Frederick glanced between us, wild-eyed, and he reached into his pocket. “Fine. We’ll start this instead.”
In three deft motions, he pulled out a lighter, flicked the flame on, and dropped it onto the filing cabinet. Covered in accelerant.
Flames burst forth, fierce and furious, devouring the vast amount of paper in the room. This place was a tinderbox.
Frederick charged past us, shoving in the process. My heart hammered hard. He couldn’t get away. Not after setting Ursuline’s house ablaze. Not after hurting so many people. I clutched the pendant hard and raced after him.
I wasn’t sure what I could do—weaponless and weak—but I had to try.
Heat bloomed inside the office, the flames spreading across every surface.
“Out,” Sofia called. “Stop him.”
I didn’t bother turning back, just raced after him, the floorboards thumping with the force of my movements. Frederick moved liquid-fast, already at the bottom of the staircase. Once he burst out the doors, how would I get him? Guaranteed, his men were waiting to back him up.
I had to stop him.
I squeezed the pendant still in my hand.
Maybe…
When I reached the last stair, I whipped around the foyer, looking for something. Anything.
Frederick tossed the door open, and he’d already taken the first step out, the sun blaring in.
A heavy-looking bust was wedged in the corner on a side table, some ornate, gorgeous obsidian piece.
I dropped the pendant to the ground, snagged the bust, and brought it crashing down on the crystal.
A crunch sounded from underneath, echoing through the air.
Frederick shouted outside. I didn’t bother checking the pendant and bolted for the door.
Sofia rushed down the steps, and behind her, smoke roiled from the second floor. The heat had spread here, and we needed to get out.
When I got to the doorway, I clutched the frame.
Frederick wasn’t running away now. No, he lay on the sidewalk, a bright green mermaid tail extending out in place of his legs.
A bark of a laugh escaped from Sofia.
Already, three men in black emerged from cars, and they circled around him. Two guys lifted him from the ground, and they shifted him toward one of the cars. Frederick cursed up a storm, his face purple with rage. With him flopping around on the concrete, it was hard to view him as the towering threat from mere moments before.
“Fuck, should we pursue?” I asked, my throat dry.
Sofia lifted her phone. “This is better than stopping him. Already snapped a few shots. We need to get out of here, though. The whole house is about to go up in flames.”
“Should we call the authorities?” I asked, chewing on my lower lip.
“Once we’re in the car and on our way,” she said. “Follow me.”
My chest clenched tight. Fuck. Ursuline had asked me to do one thing, and I’d fucked up. When I glanced back at the staircase, it was so full of smoke there was no way I’d get back up there. I was going to be sick.
“What are you waiting for?” Sofia asked, standing a few feet away from me, heading toward her car.
“The files,” I murmured, taking the first steps to follow her.
“You mean these?” Sofia said, lifting up a handful of manila folders. “I grabbed the ones on Liquidium before we left.”
