Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers #3)(68)

“Yes,” Bear bellowed, punching Desmond in the face and sending him into a backflip.

“Oh. Sorry.” Simone winced. From her perch on the chair, she looked around for somebody to help. They were all fighting man to man, punches landing and swords parrying.

If she threw fire, she might hit the wrong person.

A ruckus sounded from the dining room, and pounding footsteps echoed through the night.

Excellent.

Her heart thundered, and her breath burst out of her, but she set her feet against the arms of the chair for balance. Fireballs formed on her hands, and she threw them with all her might into the other room.

Yells of pain came back.

She teetered on the chair and formed more fire, quickly lobbing ball after ball through the entryway. While she couldn’t see her targets, she could sure as hell keep the doorway clear. Anybody who stepped near would be burned.

The air shimmered.

“No!” Flynn yelled, leaping across the fray and tackling Simone off the chair. He flattened her with his body. “Everybody get down,” he bellowed.

More pops filled the air.

Simone struggled against her brother, but he held her fast, tucking her under him so that not one part of her was exposed.

A flash of light exploded, and a static boom reverberated.

Even safe under Flynn, Simone winced as her brain concussed.

Flynn jumped up and brought her with him, shoving her behind his back.

She gulped in air and peered around him.

A huge brown dragon took up most of the room, its beady eyes surveying the men trying to get up off the ground, most bleeding from the ears.

She swallowed. “Shifting isn’t fair, Desmond,” she yelled.

He turned her way, opened his mouth, and blew fire.

She grabbed Flynn and yanked him down behind the chair. Flames flew over their heads to ignite the curtains.

The dragon moved his head, spreading fire toward Nick and Zane. Both men rolled out of the way as the room caught fire.

Simone stood.

Flynn leaped up and tried to push her behind him.

“Knock it off.” She shoved him in the ribs and centered herself, calling on her own fire. Taking a deep breath of the smoke-filled air, she waited until Desmond had inhaled and started blowing fire again.

Simone threw plasma balls at his face. The second her fire hit his, sparks ignited and an explosion ripped the atmosphere. He screeched.

Nick grabbed a fallen sword, rolled, and came up quickly, jabbing the blade into the dragon’s belly. He ripped up.

Desmond roared in pain.

“The neck,” Flynn yelled. “The base of the neck.”

Nick used both hands to yank the blade free and then shoved up again, this time below Desmond’s dragon chin. Then he wrenched the blade to the left and the right, cutting the tendons.

The dragon hissed and dropped to the ground.

Nick jumped onto its back with the blade and cut from the other side. Within seconds, the dragon’s head rolled away from the body right before the entire room went up in flames.





Chapter 26


Nick slid off the dead dragon and ran for Simone, lifting her up and racing toward the dining room. A quick glance showed everyone on his heels. They reached the dining room and plowed through more soldiers than he could count.

One grabbed his arm.

Flynn jumped onto the dining room table. “Cordon off this area, immediately.” He kicked a glass full of water onto a flame about to ignite the tablecloth.

“Where is Desmond?” a soldier asked.

Flynn stilled. He looked at Nick and then at Bear. Finally, he coughed out smoke. “Desmond confessed to killing Roman a hundred years ago, and he took Bear’s place in rightful death. Your leader died following our laws.”

Nick kept his gaze stoic and returned Flynn’s short nod.

“Get out of here,” Flynn ordered. “I need to shift to counter the fire with my own flames, and if I do so with you here, you’ll all be on the ground again.”

Nick nodded and ran with Simone out onto the balcony. There was a more than fair chance the soldiers wouldn’t accept Flynn’s explanation, but for the moment, he had to protect Simone. He waited for Zane. “Get her out of here.”

Bear hurried over to them and jumped over the railing and into the wild breeze.

Nick stopped breathing.

Simone started struggling. “Let me down.” When he did so, she ran over to the railing and looked down. “Bear?” she yelled.

Bear in dragon form flapped his massive wings and came into view.

“That wasn’t funny, Bear,” Nick yelled, wanting nothing more than to mind attack the damn shifter. Maybe the reason he couldn’t was because Bear didn’t have a f*cking brain.

Bear laughed, the sound raspy and full of pain. “Zane? Get Adam out of here.” Without waiting for an answer, Bear scooped up both Nick and Simone, tucked them into his belly, and flew over the railing and into the lightening sky.

Simone screamed.

Nick grabbed her hand, trying to keep his legs from dropping and causing wind resistance. His heart beat rapidly, and his lungs filled with more panic than air. “Don’t move, Simone. The less you move, the better he flies.”

She turned wide eyes on Nick.

He glanced down at the bulging arm around her midsection. “Bear? If you drop anybody, make it be me,” he bellowed.