Rhiannon looked at the bullet closely, feeling the cool metal of the dangerous ammo between her fingertips.
Jake showed her something that looked like a big gun. “We’ve developed these high-powered tasers that’ll help us fight the demons off long enough to put one of those bullets in its body.”
“What’ll the PSF use for guns?” Rhiannon asked. “I wasn’t here when you fought them at Samhain.”
Jake grabbed a rifle off one of the tables and started loading some of the special bullets into its chamber. “Automatic rifles for one. They’re compact and lightweight. Instant response, good for speedy deployment, mobility, and heavy firepower as close as twenty feet.” He set the rifle down and drew out the handgun he had slipped behind his back. “I use a .357 semiautomatic as a backup weapon and for closequarter combat.”
He withdrew a canister from his weapons belt. “This is like pepper spray, but it’s far more potent—a special formula that we hope will help fight the Fomorii. The idea is for the spray to work as an irritant to the demons’ mucous membranes, buying us more time when needed.”
In past battles, the PSF had been at a disadvantage because the standard-issue weapons did nothing to the Fomorii. The demons’ bodies immediately healed if a bullet pierced their thick skin and flesh. The only way for the demons to be destroyed was by cutting off or blowing up their heads, or completely destroying their hearts. A simple bullet wouldn’t do it because the heart would heal. It took blasting the beast’s heart out of its body, cutting, or ripping it out of their chests.
The witches relied on their magic and chose not to kill, but did their best to incapacitate the Fomorii and let the D’Danann and PSF take the demons out. Like white witches, the gray witches didn’t want to kill any living thing. Unlike white witches, gray witches believed that if evil could be stopped it was their responsibility to do what they could—without crossing the line themselves.
Galia settled on Rhiannon’s shoulder. Sydney braided her hair to keep it out of her face while Silver used a Celtic knot clasp then put her thick hair up under her black cap. The rest of the witches were ready and waiting.
The D’Danann had already left and were stationed on top of and around the building where the penthouse suite was located. They were handling surveillance until the team of PSF officers and witches arrived.
Rhiannon clasped the Celtic knot necklace she was wearing for additional protection. “Ready,” she said as she released the necklace and jerked on her black cap.
It seemed as if everyone took a collective deep breath then headed for the door. Spirit meowed again and followed them as far as the apartment entrance.
The witches, along with the PSF officers, climbed into the unmarked trucks that looked like a cross between a SWAT vehicle and a Hum-V. Jake shouted commands and his team looked prepared for action. He glanced at Galia, who was still perched on Rhiannon’s shoulder, and Rhiannon shrugged. Jake shook his head and smiled.
When they finally arrived at the penthouses, everyone poured out of the PSF vehicles. Jake flashed his badge at the bewildered security guard, got the key card to access the penthouse from the stairs, and another card to get to it by the elevator. Jake ordered some of his officers up the stairs, while stationing others at the bottom floor entrance. The D’Danann would take care of the rooftop and the stairs leading to the rooftop.
Galia chose to fly and disappeared from sight.
Jake spoke into his wireless earpiece that connected him to his officers and the D’Danann captains and informed the D’Danann of their positions.
Rhiannon’s heartbeat picked up as she stepped into the elevator with her Coven sisters and PSF officers. More PSF officers took the other elevator. Rhiannon glanced at each witch who looked nervous, stoic, or—in Hannah’s case—expressionless. Alyssa, who tended to be more on the sensitive side, appeared to be scared spitless, yet she was there. She never gave up. Never gave in. And Rhiannon admired the hell out of her for that.
When they reached the fourteenth floor and the elevator dinged, Rhiannon held her breath. What if Ceithlenn heard it and was prepared for them?
They filed out of the elevator to an empty foyer. It was exactly as Rhiannon remembered it from her vision of Junga. Now there was just a door standing between them and Ceithlenn—
And the two monsters the goddess had created.
The other elevator arrived. The officers poured out and got into position.
Jake and another officer stood ready at the door.
“Now!” Jake said into his transmitter.
