“Kit? Where is she?”
Yuzu glanced away. “She is in trouble.”
Timothy slid his legs over the edge of the bed. His bare feet looked much like his hands. Pale and weak. His stomach rubbed his backbone, but food would have to wait.
“Yuzu, would you mind finding my boots?”
“You don’t look strong enough to stand, let alone walk.” The girl pursed her lips. “Colt was in better shape than you.” She laid a hand against his forehead. “You don’t have a fever, at least.”
“I’m fine. Walking will help.”
Yuzu studied him. “As stubborn as Colt too. All right. Your boots are right over there. It’s a good thing I am used to helping children with their shoes.”
Timothy shook his head. The girl certainly knew Kit, judging by her tongue.
It took both of them to get his socks and boots pulled over his bony feet. Timothy struggled to lift each leg. Yuzu watched him with wariness and concern. He managed to gain his feet with Yuzu’s help. His knees shook, and he willed them not to buckle. There was too much to do for that, but it felt good to stand.
“Wrap your arm around my waist,” the girl said.
Timothy blinked.
Yuzu sighed and tucked his arm around her middle. “I can’t carry you, but I can still keep you steady if we are going to find her. This will make us even.”
“Even? How did you get roped into this?” He could feel some curves beneath the baggy blouse. Not a young girl, he decided. She was at least as old as he was.
She looked at the window, and her brow creased. “I smell smoke.” Together, they hobbled to the window. Yuzu gasped. Timothy agreed. Only one word described what he saw through the window.
Trouble.
Billowing black smoke engulfed the town. Orange and red flames licked higher than most of the buildings. The fire extended as far as he could see. Did I die and go to hell after all? He felt alive. He hurt and was hungry. But then, who knew what hell was like? Maybe hurting, being hungry, and that fire was what hell was supposed to be.
Yuzu’s arm around his shoulders whipped him away from the window. He managed to catch the wall before he fell onto his face. She half dragged him to the door. “Mira. Hoss. Colt. They will be…they cannot be—” She kicked the door open enough to drag him through. It was all he could do to keep his legs working. She dragged him down the hall. Smoke started billowing into the hall through open windows. A loud crackling and popping sound drew closer.
She bound down the stairs, but the pace proved too much for Timothy. His knees gave out, and he pulled Yuzu off balance. Together, they rolled and thumped down the hard oak stairs. Lights flared in Timothy’s vision, and a heavy weight pressed against his chest. He forced himself to breathe against the welling panic of suffocation. Yuzu lay on top of him. Her jaw-length hair stuck out in odd directions. She looked as dazed as Timothy felt.
“Are you hurt?” They both said at the same time.
Timothy could feel firm softness beneath the worn slops she wore. She wasn’t as muscled as Kit, but he was sure her kicks would hurt just the same. Would he have two pairs of feet to guard against? Seriously? The entire town is on fire, Kit is missing, and I am thinking about getting kicked? He wanted to laugh.
Yuzu pushed off him and offered an arm. Timothy could feel a little strength returning to his legs. Walking down the hall, or perhaps the tumble down the stairs, had helped his remaining muscles remember their use. He wobbled but stood. He nodded, and together they plunged outside the inn.
Heat and smoke slammed into them as soon as they stepped outside. Ash and sparks scattered in the air like sheep at new pasture. People rushed past. Some carried torches while others carried children. Timothy could hear cries for help from open windows and doors. Yuzu tightened her grip on his shoulders and weaved through the fleeing townspeople. She aimed for an alley the fire hadn’t found yet. He focused on keeping his feet moving. Ash kicked up with every step. They weaved through the back alleys, avoiding those the fires gnawed. He gave up trying to keep track of where she was taking him. Yuzu finally stopped, breathing hard against him. Timothy struggled to find air amid the smoke and ash.
The sound of fire eating the town around them drowned out the cries for help. It was a small, selfish comfort. He knew there was nothing he could do for any of them. Yuzu’s eyes were wide as she looked around the street. Here and there people dashed with arms loaded with bundles. One man carried a massive chair on his back. What good would that do him? Sweat and soot made Timothy’s beard itch.
