Page 24 of Devoted in the Midlife

Adalinda's face contorted with disgust. "You could've just asked me out," she muttered darkly.

Vaelog ignored her, his focus zeroing in on me. "And now you dare to interfere with destiny? You, an abomination of vampire and dragon? You cannot stand against me. None of you can."

His form shimmered, then exploded outward in a mass of scales and shadow. Where the man had stood, a dragon now loomed, but a dragon unlike any I'd seen, which to be fair was only me, Jax, Adalinda, and little Flint. This was larger, darker, its very being radiating an aura of divine corruption and rage.

Crap. We were in for the fight of our lives. Thank goodness Flint and Goldie were asleep inside the house.

"Adalinda, the daggers!" I shouted, even as I reached for my power.

In a flash, Adalinda darted forward, grabbing one of the ancient blades. Jax and I moved as one, our human forms melting away to be replaced by scales and wings and raw, primal strength.

The battle erupted around us, a whirlwind of claws and magic and desperate determination. Kendra's wards flared to life, shielding us from human eyes as we unleashed hell upon the monstrosity that was Vaelog. Luke and Ransom fought withthe savage grace of vampires, their blows blurring with speed. Izora's power crackled through the air, searing and deadly. Zara, Paige, Claudia, Grim, Nash... they all threw themselves into the fray with reckless abandon.

But even with all our strengths combined, Vaelog was a force of nature. His physical might dwarfed ours, his corrupted form shrugging off blows that would've felled a lesser being. He tossed us aside like ragdolls, sending bodies crashing into trees and fences with sickening crunches.

Claudia hit the ground hard, Paige instantly at her side. Grim and Nash closed ranks around Cleo, their focus torn between the fight and her safety. We were losing ground, and fast.

In a desperate gambit, I reached out with my mind, finding Adalinda's familiar presence."The medallion,"I urged, pouring every ounce of my fear and determination into the thought."The one from Bruce. Please tell me you still have it."

For a heartbeat, there was silence. Then, a surge of startled realization."It's at home,"she replied."I'd forgotten all about it."

Exasperation warred with hope in my chest."Get it!"I threw myself back into the fray to buy her time. "Go!"

And she was gone, a streak of silver light vanishing into the night. Jax and I redoubled our efforts, a united front of fang and flame against the overwhelming force that was Vaelog. The others rallied around us, battered but unbroken, fighting with a ferocity born of desperation.

It could have been minutes or hours, time lost all meaning in the chaos of the battle. But just as my strength began to falter, just asVaelog's claws found purchase in Jax's scaly shoulder, a blinding flare of power lit up the night.

Adalinda had returned, the amulet clutched in her determined grip. She raised it high. "Vaelog! I command you to stand down!"

For a single, breathless moment, nothing happened. Vaelog froze mid-lunge, his grotesque form straining against invisible bonds. A howl of fury and disbelief tore from his throat, but he was powerless to resist.

In a move almost too fast to follow, Adalinda lunged forward and yanked the other dagger from the box. My strength waned as the ward blinked out.

The nullifying dagger flashed as she buried it to the hilt in Vaelog's heaving chest. The scream that followed was a thing of nightmares, a sound that would haunt my dreams for years to come. But as it reached its crescendo, a change rippled through the air.

The sky above us split open, a swirling vortex of light and color that seared my enhanced vision. It was a portal, I realized, to another realm.

Okay. I was getting a little bit sick of portals to other realms.

Through the shimmering gateway, I glimpsed soaring peaks and lush valleys, the distant forms of dragons wheeling through an untouched sky.

"A hidden world," Adalinda whispered with wonder and grief. "One of the realms lost to time and treachery."

Kendra took off running to the other side of the yard. When she was far enough away, she threw up the ward again, higher and farther so the dagger wouldn't kill it again.

Flint and Goldie ran outside, looking up. Flint took off, landing on my scaly back as he trilled in excitement, his small form wriggling with barely contained glee. Despite the chaos, I couldn't help but smile. If the little guy's reaction was anything to go by, we were witnessing something truly extraordinary.

Vaelog's form shuddered and convulsed, his power and might leeching away with every passing second. Adalinda stood over him, the bloodied dagger clenched in a white-knuckled grip.

"The dagger strips awayallmagic when it pierces flesh," she explained, her eyes never leaving Vaelog's writhing form. "Your ability to shift, your stolen power, it's gone. You're mortal now. Powerless."

As if on cue, Vaelog's dragon form melted away, leaving behind a broken, pathetic figure of a man. He stared up at us with eyes that burned with impotent rage, but there was fear there too, the fear of one who'd flown too close to the sun and felt his wings turn to ash.

The portal pulsed and shimmered, a silent reminder of the wonders and horrors that lay just beyond our reach.

A heavy silence settled over the battlefield as we took stock of our losses and triumphs. Claudia leaned heavily on Paige. Grim and Nash hovered over Cleo, their normally stoic facades cracked with concern. Luke and Ransom looked like they'd gone ten rounds with a woodchipper, but their eyes glinted with grim satisfaction.

And at the center of it all, Jax and I shifted back to our vampire forms and stood shoulder to shoulder, battered but unbroken. Our eyes met, a silent conversation passing between us in a heartbeat.