The Dark

by Cheyenne McCray

  Thousands of funnels erupted on the sand, over the marshes, and on the field.

  From their hidden locations, Marine snipers and sharpshooters picked off Stormcutters that appeared when their funnels stopped.

  PSF officers used their heart-seeking bullets. Many used the Mystwalker collars, transforming them into daggers to slice through the water funnels, gutting the men before the funnels even stopped moving. The Stormcutter bodies would appear and flop on the ground.

  Elvin and Drow arrows pierced Stormcutter flesh when the men appeared.

  Silver had been “allowed,” or rather had agreed, to stay on the fringes of the battle. She’d readily taken on the mission to go after the Blades with Hawk at her side.

  The Alliance had noticed that Blades tended to stay on the edges, as if protecting themselves from being in the thick of the battle. The Blades turned into more powerful funnels, but they seemed to have a harder time maintaining their forms.

  Cassia glanced at Silver long enough to see her whip out two magic ropes that sizzled in the rain. She slung them around the throats of two Blades at the same time, snapping their necks instantly.

  Hawk used a familiar move Cassia had seen him use with demons when he carved the heart out of one of the Blades. Polaris, the python familiar, was slinking behind the men, wrapping his long, powerful body around a Blade and crushing the man’s body while sinking his fangs into the man’s throat.

  On the outskirts of the battle, the D’Anu white magic witches cast white magic spells. They erected barriers between Alliance fighters and Stormcutters when the funnel-men got too close to a member of the Alliance.

  Janis Arrowsmith’s hair was back in a bun, but wet strands escaped as she flung seeds on the rain-soaked ground in strategic spots. Her magical seeds sprang up into plants with thick trunks and hundreds of vines that wrapped around Stormcutters and bound them tight.

  The plants’ tendrils wound their way around the captured Stormcutters completely. The bound men were protected from magic, as well as human and magical beings’ weapons.

  Cassia had to respect Janis. The high priestess was doing her share, but she wasn’t about to contribute to the death of any person or being.

  Lightning illuminated the sky so brilliantly that Cassia blinked. She wanted to scream from what she saw.

  Funnels sprouted everywhere. It looked like they covered every square foot of sand, marsh, grass, concrete, and asphalt.

  Stormcutters—from the bay at the north to the stacked freeway behind the field to the south. From the Golden Gate Bridge east to the Marina.

  Everywhere. The Stormcutters developed everywhere.

  Water slammed into Cassia’s face as a funnel stopped and a Stormcutter appeared in its place and jabbed an ice dagger toward Cassia’s chest.

  Before Cassia had a chance to react, Jake plugged the man in the head with a bullet from his Glock.

  Cassia gave Jake a look of gratitude right before she released a surge of magic that blasted every Stormcutter close to them. The funnels evaporated, but more funnels replaced them almost faster than Cassia could blink.

  Kael fought with savagery as he sliced the abdomen of one Stormcutter with his sharp claws while he ripped the throat from another funnel-man. Blood sprayed the wolf’s fine white coat and Stormcutter guts splattered the dark ground.

  Magic sizzled through Cassia’s veins as she destroyed Stormcutter after Stormcutter with fire. Jake stayed close, watching her back and shooting every Stormcutter nearby that she didn’t get with her magic.

  The roar of the storm, along with the shrieks, screams, shouts, and gunshots from the battle were nearly deafening.

  Lightning struck close and thunder boomed like cannons.

  Or maybe the Marines were using weapons that sounded like cannons.

  Whatever was happening, it was complete, maddening chaos.

  As Cassia and Jake fought off their attackers and worked their way through the Stormcutters, different-colored magic sparks erupted in the darkness, coming from each of the other five D’Anu witches. From the colors of their magic, Cassia could tell where each witch was in the battle. So far it looked like they were all alive and fighting like crazy.

  The thought of them made Cassia’s mind flash briefly to Alyssa. Was she fighting at Darkwolf’s side? Would the Alliance, Cassia even, be facing her tonight?

  Somehow, Cassia knew Alyssa was here. Somewhere.