“Who are you looking for?”
“Some children I was taking care of.” Yuzu pointed at a bonfire. “They lived over there.”
“I am sure they are fine.” The conflagration laughed at the lie.
“One was sick! Mira is just a little girl, and her brother…They—”
“I am sure they are fine. Children are tougher than people give them credit for.” He remembered Aunt Mae saying that a lot. “We need to worry about ourselves.”
Yuzu looked around as if she was seeing the danger for the first time. “Y…yeah.”
“If we can still get out,” said a voice from behind.
Timothy almost fell as Yuzu whipped him about. Just when he felt like he could stand unaided, his knees had to remind him of reality.
“That fuzz on your face will be gone as soon as we have a spare moment,” Kit said. A fanged grin split her lips. Her green gaze skewered him. “It might not be the only thing I’ll use a knife for considering all the trouble you’ve caused me.”
Yuzu’s eyebrows disappeared behind her bangs.
Timothy laughed. “Getting rid of the fuzz will be a favor.”
It was good to see Kit. Ash mussed her red hair, and stray hairs clung to her forehead. Soot stained one of her cheeks, and exhaustion pulled at her eyes. Her hood was singed in a few places.
She was beautiful.
“You don’t think me serious? Foolish shepherd. You don’t know how much I’ve worked.”
Timothy’s mirth died as he remembered. That was one memory that didn’t have holes. “Kit. About…about your home. I should have told you. I should have told you as soon as I knew. You probably would have been better off with Trent. At least he—”
“You idiot!” Kit stalked to Timothy. Yuzu pulled away from him. He stood alone on wobbling legs. Kit’s gaze burned hotter than the fire around them. “Do you really think I would after how he grabbed—you do, don’t you?”
She snatched his shirt in her fists. He was too weak to resist. Not that he would. He deserved what fate dealt. Keeping the destruction of her home a secret was wrong.
“I thought maybe a little jealousy would teach you something. I misjudged how much wool is stuffed into that scholar brain of yours! Me and Trent? You followed along like a puppy. I wanted a mastiff! I almost thought you were going to pummel that peacock like he deserved. You looked ready to, yet you backed down. Why?”
Timothy had wanted to smear that man all over the paving stones. “That would have been wrong.”
Kit’s hands tensed. She quivered.
Finally, she relaxed and shook her head. She reached up and grabbed his chin fur. Her fingers wagged his head in time with her own. “Timmy, Timmy. Just what am I going to do with you?”
“A shave would be nice.” Timothy’s stomach muttered at him. “And food would be better.”
Kit stepped back and looked him up and down. She chewed her lower lip. “You are too bony for my taste. I am not a dog who will play fetch.” She hesitated. “You know, I wish you would get mad at me and yell every once in a while. I did what I did with Trent, knowing it would hurt you, but here you stand, just accepting it. Accepting me.” She looked up through her red bangs. “I don’t understand you.”
He shrugged. “I don’t understand me either. I am only happy you are well. Besides, what I did to you was worse.”
Kit frowned. “You think that silly note was worse than what I knowingly d
id to you? I saw you hiding in that stall, and I hung on Trent just to get back at you!”
“Uh,” Yuzu said. Timothy had forgotten about her. “Are you two going to keep arguing or are we going to get out of here? The fire?”
Wind fanned the flames toward them. Some of the buildings leaned dangerously toward the street.
“Good idea, I’d rather not have my tail singed.”
“Tail?” Yuzu asked.
Kit wrapped an arm around Timothy’s waist, and he put an arm around her shoulders. Kit really needs to be more careful with what she says.
“No grabbing. Your bony hands will cut me,” Kit said. She dragged him down the street much faster than Yuzu had. He could feel firm muscles working in her shoulders. He carefully kept his hand away from her chest. Yuzu matched their pace.
“You don’t have anything for me to grab onto if we fall anyway,” he said.
Kit growled something unintelligible. Yuzu glanced at him with a mix of disgust and shock. What? It was a good joke.
They stumbled down the street. The streams of people began to thin as the fire continued to chew at the town.
“They have to be all right.” Yuzu watched the flames. “They will escape.” Doubt stole upon her voice.
