Fire Dancer (Spellbound in Sedona #2)

Chapter Twenty-Five

PIPPA

I nearly screamed when Ingo threw himself into another lethal round with the vampires, but I couldn’t. Not because Jananovich had me enthralled, though I was happy to let the bastard believe that. I had better things to do, like focus, and focus hard.

Not the easiest thing for me to do on a good day, and not at all with a pitched battle raring a few steps away. But I had no choice.

Delaney and I had already succeeded in killing several vampires. I’d harbored some moral reservations about staking the John Lennon look-alike, but Delaney had not. And she was right. He was a vampire and no relation to the Beatle.

But this was different from the two-versus-one odds we’d enjoyed so far. It was time to dig deep and end this for good. And my greatest weapon was fire.

My greatest weakness, however, was…me.

I let out a slow breath, trying to pull myself together.

A whirl of horrifying action unfolded before me, but I forced myself to shut my eyes and call to the fire. Any fire, dammit.

What seemed like an eternity later, my senses located two fires. One was the fireplace in the huge entertainment room, and another was a candle burning in a room several doors down. The room I’d seen a vampire lead Saanvi to. Delaney and I had planned to head there next, but we’d been stopped by Jananovich on the way.

I raised my hands and called to the fire.

It took a while, but I felt the candle, then the hearth sway in response.

Okay. Step one accomplished, just like my dad had explained way back before we’d both given up on me ever controlling fire.

Step two was convincing the fire to listen, and that was the hard part. Fire was a little like a stray dog in a public park. You could whistle to get its attention, but good luck convincing it to heed your beck and call.

Over here. I moved my fingers gently. Over here…

I sensed the candle lean my way, and the fire in the living room followed suit.

So, whew. But fire couldn’t jump time and space any more than I could. I had to steer it over like a guide for the blind.

The open window created a weak draft, and my mind tapped around the intervening space, identifying different airstreams.

Over here …

Inch by inch, I coaxed the fire closer. Closer…

Ingo yelped, and my eyes flew open, severing my connection to the fire. My heart wept at the blood matted in his dark, thick fur and the fury in his midnight eyes.

I’d seen him in wolf form countless times, but never in such a rage. And never, ever in such danger.

Don’t worry about me , he panted into my mind. Focus! You can do it. I know you can.

I closed my eyes and reached for the fires again.

“Get him!” one vampire grunted to the other.

“That’s right. Just stay there,” Jananovich cooed — at Delaney? At me?

I doubled my efforts. Vaguely, I sensed minds growing alarmed. The fire in the living room had to be blazing high by then, and if someone grabbed an extinguisher…

I cursed the inspector who’d ensured every building in La Puebla was up to code.

I strained, caught in an invisible tug-of-war. My weak powers struggled at one end of the line, while natural forces that kept fires stationary resisted on the other.

No matter how hard I tried, the fire wouldn’t budge, and I was losing hope.

Help, I wanted to scream. Dad. Erin. Abby. Anyone…

Worse, Ingo was running out of steam in his mismatched fight, and Jananovich’s voice was starting to wheedle its way into my mind. Just stay there…

No, no, no! I screamed inside. I couldn’t fail. Not this time.

But, hell. It sure seemed like I would.

Finally, the fire budged. I could sense it creeping down the hallway, one tiny ember at a time. I strained to maintain the connection and coax it this way.

Shouts broke out, and Jananovich muttered something, though I barely heard over the sickening sounds of Ingo’s struggle against the vampires. I hung on to the thread in my mind, slowly reeling in the fire.

More shouts. Footsteps pounded down the hallway.

“Fire! Fire!” someone yelled.

An acrid smell reached my nose, and smoke filtered in under the office door.

Keep going! You can do it!

I must have really been pushing my limits, because now I was imagining my sisters cheering me on.

“Dammit…” Jananovich growled at the encroaching fire.

I cracked an eye open, though my mind was still with the fire. Ingo roared, leaping at the smaller vampire’s throat. A sickening squelch followed.

Jananovich cursed, then yelled at the second vampire — the bigger, swarthier one.

“Get him, Gregor!”

I strained harder, pulling the fire closer. Thick smoke poured in from under the door.

Yes! I cheered. Yes! Over here…

Smoke billowed, and the temperature rose. Crackling sounded just outside the door.

Yes, yes, yes! I cheered feverishly.

It was a heady experience, controlling fire. I could do anything, beat anyone. I could burn this place to ash and dust. I could smite any foe and make my enemies tremble in fear.

Then I caught myself, remembering what my father had always said. To control fire, you have to control yourself, because its power has a way of corrupting.

I blinked hard, renewing my focus.

Jananovich was standing just outside the radius of the fight raging between us, staring at me. His eyes were dark and menacing, not at all like the charmer I’d met earlier.

He raised one arm, holding it toward me in a silent command.

A wave of pressure closed in around my mind, like the mother of all migraines creeping in after a bad day. The bastard was trying to enthrall me.

I focused on my powers instead of his. Or better put, our powers, because I realized I wasn’t alone in my struggle. It was just like that night on the ranch when my sisters and I had tapped into a vortex and directed its power.

But I wasn’t on the ranch now, and there was no vortex.

On the other hand, my sisters were on the ranch. And if they’d sensed my emergency…

They had, I realized. And they were helping — somehow.

You can do it, I sensed Abby telling me.

I pictured her leaning against one of the secret vortexes back on the ranch, straining to funnel its power toward me.

I didn’t have the brain space to work out how that was possible. I just kept on fighting, because even with that boost, Jananovich was a hell of an opponent. His powers worked on my mind, casting a fog over everything.

