Wicked Magic (14 page)

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Authors: Cheyenne McCray

BOOK: Wicked Magic
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“Your name is Galia, isn't it?” she asked, remembering what Keir had called her.
“Odd that he didn't send you back,” Hannah said with her usual cool expression. “From what I've seen of the brute, I'm surprised he'd let something like a silly little Faerie stay.”
Rhiannon bristled at Hannah's description of Keir. Anger tightened Galia's features.
“He's as much of a brute as you are a saint,” Rhiannon said to Hannah with a scowl.
Haughty amusement sparked in Hannah's brown eyes as she came within inches of Rhiannon, invading her personal space. Her damned “box.” Hannah smirked. “So, I was right. You
did
sleep with the barbarian.”
Fury radiated through Rhiannon, causing tiny pinpricks of heat to poke at her skin and her head to hurt even worse. She clenched her right hand into a fist. This time, she really wanted to let the witch have it.
A blast of pink lightning hit Hannah in the ass.
Shock crossed Hannah's features as she went down hard, landing on her backside.
All heads turned toward the source of the pink lightning. Galia hovered, her wings beating like mad, causing large poofs of pink dust to sparkle around her. She had another tiny rod in her hand.
“Stop.” Silver went up to the Faerie. “No more, okay?”
“That witch had better not call me silly or Keir a brute again.” The lightning rod vanished. “Or I will make her very sorry.”
Rhiannon decided she liked Galia. A lot.
As if she hadn't just been knocked on her ass, Hannah eased to her feet in one elegant movement. She reached behind her and used a bit of her magic to clean off the seat of her perfectly tailored cream slacks. She brushed the single lock of blond hair behind her ear to join her brunette hair.
“You are not the only one with magic,” Hannah said in a warning tone to Galia.
“Get over it.” Rhiannon's fists were still clenched. She allowed her fingers to uncurl. “You deserve to have your ass kicked.”
Hannah turned her mocking glare on Rhiannon. “If I were you—”
Several men and women suddenly appeared in the large room.
Materialized. Out of nowhere.
The witches stilled.
“Fomorii!” Rhiannon cried out just as the strangers began to shift.
The Fomorii had the exit blocked.
The witches backed up in the large common room.
“Spellshields!” Silver shouted and the witches each threw up a shield, their glittering magic protecting them from the demons.
Rhiannon watched in horror as the features of the strangers melted and their bodies twisted, expanded, or deflated, morphing into demons of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Some had multiple eyes while others had one. They had any number of limbs. Some were huge while others were thin and gangly. Instantly the room filled with the smell of rotten fish.
There were at least ten of the demons in the common room.
Silver shouted, “If you're going to fight, use spellfire, and magic ropes!”
“
Gray
magic.” Rhiannon's blood thundered in her ears and her vision swam from the pain in her head as she rounded up a ball of spellfire. “No mercy. We can't let ourselves get caught again. We can't kill, but we can incapacitate and bind them. These suckers need to go down. Now.”
With the exception of Silver, Cassia, and Copper, every one of the witches had been caged by the Fomorii and Balorite warlocks a few months ago, just before Samhain.
And Rhiannon was going to make sure that didn't happen again. Ever.
But the witches now had their backs up against the wall.
Trapped. No way to escape.
The urge to use the dark power within her hit Rhiannon like a boulder to her chest. Black Shadows twisted in and out of her thoughts and stirred in her soul. She shook her head and almost lost her concentration on the demons.
It had to be the goddess. Rhiannon
never
lost control of her Shadows.
The Fomorii moved across the huge room toward the witches.
Rhiannon dropped her shield and flung a spellfire ball at the chest of the first demon. Dead on. The power of it knocked the creature back a good ten feet. The demon landed on one of the tables and smashed it to the floor.
A demon slammed into Alyssa's spellshield.
“Help!” she screamed, a loud scream that she must have amplified with her magic. “D'Danann! Help!”
Of course. They had to catch the attention of the warriors who were outside, guarding the entrance.
“Tegan!” Rhiannon shouted and magnified her voice magically as she flung another spellfire ball. She knew the names of at least two of the warriors who had stayed behind to guard the apartments. “Rhona!”
