outward into his limbs. The pain dulled; the shock disappeared. It was not anger or vengeance that came over him. It was the calm that came with the Yn Saith’s service—giving up his own desires to protect others.
He reached back into the other world.
Where empty air had filled his hand a moment earlier, Arondight materialized into existence, the hilt and blade of the broadsword marked with ancient druidic runes, its length smooth and polished, the silver filigreed handle cool under his grip.
Magic encased him like an invisible armor and sent azure fire through his being.
Fearing the change in their friend, Al and Walker backed away.
“Don’t move!” Richard screamed, regaining his feet.
It was too late.
As the homeless men passed a derelict window, the cait sith burst through the opening to kill.
With a thought, Richard struck, the runes flaring to life and blue fire lancing from Arondight. The magic hammered the creature in midair, tossing it aside like a doll before it could reach the men. It crashed to the heavy stone floor, howls of pain and anger filling the tunnel.
Back on its paws before its burning fur was extinguished, it charged Richard instead, knowing its true enemy.
Richard brought his power to bear. Blinding fire filled the passage again. The cait sith dodged it, faster and more nimble this time, and with a great leap pummeled him against the brick wall with its immensity.
Richard collided with jarring force, his eyes darkening for a second. The cait sith was on him, tearing. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Richard kept his focus on the sword before him, keeping the fire that ran along its length between himself and his foe, a protective shield of his soul’s making.
The cat tried to fight through the defense even as its fur singed, the reek of burning flesh thick and pungent. Despite its ferocity, the cait sith’s raking claws and fangs could not break through Richard’s magic. It pressed inward, the glare from its maddened red eyes burning into him; it would not let him free and would die to see him destroyed.
But even as Richard was protected, his strength waned. The called fire took a toll on him physically and emotionaly, sapping his strength.
He had to end this.
The cat was nearly close enough to rend Richard’s neck when its head suddenly jerked as if struck from behind. The creature’s weight left the knight.
Behind the cait sith, Al stood, his black skin glossy with sweat, conviction raging in his eyes. In his grimy hands, a long, heavy pipe was poised for another strike.
“Get off ‘im, devil,” Al screamed, swinging again.
Enraged, the cat knocked the pipe from Al’s hands and pounced, leaving Richard free. The homeless man’s screams soon changed from anger to the anguish of one being torn apart.
It gave Richard the freedom he needed. He sent Arondight’s fire raging into the back of the beast with all the magic he carried within, his anger fueling his power. It knocked the cat off the helpless man and slammed it against the thickly mortared wall.
The hollow crack of breaking bones filled the passage.
Richard was on the beast in a moment, a surge of certainty giving him strength. With the tip of his blade, he pinned the creature to the rubble at its neck but Richard knew it could not feel the heat or the blood he drew. The cat had broken vertebrae. It was no longer a threat.
Behind him, Al wept in agony, his clothing rent and bloodied.
“I’ll make this quick, cat,” Richard grated. “Why did you come through the portal?”
“Too late,” the cait sith wheezed. It bled from dozens of wounds, and most of its chest and forelegs had been reduced to smoldering flesh. Its right hind leg twitched weakly. “You failed. The death rattle of your faith in the Word is beyond you. Behold.”
Richard followed the cat’s eyes. Where the stairway to the city above began, four furtive shapes not much larger than robins flew in the shadows around the rusted pipes of the arched ceiling. Instinctively, Richard cast fire toward them. The tiny beings rushed forward, chittering with sudden fright. Lagging behind, the last creature burst into flame as if doused in kerosene.
The rest escaped. They would be in Seattle proper within moments.
Fairies.
The cait sith had been a decoy.
“Where do the bastards go?” Richard rasped, twisting the blade’s tip deeper into the cat’s neck. “What is their intent?”