Page 27 of Broken Fate
Chapter Fourteen
Without thinking twice, I charged down the far side of the ridge at full speed into the waist-high grass surrounding my parents’ house. My legs stretched long, muscles twitching with explosive power. Fear propelled me faster than I’d ever run before.
I started the change even before I’d come to a full stop, all personal care out the window.
“Mom!” I screamed as soon as my throat could produce human sounds. “Dad!”
Waiting for the last bit of stubborn, flammable fur to fade, I stared at the conflagration, my horror building at what I might find inside.
It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.
Something glass exploded in the house.
I shouted again for my parents, then charged up the front steps and kicked the door in, putting all my supernatural strength into it, shattering the heavy wood. After shouldering it aside, I stepped inside—
Only to stumble back as flames roared out, seeking fresh oxygen. Coughing, I shuffled away, seeking a second exit. Windows were smashed, and fire had all but consumed the first floor already.
“Mom! Dad!” I shouted, heading for the side of the house where my room was. I climbed up the ladder to the balcony, as I had most mornings.
Yanking open the window, I ducked as smoke billowed out, emptying the room just enough for me to duck in. I crawled, staying low under the smoke, the air so hot I was sweating from every pore.
Something crumbled downstairs, and a shiver ran through the floor. The house was coming down. I didn’t have much time.
“Mom!”
I started coughing as smoke filled my lungs. Cursing silently, I moved into the hallway, where flames were eating their way up the walls and the stairs.
The flames licking away at a family portrait slowed me to a stop. I couldn’t tear my eyes away as the fire ate up the smiling image of the four of us. My mom. Dad. Me … and Lanna.
“Lanna,” I moaned softly as the paper was quickly turned to ash, the fire blackening each one of us in turn.
Until there was no family left.
Hurrying away from the morbid sight, I shouldered aside the partially closed door to my parents’ room. Flames shoved me back, and I scrambled into the hallway, wincing at the intensity of the heat.
Mom! Dad!
Setting my jaw, I started forward again, wincing in pain as the heat reached my skin, likely burning it. But I couldn’t stay out. I had to get in there. I had to …
My hand hit something that definitely wasn’t a rug or floor. It was soft on the surface but firmer beneath. Flesh. Instantly, I froze, the smoke clouding most of my vision by now.
Fear knotted my limbs, keeping me frozen to the spot for a moment until something heavy came crashing down on the doorway behind me.
The impact spurred me into motion, and I pulled the body toward me—only to fling it away in horror. The fire had already eaten away at her face and hair, but there was no mistaking the pajamas. Or the wedding band, worn on a necklace now melted to her flesh.
“Mom,” I moaned, unable to cry in the heat.
Turning to the side, I vomited.
Which was when I saw the other body.
“Dad?” I called tentatively.
There was another heavy crash from the house, and flames surged higher, sucking the oxygen from the room.
“Jada!” a voice bellowed from the doorway.
A moment later, Clive was there.
