Overhead, the sky churned with black clouds and the wind poured around the tiny island in a torrent as if it were a raging river running through a narrow canyon. The flames danced and thinned in some parts, allowing the naturi to sneak through. It didn’t matter. I waved my hand and my approaching attackers went up in flames.

In a matter of only minutes five naturi had been dispatched, but there was a price. Surrounded by the smoking dead bodies of the naturi, I knelt down on one knee and stared at my trembling hand. I was exhausted and half frozen from the use of so much of my energy. The manipulation of fire came naturally to me, but there was a cost every time I used it. Energy was drained from my body, leaving me starving for blood and rest. Unfortunately, neither could be found here on this horrible strip of land. There were only empty trees and the naturi waiting to remove my head.

With a tired grunt I pushed off the ground and continued my trek into the island. The storm that was brewing gained strength with each passing second, until lightning streaked across the sky, arcing from one massive cloud to the next. A knot tightened in my stomach and I fought to keep my eyes on the path before me. Rowe and his fellow wind clan members were stirring up a storm that would either fry us with lightning or drown the island in the waves now crawling up the sides. In a small break in the trees, I could see the waves closing on the far sidewalk, casting sprays of icy water into the air. The hunter would soon have to move inland if he didn’t want to get washed into the Danube. That was fine with me. By the little I could sense of Valerio, he seemed to be in the center of the island near what appeared to be a giant ornate water tower. It was a strikingly odd construction in the middle of what appeared to be a giant garden, but I didn’t question it. I needed to get to him.

Picking up a short sword dropped by one of the dead naturi, I started a slow jog toward the center of the island. I was tempted to contact Danaus and see if he could give me an estimate of how many naturi remained and a location of where they were clustered. However, I kept my powers to myself and continued blind. I didn’t want to take a chance that Danaus was in the middle of a fight and my distraction could potentially result in an injury. The hunter would have my heart in his hand.

They’re at the tower, Stefan announced, obviously not caring whether I was in the middle of a fight.

Do you see Valerio? I picked up my pace to a run, reluctant to go too fast out of fear that I might succeed in stepping directly into a trap. The water tower was close now and I began to see the outline of a low building through the empty branches.

Valerio is there. Tied up on the stage.

Stage?

I’m going to fall back until you arrive. I will attack from the east. Don’t singe me.

A weak smile crossed my lips as I softened my footfalls so they couldn’t be heard over the wind. Reluctantly, I reached out to Danaus and briefly relayed the information that Stefan had supplied me. Danaus didn’t reply, but I could still sense him. He was preoccupied, but it seemed that he remained uninjured for the time being.

My footsteps faltered when I found the enormous water tower, directly next to an open air theater with the name “Szabadteri Szinpad” written across the top. Six more armed naturi waited for me. I raised my hand to conjure up a fresh wave of flames to burn through my opponents when a naturi created a wall of fire before I could. A string of low curses escaped me as I tightened my grip on my blade and took a step forward. No easy way out this time. The light clan naturi was going to keep me from burning any of the other naturi. I would have to fight each one of them.

“Kill the light clan while I handle the others,” Stefan said as he walked past me and engaged the first two naturi. I nodded and rushed forward. Stefan was strong and skilled enough to handle anything the wind or animal clan naturi threw at him for the time being. He had no defense against a light clan naturi throwing fireballs.

In a couple quick slashes and lunges I dispatched the two naturi guarding the light clan member. I was surprised to find her siding with Rowe, considering that Aurora was light clan as well. I guess there was no such thing as loyalty between the various clans. The light clan naturi backpedaled a couple of steps until her back was pressed against the stone wall. With a broad wave of her hand, brilliant orange and yellow flames sprung up between us.

A wolfish grin spread across my face as I stepped through the flames, turning them from orange to a silent and steady blue. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

“Done,” she sneered, lifting her chin to me.

My only warning was the hair on my arms standing on edge. I dove forward, plunging my sword into the stomach of the naturi until the tip was buried into the wall. She grunted in surprise, but I barely heard it over the slam of lighting into the ground where I had been standing only a second earlier. Either Rowe or another wind clan naturi was close by, ready to make my night a nightmarish hell.

Pushing off the wall, I slowly pulled the sword from the naturi, but thrust a second smaller knife through her heart, making sure she was dead before I turned my back on her. The naturi were resilient and extremely fast healers. However, they couldn’t recover from a missing heart.

“Rowe!” I screamed, staring up at the sky for a glimpse of the naturi that seemed to haunt my every waking moment.

“Inside, my friend! Inside!”

“Bastard!” I growled, turning to look for Stefan. He was detaching himself from his final opponent. He walked close enough to a shaft of lamplight to reveal that he was completely covered in blood. The jeans and sweater he had worn into the woods earlier in the evening were soaked in the blood of both naturi and lycanthropes. It dripped from his chin, where it had splattered across his face and poured in thin streams from his bare hands. A part of me longed to run my tongue along his chin, lapping up such waste, but I knew better. I didn’t think Stefan would be opposed to it, but the temptation was tainted by the fact that naturi blood was poisonous to nightwalkers. Otherwise I would have been happy to bury my fangs into the devious monsters.

The echo of footsteps stopped my first comment to Stefan. I jerked around with sword drawn, but instantly relaxed when I saw Danaus pop through the trees. He slowed down to look over the bodies scattered around the area. With a wave of my hand, they all exploded into flames, burning away the remains so there would be nothing left behind for the humans to find. I could only hope that my companions were taking the time to dispose of their prey in the Danube. Otherwise we would have an annoying mess to clean up before we could finally leave this island tonight.

“How many are left?” I asked when Danaus finally reached my side. I didn’t even bother to scan the region. Now was not the time to hone that skill. We needed to get to Valerio.

“Only five more,” he said after a brief pause to catch his breath.

I glanced one last time at the sky, inwardly cringing as I waited for the heavens to strike at me once again. “And one of them is Rowe.”

“Is he truly such a problem to kill?” Stefan asked, leaving me wishing I could bury my blade in his stomach. He had no idea what kind of a problem the one-eyed naturi was.

“You take to the sky. Danaus and I will go in through the front on the ground. We’ll take care of the naturi. You get Valerio out of there. I don’t know how they’re holding him, but he might be too weak to disappear and reappear in Vienna. Get him somewhere safe,” I directed.

“As you wish, Coven Mistress,” he said snidely with an elaborate bow before taking to the air like Superman.