Vengeance (The Captive #6)(79)
The wafting smoke she’d last seen before entering the cave had turned into a full-fledged inferno in the library and school as hungry flames leapt out of their collapsing roofs. Other buildings had flames beginning to poke out the tops of them as well. The crackle of the fires snapped and popped so loudly she could hear them from her location almost two miles away.
Turning, she ran across the backyards toward the main street once more. She slipped in between two of the buildings and plunged into the chaos packing the road. White cloaked vampires and villagers ran back and forth down the crowded thoroughfare. Most of the vampires wearing white ran toward the hotel while the others tried to flee the town by running down the road toward the barricade.
She didn’t look for humans; she hadn’t seen any since their town had been taken over. She assumed they were still alive, most likely in the blood bank, but she didn’t know for sure. Perhaps in the chaos they would be able to get free, but she didn’t know for sure, and she didn’t have time to try for the blood bank.
She shoved her way through the crowd, bouncing back and forth, as the fleeing vamps pushed her from side to side. Her foot was stomped on; she took an elbow to the chin and one to her breast, but they didn’t slow her as she continued to fight her way toward the orphanage.
An elbow to the cheek caused her hand to fly to her face when her skin split open from the blow. She staggered back a step as more vampires jostled violently against her. Ear splitting screams resonated through the air. She glanced down the road leading out of town to find the soldiers who had been standing guard there using their spears against the residents trying to flee. The scent of blood rose in the air to mix with the increasing aroma of smoke and burning wood.
Struggling through the crowd, she was almost to the orphanage when the glass windows of a house four down from her exploded with an echoing bang. Glass flew outward, slicing across the vampires running past the house. They screamed loudly as the shards sliced across their skin. Some fell to the street while others raced onward. Flames shot out from the windows and licked hungrily up the front of the house. Her stomach plummeted into her boots when she realized the house hadn’t been one of the ones she’d set on fire. The wind had whipped the fires up and spread them far faster than she or William had anticipated.
Pushing aside her guilt over what she’d done, and her apprehension that this plan had already spiraled out of control, she kept moving forward, determined to get to the orphanage and the children. The screams intensified, the frenzy of the pushing almost knocked her to her feet. An elbow in her back caused her to stumble forward three steps. She fell but managed to break the fall with her hands before hitting her knees. Scrambling forward, she remained in a crouch until she made it to the safety of a side yard.
She didn’t realize she was shaking until she was free of the commotion of the street. Running through the snow, she leapt up the back stairs of the orphanage, tripped over the top step, and crashed into the door. A startled shout came from inside when she began to beat against the wood.
“Pallas!” she screamed her voice hoarse from the smoke billowing over and around her. She may not require breath, but the smoke still burned her throat. The door flew open to reveal Pallas and Abbott. They were both pale and shaking; their eyes frantic much like she assumed her own were right now. “Get the children, we must go!”
Pallas spun away to reveal the children huddled behind her in the dining room. “Tempest!” Nora cried and ran toward her.
Nora’s weight rocked her, but she embraced the girl in a firm hug before releasing her. “Come, hurry.” She waved frantically at the others and scooped Agnes up in her arms when she toddled forward.
Turning, Tempest fled across the snow toward the mountains. She had to get the children free of this town, now.
***
William smelled the pungent smoke before he heard the shouts resonating through the streets. The vampires gathered in the cell around him cautiously approached the bars in front as curiosity drew them forward. He remained in the back, leaning against the bars while he watched the guards rise from their chairs.
“I’ll check it out,” one of the men said to the others. He glanced at the cells before grabbing his cloak from a hook. Opening the front door, he poked his head out. Over his shoulder, William spotted vampires running in both directions on the street. Anguish-filled screams rebounded through the building. The vampires around him exchanged uneasy glances. “Stay here,” the man said and stepped out the door.
The other three men stared at the door as they waited for their cohort to return. The door remained closed; the intensity of the screams increased. The men remained inside for a few more minutes waiting for their leader to return. William’s teeth ground together; he fought the urge to tap his foot as he waited for one or all of them to become curious enough to check outside too.
Or fearful enough.
Something thumped onto the roof, causing everyone around him to jump, including the guards. He tilted his head back. His eyes narrowed as he studied the roof; it remained the same, for now. His attention was drawn away from the suspicious noise when smoke began to coil in from under the front door. The nervous murmurs of the prisoners surrounding him became more of a chatter as they surged toward the bars.
The smoke was enough for the three remaining guards. They didn’t give the prisoners a backward glance, or bother to grab their cloaks before they fled out the door. William didn’t wait for it to shut before he turned toward the man closest to him and held out his hands, “Untie me,” he commanded.