I sprinted forward, watching that bird as it flew to try and time it right. I even snuck around a cluster of brawling teenage boys so it wouldn’t see me coming. The world seemed to slip into slow motion. My vision zeroed in on this one red bird. I felt like a jungle cat crouching through the bushes to ambush its prey. The bird landed on the lunch table, its red eyes glowing bright, and then it spun around to see the fight happening over by the wall. I dove with my hands stretched out in front of me. I gasped when my fingers wrapped around the bird’s body. The red feathers tried to flap but I squeezed the bird tight. It squawked in panic. For a split second I worried I’d just captured a regular red bird and then its eyes focused on me.

Glowing red eyes.

A little red rune flashed on the top of its head.

Soneillon.

I grinned even as rage like I’d never felt exploded within me. How dare you turn innocent children on each other. How dare you hide like a coward in bird form. How dare you not stand here and fight them. No, you hide so no one can turn your rage back on you. But she picked the wrong girl to lay eyes on. I was born angry. I was Bruce Banner, always angry and ready to fight. And her magic just made me stronger. It gave me an outlet for everything I was furious about. Sweyn. Lilith. Sam and Pierce being turned against their will. The Unseelie. Esther. Everest’s long life of suffering. My parents’ death.

I screamed out a battle cry and squeezed the bird tighter with both hands. This wasn’t a bird. it was a fallen angel trying to use her power to get out of my grip. I pushed my magic out of me, the runes on my bracelet glowing bright pink. It wrapped around the bird—and then a wave of heat erupted beneath my fingers. I barely kept my grip as the bird changed into a woman. Not that she was a woman at all, there was no humanity in this one. She had red horns that protruded from long black hair and perfectly matched the color of her red eyes and the glowing red orbs hanging from her pointed ears.