Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 85552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Xander’s voice peered into my mind. Camille? Are you okay?
Ash coated his blond-and-black hair as he sprinted in front of me.
I could still keep up with him, even though it was getting harder and harder.
I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.
I trailed behind him, unable to keep up with his inhuman speed.
Sweat dripped down my face and drenched my auburn hair. Dark pieces of ash dropped and stuck to my wet skin. There was no way that I could maintain his speed, but I would do my best.
Xander was a vampire prince. He could outrun me with no problem, but instead, he kept no more than four feet between us.
Just check on her. I’ll be okay.
His voice boomed in my mind like a mallet slamming against a metal wall. No!
I held my hands to my forehead to soothe the ache that formed near my temples.
I won’t be able to find her if I’m worried about you. His voice sounded smoother, as if he’d realized he was too loud and was trying to calm himself down.
He rounded the street corner.
Panting, I followed and waved away smoke with each step. My feet already throbbed from exhaustion. My legs and chest burned.
It was even worse as we neared Leeta’s hotel.
Dear Ambi!
Fire blazed from business to business. This whole town would be ashes before the sun rose.
What could have happened?!
“Wait!” Xander halted in the middle of the pebbled street and raised his nose in the air. “I caught her scent!”
I blinked. “Yeah?”
He sniffed again. “Yes! That’s my Leeta!”
Xander headed to the front of Leeta’s hotel. It looked like a gigantic bonfire.
A few seconds later, I arrived next to him.
The inferno decorated every inch of the building. What was left of the foundation glowed violent shades of orange and yellow.
“She’s still inside.” He scanned the area as if seeking a safe opening.
The little hope I held on to evaporated into nothing.
My eyes watered.
Half of the building was only soot and scorched wood. The inferno had only just begun to die down, but already I could see the bodies in the courtyard. The flames had turned them into blackened corpses and reduced the hair on their heads to ash.
If she’s inside then it may be too late.
I prayed to the vampire god Ambi that Xander didn’t sense my worries.
He loudly sniffed again. “Yes. . .she’s in there. . .but. . .”
I clasped my hand on his warm fingers as they shuddered in mine. “Can you hear her heart beating? Anything?”
“I think I hear something, but I’m not sure.” He frantically searched, his face moving from side to side. “What am I going to do, Camille? I can’t lose her.”
“We’ll figure out a way to save her.” I released his hand and leaned forward to see if there were areas not on fire. “We must.”
The hotel’s foundation crackled and collapsed with a boom.
I jerked back in horror.
Suddenly, tears fell from Xander’s golden eyes as he continued to scan the blaze.
“Hold up.” I spotted an opening on the building’s side. Smoke drifted out of a damaged hole. There was no fire around it, just black burnt wood.
“Over here.” Without thinking, I dashed toward it. “Maybe I could call her name or—”
“No!” Xander’s hands seized my arms and dragged me back a few feet. “I’ll go in.”
“Please, be careful.”
“Don’t worry about me. You stay safe.” He stormed off. “Scream if you need me!”
“I’ll be okay. Focus on finding Leeta and getting out fast!”
In a blurry flash, Xander rushed to the opening and dived into the smoky blackness.
Please, Ambi. Please.
Something crashed inside the hotel.
I hurried to where Xander had disappeared, crossed my fingers, and forced myself not to pace or bite my nails.
Please be okay, Xander and Leeta. Please be okay.
Xander whispered inside my mind. I’m fine.
I cried out with relief. Usually I hated when he entered my head. We’d argued all day about him invading my thoughts. But this time I was relieved.
He can stay in my head all he wants.
His voice delivered warmth to my core. I’ll be inside more than that later.
My eyes widened.
Stop that and concentrate on being safe. Do you see Leeta?
I have her, he replied with relief. I’m coming out right now.
Thank you, Ambi.
The hotel’s side entrance exploded with a thunderous roar.
No!
Inflamed slabs of wood hurtled down the hotel’s side entrance. More terror rippled through me.
Xander spoke in my head. I’m okay.
I gasped as Xander rushed out from the opposite direction. A smoldering breeze of ash swarmed behind him.
Running forward, he carried Leeta in his arms. Blood painted her skin. Her brown eyes went to me. Her chest slowly rose and fell as though she were struggling to breathe.
No.
Dark smudges lined her wrinkled brown face. Last time I’d seen her, she had long gray hair. Now bloody and blistered, scorched skin encompassed half of her scalp. Her few remaining gray strands dangled on the other side of her face.