Master of Smoke

uses it against my friend.”
    “And I’ve got to go save Smoke. I’m so sorry, Zephyr.” She stared to turn away. His next words stopped her in her tracks.
    “As you are, you will fail. And so will Smoke.” The stag’s voice sounded remorseless. “Kingslayer amplifies Warlock’s magic beyond Smoke’s ability to fight.”
    A chill lanced through her, but she shook it off. “That may be, but I’ve got to try anyway.”
    The stag instantly appeared in her path. “I can help you. I can break Merlin’s lock on the magic in your DNA so you can use it for more than shifting.”
    Eva clenched her fists, sensing the remorseless race of time running out. “I don’t have time for that. I’ve got to go.”
    “Not yet, you don’t. Let me enter you as Smoke entered the Sidhe. Let me share your life and show you the way to magic.” The stag’s eyes ignited in a white blaze. “Let me help you kill Warlock and avenge us both.”
    Another boom rocked the ground.
    Eva stared at him, knowing Zephyr was right. She couldn’t help Smoke as she was now; she could only become a hostage Warlock would use to kill him. And she was tired of being used.
    She didn’t let herself think of all the reasons this was a bad idea. Smoke was all that mattered. “Do it.”
    The stag leaped. The impact of his charge rocked her back on her heels as he vanished into her chest. She looked down just in time to see his glowing hooves disappear between her bleeding breasts.
    The magic Merlin used to create both Warlock and his people was exactly the same, his voice said in her mind. But to make the Direkind immune to the Majae’s power, he had to limit your ability to use your magic. But you can shift your DNA just as you do your bones and flesh ...
    Eva’s eyes went wide as Zephyr showed her the spell deep within her own DNA—a spell Merlin had created, that had spread to her by the the werewolf who bit her five years ago. The stag showed her the simple molecular shift in her DNA that would change the spell, so that she could reach into the dimension the elementals called home. So she, too, could call power in a torrent of magic.
    So Eva called the magic and transformed, just the way she’d always done. But this time, with Zephyr’s guidance, she shifted her DNA as well. To become a magic user.

    Eva had stopped screaming.
    But Warlock, damn him to all the hells, would not let Smoke past. Every time he tried to get by, Warlock sent lighting and fire to block his path. Smoke had managed to avoid every stroke, shield against every blast, but he hadn’t managed to get by. And Eva might be dying.
    Helpless fury filled his mouth with the taste of brass and blood. He was going to have to take the time to kill the fucker and pray Eva could hold on a little longer. As long as she remained alive, even if badly hurt, he could use his magic to heal her.
    “Eva, I’m coming,” he bellowed.
    Warlock stepped out from behind a block and grinned at him in the smug way that was quickly driving Smoke insane. “No, you’re not.”
    “Yes, gods curse you, I am.” The sword materialized in Smoke’s clawed hands, and he leaped forward, swinging the huge blade with all his werecat strength.
    Warlock heaved Kingslayer up to meet the attack, and the two weapons clanged together with teeth-jarring force. Until Kingslayer’s gem flashed and the magic roared, picked Smoke up, and tossed him through the air.
    He hit rolling, lost the sword, and somehow rolled to his feet, shaking his spinning head hard.
    “You can’t beat me, Cat.” Warlock stalked toward him, raising Kingslayer as he came. The axe burst into red flame. “You don’t have the power.”
    “You know what I’ve noticed about you, Warlock?” The voice was female, but so deep, Smoke didn’t recognize it. “You have a talent for biting off more than you can chew.”
    Magic sizzled through the darkness, a blazing white blast that caught Warlock in the side. The werewolf howled as it picked him up and tossed him like a Ping-Pong ball in a hurricane.
    Gods and devils, what now? Smoke spun.
    Eva stepped out from around a block. She was in Dire Wolf form, but a great glowing rack of ghostly antlers crowned her head. Sparks danced from point to point in a way Smoke recognized. “Eva,” he whispered, “what did you do?”
    She tilted her antlered head in a way that was painfully familiar, though it was nothing she’d ever done before. “Made a deal with what’s left of