Page 50 of Blood and War
The community was on fire.
Thirty
DEMITRIA
Demitria broke free from the Horsemen as they surged forward. Atlas, sensing the urgency, like he could feel it in the way she clung to him, had never moved so fast. He sprinted, galloping at such a fast pace that she felt as if they could have been flying. The few hundred yards that separated them from the community flashed before her eyes in a blur of smoke.
Demitria jumped from the saddle before Atlas even came close to a stop. Her body surging through the air for a heartbeat before landing hard, the horse skidding in the dirt beside her. Atlas’s normally docile brown eyes were blown wide, his nostrils flared at the scene before him.
Not the community. Not her home.
She stood in front of the large iron gate, panic surging through her. It hung loosely from its hinges, barely hanging on to the crumbling wall that surrounded the town. Nearly ripped clean off.
Solis was engulfed in an endless sea of bright orange flames. Kellan was screaming her name as she stumbled forward on shaky feet. Screaming, over and over again. She heard nothing. Blocked it out. Blocked everything out as the only thing she could focus on were the flames flicking up toward the sky.
What had happened? What had happened? WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
Her feet picked up pace and she was sprinting again. She was met with complete and utter silence. No screams. Nothing. Only the sound of the flames licking the wood. Engulfing buildings as it destroyed everything in its path, devastating the community, the red-orange glow taking over everything she saw.
Buildings were in shambles as they lay in heaps of rubble on the ground. Stone, metal and wood sticking up in every which way from their collapse. Bile rose in her throat when she spotted the first body. A limb, she realized. Gnarled and bloody, she couldn’t truly discern where the body it belonged to was. Red everywhere she looked. So much blood, and she knew it was from her people.Her friends. But other splatters were dark, black, and she was proud that they’d at least made whatever pieces of shit had attacked, bleed.
Another body, intact, but Demitria couldn’t bring herself to uncover their face from the rubble. She knew they were dead. There was no way anyone could survive this.
“I’m sorry.” She choked back a sob, and ran.
She’d never run so fast. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe.
“Jace!” The cry left her lips as she bounded toward the familiar building. She tried the handle, recoiling with a hiss as the metal burned into her palm. Her hand ached, but she didn’t care. It didn’t matter.Get Inside. With a swift kick, the door fell free from its hinges, collapsing to the ground before her. The smoke filled the foyer. Filled her lungs. Clouded her vision.
Jace.Find Jace. Her mind screamed. The only thought she clung to as she pushed through.
Find Jace.
Keep moving. Search.
Find Jace.
Her breaths were panicked. Labored as she frantically searched the burning building. Nothing moved. Not a cry for help.
“Jace!” She begged. Her eyes stung from a mixture of smoke and the tears that she couldn’t stop. She had to find him. No matter what she did, she had to find Jace. That was the only thing that mattered to her now. Room after room, she searched. Coming up empty every time.
He wasn’t there. Wasn’t in the house. He had to be somewhere. Had to be. His brown, worn leather jacket sat draped over a chair in his kitchen where the flames hadn’t yet reached. He never went anywhere without it. He’d been caught off guard, she knew it. Demitria didn’t think twice before swiping it off the chair and flinging it over her shoulders. Like hell it was staying here. She grabbed stupid little keepsakes, stuffing them into his pack that she’d found sitting atop the counter.
The smoke was denser as she pushed through the house. Toward the back bedroom. His bedroom. Another kick sent the door flying open. Rifling through the drawers, she packed little clothing. A change of clothes from the bottom drawer of her things, but mostly his. A few shirts, a pair of pants. Anything that reminded her of him.
A picture. She’d seen it on his nightstand for years. Of the two of them, laughing as they embraced. Despite the current circumstances, she smiled at the memory. Touching her finger to the glass. Demitria had made a stupid trade for the polaroid camera. It hadn’t even been worth it for her, but she’d wanted it. Wanted to feel some sort of normalcy in the world once more, so she did it. Another one. From eleven years ago. They were kids, four sets of smiling faces stared back at her. Her parents.Theirparents. A new wave of pain took over, nearly engulfing her.
The crash from down the hall sent her skittering from her thoughts. Her throat ached, burning as she coughed. The building was coming down. She had to leave.
All the memories. All the laughter. Burning. Crumbling to pieces. She stood feet away outside, watching as the roof caved in. Sealing the rest of him inside.
Demitria made a run for her house, but it was too late. The flames had completely destroyed anything that was inside as it ripped through the windows, doors and roof. What little possessions she had was already lost to the burning inferno surrounding her. Demitria willed herself not to cry at the loss, but her tears broke free. For the memories she would never see again. The items she would never hold. She watched as everything from her previous life burnt into nothing.
A groan was the last thing she expected. Sent her reeling from her house toward the noise. She ran, blocking out even more lifeless bodies as she went. Tears blinding as she followed the sound.
Please be Jace.
The bag fell to the ground at her feet as she rushed to his side. Pieter lay propped against a stone building. Chest heaving as the blood leaked from his body. Pouring from his mouth as he coughed.So much blood…The dark, metal spear stuck clear through his chest, pinning him to the ground. The force behind that blow—she shuddered at the thought.
