“Sit here. Don’t move,” Faith ordered, while her puppy Xena whined from her crate.
“You have the cutest dog,” her mother squealed as she started to sink down onto the wooden kitchen chair, but then she thought better of it and moved toward Xena’s crate. “You should let her out. Caging animals is cruel, Faith.”
“It’s not cruel, Gabrielle,” Faith said testily, grabbing her by the shoulders just before she released the dog. “It’s her safe space. Leave her alone.”
“Her safe space,” Gabrielle laughed hysterically and draped her entire upper body across her kitchen table. “Nowhere is safe.” Then she lifted her head and said, “Your kitchen is so niccccce. How about you let me move in? I’ll cook every day.” She snorted. “Or at least every week.”
“Goddess above,” Faith muttered as she reached down for Xena, scooped her out of her crate and carried her to the back yard to let her do her business. When they returned, Faith grabbed her cleaning bucket, gloves, and supplies from her pantry. “Don’t touch anything. I’m going to clean up your mess and then we’re going to pour some coffee down your throat.”
Gabrielle reached out and poked Faith in the arm. “Oops. No touching.”
Faith glared at her but knew her wrath was lost on the doped-out woman. What had she done to deserve this crazy in her life? Nothing, she reminded herself. Her mother’s actions had nothing to do with her.
Muttering under her breath, she went to work on the mess in her entry. Twenty minutes later, she discarded the gloves, towels, and the mop head into a trash bag and hauled it out to the garbage bin. When she returned, she found Xena sitting under the table, cowering, and her mother passed out on the living room floor, snoring. Faith couldn’t help wondering how the heck she’d stumbled into the other room by herself.
“Come here, baby,” she said to the dog, picking her up and carrying her back to her crate. “Why don’t you just stay in here for now. Seems safer for both of us.”
Xena shot back into her crate, making Faith wonder what her mother had done to her to make her so skittish. If she’d hurt Faith’s dog, there was going to be hell to pay. “It’s okay, girl.” Faith tucked a couple of treats into her bowl and scratched behind her ear. “She’ll be gone in the morning, and you won’t have to deal with her again.”
Once the dog was settled, Faith moved back into the living room and eyed her motionless mother. At least Faith wasn’t going to have to deal with any more of her crazy for the evening. Concerned the woman would vomit again, she grabbed her by her shoulders and, with considerable effort, managed to haul her onto the couch. After positioning her on her side, Faith draped a blanket over her mother and retreated to her kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. The idea of going to bed while Gabrielle was in the house was out of the question. If she woke up, Faith had no idea what kind of trouble she’d get into.
When the coffee was done, Faith poured herself a cup, grabbed a copy of the latest Angie Fox paranormal mystery, and settled in her oversize arm chair, prepared for an all-nighter.
Faith dreamed she was sunbathing on a tropical island. A breeze wafted through the air, and she lay there basking in the sun, enjoying the warmth that seemed to seep into her bones. This is so much nicer than the chilly air of the northern California coast in the middle of December, she thought to herself. She felt like she could say there forever and be perfectly happy.
But then the heat turned intense and she found herself coated in sweat. Her eyes were watering, and she suddenly couldn’t breathe.
“Faith! Wake up now, sweetheart. I need you to wake up.” The urgency in Hunter’s voice pulled her out of her dream. Her eyes flew open, and her dream turned to horror. Fire surrounded her, climbing the walls and licking at her dining room set. The couch across from her was ablaze, and thick dark smoke obscured the rest of her house.
“There you are,” he said, his arms held out as he concentrated on the nearest flames, his magic holding them back. “Come on. I need you to get up and follow me.”
She squinted, spotted the couch again, and yelled, “Where’s my mom?”
“Mom?” He frowned. “Gia was here?”
“Yes!” She jumped up and started to move closer to the couch, but the heat was too intense, and Hunter jerked her back, saving her from a flying ember.
“Faith, no. She’s not there. No one’s there. We have to get out of here while I can still—” He coughed, and his eyes were red and watering from the smoke.
“Dammit!” she cried and let him pull her from the burning wreckage. Just as he parted the flames consuming the back door, he executed a series of roundhouse kicks to force the metal door to open. The cool air rushed in, causing the flames to burn hotter.
“Go!” he pushed her out the door, his entire body straining with the effort to stave off the flames.
But before she could move, she heard Xena’s pathetic bark, and she turned to Hunter with horror in her eyes. “Xena,” she cried. “She’s in her crate and can’t get out.”
“I’ll get her!” He shoved her back out the door again, making her fall to her knees on the wet grass. When she glanced back, the opening was once again consumed by the flames.
She scrambled away from the house and ran smack into her sister Yvette.
“Thank the gods,” Yvette breathed, clutching her sister with one hand while wielding her magic with the other one to keep the flames from moving from her house to the one on the right. “Where’s Hunter?”
