A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters by Martin Harry Greenberg; Kerrie Hughes

Author:Martin Harry Greenberg; Kerrie Hughes
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Science-Fiction
ISBN: 9781101179833
Publisher: DAW
Published: 2010-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

Elena Madera made her way along the Santa Cruz River toward the Interstate. She spotted the werejaguars immediately, watching her from the darkness beneath the bridge. Gold eyes shone in the beam of her flashlight.

A familiar figure jumped into the water and waded toward her. From a distance, he could have passed for just another vagabond living at the edge of the city, if not for the easy, predatory confidence in his movements. “Go away.”

“Territorial, aren’t you?” Elena smiled. She counted two others in the darkness. “Most cats hate water, but not jaguars. No wonder you love it here.”

He sniffed the air. “I know you.”

“Thank you.” Her scent had changed over the past month, along with the rest of her. But if he still recognized her, it meant something of Lena Greenwood had survived. Her hair was longer now, tied back in twin black braids. Her skin was soft and brown. She wore a long white coat which would be murder to keep clean, but did a nice job of hiding the three feet of Toledo steel sheathed on the back of her belt.

“I’ve been volunteering at the homeless shelters lately,” Elena said. “Strange how many of them talk about monsters, especially here at the river. Creatures chasing them away, hunting them in the night.”

All three werejaguars were approaching now. The mother and her young. Apparently, the family that ran drugs together, stayed together. The mother’s features shifted, fur covering her body, though she remained humanoid. Combining the best of both forms. Her sons simply drew their guns.

This time, Elena was faster. Her coat flew out behind her as she leapt, drawing a chrome-plated .45 and killing the first werejaguar before he could react. She put a bullet into the arm of the second, and his weapon dropped into the water. Undeterred, he charged, slamming into her with his full weight.

Elena rolled back, planted her feet in his gut, and flung him away. By the time he attacked again, she was ready. Her sword hissed through the air, and he fell into the river.

She spun, hurling the sword to catch the mother in the stomach even as she leapt.

“What are you?” the last werejaguar asked, sharp teeth distorting her words.

Elena walked toward her. “Bow down to him, for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries. He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people’s land. Deuteronomy, chapter thirty-two.”

She grabbed the hilt of her sword and planted a foot on the werejaguar’s chest. “Answer my questions, and I’ll be merciful.” Eduardo would like that. Much as he hated the darkness, he also hated suffering of any kind. She would do her best to make this quick.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.