Obsidian Son (The Temple Chronicles Book 1) by Shayne Silvers

with.
    Again I wondered what she had to do with my parents. Was she lying just to goad me? I shook my head. It didn’t matter. Her blood was mine. She was close, just behind a bookshelf ahead. “It’s time to end this farce.” Her voice cut through the darkness.
    I calmly strolled around the bookshelf, coming face to face with the demon shifter. Her eyes glowed yellow in the flickering light behind me, her horizontal pupils momentarily halting my advance. She washed her hands together dramatically, more of the oily fire growing in her palms, the exact color as her irises. Then she grinned, teeth suddenly needle sharp, and threw her hands out at me. I slammed my will into the approaching scream of fire and it splattered into the clear shield of air, exploding into droplets of fire like paint on a glass wall. The heat instantly bled through the shield, lightly burning my fingertips. I rolled away as I dropped the shield, and watched as the fire fell to the ground of my shop, burning weakly. She stared at me on the ground and shook her head, disgusted, like one would at a peripatetic cockroach on a kitchen floor.
    Icy blue eyes trailed her every move from the shadows, but she didn’t notice. I watched, clutching my arm in real pain, fingers wet with blood, and tried to look terrified, beaten, as I struggled to crawl backwards. Her grin stretched wider as she took a single step closer, hands dripping more fire, but her fingers were now scaly yellow claws.
    Then my pet werewolf slammed into her with such force that her head snapped sideways, the breath flying out of her in a rush before he slammed her into a solid oak bookshelf.
    It didn’t even wobble, and her head struck the aged wood with a solid crack, her eyes briefly rolling back into her skull. I climbed to my feet as Gunnar clutched her throat between his finger-length canines, his eyes glancing at me. I brushed off my arms, and strolled closer, glancing around my store to assess the damage. Indie was going to be pissed in the morning when she came in for her shift. I sighed. At least we were alive. With a thought, I drew the cold moist air from outside and doused the remaining fires lest they destroy any more of my priceless books. I snapped a finger and lit the candles that were spread about the room, filling the space with a familiar glow.
    I tied up my forearm with a shred of cloth from Gunnar’s clothes lying nearby. At least I knew it wasn’t his underwear. Glancing out the window, I noticed a few people standing near the diner, pointing anxiously toward my store. One of them was gripping a phone to his ear.
    Great.
    Peter had reached the bottom of the stairs, but stayed there. As I said, Wise.
    Then I leveled Raven with very angry librarian eyes. Her ample breasts heaved in fury. I felt her attempt mind magic again, but I shut it down violently. She glared back.
    “You don’t stand a chance, wizard. You think you can kill me without catastrophic repercussions?”
    “I did ask you to leave. Nicely.” I grumbled.
    Peter piped up from the stairs, full of conviction. “Twice!”
    An odd look crossed her face, and she eagerly tried to peer past my shoulder, but Peter remained a safe distance away, out of her view. Maybe she was surprised to find a regular here with me. But there seemed something more to her look. Unsuccessful, she turned back to me. “You think you stand a chance against us when even your parents failed? My sisters will destroy you.” The words actually frightened me with their simplicity. She wasn’t trying to threaten. She honestly believed it. Gunnar’s eyes flicked back to look up at me, questioning, but not releasing pressure. What did any of this have to do with my parents? Before I could ask, she began to move. “None shall escape the eclipse!” She screeched.
    The woman’s hand became a web of yellow reptilian talons again, darting towards Gunnar’s furred throat. I prepared a blast of air to pin her arm down, but I heard a