Free Wicked Magic by Cheyenne McCray

have to do something soon. He was so frustrated that his muscles remained tense and his jaw ached from clenching it so tightly.
    Keir pumped his wings harder. Like other women in his past, Rhiannon, too, appeared to have no interest in a longterm relationship. Why then did she resist him?
    While he and his comrades circled over the piers and back to the Embarcadero BART station, another thought came to Keir. His frown deepened.
    Why was it so important to him to bed this witch? To pull down her emotional barriers? Why did she intrigue him in ways no other woman ever had?
    Because Rhiannon was like no other woman in his past.
    Something about her drew him in, made him want more.
    Absurd. He shook his head and focused on the city as he circled, waiting for Jake’s report.
    Keir’s gut told him Embarcadero was the right place. As former sea gods, the Fomorii would be close to water if it were possible.
    Within minutes Jake’s voice crackled in the earpieces he had given each of them, and confirmed the correct location was the Embarcadero station. “He’s on foot, so I’m after him,” Jake said.
    â€œI have him in sight.” Pleasure at the thought of battling the Fomorii filled Keir as he flew above the blond demon who was working his way through the crowd at the end of the station.

    Unfortunately they had to track rather than kill this one—but the night was young.
    The demon headed away from the station toward a group of buildings. Keir sailed high over the Fomorii. Keir and his comrades were invisible to humans but not magical beings. The demon paused for a moment and looked around as if he thought he was being followed. Fortunately he did not glance up.
    Just as the man started walking again, Keir cast a look over his shoulder. His heart stuttered and then his blood set to boiling. Rhiannon was hurrying to catch up with Jake and they were just outside the demon’s range of vision. The witch had not gone back to the apartments as he expected her to. As a matter of fact, he had demanded it of her before they had left. She had said something about “ripping him a new one” if he did not back off. Whatever the Underworlds that meant.
    The demon continued making his way along a series of streets until he stopped in front of a circular piece of metal in the concrete, what Keir remembered to be a manhole cover.
    After taking a quick look around, one of the demon’s hands and arm began to shift into a malformed long green appendage with claws that were clearly tipped with iron.
    The demon easily hooked his claws in the holes of the manhole cover, raised it, and set it aside. A blast of sewage and the rotten fish stench of the Fomorii flooded Keir’s nose. The demon climbed down the ladder and shifted to its Fomorii form as it moved and pulled the manhole cover over its head.
    Keir, Tiernan, and Sheridan touched down, so quiet their boots made nary a sound. They each folded away their wings, which slipped into their clothing and inside their backs. The trio became visible again to humans as soon as their wings vanished from sight.
    Jake and Rhiannon crested the small hill to the right.
    â€œYou’re not protected well enough.” Jake kept his voice low as he spoke to Rhiannon.
    â€œMy magic is more than enough protection.” She glared at Keir when she and Jake reached the D’Danann. “Don’t you start, either, Keir.”

    A low rumble rose up in his chest.
    Sheridan and Tiernan flashed each other amused glances before turning their attention to the manhole cover.
    â€œThe stench is strong,” Sheridan said as she crouched and used her strength to remove the cover.
    Rhiannon scrunched her nose. “Gross.”
    Since he could not dissuade the witch from joining them, Keir insisted on climbing down first, followed by Tiernan, Sheridan, Rhiannon, and Jake. The cop was determined to watch Rhiannon’s back, which won him more favor in