Blazing Glory by Angelique Voisen Page B

he directed
his words, to the gods or to his flames maybe, but Levi needed to live.
    The Biter let out a monstrous,
rumbling noise Blaze presumed was its laugh. He didn’t care, because he wasn’t
talking to it.
    Heat crawled up his good arm. A
second later, the heat also leaped sluggishly to his right. The cold, damp air
around him trembled, and gusts of flames erupted from the surface of his arms.
This time they didn’t go out like a candle. They licked and caressed the air
like a predator seeking its prey.
    The Biter didn’t see or feel his
approach, probably viewing Blaze as insignificant prey. The creature raised its
talons and was about to bring them down over Levi’s limp form, but Blaze was
already within touching distance of the creature’s back.  
    Thrusting both his hands into the
leathery flesh, Blaze screamed and channeled out all the energies contained in
him. The flame poured from his flesh and climbed eagerly up the creature’s leg.
Blaze expected them to die on him, but the flames surged upward as he directed.
    The Biter howled with surprise and
pain, and Blaze stepped back to avoid being crushed.
    The Biter swept its long, dangerous
arms in a wide arc.
    Blaze dropped and rolled on the
ground to avoid the swipe. Drawing from energy from his reserves, he called
more flame. His arms quivered with the effort and the pain of the summoning,
but he was far from done. Blaze visualized enormous golden fire orbs, and once
the flames began to blind him, he released all the pent-up energy. “Burn to death, fucker!”
    The twin fireballs sailed through
the air, smashing into the Biter’s chest and spreading across its flesh. The
Biter shrieked, trying to bat away the flames licking his leg and now its
chest.
    Blaze crept forward to Levi’s side
and began to pull Levi to safer grounds.
    The monster’s zombie minions groaned
all around them, looking disorganized and sounding confused. As a safety
precaution, Blaze touched his hand to the ground and summoned a bright gold
ring of fire around him and Levi. It wouldn’t burn them, but it would keep them
out.
    “I hope its enough to kill him,
Levi,” Blaze told Levi.
    He pressed his head against Levi’s
chest. It was faint, but Levi was still breathing.
    Swathed entirely in flames, the
Biter let out a series of screeches and agonized wails. The smell of burning
flesh penetrated the air. It tried to roll on the ground to put out the flames,
but Blaze’s fire wasn’t easily put out.
    When he was sure the blackened
corpse on the ground wouldn’t rise again, Blaze
dispelled the protective circle. Exhaustion crept to every part of him, but at
least the nightmare was over.
    Here and there were corpses,
zombies laid to rest after their animator had died.
    The injured brown bear Blaze was
using as a pillow let out a weak snarl. The fur was thinning, and the bulk of
muscles were flattening into the hard outline of a man. “Get off me,” Levi
rasped. “You can’t use me as a pillow, even in the afterlife.”
    “Levi, shut up and listen to me,”
Blaze began, rare affection creeping into his voice.
    “Fuck you, Blaze. Didn’t I tell you
to run? Now we’re both dead, but damn, I hurt all over.”
    Blaze mutely leaned over Levi and
kissed him on the lips. Levi blinked up at him when he withdrew. “We aren’t
dead, you dumb bear.”
    “The Biter?” Levi asked, looking confused. He drew Blaze’s scarred hand to his face, sniffing
at it. Looking satisfied, Levi placed his hand down.
    Blaze had to smirk. “Burned to a crisp.”  
    Levi’s brows shot up. Blaze helped
him sit up to see the burned corpse and the zombies scattered around them.
“It’s really finally over?”
    “Yeah. It’s over.” Feeling suddenly tired, Blaze leaned against Levi for support. Levi
grunted but didn’t complain. “I want bath, food, and sleep,” Blaze pointed out.
    “Oh yeah,” Levi agreed. Blaze
wasn’t sure were Levi got the strength to pull him close and nuzzle his