I spot a large bonfire crackling in someone’s front yard up ahead, three guys huddled around it clutching bottles, their laughter echoing off the empty street.
“Let’s cross here,” I whisper to Aurora.
“No, it’s fine. Come on,” she says, all casual confidence.
“Didn’t you literally call this murder alley? Now suddenly we’re invincible?” I mutter, and she giggles.
“Let them try something. I’ll turn their cozy little bonfire into a fireworks show so fast they won’t know what hit them.”
We’re almost past their house when one of them calls out, “Hey! Ladies!” His voice has that slurred edge that comes with too many drinks.
I keep walking, pulling Aurora along with me, but she’s already slowing down.
“Don’t stop,” I mutter under my breath.
“Where you going so fast?” Another voice joins in, and I can hear footsteps crunching through the snow behind us. “It’s cold out there. Come warm up by our fire!”
The third guy laughs, making my skin crawl. “Yeah, we got plenty of heat to share.”
Aurora’s grip tightens on my arm, and I feel her temperature spike, not the gentle warmth from before but something hotter, more volatile.
“Keep walking,” I whisper, but the footsteps are getting closer now, and I can smell the alcohol and smoke coming off them.
“Hey, I’m talking to you!” The first guy’s voice is sharper now, annoyed. “Don’t be rude.”
Great. We’re definitely not getting out of this without a confrontation.
“You know what? You’re right. We are being rude.” Aurora stops walking and turns around, that dangerous smile spreadingacross her face, the one I’ve seen right before she does something spectacular and stupid.
“Aurora, no,” I hiss, but she’s already stepping toward them.
“We’d love to warm up,” she calls out sweetly. “Your fire looks so… cozy.”
The three guys exchange looks, clearly not expecting this response. The leader, a tall, scraggly guy with more facial hair than sense grins and gestures toward their yard.
“Now that’s more like it. Come on over here, girls.”
I watch Aurora’s hands start to glow faintly at her sides, hidden in her jacket pockets. This is about to go very, very badly.
“Actually,” the second guy says, stepping closer and looking us up and down, “you two look like you got money. Nice jackets, clean hair. You’re not from around here.”
“What’s in those pockets?” the third one demands, and suddenly this isn’t about warming up by their fire anymore.
Aurora’s voice is sugary sweet. “You really want to find out?”
“Aurora,” I warn but can already feel the heat radiating off her, and the guys are starting to notice something’s wrong.
The leader’s expression shifts from drunk and friendly to something uglier. “Hand over whatever you got, and maybe we’ll let you walk away. After we’ve had some fun with you first, of course.”
Okay, asshole.
I was going to try and deescalate this situation, but now I’m thinking this could be good practice. Before I have a chance to second-guess my decision, one of the guys grabs my jacket and pulls me close. His breath reeks of cigarettes as he leers at me. “Come here with those pretty eyes. I’ll give you something to look at.”
Gross.
I knee him in the balls and kick him when he doubles over. I’m not entirely sure what he was insinuating, but I have a feeling it was something inappropriate.
I glance back at Aurora, who throws her hand out toward the bonfire. Flames shoot up into the sky, becoming a massive tunnel of fire taller than the fucking house. It brightens the entire area like daylight, and on closer inspection, I can see the men’s faces, which are all scarred and missing teeth. My guy recovers quickly and comes at me again. I fend him off while one of the other men screams in pain. I can only assume Aurora’s giving him a taste of her gift.
