She sighed dramatically. "I suppose it was too much to hope that you would."
With that, she flicked a hand, the gesture almost casual. But there was nothing casual about the result.
Because the fire came to life.
Chapter Ten
THE FLAMES ROARED SKYWARD, FORMING A thick, columnar mass more than six feet tall. Fingers of fire shot out from its center, forming trunk-like arms and legs. There was no head, just a seething mass of flame. In the center was a gaping maw, from which came a low growl that crawled ominously across the silence, stirring fear deep inside me.
It tore itself free from the main mass of the fire and stepped onto the damp ground, dripping molten globules. The ground sizzled but didn’t burn, and the wariness in the air increased, the energy of it crawling across my skin.
It was as if this place did not welcome the fire demon. And if that were the case, would it do anything to protect the woman who had raised it?
I guessed I’d have my answer soon enough. I backed away from the fire and drew the ash stake. It seemed woefully inadequate as a weapon.
"Selwin, call off your creature." But even as I spoke, it moved. Its steps were ponderous, as if its flaming trunk-like legs were a weight it could barely lift. I watched it warily and continued to back away. It might not have eyes, but it seemed to have an uncanny sense of my location, shifting direction every time I did. "It’s not too late to take the sensible course."
She snorted softly. "There is no sensible course when it comes to revenge."
"If this was just about revenge, you would not have been able to call the Maniae."
The creature raised a massive paw and swiped at me. I jumped away and the blow missed, but the heat of it rolled over me, furnace-like in its intensity. Sweat beaded across my brow and began to roll down my spine—although I couldn’t honestly say it was all due to the heat. Some of it—most of it—was fear.
"This is about justice, not revenge. Closely related, but different enough. They stole my future, so it is only fair that I steal theirs." Her gaze rested on me—a contemplative weight. "You actually sympathize with my plight, so why go through this charade? Why not save yourself?"
"Because it’s either bring you in, or die myself."
The creature swiped again. Fire sprayed across the darkness, splashing the ground around me, sizzling where it landed. I let the blow skim past my chest, the heat of it singeing my clothes and scorching the fine hairs on my arms, then raised the stake and slashed it across the creature’s body. The sharp point hit the creature’s fiery essence, slicing through it as easily as a hot knife through butter, cutting its trunk in half. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, like a great tree that had been sawed in two, it split asunder and fell, each half hissing and screaming in pain.
But instead of being extinguished, the two halves began to dance, to grow, until what stood before me was not one fiery being with limbs and no face, but two.