Darkfire Kiss Read Online Free PDF Page B

the old Slayer had focus. He never broke that stream of dragonsmoke; ultimately, Rafferty had to retreat to escape its touch.
    He backed down the hallway, the silvery dragonsmoke still targeting him. It wound through the air toward him, relentless in its quest. Rafferty backed away as quickly as he could, but the dragonsmoke kept pace.
    He saw that Magnus had straightened and that he was holding his injured gut with one claw while bracing himself against the wall. He continued to breathe slowly and deeply. He was grinning, well aware of Rafferty’s predicament, but his pleasure in his deed didn’t interfere with his performance.
    The tendril was impressive in its length. It was thick and robust, too.
    “ Why don’t you come closer? ” Magnus taunted in old-speak. “Why don’t we just end it now?” His smile broadened. “Or are you hoping to negotiate for a sip of the Elixir?”
    He flicked his tongue then, catching the last tendril of dragonsmoke. His eyes brightened as he deftly wove that last end together with the one he had started to breathe, breaching the interruption with startling ease.
    Rafferty kept backing away. “The source is destroyed. If you have any left, and I doubt you do, you’ll never share it.”
    “Then maybe you want an old secret or two.”
    “You have no secrets I wish to know.”
    “How can you be sure? Kill me and so much knowledge will be lost forever.”
    “We’ll be well rid of it.”
    Magnus laughed in disbelief, breathing smoke all the while. The smoke came after Rafferty, shimmering in the light of the fire, but moving with steady determination. Magnus breathed with more power, and Rafferty wished he had the Slayer ’s ability to cut smoke.
    Without it, he had to retreat into the servants’ corridor, shifting back to human form to fit into the working spaces. There was no sign of the thief anywhere. He suspected she was smart enough to have fled the house. He could see Magnus in the foyer, his dragon form silhouetted by the flames that consumed his carpet. He was so fixated on breathing dragonsmoke that he didn’t seem to care about any damage to himself from the fire.
    Rafferty hastened for the back door, the smoke right behind him. It wound through the air, at shoulder level, relentless and persistent. As soon as Rafferty stepped out of the house, the smoke halted, much to his surprise. It was as if Magnus had wanted only to drive them apart.
    To give himself time to recover.
    That meant this was Rafferty’s chance to finish their duel to the death. Magnus was weaker than he’d believed.
    Rafferty made to step back into the house, but the dragonsmoke had spun itself into a wall of glittering white. It was impenetrable, like a barricade of ice, one that would burn him if he touched it. It defended Magnus better than his security system, blocking Rafferty’s access completely.
    “ The disadvantage of a long acquaintanceship such as ours ,” Magnus said in melodic old-speak, his words sliding into Rafferty’s thoughts, “ is that we each can anticipate the other. ”
    Rafferty felt frustration that Magnus knew he couldn’t cut the smoke. “This isn’t over. We exchanged challenge coins….”
    “Of course it’s not over. But you’re concerned for the human. As always.” Magnus sighed with forbearance.
    That Magnus believed humans to be disposable was key to his perspective as a Slayer , but that didn’t mean Rafferty didn’t find it annoying. “It is our mission as Pyr to defend the treasure of the earth, including humans….”
    “Yes, yes. But you and I define treasure rather differently.” Magnus paused, and Rafferty heard laughter in his tone when he continued. “I wonder which of us will find her first.”
    Rafferty heard a car engine start. It sounded as if it were down the street. He could have guessed whose car it was, especially when the tires squealed in the driver’s haste to get away.
    Magnus chuckled darkly, as if in anticipation of a tasty