Strings of Fate by Kit Bryan
Chapter 195

195- Smoke and smothering

Look, I’m no fighter and the Shifters move way faster than I can even properly process in this stressful situation. I watched the Shifter woman leap towards the redhead (I have got to learn these people’s names!) and the next thing I know, both women are screaming and the living room is lit up with blue flames that are steadily growing. I watch as Shaun and Darrien leap at the Shifter woman and help her tear off her burning shirt. Bellamy takes the chance to shift and a few moments later his large black cat form is launching towards the Witch in an attempt to knock her down. He pulls back at the last second as flames light up in front of him, spreading and essentially splitting the room in half with us on one side and the Witch on the other. She’s completely trapped, both by us and the fire which is steadily going out of control. There is smoke in the air making it hard to see what’s going on and the smoke in the air is making it difficult to breathe. My throat is so dry and my lungs are struggling. I feel a tugging at my arm. I turn and see Aaron trying to get my attention. He is gesturing for me to follow him out of the room and away from the fire which hasn’t quite reached the door yet. He tugs my arm again but I pull away. I can’t just LEAVE. Not while Bellamy and all the others are still here. Plus there’s Kiara. Wait, where is Kiara? I can’t see her anywhere. She isn’t on this side of the fire… so she must be over with the Witch. But where? I can’t see her, not that I can see much of anything. Aaron persists on trying to get me to leave, taking my arm again and trying to pull me towards the door. I pull my arm away but this time he doesn’t let go. He’s decided I’m leaving and apparently he isn’t asking. This is stupid, I’m not leaving until everyone else does. I can see that Rio is helping the Shifter woman towards the exit now that she’s no longer in clothes that are on fire. Luckily they got her shirt off before it spread to her skin or hair. The others are standing around the edge of the fire trying to decide what to do. This is ridiculous!

“Everyone, get out! The place is literally burning down around us. Don’t just stand there, leave!” I demand. All the Shifters except Bellamy freeze in place for half a second, then start towards the exit, following my orders. Megan and Darrien hesitate but when I meet Megan’s gaze and shake my head, she leaves too. Darrien of course follows her. Aaron is frozen in place beside me, still holding my arm. His body is angled towards the door like he wants to leave but is fighting the impulse.

“Aaron.” he meets my eyes and for about five seconds he holds my gaze. He looks kind of pissed off which is unusual for him, he doesn’t usually emote that much. His eyes drop and at the same time he releases my arm, although he doesn’t seem like he intended to. Then without a word he turns and walks out of the room.

Bellamy is still in Shifter form and he comes over and bumps his shoulder against my hip. He wants me to leave too.

“We need to replace Kiara. Then we can leave.” I argue. He lets out a huff that doesn’t sound impressed but he doesn’t push the issue. I try to look through the flames to replace her.

“KIARA!” I yell, hoping she will respond so that I can replace her. Klisten but I can’t hear her. There is a sudden burst and the flames spread further, blocking the doorway, the only remaining exit. If Bellamy was anxious before he looks downright petrified now. He is circling the small amount of space we have left, trying to replace a way for us to escape. I’m not so optimistic. It’s a waste of time. There is no way out and we can’t go through the flames without dying. Witches fire is too deadly. Without magic to put it out, we’re completely screwed. I can feel tears running down my cheeks as my eyes sting from the smoke. I can barely breathe and I can feel my skin drying out from the heat as I get what feels like sunburn from the proximity. The Witch is watching us through the blue flames and she looks positively gleeful. She might be trapped, but so are we. Unless someone saves us, we’re dead. It looks like she’s going to get what she wants after all and she’s going to die to accomplish it. She doesn’t even seem bothered by her impending death.

In a flash, Bellamy shifts back to his human form and wraps his arms around me. I hide my face against his chest, protecting it from the smoke as much as I can.

“You should have left. Why didn’t you leave?” He says into my hair. His voice comes out angry but I can tell he’s just

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195- Smoke and smothering

desperate and scared.

Would you have left?” I demand, coughing as I force the words out. He doesn’t respond. Just clutches me tighter. I can hear Megan outside, screaming for us to get out. I wish we could, but it’s too late. I hear screaming coming from the Witch, then all of a sudden the room is dark and quiet as all the fire just poofs out of existence. The room is burned up and everything is covered in smoke. I look up at Bellamy and I covering him all over. Actually I probably

I see s

look the same. I move away from Bellamy and tentatively look around the room. What happened? The Witch is collapsed on the floor and she isn’t moving. Bellamy approaches her cautiously, keeping me behind him.

“She’s dead.” He confirms. I can hear the confusion in his voice. I share it, I have no idea what happened either. I mean, I guess her death ended the magical fire, but how did she die? She doesn’t look like she burned. She doesn’t look hurt at all except for a few claw marks I assume came from the Shifter woman. Megan and Darrien come storming in. They see the Witch lying dead on the floor and in an instant, Megan tackles me in a hug, nearly knocking me over. Just as quickly she releases me and launches herself at Bellamy to do the same. She backs off quickly though and makes a joke about him needing to put some pants on. It’s a testament to how bewildered I am that I honestly didn’t even notice. Someone approaches and hands him a towel that they must have snatched from a bathroom somewhere and he wraps it around his waist. I’m still reeling trying to work out what happened when I spot Kiara. She is hunkered down underneath a tiny coffee table that somehow avoided the flames. She is shaking and hiding her head in her knees with her arms wrapped around herself. I can hear her sobbing and choking.