Free Blood, Smoke and Mirrors (2010) by Robyn Bachar Page B

at the same time. "I think we should let him set an example." I nodded at the faerie-sized blur darting in and out of the mob.
    "No, we're not, and I was doin' fine on my own."
    "We need a new plan." Poking at his wound, I tried to gauge how severe the damage was, accidentally coating my fingers with his blood in the process.
    "Had to call a guardian and your pixie buddy, eh witch? Not strong enough to defend yourself," another new voice commented. I spun around to watch in morbid fascination as the limb-impaired vamp reattached his severed arm.
    "And you? Needed a hand?" Lex drawled. "Now you, stay here," he ordered as he glared at me. He lunged toward the vampire, and the two circled each other in a frenzied dance. "You tired yet? You'll run outta blood 'fore I even break a sweat," he taunted the vampire.
    "Kitty!" Tybalt called out to me as a vamp landed with a thud at the faerie's feet.
    "What?"
    "Better idea. Conjure sunlight!"
    "What?"
    "Just do it. Invoke Apollo, trust me," the faerie ordered.
    I shrugged, not sure where Tybalt was going with his request, considering sunlight doesn't hurt vampires like it does in movies. Instead of burning them into a pile of ash it gives them severe sunburn, but hey, I didn't have much else to do while inside my shields, so I decided to run with it. Grabbing my lighter, I held it tight in my right hand, and after sorting through the collection of symbols hung around my neck, I found my sun medallion and clutched it in my left. Holding the button down on my lighter, I turned the flame up to its highest level and held it aloft.
    "Great Apollo, drive your chariot hence,
    Burning bright for our defense.
    Life from light, push back the night,
    Chase the darkness from our sight."
    Honestly, I wasn't quite expecting the result I got. I figured the spell would give me a little bit of sun like the one that had illuminated the room beneath the faerie mound. Instead a small supernova formed from the fire in my hand, a bright white light that blinded me for a moment with its pure intensity. I squeezed my eyes shut as piercing inhuman howls split the summer night. The awful scent of burnt flesh and toasted vinyl filled my nostrils, and I flinched at the heat building up in my grasp. My brain warned me that it would be a smart idea to drop the lighter a split second before it exploded.
    I shrieked, shaking my open hand back and forth as lighter fluid and melted plastic rained down on me and scorched my skin. The light died, but I was in too much pain to care at that point. My hand was on fire, I was sure it had to be, even though I hadn't opened my eyes to actually look at it. The pain was all the information I needed right then.
    When I was tackled to the ground I realized my shields had dropped in my distracted state. I mentally resigned myself to the fact that my dumb ass had gotten myself killed, and I braced for the inevitable.
    "Catherine!"
    "Kitty? Kitty!" Tybalt's voice assaulted me as I was shaken back and forth and battered by two sets of hands.
    "Fire, on fire!" I squeaked.
    "I know," my cousin answered. For a few seconds more the battering continued until finally the assault ended.
    "Are you all right?" Lex asked.
    "On fire! Hello!"
    "You're not on fire anymore, Kitty," Tybalt assured me.
    "I'm not?"
    "Nope."
    Slowly, I opened my eyes, peering down at myself. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I had some very nasty burns on my right hand, with a sprinkling of minor ones on my arm and across my torso. Thankfully my clothes seemed to have taken the worst of it.
    "Great idea, Tybalt. 'Invoke Apollo.' You lit me on fire, damn it."
    "Only a little. You lit the vampires on fire a lot more."
    "We need to get her home. My truck's this way," Lex interrupted us. He scooped me up into his arms and began to carry me away like a slender damsel in distress, something I certainly am not.
    "Whoa, whoa, put me down, you're injured."
    "You distracted me."
    "I did not. Put me down."
    "Not a