Free Wicked Magic by Cheyenne McCray Page B

the pressing matter at hand.
    The Fomorii and Basilisk turned to face Keir and his comrades. The heat that always came before battle flooded his body and his energy doubled. Tripled.
    â€œOn my command,” he said in mind-speak. The eyes of the Fomorii glistened as they moved closer. “Now!”
    Tiernan was at his side in an instant. As one they drew their swords and charged the demons, giving the D’Danann battle cry.
    Keir cut his sword in an arc and decapitated the first Fomorii he reached. The demon crumbled into dust to be swept out with the sewage. A bright ball of light appeared above them, illuminating the chamber. Rhiannon.
    The light distracted the next Fomorii and Keir easily took its head with his sword. While he battled, he was aware of Sheridan and Tiernan fighting beside him.
    Shouts and cries filled the large chamber to the point Rhiannon’s ears rang. Her heart pounded as she flung a spellfire ball straight into the chest of a demon next to Keir.
    The moment Rhiannon threw the spell, the Shadows threatened to burst from her. She caught her breath and nearly screamed from the power trying to push its way forward. She could barely focus on the fight for a moment, as she struggled to keep the Shadows tight inside her. With all the effort she could muster, she slammed the Shadows back. She wavered for just a second, then regained her concentration on the battle. Why now? Why would they come forth when she’d always kept them locked away? Controlled?
    Rhiannon saw that Keir was too close to swing his sword at the burning, screaming Fomorii that her spellfire ball had
hit. Instead, he lunged with his dagger and carved out the demon’s heart.
    The Fomorii dropped. As it became silt the demon’s remains were swept away with the sewage.
    The Basilisk raised high above the fray and hissed. Green poison gleamed from its fangs. It darted its head toward Keir.
    Rhiannon’s heart raced even faster. Keir raised his sword.
    Too slow!
    Gunshots reverberated in the chamber from Jake’s handgun. Blood squirted from both of the Basilisk’s eyes. It reared with a scream, tossing its head back before diving blindly forward.
    Rhiannon followed the shots with a fireball that slammed into the Basilisk’s nostrils, causing it to shriek again.
    As Keir raised his sword to behead the Basilisk, another demon charged him. The Fomorii lashed out with its massive claws, but Keir backed into the wall, dodging the strike.
    He grasped the hilt with both hands and swung. The demon skillfully avoided the blade and charged.
    Keir tried again to swing his sword at the Fomorii’s neck, but the beast rammed him against the wall. Pain burst through Keir’s head as it struck brick, but he ignored it as he raised one booted foot and shoved the demon away—but not before the beast raked its claws across his neck.
    The pain ripping through Keir was enough to infuriate him even further. He sliced his sword toward the demon, but missed the beast’s neck. His blade bounced off the demon’s thick hide.
    Again the beast shoved Keir up against the wall, only this time with its terrible jaws open, jagged teeth prepared to rip flesh from Keir’s neck.
    Keir was ready for it. He drew his dagger again, and in a lightning fast motion he sliced it deep into the roof of the demon’s open mouth.
    The Fomorii staggered, black blood pouring from its mouth. The beast had fallen far enough back that it was in sword range. Before it had the opportunity to recover, Keir
beheaded the demon with one clean sweep of his blade.
    The demon crumbled into the sewage.
    While battling the Fomorii, Keir heard shots and more screams from the Basilisk. When he turned his attention back to it, Jake was closer, firing bullets into the Basilisk’s skull.
    Rhiannon hurled one spellfire ball after another into the Basilisk’s face until its tough hide was charred, almost peeling from its body.
    Holding the hilt