Free The Bloodgate Guardian by Joely Sue Burkhart

all the growls and yells, someone must have heard. The jaguar’s screams had rattled the windows. Why hadn’t Sam’s tight security come to investigate?
    Gripping that vicious, bloody knife in his hand, the man strode toward the hut.
    Frantic, she glanced about the small cottage, looking for a weapon or a place to hide. In the darkness, she made out vague furniture shapes. A small kitchen. Maybe she could find a knife?
    Shallow and rapid, her breath sobbed out, her mind racing in helpless circles. She stifled a desperate cry. What hope did she have against a murderer obviously skilled with a blade, when she nicked her finger trying to cut a steak? Peeking out the window, her heart plummeted. He was less than ten feet away. She shoved the carryall under the nearest shadowed furniture, probably a loveseat.
    She risked another peek and stared. Hope made her chest ache.
    The jaguar rose up behind the man like a silent shadow. It leaped on his back. They tumbled and roared, slashing at each other, one with all four paws and the other plunging the knife over and over into his opponent’s side. The man flipped the snarling jaguar over his head. Twisting in midair, the big cat crashed into a tree, slid to the ground, and lay still.
    The man slowly turned, his flat eyes as dead as the jaguar. He stared right at her and his lips curled in a grim smile.
    Throat burning with acid, she swallowed hard and clutched the windowsill so tightly her fingers cramped.
    Finally, one of the guards trotted up the path from the main compound with a rifle in his hand. “Take another step and I’ll blow your head off!”
    The intruder pointed the knife at her with that cruel smile still curving his lips. Then he whirled and raced for the fence with the guard on his heels.
    Heart pounding, Jaid rested her head against the glass and just breathed. Whew, that was close. If the jaguar hadn’t popped back up—
    She jerked her head up and studied the shadows beneath the tree where the jaguar had collapsed. It had stalked her tonight—until the other man attacked. Had it protected her? Would it kill her now? If it were a normal beast, it was surely dead. If it had been the same man who she’d seen transform in the recording—the legendary shapeshifting priest—then he might be the only person who knew what had happened to her father.
    She watched the jaguar for several long moments, and it never moved. Leaving the bag in its hiding place, she crept out of the hut and edged closer. Straining her eyes, she tried to tell if it was still breathing. As she neared, the wild musk and metallic tang of blood filled her nose.
    A firefly sparked over the animal. More twinkles hovered and swarmed, lighting its furred sides, the rips in its skin, the dark spots of blood on the leaves and ground. The lights engulfed the animal in liquid gold, flashing in a dizzying kaleidoscope.
    The jaguar moved.
    She jerked a step back, but it didn’t roar to life and attack. Actually, it didn’t move, not exactly. It was changing shape . Before her stunned gaze, the front paws melted into hands. Sleek black fur burned away.
    The digital recording had only hinted at the incredibly bizarre and wondrous transformation. Without her father’s evidence, she might have convinced herself that she was suffering from shock, that the transformation of a jaguar into a man was simply…
    The man groaned.
    He was big, as large as the jaguar had been. Sooty spots still dotted his face, arms and chest, along with tattoos in swirling complicated circles down his neck and shoulders. His naked chest and flanks were wounded. His abdomen was torn open, his arms slashed. Yet he groaned again.
    Voices carried on the night air. More guards were coming. The wounded man still lay on the ground, bleeding, yet now his chest rose steadily. What would the guards do to him?
    She knelt beside him. “Can you understand me?”
    Moaning in pain, he turned his head. His eyes flashed golden like the