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The show organiser grabbed a microphone and called for calm. For some reason, several people were knocked over in the rush to get outside. Some of the acts came from the back and poured out into the room, hurrying to the doors. They were fighting against parents trying to reach the stage or the backrooms to find their children, and the entire scene was a mess. The panic was a massive overreaction. It didn't make sense. I shivered, looking around for a familiar face.
I spotted Dorian helping Perdita with the pram, but they were close to the doors, and I was in front of the stage. I had no way of getting to them unless I climbed over the crowd.
By the stage, things were calmer. Tammie coolly led the children off the stage, and a number of parents met her there. They were about to make their way to the doors when somebody shouted that the doors were locked.
I ran to Tammie’s side. “Why would anybody lock the doors?”
“It’s probably stuck,” she said against my ear. “Those builders were cowboys. This is ridiculous. Stay close. If you see any stragglers from the drama club, drag them along with you, but I think most of them got out already.”
I couldn’t see the pram anymore, so Dorian and Perdita had obviously made it through, too. The people who were stuck at the locked doors were panicking, pushing and shoving at each other for no reason.
The show organiser pleaded with them to listen, but they ignored her until Tammie whistled loudly. She waved a hand to make sure the crowd focused on her. "Can everybody follow me to the fire exit at the back of the building? No pushing, please!”
A somewhat orderly group of children and adults hurried after Tammie. I found Victor and Alison in their midst.
“Where is everybody?” I asked. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” Victor said. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“Why is everybody freaking out so much?” Alison said. “What’s going on outside those doors?”
"Harbingers?" Victor suggested.
"In front of all these witnesses?" I tried to stay calm. “Nathan will sort it out."
“He’s not here,” Victor said. “He brought the dogs home with a few others. Hasn’t come back yet. Dorian’s the only one I know for sure is out there.”
“Perdita or Dorian would have called Nathan for help if they needed it. Let’s get out of here and see what’s happening,” I said. “Keep the kids calm, keep moving, and we’ll be outside soon. We should all find Perdita first. She has the baby with her.” I inhaled deeply, still unsettled. "I can’t even smell a fire. Can either of you?”
They both shook their heads. The fire alarm was still wailing, making it hard to think or hear what was going on outside.
Gritting my teeth, I helped usher the remaining children through to the back of the building. We reached the fire exit without any problems, but when Tammie tried to open it, nothing happened. Victor moved to her side to try, but even he couldn’t make it budge.
“It’s blocked,” I heard him murmur.
A flash of panic crossed Tammie’s face, but she quickly pulled herself together. “All right,” she said brightly. “We’ll go through the windows.” She muttered under her breath, “Somebody’s getting fired on Monday.”
Too many weird things were happening at once. I’d had a bad feeling, a fire alarm had gone off, people had excessively panicked, and the doors were all locked.
And then I felt it. Death hovering around us, close to the children, reaching for them. Eli had to be nearby. I ducked away from the group to search for him, but every room I looked in turned up empty.
The feeling of death in the air grew stronger. I ran in front of the stage and looked around, but the seats were all empty. The fire alarm finally stopped screeching, and the sounds of a scuffle in the foyer could be heard. The wolf grew uneasy; people we cared about were out there.
“Margo!” Victor came running after me. “What the hell did you run off for?”
“You were right. Eli’s here,” I said. “Death is in the air. I can feel it. And there’s something going on outside. Victor, the baby’s out there, and my parents. What if Dorian’s alone dealing with it?”
“Is Eli with us or out there with Dorian?” Victor asked gruffly.
I had no idea.
“Margo! I need to know. Where’s Eli?”
Death curled its hand around the back of my neck. I slowly turned to face the stage.
Eli walked out as though we had summoned him by saying his name. The spirits clawed at him, but he didn’t notice. He drew death around him, and the spirits suffered. I was so distracted by them, searching for that one face that might mean something to me, that I missed his attack.
It didn’t hit me. It hit Victor. He fell to his knees, blood rushing from his nose as he gasped for air. Eli had gotten better. I acted fast, moving in front of Victor, trying to take the brunt of the continued attack as I formed a barrier.
