Shadows Before the Sun by Kelly Gay

an instant, his expression went from humorous to predatory. “I can be friend or foe.” The smooth warning gave me chills. “The choice is yours.”
    “Not interested in either, thanks.”
    “Oh come, now. You’re too involved now not to choose sides. And if you don’t . . . well, wild cards always get hunted and killed.”
    Now I was getting mad. I moved toward him, not stopping until we met in the middle of the room. “Are you threatening me?”
    “Seems fair.”
    I pulled my Hefty and aimed it at his heart. “I’m going to ask you one more time, who are you, and how do you know about me?”
    He regarded my weapon as though I was pointing a pencil at him, and sighed as if in pain, like he’d rather be anywhere but here. “My name is Leander. I err on the side of good. Usually. As long as I get to kill things. I’m here to”—he glanced down the length of my body and up again, his eyes meeting mine with an arrogant light—“feel you out and see if you’re worthy of my offer. And I must say, I prefer your natural hair color better. You had a beautiful shade, like polished mahogany.”
    “How do you know Hank?”
    “First I must complete your interview.”
    “Well, let me help you speed things up.”
    I pulled the trigger, done with whatever weird-ass game he was playing. The tag would stun him for only a moment, but it’d be long enough for me to subdue him—hopefully.
    The tag embedded in his chest, shuddering through him. His eyes fluttered closed and his arms spread wide as though he liked what the sound wave did to him. Psycho. His arms went down, his eyes opened, and he grinned. “They said you were a hothead. My favorite kind.”
    I didn’t ask who “they” were, nor did I want to know his “favorite kind” of what.
    He snapped his fingers. A sheer dome surrounded us, its edges sparking until it was completely enclosed, and then shimmered like thin glass with millions of tiny air bubbles. I could see through it, but was pretty sure I couldn’t go through it.
    Cool air hit my skin, followed by warmth. Odd. I glanced down and saw that my cloak and weapons were missing.
    Okay, now I was pissed.
    The fucker did not just put me in a black leather bodysuit. Except, he did. And the fact that he was standing there grinning like a damned fool was more than I could take. “You are so going down.”
    “Be glad I didn’t opt for more skin.”
    I shook my head, thoroughly disgusted and feeling the hot sweep of power tingle through my veins. We began circling each other. “So what, you like getting your ass kicked by chicks in leather, is that it?”
    He laughed. “Depends on the chick. You know, I wasn’t happy about coming here, but now . . . I’m going to enjoy seeing what you’re made of. What all the fuss is about.”
    “Which won’t ever happen if you don’t stop yapping,” I pointed out. “You gonna talk or fight?”
    “I do love you humans and your penchant for trash talking. No one does it better.”
    He cracked his knuckles. A maniacal gleam entered his eyes. He made a motion so quickly I couldn’t follow it and then a bolt of blue energy shot from his hands and hit me square in the chest. I slammed into the sphere. All the breath went out of my lungs and a sizzling vibe radiated through me, lighting every nerve with pain.
    Shit, that hurt. I slid down to my feet, knees bending until my hands hit the floor. Head down, one steadying breath, and then I glanced up.
    How the hell did I fight him with no weapons of my own, unable to use my powers, and only reliant on my physical abilities?
    I rose slowly and then charged him. Another bolt shot from his hand as I used my momentum to slide like a runner hitting home plate. The bolt slid an inch over my head. I slammed into him, taking him out. He fell forward over me. I rolled, popped to my feet, and roundhouse kicked him in the jaw as he tried to rise. He flipped to his side, rolled, and got to his feet. His hand went to the corner of