This drew the attention of three guards who were near the gates. Before they could react, Emily had picked up enough speed to leap into the air, shifting flawlessly within seconds. Five yards off the ground, and the fire demon came to the fore with a blast of blinding orange light.
With Zee at the helm, The Owl climbed to about ten feet and then unleashed a terrible flow of lava. The three guards in the line of fire were destroyed instantly. The fire splashed to the ground and spread like—well—wildfire.
Darts flew past The Owl—from where, Emily wasn’t sure—but, luckily, none made contact. Zee belched another flood of fire. This time it was directed to the knot of guards on the front porch pointing tranquilizer guns at them.
The fire roasted them alive and set the front porch ablaze.
Apparently, the flames of a fire demon were not just any kind of fire. This kind of fire burned until there was nothing left to burn. As the porch had caught on fire, the fire would spread until the whole building—even the stone walls—was a burning ash pile on the earth unless magic was used to stop it.
Zee obviously knew this, but he didn’t stop there. The Owl twisted and climbed until it approached the apex of the castle, and then it unleashed its largest spew of fire yet.
The top of the structure was drenched in a flood of lava, and before long, that part of the building was engulfed with raging flames.
Next, The Owl heard the shrill scream of a girl. A voice that Emily knew too well.
Alice was pissed.
33
The fire demon’s natural instinct was to do a twist in midair and fly down toward the voice. It wouldn’t have been Emily’s play, especially after what Alice had promised to do to her. But Zee loved challenges. Mortal challenges. And so the first thing he did when he heard the scream was to do a dive back toward the ground.
However, he did not complete the dive, because a terrible explosion took hold of the castle and shook it to its very foundation . . .
. . . Aunt Anastacia had unleashed the elementals.
The fire demon became aware of this and banked. They were currently coasting at less than a hundred yards above the castle. This was not enough height to escape the influence of the elementals, so the The Owl had to climb fast.
Hey, Boss, you mind taking the wheel for a bit? The fear in the Zee’s voice was so palpable that Emily was shocked to her bones. Zee didn’t waste time, nor did he debate. He slipped out of the pilot’s seat, and Emily was sucked right into the helm of affairs.
Emily did what she knew how to do best—drew on her inner magic and commanded the wind against her wings. Before long, a blast of wind smashed into her underside, sending her higher and higher into the air.
Soon, she was soaring at about ten thousand feet, a solid barrier of clouds blocking her view of the castle.
We have to get back there! Emily cried out in her mind. She dived immediately. She didn’t want to leave the fight for the elementals and Aunt Anastacia for too long. She needed to be there, setting fire to the castle.
You don’t want to take on the elementals, believe me, Zee insisted.
Yeah, yeah, I know, Emily could understand why Zee was terrified of the elementals. They were creatures of pure magic, and when the fire demon was in charge, he was susceptible to magical influences. So Emily had to take the reins.
No! That’s not it! Zee argued.
It isn’t? Emily passed through the thick clouds. At her height, she could see the entire boundary of New Haven. She could also see as far as the outskirts of Dallas, which were etched against the background of the clouds on the horizon.
She headed in the direction of the great column of smoke billowing into the skies. From her height, she could see the elementals—wisps of light with almost no form to them—doing battle with the Alfred kids. She saw Aunt Anastacia egging the elementals on, and counteracting some of the magic the Alfred kids shot her way.
Emily drew on her magic and propelled herself faster. She whistled so loud that her pitch rang true throughout the entire area. Heads turned up to look at her as she descended. The distraction was enough time for the elementals to press their advantage.
Alice was hit in the face by a storm of rocks, Chandler was swept off the ground by a lash of wind. Marion, however, dodged the blast of fire from Aunt Anastacia, but he didn’t know where it had come from.
In seconds, Emily was coming within range of the mansion. She needed the fire demon’s rage now. Everything had to burn!
They fight for us, Emily said to the fire demon. The elementals. They fight for us. They have strict orders to fight the Alfreds. As long as you stay out of their hair, they won’t attack you.
Are you sure? Zee’s voice gave the impression of a three-year-old peeking his head out of a box to see if his arch enemy is still in view.
Yes! Emily screamed. Now burn that building to the ground!
The fire demon did not disappoint. He came bursting through, unleashing a tidal wave of fire that banked at the northwest corridor of the building. The Owl swooped in on the three Alfred kids, sending flood after flood of fire.
They dived out of the way as the fire took hold of whatever it could and started to destroy. As The Owl weaved about the two elementals wreaking havoc, Emily could hear Alice screaming. Something along the lines of “abandon the house.”
Emily felt her heart jump. See those mercenaries? Emily brought The Owl’s attention to the side of the house where a few mercs were regrouping. It was obvious they were trying to stay clear of the burning house.
Burn them all? Zee
