“Crap, crap, crap,” I whispered. What did you do, Max?

  I rushed to the downstairs kitchen and put my hand underneath the water. It pulsed as the blood dripped from my hand, mixing with the water. Rivets of bloody water seeped down the drain.

  “Maxima Lane!” Sierra’s heels thumped down the stairs that led to the downstairs kitchen.

  I didn’t know what came over me.

  I shouldn’t have done that. I grabbed a towel and held it against my bloodied hand.

  Liz’s screams were inside the house now. My muscles strung tight.

  Sierra appeared at the bottom of the stairs, her nostrils flared and murder flickered in her wide eyes.

  I darted from the chair as she pointed her finger at me. “What did you do?!”

  My heart pounded behind my ribcage, knowing there was no place to hide. “I did nothing…” I lied.

  “Don’t give me that bull. Tell me now. Where did you get that potion?”

  “What potion?” Another lie.

  “The one that caused my Lizzy to get boils!” she stuttered through her madness.

  “I’m only half a witch. My spells don’t work. It wasn’t me.”

  “Stop lying to me. Where did you get that potion?”

  I pushed past the stove and ran to the opposite side to get away from her.

  Sierra smacked her palms on the table. “Max, I swear to you, you do not want to play games with me. Come here!”

  I didn’t listen and wondered where I’d gotten the courage to disobey Sierra like this. I was making her madder than what she originally was, but something inside of me knew if she was going to get her hands on me, I would be a slimy toad forever.

  Sierra grunted her frustration like a bull. I saw a gap and ran for the back door close to the barn. I could hide with the horses until all of this was forgotten.

  “Rectenim Demaro,” Sierra yelled, and her magic slammed in between my two shoulder blades.

  Seven

  The magic behind Sierra’s words tingled through my body. My core burned from the heat, and the warmth spread to my legs and arms. A skull-splitting ache seared through my head. The music became twenty times louder, as if the speakers were right next to my ears.

  I’d never experienced this as a toad or a mouse.

  When I tried to open my eyes, the light blinded me. I shut them as a burning sensation pierced through my eyeballs.

  What the hell is she busy changing me into?

  A high-pitched laughter assaulted my ears with the music, and I didn’t know if it was from the song or coming from Sierra. I assumed the latter.

  My heart pounded as the magic kept vibrating through my body, alternating everything that was Maxima Lane, once again.

  Enormous black wings flapped helplessly next to me. What the—

  The floor got closer. I crash-landed, as my arms, or wings, flapped helplessly next to me. Pain rushed up to my arms and jolted to my back as I breathed hard and fast.

  I connected hard with the table’s leg as tiny talons skidded on the tiles, unable to see in front of me because of the bright light.

  Below the table, where there was darkness, objects became visible.

  Everything was gigantic. Colossal feet in stripy shoes with five-inch heels clucked over to my side. The perfectly manicured toes could only belong to Sierra.

  I worked my wings and feet and skidded to the other side of the table, away from her. Sierra went on her haunches, and her face looked underneath the table. Her glazed eyes grew as her eyes spotted me reaching the opposite leg of the table.

  “A bat?” Sierra shrieked, making everything vibrate inside my head. “No, no, no, you should be a toad.”

  I flapped my arms again, this time together, and skated from underneath the table. The bright light blinded me again as I worked my arms to retreat. My body lifted off the floor.

  I pumped my arms faster, and I flew up the staircase and into the hallway of the dining room. It was slightly darker, and objects became more visible. The wall suddenly appeared right in front of me and pain vibrated through my body as I connected with it. I crash-landed on the dressing table in the dining room. Framed pictures of Liz and Raven tumbled to the floor as shrieks assaulted my ears from party guests.

  Sierra’s shoes clicked in the background. “Max, get back here!”

  The urgency to get away from her pumped through my tiny bat veins. I veered off the dressing table and flapped my wings again as if my life depended on it. Tiny paws hovered in the air. The wings flapped harder as I darted forward.

