Page 47 (1/2)

A strange sensation niggled at the edge of

"No!" Bridger screa the noise of aniun at two black shadows careening through the yard, counshot exploded, and the closer shadow, a giant panther corded with muscle, fell dead at my feet Not a heartbeat later, a mountain lion slah the dirt Its teeth sank intoits teeth, and pinned it to the ground But it ily It slid froiant ball of hissing, growling fur, completely wrapped around each other as we rolled about the dusty ground, seeking to tear the other apart

I felt the bullet collide with the mountain lion before I heard the shot The anier missed me I can’t say But I was still alive Calmly, I stood The mountain lion twitched once and then the skin see let out of a balloon, and then fell away, revealing a shivering, gasping , tarantula-tattooed hand toward er distorted his familiar face It was Tito, the dishwasher Hate filled his dark eyes, and with his last breath, he spit on er called, "so they can all see you"

In five short paces I stood before the gate, just out of the Skinwalkers’ reach

The aniate in savage hysterics, rattling the hinges The wory and I was her long-awaited dinner Calh I could feel and ser, sat, and wrapped my tail around my paws

He didn’t make me wait I heard the shot a split second after I felt the bullet pass through h the air and slaate I couldn’t breathe--air refused to enter ate and fell to an to drain from my body

Silence enclosed the night

Bridger stood at edover my body

"She’s dead," he triuht exploded in noise

36

Consciousness slowly settled over me I was in a burlap sack And I was an anier peered at me He reached out a tentative hand, caressed the fur on top of my head, then coie," he whispered with relief "You’re alive Change If you are what you say you are, you ency in his whispered words His hands caainst my chest

I smelled blood--huiant cat And for some reason, I lay in a damp, barely lit cee! Shift!" He pushed even harder againstonto the floor Pain shot through h it was