“He went after Xena. She’s in her crate.” she choked out, her eyes watering at the thought of losing her little devil dog. Then her fears shifted to Hunter, and she willed him to burst out of the house.
“Anyone else in the house?” Yvette asked as Drew and Noel ran up to them.
“Mom’s in there!” Faith cried, just as Noel crushed her in a hug.
“Mom?” Yvette asked. “No, she isn’t. She’s the one who called in a panic to say your house was on fire.”
“She did?” Faith asked, but she wasn’t paying attention as Yvette said something about calling Hunter and Drew. All she could think about was Hunter and Xena in the blazing house. If he didn’t get out soon—
The flames claiming the back door finally parted, and Hunter came stumbling out with Xena under one arm twisting frantically to get out of his grip. The moment his feet hit the grass, Xena escaped and ran across the yard, disappearing behind the neighbor’s bushes.
“Thank the gods,” Faith said and rushed into Hunter’s arms. “Thank you,” she sobbed into his soot-covered shirt.
He held her tight for just a moment, then kissed her on the head. “You need to let me go, love. There’s still work to do.”
She immediately jumped back and watched as Yvette and Hunter battled the flames, keeping them contained so that they didn’t jump to the nearby houses or the redwoods just beyond the yard.
“What happened?” Noel asked, pulling her further from the fire.
“I don’t know.” Faith shook her head. “I came home from dinner and found Mom on my front porch, high as a kite. I didn’t know what to do, so I let her in.”
“You let her in while she was high?” Noel asked, the disapproval in her tone unmistakable.
“What else was I going to do, Noel? Let her freeze?”
“You could’ve called Drew,” she said.
“And then what? He’d put your mom in jail?” Faith asked and then bent over and coughed.
“Better than letting her burn your house down!” Noel stalked off.
Faith sank to the ground and watched her go. Then she turned her attention to her house and barely noticed the tears streaming down her face. It had been her first house. She’d put a ton of sweat equity into fixing the place up, and now… now it was nothing. Just ash and soot.
Had her mother started the fire? She had no idea. Had she left the coffee pot on? It could’ve been Faith’s fault. Or an electrical issue. Or even a lightning strike. Judging by the wet grass, it had rained recently.
“Faith?” Drew said.
She glanced up and spotted her soon-to-be brother-in-law. “Yeah?”
“You should go around to the front of the house and wait for the healer. Gerry Whipple is on her way. She’ll check you out and see if you need to go to the hospital.”
“Okay.” She let him help her up, and he pointed her toward the side of the house that wasn’t yet in a full blaze.
“I’m checking the perimeter. I’ll meet you over there,” he said.
She nodded distractedly and started to make her way toward the narrow pathway between the redwoods and her house. But just as she reached the edge of her yard, an explosion came from the back of the house that sent part of the roof heading straight into the trees.
A loud yelp sounded, followed by Xena shooting out of the trees and straight into the side door that led to the garage.
“Xena! No,” Faith started to run after her, but she tripped over one of the pavers she’d put down last year and fell, twisting her ankle. A distinct snap filled her ears as she landed, and she knew without a doubt that she’d just broken something. “Xena!” she called again, as she tried to push herself up. But the moment she tried to move, intense, mind-numbing pain shot from her ankle, rendering her helpless.
“Help!” she called, but her cries were drowned out by the fire blazing before her.
Then, as if she were in a horror movie, the worst happened. A little girl shot out of the trees, her lips forming the word Xena, and followed the dog straight into the burning garage.
“Zoey, noooooo!” Faith cried, her head spinning as adrenaline took over. No one was coming. No one could hear her. The fire was raging too loud. It was up to Faith to get Zoey out of the house. By the sheer will of a desperate woman, she managed to get herself up, but the moment she stepped down on her injured foot, she collapsed again, the pain so severe this time that her world turned black.
Faith didn’t know how long she’d been out, but she woke disoriented, her entire body shaking with shock.
Zoey. The image of the girl running into the garage came back to her, and this time she started to crawl, inching forward so slowly she thought she’d never get to the side door. Where was everyone? Why had no one come for her? And why was Zoey even there? The questions rattled through her head as she forced herself to move, to get to Hunter’s little girl.
Her heart was breaking. Time seemed to stand still even as the fire raged around her. She was hot, knew the fire was close, and hated herself for being so weak. Fifteen more feet to the door. Ten, five, she was almost there.
Kaboom!
Fire rained around her, and she let out a blood curdling scream just as a figure cloaked in a blanket burst from the side door and ran past her toward the backyard. Just before they turned the corner, the singed blanket fell, and Faith let out a gasp.
Gabrielle was carrying a terrified Zoey, who had Xena clutched in her small hands.