Page 125 of Sweet Nightmare

I’M TOTALLY

SHIFT FACED

Not now.

Please not now.

I can’t deal with everything that’s happening with this storm and also deal with having my magic back, too.

Apparently, though, my manticore is here, whether I want her to be or not. I watch my nails as they transform from the short, stubby ones I painted cyanide green with Eva and Luis two nights ago—God, it seems so much longer than that—to the long, sharp, skinny claws of a lion. Claws that are also, somehow, still green. My whole body feels strange now, too, like it’s not my own. And when I glance behind me, it’s to see that yes, my scary-ass black tail is back, as well.

Because what this shit show of a day really needed was for a bunch of messed-up paranormals who’ve never been taught to use their powers to get them back right in the middle of a giant hurricane.

And yes, I know exactly how ironic it is that I’ve spent my whole life wanting to have access to my manticore. But right now, I’m terrified and angry. I don’t know how to use this body I’m stuck in, and it’s all my mother’s fault.

Just the thought of being unmeshed again leaves me feeling helpless, as is the thought that I won’t be able to help anyone with these claws—and while they are retractable, I sure as hell don’t know how to do that yet.

If my manticore would go away right now—preferably without leaving me unmeshed—that would be just fine with me.

I glance back at the fence, wondering if this is just another glitch, but the lightbulbs look indubitably dead. I watch in horror as one of the vampires grabs a fae standing nearby and starts to feed.

Not far from them, a couple of leopard shifters circle around a witch named Olivia that I know from therapy, while—behind them—two wolves start sparring with each other in what I’m pretty sure is a dominance fight.

Because what this day needed was one more thing to make it even more screwed up.

Must be nice that my mom is safe in Huntsville while all of the students she never believed should have a chance to slowly learn how to handle their magic responsibly now have it back all at once.

And are definitely not using it responsibly.

I have no idea where to start, but I take off running toward Olivia in full panic mode. I can’t just leave the poor girl at the mercy of two pissed-off leopards—especially since, right now, I can only see two of her, the little girl she used to be and the teenager she is now. I don’t know if the fact that I can’t see her future means she doesn’t have one if I don’t intervene—like Alina—but I’m not about to risk it.

“Hey!” I yell, the deepness of my manticore voice messing with my head as I race to get between the witch and the leopards. “Stop for a—”

I break off as Olivia obviously casts some kind of spell, because all of a sudden, the leopards go hurtling through the air. The present versions of them land several feet from her, while the past and future stay where they were.

I skid to a stop. Because Olivia didn’t just send the leopards flying with that spell. She actually blew herself up as well.

Horror wells up inside of me as I careen to a stop a few feet from her body. She’s crumpled on the ground on her side, and at first, I think maybe there’s a chance of saving her. But when I bend down and roll her onto her back, half of her face is missing—and so is a lot of the head that was beneath it. Something that only gets worse as the rain continues to pound down on all of us.

I freak out at the sight of what used to be Olivia, and I stumble backward as tears prick my eyes. Nausea churns in my stomach, and every nerve in my body is screaming at me to run. To flee. To put as much distance between me and her and this beach as I can possibly get.

Because when I look back at her still, broken body a second time, it’s not Olivia that I’m seeing at all. It’s Serena. And it feels like my heart is breaking all over again.

I start to back up, start to look for an escape route, but there isn’t one, not really. I’m trapped on this island, just like everyone else, and there is no escape until this storm decides to finally let up.

But I can’t spiral. Ms. Aguilar still needs help. I turn to head back to her only to find the two large cats have returned. And have apparently decided that I’m the next best snack to Olivia.

They stalk toward me, and though I back up as fast as I can in an effort to escape, I know it’s already too late. Because it’s not just their present selves stalking toward me. It’s their future forms as well.

This whole past, present, and future thing is completely disconcerting, not to mention awful now that I know that it really does show me the future.

I’ve dealt with angry shifters before, but never in their animal forms, so I hold out my hands in an effort to placate them and ward them off.

“Look, we can just go our separate ways—” I tell them, then break off as I back right into one of their other selves—past or future, I can’t tell. All I do know is that it hurts in the same way it hurts when I run into a flicker. It’s like, all of a sudden, I can feel all of the cells that make up my insides vibrating against each other. Burning heat and needle-sharp pain spread through me until I can barely breathe, barely think.

Desperation has me jerking forward away from—I glance behind me—an old man with an eye patch, to be exact.

While the pain immediately ceases, I instantaneously create another problem. Because the leopards don’t know that their past and future selves are here at all. So, when I jerk forward, they obviously take it as an act of aggression.

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