Dozens; there were dozens of them.
I swallowed heavily and tried to ignore the psychic wash. I couldn’t save everyone… and it was very possible I might not be able to save the two people I loved most in the world.
The lane came out into a small parking area behind Émigré. Though bits of wood, concrete, and metal lay scattered all over the area, the flames and destruction hadn’t yet reached the back of the building or the loading bay. A metal grate barred entry into the latter; beyond it, at the top of the stairs, was a double-width door. Entry into the back of Émigré.
Given the state of the building and that door, there was a very good chance that Belle, Aiden, and others might still be alive… but only if they’d been in this portion of the building rather than the front.
I gathered the wild magic, blasted the metal shutter apart, and then raced up the steps and strode toward the door. The wild magic stirred around me even as Katie silently urged me to hurry.
“Do you know what lies behind the door?” I asked.
A hallway leading into the rear storage areas.
“How close to the destruction zone and the fire is it?”
Close enough.
“And Aiden?”
I warily pressed a hand against the door. It was warm to the touch, and there were thin threads of smoke leaching out from underneath it, but neither were an indication that the hall beyond was ablaze. I once again used the wild magic to punch the door open. Smoke billowed out, its stench a mix of wood, burning plastics, and who knew what else. The hallway beyond was dark, filled with the crackle of distant flames and the groaning of a building on the verge of collapse.
He’s trapped in the basement, Katie said. The roof has fallen onto the main stairs, and a beam blocks the secondary exit door that leads into this hall. You must hurry.
I knew that, but I nevertheless stalled. My heart raced a million miles an hour, and my fear was so thick it squeezed my throat and made breathing even more difficult.
It was stupid to go in there. Absolutely stupid. But if I didn’t—if I did the sensible thing and waited for emergency services to get here and do their job—there was every chance that no one in the basement would survive. It wasn’t only precognitive ability telling me that; it was also evident in the growing pulse of Katie’s fear.
My heart skipped several beats and then kicked up a gear. “What about Belle? Is she with him?”
She’s not in the basement. Nor is she outside or amongst those who lie in the rubble.
Her words only made the sick churning in my gut intensify. Either she’d escaped through that weird doorway she’d mentioned with Roger and Maelle, or she was now Clayton’s prisoner. While I’d definitely prefer the former rather than the latter option, it didn’t explain why I couldn’t sense her presence. As far as I knew, the only thing that could break the connection between us was death, and I had to believe she wasn’t yet dead. Surely, surely, I would have known if she was.
“And Maelle and Roger? Have you seen them?”
No.
Meaning it was possible Belle was with them. Maybe they were all safe in the accommodation quarters, wherever they were. It was a hope I clung to even as instinct said it was unlikely.
I cautiously stepped into the hallway. Between the smoke and the lack of lights, it was almost impossible to see, even with my enhanced eyesight. I wish I’d thought to bring a flashlight or even my damn phone, but clear and rational thinking hadn’t exactly been a priority… The thought had barely crossed my mind when the threads of wild magic came to life, giving the turbulent, smoke-filled air an eerie bluish-white glow. I picked my way through the rubble that was strewn everywhere, heading for barely visible stairs.
“The beam that blocks the basement’s exit—can you move it?”
I can’t interact directly with physical items.
“Why? You have before.”
Smaller items, yes, but I can only affect larger items—including both humans and the supernatural—through or with you. That may change, but for now, I remain restricted.
Her frustration sang through her mental tone, but that was absolutely understandable. If not for those restrictions, she could have rescued Aiden herself.
I paused at a distant whoomph. The walls around me shuddered, and dust rained down, thick and choking. My gaze jerked upward; the ceiling had cracked, and spiderlike veins were now crawling along its length. Another explosion, however minor, might just bring the lot down on top of me. I swallowed heavily and forced my feet on.
Up ahead, gleaming dully in the wild magic’s ghostly light, was the railing that lined one side of the stairs that led into the basement. The smoke and dust became a wall thick enough to carve, and the air burned. My eyes stung, my skin was on fire, and my throat felt raw. Breathing through the mask of my sweater wasn’t really doing much to keep the muck and the smoke out of every breath. And with every step, I drew closer to the destruction zone… and the possibility of death.
I briefly closed my eyes, fighting the panic, fighting to keep moving. I had to keep moving. I had no other choice. Not if I wanted to save Aiden and uncover where the hell Belle was.
Though I knew. Deep down inside, I knew.
I gripped the railing, then
