I stuffed the amulet in my pocket then the sheer impossibility of what I had done caught up with me. Giggling in disbelief my brain rattled in my skull, settling back into place as I toppled over to puke my guts up. Scraping my mouth with the back of my hand, I whirled in fright at the commotion behind me.
Devlin and Breandan darted around each other in smooth, bold movement. The fight was beastly and magnificent. Their speed alternated from painfully slow to supernaturally fast. I couldn't see half the moves they executed, but when I could I felt sick.
The need to protect Breandan submerged the rock of my fears in a sea of courage. Confident we had broken away from Devlin's guard, I felt for the Source. Grasping the pulsing energy a wave of nausea rolled over me, head to toe. Stomach heaving and pitching dangerously, I steadied my legs. My attention was drawn once again to the fight at the sound of a pained grunt. Gone was the illusion of normalcy and tentative peace. Both feral and vicious, the boys feinted around the space with lethal intent. Breandan and Devlin smacked each other about with their fists and feet, and loud thumps, and hollow crunches accompanied each blow.
I spat a curse and planted my feet, swallowed the bile burning the back of my throat and nose. It tasted sour. I drew deeply on the Source until I thought my body would burst from the pressure bubbling my blood. Focusing my energies on what I wanted was hard. Each of Devlin's punches on Breandan's body was like a blow to my own. I molded the mass of chaotic energy I summoned into a fist of air, panting under the strain.
Breandan lost concentration; eyes darting to mine they filled with concern. Victory flashed across Devlin's face as he struck with fatal precision.
Releasing air, I reached to fire. A ball of light appeared before me and grew. Larger, and larger until I realized it was more than I could control. Breandan would be too close to use the damn thing, so what did I do with it? The flames stared to burn blue then whips of white started to flash across its surface.
"Rae, hold very, very still and do not let it go."
I looked up to see Breandan and Devlin had stopped fighting. They stood side by side, and the alarm on their faces terrified me.
My lip trembled and the fireball bloated slightly.
Breandan took a hesitant step toward me. "Rae, love, please stay calm."
"I think I think it's a little big," I said nervously. "At least you've stopped fighting."
"It was either stop or watch you kill us all," Devlin said angrily.
A ferocious hate blazed across Breandan's face as he looked at the fairy-lord, but he schooled his expression and focused on me. His face was blank, but his eyes were tight. "It's going to be fine. I want you to do exactly what I say, alright?"
I nodded manically. The ball of fire hovered in front of me, rolling, expanding and collapsing in on itself slightly. What would happen if it exploded in my face?
"I have courage and I can do this," I said out loud.
Devlin rolled his eyes.
"Yes," Breandan agreed. "You are very brave. Now, I want you to think of the fire ball as the wind."
"Like a tornado?"
"No!"
The fireball lengthened, and spun into a cyclone of flames. A face flashed into my mind and then it was off, sucking Devlin into its centre. Consumed in wildfire he bellowed in anger. The fire swirled into a glowing ball leaving him singed, but unharmed. He bounced the bloated sphere of death in his palm then hurled it toward Breandan.
"Stop," I cried and reached out to call the power back.
The fire winked from existence, but the heat of it enveloped me. Falling to my knees, I batted at the small fires that erupted on my clothes, and watched in confusion as the fist of air I'd conjured hurtled toward the fairy-boys, who had returned to their fight. I was powerful enough to conjure two spells at once? Even as I realized something was wrong with my conjuring, my eyes widened at the glow surrounding them, and I understood too late they used magics of their own.
The casting broke with such impact the ground shook.
