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

tried to move, tried to crawl away but his body was filled with too many softball-sized holes. His shoulder had been blown apart. Blood pooled around him as Kishi stepped closer and put the gun against the underside of his jaw.
    The first two shots were more than enough to blow apart his skull. The headless corpse lay there twitching as she pulled the trigger over and over again, even though the Sidhe had been reduced to little more than a bloody smear.
    Her eyes still held that empty, emotionless look that I’ve seen people get on the battlefield. It was the look of no return. The look that said something didn’t just snap, but broke completely away.
    Blood dripped down Kishi’s left arm and spattered against the Breaker’s corpse and fire leapt from the body, casting the room in dancing shadows. Kishi pulled the trigger again, not even bothering to move as the Sidhe’s body disintegrated in a swirling flash of orange light. It shot straight into the air before slamming into Kishi’s chest and throwing her backward across the marble floor.
    It melted over her body like honey, and as she got to her hands and knees, her wounds healed. She shook her head as the glow faded, gun clutched so tightly in her fists that her knuckles were white with strain.
    I stood slowly, still woozy and walked over to her and knelt next to her. I put my hand over hers and pulled the gun away from her. It came away easily. She looked over at me with her blank, soulless eyes, and I fought the urge to cringe and run away.
    “He’s dead,” I said.
    She looked back at him and tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “It’s not enough…” The words came out in a whisper so low that I barely heard it.
    “It’s never enough,” I said, taking her by the hand and leading her away.
    “Lillim,” she said, glancing back toward the body one last time. A shudder ran down her spine, and I was really glad I didn’t know the details about what happened before I arrived.
    “Yeah?” I asked.
    “I want the gun.”
    “It’s out of bullets,” I replied.
    “Reload the gun and give it to me,” she said, and the emptiness in her voice made me shiver.
    I sighed. I shut my eyes and summoned my spirit pouch once again. I reached inside and pulled out the spare magazine. I swapped it for the empty one and put the empty magazine into my spirit pouch.
    “Do you know how to shoot?” I asked, reaching in again.
    “Point at the bad guy and pull the trigger.” Her voice was cold, glacial even.
    “There’s only twenty shots. I don’t have any more ammo for it,” I said.
    “You have infinite space in that pouch, and you only have two clips?” she asked and there was a thread of emotion just below the surface of her voice.
    “Firstly, it is called a magazine when you use it with a pistol. Secondly, most things don’t live through forty rounds. Thirdly, it is way easier to pull things out of a desk drawer than out of my spirit pouch. Those are my emergency rounds,” I said as I pulled my shotgun from the pouch and willed it away.
    “I want that gun. It’s bigger,” she said.
    “Bigger is better,” I said with a smile and held the shotgun out to her. “You don’t really have to do a lot more than point this at the bad guy and pull the trigger, but make sure you hold it like this, or you’ll dislocate something,” I said, bracing it against my shoulder in demonstration. “It has five rounds, but you will have to pump it in between shots.”
    She took it and pointed it at me. “Next time you take the lake,” she said.
    I narrowed my eyes at her. “Don’t ever point your weapon at something you’re not willing to kill.”
    Her eyes took on that blank look again, and I swallowed. “I should kill you.” Her voice made a shiver run down my spine, and I had to resist the urge to shoot her.
    “No. You should not do that,” I said, turning around and walking back out the door, gun held in front of me. I was reasonably sure she