of the fire beating behind those walls. It pulsated and throbbed as it
sucked every breath of air it could find.
Cole knelt near the floor, took a deep breath, rose to his feet, and
raced for the window. The monster chased him. He heard a snapping
sound behind him, felt the floor shift under his feet, and leapt
through the opening as the floor collapsed. The room's walls exploded
a heartbeat later. Shards of glass and fragments of burning embers
blew out the window. The force of the explosion slammed Cole forward,
but he turned in midair so he would land on his back and not crush the
baby in his arms. The heat pouring out from the hot roof burned his
skin, and he knew he had only seconds left before the whole house
collapsed. Staggering to his feet, he turned in one direction and then
the other, looking for a way down.
Flames, like serpent heads, were creeping toward him from below and
closing in on him from the eaves above. Fire cut off the route Daniel
had taken with Tilly, and Cole knew he wouldn't be able to go down the
way he had come up on the opposite side, for the tree branches were too
high for him to reach with a baby in his arms.
He was trapped.
He could hear the faint clanging of a fire bell in the distance. Then
he heard a shrill whistle. He turned toward the sound just as Daniel
whistled again. Squinting against the black smoke, Cole spotted him
straddling the heavy branch.
It was too damned far away. Impossible to reach.
There wasn't any other alternative. "Hang on, Caleb, " he whispered.
Taking a deep breath, he let out a roar and leapt over the ring of fire
directly in front of him. He could feel the wood cracking under his
feet and hear the beams crashing behind him, but on he ran until he
felt as though his lungs were going to explode.
Daniel watched Cole coming toward him. When Cole was halfway across
the roof, Daniel flattened himself on one branch and braced his legs in
a wedge of a lower branch. He wrapped his left arm around the limb
holding him, then reached down as far as he could extend and put out
his right hand.
It was a leap of faith. The distance from the edge of the roof to
Daniel's hand was considerable. Cole felt as though he were flying,
and for a brief second, he did exactly that. He vaulted out into the
night, reaching for Daniel.
Their hands connected. And held.
Cole closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief.
Daniel grunted from the weight but held tight. When Colehad stopped
swaying and Daniel was sure he wasn't going to drop him, he reached
down with his other hand to get Caleb, and let go of Cole who dropped
down to a lower branch. The baby was screaming as Daniel gently pulled
him up in his arms. A few seconds later, they were all on the ground
and running for safety.
Jessica ran to Daniel to take Caleb from him, but Cole intercepted
her.
Looping his arm around her waist, he lifted her up and carried her with