Read rogue shifter 05 - caught between for Free Online

teach me how to keep you out, cause that's a trick I really want to learn."
    "Yes. And I will, along with other useful skills."
    His expression had grown more serious, so I got serious too. "I won't kill."
    "I would not ask to you to kill on my behalf. If I want someone dead, I always take care of it myself. But it's a good time for me to point out that you've already killed." He held up fingers as he ticked the incidents off. "There was Antoine, then the wolves in the Brownlow and Pine Ridge packs then Nathaniel's second in command. Were there others?"
    "Killing to defend myself is not..."
    "What?" I didn't respond. " Evil? A demon is not inherently evil, no matter what your warm and fuzzy fae friends have told you." He was getting annoyed, and I didn't want an angry demon on my hands.
    "I mean that I don't want to learn blood magic. I'll always kill when necessary to protect my family or my friends."
    He waved his hand in a dismissive way. "I will not teach you the darker arts of my kind. I do not believe that you would be able to master them, not because you are not powerful enough, but because your magic still has too much life energy. The combination of a cheetah shapeshifter and a healer is as close to fae magic as you can get and not be fae."
    Liam's mouth twitched at the corners, but he managed to hold onto the frown he'd kept directed at Isaiah. "Just so."
    Up until now, Garrett had remained quiet, but he leaned forward to say, "We need you to be much more specific about what you'll teach her."
    He ignored Garrett and spoke only to me, his voice becoming a mesmerizing whisper. "Jacqueline, I will teach you to control your demon magic. Right now your rage brings it burning to the surface, although you say you've left much of your anger behind you." He closed his eyes and smiled, then opened them again. "Despite what you say, I feel it buried deeply, behind barriers you've unconsciously created. It frightens you. I will teach you how to access, control and focus your magic like a laser. Use it only for defense if you wish. You need never employ it to kill."
    I turned to Liam. "What's the difference between demon and fae magic?"
    Isaiah answered before Liam had a chance, making my fae friend grunt in exasperation. "Both of our ancient Magicks are concerned with transformation. The fae gain power from natural changes in the order and balance of things. We gain power from unexpected outside sources, like violent weather, but also from extremes of passion, which can include great love, or tremendous courage. In both cases, whatever forces feed our magic, also feeds the ley lines, which in turn feed every other supernatural's magic. This is why both races can travel within them easily. Because we've created them, they are as much a part of us as our own flesh."
    Liam frowned. "You feed on hate, rage, fear and cruelty. By great love, you mean unbridled lust and your version of tremendous courage is usually recklessness."
    "Semantics." He tilted his head and continued. "Perhaps your fae friends didn't mention that the blood of life itself feeds the magic of fae and demon alike."
    "For my people, it's the sharing of blood to help maintain the Balance." Liam clarified.
    "Spilling it...drinking it...," Isaiah added, giving Garrett a pointed look.
    "Killing to get enough to use it in a murderous spell." Garrett wasn't happy to be lumped in with the demons.
    I giggled and they all looked at me curiously. "I know you don't believe in the Balance, Isaiah, but there is a kind of twisted balance between your two races."
    He shrugged. "This is true. We are constantly struggling to twist what they have just managed to straighten." He swept his hand toward Liam, laughing at his joke.
    I watched his face as I mulled over all that he'd said.  He was patient, but his eyes had a glint to them that I recognized from other lessons with Isaiah. "There's something else. Something regarding the training?"
    He nodded, pleased that I'd noticed.