Mab saw the movement out of the corner of her eye and rolled away at the last possible second. Again, my knife only scraped along her arm, instead of doing the massive, fatal damage that I so desperately wanted it to do.
But I wasn't done yet-not by a long shot. I propelled myself forward that much more. My body slammed into the Fire elemental's, and we hit the floor again. Mab immediately blasted me with her magic. The hot, hungry flames engulfed my body, forcing me to push back with my Stone magic just to keep from being burned alive. Even then, I could feel the strength of Mab's power-the sheer, raw, all-consuming force of it. I brought all the Stone magic that I had to bear, but her Fire still burned me, cutting through my defenses and making blisters pop out on my skin, searing my flesh one layer at a time.
But I wasn't the only one who felt the effects of Mab's overwhelming power.
Her Fire magic also ignited the carpet underneath our rolling bodies, and more flames and smoke began to fill the hallway. Mab swung her fists at me, and with every blow, red-hot sparks fluttered up into the air like butterflies. The sparks only helped spread the elemental Fire, which leaped up the walls and consumed everything in its path, including the expensive oil paintings and elegant drapes hanging there.
Over and over, we rolled together, with me trying to stab Mab with my silverstone knives and her blasting me with her Fire magic. The threat of my knives distracted and kept her from truly unleashing her elemental power on me, but the flames burning on her fists also blocked me from doing the quick, deadly damage that I wanted.
It was a f**king stalemate.
By this point, other people had noticed what was going on, and hoarse screams and shouts filled the air, along with thick smoke and the blare of a fire alarm. But even that sharp, steady clang-clang-clang couldn't quite drown out the sounds of our guttural snarls. Heavy footsteps also thumped down the hall, making the floor quiver and quake, as Mab's giants ran through the flames toward us.
And I realized that I'd already lost.
I just couldn't get close enough to Mab to stab her with my knives, not without being consumed by her Fire myself. My Stone magic just wasn't strong enough to completely shield me. Maybe I should have used my Ice power as well, but I wanted to have a little bit of magic left in the tank for my getaway. Besides, I'd planned to stab Mab in the back, not confront her. Of course, that plan had gotten shot to hell, like so many of my best-laid ones before it.
Now, with more and more of her giants filling the hallway, my escape route would soon be cut off. I knew what would happen after that. Mab would pin me down and burn me to death, just like she had my mother and older sister before me.
And then she'd go after Bria.
Fletcher had always told me that there was no shame in retreating, in running away, even if you missed your target. Survival was the only thing that ever really mattered in the end. As long as I was alive, I still had a chance to kill Mab-even if tonight wasn't going to be the night. The old man's wisdom had saved me more than once, and I saw no reason to doubt it now. I just hoped I hadn't waited too long to take his advice.
I snapped up my left hand and punched Mab in the face, even though the action caused me unbelievable pain as her flames licked and burned my skin. Screams, snarls, and curses spewed from my lips like venom. The sharp blow stunned the Fire elemental, and her magic flickered and dimmed just enough for me to roll away from her and get back up on my feet. On the other side of the hallway, Mab did the same, her head whipping around in my direction.
Through the smoke and flames, our eyes locked together. Gray on black. Anger, hate, and loathing burned between us, a living, palpable thing even brighter than the elemental Fire that filled the hallway. I knew the second that Mab recognized me. The Fire intensified on her fists, so hot that it seared my skin all the way across the hallway, even though I was still holding on to my Stone magic to try to protect myself from her power.
"Gin Blanco!" Mab hissed. "I should have known!"
Yeah, she should have. But I didn't have time to trade quips with her, especially since she was drawing back her fist to send a ball of fire at me-one that would end me.
I sprinted down the hallway, heading back toward the bathroom. But that wasn't my goal-the Exit sign at the end of the corridor was. Even as I ran, I could feel Mab gathering more and more of her elemental strength, holding on to more and more of her Fire power. I was moving away from her as fast as I could, but still, her magic chased after me, stabbing my skin like thousands of red-hot needles. She was going to throw everything she had at me, and if I didn't get out of the hallway before she did, I'd be dead.
Up ahead, a giant who I recognized as one of Mab's men stepped out of a room that branched off the corridor. The bodyguard ran straight at me, his long, beefy arms outstretched, like he wanted to crush me in a bear hug. And I saw a way to save myself-the only way to save myself from Mab's elemental Fire.
So I let him.
I slammed myself into the giant's body, letting him wrap his arms all the way around me, and then pivoted and spun around as hard as I could. The move surprised the giant, and his feet moved of their own accord, twirling him around and putting his broad back between me and Mab.
A second later, Mab's elemental Fire slammed into him.
The giant screamed as the flames swept over his body. He had no elemental magic, no power of any sort, so there was no way that he could protect himself. Hell, I would have been fried extra-crispy if his body hadn't shielded mine and if I hadn't grabbed hold of my Stone magic once more and used it to turn my body into an impenetrable shell. Even with those pieces of protection in place, Mab's flames still seared my skin, burning, burning, burning.
I screamed right along with the giant.
The flames seemed like they lasted forever, even though they flared out after only a few seconds. I drew in a ragged breath, gagging as the familiar, acrid stench of charred flesh filled my nose. Somehow, I shoved the giant's melted body away from me, even though it disintegrated into smoking ash at my touch. I looked down at the ruined thing that had been a man a second before. The horrible scent of seared skin filled my nose again, and tears streamed down my face from the pain pulsing through my body.
Bitter bile rose in my throat, choking me, but I forced it down and raised my eyes.
Mab was at the other end of the hallway. We just stood there, both of us breathing hard and staring at the other, not quite believing what had just happened. That neither one of us had killed the other.
And then Mab let out a primal, furious scream that made my lips draw back into a matching snarl. I wanted nothing more than to race back down the hallway, throw myself on top of her, and pound her with my fists, just hit her over and over and over again until she was nothing but a smoking red smear on the carpet.