Read Shadow Play: for Free Online

recoil that she’d always feared. That she deserved.
    “Steady.” Cam’s arm went around her waist and gave her the resolve to draw her shadow, hissing and snapping, back into full union. Her mind blacked with her shadow’s rage that the intruder should dare try to take Cam, the one good thing in her life, away from her.
    She almost lost control again just thinking about it, but the man on the ground rolled fully, and in so doing, wavered back out of sight. She didn’t think he’d try again, at least not immediately. All considered, he should probably be in a hospital.
    “We need someone to take custody of the fae,” Cam called, reaching to haul the fae-in-doctor-form forward. “And a new security detail to be prepared for anything.”
    Col. Langer jutted his chin Ellie’s way, expression hard, like the meanness displayed before a witch hunt. “What about her?”
    But Ms. Parson answered, a huge smile of victory splitting her face. Certainty and hope burned in her eyes. “She’s going to bring back my son.”

CHAPTER 3
     
    “My guess is a mage,” Cam said to Col. Langer. “Someone with Shadow magic in his blood. Segue has lately come to learn of their existence, though very little is yet known. And I don’t know why the fae changed its appearance. Could be defensive. Could be playing games. Could be in collusion with the mage.”
    Ellie was in the adjacent room, door closed, where no one could see her. Her shadow might relish attention, but quiet Ellie was most comfortable alone, as she’d been most of her life. Cam hoped to eventually increase that comfort level to include him.
    But really, she’d done more than enough. She didn’t have to endure the questions of Col. Langer or the eager scrutiny of Grant on top of everything else. Cam would fill her in later.
    Col. Langer cocked his jaw to the side. “We have a full disclosure agreement with Segue. Why weren’t we informed of these so-called mages before?” His eyes slid toward the closed door. “And why wasn’t I given details on the nature of Ms. Russo’s … situation upon your arrival? Obviously, she impacts the safety of this search and rescue.”
    Cam smiled, friendly, though he wasn’t feeling it. “By ‘impact,’ I hope you mean ‘makes a whole lot better,’ because you’re down a doctor and almost lost the fae. And you didn’t even know it.”
    “Which brings me back to my question about disclosure.” The colonel’s voice lowered, which had the very interesting effect of making him louder. “Had I known what to look for …”
    “There’s nothing specific to look for. In fact, this guy was invisible. The only reason I’m guessing he’s a mage is because he bled. Fae, on the other hand, are made of Shadow—they simply re-form when injured.”
    “And that creature that belongs to Ms. Russo?” The colonel grimaced. “Can she be injured?”
    Cam laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “There is absolutely nothing that can harm the shadow. Nothing. I advise you strongly not to try.”
    His mobile phone rang. A Segue number.
    Cam wasn’t done with Col. Langer. “Plus, and please remember this, the shadow is one of the good guys.”
    He answered the phone. “This is Kalamos.”
    “It’s eleven o’clock here,” Adam Thorne said, “and I’ve had three requests to join your team in the last hour from respected staff members—and one of them was from a scientist with a higher security clearance than yours. What’s going on?”
    Cam had wanted to provide Thorne with a full, complete report, which was why he’d contacted personnel in linguistics and the newly formed magekind team to consult on the recent events first. It appeared they didn’t want to consult. They wanted to be on site. Cam didn’t blame them. Opportunities like this were critical to research. Just look at Grant.
    “We have a possible mage problem in addition to our rescue efforts. A man in his thirties with a knack for either illusion or