'Night World : Witchlight Chapter 1\r'

'The m completely was so peaceful. there was no hint of the terrible matter that was rough to happen. It rattlingizeed similar some(prenominal) another(prenominal) shopping mall inNorth Carolina on a Sunday afternoon in December. Modern. brightly decorated. Crowded with customers who knew there were exclusively cardinal shopping days until Christmas. Warm, despite the cayenne time-worn skies step to the fore boldness. Safe.\r\n non the kind of step to the fore where a monster would appear.\r\nKeller walked past a divulge of â€Å"Santa Claus Through the Ages” with all her souls jolly and open. And that meant a lot of senses. The glimpses she caught of herself in caliginousen store windows showed a high-school-aged girl in a sleek jumpsuit, with straight melanize hair that beastly past her hips and coolheaded gray eyeball. nevertheless she knew that anybody who regarded her closely was presumable to jut something else-a sort of prowling forgiveness i n the panache she walked and an inner glow when the gray eye focused on anything.\r\nRaksha Keller didnt look quite human. Which was hardly surprising, because she wasnt. She was a shapeshifter, and if spate spirit at her got the impression of a half-tamed panther on the loose, they were rideting it but right.\r\nâ€Å"Okay, everybody.” Keller touched the pin on her collar, so pressed a finger to the nigh invisible manslayer in her ear, seek to tune aside the Christmas music that fill up the mall. â€Å"Report in.”\r\nâ€Å"Winnie here.” The vocalism that spoke by dint of the receiver was frail, close lilting, but professional. â€Å"Im oer by Sears. Havent seen anything up to straightaway. perhaps shes not here.”\r\nâ€Å"Maybe,” Keller express shortly into the pin-which wasnt a pin at all but an extremely overpriced transmission device. â€Å" except shes supposed to dear shopping, and her parents give tongue to she was he aded this way. Its the best lead weve got. observe flavor.”\r\nâ€Å"Nissa here.” This persona was cooler and softer, emotionless. â€Å"Im in the position lot, driving by theBingham Street entrance. zero point to report- carry.” A pause, then the ghostly interpretive program came covert with a new ecstasysion: â€Å"Keller, weve got trouble. A black limo good pulled up outside Brodys. They experience shes here.”\r\nKellers turn out tightened, but she kept her voice level. â€Å"Youre legitimate as shooting its them?”\r\nâ€Å"Im sure. Theyre getting out-a couple of vampires and… something else. A lesser guy, just a boy sincerely. Maybe a shapeshifter. I dont know for sure; he isnt equivalent anything Ive seen before.” The voice was luxuriant, and that troubled Keller. Nissa Johnson was a vampire with a straits analogous the library of Congress. Something she didnt recognize?\r\nâ€Å"Should I park and come help y ou?” Nissa asked.\r\nâ€Å"No,” Keller said sharply. â€Å"Stay with the car; were going to motivating it for a fast getaway. Winnie and I forget take care of it. Right, Winnie?”\r\nâ€Å"Oh, right, Boss. In fact, I tail assembly take em all on myself; you just watch.”\r\n‘You watch your mouth, girl.” But Keller had to urge the grim smile that was tugging at her lips. Winfrith Arlin was Nissas opposite-a mesmerize and inclined to be frantic. Her scratchy sense of humor had lightened some black moments.\r\nâ€Å" some(prenominal) of you stay alert,” Keller said, completely serious now. â€Å"You know whats at stake.”\r\nâ€Å"Right, Boss.” This time, both voices were subdued.\r\nThey did know.\r\nThe world.\r\nThe girl they were looking for could save the world-or destroy it. Not that she knew that… yet Her name was Iliana Harman, and she had grown up as a human child. She didnt realize that she had the rakehell of witches in her and that she was one of the four fierce Powers destined to fight against the time of ugliness that was coming.\r\nShes about to get quite a surprise when we tell her, Keller thought That was expect that Kellers team got to her before the big readted guys did. But they would. They had to. on that point was a reason theyd been elect to come here, when every agent of isthmus Daybreak in North the States would down been glad to do this job.\r\nThey were the best. It was that simple.\r\nThey were an bizarre team-vampire, witch, and shapeshifter-but they were unbeatable. And Keller was completely s tear downteen, but she already had a reputation for never losing.\r\nAnd Im not about to blow that now, she thought. â€Å"This is it, kiddies,” she said. â€Å"No more lecture until we ID the girl. Good luck.” Their transmissions were scrambled, of course, but there was no point in taking chances. The bad guys were extremely well organized.\r\nDoesnt matter. Well belt up win, Keller thought, and she paused in her walking long sufficient really to expand her senses.\r\nIt was like stepping into a different world. They were senses that a human couldnt even imagine. Infrared. She saw body heat. Smell. Humans didnt have any sense of smell, not really. Keller could observe Coke from Pepsi from across a room. Touch. As a panther, Keller had exquisitely sensitive hairs all over her body, especially on her impertinence. raze in human form, she could feel things with ten times the intensity of a real human. She could feel her way in proportionrict down darkness by the air imperativeness on her skin. Hearing. She could hear both higher(prenominal) and lower geares than a human, and she could pinpoint an individualistic cough in a crowd. Sight. She had nighttime vision like-well, like a cats.\r\nNot to mention more than five century muscles that she could move voluntarily.\r\nAnd just now, all her resources were attuned to decis ion one teenage girl in this swarming mall. Her eyes roved over faces; her ears pricked at the dear of every young voice; her poke sorted through thousands of smells for the one that would equip the T-shirt shed taken from Ilianas room.\r\nThen, just as she froze, catching a whiff of something familiar, the receiver in her ear came to life. â€Å"Keller-I spotted her! Hallmark, trice floor. But theyre here, too.”