Timothy struggled to keep up with their pace, but the molten air lent incentive for his weak legs to work. The town groaned its last breaths now. Buildings gave up, crumbling as they passed. He tried not to think about how many people couldn’t get out of those buildings. Sick, abandoned, alone. He had almost been one of them. He shivered despite the heat. Only a few people scurried down the streets now. One man held fistfuls of jewelry. Kit furrowed her nose at the man, and her lips pulled back to show fangs. Timothy agreed.
“Almost there!” Yuzu shouted from ahead. Timothy could see the opened gate. Fires burned along the stone walls.
Crack.
The tallest building on the street toppled as if a giant had taken an axe to its foundations. Clay tiles chimed and shattered in a stream against the street. A storm of dust, soot, and sparks showered around them. The building crashed into the street, blowing them with gray dust. Yuzu froze a few feet from the ruins, eyes huge. If she had been moving any faster the entire building would have fallen on top of her. Timothy leaned on Kit and breathed hard. His stomach was a hollow.
Flames taunted them. The shattered building blocked their path to freedom.
Without a word, Kit pulled Timothy around and started down another street. Timothy stumbled more than he stepped. He licked his dry, cracked lips. The heat made his fool beard furious on his cheeks. Yuzu slipped under his other arm. They moved faster. His eyes burned from the smoke. Ash fell like corrupted snow. It covered the avenue they turned down. Sparks fluttered like fireflies.
A wall of fire waited. Kit coughed and cursed. Timothy felt panic rising. There had to be a way out.
“This way,” Yuzu said.
Another building crashed onto the street. Timothy choked on the kicked up ash. Kit’s eyes gleamed in the fire’s glow. The way back was a mass of burning timber and stone. A wall of fire blocked their way forward. Trapped. Timothy heard Kit growl deep in her throat.
Yuzu wiped her eyes. “They couldn’t have made it through this. Not with Colt being sick.”
“I will be damned if we are dying here after all the effort it took to find you, shepherd. I still need to knock sense into you for being so thick-skulled,” Kit said.
“If we get out of here, I may just scratch your ears,” Timothy said.
“Humph. I may just let you. Come on.” Kit pulled him toward the wall of fire, and Yuzu followed. The heat felt like it could burn off Timothy’s beard and eyebrows. Flames whittled at a tangle of fallen beams. Between the tendrils, Timothy could see the open gate. Fire licked at the double doors, but they were open. That was all that mattered. So close.
Kit studied the ruins, tapping her lower lip. “We might as well try it.”
“What? Run through that?” Yuzu pointed. “We wouldn’t make it.” Her shoulders slumped. “It is hopeless. There is no way the others would have made it through this.”
Kit shifted Timothy. “You can stay here, but we are getting out of here.”
“Just don’t singe your tail. I like it, but too many bald spots…” Timothy said.
Yuzu looked at Timothy like he had lost his mind.
Kit barked a laugh. “You are almost worth singing my tail. Almost.” She tapped her lower lip and measured him with her gaze. “You should be light enough now. Lucky for me. Just don’t skewer me with your ribs, Timmy.”
Timothy blinked. “What?”
Kit let go of him and crouched with hands behind her back. She looked over her shoulder and waved her fingers. Yuzu shook her head, muttering under her breath.
“Who is going to grab a handful of whom?” Timothy asked.
“Just get on before I sling you over my shoulder.”
Yuzu shook her head. “You two are crazy, but it is better than burning to death.”
With Yuzu’s help, Timothy climbed onto Kit’s back. She straightened and bounced him until she was satisfied. Her hands squeezed several times. He was almost too big for her, skeleton or not. His feet hung close to the ground.
“Next time I want something to squeeze.” She pinched. “All right, let’s go.” Kit leaped into the flames. Timothy felt the heat kiss his skin, and they were off. Yuzu ran behind them. Kit raced around clumps of fire, jumping through the thinner walls of flame. Her body rolled under him. Softness sheathed her muscles, and her sweat soaked into his shirt. She twisted as a piece of building crashed ahead of them. Timothy squeezed her chest to keep from falling off as they rushed through the pieces of building showering them. Kit began to slow, and Yuzu raced past them. Timothy could see the gate ahead of them. A large crash shivered the air close to them. Timothy looked up just as a building toppled toward them.
