What do you want from me? What did I ever do to you?" She smiled, revealing her teeth as yellow as her hair. "I only kill for amusement. This way, I might as well be playing a game of my own. I've never been this close to what you're after. I suppose it would make for a fine fight." He was getting better at reading expressions, but there was nothing there. She wanted to kill him, and he didn't think she was lying. "If you really want to play, then we're going to have a little dance," Dalkuur said, turning back toward the door. "And you're going to dance for me." A sound like someone ripping metal ripped through the air. In a swirl of black robes and crimson tattoos, Dalkuur burst through the doors with her blade out, a sword two feet long that glowed like liquid fire. Kandler was already diving sideways out of her path as she swept her blade in a horizontal arc, slicing through the heavy wooden door. Dahlia was at her side, but the demon wasn't after him. With a snarl of frustration, Dalkuur slammed into the doors and slammed them into Kandler's back. Wood splintered and metal bent as he rolled to one side and landed on his feet. Dahlia stepped out from behind him to get a look at the demon. She didn't see anything other than the demon's glowing blade as it swung at the door for another blow. Kandler leaped onto the table that held the candles and slammed his shoulder into it. The wood creaked under the force of the blow. "Begone, devil!" he shouted. The door exploded into a thousand pieces, and Dalkuur rolled out of it and into the hall beyond. Kandler let his shoulders relax, and he realized that the pounding had come not from Dalkuur's blows, but from the fists of a dozen thugs who had stepped out into the hall. They were all armed with clubs and swords. Kandler turned to follow Dahlia. She was still trying to look over her shoulder to get a good look at Dalkuur, which left her back open for attack. "You owe me, you old fool," Dahlia shouted. "I had to put up with this stupid place. I'm not going to let you get me killed." Kandler turned back toward the doors as they broke in half and the wood flew away. The hulking shapes of two black dragons rushed through the frame, one he recognized as the one Dahlia had come in with and the other a stranger. The two were so tightly wound around each other that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. The fire that burned between them crackled in protest and spread with a low hiss across the walls and floor. "No!" Kandler shouted, running to Dahlia's side. He was almost to her when Dalkuur emerged from the smoke and into the light. Her eyes were a red so dark it looked like blood, and the whole left side of her face was covered in dark scales. The demon turned toward them, her sword a blur of red light as she whipped it at them. Dahlia ran to meet the attack, grabbing the sword by the blade with her gauntleted hand and spinning to cut at Dalkuur's legs. The demon kicked out with a giant, clawed foot, and the strength of it sent Dahlia flying through the air. Kandler dove for her just as she crashed into a shelf of books that went up in a cloud of smoke. "Hey, girl," Kandler said as he turned and picked up the nearest heavy thing he could find, a set of iron claws that hung over a small table. "You should try to watch where you're going next time, huh?" The demon's eyes widened, and her head jerked in Dahlia's direction. She ran toward them, her arm outstretched with the sword ready to strike. Kandler whirled the iron claws over his head and slammed them down at the demon. One leg crunched deep into the demon's ankle, and the other buried itself deep in the monster's chest. She screeched in pain and anger as the claws tore her leg and arm out of her body. Dahlia got up from her pile of books. She was holding her arm and looked like she was in a great deal of pain. A bright red stain was already spreading across the sleeve of her green dress. "Dahlia!" Kandler shouted. "I've got this." He ran toward the demon as she staggered backward, clutching her bloody arm to her chest. Her legs were unsteady, and she was still moving toward Dahlia and Kandler. "Don't do it," Kandler called as he put his back to the wall so that he could get a running start. "You're a demon, girl! You shouldn't mess with a woman and her armor." He closed the distance between them in seconds. He leaped off the ground and up onto her right shoulder. His feet were aimed at her ear, so he came down on top of her with all his weight. Kandler's feet connected with his target's head, and she fell to the ground, taking him down with her. Dahlia stood over the unconscious form of the demon, still on guard, eyes darting around the room. Kandler climbed to his feet next to her. He had a splitting headache. The pounding in his skull reminded him how weak he was. He reached over to grab the heavy chainsaw that was leaning against the wall and heaved it onto his shoulder. He was going to need every advantage he could get. Kandler turned his head toward Dahlia. The little woman was pale and breathing in rapid, shallow gasps. Her eyes moved between Dalkuur, who had come to her feet, and Kandler, who stood ready with his chainsaw. "Just watch the door," she told Kandler, and moved next to the demon to keep her from getting free. Dalkuur took a deep breath and pulled at her wrist. It was working, but slowly. It was just a matter of time before she would break free. "Can you run yet, girl?" Kandler asked as he watched Dahlia. She nodded, took a deep breath, and ran at the demon. "Get back," she said, waving her hand at the demon. "Come at me." The chain saw came down on the side of Dalkuur's head, and a long curl of golden fire shot from its jaws. It dug deep into her skull, right into her brain. Dahlia stood her ground as the chainsaw screamed and the demon's flesh started to melt away. Kandler put his shoulder into the chainsaw as he forced it to spin as fast as it could go. Its teeth sliced through the black scales on Dalkuur's body and found purchase in her spine, cracking ribs and knocking them loose. The demon's wings started to crumble away, but not enough to hamper her flight. Kandler didn't need to see it to know that the chainsaw was working just as he'd intended it to. "You're strong," Kandler said. "You didn't need me to help you." The chainsaw screamed louder. Dahlia leaped away as the demon took one last scream at her, and its head fell to the ground and rolled away. Kandler walked up to the demon's head. He picked it up and held it by the cheek, its severed jaw flopping back and forth. "You don't look so bad without the chainsaw, do you?" Dahlia came back over to him. She stepped around the demon's head and put her hand on Kandler's shoulder. "Not so bad at all," she said with a wink. "We'd better get moving," Dahlia said. "The fight is done here, and Dalkuur is either dead or dying. They'll need help to get back to the others." She looked out into the corridor. The door to the laboratory where they'd been had been crushed and ripped to shreds, along with half the front wall. The dragon still tore at the other half, the two of them locked in a perpetual battle that continued to rage as far as Kandler could see. "I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "I don't think I'm fit for such long flights. I'm really tired." "Don't worry," Dahlia said. "It's the dragon who gets fatigued. It just needs to catch its breath." Kandler chuckled. "And then it can come and get me?" Dahlia nodded. "Yep, that's what I said." "Good. Let's go." ## CHAPTER FIFTEEN The dragon's breath was warm and foul. It seeped in through Kandler's armor, and his hair and his clothes turned into stiff, dark brown stalks that stuck to his body and collected the liquid in every fold of the skin