I hurled the fireball toward one of the Strigoi, and it went wide, missing him by about two feet. Okay—maybe I couldn’t wield fire quite as deftly as Christian or Sydney. It had always looked so easy when Sydney did it, and I realized I was thinking in those terms, imitating her throw. But relying on my physical abilities wasn’t the way to go. I had to be much more intentional. I summoned another fireball and this time used spirit to specifically guide it toward the Strigoi. My aim proved true, but the Strigoi, even in a dream, moved quickly. He dodged the brunt of the fireball and only ended up singeing his arm. It was enough to inspire me, though. I called on spirit again, summoning two more fireballs, one to keep going after this target and another to keep the other Strigoi at a distance.

I also managed to anticipate the way the Strigoi would dodge this time, so I adjusted accordingly, sending the fireball right into his chest. Flames engulfed him, and I used spirit to summon a silver stake. Moving to where he writhed on the ground, I called on spirit to shield me from the fire as I plunged the stake into what I hoped was his heart. Either I was right or the fire had already done its job, because the creature suddenly stopped moving and vanished into nothing.

The other Strigoi had tried to advance on Nina while I was distracted. She threw a fireball of her own and experienced the same learning curve I had, missing with her first attempt. It was enough to distract the Strigoi until I could swoop in.

“Hold off,” I reminded Nina. I hit the second Strigoi squarely with another fireball, and then I once again finished the job with a silver stake. As I did, I felt my triumph falter as four more Strigoi suddenly stepped forward. I hastily retreated back to Nina.

“No problem,” I told her. “We’ll get rid of them too.” Seeing four of them was daunting, but my method seemed to be working. In a dream, at least, I could be as badass as any guardian.

“There’s no time!” Nina exclaimed. Spirit swelled within her—a lot of spirit. I turned on her in alarm.

“What are you doing? That’s too much!”

She ignored me and, impossibly, called on even more spirit. I was reminded of a balloon, ready to burst. “We need them gone, and we need them gone now!”

“Stop it!” I cried. I shook her arm, hoping I could get her to lose her concentration. She shook me off and continued building up spirit to impossible, dizzying heights.

“I won’t let Olive escape again!” Nina said.