Flames raced up the walls, licking at the ceiling. Paint bubbled and blackened as the fire spread across the horizontal surface in great lapping tongues of red-orange heat.
Mr. Maplethorpe staggered backwards, panic on his face. He gestured at Marvin with his gun. “Do something,” he demanded. “Use the Dragonsblood – control her.”
“I…I can’t,” Marvin stammered, and he shook the gem like it was a Magic 8 Ball. “It isn’t working.”
“Of course it isn’t working,” Kelly shouted over the roaring of the flames. It was getting hard to breathe. “The Dragonsblood wants chaos, and you’re not strong enough to rein it in. You’reweak, Marvin. You always were.”
Marvin turned on her, his face made ugly by a combination of anger and fear. “You self-satisfied bitch—” he began.
Then he crumpled to the ground and the Dragonsblood rolled from his limp fingers.
Winthrop stood behind him, the remains of a vase in one upraised hand. “I must apologize once again,” he said, wheezing through the smoke. “I would have intervened sooner, but I was inconvenienced by the gentleman with the gun.”
Mr. Maplethorpe made a horrible gurgling sound. His face was purple and beads of sweat rolled down his temples. Standing behind him, face a mask of tightly controlled anger, was Calder. The centurion had his arm locked around Mr. Maplethorpe’s throat. In his free hand, he held the gun trained on Pandora, who’d been trying to slip out in the confusion.
How had he gotten there? How did he know they needed help?Never mind, Kelly would ask him later – if they all survived.
Gabriel was back in control of his body and looking around frantically. His gaze landed on his twin and the anger that was usually in his eyes let up for a moment as he gave him a nod of acknowledgement. But the fire was raging out of control. They all flinched as a window exploded outwards. Part of the ceiling collapsed at the far end of the room, charred debris crashing down and sending plumes of dust and smoke rolling towards them.
Kelly grabbed Teresa’s hand and they fought their way blindly out of the house, staggering away from the blaze, eyes streaming, choking on the smoke they’d breathed in. As they turned back to look at the house, Winthrop emerged, and behind him Calder, who carried Evangeline in his arms. Almost as soon as they were out of the house she wriggled out of his grasp and ran over to Kelly and Teresa.
They all huddled together, listening to the agonized screams from inside the house as one side of it collapsed into the flames, turning the neat little residence into a bonfire.
Moments later, two dragons emerged from the flames, rising on the thermals from the blaze and circling high above, their wings slicing through the billows of black smoke.
Gabriel landed on the neatly clipped lawn in front of them. He transformed back into his human shape, wings furling and folding back into his body, and carved-ruby scales giving way to smooth skin smeared with soot.
“It’s over,” he told Kelly. “I burned them all. I’m so sorry for doubting you, Kelly. I know I don’t have the right to ask, but please…forgive me?”
