She flew above, flicking droplets of lava off her tail; the tip was red and raw. "I thought you said she was yours!" Maev shouted down. "Go on, warrior, slay her!"

Angel sneered, teeth gleaming. The tongue began pulling Dorvin closer to the waiting jaws. He thrust his paws, close enough to reach her now. His claws sparked against Angel's stone body. Only one claw tore through, and lava spurted out, burning Dorvin, and he couldn't even scream. Above, he saw Maev finally trying to swoop and help, but a crowd of flying demons, their armor dark with soot, crashed against the green dragon and tossed her back.

Soon you'll be with her, boy, the Demon Queen said in his mind. Soon you and Alina will scream together.

Rage pounded through Dorvin. Before he could pass out from lack of air, he raised his claws, gripped the demon's tongue, and twisted madly. The digit was elastic, wet, impossible to claw open, but Dorvin squeezed and tugged, and Angel screamed. He was hurting her. Good. The grip loosened around his neck, and finally he was able to blow fire.

The blaze slammed into Angel's face, entering her mouth, her nostrils, her eyes, and the Demon Queen screamed again.

It was no human scream. It was the sound of shattering souls, of crashing cities, of a million spines snapping together. The sound slammed against Dorvin so powerfully it ripped the tongue free and tossed him into a spin. His ears thrummed.

He blew fire again.

Maev swooped from above, raining down her own flames.

Scales flashed below, and Tanin and Issari both soared, blasting out two new jets of dragonfire.

Angel screeched, engulfed in the holocaust like a woman trapped within a sun. Within the flames, she writhed, kicked, struggled to fly, but her wings burned.

With a deep bellow and thudding wings, Jeid flew toward the battle and blasted out his own dragonfire, the widest of the pillars. Upon his back, Laira stood up, tugged back her bowstring, and fired. The arrow sailed through the flames and slammed into Angel's eye.

The Demon Queen tumbled down.

She crashed through lesser demons, tearing them apart, and finally struck the cavern floor. Cracks raced across the stone. She lay, twitching, struggling to rise.

"Burn her dead!" Dorvin shouted. "Dragons, slay the queen!"

He swooped, blowing his fire. A dozen dragons joined him, and soon a hundred descended, blasting down streams of fire. The jets crashed against the Demon Queen, knocking her back down, an inferno of heat and smoke and death. Her stone body melted. Lava spilled in rivers. As the outer layers peeled back, they revealed the Demon Queen's inner organs. Within the melting stone pulsed three hearts, squirming entrails, maggoty lungs, and blue veins. Faces twisted between the organs, human heads sewn along the spine, their mouths sucking air.