Vengeance (The Captive #6)(82)
His joint popped out of place with a loud crack. The sound of it was drowned out beneath the growing crescendo of beams and wood being devoured by the greedy fire. Hell didn’t contain the heat this cell did now. He lurched forward; the steel of the pin brushed against the tips of his fingers, but he couldn’t grasp hold of it. A shout of frustration escaped him; he lunged again but only succeeded in grazing the metal once more.
For the first time, he began to realize he wouldn’t be making it out of this mess alive. His forehead fell against the floor; out of habit, he inhaled a smoke-choked breath that caused him to cough hoarsely against the burn in his throat and lungs.
Tempest, her name blazed through his mind causing sorrow to twist within his chest.
She’d gotten free of this town; he had to believe that. He had to believe she would continue and do what had to be done. She would find help, and when all of this was over, she would find happiness and security somewhere in this world. He wasn’t ready to lose her; he wanted more time with her, so much more time. He didn’t think an eternity would have been enough.
Drawing on her lingering scent on his body, and the vivid image of her in his head, he lifted his forehead off the floor. No matter what happened, he wouldn’t give up until he was dead. With a low groan, he pulled back and pushed himself forward one more time, but again his fingers just missed the pin. He pulled back again and lurched forward as the vampires around him continued to try and beat out the growing flames.
He pulled away from the bars to slap at the flames that caught at the bottom of his shirt and began to lick their way up toward his chest. Blisters formed on his palms but he continued to beat at the flames until they fanned out. He fell back against the bars as the heat burned against his body. Around him the vampires began to falter, they fell back against the walls, some collapsed onto the floor.
Grabbing hold of a bar with his one good hand, he pulled himself to his feet, placed his dislocated shoulder in between the bars and wrenched backward. He never heard the pop over the fire when his joint snapped into place again. His gaze went to the ceiling and the bars overhead, searching for some other way out, but though the bars were beginning to glow from the heat, they remained otherwise unaffected by the flames.
A fresh burst of air caused the fire around him to swirl higher. The flames became a mini tornado in the room that whipped around the walls before dying down again. The vampires in the cell next door fell back when the rush of air caused the flames to leap at them. William searched for the source of the clean air, but the flames and smoke made it impossible to see. His head lulled toward the front door.
“Tempest.” Her name left his mouth before he saw her. He’d know her soul anywhere, he realized.
Red rimmed her swollen eyes; smoke and ash streaked her face as she materialized through the haze of smoke and flames. Her lovely brown eyes were frantic when her hands wrapped around his on the bars.
“What are you doing here?” His throat, raw from the smoke and flames, made his voice sound as if he’d been eating glass.
“How do I get you out?” she inquired instead of answering him.
“You have to go. I told you to leave.”
Her eyes burned into his. “I created this mess; I’m not leaving you to it.”
“I created this mess. Get out of here; I won’t let you die because of me.”
“You’re not letting me do anything, I am doing this. Now stop wasting time by arguing with me, and tell me what to do to get you free.”
His hand turned over in hers. He opened his mouth to tell her to leave again, but the determined look in her eyes brooked no room for argument. “The pin is on the ground over there; it fell out of the lock when the beam came down.”
He released her hand when she turned away from him to search for the pin. Her hands fumbled through the smoke flowing across the floor before she grabbed hold of the pin and rushed back to him. Taking it from her, he slid it into the lock again and began to maneuver it around. His sweat slicked fingers made it difficult to keep his grip on the pin; the press of the vampires against his back did little to help him with the heat and his maneuverability of the pin.
Tempest turned away from him and hurried over to the desks. He lost sight of her in the thickening smoke. “Tempest!” he managed to shout out in a ragged voice.
“Here!” Her voice sounded like it came from a mile away, not merely feet.
“Go outside and wait for me!”
“Here!” she called back again instead.
He gritted his teeth together, for the first time understanding what it was Braith had to deal with when it came to his stubborn as a mule sister. Never again would he tease his brother-in-law. He felt another click, but when he leaned against the bars, the door remained securely in place.
Tempest emerged from the shadows, flying across the room with the surety of an arrow toward the bull’s eye. “I’ve got the key!” she gasped out, her hand clutching one of the cloaks the guards had left behind.
His hand fell away from the pin; she knocked it from the lock as she pulled free the key tucked into the pocket of the cloak. Tears from the caustic smoke streaked from her reddened eyes when she slid the key into the lock and turned it. The gate gave way beneath his weight. She jumped back as the door swung toward her. Before he could rush out, grab her, and drag her to safety, she spun to the other cell. He didn’t like the idea of leaving the other vamps behind, but he didn’t want her to spend one more second in this building.