Witchlight by Lisa Jane Smith, now you can read online.
The mall was so peaceful. There was no hint of the terrible thing that was about to happen.
It looked like any other shopping mall inNorth Carolina on a Sunday afternoon in December. Modern.
Brightly decorated. Crowded with customers who knew there were only ten shopping days until Christmas. Warm, despite the chilly gray skies outside. Safe.
Not the kind of place where a monster would appear.
Keller walked past a display of "Santa Claus Through the Ages" with all her senses alert and open. And that meant a lot of senses. The glimpses she caught of herself in darkened store windows showed a high-school-aged girl in a sleek jumpsuit, with straight black hair that fell past her hips and cool gray eyes.
But she knew that anybody who watched her closely was likely to see something else-a sort of prowling grace in the way she walked and an inner glow when the gray eyes focused on anything.
Raksha Keller didn't look quite human. Which was hardly surprising, because she wasn't. She was a shapeshifter, and if people looking at her got the impression of a half-tamed panther on the loose, they were getting it exactly right.
"Okay, everybody." Keller touched the pin on her collar, then pressed a finger to the nearly invisible receiver in her ear, trying to tune out the Christmas music that filled the mall. "Report in."
"Winnie here." The voice that spoke through the receiver was light, almost lilting, but professional. "I'm over by Sears. Haven't seen anything yet. Maybe she's not here."
"Maybe," Keller said shortly into the pin-which wasn't a pin at all but an extremely expensive transmission device. "But she's supposed to love shopping, and her parents said she was headed this way. It's the best lead we've got. Keep looking."
"Nissa here." This voice was cooler and softer, emotionless. "I'm in the parking lot, driving by theBingham Street entrance. Nothing to report- wait." A pause, then the ghostly voice came back with a new tension: "Keller, we've got trouble. A black limo just pulled up outside Brody's. They know she's here."
Keller's stomach tightened, but she kept her voice level. "You're sure it's them?"
"I'm sure. They're getting out-a couple of vampires and . . . something else. A young guy, just a boy really. Maybe a shapeshifter. I don't know for sure; he isn't like anything I've seen before." The voice was troubled, and that troubled Keller. Nissa Johnson was a vampire with a brain like the library of Congress. Something she didn't recognize?
"Should I park and come help you?" Nissa asked.
"No," Keller said sharply. "Stay with the car; we're going to need it for a fast getaway. Winnie and I will take care of it. Right, Winnie?"