Second Skin (Skinned) by Judith Graves Read Free Book Online

was destined to kill him.
As though I’d conjured him with my thoughts, Alec’s hulking form filled the doorway.
“All clear outside. I did a quick pass around the block. Nothing unusual.” He examined Kate with assessing eyes and then turned to Matt. “How’s she doing?”
Before his brother could answer, Kate shot to her feet. “She’s just peachy, thanks for asking.” She took a few cautious steps, arms wide for balance. Assured of her steadiness, she grinned. “See?” Then she promptly toppled sideways onto Brit’s chair.
“Hey,” Brit cried, catching the witch. “If you wanted to sit here, you should have just asked.”
Matt sighed and crossed the room. He scooped Kate into his arms and deposited her back in her recliner.
“Now stay,” he ordered, trying to emulate Alec’s curt tone, but the smile on his lips ruined the effect.
“You shouldn’t be alone tonight,” Brit said. “Want us to call Whip?”
“Oh, I don’t want him to worry—”
“Already done,” Alec cut in. “I stopped at his shop. He’s getting a buddy to bring a tow truck, and he’ll give us a ride home. They’ll be here soon.”
“He didn’t come right away?” Kate looked miffed. From what I’d seen of the couple, Kate was holding Whip at arm’s length. She only let the burly tattoo artist into her life enough so that he knew a few things about her powers and the paranorms in Redgrave, but she didn’t tell him everything. The tinge of evasion, smelling of mold and damp clothing, clung to her scent whenever she was near Whip, or even just thinking about him as she was now. Like the rest of us—from Alec and his big reveal tonight to Wade’s disappearance and my own increasing bloodlust—Kate was keeping secrets.
Wasn’t everyone in this town?
I hovered by the sandwich board. To distract myself from our mutual discomfort, I grabbed the short stick of pink chalk resting on the lip of the board. I had a cop movie moment. Didn’t most gumshoes solve everything with whiteboards and string? Worth a shot. I jotted down characteristics of our new little foes:
 
Ghoul of the Day
• Can fly
• Short, small, but dense/heavy
• Sour gas smell
• Wear cloaks
• Furry feet
 
“Red eyes,” Alec said at my shoulder.
I held the chalk, my hand hovering over the board as I had a flash of those very same evil peepers. Like a roach on a wall, fear crawled down my spine. I scrawled Alec’s words.
“Lots of teeth,” Brit added.
I scribbled down her suggestion.
“And what do we get?” Matt drawled. “A whole lot of questions, that’s what.”
I looked away before I gave in to my impulse and took a swing at Matt’s smug face. I spotted a small flat screen TV sitting at the end of the sales counter. Beside it was a pile of DVDs and among them a glitter of stars caught my eye.
I tossed Alec the chalk. He caught it, glanced at the pink dust now on his fingers, and hastily placed it back on the metal lip at the base of the chalkboard.
I picked up the top DVD case, black with a silver starry background. The case beneath it screamed high fantasy, and in the third one, hello, the dude could fly.
I held up one of the cases, blinking at Kate deliberately. “What?” she asked. “I watch movies when it’s slow. Or when
I’m cleaning.” She glanced at the others. Their faces slipped into shock as they, too, began to put it together. “The voices in the background are soothing.”
I nodded. “You watched this tonight, right? Maybe the scene with the sand people? The little dudes in robes? With the red eyes?”
Kate’s face was blank. She shook her head. “It can’t be…”
“They did have hairy feet. Just like hobbits,” Brit said. “If you’re right, Eryn, what does that mean? Kate’s creating film creature mash-ups? That come to life?”
Brit had summed it up pretty nicely. “Looks like,” I said on a shrug.
We all stared at Kate. She squirmed under our pointed looks and rubbed at her eyes like a tired child.
“I