Page 73 of Infernal

I swallowed the brick-sized knot in my throat and took a small step back. He was getting amped up, and I really didn’t want to be around for that.

“Did you know they were the ones that locked me away in that hell tomb?” he asked, but he didn’t bother waiting for my answer. “Thought I’d be in there for all of eternity too. That is, until you came along.” He dipped his chin as if to salute me. “There was nothing they could do to stop the one destined to bring me back. No, sir. Not with that Amulet,” he said, eyeing it with desire.

My hand instinctively moved up to my neck and clutched the Amulet.

“But I digress,” he said as he lifted his hand and waved the conversation off. “None of that matters. Not now. Vengeance is upon us. I’ve been given a second chance, and I intend to make good on it, starting with that no-good Temple of yours.”

The hairs on the back of my head shot up.

“I just needed to make sure you were safe first.” His dimples blinked back at me as his lips pulled into a crooked grin. “Don’t say I never did anything for you, Daughter,” he added with a wink.

“What the hell did you do?!” I bellowed, panic exploding under my skin as I realized this was all just a diversion.

Temple had been his target all along.

“See, that’s the funny thing about Hellfire,” he said, his eyes pooling with wickedness as I backed away. “There isn’t a single thing on earth that could put it out.”

I kicked off the ground and ran.

26. HELLFIRE

A large crowd had already gathered across the street, watching morbidly as the firemen rushed in and out of the burning building. Even the earth-shattering thunderstorm that had started on the way over to Temple couldn’t stop the flames from slashing unrelentingly into the overcast sky.

I stood on shaky legs, taking the chaos around me. Smoke consumed the neighborhood for several blocks in each direction, making it hard to pull in a satisfying breath. My eyes drifted frantically over the slew of people lying scattered on the sidewalks, paramedics giving them oxygen and tending to their wounds as the firemen continued bringing out victim after victim after victim.

I knew then there was no way they would be able to get everyone out. The building was too big and the fire too unstoppable. How many lives would be lost?

How many people will be dead because I refused to do the impossible—because I refused to kill Trace?

“Get back,” yelled one of the firemen, directing the crowd to move further back onto the other side of the street. But I couldn’t do that. My feet were frozen in place as I stared up at the bluish tinged flames, petrified to my core that my sister and Gabriel were in that building.

Bile shot up into the back of my throat as I barreled up the front steps, my feet pounding against the concrete as I ran for the door. The truth was, I had no idea what I was going to do once I burst through the flaming doors, and I never had the chance to figure that out. I barely made it halfway up the walkway before a fireman threw his arm around my waist and snatched me up from the ground, hauling me back to the safety of the street.

“My sister might be in there!” I shouted, bucking against his strong hold as he dragged me further away and then plopped me down to the ground. “Please! I have to find her!”

“You’re not going anywhere near that building!” he shouted back, his hands firmly planted on my shoulders. I could see droplets of sweat trickling down his temple from under his helmet. “If she’s in there, we’ll get her out. You need to stay out of the way and let us do our job! You hear me?”

“You don’t understand…I can help, I cangoin there!” I wanted to explain that I could do more than just watch helplessly from the sidewalk as the building went up in flames, with or without my sister in it. But I couldn’t, because how was I going to explain that while I looked like a normal (albeit currently hysterical) teenager, I was actually wearing a necklace that pretty much made me Immortal.

“If you go anywhere near that building again, I’m putting you in restraints. Do you understand me?” he said, his words popping off in my head like firecrackers.

Feeling utterly trapped and powerless, I nodded my head and then watched as he rushed back to the burning building without me.

“You really do have a death wish, don’t you?” said Nikki as she settled beside me, her arms folded tightly across her chest and her eyes fixed on the catastrophe unfolding before us.

I ignored her and asked, “Do you have your phone on you?”

“Does the sun set in the west?” She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cell.

Taking it from her, I quickly dialed my sister’s number and waited, never taking a single breath until she finally answered.

“Hello?” she answered, though I barely gave her a chance to get the whole word out.

“Thank God! You’re okay!” I clutched my heart and then crouched onto the ground to avoid passing out from hyperventilating. “Please tell me Gabriel’s with you?!”

“Yeah, he’s right here. Why? What’s going on?” she asked, sounding worried.

“Temple’s on fire, Tessa. People are still inside!” And it’s all my fault…

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