From her side view, Rhiannon saw Hannah and Sydney drop their shields and in a flash wound magic ropes around one Fomorii. It tripped and fell forward, flat on its face. The ropes would keep it bound as they went on to the next demon.
Mackenzie tossed her own rope of power around the neck of a demon, and the Fomorii pulled at the rope with both hands as if it were being strangled. The power of the demon fighting back jerked Mackenzie toward it. She shouted and threw up a spellshield as the Fomorii lunged at her.
Copper and Silver pitched one spellfire ball after another at the demons, driving them back. Then they whipped ropes of magic out and tried to bind those demons. Despite her foot and ankle cast, Copper was almost as agile as the rest of them.
Black Shadows flickered in Rhiannon's mind and chest as she dropped and rolled when one demon lunged for her. Even though she was flat on her back and filled with darkness and pain from her headache, she slammed the demon at its neck with a ball of spellfire. It staggered, fire whooshing up its face, and tripped over a chair.
Bolts of pink lightning struck one Fomorii after another in rapid fire. As Rhiannon scrambled to her feet, she saw
Galia flinging the bolts at the heads of the demons. The Faerie got one between the eyes and its head exploded. The Fomorii's body crumbled into black silt.
Go, Galia!
Another demon bore down on Rhiannon. Too close for a spellfire ball!
She screamed, ducked, and flung up a spellshield just in time. She felt the power of the beast as it rammed into the shield and fell back.
When she knew she had the advantage, she dropped her shield and fired another ball of magic at the head of the demon. She left charred flesh that quickly healed, but she bound the demon with a rope of magic. The witches wouldn't kill, but they would do all they could to fight them, bind them, and hope the D'Danann would come and finish them off.
Dear Anu, the demons just kept coming.
Different shouts filled the room, along with the sound of swords. Swords clanging against iron-tipped Fomorii claws.
D'Danann!
Rhiannon felt a whoosh of relief, but didn't let down her guard.
She continued to fight along with her Coven sisters as the D'Danann joined the battle. The warriors didn't have the advantage of flight in the confines of the room, the close quarters making their job harder.
The only way for Fomorii to be destroyed was by beheading them or obliterating their hearts. The D'Danann preferred to wield their swords to decapitate the demons, but on occasion were forced to carve out their hearts with their daggers.
One of the D'Danann beheaded a Fomorii, but another demon jumped on the warrior's back. He shouted as he went down. Rhiannon screamed as the demon ripped open the warrior's throat and nearly took his head off with its poisonous claws.
In a mere second, the D'Danann's body sparkled and disappeared.
Dear Anu!
The warrior's death added fuel to Rhiannon's anger. She made her spellfire balls bigger, using more gray magic than ever.
The dark, the Shadows. It was becoming so hard to fight the urge to use the terrible wealth of power lurking in the corners of her soul.
She ground her teeth and flung one fireball directly at the head of the demon that had killed the warrior. Its head went up in flames and Rhona beheaded it with her sword.
The witches and Galia continued to incapacitate the demons with their magic, allowing the warriors to more easily wipe this horde of Fomorii from existence.
It seemed like the battle lasted forever, but soon all that remained were the witches, the Faerie, the remaining D'Danann, and multiple piles of black silt.
Sweat plastered hair to the sides of Rhiannon's face, her chest hurt, her head ached, and her scars burned. Her breathing came harsh and uneven.
She blinked and pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Tears bit at the backs of her eyelids. The Shadows had never been so strong before. She'd almost lost control.
No. She could
never
do that. What would her Coven sisters think if they knew the kind of power she had inside her?
Damn Ceithlenn
!
Rhiannon opened her eyes, dropped her hand from her face, took a deep breath, and immediately choked on the rotten fish stench of the Fomorii.
Everyone but the D'Danann warriors seemed exhausted and bedraggled—in other words, all of the witches looked like hell. Even Galia's hair was tangled around her and she appeared pale. The group of warriors was the younger bunch Keir had brought with him from Otherworld.
The room was a disaster. Couches slashed, grooves from claws scratched into the floor, tables smashed, one of the refrigerators knocked over, garbage strewn everywhere.
“I can't believe they got through all of our wardings,” Silver said as she pushed her long silvery blond hair out of her
face. “They just appeared out of thin air. How could they have done that?”
