“Serious,” I said, coming to stand beside him. “That’s so cool.”

“You think?” He rubbed one of his earlobes. “I have super strength and I can turn things, including myself, to stone. That’s it. Those are my powers.”

“I think that’s awesome.” I yanked on an arrow. That one came out, so I went to another. “Oh, what about wings? Some gargoyles have wings? Can you fly?”

He tugged on his ear and glanced over at Professor Pops. “I don’t think so. At least not yet.” He bent over and picked up something. “Is this your phone?”

“Oh, I completely forgot about it. Thanks.” Somehow it had escaped the carnage unscathed. I quickly checked to see if I had any messages from Adam. There were messages from Ashley, Eva, and Cassidy. I guessed Will had talked to them and they wanted to know where I’d gone. But there were none from Adam. The phone’s battery was at twenty percent. I’d have to charge it later. Since I didn’t have any pockets, I set it on the table next to a jagged edged knife.

“I’m going to see what’s taking Troy so long. I’ll be back in a while. Will you two be all right down here?” Professor Pops asked.

I glanced at Cole. “Sure.”

“I’ll be back.” Professor Pops left, leaving Cole and me alone.

“So who do you think would win in a fight? A gargoyle or a vampire?”

Cole tapped his fingers against his mouth, thinking. I started to laugh. He joined in. “A gargoyle, for sure.”

“I think so too.”

I climbed on the table to pry out a Chinese star. It was so far into the wall I couldn’t really get a good grip. I kept yanking, but it wouldn’t come and my fingers kept sliding off it.

“Try thinking about something that makes you really happy.” Cole was trying to fix the cot.

“Why?” I asked.

“Just get a good grip on the edge of the Chinese star, think of something that really gets your heart racing in a good way and pull.”

I turned back to the star, closed my eyes and thought about Adam. The desire in his eyes. The determination in his voice. His lips had been so soft, yet hungry. With every touch I knew he wanted my lips on his. Then I thought about the kiss, the way it made my body come alive. After it was over, he’d caressed my bottom lip. I shivered at the memory.

My fingers grew and extended. There was a pop. I opened my eyes. The Chinese star was in my hand. “Oh, yeah, I did it,” I shouted, doing a dance on the table.

Cole stood and turned, putting his hands on his hips. He was laughing at me, but I didn’t care. “See? It isn’t so hard.” He turned back to the bed, took the frame in his hands and bent it back into alignment with a single shove.

“Show-off,” I said, but I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. There was no doubt Cole and I would be life long friends.

Cole and I spent the better part of the next hour pulling weapons out of the walls and the ceiling. Sometimes thinking happy thoughts worked and other times it didn’t. Overall, I was happy with the success I had.

And Cole was a great guy. In a short time I felt like we’d become friends. We’d told each other a lot. I’d told him about life in Utah, and what I’d learned from the book my parents had written. He got to hear about my party and what I’d done to Will. I’d also told him about the curse, or rather the reverse curse.

Then Cole told me about some of his life growing up. He was a year younger than me and his parents had left him on the side of the road when he was five. He’d been in and out of foster homes for years until Professor Pops found him.

I could tell he had a lot of respect for the man. Seeing the way he spoke of Professor Pops made me like him all the more.

“Why does everyone call him Professor Pops?” I asked, setting the last knife on the table.

Cole was shoving hooks into place to rehang the katana and some of the other swords. “He is a Professor of Religion over at Harvard though now he’s mostly retired.”

“Oh, so it’s his actual title.”

“Yep.”

“That’s cool.” I picked up my phone and casually checked for messages. There weren’t any new ones. “Should we go into the museum and see if there’s anything else we can salvage?”

“Sure.” Cole and I tried to walk through the opening at the same time and we bumped into each other. His skin was rock solid. I wanted to ask him more about himself but door clicked and Professor Pops came in followed by Troy.

“How’s it going?” Troy asked. He carried several large black bags—like body bags. Professor Pops followed, carrying more.

“Fine,” I said. “Are those body bags?”

Professor Pops nodded. “They are.”

A rush of fear immobilized my body.

They are going to kill me, stuff me, and put me on a pedestal, I thought.

And my body began to shift. It felt like my blood boiled and moved in fast-forward. My eyesight changed and I felt my face morph, followed by the rest of my body. I heard myself roar as I dropped to all fours.

Professor Pops and Cole dropped the bags in unison. Troy tripped into Professor Pops, who caught him. “This is going to be good,” Troy said. He seemed excited about my change.

I licked my lips, feeling my razor sharp teeth. My whole being focused on the over exuberant boy. His heart raced. I expected to smell fear but he had a strange scent, which became more prominent in my Vaktare form. It was unlike any human I’d smelled.

Not that it mattered. He was human. I didn’t eat humans.

I changed my focus from Troy to Professor Pops. There was a hint of alarm in his scent and his features, but mostly he seemed curious. He had his hands up. They shook slightly.

“It’s okay. You’re fine, Beatrice. No one is going to hurt you.” The voice was Cole’s. He had no scent at all. I saw he’d changed as well. His shirt had ripped in places. Same with his pants. His pale skin was now stark white and marbled with black veins. His black hair had changed to glaring white and his gray eyes were black as coal. Cole touched my arm tenderly. His fingers were rock hard and cold as ice.

A peculiar sensation crawled along my arm. It radiated from his touch. My ears flicked and my whiskers twitched, as did my tail. A tail? That was new, and weird.

“Beatrice?” Cole clamped down on my arm more tightly. The fur all around where he touched turned gray. I yanked my arm from his grasp, the hair near my neck and along my back stood on end.

Cole glanced at his fingers. “I—It’s okay. Sorry. I’m so sorry.” Cole’s eyes went from black to gray and his hair turned from white to black. The black marble on his skin vanished. “The bags are for these bodies.” He indicated the supernatural creature all over the floor. The ones I’d knocked over, shredded, and decapitated. He smiled. “Your werecat form is awesome, by the way.” His eyes roamed over my body. “I mean seriously, I thought the werewolf was cool, but he wasn’t even close to you.”

“Really?” I hadn’t tried to talk while in my Vaktare form yet. It was difficult. The shape of my mouth was different and it felt odd. I touched my face and scratched myself.

“Yes.” Cole came toward me. I realized I’d backed myself into a corner. He stuck out his hand. “May I?”

I shook my head. I didn’t want him to pet me. I wasn’t an animal.

Well, actually, yes you are. You’ve got the paws to prove it.

“Come on, please.” He reached out a hand.

I batted it away with my paw.

He laughed. Then sat down in front of me. Was that a show of submission or at least a sign that I had nothing to fear? Either way, it helped.

Professor Pops and Troy were quiet but they also approached slowly.

It made me feel weird, like how an animal in a zoo might feel. Yeah, come check out the werecat. She’s soft and fluffy and may just purr if you pet her. I roared and hissed, showing my teeth, feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand.