Shifting Selves Read Online Free PDF Page A

considering buying a local home.
    It was smaller than Lake Tahoe, but the water was every bit as clear, and it was surrounded by acres of old growth forest. It didn’t suffer from the throngs of tourists that plagued its better known cousin, and at this time of year only the most dedicated kayakers paddled through its icy water. It was the sort of place that allowed you to picture what the mountains were like hundreds of years ago, when, paradoxically, uncontrolled wilderness offered peace in a way a tamed mountain never could.
    If I lived in a place like this, I might never need to worry about my fire half manifesting.
    Brandon showed us where they’d been the night before. I spotted several footprints in the area, both human and animal, possibly from where shifters had already searched.
    I prowled around the lake edge, examining the area. “Brandon, where did James shift?” He pointed, and I walked to the spot. There were too many footprints to follow a trail, though I still tried. The paths led further into the woods and provided no clues as to James’s whereabouts. When I returned to the others, Will looked amused by my failure. It was no more than he expected.
    “Give me the shirt.” I held out my hand, and Will passed me a sweatshirt James had worn the day before. The shifters had used it to learn his scent for tracking. I had my own plans for it.
    “You think you’ll have more luck with his smell than we did, little water?” Will looked greatly amused by the thought.
    I might be naturally inclined to trust this man, thanks to his resemblance to Mac, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t equally inclined to drench him in a six-foot wave if he kept patronizing me. I reached behind me, getting to know the water. Just in case.
    “Were you home schooled too, Will? Don’t know how else to explain you knowing so little about us.” To my surprise, he laughed. He deliberately stepped away from me and leaned against the SUV, giving me the freedom to do what I needed. Though his pose was relaxed, his eyes were sharp, studying my every move.
    Before I could begin, Vivian and Simon appeared silently before us. Between his cat nature and her affinity for the earth, no two people could sneak around a forest the way those two could. On the whole, it was a fairly useless skill, but I enjoyed watching the shifters jump when they arrived.
    Sera had phoned them on the ride over, asking them to join us. We filled them in quickly, blatantly ignoring any confidentiality guidelines the agents might have expected us to adhere to. I’d already chosen to trust these people with my life. After that, what were a few national secrets between friends?
    “Just so you know, I am not getting drawn into another mystery in need of solving as part of some master plan to keep me in Tahoe,” Simon informed us. His objection noted for the record, he promptly shifted and ran up the nearest tree. It was quite a bit taller than the average house cat would be comfortable climbing, but Simon showed no such reservations. A moment later, he was jumping from branch to branch, able to examine the trails in a way no human or bear ever could.
    “Brandon, where were you when he vanished?” He pointed to a large boulder, part of an outcropping of rocks that rose from the lake. It had a smooth, flat surface, and I imagined it was a favorite fishing spot for locals.
    I perched on the rock and studied the shoreline. The water to the right was wide open, and Brandon would have seen anyone leaving the area that way. To my left, about two hundred feet away, the shoreline curved gently into a promontory that created a sizable blind spot.
    I walked to that section of the lake and knelt at the water’s edge. The water immediately rushed to me, wrapping around my Converse-clad feet in greeting. I ran my fingers through it, sharing its joy at finding an old friend. We’d been born from the same source, from the magic that long ago created every landscape on earth,