Page 67 of Centaur Bolt

Her face lit up. “Count me in. I want to try this.”

“I am not Jumping with you. It might be dangerous.”

Her brows dropped. “Maybe Vali was right.”

“Dangerous for you, not me. Until I know what I’m doing, it’s best that I fly solo.”

“Well, I can be there.” A gleam flickered in her dark eyes. “In case things ‘go south’.”

* * *

The evening light cast long shadows as Kiko and I followed the running path from the meadow to the forest.

It got much darker beneath the trees. The path seemed deserted, and I stopped to pull out the phone. I focused on how the vines growing on the arbor curved around each other and did my best to ignore the writhing forms within them. The stem’s twists and turns were pretty distinctive, and I studied the peeled and cracked detailing along the eaves.

“Turn on the sound,” Kiko said.

“I am not listening to you guys groaning and moaning.” I turned off the phone and handed it back to her. Only to see her turn it back on, and up the volume.

Immediately, I heard Scott panting his way to completion. Predictably, my face turned red. “Dammit, Kiko. I can’t focus with that noise.”

She grinned at me. “You’re just jealous. He’s—enthusiastic.” But she did turn the volume down, at least. “I can run to the arbor and wait for you there,” she suggested.

“That sounds good. Stand inside it, though. That will keep you out of the way—I am hoping to land just outside. If I don’t show, come back here.”

“Give me five minutes to get in position.” She jogged up the trail.

I imagined that the shadows grew a little longer, and then judged the time was right. Closed my eyes and reached to that inner place. Fed a burst of the trapped panic into it—

White noise…

Snap.

Golden light swirled around me for far longer than it ever had before…

I blinked, and the arbor stood before me. But I seemed to be crouched on all fours as the entire world tilted and spun.

Movement within the rickety structure—Kiko must be waiting for me. But as I opened my mouth to speak, I heard a groan.

It was a distinctly male sound. Had the Satyr dragged someone in there with her? She’d only been gone a few minutes…

Another breathy groan, and as my mind groped with the familiarity of it, I tried to stand. And managed it, barely, but couldn’t balance properly.

Then I looked down at my hands, and couldn’t help the gasp of pure horror.

Fur? I was covered infur.

My now-muscular arms were the color of dark chocolate. My hands had shortened fingers that ended in claws.

Shreds of my clothing clung to me, but my entire body had transformed. When I raised hands to my face, I touched a long set of jaws armed with sharp teeth.

Fuck. I had shifted to aDire.

My pulse pounded as I stared at the arbor. I had to bolt. I didn’t want Kiko to see me like this. I was a Jumper, I wasn’t supposed to be a Dire, too. But as I took a step back, the male’s voice began to rise—and I recognized it, clearly, as Scott’s.

That wasn’t all. Not only was it him, but it was exactly the same as on the tape. The modulations, tone, timing—identical.

Which was when I realized something else. The shadows no longer sloped in the late evening light. Instead, the light came from directly overhead.

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