The energy bubble grew bigger and bigger. I wasn't in control of it, but I think Sybina might've been. At least I hoped so. All the while, I couldn't take my gaze from Lia. She didn't seem at all concerned that she was trapped by vampires and werewolves.

The white wolf crouched in front of me, howling. He couldn't get near us. I realized Gabriel was crazy with worry.

"She's unconscious, but alive," I called. "We'll be okay."

He barked, his paws digging at the ground by the edge of the electrified field. Lia was dripping wet, but she hadn't lost her smirk. Her dragon lifted its head and shot fire at Velthur; he aimed the water at it and smacked it in the head. The dragon choked and sputtered, then lay on the street, as if defeated.

Ruadan stalked Lia, who retreated even closer to her dragon. Velthur kept his hands pointed at the gushing water, obviously ready to use it when needed.

Ruadan made two short swords appear in his hands. They were gold and bejeweled and very, very sharp. He swung them expertly, dancing closer to Lia.

Lia responded by creating two swords of her own, but hers were made of fire. The flames highlighted the wild look of her dark eyes.

"Is that any way to treat your wife?" she asked sweetly.

"Ex-wife," said Ruadan. "Don't do this, Lia. What do you hope to accomplish?"

"You never were ambitious, Ruadan. You, who are the child of gods, would rather live in harmony with humans. You should rule them!" She punctuated her words by slashing at him with her fire blades. He dodged easily.

I heard Synd's evil, screaming song. Shit. He came at us with full fire; blue-green sparks of his magic ribboned within the flames. The blaze shot toward Velthur and turned the water into steam. The vampire wasn't deterred, even though it was obvious to me that throwing water bombs at the new threat was taking its physical toll. I stared at Synd; something wasn't quite right with him. His fire song sounded weird and I couldn't see his aura.

"Get out of here, Velthur," shouted Lorcan. He flew over us. Oh, yeah. He was part Sidhe - fairy. He, too, held a sword, this one made of gold light. I guess he could magic more than clothes. I looked down to check on the queen. She was still passed out. I squatted and brushed her hair away from her face. As loup de sang , I knew she would have a heartbeat and breath. I checked her carotid pulse and sighed with relief. It was strong. If she'd wake up, she might be able to kick Lia's ass so we could all go home. And I really wanted to get away from all this freaking craziness. Once again, I found myself thinking about Ralph and the boys. Maybe a normal life was too much to hope for a vampire, a half-dragon, and two adorable toddlers, but I think we could get really damned close.

If I survived. I was tired of dragon attacks. I wanted them to be gone. For good. I wanted to know Ralph, Michael, and Stephen would be safe. They wouldn't be - not so long as these dragons lived. Velthur's gaze flashed to us. I sensed his exhaustion more than I saw it. He wasn't going to last much longer. As Lorcan went for Synd's scaly hide with his blade, Velthur turned and took off so fast he was a blur. I didn't blame him. He couldn't help us, even if he continued to risk his own life. The water splashed to the pavement, leaving only a muddy hole.

Synd circled lazily, as if he had all the time in the world to turn us into crunchy bits. I was terrified of him in a primal way, like a child who fears imaginary monsters lurking in the dark. Only my monster was real and my inner child was screaming her head off.

Lorcan couldn't get near the beast, even though he kept trying to stab it. The dragon soared up, shooting green fire at him.

Lorcan was forced to retreat.

Synd floated higher and higher. The farther away he got, the better I felt. Synd's presence was evil. I had never really believed in evil before. People could be mean, they could make bad decisions, and yeah, even harm others. But that dragon - he felt dark and empty. He had no conscience. We lived at his pleasure.

Why had he flown away? And how the hell had he healed so quickly? Or had he? Something was off about him, like he was an astral projection.

Lorcan landed on the ground, outside the fighting zone of Ruadan and Lia. He kept an eye on the dragon, his sword at the ready.

The three wolves circled Lia and Ruadan as they parried. Neither one was really getting in any blows. I was rooting for Ruadan in a big way. Sybina seemed to agree. I felt her clamor. She built our combined rage into more power. The force field expanded and encompassed the white wolf and, beyond him, Lorcan.

