Free Wardbreaker: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Lillim Callina Chronicles) by J.A. Cipriano Page A

this right now. I shot the last guy who said something similar in the chest with a shotgun. He was half-demon so it didn’t kill him.” I gestured at Luc with my greasy fingers. “I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you’re less than bulletproof.” I smiled at him.
    He threw himself back in his seat like he was trying to get away from me in a hurry and raised his hands in supplication. “I wasn’t going to say anything like that,” he said, and I could tell he was a little worried, like he actually thought I’d shoot him over it.
    Truthfully, the guy I’d shot had been my ex-boyfriend. Calling me fat had been one of the least horrible things he’d done. Let’s just say that by the time I’d had the nerve to walk away from that failed relationship, a shotgun blast to the chest was letting him off easy.
    I turned away from Luc and stared out the windshield toward what looked like an innocuous office building. Pine trees grew out on either side of the walkway leading to the main entrance which was sort of funny looking because the rest of the perimeter was lined with shrubbery, making it appear like someone had grown a forest green gate.
    The building itself was only a couple stories tall and had a lot fewer windows than I’d have expected. Nearly all of them were covered with those thick metal hurricane shutters even though I was reasonably sure there weren’t hurricanes in California. It was a little weird, but then again, it made sense if it was occupied by vampires.
    While sunlight didn’t bother them per se, the younger they were, the more sunlight seemed to diminish their innate vampire powers. Even though I’d killed my fair share of the undead at night, I always liked to take them on during the day if at all possible. It was just easier that way since they were weaker.
    “You ready to go?” I asked, unbuckling my seatbelt and reaching behind the seat to pull out my swords. This time I wasn’t taking any chances. I’d had Luc stop, and in addition to picking me up a snack, I’d grabbed my katana, Isis from its hiding place.
    Now, reunited with her brother, Set, I could feel the twin blades throbbing with energy. Among my people, these weapons were famous, but I never quite trusted them. In fact, the only reason I used them at all was because they had belonged to Dirge Meilan. It made using their mystical powers way easier because whatever connection they’d shared with her had, at least partially, transferred to me.
    I’d tried to find my own blade a couple times before, to forge something for myself, but so far, I hadn’t gained the level of connection with other weapons. Part of me suspected it was because I was already connected to Set and Isis. Yes, the rumors were true. This weapon was inhabited by
the
Set and
the
Isis. And no, I’d never learned how Dirge managed to get them to aid her. It was one of the memories I couldn’t access.
    “Bringing out the big guns, eh?” Luc said as he got out of the car and moved around to my door, opening it for me even though I wasn’t sure why he did it. In fact, now that I thought about it, he almost always opened the door for me. Did he think I couldn’t do it myself?
    “Yeah, this time if I find some powerful vampires, I don’t want to be at half strength,” I replied, belting their sheathes around my waist, slightly annoyed the weapons slid low on my hips like they always did. I’d tried tugging the belt tighter, but it never seemed to work. My mother said I just had one of those shapes and to go with it. She didn’t understand because with a body like hers, she had probably never worn anything that didn’t make her look like a goddess. My weapons, on the other hand, made my butt look huge.
    “Shirajirashii should do the trick then,” Luc said, gesturing at the weapons, and for a moment, I was surprised he knew the name Dirge had called them. It was mostly because of their color since, loosely translated, Shirajirashii meant pure