Alien in the Family

lead if we’re running at hyperspeed?”
    “Sure.”
    I grabbed his hand and we took off. Too revved up to get sick from the hyperspeed, so that was a bonus. Raced out and down the Strip, made a right on Tropicana and raced to the goal—Mecca for most straight guys and lesbians—the Hooters Hotel and Casino.
    “Are you kidding me?” Christopher shouted. “Why are we here?”
    “Because Kyrellis is here. Waiting and watching and enjoying the view before she really enjoys the view.”
    “What are we looking for?” Martini asked. “She’s a shapeshifter. She could look like anyone.”
    I thought about it as we raced through the casino. “She’ll look like herself, as much as possible. She thinks she’s in the clear, and she’s had hours here to assure herself of that.”
    “She knows we have Moira,” Christopher said.
    “No, I don’t think she does. I think she thinks Moira has me. Jeff, you still holding that tracking device?”
    He cursed. “Yes. I forgot I had it.”
    “That’s great. Put it into my purse.”
    “Hell, no!”
    “Put it in my damn purse, Jeff! And look for a strong, big woman with spiky blonde hair. Figure she’ll look like she’s in the WNBA.” He muttered but dropped the tracker in as requested.
    We looked around. Nothing that seemed to fit. “It’s close to noon,” Christopher said urgently.
    My brain waved at me. “The roof. She’ll be on the roof. This is a small place, she has to get up high to see things go down.”
    We raced for the stairs. The door to the roof was locked. Martini wrenched it open and we went through, back outside under the close-to-noonday sun. We came around to face the Mandalay Bay, and there she was. Her back was to us, but from what I could tell, she was built like Martini and about the same size. Only, she was a bit larger, and potentially more muscular. I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
    “Kyrellis.”
    She turned around. “I know you.” Spiky blonde hair, violet eyes. I got the impression the Free Women had made do without their men via a cloning process. She smiled, and it was a very evil smile. “You brought them to me. What a good little girl you are. Maybe I will not kill you. Maybe I will let you stay with me and my mate.”
    Oh, right. She was an assassin. And she wanted to kill Martini and Christopher. “Guys? Please get out of here.”
    “No.” In unison again. Not too loud, but with a lot of meaning from both of them.
    “I can’t see her do to you what Moira did to James.”
    “She won’t,” Martini said. “We aren’t being lured and fooled.”
    “She will.” Gregory’s voice came from behind us. I looked over my shoulder. He was behind us. The Poofs were with him, but they weren’t big or growling. They were trembling.
    “So, you have them attached to you after all, Greg?”
    “No. I just know how to control them.” He had Harlie in his hand, fingers held in an unnatural position. I assumed this meant he was doing something to prevent Harlie’s ability to go large or toothy. He was squeezing it tightly and it was clear he could squeeze tighter. “Threaten the leader, the followers do your bidding.”
    “Yeah, that’s the bad guy plan in a nutshell.”
    Gregory shrugged. “Just because none of you can see the advantages to ruling the strongest planet in two solar systems doesn’t mean I can’t.”
    “Kyrellis, why are you working with a man?”
    She shrugged. “He has . . . helped us. My God feels he is worthy in Her sight. Not to touch us, but he will be an ally we need.”
    “Boy, are you gullible.”
    She smiled her evil smile. “No. I am powerful. As you will soon see.”
    She shimmered, and there was another Martini standing there.
    “Oh, great,” he muttered. “Don’t use the Glock.”
    “I’m sure that’s her plan. Jeff, please, get out of here.”
    “I love you. Please remember that.” He ran toward her and the two of them started fighting, all out, with clear intent to kill—but at human speeds. Gregory’s attention was on the fight, and Christopher took advantage of his distraction by body-slamming him. Unfortunately, A-Cs were strong, and they were fighting at hyperspeed instantly.
    I realized I’d never seen Martini fight, other than the one time he and Christopher had gone at it, and that had looked a lot more like the fight Christopher and Gregory were currently having—blurry guys rolling around on the ground. I had no idea who was the real Martini—they