Read Second Skin (Skinned) for Free Online Page B

for the purpose of a good pout. But Kate merely smiled and released me. “It’s nice to be waited on for a change.”
I wasn’t sure of the specifics, but Kate could sense emotions, gain knowledge, or learn closely guarded secrets through laying hands on someone, or possibly something . However, I’d felt no zing of power. Kate hadn’t snooped. This time.
Brit tucked her wings in tight to avoid knocking over a stack of books left out on a table for customers to peruse. She shot Kate a tired grin. “Love the silver streak in your hair. Very goth.”
Kate put a hand to her wiry auburn locks, pulled down a few flowing strands and frowned at the shock of gray.
“How about I put on something a bit more…human.” Brit headed behind the sales counter and pulled out a backpack filled with her stash of emergency garb. She threw it up in the air. It caught on her wingtip claw, leaving her hands free to grab an energy drink from the cooler and twist the cap off. She took a long gulp, finishing the bottle. She grabbed another.
“I’ll pay you back,” she said on her way to the washroom to change.
Matt put a five-dollar bill on the counter near the till. He paced restlessly around the perimeter of the eating area, scoping for any sign we weren’t alone. Although with all the wards and magics Kate had established at either entrance, I was confident no one could get in without her knowledge.
That’d be why the beasties attacked outside.
“So…scary little dudes in itchy cloaks. Definitely new items on the café menu.” I settled into a chair opposite Kate. “What were those things?”
Kate opened her mouth to answer, and then shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Demonic hobbits?” I suggested, earning are-you-nuts?
expressions from both Matt and Kate.
“What happened? Lay it out for us,” Matt said. His pan around the room complete, he perched on a stool at the counter, swiveling back and forth.
“We had a band playing, so we were open later than usual.” Kate gestured to the tables and chairs that had been re-arranged to make room for a makeshift stage. “They were pretty good and drew in a crowd. Standing room only. Shannon and Jess worked a double shift to help out. I sent them home. They’d been on their feet all night.” She shifted in her chair. “About to lock up, I took the last of the garbage to the bin out back. I heard a scuffle behind the bin, and then those things came at me.” She shuddered.
“So you don’t know what they are either?” Brit asked, back in human form and decked out in her usual goth fare. She dropped into a tweed rocker and brought her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and gave a weary sigh. Her eyes fluttered shut. Her lashes, caked with black mascara, rested like tiny spikes against her pale cheeks. Strands of her straight black hair hung limply from her scalp, slashing down her face in harsh lines.
She was so gothic, she looked dead.
When it came to this thing with Blake, I think she wished she was.
“Believe me, I’d remember if I’d run into them before,” Kate continued. “I was on my own. It’s not like I could call the cops.” She laughed. “You know what they’re like in this town.”
Boy, did I.
Only in Redgrave could you get attacked by pint-sized, cloaked paranorms, have them total your vehicle, and yet see no sign of the cops. Break curfew in Halloween costumes, however, and you were in for trouble. In just such a situation a few weeks before, I’d tracked what I thought was a lone rogue werewolf to Polly’s Pet Emporium, where he was chowing down on a few helpless bunnies. Store alarms screeching— Hello! Werewolf busting windows on Main Street —and not a cop to be seen. Still, I thought I had him in the bag, but bunny blood is a slippery substance. Thanks to Alec’s handy silver bullets and sharp marksmanship, I was here today.
Though he probably regretted saving my life after he learned I was the girl from his mother’s vision, one who