Phoenix Contract: Part Five (Fallen Angel Watchers) by Melissa Thomas Page B

thing happening when Tristan had shot Magnus, so she altered her aim toward the henchman’s head. A small smile touched her lips as the bullets found their mark and blew out her target’s skull. His body burst into a fiery conflagration.
    Simultaneously, Magnus spun and swung Acerbitas. He sliced through the fiery halo of the henchman’s burning body, and red-hot cinders danced on the air.
    “I HAD HIM!” Aiden shouted, disgruntled with the Celt for exposing his back to the bigger threat.
    Sure enough…
    “Extermino!” Guillaume shouted and gestured emphatically, throwing his hands heavenward. A rain of fire fell from the sky and formed a solid wall that consumed everything in its path. Black smoke rose in a thick cloud as Astroturf melted and then incinerated.
    Magnus sprinted toward the circle of stones for cover, or so Aiden thought until he seized her and thrust her bodily toward the wall of fire.
    “What are you doing?” she demanded, wild with fear as the inferno blazed closer. She struggled desperately against being used as a human shield.
    “Fire is your element!” Magnus shouted. “Command it!”
    “Are you crazy? I’ve cast one spell!”
    The inferno descended, hungry flames licking at their flesh, and whatever reply Magnus might have made became lost in the roar. The blaze engulfed her, and Aiden threw out her hands, making a wild grab for control of the fire. Heat... Light... Burning...
    Shivering ecstasy seized Aiden, and she turned toward the flames with arms extended, welcoming them like a long lost lover. She and the fire shared a basic bond, and Aiden succumbed to the allure of mystical fire, basking in the rightness of her connection to the fundamental element. It was glory. It was communion. It was like being God.
    Extending her awareness, Aiden wrapped her will around the fire, taming it, commanding it, folding the flames around her. The firestorm reduced in size, and Magnus released his hold on her back.
    She briefly wondered if his hands had been incinerated, but the intoxicating rush threatened to sweep her away. The bond grew closer and tighter, and Aiden poured her own energy into the firestorm, feeding the flames. They flared higher, burned more fiercely, and threatened to consume the entire skyscraper, the entire city, maybe even the whole world. Aiden was enthralled.
    “No, focus,” Aiden whispered. She denied the fire’s spell, recalling her priorities: defeating Guillaume and claiming her inheritance. She could stand around in a BBQ pit communing with the flames anytime.
    “Back, back, obey my command,” Aiden chanted, reciting the litany that had become her own personal mantra. In response, the fire dimmed, growing lower and less fierce, slowly dying.
    The last of Guillaume’s firestorm went out, leaving Aiden standing upon a smoldering carpet of plastic lawn. Guillaume stood halfway across the building upon the line marking where charcoal ended and green began. Blue eyes glazed with shock, the blond wore an expression of pure surprise.
    “Mon dieu,” Guillaume whispered.
    “I told you that you had underestimated her,” Magnus announced, his wonderful brogue saturated with smugness. The Celt’s voice came from behind Aiden, and she nearly collapsed from the weakness of relief which was far greater than she wanted to acknowledge.
    Without warning, Magnus took advantage of the brief lull in everyone’s senses and exploded into action. Aiden caught a brief glimpse of the Celt through her peripheral vision as he charged forward, lightening swift. He held Acerbitas in a position for throwing instead of thrusting. The Celt’s hands and forearms were scorched black, red meat and white bone exposed. Aiden’s gut churned with nausea.
    Magnus lunged and threw the slender spatha straight toward Guillaume. The mystic sword rotated on its axis, creating the distinctive whir-whir of a spinning blade. Time slowed to a surreal crawl, and every rune etched upon the blade’s surface