Master of Smoke

push her behind him as if to give her the additional shield of his body.
    “What the hell is going on?” But even as she yelled the question, she knew the answer.
    “Warlock,” Smoke snarled. “How did the bastard find us? Must have tapped into the elemental’s—my—memories. He knows I love this bloody island.”
    “Can you cast a gate?” Eva shouted over the noise.
    “I’ve already tried. He’s got some kind of barrier blocking me. From the feel of it, he must have walked a spell circle around the whole island and keyed it to tell him when we arrived.”
    It felt as if ice replaced the blood in her veins. “It was a trap.”
    “And we walked right into it.”
    Eva slipped one arm around his waist as she looked past his brawny shoulder. She still couldn’t see where the blasts were coming from.
    Smoke swore. “I can’t fire back at him because I’d have to drop the shield. And I can’t do that because it would leave you vulnerable.”
    “But Gwen said werewolves are immune to magic!” She had to yell it over the sizzle and crack of the blasts.
    “Yes, but you’re not immune to lightning. Just because he uses magic to call down bolts, that doesn’t mean the electricity won’t fry you.”
    “And thanks for that mental image.”
    “I’m a little too busy for tact, Eva.” Smoke grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her after him as he broke into a sprint. She pounded behind him, heart in her throat. Holding his free hand lifted, he sent power pouring from his palm to feed the shield.
    Finally they reached the shelter of one of the massive rocks. Warlock’s blasts splashed harmlessly against it. As if realizing that, he stopped firing.
    “I think the bastard may have just outsmarted himself this time,” Smoke whispered into the sudden quiet. “Between that barrier and these attacks, he’s using a lot of power. If you can keep these rocks between you and him, I can take the fight to him. If I wear him down enough, he’s dead.”
    “Those stones,” Eva realized. “You said they’re resistant to magic.”
    “Otherwise the baby witches would blow them to gravel,” he agreed. “When you get the chance, I want you to shift to wolf form and run like hell. You’ll be faster and more agile on four legs.”
    “Four—?” She stared at him. Even as a human, Eva could see pretty well in the dark. “You want me to turn into a regular wolf? But I’ve never done that!”
    “You’re a Dire Wolf, Eva, it’s one of your transformations. Just imagine being a wolf instead of a werewolf. The magic’ll do the rest.”
    “Then what?”
    “Lay low—don’t try to help me. In fact, stay as far away as possible. I’m going to cut loose with everything I’ve got, and I don’t want you hurt in the process. Besides, we don’t know if he’s brought any of his thugs along, so you need to stay hidden.”
    Eva opened her mouth to argue, but another blast hit the block so hard, it rocked against their backs. She gasped.
    “I’m going to run left,” Smoke told her, then pointed out across the field. “You go straight. Put as much rock between you and that furry bastard as possible.”
    “Are you sure I can’t help?”
    “This fight is going to be too far out of your league.” He popped his head around the block, then jerked back as something sizzled. “Go.” When she hesitated, he barked, “I said go!”
    Eva went, flinging herself out into the night, darting for the next block, then the next, concentrating on putting as much distance as she could between herself and Warlock.
    At least until she figured out a way to help. Damned if she was going to twiddle her thumbs while Smoke fought for his life.
    Suddenly every hair on her body rose, and she smelled the dry scent of ozone. Instinct drove her behind the nearest rock. Lightning shook the ground with a thunderous boom, shaking the earth under her feet. She looked toward the sound, her heart leaping in sheer terror. “Smoke!”
    He bellowed, “How’d you like that, you bastard?”
    Warlock responded with a roll of profanity, including a few terms Eva had never even heard before.
    Smoke had thrown that bolt? The man she’d spent the afternoon making love to called down lightning? Holy baby Jesus and all the saints!
    A chill crept over her, and Eva realized Smoke was right. She didn’t need to get too close to this fish fry.
    She was entirely too damned likely to wind up as one of the fish.
    On the other hand, Eva did want to find a