Free Sins of the Flesh (Half-Breed Series Book 2) by Debra Dunbar

could be so stubborn.
    “What’s going on down there?” I pointed to orange lights dotting the beach. “Is there another party?”
    Aaron followed my gaze. “Yeah. Beach bonfires. They’re informal parties, although the resort has a big one they sponsor on Friday nights.”
    “That one looks pretty big.” As I gestured toward a larger orange glow that looked a bit too close for comfort, sirens sounded in the distance.
    “Ugh, that does look awfully close.” Kai tensed. “Some partiers must have hit the booze a bit too hard and let their bonfire get out of control.”
    The beach wasn’t exactly narrow. How in the fuck had someone managed to spread a fire fifty feet into the brush line? Either they were having one hell of a party, or someone was playing around with flammables.
    “Could have been fireworks,” Aaron noted, echoing my thoughts. “They tip over in the sand sometimes and shoot into the bushes.”
    Idiots. I warred with the desire to go check it out, but Kai made the decision for me. Pushing back her chair, she frowned at the now-visible flames.
    “I... that’s really near the surf shack. I should go, just to be sure everything is okay.”
    “We’ll all go,” Irix chimed in, giving me a stern look. What the hell was that for?
    I didn’t have time to question him. Abandoning the luau, we raced down the beach. I could feel Kai’s panic increase with every step. As we hit the end of the brick pathway and stepped onto the beach, she cried out and bolted. What had clearly been a beach bonfire had spread impossibly fast into the treeline. A lone man stood on the beach, beating at the fire with his shirt. I felt momentarily angry that his friends had run off, leaving one responsible partier to battle the blaze alone. Maybe if they’d stayed, this thing wouldn’t have gotten out of hand.
    And then I saw what Kai had. Bits of burning palm fronds were dropping onto the top of the surf shack, and golden flames licked along its thatched roof.
    “Irix, help!” I ran after Kai, putting every bit of my elven speed into the sprint and not caring if any of the humans saw me. I couldn’t do anything about the fire, but at least I could stop Kai before she ran into the shack.
    A surge of energy whispered past me, setting my hair on end. The two trees closest to the shack cracked with a mighty sound, falling backwards. I winced. The shack was safe from any more burning leaves, but now the gardens behind the tree line ignited. I reached Kai and grabbed her arm, spinning her toward me. “Don’t. That thatched roof is going to come down on you. Whatever is in there isn’t worth your life.”
    She twisted, pulling her arm from my grasp. “They’re my boards in there, not the company’s. I need to get them out.”
    I might be fast, but I’m not that strong. I grabbed at her again, but she pulled free, and, with a quick twist of the lock, was through the door. I hesitated, thinking about the fire behind the shack as well as the growing one over Kai’s head. And then I ran through the door after her.
    The sound of sirens and Irix’s panicked shout reached inside the shack, muffled by the crackling of the roof on fire. Bits of burning ash and plant matter floated down like pixie dust, and smoke hazed the darkness of the moonlit interior. Wood scraped noisily against the floor.
    “Kai, hand me a board.”
    She thrust one in my hand, and my eyesight cleared enough to see her, grabbing as many of them as she could in her arms. Then there was a deafening crack, and a beam crashed down with a shower of sparks. One of us screamed; I wasn’t sure who. There was another crack, and I reached out with my awareness, grabbing any bit of dormant or dead plant life I could find and willing it to life.
    “Down!” I grabbed Kai and threw her and the boards to the ground. Everything happened at once. The ceiling fell, revealing the sky and stars. A forest of bamboo shot up, splintering the floor and arcing above us. Thick,