The building began to fall. It was right in their path. We are not going to make it.
Kit growled and pushed forward. Timothy pressed closer to her. Yuzu cleared the gate.
Creak, split, snap.
Death’s shadowed fingers reached for them.
Closer.
Debris twinkled around them.
Large timbers speared the cobblestones. The space to freedom grew smaller, too small to run through.
He wondered how much it would hurt to be crushed.
Kit dove to her side and skidded in the ash. Timothy squeezed her chest with what little strength he had left.
The world went gray.
At least neither would have to die alone.
Chapter 8
Evelyn watched the town smolder from a hill. Nearby, a sleek black horse tried to graze around the bit in his mouth. He tossed his head whenever the reins dangled too close to the patch of green grass. Signs of soldiers were scattered around the hill. Stacked pikes forested the empty camp in jagged clumps. Stone-circled campfires had long since grown cold. The town below looked much the same, surrounded by its walls. Refuse was strewn everywhere. Here and there a mound of clothing lay in the cold wind. The air did little to chill the heat that seared her veins. Her breath rasped in her throat.
“My boy, my little dirty cheeky boy, we will see the pearly gates. Your momma will hold your hand so you won’t be scared.”
Evelyn knew she looked a mess. She could feel the ash on her skin. Her once-black dress was gray with the stuff. There was no need to be clean on the outside. God would take care of cleaning her soul now. Soon she would be at peace. If only Joseph hadn’t died. No, not yet. They had to see him together.
“Joseph. Joseph, Joseph. Why? So long I waited. Gone. Dead. Why did you leave us? Did you break your promise?”
Joseph never wanted this, a voice within her mind said. He would have wanted us to be happy.
“Why did he leave me then? Why did God take him?” The voice didn’t answer. It never had any answers. Well, soon she would be free of it, and together with Joseph
and her Timothy. But she couldn’t be selfish and go first. No. A mother was never selfish.
She noticed a few people staring at her. Most had fled. The people looked like burnt coals. A few children huddled in their mother’s arms, and several of the men looked at the town as if they were uncertain what had happened.
They lost everything because they trusted you, the small, insane voice in her mind said. People just want to live peacefully, just like Timothy. That girl of his is good for him. He looked happy whenever we saw them together.
That voice was always insane.
It was time to speak as the Prophetess one last time. She turned to the remnants of her army. “Sin is gone. Burned. Once the last burns away, you can rebuild the town anew, better. The illness is burned out.”
At least most of the illness was. It cleaned and sent to heaven. Only Evelyn still had more sin to burn out. She had much to answer for. Why else would Joseph have gone to heaven without her? Why else did he have to die but because of her? She had enjoyed her marriage too much. Some nights, in her dreams, he was still there. She enjoyed those dreams too much. They felt too good.
It is good to love. It is good to be sad.
Evelyn squashed that insane little voice. It wasn’t love. It was lust. Sinful. Bad. The worst of the deadly sins.
The handful of followers looked at their Prophetess. “You will build a paradise out of ash. This prophecy is my last telling. Live in God’s peace. I will see you in heaven.”
She turned away from her flock. Her knees shook with weakness she ignored. She had time yet. God wouldn’t allow her to go to heaven first. Not after all the years she had waited. It took that red-haired demon to inspire her to finally act. Her soul shook within her when she saw it beside her Timmy. Seeing the demon awakened her to what she needed to do to save her boy.
“God knew that my boy would run into that demon. It was the first sign. My life was full of signs. I am not sinless yet, but his mercy still robes me.”
She wandered down the hill. For some reason, the horse followed her. He puffed to try to get her attention, but her eyes focused on the refuse scattered in the grass. The wind rustled the mounds of cloth, revealing gazes empty of life. God’s punishment scarred their pallid skin. The canvas tents fluttered in the cool breeze, and her skirts danced in time with the canvas. The horse nudged her shoulder. She ignored it and ducked into the tent.
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