\r\nTheyd found her first.\r\nKeller cursed soundlessly. Aloud, she said, â€Å"Nissa, mystify the car close to to the west side of the mall. Winnie, dont do anything. Im coming.”\r\nThe nearest escalator was at the end of the mall. But from the map in her hand, she could see that Hallmark was directly above her on the upper level. And she couldnt waste time.\r\n Keller collected her legs under her and jumped.\r\nOne leap, straight up. She handle the gasps- and a few shrieks-of the people almost her as she sprang. At the top of her jump, she caught th e rails that fenced off the upper-level walkway. She hung for a plunk for by her hands, then pulled herself up smoothly.\r\n more(prenominal) people were staring. Keller ignored them. They got out of her way as she headed for the Hallmark store.\r\nWinnie was keep goinging with her secondly to the display window of the store beside it. She was short, with a froth of strawberry curls and a hobgoblin face. Keller edged up to her, careful to keep out of the line of sight of the Hallmark.\r\nâ€Å"Whats up?”\r\nâ€Å"Theres three of them,” Winnie murmured in a only audible voice. â€Å"Just like Nissa said. I saw them go in-and then I saw her. Theyve got her surrounded, but so removed theyre just let looseing to her.” She glanced sideways at Keller with dancing green eyes. â€Å"Only three-we can take them easy.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, and thats what worries me. Why would they only ship three?”\r\nWinnie shrugged slightly. â€Å"Maybe theyre like us-t he best.”\r\nKeller only acknowledged that with a flicker of her eyebrows. She was edge forward centimeter by centimeter, act to get a glimpse of the interior(a) of the Hallmark shop between the stockings and stuffed animals in the display window.\r\nThere. Two guys in dark clothing almost like uniforms-vampire thugs. another(prenominal) guy Keller could see only as a partial silhouette through a rack of Christmas ornaments.\r\nAnd her. Iliana. The girl everybody wanted.\r\nShe was beautiful, almost impossibly so. Keller had seen a picture, and it had been beautiful, but now she saw that it hadnt come within miles of impartation the real girl. She had the silvery-fair hair and violet eyes that showed her Harman blood. She also had an extraordinary delicacy of features and grace of movement that made her as comely to watch as a unclouded kitten on the grass. Although Keller knew she was seventeen, she seemed slight and childlike. virtually fairylike. And right now, she wa s listening with wide, trusting eyes to whatever the silhouette guy was saying.\r\nTo Kellers fury, she couldnt ease up it out. He must be whispering.\r\nâ€Å"Its really her,” Winnie breathed from beside Keller, awed. â€Å"The Witch Child. She looks just like the legends said, just like I imagined.” Her voice turned indignant. â€Å"I cant stand to watch them talk to her. Its like-blasphemy.”\r\nâ€Å"Keep your hair on,” Keller murmured, hushed searching with her eyes. â€Å"You witches get so emotional about your legends.”\r\nâ€Å"Well, we should. Shes not just a Wild Power, shes a pure soul.” Winfriths voice was softly awed.\r\nâ€Å"She must be so wise, so gentle, so farsighted. I cant wait to talk to her.” Her voice sharpened. â€Å"And those thugs shouldnt be allowed to talk to her. Come on, Keller, we can take-them fast. Lets go.”\r\nâ€Å"Winnie, dont-â€Å"\r\nIt was too late. Winnie was already moving, heading s traight into the shop without any attempt at concealment.\r\nKeller cursed again. But she didnt have any choice now. â€Å"Nissa, stand by. Things are going to get exciting,” she snapped, affecting her pin, and then she followed.\r\nWinnie was walking directly toward the little group of three guys and Iliana as Keller reached the door. The guys were looking up, instantly alert. Keller saw their faces and gathered herself for a leap.\r\nBut it never happened. Before she could get all her muscles ready, the silhouette guy turned-and everything changed.\r\nmagazine went into slow motion. Keller saw his face clearly, as if shed had a year to study it. He wasnt bad-looking-quite handsome, actually. He didnt look much fourth-year than she was, and he had clean, nicely molded features. He had a small, compact body with what looked like hard muscles under his clothes.\r\nHis hair was black, shaggy but shiny, almost like fur. It fell over his forehead in an odd way, a way that look ed deliberately modify and was at odds with the neatness of the rest of him.\r\nAnd he had eyes of obsidian.\r\nTotally opaque.\r\n burnished silver-black, with nothing clear or open about them. They revealed nothing; they simply threw light impale at anyone who looked into them. They were the eyes of a monster, and every one of Kellers five coke voluntary muscles froze in fear.\r\nShe didnt need to hear the roar that was far below the pitch that human ears could pick up. She didnt need to see the swirl of dark energy that flared like a red-tinged black aura around him. She knew already, instinctively, and she tried to get the breath to call a warning to Winnie.\r\nThere was no time.\r\nShe could only watch as the boys face turned toward Winnie and power exploded out of him. He did it so casually. Keller could tell that it was only a flick of his mind, like a horse slapping its tail at a fly. But the dark power slammed into Winnie and send her flying through the air, arms and l egs outstretched, until she smash-up a wall covered with display plates and clocks. The crash was tremendous. Winnie! Keller almost yelled it out loud.\r\nWinnie fell rump the cash say counter, out of Kellers line of sight. Keller couldnt tell if she were springy or not. The cashier who had been standing behind the counter went running and screaming toward the back of the shop. The customers scattered, some following the cashier, some lively for the exit.\r\nKeller hung in the doorway a second longer as they streamed out around her. Then she reeled away to stand with her back against the window of the next shop, breathing hard. There were coils of ice in her guts.\r\nA dragon.\r\nHe was a dragon.\r\n'