“It was probably the goddess,” Sydney said as she used a broom to sweep up the Fomorii silt into one big pile with the help of Alyssa. “She could be strong enough to make them invisible and got them through. Or maybe she transported them directly into this room.”
“Ceithlenn must be more powerful than we originally thought,” Alyssa said with fear in her voice.
The mention of the evil goddess's name drove Rhiannon to her knees from pain.
“Rhiannon!” Sydney dropped her broom and rushed to Rhiannon's side, as did the other Coven sisters.
“Please don't say the C-word any more,” Rhiannon managed to say. “Every time I hear or think that word,
that's
when my headaches start and they only get worse with each mention.” She took a deep breath, holding her hand to her forehead and didn't mention the twisting of Shadows that came along with the goddess's name. “Just call her that evil goddess or the bitch from Underworld or something. Or just call her C.”
“Gotcha.” Sydney stroked Rhiannon's short hair in a gentle caress. “We'll be careful, honey.”
“Maybe I can help her.” Galia fluttered her way in between Alyssa and Mackenzie and hovered over Rhiannon. “Maybe I can see why you are getting these headaches.”
Before Rhiannon could say anything, Galia held her little hands out and a wave of pink magic flowed back and forth between the two of them.
The last thing Rhiannon remembered was Galia's scream.
Rhiannon snapped awake the moment someone placed smelling salts beneath her nose. Her vision cleared to see Cassia crouched before her with a concerned expression as she drew the tube away.
“Whoa.” Rhiannon tilted her head back to see all her Coven sisters gathered around.
She was lying on one of the couches in the common room. She felt the shredded material beneath her from the fight with the Fomorii and a spring poked her butt. Cassia and Sydney helped her up to a sitting position and Rhiannon shifted so her ass wasn't on the spring anymore.
“I thought you were well enough to wake up,” Cassia said. Her features seemed to grow more ethereal and beautiful every day. Her once short curly blond hair now rested on her shoulders in light spirals at the ends. “I sensed no damage other than what has plagued your mind.”
“And that is much,” came a small voice nearby. Rhiannon glanced to see Galia reclining on the arm of the couch. She had her head tilted back and held what looked like a tiny ice bag to her forehead, her wings folded beneath her. Her eyes met Rhiannon's. “We need to speak. At once.”
Rhiannon nodded even though her head ached when she did. Cassia slipped her hand beneath the Faerie and lifted her up.
Galia narrowed her gaze. “You're part Elvin, aren't you?”
A smile touched Cassia's lips. “And you are Fae.”
“I never thought I'd let anyone of Elvin blood touch me,” Galia said, then burst into a grin. “But I like you.”
Cassia laughed and raised the Faerie to her shoulder where Galia settled and began opening and closing her wings, sprinkling pink dust everywhere.
Rhiannon knew of the prejudices that ran deep between the two races, so it was a bit surprising that Galia had adjusted so easily. But then Galia appeared to be a special little Faerie. And the D'Danann warriors—most had seemed accepting enough of the few D'Anu witches who had Elvin blood.
Like Keir
, Rhiannon thought and her cheeks heated.
Sydney and Alyssa helped Rhiannon to her feet. Once she gained her bearings she felt fine, and even her headache had dulled to just a throb at her forehead.
Fortunately only a few had injuries from the battle. A couple of the D'Danann had scratches that were not in areas that would be fatal. Cassia and the other witches tended to them with their magic and Cassia's potions. Mackenzie had a small gouge on one wrist, but it was taken care of and bandaged in no time.
But the death of one of the D'Danann … Rhiannon shuddered and her heart hurt for him. Hopefully his passage to Summerland—the everafter—would be a pleasant one, where he would join families and friends once again.
Keir and some of the other D'Danann strode into the common room. A look of fury spread across Keir's face as his gaze swept the room and landed on Rhiannon. “What were you thinking, battling the demons instead of staying behind your spellshields?”
Rhiannon rubbed her temples.
I
so
do not need this.
“You expect us to just sit back and be attacked?” She moved her hands to her hips. “We're not helpless women.”
“That is correct,” came Galia's voice and Rhiannon saw that Galia had her arms crossed over her chest and her chin tilted.
