“We need to get out of here,” I said to Anarchy.
“There’s no way out for you,” she said. “You’re going to die here. You’re going to be consumed by the flames. And when you’re dead, I’ll find the stone.”
“Look around you,” I said. “You’re going to die alongside me.”
She smiled at me. “I can’t die. I have the power.”
She aimed the torch at me, and I batted it out of her hand. I shoved her out of my way, turned to run for the door, and Anarchy knocked me to my knees with a blow to the back of my head. I was trying to clear my head and shake it off, and the big free-standing set of shelves crashed down on me. There was instant pain in my leg and a wave of nausea. I tried to move, but I was pinned under the shelf.
I was surrounded by flames and choking on smoke. Anarchy had disappeared. I could hear the fire crackling and hissing around me. I yelled for help, but I doubted anyone could hear me. And I couldn’t imagine anyone being able to get through the flames to rescue me.
I had my arm across my face, trying to filter out the smoke as much as possible, and I felt the shelf lift off. It was Wulf. He tossed the shelf out of the way and knelt beside me.
“We’re even after this,” he said. “So stay alert. The next time we meet, I might not be this nice. Hatchet was able to remember most of the writing on the tablet . . . enough to make me believe I know where to find the next stone. I won’t be happy if you try to prevent me from acquiring it.”
He pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close, and that was the last I remember.
When I regained consciousness, I was on the ground across the street from the Exotica Shoppe. A paramedic was bending over me, offering oxygen. I sucked some in and sat up. Glo, Clara, and Nina were there. No Wulf.
“Where’s Diesel?” I asked.
“He got here seconds after Wulf carried you out of the building. He made sure you were all right, and then he and Wulf went to look for Anarchy.”
Glo, Clara, and Nina were smudged with soot. It was on their clothes, their arms, and their faces. Clara’s hair had broken loose from its pins and was an electric mass of singed frizz. Nina was wrapped in a blanket, having left her gown inside the shop. They were all hovering over me, and I could see tear tracks streaking down their cheeks.
“We were so worried,” Glo said, her voice breaking. “We tried to go back into the building to help you, but we couldn’t get past the fire. It raced through the front of the store. The police and fire trucks came almost immediately, but if it hadn’t been for Wulf . . .” She left off with a sob, brushed tears away, and wiped her nose on her sleeve.
“We don’t even know how he got you out,” Clara said. “He just appeared from behind a fire truck with you in his arms. He carried you across the street, and we all ran over to you. You weren’t moving, and we were afraid . . .” Clara took a beat to get her composure. “Anyway, Wulf said you would be fine, and he didn’t leave until the paramedic got to you. Diesel was here by then, too, and Wulf told Diesel he’d been following Anarchy. I guess that’s how Wulf got to you so fast.”
The paramedic tried to get me to my feet, but I had pain in my left leg, and I couldn’t put my weight on it. He cut my jeans away at the knee, and I could see the swelling and the bruise developing midway between my knee and my ankle.
“Anarchy pushed one of the heavy display cases over and it fell on my leg,” I said. “That’s why I couldn’t get out. I was trapped under the case. Wulf moved it off me, and the last thing I remember, he was holding me close with his arms wrapped around me.”
“You should have your leg checked out,” the paramedic said. “Let me stabilize it, and we’ll get you to the ER.”
I was waiting for the paramedic to return when Diesel crossed the street to me. “How are you doing?” he asked.
?
?I think my leg might be broken. They’re going to take me in for an X ray. Did you find Anarchy?”
“Wulf and I tracked her down and trapped her in a blind alley. I was glad I had Wulf with me. It was like trying to capture a wild animal.”
“What did you do with her?”
“We turned her over to the police.”
“Will they be able to hold her?”
“Probably not. Apparently she’s been losing the power she stole from Wulf, but she has her own arsenal of creepy, special abilities. One of which is being able to burn a handprint into flesh. She killed Reedy and threw him out the window when she discovered Wulf already had the book of sonnets.”
“She told you that?”
“Yeah. She has a real anger management problem. She was ranting and babbling and foaming at the mouth while we were trying to capture her.”
“Foaming at the mouth?”
“I made that up. I don’t know why there was no record of her on file. I have a feeling she’s been around for a while as Anarchy. And I think she’s probably been looking for the stones at least as long as we have.”