At the same time, two of his officers used what they called a “slammer,” a small battering ram. With one strike it ripped the door right off its hinges.
The door smacked up against the wall, and the officers aimed their rifles into the room.
No Ceithlenn. No Junga or Darkwolf. No monsters.
Only a group of men and women, near the windows at the far side of the enormous room. They looked like they might have been mingling at a party.
There were maybe twelve, fifteen at the most.
All had startled looks—
Then their expressions changed one by one, and they shifted into their hideous Fomorii forms.
With roars and shrieks the demons charged the officers and witches who were pouring into the room.
The officers immediately fired their rifles and handguns at the demons.
The room lit up with an explosion of spellfire balls and magic ropes.
Galia appeared and started throwing one pink lightning bolt after another at the demons.
Windows imploded behind the Fomorii and D’Danann warriors swooped in, tearing down the blinds at the same time. Glass sailed everywhere and wind whooshed into the penthouse.
The D’Danann drew their swords and went after the Fomorii from their backsides.
Jake fired his .357 and a demon’s heart exploded out of its chest. The demon crumbled to the floor into a pile of dark silt on the white carpet.
Silver hit one Fomorii square in the chest with a spellfire ball, and the D’Danann named Sheridan lopped its head off. The demon crumbled.
A PSF officer screamed as a demon raked its claws down the officer’s face and chest. As one, Sydney and Hannah flung magic ropes at the beast and bound it so that it fell to the floor. Keir beheaded it with one swing of his sword.
Alyssa threw a spellfire ball at a charging demon and screamed as the Fomorii swiped at her. One of the PSF officers shot it in the heart, disintegrating the demon on the spot.
Rhiannon and Jake looked at each other. She cocked her head toward one of the hallways and he nodded. With Silver, Sydney, and two PSF officers following, they skirted the edge of the battle, shooting and flinging spellfire balls as needed to keep the demons off their backs.
By the time they reached the far end of the living room, where halls split off into two opposite directions, the battle in the living room was over. Nothing was left but piles of silt and the lingering stench of rotten fish. Mixed with that was the burnt sugar smell Rhiannon recognized from the theater, along with a hint of jasmine. She remembered the jasmine as Sara’s scent.
Rhiannon, Jake, Keir, and several others took the left hallway, while another group went to the right.
Glass crunched under their boots from the broken window. The hallway had twelve-foot-high ceilings and was at least six feet in width. Jake gave the all-clear, and they moved into it to check each room.
Before they reached the first closed door, Ceithlenn materialized in the hallway in front of them.
Flame-haired, bat-winged, a wild look in her crimson eyes.
With a terrible shriek, she let loose bolts of black fire that slammed into Rhiannon’s and Jake’s chests.
Rhiannon flew back into the arms of several PSF officers.
Dear Anu, the pain! It felt as if flesh had been seared from her breastbone.
Gunshots echoed in Rhiannon’s ears and the clang of magic against swords rang out as D’Danann bl
ocked Ceithlenn’s spells. The bullets never touched Ceithlenn. They just bounced off her shield like pennies.
Then Ceithlenn smiled and held out her arms.
Instinct grabbed hold of Rhiannon and she threw up a protective shield.
A powerful force of magic caused the shield to reverberate and waver.
“She’s trying to suck up our souls!” Rhiannon shouted to everyone around her. “I’ve got a shield blocking this entire hallway.”
Okay, now Rhiannon was way pissed. First the mindshattering thing, then she’d nearly had her heart burned out of her chest, and now the bitch was trying to take her soul.
Heat expanded from the burn and through her body as Rhiannon shoved away from the officers.
Ceithlenn looked as angry as Rhiannon that she was being stopped from taking their souls.
Rhiannon’s fury was so great her vision blurred and incredible power rose up within her.
The Shadows charged from her body.
Straight through Rhiannon’s magic that protected them all from Ceithlenn.
Stunned, Rhiannon almost dropped the shield.
It felt as if her body was an electrical storm as the Shadows whirled out like tornados.