Keir clenched his fists at his sides, but Tiernan pushed his way in front and held out a plastic bag with something small and black inside it that looked sharp.
“Jake found this on that bus.” He handed the bag to Cassia. “We thought you might be able to tell if it's Ce—”
Copper slapped her hand over her husband's mouth. “Don't say the goddess's name.” She let her hand slip away from Tiernan's lips as he gave her a puzzled expression. “It's what's causing Rhiannon to have those headaches.”
All the D'Danann turned to look at Rhiannon, who took a deep breath. “Just call her ‘C' for now.”
Tiernan nodded and Keir narrowed his gaze. Cassia visibly shuddered when she held the bag Tiernan passed to her.
“It's definitely from something evil.” Cassia looked at all the witches. “We need to get to the kitchen. We have protection and divination work to do.”
The common room was set to rights in no time, thanks to Galia's magic. The Faerie's powers were amazing. She could make old things new, and the common room looked better than it had before the fight.
Rhiannon's Coven sisters gathered the tools of their crafts and planned to meet in the store. Rhiannon's only talent was being able to vision, and she was afraid—very afraid—that she wasn't going to be able to do anything.
Keir stopped Rhiannon as she started to head out of the common room. “Is this dangerous?” he asked in his gruff tone.
She pushed his hand from her arm and lied. “Not at all.”
“I will go with you,” Keir said.
With a sigh, Rhiannon looked up at him. “Listen, no one but the witches and Galia needs to be in the kitchen. We're just divining whatever we can. We've got to have some questions answered.”
Which includes whatever Galia saw when she did that mind-meld thing.
Keir shook his head. “I
will
be in the room with you to ensure your safety.”
Rhiannon groaned.
Keir and Sheridan escorted the witches next door to Enchantments, passing T-shirt and jean-clad guards wearing their long coats at the door to the common room as well as the entrance to the apartment building.
As usual, Rhiannon's skin tingled in what light there was in the foggy day and she squinted. Spirit appeared, and he ran circles around her feet as she walked. It was a wonder she didn't trip over him.
Once she went through Enchantments and reached the kitchen, she shivered. The encounter with the Fomorii had left her more shaken than she'd realized.
The fact that the Shadows had pushed at her mind, had threatened to come through during the fight, scared her right now more than anything.
Keir, Tiernan, and Hawk all stood a good distance from the table, obviously trying to make themselves inconspicuous so that there wouldn't be any arguments with the witches about them being there.
Soon all eight witches and Galia were gathered in the kitchen of Enchantments. More D'Danann stayed out of sight on the other sides of the doors, front and back.
The witches set all of their tools on the kitchen table while Rhiannon watched. Her pulse rate picked up as she thought about what they all were going to do. They never knew what would happen when they divined together.
Silver had her cauldron filled with consecrated water; Mackenzie, her tarot cards; Alyssa had a slender red taper candle and a dragon candleholder; Hannah was ready with her black mirror and salt crystals; Sydney arranged three candles and her silver bowl of consecrated water; and Cassia slipped her bag of rune stones from the pocket of her skirt. Copper sat between Sydney and Silver. Copper's talent was dream-visions, and Rhiannon wasn't sure if the witch had had any dreams that related to their current situation.
Everyone was standing, automatically looking to Cassia for direction. Ever since the first battle with the Fomorii, Cassia had grown more and more to be the witches' rock, the one they looked to for advice or healing.
And she baked a mean cinnamon roll.
“Before we begin”—Cassia had her hands folded in front of her as she spoke in a calm tone—“we will cast our circle to encompass the entire kitchen and weave a protection spell around us.”
The witches murmured and moved into position to create a ring at the center of the kitchen. Galia hovered between Rhiannon and Sydney.
Cassia produced an athame from her skirt pocket, entered the circle of witches, and stood at the center.
With a nod to the north, Cassia turned to the east and extended her arms with the athame straight out in front of her. She began turning clockwise, deosil, moving the ritual knife from the east, continuing to the south, then the west, and ended facing north again. As she turned in the circle, she chanted.
I cast this circle as a boundary between worlds.
We ask Anu to be the protector and guardian of all who stand within.
