Chapter 1

Stopped at the red light, Catlyn Hennessey glanced across the street. A mass of bodies stood impatiently waiting for the “walk” signal to begin their day at the amusement park. Movement, weaving through the traffic, and headed toward the crowd, caught her attention. “Not again! I can’t be seeing this!” She squeezed her eyes shut and fingered her pendant. Please don’t be there. Please don’t be there. She cracked one eye open.

The ugly creature continued to scurry across the street on its mismatched legs. Fascinated, she tilted her head, puzzled at how it moved with one leg hoofed like a goat and the other a skinny crow’s foot. The bells tied around its squat, barrel-shaped body jangled as it ran-hopped to the throng at the crosswalk.

The crowd ignored the creature weaving through them, as if they couldn’t see it. Using its sharp two-pronged stick carried in its lobster-claw appendage, it poked a burly man wearing a loud tropical shirt. Catlyn shuddered at its bone-chilling cackle as the man jumped and rubbed his buttocks. He turned to glare at the man in a business suit standing behind him. The creature skittered in front of the businessman, and blue electrical pulses flashed on the end of the creature’s other appendage. Electricity arced from it to strike the tourist in the chest. He roared with rage and threw a heavy fist at the businessman, catching him squarely on the jaw and knocking him back.

The businessman tottered backwards from the blow. Using its stick, the creature knocked the man’s feet out from under him, making it appear that his foot had slipped off the curb. As he lost his balance, the burly tourist desperately tried to catch him, only to brush the businessman’s suit with his fingertips. Aghast, the tourist watched the businessman tumble in front of the semi-truck rumbling up the road. With another cackle, the creature disappeared.

“No!” Catlyn screamed. But unless she had magic—which she devoutly wished she had, and not for the first time—she couldn’t stop the accident.

The stoplight changed, and she eased through the intersection. As she passed the incident, the burly tourist stood shaking, his face twisted into horrified incredulity.

By the time Catlyn found a place to turn around and returned to the scene, the police had arrived. She pulled into the nearby lot and parked. Her hands shook as she turned off the ignition and opened the car door. Putting on her big, floppy hat to protect her pale face from the autumn sun—she didn’t need any more freckles—she walked to the gathered crowd.

Catlyn passed the burly tourist, who sat on the curb in handcuffs. He muttered repeatedly, “I didn’t mean to hurt him. I tried to stop him from falling. What the hell happened?”

A woman stood behind the tourist, sobbing and staring at the sheet covering the man hit by the truck. Two children clung to her legs. Catlyn’s heart ached for the family. Their visit to the happiest place on earth had turned into terror and tragedy. Several people huddled around the police, talking.

Catlyn stepped toward the police, then halted, touching her gold seven-pointed star pendant with a small diamond in the center like a talisman. She wanted to help, but how could she explain what she’d seen? The police would never believe her if she told them some evil creature had caused the accident. They’d haul her away and test her for drugs, or worse, throw her in a psychiatric ward.

Before she could turn back to her car, a young policeman approached her, notepad in hand. “Did you see it too?”

“Yes, Officer, I saw what happened. I was at the stoplight.” Catlyn pointed across the street. “I had a clear view. The tourist thought the businessman struck him with a Taser, and he hit back. When he realized the man was falling into the traffic, he grabbed his shirt and tried to pull him to safety, but he couldn’t.”

The officer’s forehead puckered. “I’m sorry, ma’am. Are you sure? Everyone else says the man just started acting erratically and pushed the victim into the truck.”

Catlyn put her hands on her hips. “I know what I saw. That man didn’t push the businessman. It was an accident.”

The policeman raised an eyebrow, clearly disbelieving her. The quiet muttering of the tourist drew her attention. Sympathy welled in her chest. She couldn’t let him go to prison for something he didn’t do. Especially when it’d been that evil creature’s fault. “A strange creature caused it,” she blurted. “It knocked the businessman off his feet and into the truck.” The officer rolled his eyes at her, then shooed her off. When she tried to approach the tourist to offer him support, the police blocked her way.

Trembling with frustration and anger, Catlyn tromped back to her old green Honda Civic, climbed into it, and turned it on. Over the last few weeks, she’d started seeing some weird things, but this was the worst.

The first episode had been two weeks ago while she was waiting in line at the coffee shop. The woman in front of her tucked her hair behind her ears, revealing their pointed tips. When Catlyn leaned forward to get a better look, the woman’s ears had returned to normal. A few days later, a young man at the grocery store had morphed into a satyr and gave Catlyn a suggestive leer. She’d blushed and averted her gaze when his dark fur didn’t hide his erection. When she’d turned back, he’d been nothing more than an attractive young man, grinning at her. When he approached her, she’d been so embarrassed, she’d hurried away.

A few nights ago, when she’d taken her garbage to the dumpster, she noticed her neighbor walking his dog. But the dog had three heads, and her neighbor had long black hair curling around his waist. As he passed her, she swore she’d heard the hissing of snakes. Tossing her trash in the bin, she’d glanced back at her neighbor, who was once again his normal bald self, walking his pit bull.

Catlyn left the parking lot, pulling back onto the busy street, then took the on-ramp to the 5-South freeway. Her hands shook on her steering wheel. Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm down before she reached the metaphysical shop. It would be impossible for her to do any energy healing work or tarot readings as rattled as she was by the accident—and the ugly creature. She fingered her pendant, the only thing she had of her mother’s. Touching it eased her nerves as she maneuvered through the heavy Southern California traffic.