Bringer of Fire by Jaz Primo Read Free Book Online Page A

them.
    I tried both Lexi’s and her husband’s cell phone, but still got no answer. That worried me…a lot. I think that I broke an Olympic record running the distance back to my Dodge Avenger.
    The tires squealed as I jammed the gearshift into drive and floored the accelerator. I weaved in and out of traffic like a madman, all the while trying to get hold of my sister’s home or cell.
    I tried Kevin’s cell again, to no avail.
    As I cut around a slower vehicle and sped through a series of stoplights, I resolved that my typical fifteen-minute drive was going to end ten minutes earlier. Five minutes later, I heard the sounds of sirens somewhere nearby, and a sense of dread set in.
    Conjuring years of self-discipline, I focused on the task before me. All I knew was I had to get to my sister’s house.
    After what felt like forever, I rounded a corner and careened into my sister’s addition. It was then that I saw the black smoke billowing ahead into the early evening sky.
    God, please.
    That surprised me. I hadn’t pleaded to Him for anything in a long time.
    By the time I made it to my sister’s street, a sick feeling had already formed in the pit of my stomach. I could see reddish-yellow flames and black smoke pouring out of the roof of Lexi’s two-story house.
    A small group of people were gathered in the front yard. It looked like my brother-in-law and my little nephew, Jake, were among them. Both were on their hands and knees coughing. Neighbors appeared to be tending to them the best that they could.
    I ran my car up into their neighbor’s empty front yard, and catapulted out of the driver’s seat to rush over to Kevin.
    “Kevin! Where are Lexi and Kristie?”
    Kevin hacked like some chain smoker at the end of his rope and shook his head.
    “Still inside,” he gasped. “Going for them next…”
    The sounds of sirens permeated the air, though it was of little solace. I had no intentions of waiting on them.
    “Stay here,” I ordered.
    I flew onto the porch at a dead run, impacting a wall of angry black smoke as I entered the front door. My mind reeled as I tried to figure out where they might be.
    “Lexi! Kristie!” I yelled.
    I coughed and immediately realized that I didn’t have much time. The roar of flames and a wall of heat loomed toward the kitchen to my left. I tried to visualize the layout of the house as I reasoned where they might be.
    Then something strange and alien triggered in my mind, though it felt like nothing more than an insistent notion; an epiphany.
    No, it felt like certainty .
    Upstairs.
    I concentrated on controlling my breathing and ducked low, focused on making it up the stairs. I felt raging heat at my back and realized that the living room had just been engulfed by flames.
    As I hit the top of the stairs, I saw doorways lining both sides of the hallway.
    Right side.
    It was as if I could feel their minds nearby.
    I crouched low to the floor but there wasn’t much more air than at walking height. I refused to let a fresh spasm of coughing deter my efforts to spring forward into the first open room that I came to.
    It was Kristie’s bedroom, and both she and Lexi were lying on the floor coughing uncontrollably.
    “Lexi! Kristie!” I yelled, slamming the bedroom door shut behind me.
    Lexi seemed only half-conscious, but she appeared to recognize me.
    “Logan,” she gasped.
    I heard a muffled roar and looked back toward the bedroom door, seeing the paint bubbling across its surface.
    I quickly considered the bedroom window, which was shut tight. A growing sense of doom welled in me as I realized we were all going to die unless we managed to get the hell out of the house.
    No time for doubts. Playtime was over.
    Recalling my recent game of bouncing a ball against the wall, I tried to imagine a small wrecking ball as I jammed the flat of my hand toward the window. I felt a rush of adrenaline through my body and my head felt like it was going to split in half.
    To my amazement,