CHAPTER 28
A Bonfire of Innocents
“NO!” DEKKA YELLED as she slammed on the brakes and skidded to a halt. She was out of the door in a heartbeat, but by then Armo was out and running.
He ran straight at the burning mass, arms outstretched. He was like a harvesting combine, knocking people back and scooping them up. He ran with four burning people, hurled them onto the unburned sidewalk across the street, and threw himself bodily on them, using his mass to one by one extinguish the flames, even as his fur singed and burned.
Shade Darby was suddenly there, right in front of Dekka. She pointed, her arm vibrating like a tuning fork. “Dekka! Shred! Smother!”
Dekka followed the direction of her arm: the overhang!
She raised her hands and roared like the mother of all lions. The overhang began to shred, bits of steel and plaster and wood and gravel. Dekka sprayed it over the burning people, a fire extinguisher of debris.
Too little. Too late.
Dozens, maybe hundreds had already died. More would be scarred for life.
Her effort had saved some. But only a very small . . . some.
“Armo!” Cruz appeared, a baby in one arm, kneeling over Armo. She batted at flames that had caught in his fur. “Are you okay? Armo!”
He blinked up at her.
“Take care of the baby!” he yelled, leaped to his feet, and went charging back into the burning crowd. He grabbed burning people and literally threw them clear of the gas. He bear-hugged people, smothering the fire on their clothing and flesh. His feet were covered in burning gasoline, but he roared on, oblivious to the pain, fearless, mad with horror and rage.
Shade tried to think. Tried to reason. Enough wind and she might deprive the fire of oxygen as she had in leaping to snatch Dillon’s sparking toy. But how? If she ran around and around, would she just draw the fire ever outward?
She was watching human beings burn in what to her was slow motion. She could see individual blisters forming on cheeks. She could see hair go from singed to aflame. She watched mouths desperate for air inhale nothing but fire.
She froze for what felt like a terribly long time. Her brain just seemed to shut down. For a moment even the Dark Watchers were unnoticed.
Then she saw Armo, lumbering in near-comic slo-mo, gathering up burning people, and she moved.
Shade snatched two people, one with each hand, and ran. Ran down the line of tanks, ran so fast that the people she pulled did not drag along the ground, but flew. Her speed extinguished the flames but both people, two women, one older, one barely Shade’s age, were covered in raw red flesh.
It was about half a mile to the fountains and man-made lakes in front of the Wynn casinos. Shade skidded to a stop and simply threw both burn victims into the water.
No, no, no.
Peaks turned away. Turned and ran in great, ground-pounding leaps.
No, no, no!
My God, they would think he had done it! They would think he had burned those poor people! They would think he was in league with the Charmer!
No!
The whole world had seen the Ranch. The whole world had seen him rampaging around the Port of Los Angeles. But he could rationalize those, he could try and explain, he could . . . he could someday face his children . . .
I didn’t do this! I didn’t know!
He had been trying to defend himself, that was all. He had tried to defend himself against the Rockborn monster Shade Darby.
Would his kids see the video?
Would they blame him?
He ran, and as he ran a tank shell raced after him. It struck him in the spine and exploded.