The Riders whooped and laughed, dust rising in the moonlight as their horses circled.
“Cover the house from the porch to the barn,” Wilder called out. “Don’t leave a corner dry!”
Blaze’s stomach twisted as he saw the Riders dragging barrels of kerosene and oil across the yard. They poured it along the wooden siding, the porch, and the edges of the barn. Sparks from their matches danced dangerously near the liquid, and Blaze felt bile rise in his throat.
“Light it,” Wilder ordered, his silver tooth flashing as he grinned.
A match hissed against the soaked boards. The flames surged instantly, hungry and bright, licking upward along thesiding and the dry porch. Smoke billowed into the night, thick and black, curling like a living thing.
“Rachel!” Blaze shouted, yanking her close. “We have to move! Now!”
“I . . . I can’t leave!” she cried. “Everything . . .”
“Stay with me! Just stay with me!” Blaze yelled, dragging her toward the side of the house. Smoke stung their eyes and burned their lungs. He ripped a scrap of cloth from his jacket, pressing it over her mouth and nose, then did the same for himself. “Breathe slow! In and out!”
The fire roared louder, a living monster hungrily devouring the house. The barn behind them groaned and splintered, beams cracking under the heat.
Horses kicked and screamed in the corral, hooves pounding sparks from the dry ground. Blaze’s stomach twisted at the panic around him...at the helplessness of it all.
“They’re going to burn everything!” Rachel wailed, pressing into him.
“I know!” Blaze shouted, though his voice was hoarse. “We can’t stop it! We have to get out of the smoke. Come on!”
He pulled her toward a small dip in the yard, just beyond the worst of the flames. They stumbled over rocks and brush,coughing through the smoke. Blaze could feel the heat pressing against his back, threatening to pull him down.
“Blaze . . . it’s so hot . . .” Rachel sobbed, her tiny hands clutching his shirt.
“I know. Just a little farther!” he said, forcing his legs to keep moving. A plank from the porch fell with a sharp crack, sparks flying as it hit the ground near them. Blaze ducked instinctively, dragging Rachel down with him.
The fire had consumed the barn entirely now, a collapsing skeleton of smoldering beams and glowing embers. The house’s front wall was blackened and warped, the windows shattered, and flames poured from the upper story. Sparks shot high into the night sky.
“They’re going to burn it all,” Rachel whimpered, pressing tighter against him.
“I know,” Blaze said, his voice breaking. “But we’re alive. That’s what matters. We’re safe...for now.”
From the shadows beyond the yard, Wilder called out, his voice carrying easily over the roar of the fire.
“Better get yourselves to a good spot to watch! Don’t want to miss the finale!”
Blaze’s stomach churned. The silver tooth in Wilder’s grin reflected the flames, making him look monstrous in the firelight.
“They’re . . . they’re still here,” Rachel whimpered.
“I know,” he said, pressing a hand to her back. “Stay with me. Just stay low.”
They crawled through a patch of sagebrush to a small rise just beyond the fence. It was close enough to see the full destruction but distant enough to avoid the worst of the heat.
They both sank to their knees.
The house was fully alight now, flames surging through the roof. The barn behind them was reduced to a heap of glowing embers, sparks dancing up into the wind.
“They’re . . . they’re watching it burn,” Rachel whispered.
Blaze pressed a hand over her shoulders. He didn’t know what to say.
No words could have made any of this better.
The Riders lingered at the edge of the yard, shouting and whooping. They were taking in the fire from a safe distance. Blaze saw Wilder dismount, standing with his hands on his hips,watching the flames consume the house with a satisfaction that made Blaze’s blood boil.
