Grasping at Eternity (The Kindrily Series #1)

6. FIGHTING FIRE

FIGHTING FIRE

 Maryah

I was dreaming about Mikey in a Technicolor forest. He was happy and laughing and waving me over to him, but then my mind yelled at itself to wake up.

I felt torn: the warmth, the colors, the peace of watching Mikey exist in such a beautiful world. I wanted to stay there forever, but then a deep voice screamed my name.

Everything happened so fast.

I opened my eyes, and for a split second I saw my angel of death standing beside my bed. In the instant he vanished, my waking mind processed what was happening.

Fire.

Next to me, above me, crawling all around me. Hissing, whooshing, feeding on the canopy, the bedspread, and soon, me—if I didn’t react. A loud pop exploded above me. I scrambled to the foot of the bed.

I couldn’t get out. The flames surrounded me.

I tried to yell for help but choked on the smoke. Sweat dripped down my face and arms. I grabbed the blanket I was kneeling on and tossed it over the bonfire that used to be my pillows, but the flames kept crawling closer and growing hotter.

 Every panicked breath I took singed my nose and throat. My eyes stung, but through the wall of fire I saw my bedroom door was open. A guy rushed in with a fire extinguisher, spraying a burst of snow at the bed. I leapt through the clearing in the flames and fell onto the floor. At the same time, Anthony and Krista appeared in the doorway.

I tried blinking away the stinging in my eyes. In that single blink, the guy with the extinguisher moved across the room, Krista was kneeling by my side, and Anthony blasted water from a garden hose.

When I blinked again, the heat and flames had diminished. I couldn’t see through the thick smoke, but someone lifted me off the floor.

Through my coughing fit, I glanced up to see Anthony looking much too calm. He carried me down the hallway, out the front door, and set me down. “Easy. You’re all right.”

My whole body trembled. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Louise rubbed my back. “Take deep breaths, sweetheart. You need fresh air.”

I collapsed onto the front step, hiding my face in my shaking hands. “I’m so sorry. What did I do? I could’ve—oh God, I’m so sorry.”

Krista squatted in front of me. “Shh, it’s okay. Accidents happen.”

I almost killed another family. Was I cursed? “I almost burned down the house. I could’ve killed someone!”

Louise sat beside me and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “But you didn’t. No one got hurt.”

“Actually,” Krista examined my elbow and the back of my arm. “You did get burned, but that will heal.”

I was borderline hyperventilating, whether from shock or guilt I wasn’t sure. “I lit candles then fell asleep and…it…. I’m so stupid. I don’t blame you if—”

“Maryah, breathe.” Louise whispered. “You didn’t do it intentionally.”

“Wait,” Krista half-laughed. “Please tell me it wasn’t one of my candles.”

I nodded.

“Oh, how perfect! So we almost burned down the house together!”

Most times I could predict Krista’s reactions, but her laughing caught me off guard. “Kris, this is serious.” My heart hadn’t stopped pounding since I woke up. The sun had begun to set, but I couldn’t look at it. The blending shades of yellow and orange looked like flames erupting in the sky. “I’ll pay for the damage. I’ll get a job and—”