Gabriel went to his wife and nuzzled her face, whining. The bubble of protection intercepted Ruadan and one black wolf.

"Damnu air!" cried Ruadan, running toward the electric field. He bounced off it. "Let me out!"

"I can't," I said. "Sorry!"

Lia's face lit up in triumph. She extinguished her swords and backed away from the encroaching bubble. The wolves on either side of her advanced; they growled and bared their teeth. She extended her arms. Two fireballs shot out from her palms and struck the wolves. They fell to the ground, yelping in pain. The fire ravaged their sleek black fur as they rolled and rolled, trying to get the flames out.

Laughing as if she'd just performed a delightful magic trick, Lia whirled and ran to the red dragon, climbing its side.

"You'll soon know what real power is," yelled Lia. "Don't worry, Ruadan. You'll still have a place in the new order. As my slave!"

The red dragon rose into the air and flew upward. Lia was not getting away. The power inside me felt like a lightning storm trapped under my skin. I closed my eyes and tapped into my years of visualization experience. I imagined a ball of light forming between my hands. I saw the light, felt its heat, held its weight. Sybina helped me. For the first time since she'd given me her power, I felt like a dragon. When I opened my eyes and looked down, the ball was there, as big as a basketball and as bright as the sun. The fire was mine to create, to control. My magic was within it, and my intention to protect myself and the innocents.

The dragon roared. I knew at any moment it would pe on us and try to burn us all to a crisp or rip us apart with teeth and claws.

I made the light bigger and brighter.

"What are you doing?" Ruadan hurried toward me, his expression one of horror. The swords fell out of his hands and clattered to the muddy ground. He collapsed to his knees and rolled away, shielding his face. His skin started to peel away, wisps of smoke fluttering into the air. Oh, my God.

"Sybina," I whispered, "you have to stop. Please. We have to stop."

The fire was singing. It was happy. It had purpose. I couldn't pert it or extinguish the ball of light.

"Dad!" cried Lorcan as he shot toward the fallen man. The light pulsing in front of me immediately took its toll on Lorcan. He ducked, putting up an arm to protect his face. His hand erupted in tiny flames. "It's too bright. You're going to kill us!"

There was only one way to get rid of the dangerous weapon I'd created. I lobbed it at the red dragon.

The orb struck the dragon's underbelly and exploded. The creature screeched as the assailing light consumed it; Lia's screams mingled with her pet's ear-splitting cries. The creature fell at least thirty feet, smacking into Ralph's house with a force that knocked me off my feet. I heard the crackling explosion of wood and the chinkle of shattering windows. The dragon crawled out of the rubble and collapsed halfway into the mangled front yard. I sat up, staring at the large body as its blackened skin smoldered. In some places, it peeled off. It was mewling, obviously in terrible pain. Regret stabbed me. What had I done? I wouldn't eat or wear the skin of any creature, and here I had tried to kill one.

Then I thought about those two sweet little boys and I wasn't as sorry. I'd do anything for them and their daddy.

"What have you done?" asked Ruadan, echoing my own thoughts. My gaze went to him and Lorcan. They had already healed, which surprised me. I had figured they would need an infusion of blood. Ruadan climbed to his feet and helped his son to stand.

"I stopped her," I said, though my voice held no conviction. I also got to my feet and dusted snow off my coat. Now that all the fires had been put out, my hands were cold. It seemed like winter had infiltrated my clothes and slithered under my skin.

"You attacked an Ancient," said Ruadan. He sounded both angry and shocked.

"I don't understand," I said. "What's an Ancient?"

I really should've read all of my mother's books. I vaguely recalled her telling me vampires were separated into different sects, which all had different powers. But I was fuzzy on the details.

"She saved us, Dad," said Lorcan. He turned to me. "For more than four thousand years, the first seven vampires have existed. We don't know what would happen if the founder of a Family died."

Ruadan nodded. "You may have killed more than just Lia. You may have destroyed every vampire in her Family."