  A brief thought flashed through her mind as she wondered where poor Echo was. She hoped the owl familiar had found a new D’Anu witch to serve. Or would, soon.

  The blackness that now filled Alyssa carried over the battlefield, and Cassia’s heart broke even more.

  Strange sensations crept up Cassia’s spine. Little shivers that weren’t unpleasant, but odd in the middle of a bloody battle.

  The feeling was like a sparkling blanket floating above Cassia, shrouding the madness, and made Cassia feel separated from the battle.

  “Ahhhh.” Kael said in her mind, sounding pleased as he battled, and she cut her gaze to him. “They have come.”

  “What? Who—?’’

  A brilliant explosion cut off Cassia’s question. Colorful fireworks in every color imaginable exploded just above the chaos. Glittering purples, pinks, greens, oranges, yellows, blues. Beauty among horrors.

  The explosion of light nearly startled Cassia into dropping her flames. Several fighters on the field, including Stormcutters, jerked their attention to the sky briefly before returning to fighting.

  Cassia’s jaw dropped as hundreds of Fae beings appeared with the flash.

  Tiny Faeries, who normally remained naked, wore fighting leathers. An explosion of flowery perfume swept over the field for a moment, a bizarre contrast to the stench of battle.

  The scents flowed from every Faerie as their wings glittered and different shades of Faerie dust drifted from their colorful wings.

  Usually mischievous, fat but small-winged Pixies carried bows the length of their bodies and had quivers on their backs. Cassia had the absurd thought that they would start braiding Stormcutters’ hair as braiding an unsuspecting victim’s hair was one of their favorite pastimes.

  But no, this was war.

  A Brownie dropped just outside Cassia’s fire and immediately attacked the knees of a Stormcutter, then went for his belly with long fingernails and gutted the funnel-man. More Brownies dove into the fight from where they had appeared in the air.

  Cassia blinked. Did the trees nearby just move? No. Yes!

  Faces of beautiful Dryads appeared in the trunks of the trees as they guided eucalyptus, Monterey cypress, coast live oak trees, and others around the battlefield. The trees came alive and used their great branches to swipe Stormcutters from the ground and toss them into the air. The trees with more flexible branches wrapped them around Stormcutters and squeezed them to death.

  Two Faeries Cassia knew well zipped up to her. Queen Riona, with her long dark hair and sparkling lavender wings, along with little, blonde, pink-winged Galia, who’d proven herself in battles against the dark goddess.

  “We’ve come to fight!” Galia said with a zealous expression. “No time to talk,” she added as she zipped away and threw tiny pink lightning bolts, exploding Stormcutter heads or hearts.

  Queen Riona gave a regal nod. “We will help you win this war, Princess Cassiandra.”

  “Thank you,” Cassia said as the Queen whirled and began to battle.

  41

  Cassia shook her head in wonder as she maintained the ring of fire around herself. The Fae had come to the Earth Otherworld to fight beside humans and Otherworldly beings alike.

  “I was certain they would come,” Kael said in a smug voice as Cassia flung out more fire. Unlike any person yelling through the night, Cassia could hear Kael’s voice clearly in her mind. “Once I discussed it with Queen Riona, she said she would call a summit with all the Fae to make their determination.”

  “Amazing.” Cassia took one last lo
ok at the battling Fae before concentrating solely on the war. “You are truly amazing, Kael.”

  “Stay close, Cassiandra,” Kael said in a warning tone. “I feel something on the air. I believe Darkwolf can sense you.”

  “Don’t worry.” Cassia glanced at Kael, who stayed out of range of her fire as usual so that he could go after Stormcutters her fire couldn’t reach. “I don’t have any intention of going anywhere without you.”

  “Intention or no—” Kael paused in mid-sentence as he growled and ripped out another funnel-man’s guts, “—be cautious.”

  With her magic, Cassia continued to wipe out every Stormcutter in her path with her fire, while Jake took out each one she missed.

  As always, she was forced to be careful to release her magic only as far as she could see the Stormcutters, to make sure she didn’t hurt anyone in the Alliance.

  She nearly bumped into Breacan before he shifted into mist at the same time Alaia did. They reappeared almost immediately several feet away, taking down three water funnels each as soon as they rose from the ground.

