Chapter 488

"What have you done?" Ume cried over the echoing screams.

The vampires who'd held Katelina and the Father rushed Sushel, shrieking for help. He shouted at them to stay away and climbed into the narrow crack at the back of the room.

The child stood, wreathed in flame, his hands in the air. Maniacal laughter poured from his melting lips. "We go like our master! Like Memnon we become ashes! Even in death we are one!"

With a single blood curdling cry, Fethillen tackled him to the floor. They twisted and writhed in a blazing heap while Ume screamed, "Water! Hurry!" She pulled off her shirt and ran to them. She waved it like a blanket, but it fanned the flames, so she tried to smother them. The cloth was thin and useless. She leapt back with a cry, her hands red and blistered. Tears coursed down her face. "No! No!"

Loren scooped his arm around her. He pressed her back against him and tried to cover her bare breasts. "We need to go."