Heat and percussive force blew through the windows of the gas station.Even through the ward, Ross felt them, and he was lifted off his feet.The floor reached up and slapped him as he skidded along the cold tile.The phone went skittering out of his hand in the process and he fetched up against the far side of the counter, his shoulders and the back of his head meeting the sharp edges of the wood in a painful thud.Wincing, he realized he’d slid partially out of the ward.The smoke and fire was thick here, too thick for him to breathe, and the intensity of the fire scorched his skin so that it felt too tight on his bones.Ross rolled to put himself back into the safety of the ward.Only then did he stop, on his hands and knees, and struggle to get his breath back.
The ward kept the smoke and flames out, although it was uncomfortably warm inside.He got up to his feet, but stayed hunched, eyes wide as he looked all around.He seemed safe at the moment but caged in by fire, and that was not good on any level.Shit, but the flames were taking over this place quickly.He spied his phone, just outside the ward, and quickly snatched it back.
“—oss?ROSS!”
“Here,” he said, then winced around his dry throat.He tried to clear it and winced again.“Elemental did something.Gas station’s on fire.I’m still in the ward.”
“We’re two minutes out.Stay on the line.”
“Yeah.”Ross heaved himself to his feet and looked around.The elemental wasn’t in line of sight but he couldn’t say it was gone.The pumps were all aflame, shooting fire and smoke up into the air.The stack of propane tanks were all gone, bits of metal all that remained.Ross had a good idea of what the elemental had touched.
He hit the panic button under the counter, figuring it was the easiest way to report a fire and to get help.Then he stood there, shaking a little.That had been scary.His body was still reacting to the shock of the situation.And it was all well and good to have this protected corner—really, Ross loved his little corner, and his little chair, to paraphrase Cinderella—but what was he supposed to do?Wait until the fire burned down enough that he could walk out?How long would that take?Was it even safe?Did this ward produce oxygen for him?Because surely the fire around him was consuming that.
In retrospect, Ross severely regretted not asking more questions about wards.
“Glenn.”
“We’re a minute away.You alright?”
“I’m okay, but worried about oxygen levels.This fire’s very intense.Do you have an idea of how to get me out?”
“Keane’s with me.He can smother the flames.I’ll carry you out.”
Ross glanced down at himself.Had he somehow been transformed into a wilting damsel in distress without his knowledge?Hmm, no, he was still wearing the gas station shirt and jeans.No missing slippers to contend with.“I can run out on my own.”
“The ground will be very hot.Hotter than a normal fire.It will scorch your feet and I’d rather not take that chance.We’re here.Be ready to leave in thirty seconds.”
Yes, there they were, screeching to a halt in a bright red sports car.Was that Annabella driving?It looked like it.Ross saw Keane roll down a window and point his pencil-wand out of it, shouting some kind of spell that once again sounded like a demon summoning.Water appeared mid-air and washed over the area in a steady fall.
Some part of Ross’s brain, the part he allowed to gibber in panic, was in awe of seeing water appear from mid-air.The other part of him observed that of course Keane could do that because he was a wizard.Ross sent both feelings into the back room to work that one out.He didn’t have time for either emotion.He grabbed up the three books, as they were old and precious, and there was no reason to leave them to become ash.
He blinked, and out of nowhere he was in Glenn’s arms, in a bridal carry.The vampire gave him a brief wink, and then they were off again in a blur of colors, light, and sound.Ross felt his heart skip a beat at the quickness of the movement, and it seemed like Glenn had barely picked him up before he was setting him back down again, right in front of the sports car.
Glenn kept a hand at Ross’s back, eyes roving over him in concern.He kept close, nestling Ross protectively into his side.“You’re well?”
“Not a scratch on me.A few bruises from being thrown.The explosion packed a punch.But I’m alright.”Ross looked all around in open dismay.The gas station was no more.Even as he watched, his own protected corner went up in flames, too.And that was all that was left, except the shell of the building made of brick.Realizing what Keane must have done, he asked, “Keane removed the ward?”
“It looks too suspicious otherwise.”Glenn frowned and tilted his head down to study Ross more thoroughly.“Are you truly well?”
“A little shaken,” Ross admitted.“But yeah, I’m okay.”
Sirens sounded and he turned to track the fire truck and police car racing toward them.The firemen lost no time in pulling to a halt, men scrambling to pull out hoses, hook up lines, and hit the flames.With the gas station a stone’s throw from two apartment complexes, no one wanted the flames to spread.They seemed to think the water already on site came from some fire sprinkler system—Ross wasn’t sure what they’d make of it after realizing there was no such thing.
Spontaneous ice melt?
The officer came quickly to their group, his eyes landing on the insignia on Ross’s shirt.“You work here?”
“I do,” Ross answered, then questioned the tense.Did work here?He didn’t see how he’d have a job after this.
“Can you tell me what happened?Are you hurt?”
Ross wanted to tell him, ‘I have no words to describe today.I only have obscene gestures and a few homicidal thoughts.’But that wasn’t what the situation called for.He pulled in a deep breath and dredged up words.In a split second, Ross settled on a white lie, because there was no way in hell he could explain wards and magic and vampires to this very nice, middle-aged cop.
“I’m not hurt.These are friends of mine.They’d leant me some books and I brought them out.The explosion happened without any warning.I didn’t actually see it.”That last part was actually true.
The cop frowned.“Were all of you on scene?”
“No, officer,” Glenn answered.“We pulled up after the station was already on fire.”