  Many of the D’Danann flew overhead, beheading Stormcutters with their long swords when the funnels stopped and the men inhabiting them appeared. There were so few D’Danann in comparison to the other races of beings, but they were incredibly effective.

  Kael howled, a sound that seemed to make the Stormcutters shudder.

  Cassia let loose another burst of fire, barely keeping it from toasting Fredrickson’s ass. The PSF cop fought with intensity and rage on his features.

  Her heart ached for Fredrickson. She didn’t know if he had cared about Alyssa, but the shock of having had any kind of relationship with a traitor and a murderer had to have been brutal.

  Cassia held her hands out in two directions, firing magic between a group of PSF officers on one side, Marines on the other, clearing their paths briefly of Stormcutters.

  The powerfully built Marine, Bourne, took on four Stormcutters at once. He was amazing as he used his martial arts moves along with his skills with gun and dagger.

  Cassia gritted her teeth as more of her magic rolled out of her and more Stormcutters vanished into steam, or burned to cinders if they had taken human form.

  Many of the Dark Elves shot their diamond-headed arrows from a distance, while others fought with swords and daggers in the middle of the chaos.

  She spotted King Garran with his gleaming silvery-blue hair and gems sparkling on his chest straps. He plunged his sword into one Stormcutter’s gut, jerked the blade back while ramming his elbow behind him into a Stormcutter’s chest. Garran whirled and decapitated a third Stormcutter on his way to finish off the one he’d just elbowed.

  Hannah fought nearby, her fireballs blowing up the heads of Stormcutter after Stormcutter. Her long dark hair flowed over her shoulders while the shock of blonde hair fell across one of her cheeks.

  The intensity in Hannah’s gaze reflected the feelings in Cassia’s heart. They fought not only to save the city but for their lost friends, and for those they would die for.

  Hannah’s falcon, Banshee, was just as spectacular as Hannah. Like he had at the baseball stadium, Banshee ripped and pecked out eyes, blinding the Stormcutters and allowing others in the Alliance to take the funnel-men all the way down.

  Kael and Jake both stayed as close to Cassia as they could in the madness as the three of them tried to keep one another in sight.

  More mist invaded the melee, and Mystwalkers rose up to slice through funnels with their daggers before falling to mist again. They stayed clear of the marshy areas that were filled with saltwater.

  If saltwater touched Mystwalkers, they could lose their mist forms until cleansed completely with freshwater. However, with all the rain from Darkwolf’s storm slamming down on them, that might not be a problem.

  The incredible intensity and skill with which the Marines fought was such that they could have been Otherworldly beings. They rivaled the best of any race’s fighting legions—minus the magic. Yet, the Marines had a magic all their own.

  Anger fueled Cassia’s magic fire as she saw Marines and Alliance members go down from Stormcutter blades. Just as many Stormcutter bodies littered the ground, but not enough. The Alliance needed to take out more, with fewer casualties on their side.

  As she released more fire, burning away several Stormcutters, she caught Daire’s eye through the tearing rain. He’d slung his bow over his shoulder and now fought Stormcutters with his sword.

  Daire was brilliant, his every move smooth and lithe, as if choreographed. Stormcutter blood spattered his arms and clothing as he sliced into each man’s flesh, but Daire still managed to look magnificent. Other Light Elves fought with almost as much grace and style as Daire.

  But Jake—he was nothing short of amazing. He saved Cassia’s butt more than once when she missed a Stormcutter that came at her almost faster than she could blink.

  With eerie calmness and professionalism, Jake systematically shot every Stormcutter that came too close to him and Cassia.

  The times Jake was forced to battle Stormcutters hand to hand, the power and intensity with which he fought were fascinating. The muscles in his biceps and thighs flexed and his jaw tightened in his single-minded determination.

  His blue eyes seemed to glow with controlled ferocity with each opponent he took on. A few marks marred his Kevlar and his arms bled from several slashes, but he fought as if it was a mere training exercise.

  Jake equaled Daire’s magnificence with ease.

