In response to Mira’s obvious threat, three naturi also reached out their hands only to have them instantly engulfed in flames, matching Mira’s stance. A ripple of laughter spread among the naturi. Not only did they outnumber us, but there were also light clan naturi among their numbers. That took away Mira’s edge since they could counter any fire attacks that she could possibly summon.

“You’re the one that started this fight,” called one of the light clan naturi. “Those in the conservatory were no threat to you.”

“Any naturi within my domain are a threat to my people,” Mira shouted back.

The naturi gave a soft sniff, lifting her chin. “She warned us you may be unwilling to share.” For a moment, I wondered whether she was referring to Cynnia or Aurora, but such thoughts were quickly shoved aside.

Danaus, shoot them now! Mira cried in my head.

In a single, smooth motion, I raised the gun with both hands and fired off three quick shots, landing two in the heads of the light clan naturi. Unfortunately, the third light clan member was already moving by the time and the bullet went slightly wide of its target, hitting her in the shoulder. Two naturi hit the ground with a hard thud.

A roll of thunder rumbled through the silence and the naturi charged. I squeezed off a couple rounds at the three that were headed toward me, but all the shots missed their marks as I was forced to dive for cover. Fireballs were flung at me in quick succession, backing me toward the house and away from Mira.

Instincts rose up to take control of my brain and I found myself reaching for my powers to boil their blood in their lithe bodies, but I fought the urge. I knew if Mira and I combined our powers, the souls of the dead would go directly to Gaizka, but I wasn’t sure if the bori would benefit if I killed the naturi using my own powers alone. The bori had been the one to give me this ability, why should it not benefit?

With a growl, I rolled back to my feet, gun trained on the naturi as they closed in on me. Above, thunder exploded in the sky as the storm steadily grew in intensity. I turned my sights on the one naturi who was hanging back, controlling the growing storm. I tried to fire off a round of shots, but at that moment, he threw out a pair of white wings, catching the wind so that it carried him into the sky. I fired off two rounds, but only managed to clip some feathers before more fireballs came speeding at me.

I wasn’t quick enough this time. One knot of flames slammed into my right hand, burning flesh and causing me to drop the gun in the grass. Tucking my right hand against my stomach as I tried to ignore the pain that beat at me, I picked up the gun with my left hand only to immediately drop it again. The metal burned my hand from when it had been heated by the fireball.

Running a few feet away from my predators, I grabbed the knife I had attached to my belt. I turned, ready to take on my opponents. My heart pounded in my chest and a cold sweat was trickling down the back of my neck. For the first time in a very long time, I had begun to doubt my ability to get out of this fight alive. For too long I had relied on my powers to escape any situation against a dark creature without contemplating the potential consequences. Now that my powers had been removed from me by the threat of something darker, I was simply a human against creatures far more powerful than me.

“Boil them, Danaus!” Mira screamed. I caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye, trapped in a firefight with three naturi encircling her. Soon, they would succeed in wearing her down.

“I can’t! Gaizka!” I shouted back. “It’ll gain strength!”

“Shit,” Mira swore softly, following this with a grunt as she threw another fireball at a waiting naturi.

We were trapped. And then the lightning came. The naturi facing me backed off a couple steps just before a bolt of lightning slammed the ground a few feet away from where I had been standing. I jumped farther away from the spot. A cry of pain escaped me as I landed on my burned right hand, which was healing far too slowly for my liking. I rolled and quickly regained my feet. Another bolt of lightning smashed into a large oak tree, splitting it down the center. I threw my shoulder into the back of one naturi, knocking him to the ground. Wincing in excruciating pain, I wrapped my right arm around Mira’s waist and carried her several feet before we both crashed to the ground. Behind us, the tree she had been standing under splintered and collapsed to the ground in a loud bang. Thin branches blanketed us as we failed to move out of the reach of the massive tree.

I groaned as I rolled onto my back, my body protesting every movement. “We need to get out of here,” I said in a low voice, praying the naturi couldn’t hear me utter the horrible words over the pounding rain that had begun to fall.

“Use your powers!” Mira snapped, sliding out from under my arm as she sat up. Her eyes glowed a vibrant lavender as energy pulsed around her in chilling waves like a cold arctic wind. “They are matching me fire for fire. I can’t even get close enough to use my blade.”

“Gaizka will get stronger,” I said, sitting up as well while I kept my hand tucked against my stomach.

“You’re hurt.”

“It’ll heal,” I muttered, struggling to get back to my feet. The naturi were coming and it would be only a matter of seconds before the next bolt of lightning slammed into the exact spot where we were sitting.

“I’ve had enough of this,” Mira snarled. Shoving herself to her feet, the nightwalker grabbed the knife from my left hand so that she now held a blade in each hand. Her shoulders were painfully rigid as she stalked the five naturi that remained on the ground. “Stay behind me,” she called. The Fire Starter briefly glanced over her shoulder at me and I noted that her eyes now glowed an ominous red, something I had never seen her do before. Not even when she was lost in the heat of battle or wracked with pain from my pushing my powers through her body.

The naturi pummeled Mira with fireballs, but the flames seemed to wash harmlessly down her body. Her movements were a blur, yet each slice of the blade was precise in its execution. The naturi couldn’t move fast enough to defend themselves. Within a couple seconds, the female naturi collapsed to the ground, her head rolling across the lawn while her insides spilled out of her body. Two rushed Mira, but just as quickly ended up in the same condition. A second later, she jerked to her left, dodging a lightning bolt that struck the spot she had been standing in. She hadn’t even glanced up at the sky.

Something twisted in my gut as I watched her. I knew Mira’s fighting style. I had fought her and spent nights watching her fight nightwalkers, lycanthropes, and naturi. I had never seen her move like this. She was faster, more precise, more ruthless in her motions.

The nightwalker twisted around as she blocked one slash aimed at her heart, and threw out her left arm toward me. At the same time, a massive force slammed into my chest. It threw me backward several feet, sending me crashing back into the ground. Yet, before I hit the soggy earth, I saw a bolt of lightning slam into the spot I had been standing in.

The pounding of my heart returned and a knot grew in my throat. Mira couldn’t move things with her mind. Between the red glow of her eyes and the increase speed and dexterity, something was controlling the nightwalker.

“Gaizka!” I shouted in the air, but received no answer. I could feel it now that I knew what I was looking for. There was a new power circling around us, filling the darkness that flickered and danced in the firelight. The bori had taken control of Mira.

As I regained my feet, the wind naturi who’d sprouted wings earlier lightly touched back down to the ground behind Mira as she battled the last two light clan naturi.