The goddess screamed as the Shadows slammed into her and forced her back. The Shadows—indistinct shapes—crawled all over Ceithlenn, driving her to her knees.
Head-splitting pain shot through Rhiannon’s skull as she felt Ceithlenn try to gain hold of her mind. The goddess was trying to control both her and the Shadows!
The Great Guardian’s words flowed through Rhiannon’s mind—
“If you stop fighting them, they will help you. You need to trust yourself, and in turn the Shadows will answer to you.”
Rhiannon ground her teeth, focused on the Shadows, and—let it all go. She stopped fighting and allowed the Shadows free reign over Ceithlenn.
She glanced at Jake and nodded. He returned her nod and held his .357 in both hands, his stance wide, and pointed it at the goddess.
Rhiannon dropped the shield.
“Now, now, now, now!” Jake shouted.
Shots rang out in the hallway as bullets went through Rhiannon’s Shadows and pierced Ceithlenn’s flesh. Spellfire ripped her wings as Sydney and Rhiannon flung fireballs.
The goddess let out a shriek that tore at Rhiannon’s eardrums.
Ceithlenn’s unholy red eyes met Rhiannon’s. The goddess snarled, wrapped her wings around her battered body—
And vanished.
The Shadows immediately shot into Rhiannon’s body.
She stumbled backward at the force of their entry. It felt strange and awful, like her body was made of electricity and someone was walking inside of her. Several someones.
Yet at the same time, it felt right. Like they belonged inside her.
She swayed, suddenly feeling tired and worn—like the Shadows had taken so much energy from her, worse than when they had attacked Keir.
“Fuck!” Jake motioned to his officers and they checked every room, kicking the doors in, grasping their rifles or handguns and sweeping the room.
The D’Danann kept their swords readied and the witches were prepared with their magic and their shields.
Nothing.
No more Fomorii. No Junga or Darkwolf monsters. No Ceithlenn.
Rhiannon stood where she was for several moments. She’d lost control of the Shadows, but they’d helped her fight Ceithlenn.
They’d helped her fight.
Another thought jabbed her heart hard. Those involved in the fight had to have noticed that the Shadows came from her. Returned to her.
Exhausted, Rhiannon felt her stomach twist as the Shadows stirred within her, retreating back to the place where she kept them hidden—only not as deep as they had been before.
She wrapped her arms around her belly and felt sick, like she might throw up. Dear Anu, how could such evil be good? And how could it come from her?
But her headache—it had been lessened, as if somehow the Shadows had weakened the goddess’s hold.
Sydney touched Rhiannon’s arm, startling her. “We’ve got to get you bandaged up,” Sydney said. “You’re injured.”
Something else was in her eyes as her concern warred with a frown. After a pause, Sydney adjusted her glasses and added, “It looks like all of the Coven sisters are going to have to have a talk when we have a chance. I don’t know what just happened, but I think you do.”
Rhiannon’s heart sank and she squeezed her arms around her waist tighter.
Sydney didn’t say anything more. Instead she took Rhiannon by the arm and led her to the penthouse living room with the other fighters. The team that had taken the right hall were already there.
“Not another damn Fomorii to be seen,” Tiernan said, his expression tight with anger. “What did you find?”
“The goddess bitch.” Jake holstered his handgun and winced. “But she got away.”
Rhiannon looked at Jake’s chest. A smoldering hole in his T-shirt and the Kevlar exposed burnt flesh. The hole was about the size of an orange.
“You’re hurt, Jake,” she said and almost moaned as she touched her own chest and felt the pain of a burn. “Let one of the witches examine you,” she managed to get out through gritted teeth.
“It’s just a burn. Nothing serious.” Jake braced his hands on his thighs and glanced up at her. “Looks like she got you, too.”
Her own wound wasn’t as bad as she expected when she checked. Like Jake, a large hole had been seared into her black body armor and the T-shirt beneath it. The Kevlar had a hole the size of a golf ball melted into it, right below her breastbone.
The body armor had saved her life, as well as Jake’s.