  “Get that bat!” Sierra shrieked, and hands missed me by a couple of inches. The rest of the people skidded out of my way as nobody really loved bats. The door was wide open.

  More yelps—more vibration coursed through my body—and bodies darted out of my way.

  “Close the door!” Sierra was right behind me.

  The door closed, and the curtain blew slightly backward. I knew it was open. I barely escaped through it as someone was heading to close the window.

  Once outside, I flapped harder to get some altitude and distance between Sierra and me.

  “Come back here, Max!” Sierra screamed behind me, leaning like a crazed zombie out the window.

  Bright white whips flew from her ring. I dodged them, heading for the forest.

  I concentrated on my flapping until I got to a branch. My heart felt as if it was bouncing in my eardrums.

  The music grew softer as I descended into the air. I got the hang of it. I couldn’t believe that she’d turned me into a bat.

  How the hell was I going to live like this? It could’ve been worse. I could’ve been a slimy toad.

  My little bat body shivered as I reached the nearest tree.

  Maria was my only salvation, but then again, I’d never been a bat before. She wouldn’t know that it was me, would she?

  I waited on the tree’s branch, hiding behind leaves.

  As a hybrid, my hearing was impeccable, but as a bat, it doubled.

  The music finally ceased, and most of the cars backed out of the driveway, leaving the ranch. I could only imagine how many people Sierra had either paid off not to say anything about tonight or took their memories of tonight’s events.

  My transformation to a bat stunned Sierra that her magic had backfired, giving me wings and not a slimy green body.

  My heart still stammered as the magic stabled inside of me. The vibration that seared through my body had turned into a soft buzz.

  Maria was my only chance, hoping she could brew up something that would help me get rid of the bat and bring back Maxima Lane once more.

  I waited until all the lights in the house were off. The darkness finally descended on the ranch and the silence became sort of creepy.

  I flapped my wings and lifted off the branch.

  The way to Maria’s cabin looked different at night, and my vision was all jarred. The sound waves vibrated against my ears, showcasing the way. But none of it was easy, and I had to focus on staying on the path to Maria’s cabin.

  I didn’t enjoy being a bat one bit.

  There was a strip of bright light, glowing through what I assumed were her curtains. Warmth swelled my little bat heart, thanking my lucky stars that she was still awake.

  I barely missed the roof as I dived onto her porch and didn’t see the door. The loud thud came first before the searing pain washed through my body.

  The talon on the tip of my wing pressed into the wood on the porch and I stabled myself to get back on my feet. Maria’s shuffles vibrated through the wood to the door. She opened the door and the bright light came again, but I was ready this time. I slipped through.

  “No, no, get out!” Her scream murdered my ears and felt as if she would blow out my eardrums any second. Waves outlined the furniture in her room, but the bright light overpowered my sight.

  Sound waves picked up the broom that was in her hands, ready to swing toward me.

  “It’s me, Maria,” I yelled, but only squeaks left my little bat lips.

  “Get out,” Maria screamed again, and the sound waves made everything inside me vibrate. The sound waves outlined the broom, and I kept dodging it just in time.

  She kept on waving like a mad hag. The bristle twigs connected hard with my body, and I crashed to the floor.

  Maria’s feet looked gigantic as she neared, and she bent down, got on her knees, and came dangerously close to look at me. “What are yeh doin’ in ma house?”

  The little thumbs on my wings caressed her head as my entire face grazed her forehead.

  She stiffened and stared. “Max?”

  I squeaked, too tired.

  Tears glistened in Maria’s eyes. “Ahm so sorry, so sorry. Forgive me.” Maria scooped me into her palm and took me to the chair and moved it right in front of the fireplace.

  The warmth coming from the fire made me want to close my eyes and sleep. The constant flapping and becoming a bat had drained all the energy from me.

  The sound of metal and dull thuds kept me awake. My gaze landed on Maria, busy with her cauldron.

  She brought it back to the fire, placing it on the hook, dangling close to the orange coals. Foreign words left her lips and before I could stop her, another boil popped on her chin as the fire sprung to life and heated whatever she put in that cauldron.

