“Holy shit,” Daniel said in complete awe. “Your voice was really beautiful just then.”
“Really?” Gemma asked, and looked at him.
He didn’t have that glassy stare in his eyes the way humans did when they were under the siren spell, but there was something not quite right about his gaze, like he was captivated by her.
“Yeah.” He shook his head, trying to clear it. “I’m not under your spell, at least not the way I think normal guys would be, but yeah, you had me kinda entranced just then.”
“You have no idea how hungry I am. I think I need to eat soon.” She tried to lick her lips but could only run her tongue along her teeth. Her stomach growled, an audible, angry sound, and her body trembled with hunger. “Well … maybe I could eat now. You could get someone, right? Some horrible person?”
“Some horrible person? Where would I find some horrible person?” Daniel asked, and he’d taken a step back from her.
Her back and ribs began cracking as her torso stretched out, and she felt herself losing her sense of reason. Her thoughts were getting blocked out, and she could barely remember the name of the guy standing in front of her. She didn’t know where she was, and she didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was the burning hunger inside her.
“I don’t know. But you should totally find them right now.”
“Gemma … you’re changing more.” He stepped back again and stared up at her, now that she was towering over him. “I think you need to get yourself under control really fast.”
“I will,” she hissed. “I just need to eat.”
“Your voice just now, it was not pretty at all. You’re losing yourself, Gemma,” Daniel said forcefully. “Let’s bring it back.”
There was a blackness coming over her thoughts, and she knew she was losing control. She knew that the monster was taking over, and soon she’d be run by some kind of primal instinct that she didn’t trust or understand.
“Gemma,” Daniel said, keeping his voice calm but firm. “Gemma, you need to get under control.”
“Daniel,” she said, mostly because she just wanted to say his name. She wanted to make him a real person who she knew and cared about and not a meal she’d have for supper.
The sound of the door opening at the front of the theater echoed, and she cocked her head, listening for the sound of a new heartbeat. Maybe this would be someone she could eat.
“Shit. Gemma. Somebody’s coming.” He held his hands up to her and tried to push her back behind the curtain but without really touching her. “Get back.”
“Daniel…” She moaned but moved back, hiding behind the velvet curtain.
“Hello, Daniel,” the director, Tom, said in his lilting British accent. “I thought you’d be gone by now.”
The thought of devouring Tom or Daniel, or maybe both, was consuming her. The way their blood would taste warm and sweet down her throat. It took all her strength to keep herself hidden behind the curtain.
Tom sounded especially delectable. Her emotional attachment to Daniel helped keep some of her hunger at bay, but she didn’t feel anywhere near as strong about Tom. He might not even be a nice guy. She’d seen him yell at Kirby before.
When she’d killed Jason, it had been in a blackout, and she thought she’d forgotten everything about it. But now, a lingering memory surfaced—the way his heart had tasted, and how warm and sweet his blood felt going down her throat.
And then she didn’t even need to justify killing Tom. Reason was leaving her entirely, and all she wanted to do was eat.
“No, yeah, the set’s just about down,” Daniel said in a nervous rush. “What are you doing here? Do you need help? What’s going on?”
“I just left something in the office,” Tom said. “I’ll be gone in a jiffy.”
Instead of rushing out to rip him open, Gemma clung to the last scrap of reason still remaining and put her long arms over her head. She crouched, trying to make herself as small as possible, and wished she could disappear into the floor. The hunger and monster were still fighting to dominate her.
She heard his footsteps retreating, then she realized she couldn’t hear anything anymore. Not his heartbeat or even Daniel’s. The flutter of her skin had stopped, and for a horrible moment, she thought she’d given in to the monster and blacked out like she did the last time. She fully expected to open her eyes and find herself covered in blood.
But then she realized the hunger was still there. Not as strong as it had been a moment ago, but much stronger than it had been before she’d started shifting into the monster.
“Gemma?” Daniel asked. “Are you okay?”
She lifted her head to see him standing over her. She glanced down, and her hands were back to normal. When she ran her tongue along her teeth, they felt flat and ordinary.
Her tank top had ripped when her torso had stretched out, so her purple bra was showing, and Gemma quickly crossed her arms over her chest and stood up.
“Yeah, I’m back to normal,” she said, hoping her voice sounded even and not as tremulous as it felt. “I ripped my shirt.”
“Here.” Daniel took off his flannel shirt, revealing a T-shirt, and Gemma pulled it on, covering herself up.
“So that wasn’t such a good idea,” Gemma said.
“No, you did good,” he said, but he didn’t sound that convincing. “I mean, the first time you transformed, you completely lost control. This time, you almost did, but you stayed true to yourself. Nobody got hurt. You just need to practice more.”