Alterant Read online

  Evalle whipped forward, planted one foot and kicked him into an oak tree as big around as a fifty-gallon barrel.

  He slammed against the trunk and shook his head. Not dead.

  She’d promised Tzader she’d show restraint after putting a gang leader in traction yesterday . . . and that had been without tapping her Belador powers. That murdering bastard deserved death for killing a young girl he’d raped and beaten.

  Too bad his punishment fell to the legal system, or she’d have saved the taxpayers some money.

  Shots fired from her left.

  With the cover of darkness, she risked shoving a field of energy up to stop the bullets and turned toward the shooter. Fortunately, he was too far away to see the bullets bounce off her field of energy. She couldn’t use her powers to harm a human, but she could protect herself and others if she didn’t expose her unusual abilities.

  She sent a mild wave of energy across the field, knocking the shooter backward off his feet. His weapon fell loose, then flew up to rest in the tree.

  Imagine that.

  Two wrestling bodies bumped into her.

  She wheeled around, expecting to crack a couple more heads, when one of the men started changing. His head stretched in two directions and his mouth widened, accommodating fangs.

  This was much worse than a gang war.

  She called out to Tzader, We got a Rías shifting over in the open area.

  Tzader called back, Get him away from the humans.

  Then another voice came into her mind. Evalle, Tristan here.

  He called her now?

  Before she could answer Tristan, Tzader added, Get the beast to chase you. Don’t engage him until we reach you.

  Evalle? Tristan said louder in her head.

  Tzader started shouting orders telepathically to all the Beladors.

  Evalle shook her fist at Tristan’s sucky timing, but she had to wait for Tzader to finish before she could close her mind to communicate with only one person. The safety of her fellow Beladors came first. Nine Beladors had died several months ago while linked, when the Alterant they fought killed one of them.

  Rías were much like Alterants, human-looking until they shifted into a deadly beast. Some could control their beast, but it didn’t appear that this one could.

  And this Rías had a human by the arm.

  She ripped the gang member from the beast’s grasp and tossed the cursing thug thirty feet away.

  The Rías roared as he finished shifting.

  As per Tzader’s orders that were still flowing telepathically through her mind, she lifted her hand and slapped the beast with a kinetic blast that only aggravated him. He stumbled back a few feet.

  Once the Rías came after her, she’d run toward a patch of trees a hundred yards away, where Tzader and four Beladors would be waiting to capture him . . . unless they were forced to kill the beast.

  The minute Tzader finished talking, Tristan’s voice snapped at Evalle. You want a tip on the traitor or not?

  The traitor?

  About time she had some good luck. She called back to Tristan, Where—

  A chain wrapped around her neck and tightened with inhuman power from behind.

  The beast howled and rushed her.

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