Free Incarnations by Christine M. Butler

friends?"
    "Bullshit!"
    "Jaxon didn't hold back her temper then, she lashed
out at Seth, pushing him back so far through the room that he fell
into the couch. The audible crack almost broke the spell and made
her laugh as she remembered the last couch they broke, but then her
mind back to her friends and the nightmare she kept having about
eating them. "what happens when I eat Caislyn? What then Seth? Does
that make it all better, because then the prophecy can never come
to pass?"
    "Jaxon, how many innocent people have you munched on
in your travels?"
    Jaxon stiffened, but didn't say a word. She just
stood in the middle of the room staring off into nothingness as the
truth of those words smacked into her. It was something she
honestly hadn’t considered before.
    "That's what I thought. I think you have more control
over your hunger than you think you do." Seth picked himself up off
the now broken couch. “Vesta’s not going to be too thrilled about
the trail of broken couches we keep leaving through her
properties.” The smik died quickly on his face when he took note of
Jaxon again.
    "It doesn't matter, Seth, I dream about it all the
time. I close my eyes, and there I am killing little Sasha, or
Vesta, or Caislyn. I can't go back unless I know that won't
happen."
    "Then we'll train you, Jax." Brigid said gently,
"we've both learned to control it, you can too."
    ~*~
    It took two weeks of constant training to get Jaxon’s
blood lust under control. Brigid and Seth would randomly surprise
her with wounded people, some of them with fresh, angry wounds that
pumped blood as if a fountain enticing her to drink from them. At
first, Jaxon failed miserably. She pounced on the first three
victims with wild abandon, having to be pulled free from the
lifeless bodies each time. Soon, though, she was able to start
blocking the hunger. With each bloodied person that was paraded
before her, she would gain a little more control. Jaxon would still
vamp out, eyes going black, teeth lengthening, ready to strike, but
she didn’t move. She only eyed the sight with disdain as she licked
her lips, wondering how the hot, coppery fluid would feel flowing
down her throat. As soon as she felt the burn in her throat, she
would turn away from the scene. It did nothing to stop her other
senses from picking up on the slightest cues. The scent of copper
pennies hung thickly in the air, a perfume that made Jaxon salivate
with the hunger. Still, she wouldn’t budge.
    An impromptu walk through the park turned out to be
the ultimate test for Jaxon. She just happened to be the person
nearest to a little girl who fell down out of a tree and broke her
arm. It wasn’t a little break, it was a compound fracture, bone
sticking through skin, bleeding freely. Jaxon put aside any
thoughts of hunger and ran to help the girl. She was there before
the girl’s mother could reach her, “it’s okay, sweetie. We’re going
to get you help,” she cooed in English that the girl probably
didn’t understand. When the mother got close, she nervously
side-stepped Jaxon and picked her daughter up in her arms to take
her to the car they had parked nearby. While Jaxon’s eyes were
deepest black and her fangs protruded a little from her lips, the
instinct to eat was not there. She simply felt the emotion of those
around her and wanted to help ease their pain. It was that moment
that allowed Jaxon to relax enough to want to get back to Caislyn
and get things settled.
    ***

THE CODE
     
    Caislyn sat in her room just staring at the walls,
willing something in her life to change for the better. Nothing
happened. Despite her willing it so. Apparently, Fey magic wasn't
as strong as everyone thought. Or at least her version of Fey magic
wasn't.
    "Caislyn, are you okay?" Vesta was suddenly in the
doorway, whispering as not to jar Caislyn from her thoughts to
harshly.
    "Hmm?" She questioned without glancing up.
    "Do you need anything?"
    "No," Caislyn turned away from her mother,