And the Shadows … Goddess. They had saved all of their lives.
In the next second, Rhiannon was jerked around by her upper arms. Keir’s gaze traveled the length of her, as if assessing her for damage.
“You fool of a witch!” His expression was furious when his gaze met hers. He shook her a couple of times. “Ceithlenn almost killed you.”
Rhiannon scowled and started to tell him off only to have Keir’s mouth take hers. She fought him, but his kiss was harsh, punishing.
Rhiannon bit his lower lip hard, trying to get him to stop, but he didn’t. Instead his kiss only became more intense.
She started to kiss him just as fiercely. And before she knew it, he had her backed up against a wall and she’d wrapped her arms around his neck. His stubble chafed her face and his body was hard against hers.
When he finally tore his mouth away, she could only stare into his dark, furious eyes. His voice was low and harsh. “She. Almost. Killed. You. Never get close to the goddess again.”
Rhiannon slid her arms from his neck, down to his biceps, and to his chest. She didn’t have the strength to push him away. The shot of magic from Ceithlenn, the power of Keir’s kiss …
She looked him in the eyes. “We all came here to do a job.” Rhiannon straightened her spine. “Sometimes the job comes with danger, but that’s something we all have to face.”
“Not you.” Keir reached up and cupped her cheek. “Not you.”
Rhiannon shivered at the power of the tenderness in his touch and in his eyes. He’d gone from fury to a gentleness that tore at her heart.
She grabbed his shirt in her fists and rose up to brush her lips over his before drawing back. “You’ve got to understand, Keir. This is my fight just as much as it is anyone else’s.” She brought her hand to her cheek and touched the Fomorii scars that burned even now. “It’s not only this, it’s the fact that my friends’ lives are at stake. Countless other people’s lives are in danger. And if this entire city could be blown off the map, then who knows what’s next?”
Rhiannon brought her fingers to his lips when he started to speak. “This is not going to change. Instead of fighting me, fight with me. I’m a strong witch, but together, as a team, we’ll really kick some ass.”
Ke
ir wrapped his arms around her so tightly that he smashed her face against his shirt. She inhaled his comforting male scent. “A stór,” he whispered and pressed his lips against her head. “Now that I have found you, I do not want to lose you.”
Rhiannon closed her eyes when she felt the pinprick of tears. Oh, how she wished this could last forever.
She pushed away and avoided his gaze. “I think there’s probably work to be done now.”
He let her slip away from him. When she turned to face the room, some of the witches, in addition to Hawk, were staring at her and Keir. Heat rose in her cheeks, but Rhiannon walked over and stood next to Sydney. “Find anything?” she asked.
“No.” Sydney fingered the burnt edges of the hole in Rhiannon’s T-shirt. “You and Jake could have bought it. You could have died.”
“Hey.” Rhiannon looked to everyone who was watching her. “This isn’t just a bunch of small skirmishes that we’re involved in. This is outright war. The only way we’re going to win is if everyone works together. It’s the risk we all have to take.”
Silver flung her arms around Rhiannon’s neck. “I didn’t save your butt months ago just to lose you now. Be more careful.”
“Okay.” Rhiannon drew away from Silver, who had tears in her eyes. “We’ll all have to be more careful.”
Silver rubbed Rhiannon’s arm and gave a small smile. “That means everyone here. All we have is one another.”
Rhiannon hugged each of her Coven sisters until she came to Hannah, who glanced at the hole in Rhiannon’s vest and back to her face. “We need to get you and Jake to Cassia.” Hannah cleared her throat. “To make sure you’re properly healed.”
Rhiannon sighed and nodded. “You’re right.”
Hannah raised her hand until her palm was level with Rhiannon’s wound. “Sorry about invading your little box.” Hannah’s voice took on her usual sarcastic tone. “But this time just shut up about it.”
Rhiannon opened her mouth then closed it as green sparkles radiated from Hannah’s hand to the wound on Rhiannon’s chest. Immediately, the burning sensation eased and she took a breath of relief.
Wicked Magic Page 22
