Free Fairy Tale: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Lillim Callina Chronicles Book 3) by J.A. Cipriano Page A

.”
    “Shikuhakku…” I mumbled the word, and the temperature dropped ten degrees. A small breeze swept through the room, bringing with it the smell of pine trees and coming rain.
    “What are you doing?” the Queen of the Bright and Hot screamed, stepping back as if bitten by a snake, holding her hands out like she was trying to ward off something evil. “You can’t do that here. You’ll unbalance Fairy!”
    I looked up at the Queen, knowing my eyes had turned solid crimson. Sanguine fog coalesced above us, casting the sunlight that fell on us in a bloody hue as I pulled out the twin blades of Shirajirashii. The pure white blades glinted as I held them in front of me.
    With a word, I could call on the fog to condense into clouds. It would begin to rain. Big, fat red drops would fall from the sky like a great wound had been torn across the horizon. When that happened, our darkest memories and thoughts would come to life.
    I only used the power once before, when I was very young and vowed never to use it again. I did not want to see the darkness that lurked within men’s hearts. I didn’t want to see it when I closed my eyes, forever unable to unsee it.
    Even Dirge, who had a far greater understanding of Shirajirashii than I did, only used the power a few times, and with each usage it broke her a little more. I was thankful I could not remember the details of what she experienced.
    I didn’t know what it would do to the Queen of the Hot and Bright. I especially didn’t want to see the chain reaction of her worst fears and most terrible memories springing to life in front of me. I did not want to feel her agony and her despair.
    But I did want to live, and she was scared. Wind whipped around us, carrying with it the scent of fallen leaves. I just had to say one word.
    “Stop, Lillim!” the Queen screamed. Her voice was a cacophony of worry, but it was just a voice now. Behind her, Kishi started to stir. Had Shirajirashii banished her power entirely or had she become too frightened to overwhelm us?
    “You know my name?” I asked a little surprised. This wasn’t the first time a mythical creature knew my name, but it was always a little disconcerting when one did. I mean come on, I was just a Dioscuri, and she was the Sidhe Queen of Summer. There were orders of magnitudes of difference between us.
    “Yes,” she hissed. “I know of you and of Shirajirashii. I know of the Red Rain. You cannot use it here in the heart of Summer, or we will become unbalanced. It is a dark power, Winter’s power. Using it here—”
    The Queen of the Hot and Bright’s face exploded in a cloud of red mist as the cry of Kishi’s shotgun shattered the calmness of the room. The Queen fell to her knees, her upper torso burst open like a ripe melon.
    The room shook as I stumbled backward, trying to wipe away the blood that covered my face. The ceiling above us split. The sound of screeching metal ringing in my ears as I fell onto my butt. The power I’d gathered dissipated, the crimson fog evaporating as shadow fell across the room.
    The sun above us winked out as though being hidden by a solar eclipse, leaving us in total darkness.
    “What’d you do?” I called above the din, barely able to make out Kishi stumbling toward me.
    “Stopping you from making me have to kill you,” Kishi’s voice called but it sounded so far away. “I’d rather not turn into a sobbing pile of angst while you sit back and watch it happen.”
    I swallowed. “Yeah, well… it was either that or let The Queen suck the marrow from our bones,” I said, getting to my feet and sheathing my swords.
    “Which is why I shot her in the face. Fairy Queen down!” She sounded closer now, and I glanced in the direction of her voice.
    Fire exploded from the Queen’s body, erupting like a volcano in the center of the room. I shielded my eyes with my arm and turned away. Spots danced across my eyes as an inhuman shriek shook the room. The walls blew outward, like