I wiggled my fingers, coaxing the smoke toward his feet. It wound around his shoes, then climbed around his ankles.

Yes, I murmured. More…

The smoke wound around his legs like a vine. Or even better, twin pythons.

The smoke thickened, and Jananovich looked down, alarmed.

“Hey!” he protested, like I’d broken the rules or something.

Ha. If he didn’t play nice, neither would I.

Still, that was just smoke. I needed fire.

The scary thing was I really needed it. Fire was my drug, and I craved it.

Wow. Dad hadn’t been kidding about the power complex.

Meanwhile, Ingo was fighting hard but flagging. His opponent seemed just as strong as ever. So strong, I feared he was toying with Ingo. But my faithful wolf refused to back down, and that only made me angrier.

I raised my arms, redoubling my efforts.

In the distance, sirens wailed. People shouted. Smoke poured into the room from every edge of the door. Ingo and Gregor whirled, kick, and bit. And somewhere in the increasingly dim chaos of the room, something else moved.

It was Delaney, creeping along the wall. Trying to escape? I sure hoped so.

Then I spotted the stake in her hand and the fury in her eyes.

She wasn’t trying to escape. She was seeing this through, as I should.

And just like that, I released my inner brakes and unleashed my full fury.

Jananovich was a manipulator and a killer. He was worse than a bloodthirsty vampire — he was a bloodthirsty businessman with no boundaries or morals. Whatever suited him, he did. Whatever — or whoever — didn’t, he cast brutally aside.

Like Stacy. Like Janet. Like so many others.

A loud crack sounded, and fire joined the smoke pouring in around the edges of the door. The smoke around Jananovich’s legs thickened, miring him in his own movements.

“Stop that!” Jananovich batted at it.

No. No, I wouldn’t.

I shaped the smoke with my hands, building a ghostly figure as tall as the vampire. Vague at first, then more and more lifelike.

“Stacy?” His eyes went wide.

It was just smoke, not a ghost, but hey. Let him tremble. I shaped the air, making Stacy bigger, meaner, and angrier than she’d been in real life. More vengeful. I let her stare at Jananovich long and hard while I plucked fire from the edge of the door and added that to the smoky image. It flickered around the edges of her body, illuminating her like an angel.

“Leave me alone!” Jananovich shouted.

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 a Yikes, I’d better not mess with you kind of slowly. More like a Yum, I can’t wait to taste your blood kind 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.

She shook her head, then ran to the office fireplace and started rooting through the woodpile with her collar pulled up over her nose and mouth.

Amid the din of the fire and the fight, a sickening crack sounded. Ingo had just snapped a bone in the vampire’s neck. Even then, Gregor fought on.

“Here!” Delaney made a tossing motion, then threw me a thick piece of kindling.

I stared at it, feeling sick. It was more stick than stake . Was it up to the job? Was I?

“Do it!” Delaney yelled.

I raised the stake high and thrust down with both hands. Gregor jolted, and his nails scraped my side. But the worst part was the soft give of his body, the gush of blood.

Still, the vampire fought back.

Using my body weight, I drilled deeper. My hands went cold as frigid vampire blood flowed over them. Then another crack sounded, and his eyes bulged. A moment later, he went limp.

I scuttled away as the body collapsed, then turned to ash. I stared, then hurried to Ingo.

He backed away from the vampire, spitting blood and ash.

I kneeled and threw an arm over his furry, bloodstained back. “Are you all right?”

He snarled and spat in disgust. Could be worse, he said, speaking into my mind.

I sagged in relief, then glanced around, because it was one of those Out of the frying pan, into the fire moments. Literally.

“Can you stop it?” Delaney motioned to the flames consuming the door.

Coughing, I shook my head, terrified of what I’d unleashed.

But no wasn’t good enough. A peek out the window earlier showed me we were high above a stone ledge. Too high. It was the door or nothing.

I pulled my shirt over my nose and mouth, then faced the door with my hands in prayer position. Tilting them forward, I shouted at the fire.

Move! I commanded, sweeping my hands apart.

The fire barely crackled.

“Pippa…” Delaney urged.

I tried again.

I said, move! Now! Even in my mind, my voice was hoarse.

Still nothing. I gulped, then closed my eyes, reaching out for the power I’d sensed before. Reaching…reaching…

Ingo pressed gently into the backs of my legs. You’ve got this, Pippa. I know you do.

My skin pinched, and sweat dripped down my brow. The heat was that intense.

You’ve got this, Pippa, I sensed Abby echo.

Move! Now! I ordered the fire.

The heat wavered, and the flames intensified at the edges of the door.

“Do it again!” Delaney cried.

I repeated the chopping motion. Flames flared out the sides of the door, while the middle dimmed.

I did it again and again, shoving the flames away from the center of the door. Then I stepped aside as Delaney ran at the door with Jananovich’s rolling chair. It battered through in a cascade of sparks, and Delaney stumbled forward. I leaped through next, and Ingo followed.

The hallway was ablaze, but successive sweeps of my hands cleared a narrow escape path. Standard procedure in a fire was to drop and crawl, but wielding magic was a little like wielding a bat, so I stayed on my feet and plowed forward, barely able to see through the smoke. Every time we advanced one step, fire and smoke flooded in behind us, pushing us ever forward. Our first few steps were tentative, then faster as the fire thinned, until we burst through a door at a run. All three of us crashed to the ground, coughing and sputtering.

“Wow,” Delaney managed between hacking coughs.

Sputtering, I pulled her and Ingo away, then turned to stare at the inferno. An inferno I’d kindled.

Considering the circumstances, Dad would be proud.

Ingo flashed a weak canine grin and licked the side of my face. He was proud too.

Me three, I decided a moment later. Me three.