Caught dodging spells, Luc only absently noted the bright yellow out of the corner of his eye. Elspeth had drawn on her dragon.

She’d need that extra layer of toughness because the brothers were hard to kill—as he’d learned to his chagrin.

Somehow, Luc had thought that turning into his demon would solve his problem.

Especially given how much it hurt!

Having the skin flayed from your body probably felt like a tickle compared to turning into a massive beast, though. Luc might have screamed in a very unmanly fashion when his rage over Elspeth being taken finally made him snap.

His beast had popped out. Quite literally. Wings and all. The tail had especially stung.

But he couldn’t help feeling a sense of pride. He’d done it. Tapped into his demon self. He was strong. Fierce.

I’m coming to save you, Elspeth.

He went to dash out of the house, only to find himself foiled by a pair of towering appendages and a single kitchen door, the combination requiring him to detour out of the kitchen to the front.

Emerging outside, the morning sun caused him to blink, allowing Babette to catch up.

“Where are you going, dude?”

“Elspeth.” Her name emerged as a rumbly growl.

“I get you want to save her, but we don’t even know where she is.”

“I know.” His yell for Elspeth had resulted in her answering in his head, but he’d take it. At least it gave him a direction to go in. “We go this way.”

“You found her?”

“Bad place.” He found himself incapable of speaking more than simple words. The calmness in Elspeth as she accepted her fate had caused a panic in him.

He’d lost so much in his life already. I can’t lose her, too.

He jumped. And landed. Jumped harder, yet hit the ground rather than soar.

“What are you doing?”

“I am going to get her.” He forced the words out as he flapped his wings a few times. He didn’t even levitate an inch.

“Try giving it a running start,” Babette remarked.

He dashed across the ground, flapping his wide, gray wings and accomplishing nothing but annoyance. He yelled.

Babette yelled back. “That’s a boy. Scream. Because that will help Elsie.”

He whirled and glared. “I could destroy you.”

“Elsie wouldn’t like that.”

True. “Only if she finds out.”

“Listen, dude. I don’t like you, you don’t like me. That’s cool, but we both like Elsie, which means we have to work together.”

Which was how he found himself on a parapet about to jump.

Of course, Babette never let him count to three. She shoved. He fell.

Like a rock.

He used magic and managed to keep from becoming a demon pancake.

Once aloft, flying became easier, but he never let go of the magic. Babette streaked silver alongside him. Following the tug on his psyche that told him where to go, he soared through the sky to Elspeth’s rescue.

The first glimpse of her tied to a pole, her dress flaring in the wind, a bright red beacon, he lost what control he had left.

He roared.

The perpetrators, those who’d had a hand in taking Elsie, killing his family, and torturing him were both present.

Maedoc and Eogan. The last of the dragon mages.

Kill them, said the spirit of his mother.

Mercy, said his father.

Luc always was his mother’s son.

He went after Eogan first since the silly man had chosen to keep his tiny, fleshy body.

“I will rip out your heart,” Luc said, alighting on the ground, his hoofs gripping the earth.

Eyes a bright red, a sign he held magic, Eogan raised his head and cackled. “Little demon boy. You should have stayed in the castle. Now, you’ll get to watch me eat your girlfriend.”

Luc roared as he charged Eogan, who danced out of his way. Luc rushed past and stumbled, completely missing.

“Clumsy demon. I’ve lived forever compared to you. Do you really think you have the strength and skill to beat me?”

The thread of doubt sought to weave around Luc. He batted it down and stood to face his enemy, chest heaving. “Evil.” The only word he could mutter.

“Evil is in the eye of the victim. I see myself more as a conquering hero. I survived. And I will continue to survive because I am not afraid to fight.”

“Then fight,” Luc growled. He moved in, closed fists swinging.

Eogan evaded, moving with a sinuous grace Luc envied. Then, the dragon mage attacked.

Eogan lashed out at Luc, yet it wasn’t a fist that hit him but a punch of air. It flung him back to hit the ground close to the burning pyre.

He rose to his feet and faced Eogan. He studied his opponent. Fit. Human. Overly confident. Probably because he had a sleeve full of spells to lob at Luc.

However, Luc also had magic. Pure demon magic. Whose was stronger?

He began to huff out through his nose, an old technique his mother had taught him for focus. Others stamped their foot. Or snapped fingers. As he huffed, he tugged at the river of magic coursing through this place. This world was so plentiful.

Eogan laughed. “I see what you’re doing. Do you really think you can outmatch me?”

“No.” But Luc hoped to outsmart him. He didn’t attack Eogan. He did nothing overt with his magic. Rather, he sent it down into the ground, sent it deep and imagined, more than felt, the tremor.

Eogan lobbed electrical blue balls at him. “You really should have stayed behind or at least not gotten involved.”

“You took Elspeth.”

“Which was an error. Our plan called for her to be taken after your arrest by the dragons.”

“For crimes you committed.”

“And framed you for. Damn demons and their murdering ways.” Eogan’s lips curled. “Once they find her body and your scent all over her, they’ll make the only assumption.”

“That you’d look better without your head.” Luc flicked his hand and sent several missiles of pure energy, crackling balls that snapped and sizzled, at Eogan, who ducked them and laughed.

“Is that your best?”

Luc flung a large rock, and as Eogan ducked, Luc said, “No, that was a ploy.” The ground underfoot rumbled and then cracked right under Eogan’s feet.

His features took on a startled appearance then shock as the ground continued to crumble, forming a large hole. Eogan didn’t have a chance to escape.

Throwing himself aloft, Luc hovered over the hole in time to see Eogan bounce off the sides of the chasm, long hidden under the ground, an old volcano mouth grown over, the lava tunnels raging with water. Eogan’s limp body hit the torrent rushing through, and Luc saw the bobbing body bang the wall a few times before getting sucked into a tube.

Which left just one more threat.

Hovering mid-air, Luc pivoted to see Maedoc firing bolts of light at the dragonesses. Babette bore several burned streaks while Elspeth dodged each one as if she knew where to expect them.

Did her visions help her? A handy trick if they did.

But she should not have to dodge at all. He drew more magic to him and gathered it until he was full.

He pulled enough that even Maedoc noticed. He turned with wide eyes to exclaim, “What are you doing, you dumb demon?”

Skin sizzling with power, his veins coursing with energy, he smiled. “This is for my mother, asshole.”

Then, Luc clapped his hands, sending out a wave of pure, menacing magic and obliterated the dragon mage.