Something moved in the corner of my eye. I spun, dodged the arm grabbing for me and kicked the human’s knee out as he passed, making the junkie crash to the floor. Garret blocked a fist from the second one and responded with a nasty right hook that rocked his opponent sideways. A third charged in, swinging a length of rebar, and my heart leaped to my throat. Garret ducked under the first swing and got out of the way, as Riley whirled around and smashed a fist into the human’s jaw. He reeled back into Garret, who grabbed his wrist, twisted the rebar from his hand and swept his feet out from under him. As the human hit the ground on his back, Garret tossed the rebar to Riley, who turned and whacked a junkie across the temple, sending him crashing into a pillar.

As I grinned, watching the unconscious display of teamwork, something grabbed me from behind and pinned my arms to my sides. Another junkie, reeking of smoke and body odor, tried to lift me off my feet and drag me away. I snarled and jerked my head back, cracking my skull into his nose. He yelped and released me, but threw a hard backhand at my face as I spun to face him. I dodged, but it clipped my cheek all the same. Pain flared across my eyes, and the dragon surged up with a roar of outrage. As the human groped for me again, I brought my foot up and kicked him between the legs as hard as I could.

His eyes bulged, and he staggered, mouth gaping. I kicked him once more for good measure, then shoved him back. He collapsed in a groaning heap on the floor, knees drawn to his chest, and didn’t get up.

I curled a lip at him, then turned to find Riley and Garret. They stood back-to-back, surrounded by cringing, writhing junkies, while the rest of the den looked on from a safe distance away. Riley held the length of pipe casually at his side as he gazed around the room, grinning. Garret hovered behind him in a ready stance, protecting his flank, scanning the area for threats.

“Anyone else?” he asked calmly.

No one came forward. The junkies on the floor crawled to their feet and staggered away, and the remaining humans suddenly seemed very interested in other things. Riley snorted, tossed the rebar away with a clank and looked around for me.

“Hey, Firebrand,” he said as I walked up. “Sorry I couldn’t get over to help. You okay?”

I shrugged. “Don’t worry about me. Feel sorry for the guy who tried to slap me.”

Garret, stepping out from behind Riley, gave me a faint smile. “I notice you managed to kick him in your favorite spot,” he observed.

“Twice.”