I pulled and the flame responded, bending to my will. I fanned it, funneling my magic into it. Mitchell collapsed into a ball.

“He’s dying!” someone snapped behind me.

Grow. Like blowing on a fledgling fire, trying to help it grow hotter.

“This was really ill-advised . . .”

Grow, I cajoled, pouring magic into it. Grow.

“Shush!” Patrice said.

The green flames went out, sucked into Mitchell’s body.

Grow!

The tiny flame exploded, turning into a white-hot blaze. Mitchell surged to his feet. Bright orange fire erupted from his mouth and eyes and washed over him, consuming his flesh. I let go. His body convulsed, jerking like a marionette on a string. The fire spun into a whirlwind and within it a new body was taking shape, large, quadrupedal, and muscled.

The flames vanished, absorbed into the new skin. A strange furry beast stood before me on four clawed feet, his head a full foot higher than mine. Bright red and dappled with black rosettes, his body was almost canine, lean and powerful like that of a Doberman. A long thick horse mane of jet-black hair ran along his spine. A long leonine tail coiled around his legs. Twin horns crowned his head, curving forward on the sides of his lean face, ready to gore. His features were unlike anything I had ever seen. His long narrow jaws, studded with sharp perfect fangs, hinted at a wolf and an alligator at the same time, while his eyes, large and bright orange with dark oval pupils, made me think of a predatory cat.

The thing that used to be Mitchell shook his head, sending his mane flying. He raised his head, opened his mouth, and cried out. His voice wasn’t a roar or a snarl, it was melodious and high, like the shriek of a bird flying high through the clouds.

“Holy crap,” someone said behind me.

Mitchell leaned forward, his eyes even with mine. His deadly jaws unhinged, showing his fangs and the black tongue inside his mouth.

Don’t flinch, don’t flinch. “Hello, Mitchell.”

“The name no longer fits.”

“Do you want a different one?”

“Yes. Name me, human.”

Make it good. “I name you Adib, after the Wolf Star in the Constellation of Draco.”

“I accept my name. I owe you a debt.”

“Yes.”

He lunged at me. It was so fast, I was in midair before I realized he’d tossed me onto his back. I landed astride and grabbed onto his mane.

Curran surged forward.

“I’m okay,” I said.

“I pay my debts.” The ifrit hound raised his massive head. “I can hear the madman’s voice. Follow me.”

He dashed out the door, scattering the mages. I clenched his mane and tried not to fall off.

•   •   •