a way of explaining why the Visionary's man was standing behind her. She realized she was stating the obvious the way Gabriel had before.
Nerves.
Craven had that effect on people. Or his demon blood. Warm blooded creatures felt the imminent threat of his presence like a shrieking high alert. The channeling did not help.
"Toby, he has a message for you," Veronica said.
Toby slunk into cover behind Jacklyn. He'd always been a clever dog. Jacklyn was definitely the safest bet in the room.
Toby peered at Craven from behind Jacklyn's legs, growling like a dog three times his size.
"Come on, Tobes. He's Glass now. Craven won't eat you," Veronica cooed. "Just hear him out."
Toby showed his small sharp teeth, but he stopped growling.
"Stay true, dog," Glass said.
Toby made a short wail.
Craven closed his eyes and dropped to his knees. The color drained from his face. He cursed. A dark wet spot spread on his dark shirt.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Craven's amber snake eyes snapped open. Looking disoriented, he scanned the room and found the Venetian. His eyes cut to Jacklyn.
Craven held out an arm and Gabriel helped him to his feet.
Veronica didn't like the way Gabriel the analyst assisted Craven's wordless directives. She didn't like how Toby preferred the protection of the Herald of Doom rather than his Mistress. Both disappointments faded quick.
Jacklyn's fingers twitched on the handle of the ancient axe and Craven eased two steps closer, within range to attack.
The tension in the room hit a new high.
"I liked Glass," Jacklyn said quietly. "What happened to him?"
"He happened to me," Craven snarled.
"You would've been a frozen, undead vegetable if Glass hadn't – volunteered," Veronica said. "Get over it."
Craven shot her a glance loaded with pure hatred.
"It's blood line magic. It shouldn't have worked, but it did," she said calmly.
Veronica paused.
Craven's stance reminded her of someone. She studied Craven's build, not the coloring or the exotic demon features. She mentally blocked out the snake eyes and fingers without nails.
He had Glass' hands.
It explained Glass' heart thriving in Craven's body. It explained the channeling.
Craven's eyes narrowed. He knew she knew.
One more glance at Craven and Veronica closed her lips. She left the question of why Glass would make such a sacrifice unasked.
Craven needed the truth of his mixed blood to stay secret. He would kill her if she mentioned it.
On the bright side, Craven would owe her for her silence, Veronica noted. He already owed her for having a working heart. Where this seemed to be heading she'd need to call in all favors soon enough.
"You're still bleeding," Jacklyn said to Craven, breaking the tense silence.
"I don't have a jacked up coat to fix it."
Craven moved a step closer to the Venetian.
Jacklyn placed the axe's sharp blade in his way. "You're not getting it."
"Everybody stop," Veronica demanded.
There it was. What she hadn't been able to see before. "You should both be dead. The Vonandi dagger Craven used can stop a horseman of the Apocalypse. Why aren't you dead?"
It should have worked. It could have.
But Craven made a move for the coat, Jacklyn shifted and the ancient Norse axe bore deep into the polished hardwood floor when she used it.
YOU ARE READING
Shifting Life
Paranormal[COMPLETE] Magic is all about the rules. You mess up, you fix it. Or pay the price. Not that Jacklyn Morse has a choice. She's a new shape shifter paying the price for saving a notorious thief who is as hot as the supernatural loot he's stolen. To J...
