"Damn it, I haven't asked that much of you. I'm asking this. Please, for me, stand back and let me deal with Tao."
He eyed me for a moment, then made a short, chopping motion with his hand. "Fine. I will not interfere unless I sense death is inevitable. I will not let you die. Anything more, I will not promise."
"Thank you."
I turned and walked toward the fiery form. Its steps were ponderous, as if its flaming trunklike legs were a weight it could barely lift. And yet, for all the appearance of slowness, it was covering a lot of distance fairly quickly.
The closer I got, the hotter it got. Heat rolled over me, furnacelike in its intensity. Sweat beaded across my brow and began to roll down my spine. But it wasn't all caused by heat. Some of it was definitely fear. No matter what I'd said to Azriel, no matter what I believed, I knew deep down that there was a very real possibility that this encounter would not end well for one of us.
Amaya's hissing began to fill the back of my thoughts. She wanted to kill, wanted to draw the life of the elemental into her steel and feed on its flesh.
I shuddered. No way in hell, Amaya. This is a friend, not an enemy.
Not, she replied. Only way.
I ignored her. I flexed my fingers, took a deep breath, and said, "Tao."
There was no response. The creature kept moving forward, its heavy steps making the ground quiver.
"Tao," I said, louder this time.
The creature paused, then slowly turned around. It didn't have a mouth or even a face, so, basically, it just stood there, dripping fire. I wondered what was going on within the creature, wondered if Tao had any awareness of what the elemental was doing and whether somewhere deep within the flames he still fought to regain control.
"You have to retake control, Tao. It's trying to return to the fire that created it. You can't let it." Because if it did, I'd never see my friend again. I was sure of that, if nothing else.
The creature twitched. Whether it was a response to my plea, I couldn't say. "Tao—"
The rest of the sentence was cut off as the creature raised a fist and punched. I swore and ducked, but not fast enough. The blow hit my shoulder rather than my face, melting my sweater and sending me sprawling backward.