The temporarily disabled lion circled back and away, heading uptown some distance as it struggled to regain its internal flame. The other roared in frustration and leapt heavenward, wings beating furiously as it struggled for altitude. Nothing in the beast's makeup was capable of the sort of vertical ascent Eddie was making, though. The best it could do was a tight, tight corkscrew-

And then the bronze dragon fell straight towards it and it tumbled backwards in surprise, losing several body-lengths of altitude before it could flame again. Almost it regained its bearing, but the bullets tore into its left wing very close to the body, and the flames stopped as it let out an inhuman yowl of pain and started to plummet.