  Magic sizzled through Cassia’s veins and out of her body every time she released her fire. Even though the magic she released protected her and Jake from most of the rain, she couldn’t keep up a constant flare—every now and then it was like taking a slight breath between each burst of sustained flame.

  It was during those breaths that she was vulnerable. She was thankful for her centuries of training with Daire that made fighting Stormcutters by hand relatively easy.

  Stormcutter blood soon soaked her clothing and splattered her skin. The rain didn’t reach her as much because of her magic, so it didn’t wash off the worst of the blood.

  Cassia wasn’t positive where Darkwolf was, but something told her that she and Jake needed to work their way west through the tidal marsh. The warlock-god was somewhere in that direction.

  As she continued that way, she brushed elbows with Rhiannon. The redheaded witch’s chin-length hair flew around her face as she directed her Shadows to eliminate Stormcutters.

  At the same time she flung spellfire balls at other Stormcutters. Her D’Danann husband, Keir, looked like the fierce, rugged, bad-boy warrior he was. Blood dripped down the scar on his cheek—it looked like it had been flayed open again.

  Spirit, Rhiannon’s cat familiar, sprang onto the naked men who appeared out of the funnels, startling them and somehow keeping them from changing back to funnels. Cassia thought she saw Jake wince when Spirit clung to the genitals of one of the funnel-men.

  Cassia tunneled her way through a horde of Stormcutters with her magic fire, Jake backing her. Goddess! She had to get to Darkwolf. He was west—somewhere over there.

  Copper caught Cassia’s eye when she jumped on the hood of a car in the street that ran through Crissy Field. Good girl!

  The athletic Copper had found a place where Stormcutters had to fully reveal themselves to go after her. It made it easier for Copper to down most Stormcutters as they came near the car.

  Tiernan cleaned up every Stormcutter that Copper missed. The former lord of the elite D’Danann aristocracy fought like he was born to slay these horrible beings.

  Cassia saw a couple of Stormcutters flailing their arms and screaming, and Cassia imagined Zephyr, the bee familiar, stinging the funnel-men from head to toe. From the way the naked men looked, Zephyr might be going for their balls like Spirit had.

  Mud squished beneath Cassia’s jogging shoes, and she glanced down fast enough to see blood flowing from Lieutenant Lander’s chest, despite
the officer’s body armor. Landers, who had survived the very first Stormcutter attack despite almost having her throat slit, was now among the dead or dying.

  A wave of sadness and anger rose up in Cassia and she had an incredible urge to drop to the woman’s side to see if she could use her Guardian’s powers to save the officer. But Cassia knew Landers’s lifeforce was only there by a thread as delicate as a spiderweb.

  Cassia had to move on or she might be next.

  She threw herself out of the way of a Stormcutter’s blade when her magic stuttered. She hit her shoulder hard on the ground and pain jarred her so badly her teeth clacked together.

  She rolled to a sitting position and flung her fire out in as wide a circle as she could. Covered in mud, Cassia scrambled to her feet. The smell of charred flesh and the sour Stormcutter stench followed her deadly, fiery wake.

  Jake never left her side. With skill and precision he took out more funnel-men trying to kill them. He was cut up and bleeding, but despite Cassia’s concern, she knew Jake wasn’t seriously injured.

  Cassia’s heart felt like it was going to explode through her Kevlar vest when she saw a horde of Stormcutters going at Sydney, Conlan, and Chaos.

  So many were nearly on top of them that some were able to slide between Sydney’s spellfire balls, past Conlan’s blade, and missed the Doberman’s jaws.

  With a war cry of her own, Cassia released a blast of fire at the Stormcutters. She found she had more control than she had truly realized, and was able to fry most of the Stormcutters surrounding Sydney, Conlan and Chaos, and the trio took care of the others.

  Sydney mouthed “thank you,” but immediately went back to fighting. Her glasses were askew, her sleeves were tattered, and her upper arm was sliced near her Kevlar vest. The Doberman familiar clamped his jaws around the throat of the next Stormcutter, and Conlan took out another with his sword.

  The swarm of Stormcutters around Cassia increased in a massive rush and Cassia found herself entirely surrounded by a horde of them.