  “Twice in a row. Yeh can be glad that I still have one batch left of the potion. Yeh will be yerself in no time.”

  I was thankful and kept focusing on the bubbling happening inside the cauldron.

  When it was ready, Maria took a cloth and plucked it off the hook. She disappeared into her kitchen and returned with a small syringe carrying a gooey purple brew.

  “Open up, Max,” she ordered, and I opened my mouth. The warm brew lined my throat. A horrible sour and bitter taste pricked my taste buds and burned down my throat until it landed in my stomach. It was like drinking lava.

  My head spun like crazy, and it felt as if I was going to lose consciousness.

  The spinning faded, and I opened my eyes. I still had wings, no sign of human legs or arms.

  “Maria?” Only squeaks came out as I looked at Maria.

  “What in Merlin’s beard?” Maria whispered as her eyebrows knitted. Her gaze flickered away from me, staring at the fire pit as she rubbed her chin. She closed her eyes and laid her hand inches above my body.

  “No, you don’t have your ring yet,” I ordered, but more squeaks left my lips.

  She pulled back her hand, and her eyes slowly drew back toward me. She leaned closer and whispered. “Max, yeh—”

  A tap on the window disrupted what she tried to tell me.

  “Oh, Ferdinand, what nu?” Maria scolded, and the raven’s croaking came from his perch.

  It wasn’t Ferdinand?

  Maria glanced back at me before she scampered to the window. Another more urgent tap rattled against the window. “Ahm coming, Ahm coming.”

  She pulled the curtains away and gasped. The window screeched as she opened it. A few seconds later, she re-emerged with an envelope in her hand.

  She stared wide-eyed at the envelope and looked at me. “It’s from the Pantomath Sector.” She tore the envelope open and read it out loud.

  * * *

  “Ter Maxima Lane.

  “Tis letter states that yeh have triggered the X-Gene in yer blood at twenty hours and thirty minutes tonight and transformed inter a bat.

  “With this knowledge, we are officially welcoming yeh to the Selective program at Beaumond Academy.

  Yeh will train under the commanding officer Gabriel Hendrix,” Maria’s eyes rose, “ter become part of the Shield. Dinnae forget ter bring yer letter with yeh on Monday the 5th of August at thirteen hundred hours.

  “We are looking forward ter molding yeh into the best soldier yeh can be.

  “Regards,

  “Timothy H. Molden. High-class Moray, Senator of the Pantomath Sector.”

  A shriek escaped Maria’s lips as her smile fanned out into a wide grin.

  She looked at me. Her chin was covered with a new boil, but she was glowing with happiness.

  “I wanted ter say yer magic feels different.” She waddled back to me on her stocky, stiff legs and pulled a footstool closer to the chair that she’d made me comfortable on.

  I didn’t understand. Sierra had changed me into a bat. But that letter spoke about an X-Gene.

  “Max, do you know what this means?” She kneeled down in front of the couch to be eye-level with me. Her eyes glistened as her lips quirked up. “Yeh have the X-gene. Ye’re goin’ ter Beaumond.”

  I have the X-Gene. An unknown warmth seared through my body. My heart swelled. A squeak brought me back to reality.

  There was one problem, though. How the hell was I going to transform back into a human?

  “We need to get yeh back in yer human form,” Maria said.

  Couldn’t have said it better.

  Maria went to her bookshelf and retrieved another book filled with transformation spells.

  My X-Gene wasn’t linked to magic, and Maria couldn’t perform spells yet. She was much too fragile.

  She plopped the book down in front of me. The pages were gigantic, and the words foreign.

  “It’s yer magic,” Maria said. “Meaning that only yeh can bring back yer human form. Tis goin’ ter be difficult. Tis an exhausting process, one that will need a lot of concentration and willpower. It all boils down ter how much yeh want yer body back.”

  “A lot, thank you very much,” more squeaks.

  “I dinnae speak bat, dear. Tell me when yeh are human.”

  How do I do this?

  Maria answered, “Close yer eyes and concentrate on yer body. Vision yerself standing in front of a mirror and coaxing that form out. Do this until ye’re a human again.”