We ask the Ancestors to add to our combined strength.
We welcome the elements. Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.
Thank you all for your protective presence as you join with us in seeking the answers to our many questions.
Once the circle was cast and the kitchen protected, the witches moved to the table, sat, and scooted their chairs close. Spirit settled himself beside Rhiannon's feet.
“We have something important to do before we begin divining.” Cassia drew from her pocket the small plastic bag with the black thing in it. “We need to perform two tasks. A protection spell for Rhiannon and Galia. And,” she added, “a banishing spell for Rhiannon.”
Rhiannon blinked. “A banishing spell?”
“First the protection spell.” Cassia's expression was unreadable. “Then Galia will explain further.”
Galia sat with her knees to her chest next to a bowl of juniper berries. Also on the table were two small vials of oil; a
long, tapered black candle; a match; some tiny, red-hot charcoal pieces in a fireproof bowl; and salt in a glass vial. Rhiannon felt a small wave of heat from the charcoal.
Cassia stood beside Rhiannon and Galia as she anointed the candle with the two oils then set it into Alyssa's silver candleholder that was the yawning mouth of a dragon. Rhiannon caught the scents of cypress from the oils, patchouli from the candle, and burning charcoal. Cassia lit the candle and said several words in a language Rhiannon had never heard before. Could it be Elvish? She thought she heard Cassia say “Morrigan” and Rhiannon shivered again.
The half-Elvin witch placed the juniper berries on the charcoal and the smell of the berries became sharper. Then she unscrewed the cap on the vial of salt and poured it in a circle around Rhiannon, including behind her chair. She continued to pour the salt until all the protection items and Galia were encompassed in the circle.
Cassia set the salt vial down. “Our sisters stand within the protection of the triple-goddess.”
Automatically Rhiannon's hand went to her heart. “The protection of the triple-goddess lies within me.”
Cassia took her seat and placed her palms on the table. “Galia, explain what you saw in Rhiannon's mind.”
The Faerie took a deep breath and her gaze met Rhiannon's. “That day you blacked out, you had just visioned Ceithlenn, a warlock named Darkwolf, and a demon-woman named Junga. Not physically, but psychically you were in the room with them.”
No matter the circle of protection, Rhiannon's head still ached at the mention of the goddess's name.
“Ceithlenn saw you.” Galia drew her knees up closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “Her magic is so powerful that she shattered that part of you that can vision. Every time you hear her name, it invokes a part of her and she delights in causing you pain for spying on her.”
Rhiannon's skin went cold. “Does that mean the bitch is in
my
head?”
“In a way.” Galia rocked back and forth, her wings slowly opening and closing and pink Faerie dust mingling with the salt surrounding the two of them. “That is how the Fomorii were able to penetrate the wardings and could transport into the common room. She used what essence she had stolen from you.”
Rhiannon's gut churned. Ceithlenn was in her head.
In my head!
“How do we get her out?” Rhiannon's voice trembled.
Cassia settled her hand on Rhiannon's arm. “This is where the banishing spell comes in.” Cassia raised the small plastic bag Tiernan had given her. Rhiannon squinted. It looked like a broken fingernail. “Thank Anu this was discovered on that bus.” Cassia said. “It will help with the banishing spell.”
“It's C-Ceithlenn's?” Rhiannon asked through the pain in her head, even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.
“Yes. Through my divinations, I am positive.” Cassia picked up a small mortar and its matching baseball bat-shaped pestle. Inside the rough basalt lava mortar she combined dried bay laurel leaves, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dried hydrangea blossoms, and sea salt. She ground them all to a fine powder while the witches watched. Rhiannon nearly sneezed as she breathed in some of the pepper.
When she finished grinding the ingredients, Cassia picked up the plastic baggie, unsealed it, and dumped the piece of fingernail onto the tabletop. As Rhiannon shuddered, she thought she also felt a collective shudder from all the witches.
Cassia took a small pair of scissors and snipped off a piece of the fingernail, then she produced a tiny paper envelope and a small pair of tongs. She used the tongs to put the piece of fingernail into the envelope and took the burning black taper candle to drip black candle wax onto the back flap to seal it. After she settled the candle in its holder, she placed the envelope and the tongs in front of Rhiannon.

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