Chameleon Read Online Free PDF

of sunken and swollen skin spread across his arms and head. The lines rose half an inch higher and lazily wiggled as if they just woke up. Wiz screamed. The lines slithered, journeyed through his flesh, and circled his eyes and mouth.
    No matter how many times I see this I can’t get used to this.
    I tried to hold Wiz up, but we crashed to the gro und, slipping in blood.
    In front of me, Goatee’s lifeless eyes gazed back as my face hit the wet pavement. My cheek exploded with shards of pain. The light shield vanished. Crunching noises flooded my ears while the birds feasted on the dead. I turned away, unable to watch the scene. My stomach bubbled and churned in disgust. The odor of blood mixed with a coal scent drenched the area and forced me to breathe through my mouth. Even the vampires, who hung around like vultures hovering over a corpse, stood in shock with wide eyes and parted lips. They backed away step by step and then blurred off into the other direction.
    I wished I could just run off too as I touched Wiz’s forehead. His skin froze my fingertip s. He shook for several seconds and rode a wave of spasms. 
    It’s going to be okay. We’ve done this before.
    I cried.
    Wiz is strong.
    Blood spilled out of his mouth and more streamed from his nose. I wiped it away from his face with my dress.
    All magic had a cost. For some the price was minor. The moon commanded shapeshifter’s lives. It forced them to change, managed when they ate, loved, and had sex. Witches sacrificed their blood, skin, and other parts of their body to control the elements. Vamps lost the sun and hid from its damaging light. During the day, their magic cemented them into vulnerable statues. Even I depleted my energy each time I mimicked another. The longer I kept a copy’s form, the more my magic drained me. At times I slept for days in a comatose state and woke up drowning in hunger.
    I studied Wiz as he trembled in my arms.
    What’s your price?
    Sure, he endured pain after he used magic, but that wasn’t all he lost. Those things stirred under his skin, slid away from his eyes and nose, and glided across his chin. I tore his shirt open and observed them while they crawled down his neck. I touched one. It pushed against my fingertip and pulsed like it had a heartbeat. I shook away a shiver. All of the worms paused as if waiting for my next action.
    “Do you need help?” a light voice sounded behind me. “You should get out of here.”
    I turned to see a tall vampire with almond skin and blue eyes pat down her tattered red mini skirt. The brunette wig she wore had knots on the side and clumps of dirt in the front.
    “I’m fine.” I returned to Wiz and froze. All of the lines now surrounded my fingers. A wave of unease crept up my spine like thousands of fat cockroaches tiptoeing across my skin. The lines edged closer and quivered against my hand.
    “That’s some freaky stuff you’re man is dealing with,” she whistled. “You may want to take the opportunity and run from him, while he’s down.”
    I blew out air and moved my hand away. The lines scattered off in different directions. What are they? When he woke up, he was going to give me answers. No more avoiding the subject. The vampire crept over to me. I slipped my hand in Wiz’s jacket, grasped one of the handles of his daggers, and clutched it.
    I hoped it was the silver one. Vampires didn’t heal from silver wounds. Magical creatures that lived on the street tended to be opportunity seizers. Here I was defenseless with a passed out guy in front of me, she was either going to rob me for my blood to take down to the Blood Factory for money or help in order to get something out of the deal. I’d lived on the street enough to not trust vampires without a connection to a gang. Those were the most desperate. “Thank you but, I don’t need any help.”
    “Yes, you do.” She bent over and sniffed. “The streets are quiet now, but they’ll be crowded soon. People see this