"Accio."
The instant Horvath and the female mage were sent flying, Rowan extended his will. The nesting doll sealed with Morgana and Veronica veered midair and snapped neatly into his grasp. Without hesitation, he stashed it inside his personal storage space.
Mind control?
Please.
Between his mental defenses and disciplined focus, that trick wouldn't even scratch him. The moment earlier had been an act, nothing more. Horvath was a survivor by instinct, a master of escape. If Rowan hadn't lulled him into overconfidence, there was no chance of reclaiming the doll cleanly.
Securing it was the priority.
With the doll safe, Rowan turned his attention to the battlefield.
"Now it's your turn."
He launched himself upward, then dropped like a meteor onto the fire dragon below. His heavy body slammed into its back, forcing the massive creature flat against the street.
Rowan raised both paws.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Each blow hammered into the dragon's skull, knocking its head from side to side. Flames sputtered wildly, scorching storefronts instead of their intended target.
"Let's call this the Dragon-Subduing Panda Strike," Rowan muttered. "Might as well live up to the stereotype."
The dragon roared in pain, but before it could recover, Balthazar completed his spell.
Brilliant plasma surged from his hands and pierced straight through the chest of the male mage controlling the creature. The spell detonated inside him. He collapsed instantly.
With his creator dead, the fire dragon unraveled into embers and vanished.
The battlefield fell into a brief, eerie silence.
Two versus two.
Horvath staggered to his feet, blood at the corner of his mouth. One solid hit earlier had landed cleanly. He hadn't had time to dissolve into insects that time.
"This isn't worth it," he growled. "We're leaving."
He grabbed the female mage and fled without another word.
Rowan turned to Balthazar, projecting urgency into his thoughts. "If we let them go now, they'll come back for the doll. If you won't kill them, at least seal them again."
Balthazar hesitated.
Horvath hadn't always been his enemy. Once, they had been brothers in everything but blood. That hesitation had cost him dearly over the centuries.
Then he clenched his jaw.
"You're right. We end this properly."
He looked up at the rooftop. "David, stay there."
Balthazar and Rowan gave chase.
Police sirens wailed as patrol cars converged on Chinatown, alerted by the chaos. Horvath struck first, blasting officers aside and hijacking a cruiser. The female mage took the wheel while Horvath reshaped the vehicle with advanced mimicry.
The police car stretched, warped, and transformed into a sleek supercar before rocketing down the street.
Balthazar seized another cruiser and did the same, converting it mid-motion and roaring after them.
Rowan didn't bother with vehicles.
He unfolded his wings and took to the air.
Below him, two supercars tore through the streets in a high-speed chase that looked like something ripped straight out of an action movie. Above them, Rowan kept pace effortlessly, enjoying the advantage of altitude.
"Fast," he admitted. "But not fast enough."
He began casting from the air.
Invisible blades rained down toward Horvath's vehicle. In response, a thick, rolling fog exploded outward, enveloping the supercar like a moving cloud bank and obscuring Rowan's aim.
Annoying, but not decisive.
Rowan circled above, tracking the fog's movement. As long as he stayed overhead, escape was impossible.
Then the fog stopped.
Rowan slowed and hovered, frowning.
"Wind surge."
A powerful spiral of air tore through the fog, scattering it instantly.
What emerged below wasn't a supercar.
It was a tank.
Rowan blinked. "Okay. That's new."
The tank's turret was already aligned.
The cannon fired.
Rowan didn't bother with conventional shields. There wasn't time.
"Light Magic: Three Pillars."
Three columns of radiant energy descended around him, locking together into a luminous barrier. Sacred symbols flared as the shell slammed into the shield and detonated.
The explosion lit up the night.
When the smoke cleared, the barrier hadn't even flickered.
People on nearby streets stared upward in stunned silence.
"Am I hallucinating," someone whispered, "or is there a glowing panda angel in the sky?"
Several onlookers dropped to their knees and began praying.
On the ground, Balthazar reached the tank. He pressed one hand against it.
The metal rippled, softened, and disintegrated into a shower of flower petals.
With his other hand, he conjured an invisible grasp that closed in on Horvath.
Desperate, Horvath yanked the female mage in front of him, then dissolved into a swarm of cockroaches, scattering toward a nearby storm drain.
Rowan descended like judgment.
"Freeze. All of you."
A wave of cold magic swept outward.
Every insect froze mid-motion, locked in place.
Rowan exhaled slowly.
After watching Horvath escape again and again using that trick, he'd searched for a counter. The solution hadn't been a stronger spell, just the right one. A freezing curse designed specifically for small creatures.
Magic, after all, wasn't about power alone.
It was about having the right answer.