Page 103 of Fire Dancer
His words only stoked my fury. I moved my hands faster, reworking the image. It blurred momentarily before details began to emerge. A longer face. A bigger, more elegant body.
Jananovich’s jaw went slack as the smoke gave way to a fire in the shape of a horse. And,snap!The mighty horse opened huge wings and reared up before him.
Pegasus!I remembered Claire cheering at the bonfire.
But that had been a friendly one. The huge, fiery creature facing Jananovich now was very bitter and very, very angry.
It reared higher, lashing at Jananovich with its front legs.
Whoosh!A wave of heat followed the motion, and sparks streamed through the air.
“What the…” Gregor, the second vampire, stumbled away, breaking off his fight with Ingo. They both stared.
Jananovich raised both arms, trying to drive the pegasus back. But the fire had taken on a life of its own. Now that it had locked on its target, I couldn’t redirect it if I wanted to.
By then, the wall behind Jananovich was obscured by smoke, but I did catch another movement.
Delaney. With the stake. Sneaking closer and closer.
The pegasus flared its nostrils, and its eyes reflected the gold and red flames of its body. Every beat of its powerful wings sent waves of heat pulsing. It shook its mane and flicked its hoofs at Jananovich, driving him toward Delaney.
The vampire stumbled back, shouting in anger. But the sound turned into a cry, and he arched awkwardly. His chest thrust forward, and his eyes went wide.
“Victor?” the second vampire called out.
Frozen in an awful grimace, Jananovich toppled forward as if he’d been kicked by Delaney, who stood behind him. Then he face-planted on the floor. The stake in his back smoldered, then burst into flames, and after a few anguished contortions, Jananovich went limp. In seconds, his body desiccated, then turned to ash.
The fiery pegasus pranced and shook its mane, leaving flames in each hoof print.
Delaney gulped, then nodded at the Pegasus.
“For you,” she whispered. “And for my sister, and all the others.”
The pegasus tossed its head, and I imagined a whinny that echoed the cadence of Stacy’s laughter. Rearing again, it beat its wings in triumph, and the message was clear.
Jananovich’s victims had been avenged. No amount of magic could bring them back, but they could rest in peace, knowing he would never hurt another person.
Tears blurred my vision, and the pegasus blurred too, until it was no longer a winged horse, but an ordinary inferno.
And, uh-oh. That inferno was filling the room rapidly.
I blinked, then reached for Delaney. Clasping hands, we whirled — only to face the towering figure of the second vampire.
“Interesting. Very interesting,” Gregor murmured, taking me in slowly.
Not aYikes, I’d better not mess with youkind of slowly. More like aYum, I can’t wait to taste your bloodkind of slowly.
Behind him, Ingo crouched, and my heart thudded.
“Interesting?” I goaded Gregor. “I’ll show you interesting.”
He laughed at my raised fists, and I forced myself to focus on his face rather than over his shoulder, where Ingo coiled, then leaped, his jaws wide.
When he bashed into the vampire, they both stumbled. Delaney and I jumped back as snarls and shouts broke out. Muffled snarls, because Ingo had buried his teeth in the back of the vampire’s neck. Not enough for an instant death blow, but if he held on long enough…
Gregor fought back, kicking and reaching around to gouge Ingo with his long, sharp nails.
“No more stakes?” I coughed at Delaney. The smoke was growing thicker, the flames higher.