This place looked like the business lair of an evil kingpin. Or perhaps, just one very narcissistic god.

His suit was a deep blue that only made his colorings look all the more extreme.

“My men saw them take the shape of a horse, a bird, and a cat in a short period of time.” Tu Shen’s eyes snapped to the man behind me who had talked. His fingers gripped the chair’s armrests a little tighter and I noticed all the golden rings on his fingers. No wonder he and Lacey got along. Perhaps she’d be less sad about his death if I brought his expensive trinkets back to her.

“You brought a shapeshifter here?” He said with simmering anger. “Grab it!” He snapped. The man behind me leapt at me but I darted off the table and ran underneath it. Quickly, I shifted so that by the time the man crouched down the kitty he saw squeezed under the table had gold and black stripes and weighed a solid seven hundred pounds of tooth, claw, and muscle.

“Tiger!” The man barked, his eyes widening as he fell backwards and tried to scramble away.

“Congratulations on catching me. Now it’s time for your reward,” I said before launching at him. He managed to jerk his head to the side at the last minute so my teeth sunk into his shoulder instead of his skull. I flicked my head and his body felt like a ragdoll, his neck snapping from the powerful thrash I gave it. His body went entirely limp and I dropped it to the ground, blood dripping from my snout as I turned my glowing eyes to Tu Shen.

He slid his hand into his suit jacket and pulled out a gun, firing it in my direction before he had a chance to aim. The bullet managed to go into my leg and come back out, burying in the wall behind me.

Tu Shen took off, darting from the room. I gave chase in delight, ramming my body into the door before it closed and sliding into the grandiose hall. The ceilings were high and the floors were blue glass tile.

“You think your little gun will stop me?” I growled at him in humor as I watched him run down the hall towards two huge wooden doors. He got to them and stopped, realizing he didn’t have time to pull them open before I’d be on him. Tu Shen twisted around and held up his gun, taking aim.

“I was a soldier before I was a god,” he said. I smiled wide, my long teeth all on display. I saw his pupils dilate slightly. He was a prey animal even if he could put on a calm facade.

“Cute but I was born a god,” I said, lunging forward. The gun went off and I felt the bullet bury in my gut. Which was barely a wound at all for me. I ignored it as I pounced on him. The bullet from my gut fell back on the floor with a clink as my blood dripped on the man beneath me.