Teresa dropped to her knees and braced her arms in front of her so that she was in a crouch and shook her long dark hair so that it fanned across her naked back. Then her forearms lengthened and her knees suddenly bent the wrong way. Hair flowed across her body, growing in a shimmering wave of black until it covered her skin in a sleek pelt. At the same time the hair on her head shrank back upon itself and her ears flowed upward, extending into triangular points. A long tail grew from her haunches and began lashing angrily. She threw open her mouth and roared—the sound was amazingly similar to a human scream—and in that instant her face transformed into the fang-filled visage of a jungle cat. In the blood-red glow of the flare, she was a frightening sight indeed. She looked alert, tense. Not dazed at all.