She shoves me back toward my bedroom. Inside, one of the vampires she blasted with faelight lies on the floor, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
“She’s got to be upstairs,” someone yells from below.
Ensley presses something into my palm. Car keys.
“Out the window,” she says quickly. “Get to the SUV if you can. If you can’t, run. Into the forest. Find cover. We’ll come for you once we’ve dealt with the rest of them.”
Before I can respond, she swipes a hand over her face. The air around her head ripples like heat over pavement. When it settles, I’m staring at my own reflection.
“I’ll distract them.”
“No—” I start, but she’s already moving.
Ensley bolts for the door, shouting, “I’m over here, you bloodsucking idiots!”
“Ensley, no!” I yell, chasing after her.
She glances back just once before plunging straight through the flames engulfing the hallway. “Go!” she shouts, and then she’s gone, swallowed by fire and smoke.
The only reason I know she makes it through is the shout that follows moments later.
“There she is! Grab her before she gets outside!”
I freeze, heart hammering, keys biting into my palm, torn between chasing after Ensley and doing exactly what she told me to do.
I can’t leave her.
I start after Ensley, and run straight into a vampire, one of the ones she hit with faelight. His shirt is charred at the shoulder, the skin beneath burned raw, glistening and red. He lunges for me, fangs bared.
Instinct takes over, but the wrong one. I duck back into my room at the last second rather than using my magic.
The vampire skids past the doorframe, but with a snarl changes course, following me.
I’m trapped.
He comes at me again, shadow magic snapping toward my throat, fangs flashing. Panic jolts through me, and then I remember.
I fire back.
Magenta and purple flames slam into his chest. He ignites instantly, screaming as fire devours him, the sound high and horrible. The sight turns my stomach, but there’s no time to dwell on it. It was him or me.
He staggers back into the hallway, still screaming, clawing at the flames.
Smoke creeps into the room, thick and choking. I don’t know if Ensley made it out, but the hallway is no longer an option.
I have to move.
I twist toward the window and fling it open. The moon hangs overhead, more than half swallowed in red.
How much time do I have before the eclipse is complete? Ten minutes? Five?
No. I can’t think about that now.
I think of Becks slipping out this same window, lowering himself to shorten the drop.
It’s a long way down, but if he managed it, so can I.
Scrambling onto my stomach, I slide through the opening, fingers digging into the sill. Cold air rushes up to meet me. My feet dangle in open space as I lower myself down, just like he did.