  Oh boy.

  I closed my eyes and envisioned myself standing in front of the mirror up in the attic.

  Dull mouse hair, blue eyes with the yellow dots in them stared back at me. My high cheekbones and nose. My thin, angry lips. They parted, showing my pearly white teeth. My neck and then my shoulders. The high-defined collar bone. I could hear Maria’s complaining at how much they showed, how thin I was. My scrawny arms, small chest, and tiny waist. Not enough meat, Maria said. Not enough fat to keep me warm.

  Then came my pointy hip bones, my skinny excuse for an ass, my legs, and thighs. No muscle. Maria’s voice throbbed at the back of my mind—always complaining about my weight. But I ate. I sometimes ate like a pig. It must be something to do with the fact that I’d never tasted blood. I was half a vampire, and all the other half vampires had blood in their diet. Focus, Max!

  I concentrated back on my legs and calves. Long limbs that were only good for running away.

  I finally finished with my feet, crooked toes and defined ankles that always seemed to be in the way whenever I tried to be stealthy. Not great for climbing through things.

  That was it. I concentrated harder, seeing myself in that mirror, wanting that body again.

  A headache exploded, and the pain seared down my face, my shoulders, arms, chest, middle, hips, thighs, calves, and feet.

  I squeaked as the pain intensified. The squeaking got louder and got replaced with a scream. The pain exploded down my spine.

  I fell back onto the couch, as I couldn’t focus anymore. I couldn’t handle more pain, and everything went dark.

  “Max?” I heard a voice I hadn’t heard in years. Almost nine years, to be exact.

  “Dad?” I sounded little, like five, maybe six years old, but my thoughts were of a sixteen-year-old.

  “Come here, sweetheart,” he said, sitting in the chair in front of his desk.

  I ran to his open arms and collided with his chest as he picked me up and put me on his lap.

  He reached over me and pulled at the top drawer and took out a box filled with chocolate delicacies.

  He opened the lid, and the choice was always mine to make. I loved the heart-shaped ones as they were filled with strawberry syrup and picked it up delicately so that I wouldn’t crush the shell.

  The candy looked so big in my six-year-old hands and was too big for my mouth. Strawberry syrup mixed with the sweet taste of chocolate lined the walls of my mouth as I transferred the candy from one cheek to another. The one side of my father’s lips plucked upward as he took one of the square chocolates. I’d missed my dad’s smile, his scent, the kindness that streamed out of him. I missed Thomas Lane.

  His smile slowly vanished and turned his lips into two thin lines. “Now, close your eyes and stay still.”

  His eyes closed, but mine didn’t. The chocolate exploded on my taste buds, pushing warmth down my throat.

  The study became colder. The look on my father’s face did not belong to him. I wanted to call out to him, but he’d told me to close my eyes. His lips kept moving, and I didn’t like the feeling that was coming with whatever left his lips. The sweetness of the chocolate turned stale and ashy.

  I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t ask Daddy what he was doing. I only felt weird, different, not myself.

  Daddy opened his eyes and stared at me. He kissed my forehead without muttering a word, picked me up into his arms, and took me to my room. The last thing I felt was the softness of my blankets, pushing the heat back to this foreign feeling.

  Don’t go, I begged, but no words left my lips. My father retreated, opened the door, and left. The darkness enveloped me.

  The salty scent of bacon, butter, and onions caressed my nostrils. A grunt exploded from my stomach, screaming at me to feed it.

  My eyes shot open, and I was still on the seat. Long limbs leaned over the chair’s railing, and an old handmade quilt covered my body.

  The fire produced the heat my body desperately craved, and I sat up.

  Maria turned around and stared at me. Her lips curved, and it almost looked as if she was going to cry. “Max.” She padded over and wrapped her arms around me. She hugged the blanket tight with me wrapped inside. “Yer okay?”

  “I don’t understand. I’m a hybrid. How the hell did I change into a bat?” I spoke in the crook of Maria’s neck as she refused to let go of me.

 

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