So Harper did. She didn’t know how to fight her, not like that, so she ran as fast as she could, her bare feet slipping on the tile.

She’d been going toward the back door, though she didn’t know what she would do if she made it through, but then she felt Penn’s claws tearing against the tender flesh of her back.

As Penn lifted her, Harper heard the fabric of her dress tearing and hoped that it gave way soon. Penn turned her around, so Harper was facing her. She flicked her tongue out again, almost as if she was trying to taste her, so Harper kicked her in the face, her toes scraping painfully against Penn’s teeth.

“Get away from my sister, you bitch!” Gemma shouted.

Penn craned her almost ostrichlike neck around to look toward the front of the house, and Harper peered around Penn’s massive wings to see Gemma standing in the doorway.

Her copper wings were spread wide, but they looked tattered. But then as Gemma began to shift from girl to monster right in front of Harper’s eyes, the wings began to fix themselves, the torn feathers replaced with glossy new ones.

Gemma’s arms began to change first, growing longer, and her fingers stretched out, ending in black talons. The skin on her legs shifted from smooth flesh to gray and scaly, ending in the sharp-clawed feet of an emu.

As her torso lengthened and thinned out, her dress tore and split in two. It became a short skirt at the bottom and a small halter top above, where her collarbones and skeletal ribs jutted out.

Her eyes had already shifted into the odd yellow of a bird, but they grew larger, taking up more of her face. Her mouth lengthened and stretched out, so her lips were pulled back around row after row of sharp, jagged fangs. Her skull had expanded, and her lustrous brown hair thinned into wisps.

Gemma was no longer there. She had become the monster.

FORTY-SEVEN

Heartless

The tops of the trees were swaying and the branches crunched. Above them, Alex could hear the sounds of Thea and Liv yelling and screaming, but it sounded completely inhuman. He felt like he’d suddenly slid into Jurassic Park, and any second a Tyrannosaurus rex and a pack of velociraptors would come running out.

Marcy was still crouched by Kirby’s body, and though she seemed reluctant to leave him, their position felt too exposed to Alex. They should be getting weapons or hiding, but he didn’t want to just leave her like that.

Then Liv and Thea came flying out of the trees, and Liv slammed Thea into the pavement only a couple feet in front of Marcy.

“Come on.” Alex grabbed Marcy’s arm and pulled her to her feet. “We have to get out of here.”

They scrambled out of the way mere seconds before Liv threw Thea into the tree that Alex had been standing in front of. And she’d done it hard enough to make the thick trunk crack loudly, though the tree didn’t fall over.

Alex and Marcy hurried around to the back of the Gremlin, but with Marcy hobbling so badly, he didn’t dare go farther. She leaned against the back of the car, and he crouched beside her. He peered through the smashed windows to watch Liv walking toward where Thea leaned up against the tree, catching her breath.

“You’re old, Thea,” Liv said. “You think that makes you stronger, better, but it doesn’t. You’re weak and slow.”

And Alex realized that Liv had a point. Thea had started out strong, but she’d very quickly lost her stamina. Liv clearly had the upper hand, and he wasn’t sure that Thea would be able to take her on unless she got help soon.

“You’re just so damn cocky, Liv. I can’t wait to smack that smug grin off your face.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Thea stood up and smacked Liv, hard enough that Alex could hear it from many feet away. Then they both moved so suddenly, he couldn’t see much other than a flurry of feathers as they took flight.

“Let’s go.” Alex took Marcy’s arm and started leading her around the car. When they reached the driver’s side, he said, “Get in the car.”

Marcy shook her head. “We can’t just leave her.”

“We won’t,” he assured her. “Just get in the car.”

The door didn’t open all the way, so Marcy had to slide in through the small gap and carefully sit down on a seat covered in broken glass. She tried to pull the door shut, but it creaked loudly, so she stopped.

“Do you think she can still drive?” Alex asked through the broken-out window.

“You kidding me? Lucinda can always go,” Marcy said. “But where am I going?”

Thea suddenly fell from the sky, landing on the side of the road with a sickening crunch. She groaned, which was the only evidence that she was still alive, and Liv floated down, landing on top of her.

“You had a nice, long reign, but your time is up,” Liv said as she wrapped her hand around Thea’s throat, making her gurgle and moan as she struggled to pry Liv’s fingers off.

Throughout the fight, Thea and Liv had been knocking down trees and branches all over the place. There was a thick, sturdy-looking branch only a few feet away from him, so Alex ran over and grabbed it.

He’d just picked it up when Thea spit in Liv’s face. Liv cackled loudly, and as Alex ran toward her, Liv tore into Thea’s chest and ripped out her heart. Two seconds too late, Alex swung the branch with all his might and struck Liv across the back.

“Not smart, little boy.” Liv glared at him. “I was almost gonna let you get away.”

She stood up and tossed Thea’s heart aside, so it landed in dirt and pine needles. She walked slowly toward Alex, but he didn’t run. He held his ground, and when he heard the car’s engine clunk and rev, Liv didn’t look away. She just kept walking toward him.