Free Breath of Air by Katie Jennings Page A

glass casing, there was a smoky liquid.
    “What is it?” She asked, glancing up to look at Roarke. His smile was that of a man who had all of the power in the world, and knew it.
    “Liquid nitrogen.” He replied, winking at her. “Shoot a demon with that puppy and it freezes em from the inside instantaneously. Then, while their body is frozen, you smash them to pieces with either a hard object, or hit em with a normal lead bullet, and they shatter. Then, it’s bye, bye demon.”
    Capri handed the round back, looking awestruck. “So they are not really that hard to kill then, these demons.”
    “Not if you know demons the way I know demons.” He told her, looking smug. “And once Rian here takes over for me, he’s going to know everything I know, and maybe more.” He wrapped his arm around his son and grinned down at him, and Capri watched as Rian kept his gaze lowered, his face serious. He was certainly much more reserved than his father.
    “Well, if that completes the tour here, we best be moving on.” Clynn said suddenly, looking over to Capri. “Ready?”
    Her eyes were still on Rian, but she nodded and turned to look up at Roarke. “Thank you for showing me everything. It’s all very…fascinating.”
    “Come back and see us anytime. Maybe I’ll even teach you how to shoot!”
    Capri glanced over at the weapon filled display cases, feeling uneasy. She had never really thought about learning how to fire a weapon before…though it did look like it could be fun.
    “Thanks, that would be nice.” She said with a wave as her father led her back towards the door and out into the hallway. When they were back in the main corridor, he turned to her.
    “Feeling overwhelmed yet?” He asked, his soft gray eyes twinkling.
    Capri snorted. “Please, I’ve just learned that I’ve been living amongst demons my entire life disguised as normal people. I think I’m past the point of being overwhelmed.”
    Clynn just laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
    “Just wait till you see where the Fates work. Roarke at least makes the Furies job sound adventurous, but the Fates are downright depressing. Just don’t take them too seriously and you’ll be fine.”
    “Great.” Capri muttered as her father lead her towards another doorway further down.
    The door they stopped at simply had the word FATES written across it, and when Clynn opened the door Capri noticed a similar hallway to the one that had lead to the Furies workplace, only this hallway had no doors, only a staircase at the far end that spiraled up into darkness.
    The torches supplied some light, and when Clynn shut the door behind them Capri’s eyes had to adjust to the dimness. They walked along, then up the spiraling staircase. Up and up they went, nearly two stories up, when they finally came to a stop at a landing. There was a single door at the top, and Clynn knocked before opening it.
    Nyxa opened the door a few moments later, and she looked extraordinarily annoyed. “What is it?” She barked, looking from Clynn to Capri with dark eyes.
    “Good morning, Nyxa.” Clynn began, trying to be polite. “I am giving Capri a tour of the castle, and I was hoping you could spare a moment of your time to show her around.”
    Nyxa rolled her eyes and sighed. “Clynn, we never have a moment to spare, you know this. It’s only ten am; I still have a hundred thousand more deaths to do. Show her around, but don’t expect me to play tour guide.” She scoffed, her raspy voice bitter. She immediately turned back around, leaving the door open, and headed back inside the room. “Nova, stop getting distracted, you’re getting backed up!”
    Clynn motioned for Capri to enter, and when she did, her eyes immediately shot straight to the ceiling.
    They were inside one of the four circular towers of the castle, and so where there would normally be a pointed dome ceiling, there was instead what looked like a swirling black hole. As she watched, she saw