By the time he reached the house, the fire had already spread to the building. The flames had crawled onto the rooftops and were slowly burning their way through the paper windows.

With an inward sigh, Nafan got as close as he could to the house, pressing his shirt firmly over his mouth and nose and squinting against the ash and flames as he struggled to find a way in. The door was wide open, and that half of the house was flame-free – but not for long. If he went in, he probably only had about thirty seconds to get back out unscathed. It was way too dangerous. Besides… if the door had remained safe for so long, then the child had probably escaped on her own. The best thing to do now was turn back and check the area to see if he could find her.

Or at least, that was what Nafan thought… but as he turned one shoulder away from the flames, he heard a faint cry.

With a sinking heart, Nafan glanced back at the door and heard the wail again. It was muffled by the rumbling of the fire, but it was definitely a child’s voice… and it didn’t sound too far away.

Ah, damnit.

As much as he didn’t want to die, Nafan didn’t have the capacity to knowingly abandon a child in the inferno. Grimacing, he took a deep breath, tied his shirt tightly behind his head, and plunged through the open doorway.

Dimly, through the smoke, Nafan saw that he was in a living room of some sort. He could see sparks seeping through the left wall, and the flickering flames were slowly climbing through the wooden ceiling above. Keeping low, he squinted through the smoke and waddled forward.

About three seconds later, he heard another cry. Realizing that it had come from further back, Nafan quickened his pace and entered the other room, only to pause uncertainly in the doorway.

It looked like the kitchen and dining area. There were many windows here – paper windows, and the fire had spread to them first. The two exterior walls were completely covered in flames, and they were quickly spreading to other parts of the room.

Where is she? Glancing around, Nafan promptly spotted a young toddler under the table to his left – a small, ash-smeared girl, hugging the leg of the table with tears in her round eyes. Despite being close to one of the fire-covered walls, she wasn’t moving.

Dashing over, Nafan skidded to his knees and grabbed her, but the girl clung resolutely to the table and started screaming.

“Let’s go, we gotta go. Come on,” Nafan said urgently, reaching forward to pry her fingers away from the wood. “It’s too hot here, right? Let’s go somewhere cooler.”

But the girl, not seeming to understand, started writhing and grabbed the table again, screaming non-stop. By now, the crackling of the fire was very clear in his head, and as Nafan glanced upwards he saw that the flames had spread from the wall to the other end of the table.

Irked, Nafan squeezed her thin wrists and immobilized her hand with a quick pressure-point maneuver, then pulled away just as the table split in half and collapsed with a spray of sparks.

He was hit by one a small piece of flaming debris in the shoulder, and Nafan pulled one hand away from the girl so that he could quickly pat the flames out. The girl, still writhing around, fell out of his arm and onto the floor with a loud splat, then started screaming again.

Cursing, Nafan hauled her back up with both arms – at least she wasn’t struggling anymore – and lumbered back into the other room.

By now, the smoke was so thick that he could barely see, and most of the ceiling was covered in fire. But he did feel a slight draft from the open doorway, and with a relieved huff Nafan staggered towards the cooler air. He had crossed the room about half-way when the ceiling started to collapse, and a thick pillar of flame sliced the air just in front of them – blocking off the route to the entrance and sweeping their faces with a haze of fiery heat.

Skidding to a halt, Nafan stared for a second as the flames from the pillar began rapidly spreading through the floor in both direction. Then, a groaning creak from above caught his attention, and he looked up to see a second chunk of the wooden ceiling coming loose.

Frozen in place, Nafan tightened his grip around the toddler’s shoulders and hugged her close. Strangely enough, as he watched the block of fire descend down on them, he felt the beating of his heart slow, almost as if he were calming down.

Then, with a crash and a triumphant roar of the flames, Nafan fell back from a massive force. As he struggled to gasp for breath, winded and dizzy, the first thought that ran through his head was – where’s the girl?

He felt her warmth a second later, pressed against his chest still. She was silent and limp now, eyes closed but pulse racing strongly in her wrist. Relieved, Nafan sat up with a pained grunt and realized that somehow, the flaming pillar hadn’t crushed them. Disoriented, Nafan stumbled to his feet, knowing he ought to find a way out instead of confusing himself, but as he closed his eyes he unconsciously replayed the previous second in his head. As the flame-caught plank fell over them, Nafan had seen a large shadow lunging underneath it, towards them. It had pushed them out of the way just before the pillar had fallen.

Khyriel?

Fear lurched through his spine. As Nafan stared at the rearing flames, mouth open and tongue turning dry, he realized that there was no way anybody could have survived the hit. Everything in front of him was smothered in a fiery haze.

No…

Not Khyriel. He could die, but not Khyriel… not the lycan…

Nafan gazed numbly at the flames, all motivation to move completely drained from his body – until a black shadow hurtle through the blaze.

The wolf landed with a slight stumble a few feet away and shook sparks out of its coat, then turned its head and shot Nafan a very furious glare.

“Thank goodness.” The words left his lips in a breathless gasp. He tried to walk over, but all he managed was a trembling half step.

Khyriel’s eyes narrowed in irritation. The beast jumped over, took Nafan’s outer garment in his jaws, and started dragging him forward.

“I – I can walk,” Nafan stammered, stumbling from the force of the wolf’s pull. “I can walk, I’m walking…”

The wolf huffed disbelievingly, but he released the man and turned away, only to glance over his shoulder again.

“I’m following you,” Nafan insisted, shifting the toddler up in his arms. “Can you find a way out?”

Khyriel paused, ears perked and swiveling as he assessed their surroundings. The house was almost completely swallowed in flames now – the only untouched wall was the one up ahead. There was a window there, but Nafan knew that if the approaching blaze managed to lick the paper even the slightest bit, it would also burst into flames.

Khyriel seemed to think the same thing. The wolf shot off suddenly, and with a surprised shout Nafan ran after him. They were heading straight for the window, and Nafan looked around in apprehension as he saw the flame enclosing in on the paper from all sides, but the lycan didn’t slow down. If anything, Khyriel quickened his pace and leapt forward, smashing the supportive wooden beams and disappearing outside. Half a step behind, Nafan followed and tumbled forward into the damp blackness with a surprised grunt.

He managed to turn around so that he landed on his back, with the girl safely held in his chest. Winded again, Nafan saw the window that they had just passed through erupt into flames as the entire house was consumed. Debris and sparks exploded from the fire as though in celebration and sprayed down towards him, but as Nafan flinched away, a dark shadow leapt protectively between them.

Then he heard Khyriel hiss in pain, and with a surge of energy Nafan scrambled to his feet.

“You shouldn’t have –” Nafan began in protest, but the wolf’s bulky silhouette disappeared. Confused and dizzy, it took Nafan a couple seconds to notice Khyriel’s human form stalking up to him from the darkness.

“Shut up,” the boy spat, shoving Nafan back with both hands. “Get the hell out of here, it smells like shit.”

That, he could agree with. Nodding faintly, Nafan started staggering forward. He heard another irritable growl from behind, then something brushed past his shoulder and grabbed his arm.

“So slow.” Khyriel didn’t look back, but the boy’s fingers were clamped tightly around Nafan’s arm as he dragged the man forward with a disgruntled mutter. “Stupid human.”