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by his question and the nerves still racing through me. “Evil spirits, psychic attack, you know, the usual stuff.” I lifted my hand to the pendant around my neck again; it was warmer now and a thought started to form in my mind.
    “Evil spirits,” Daniel repeated again, and I knew a similar thought was forming in his mind. We turned to look at each other; the noise of the beasts ripping apart the bonfire seemed louder somehow. “So they’re ripping apart the one thing that could stop this?”
    “I think so,” I answered, nodding my head slowly. We turned back towards the midway, leaning out of our hiding spot to get our bearings. No more beasts were running past us, but it looked like half a dozen of them were destroying the bonfire. In the distance, we could hear other beasts howling, mingled with the screams of their victims.
    “Do you think if we lit the bonfire, it would stop this?” Daniel asked.
    “No idea, but I suppose it’s worth a try, right?” I stepped out of our hiding place and led the way, creeping down the midway, back the way we’d come. I could feel Daniel behind me, grateful I didn’t have to keep checking over my shoulder. We crouched behind an overturned picnic table once we were out of the midway. The closest beast was still a few yards off, but I was deathly afraid that he’d realize we were there at any moment. We saw that the torches were now pulled out of the ground and no longer burning.
    “All of the torches are out,” Daniel whispered. “How’re we supposed to light the damn thing?”
    “I suppose I could try,” I said, snapping my fingers close to his face, showing him the spark of magic that ignited. “Although I don’t know how much I have left after what I did to that first beast.” I tried not to dwell on that thought. Daniel placed a comforting hand on my shoulder; I nodded, accepting his support.
    Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the residual energy swirling inside of me again, calling it back to the surface of my hands. I could see the bright white light through my eyelids, and when I opened them, I saw my hands were laced with the electric power of my elfin magic. I stood up slowly, trying not to make any sudden moves and attract any attention to me before I accomplished my task, but the beasts were too preoccupied to notice me. I lifted my hands above my head, feeling the power jumping between them, growing in intensity as I concentrated, until my arms were vibrating with the contained power. In one sweeping motion, I brought my hands down as I spun on the spot and threw the magnitude of power at what was left of the bonfire.
    A swarming ball rushed out of me and struck the wooden structure with a powerful boom.  I flew backwards with the force of it, landing on my back, the breath rushing from my body. I heard the snap and crackle of the wood catching fire and the rush of heat that came from it as the blessed oils that had been poured over the base of the bonfire caught fire. My body trembled on the ground, having expelled so much of my power I was left with just enough to live. Daniel was at my side in a moment, but the world seemed to be moving slower to me now. I could see Daniel’s lips moving, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying at first, his voice coming to me as if from a great distance.
    “Taryn!” Daniel said, dread clear in his voice as his hands gripped my shoulders. His rich brown eyes looked black in the half light. I blinked, wondering why I was thinking about his eyes when murderous, horrifying beasts were just yards away from us.
    “I’m okay,” I finally said in a low voice. I lifted a hand to my head, pushing my bangs back, out of my eyes. I moved my hand to his face, feeling the heat of his skin on my palm, making my fingers tingle. I felt the first gentle stirrings of the depleted magic reaching out for him, making my belly warm and my hips shift.
    “No,” Daniel said softly, pulling my hand away from his face, “none of