Free Shadow Magic by Cheyenne McCray

transformation—barely.
    â€œTwo houses down.” Ceithlenn put all the pleading she could into her voice. “We live in an apartment above a garage. I’m begging you. That’s why I came to find some guardsmen. To see if you can get someone to help my sister and her baby.”
    The man who was about to be eaten alive motioned with his gun. “Face forward. Keep your hands up and I’ll follow you.” To the other soldier he said, “Radio for a doctor and backup.”
    Ceithlenn’s entire body shook with the force of her rage. This was taking too much of her precious time and strength.
    She ground her teeth and turned so her back was to the
men. The second guardsman spoke into the shoulder radio she’d noticed earlier. Ceithlenn concentrated on throwing enough magic at the men to block the transmission. Crackling noises and static came from the radio as the second man repeatedly tried to make contact.
    I will kill the first one twice. And another time for good measure . She moved slowly forward so the guardsmen would get closer. Just like I will kill all the fucking witches and D’Danann when my full powers return . Her thoughts turned blacker as she thought of Darkwolf, the warlock who had betrayed her and Balor. I have something special in store for that traitor .
    She had to find the double-dealing warlock. The bastard who had Balor’s eye. The eye, once returned to the empty socket in the middle of Balor’s forehead, would easily win this war for them. With one glance of his mighty eye, Balor would lay waste to all within his sight.
    And then, with their army of Fomorii demons, she and Balor would slay any who barred their path to the Old World. In Ireland they would rule again as gods as they had two millennia ago.
    Ceithlenn focused on the sound of the boot steps coming up behind her.
    â€œMove it,” the soon-to-be-dead guardsman growled and nudged her with the barrel of his rifle.
    In that moment, Ceithlenn couldn’t have controlled the change if she wanted to. She shrieked and her hair flamed with the full force of her fury. In less than the time it took to blink her incisors lengthened, her claws extended, and her leathery wings unfurled.
    She whirled and projected her magic at the guardsmen.
    Both men froze. Only their eyes moved. The terror reflected in those depths fed her, made her stronger.
    Ceithlenn hissed as she grabbed the one closest to her by his neck and raised him up so his boots dangled above the sidewalk.

    She easily flung him so that he landed on his side, his head making a cracking sound against the sidewalk as his rifle thunked and rattled on the concrete before it settled. He lay on his side now, frozen but facing her, fear even more pronounced in his gaze.
    The second guardsman remained stiff and unable to move—all but his eyes.
    With a wicked grin, Ceithlenn looked from the first guardsman to the other. “On second thought,” she said in a low purr to the guardsman on the ground, “I will eat this one before you, and you will watch as I dine on his flesh, his blood, his soul. Your fear will feed me as you witness your own fate.”
    Ceithlenn scratched her nails down the second guardsman’s neck and found his strong pulse. She nuzzled his neck and inhaled before sinking her fangs into the sweet flesh. She ripped a chunk away and slowly savored it as the luscious taste of blood gushed down her chin.
    When she finished eating the flesh from their bones and drinking their blood, she would take their souls and regain some of her magic. She sighed at the blissful flavor of human meat and the intoxicating smell of fear.
    Silent screams from both men added fuel to her hunger and she pressed herself tighter to the second guardsman before she sank her fangs into him again.

CHAPTER FIVE
    JAKE MACGREGOR’S MUSCLES BUNCHED beneath his T-shirt and overshirt. It was all Jake could do to restrain himself from slugging a