Page 45 of Gods' Battleground

I jumped up, found Bella, and pulled her to her feet. We had to get out of here before?—

Too late. The vampire loomed in the doorway, cutting off our escape. And he looked very, very pleased with himself.

I glanced around, scanning my surroundings. Ok, so we were standing in a kitchen. There were heavy pots and pans hanging from the hooks above the stove. A wood-burning oven in the corner of the room. A rack of salts, spices, and herbs. A set of kitchen knives. Jars of lard. A crate of apples. Gods, they really loved their apples here.

“I have an idea.” I shoved Bella behind me, toward the big oven. “Get a fire going in there,” I told her.

“Get a fire going?” she repeated, her panicked voice breaking as she looked around. “Withwhat?”

“You’re a witch. I’m sure you’ll think of something. I’m going to keep the vampire busy while you do.”

I grabbed the block of kitchen knives, throwing them one by one at him. He deflected them all. The vampire was fast, and I couldn’t use my enhanced speed. I could hear the cameras buzzing around the room, recording every move that we made.

Bella was mixing up herbs and seasoning to create a magic fire. Meanwhile, I looked for my next plausibly-human move. I grabbed a jar of lard off the shelf and threw it at the vampire. He caught it with both hands, his expression smug. So I threw another one. His hands were full, so he couldn’t catch that one too. The second glass collided with the first and shattered, showering the vampire with thick, gooey fat. He looked down at his ruined clothes, then at me. He growled in fury.

By now, Bella had the fire going hot and strong. Magic fires burned much hotter than normal fires.

“Good job,” I said, wrapping a dry dishrag around a rolling pin.

When I dipped it into the fire, the cloth burst into flames. I threw it at the vampire’s feet. The lard on the floor caught fire, and the vampire scrambled back to a safe distance before he did too.

“Brilliant move, girls, cutting off your only escape!” the vampire howled in laughter beyond the fire that burned between us. “You’ve saved me the trouble of killing you myself. All I have to do is wait for you to burn to death.”

I looked at Bella. “Ok, now I just need you to brew up something to make us fireproof. And also something to make more smoke. Lots and lots of smoke.”

“Don’t you think there’s quite enough smoke already?” Bella coughed.

“No,” I told her. “It needs to be so thick that the vampire can’t see us. That’s how we’ll sneak past him.”

“I hate to point this out, Leda, but if he can’t see, how arewesupposed to see well enough to find the exit?”

“All we have to do is walk in a straight line, right past him and out the door.”

Bella gawked at me. “A straight linethroughthe fire?”

“Yes, hence our need to be fireproof. I’m sure you can mix something up using those.” I indicated the box of spices and herbs.

“I’ll need a lot more than salt, pepper, and a couple of oregano leaves to make us fireproof.” She sucked in a sharp breath—then immediately started coughing on the smoke.

I patted her on the back. “I’m sure there’s something in your potion pack that can help.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t bring along anything like that. I didn’t anticipate your starting kitchen fires.”

“You must have something,” I insisted. “You always come prepared for every situation, Bella.”

“Not this time,” she laughed weakly.

“Just check,” I said, nodding toward the potion pack. “I know you will find something to help us.”

Bella frowned.

Look, we’re both fireproof, remember?I said in her mind.But the Night Prince and his creepy friends don’t need to know that. Just pretend to mix up something that can keep the flames at bay.

You want me to bluff?

It’s not bluffing if we don’t catch on fire.

Oh, right,she said, shoulders slouching.I should have thought of that.

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