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I almost screamed in frustration.Goddamn it. He was right. My need for vengeance was curbed by the need to save the people I could help.
I led a still shaken Sarah into the hallway and was already banging on the bedroom doors when Claire and David came racing to the top of the stairs.
“We saw the smoke. What happened?” David shouted.
“The demon started the fire,” I said. “And it’s spreading fast.”
A door down the hall opened and one of the researchers stood in the doorway, wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt. “What’s going on? I smell smoke.”
As if on cue, the smoke alarms kicked in, emitting their high-pitched, eardrum-piercing tones. The other researchers appeared in their doorways, noticed the smoke, and raced for the staircase.
“David, we have to hurry!”
He nodded, then wrapped an arm around Sarah, who was crying hysterically, and asked the man in the doorway to help her downstairs.
Smoke filled the hallway, and flames were now shooting from Myra’s open bedroom doorway.
“That’s everyone, Ellie,” Claire shouted, emerging from a bedroom. “It’s moving fast. We have to get out now!”
“I have to get Collin! You and David make sure everyone got out okay.” I ran into the bedroom where we’d found the demon. Collin was using a blanket to beat the flames. Half the room was almost completely engulfed.
“Collin!” I shouted. “Come on!”
He turned to me coughing, his face black from the smoke. “Is everyone out?”
“Yes! Hurry!”
Thick smoked filled the hall as we stumbled to the staircase, both of us choking. There was a pocket of clean air halfway down, and I sucked in a deep breath and held it until we reached the dining room. Flames covered the dining room wall, and a cracking sound filled the entire room. The ceiling in front of us caved in, dropping a pile of burning debris onto the table. A plume of smoke rushed through the house, filling my lungs and blocking our exit.
I grabbed Collin’s hand, lacing our fingers together, and tugged. “This way.” I pulled him to the front door, coughing so hard I could barely see the steps leading to the yard. I dragged him to the edge of the yard and when I released my hold on him, he fell to his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath. Knowing he was safe, that we were all safe, I sat on the grass beside him, exhausted and heartbroken.
A crowd had already gathered before I heard the sirens. They were too late.
“Ellie!” David’s terrified shouts rounded the corner of the house. He saw me on the grass and ran to my side, falling on his knees next to me. “Thank God. I was so scared you were still inside.” He pulled me to his chest and buried his hand in my hair. “I couldn’t find you.”
“The ceiling caved in. We had to go this way. I’m safe.” But I felt numb. Like none of this could be real.
He held me for several seconds before he looked up at the inferno. “God, Ellie. You’re going to lose it all.” He sounded horrified.
“No. Not everything.” I buried my face in his chest. Not yet.
He turned me so my chest was pressed to his, and I let myself fall apart, safe in his arms. “Myra. We found her.” I broke into sobs.
I cried myself into exhaustion before I had the sense to check on Collin. An ambulance was parked on the side of the street now, and an irritated Collin was sitting on a gurney with an oxygen mask on. When he saw me watching him, he tossed it down and, ignoring the shouts of the paramedic who was treating him, jumped out of the ambulance and strode over toward me, his jaw set in determination.
I climbed to my feet as he approached.
“I’m sorry I didn’t go after her, Ellie. We’ll track her down. I swear to you.”
“You did the right thing.” I reached my arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you.”
His hands loosely held my waist before he gently pushed me away. “It looks like your favorite police officer is waiting to talk to you. He’s already told me not to leave until we’ve had a ‘chat.’”
Tom made his way toward me, and I looked up at Collin in a panic. “What happened to the swords?”
“Claire,” he said as Tom walked up.
“What about Claire?” Tom asked, his hands on his hips, his gaze swinging between the three of us.
