Read Page 19

A low fog hung over the dark ocean.

The particles of light that only I could see seemed to disappear into the fog, to be absorbed by the mist. I might have gained a lot of gifts since becoming the thing that I am, but one of them, apparently, was not the ability to see into fog.Advertisement

I was sitting at the edge of a small cliff. Waves crashed thirty feet or so below. Some of the spray reached me, sprinkling my skin and lips. I didn't lick my lips. Even salt spray would upset my stomach.

The path from the house was a well- maintained one, as I suspected this cliff side retreat was a favorite hangout for the family. During the daytime, I was sure one could see for miles and miles. Now, not so much, even to my eyes.

To say that the conversation with Edwin had shaken me was an understatement.

His sister?

Obviously, not a Thurman sister, for I hadn't been talking to the real Edwin Thurman. No, I had been talking to something ancient and evil. Another dark master who sought entry back into our world.

And not just any dark master, I suspected.

No, he didn't have to hide in the shadows of the living, like that which had entered Kingsley and me...and now Fang.

No, whoever he was, he had taken over the real Edwin Thurman - completely and totally.

Who he was, I didn't know. But he was powerful.

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Perhaps even the most powerful of all.

And his sister was in me.

Jesus.

I suddenly wished I wasn't sitting on the cliff's edge, in the cold and rain and wind, but sleeping with my kids, one on either side of me, their warm bodies giving me warmth in return. I could almost smell Tammy's hair. I could almost even smell Anthony's stinky feet.

As the wind and rain picked up, drenching me to the bone, I did the only thing this middle-aged divorcee mother of two could do: I took off my clothes.

And stepped to the edge of the cliff.

I summoned the single flame in my thoughts.

Held it.

Saw the image of the beast.

The beast I would become.

And then I leaped out as far and wide as I could, arching up and over the pounding surf.

The transformation was instant, taking hold of me before I plunged into the rocks below.

I was soon flying. High above the island. High above the fog. High above, even, the snoring Allison.

It was up here where I found my sanctuary, my peace, my escape. I was all too aware that it was the thing that lived within me that gave me this very ability.

The thing I could never escape.

We'll see, I thought, and began flapping my wings.

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