Darkening Dawn (The Lockman Chronicles Book 5) by Rob Cornell Page A

. He had locked the door after they came in.
    Her fingers quivered as she tried to twist the lock open. They didn’t seem to want to cooperate. Footsteps brushed across the carpet behind her. The smell of Elka’s fear curled into her nostrils.
    She froze.
    Why would she let this fool frighten her? She had spent so long in her human shape, she had nearly forgotten what she really was. She turned to face Kenny.
    Tears streamed down his face. Snot hung on his upper lip. As he came toward her, he pointed at her with the knife’s tip. An ordinary steak knife. A nuisance at best. To her, the equivalent of a wasp’s stinger.
    “A mistake, huh?”
    Elka shook her head like a disappointed teacher. “You idiot. I was going to let you live.”
    He hitched to a stop. His brows came together. He tilted his head in that way dogs do when they don’t understand a command. He moved his mouth, but no words came out.
    “That’s right,” Elka said. “ I am the hunter. You are the prey .”
    She set her jaw and pushed energy through her body. The pulse of her blood quickened through her veins. Her heartbeat slowed as the heart itself expanded in her chest. Her spine crackled as it bent and elongated. The hairs on her arms grew long, white, sparkling, and covered her skin completely. Her fingers curled into her palms as her hands turned into hooves. The familiar pressure at the center of Elka’s forehead as her horn pushed out from her skull sent orgasmic spasms through her whole body.
    Her clothes absorbed into her skin, hidden from sight but ready for her transformation back to human form. Unlike weres, her people had mastered this trick, another piece of the camouflage that had helped unicorns survive for millennia against the most aggressive poachers across all planes of existence.
    Kenny staggered backward. The harsh red drained from his face, leaving a dirty shade of white like old newsprint. The knife tipped off his fingers and toppled to the carpet with an insignificant thump .
    Elka reared up on her hind legs and let forth a piercing whinny. Her horn cracked through the ceiling and tore a hole in the plaster. White dust rained down around her as she stomped her forelegs back to the floor.
    A wet spot spread through the crotch of Kenny’s pants. Elka huffed at the smell. He dropped to his knees and held his hands out.
    “Please,” he said. “Don’t—”
    Elka didn’t let him finish. She drove forward and lanced him with her horn straight through his throat. He expelled a single bloody cough. Then Elka swung her neck and ripped Kenny’s head from his shoulders.
    She languished in the spray of Kenny’s blood, the hot droplets like spring rain on her coat. The stress had brought on a faint glow in her horn. Pump enough adrenaline through a unicorn and her horn could do some amazing things.
    Elka had never reached that level of stress before and actually had a chance to use her power. She didn’t need to anyway. She could kill just fine without it.
    Thank you, Kenny. You came through in the end.

Chapter Twelve
    T HE WEIGHT OF A GENT R EE ’s body on Jessie made it hard to take a full breath. In the seconds before the second shot from the weird weapon Ronald Reagan in the minivan wielded, Ree’s words rang in her head.
    We’re gonna die.
    Then a twisted sound cut the air, like an out of tune chord struck on an electric guitar.
    Jessie squeezed her eyes shut.
    I’m coming, Dad.
    A crack of thunder boomed in the room, but nothing struck Jessie or Ree. No burning flesh or obliteration. Just her and Ree’s breathing in an unsteady chorus. Ree’s weight lifted off of Jessie. She opened her eyes and sat up. Gasped.
    Wertz stood in the center of the room, arms outstretched, while a bluish-green beam from the weapon blazed into his chest. He growled and shook, hands in fists. But the beam didn’t seem to otherwise harm him.
    “Let’s go,” Ree said and took Jessie’s arm to help her up.
    Her head spun as she found her