"Lick? Kill? What?" her grandfather asked.
"Nothing," Kylie insisted. "I was talking-"
"She was talking to the spirit, I think," her aunt said, her brows pinched in worry.
"About killing someone?" her grandfather asked, and shot Kylie a direct look.
When Kylie didn't answer, Malcolm glanced around the room as if nervous. His expression of fear reminded her so much of the other supernaturals at Shadow Falls.
That's when a thought hit. She'd come here thinking she'd fit in, and yet, even living on a compound of about fifty acres in Texas hill country, with about twenty-five other chameleons, she still didn't fit in. And it wasn't just the ghost whispering, but the fact that she was so much further advanced than the four other teens here. And they weren't overly thrilled to be shown up by the newbie, either.
The elders of the group-which included her grandfather and great-aunt and about four others- guessed that Kylie's early development was because she was also a protector, a supernatural with amazing strength. While that sounded pretty cool, she would argue with that definition for so many reasons.
Topping those reasons was that she could only use those powers to protect others, and never herself.
Which to Kylie didn't make a lick of sense. If she was in charge of protecting others, wasn't it important that she kind of stay alive? Who the heck had made that rule?
Kylie sighed, a sigh that felt as sorrowful on the inside as it sounded leaving her lips. Was it simply her destiny to always be a misfit?
Her grandfather leaned forward and set his silver fork and knife beside the expensive piece of china.
"Kylie, I hate to intrude with your ... spirit matters, but why would a spirit be conversing with you about killing someone?"
Kylie bit down on her lip and tried to find a way to explain without completely freaking them out.
Especially when it freaked her out. She opened her mouth to say something, but was saved by a bell. A very loud bell, more like a siren. The lights in the chandelier over the table started flickering.
Her grandfather, his frown deepening, pulled out a cell phone from his perfectly pressed white dress shirt, punched one button, and held it to his ear. "What is it?" He paused. "Who?" he snapped, and cut his eyes to Kylie. "I'll be right there!"
He turned the phone off and shot up from his chair, and then faced his sister-in-law. "You and Kylie disappear. Hide out in the barn. I'll be there shortly."
By disappear, Kylie surmised he meant vanish, another thing a chameleon could do. Vanish. Like into thin air.
"What's going on?" Kylie asked, remembering the ghost saying she was about to get company.
"We have intruders." His deep, matter-of-fact tone sounded deeper, more serious."Intruders?" Kylie asked.
His eyes tightened. "It's the FRU! Now vanish."
Her aunt came around the table and reached for Kylie's hand. Then the woman vanished, and in a fraction of a second, Kylie looked down and her own legs had disappeared.
Chapter Two
Three minutes later, Kylie was led into the barn by her aunt. Or at least she assumed it was her. Because everyone was invisible.
Breathing in the earthy smell of stored hay, Kylie added another thing she'd learned about her powers.
A chameleon had the ability to make other people vanish. Or it would appear that way, because she hadn't been wishing to vanish and it seemed her aunt's touch had done all the work.
"Are we all here?" Her aunt's voice broke into the odd, tense silence. Kylie cut her eyes around the empty barn. Not a soul was here that she could see. Of course, she couldn't see herself, either.
Listening, she heard the slight sound of feet shuffling.
"Let's do the count," her aunt's voice echoed again. "One," her aunt said.
"Two," another voice added.
The count went up to twenty-four, but there had been several pauses, and several numbers missed, before someone moved on to the next number. Kylie recognized most of the voices. Especially the four other teen chameleons, plus Suzie, the six-year-old, and her parents, who were the teachers of the groups.