Free Dark Isle (Celtic Legacy Book 2) by Shannon Mayer

chances!” I yelled, running towards an overturned wagon. Hand over hand I pulled myself up on the partially busted side. With great care I stood on the top of the wagon and stared out around me. But I didn’t understand what I was seeing .
    Tuatha were fighting Tuatha. There were no one- eye d , one- legged Fomorii in the fray. As if reading my mind, the voices answered my unspoken confusion.
    Just wait, you will see what happens.
    A large number of men suddenly swelled in from the hills above us, driving the now smaller army back to the water ’ s edge. At the front of the retreating, smaller, army stood a figure I knew well.
    Balor ’s violet eyes were full of the fire of battle . He even gave a small smile , as he traded blows with a larger opponent .
    A man from the larger army stepped forward ; I wondered how I’d missed him before. All I could see of him from behind was his s hining white braid and a sword that glowed in his hands.
    Leaping down, I ran to the edge of the sand where I could see both him and Balor. The glowing Tuatha engaged Balor and they fought for a few moments. I was mesmerized by the sword ; it seemed that Balor was too. He faltered , and the glowing Tuatha knocked his sword aside . Balor lifted his hand. “Well, Nuadha, you have us at your mercy. What will you do?” Balor asked . He picked up his sword and leaned on it , as he smiled at Nuadha.
    Nuadha lifted his sword and a hush fell over the huge crowd. “ As punishment for your attempt on the life of our oracle, I curse you , and your Fomorii, Balor .”
    The warriors standing with Balor began to writhe as he watched in open - mouthed horror . Their bodies contorted and twisted , and I realized I hadn’t been watching Tuatha fight Tuatha. In no time at all, the Fomorii had transformed into the monsters I knew, b linking single bulbous eyes and leaning heavily on their over long arms.
    “Let all know you for the monsters you are; for the battle hungry, death seekers that you have taught your people to be , ” Nuadha said. He lifted his sword. “Balor, you and yours will be spared the curse, and thus be the reminder to your people of how you once were, and by whose hand they fell from grace.”
    The world stilled for a breath and then Balor rushed Nuadha with a war cry. Nuadha lifted his shining sword to meet his opponent.
    There is a nother place we must take you , t he voices said and everything started to go fuzzy.
    “Wait! I want to see!” But we had already left.
    Sand shifted under my toes, hot sand that had baked in the sun for too long. I hop p ed on one foot and then the other. A flash of creamy white to the left of me caught my eyes.
    Lir stood in the waves wearing a cream - coloured shirt that gave glimpses  of a his chest covered in white scars; a small eddy of water swirl ed around him . I n this full light his face looked even more like my own. I ran into the water, never taking my eyes from him. Even if he couldn’t hear me, or see me, I wanted to be close to him. A geyser of water shot into the sky off to the side of us . T hen Balor , his arms folded over his chest , stood across from Lir ,
    “What do you want , Lir?” Balor growled. “You already made it quite clear you weren’t interested in helping me.”
    My father nodded. “That holds true, but I would offer you another alternative. One I think might be of interest to you. You know of the prophecy?”
    Balor nodded. “Of course. Evils of the land wiped away , and all that ridiculousness of a C hosen one .” His sarcasm was not lost on me or Lir.
    “You know that the Tuatha are now changing it?”Lir asked, his blue and gold eyes reflected in the water around him.
    Balor’s mouth dropped. “What? How can that be? The prophecy was for both Tuatha and Fomorii!”
    “Of course. But things change and people rise to power who should not. That a child of the serpent will rule, they won’t deny. It is too important to them. But the other aspects… ”
    The