Bound by Revenge (Guardian Series) by Jennifer Thibeault

laughter.
    After devoting a few moments to small talk and a quick clean up, everyone took their seats around the table, mimicking their exact positions from the day before.
    “OK, kids. Let’s get down to it. You’re joining us?” Bradley looked towards Alex first, his face frozen in a self-protective shell.
    “Of course, I’m in. Are you kidding me? Sounds like a blast.” The small muscles along the sides of Bradley’s eyes tensed as he struggled to keep emotion from his face. He lowered his head once to accept his son’s reaction before turning his attention towards Abby.
    “Abby?” He asked quietly, the muscles in his jaw tensing.
    “I’ve always wanted to be in the family business, daddy. No matter what it is.” She beamed at him as the icy exterior melted away from Bradley’s face and revealed the loving father.
    “Then it’s settled.” With a wave of his hands, Alex and Abby doubled over in pain and collapsed onto the floor. Each grasped onto the back of their neck as the immortal symbol imbedded itself on their bodies, while they transformed from the human beings that they embodied so far in life, to the weapons that they would be from this point forward.
    Sam watched in silence as her friend convulsed in pain. Not a minute later, their screams were silenced and Sam rushed over to help Abby back to her feet. Taking her cue, Vance reached out to Alex, though not in the same affectionate way.
    Abby stretched, like she was just waking up for the day. A whole new sensation tickled her skin and she had an acute awareness of every inch of her body for the first time. She took the three steps over to the mirror, directly across from the front door, expecting to see a drastic change in her appearance considering the way she could suddenly feel each molecule in her body. But she couldn’t help but be a little disappointed by the reflection that greeted her.
    “I look exactly the same. But I feel completely different. How is it that I can look exactly the same?” The bitter words spilled out of her mouth as she turned to direct them at her father.
    “You look beautiful, like always. But you can look different if that’s what you really want.” He shrugged, like the possibility was nothing out of the ordinary.
    Abby gaped at her father’s statement and her mind filled with images of supermodels and actresses. All of the women that she had always wished that she could look like. The eyes she wanted, the lips, the hair. The list was endless. There was always someone around for her to cast an envious stare.
    “Before I get too excited, you need to explain.” Abby looked at the reflection of her father behind her in the mirror and self-consciously ran her hands through her hair to tame the thick tresses.
    “You can choose how you present yourself. It’s simple really. You just have to decide what you want, think about it and then it happens.” He said nonchalantly.
    “It can’t be that easy. Can it?” She dropped her arms to her side and pursed her lips as she considered the possibilities.
    “Sure it is. An immortal’s body doesn’t deteriorate like a human body, so I’ve chosen to appear to age, to keep up appearances. You can do the same, or you can travel to hide your identity. Or, if you don’t like either of those options, you can change your appearance completely and take on a new identity from time to time. This is one of the basic gifts from the creators, the ability to contort our appearance. All the choices were given to us in order to help us survive among the humans so we can better protect them.”
    “So what do you really look like, then?” Alex chimed in, interrupting Abby’s thoughts.
    “I’ve never hidden my true appearance from you. I’ve only projected the way I would have aged, had I been born a human and was actually the age you believed.” Bradley’s appearance changed in an instant right before their eyes. Standing in front of Alex, they could have been brothers,