Watt-Evans, Lawrence - Annals of the Chosen 01 (71 page)

The
stone-paved
floor
was
awash,
Breaker
saw,
but
there were
no
rugs
and
little
furniture—but
then
he
saw
where
the rugs
and
smaller
furnishings
had
been
put,
to
escape
the
rising
water.
They
lined
the
narrow
staircase
leading
up
to
a loft.

And
the
children's
screams—both
children
were
screaming
now,
the
girl
calling
for
her
mother,
the
baby
wailing wordlessly—were
coming
from
that
loft.
Sezen
and
Merrilin
were
squeezing
their
way
up
the
stairs,
past
rolled
rugs and
precariously
balanced
tables.

And
above
them
Breaker
could
see
an
orange
glow,
and
rolling
smoke,
and
dancing
sparks.
The
thatch,
despite
the long
rain,
was
ablaze—the
outer
layer
might
be
saturated, but
the
straw
beneath
was
still
tinder-dry.

He
hesitated,
unsure
what
to
do—crowding
a
third
adult
up
the
stairs
would
merely
make
it
that
much
harder
to
get
everyone
safely
down
again.
A
pole
of
some
sort,
to
knock away
burning
thatch,
might
be
helpful,
or
a
ladder
so
that someone
could
reach
the
flames
directly
...

Then
the
girl
screamed
again.
"Mama!
My
hair's
on
fire!
Mama!"
And
she
came
running
out
of
the
loft
to
the
stair, arms
flailing,
and
ran
directly
into
her
father
on
the
top
step.

Sezen
staggered,
swung
his
arms
wildly,
and
managed
to grab
the
back
of
a
chair;
he
fell
sideways
rather
than
down,
and
caught
himself
just
one
step
below
his
previous
position.

The
girl,
though,
rebounded
from
her
father's
belly
and folded
at
the
waist
as
she
fell
backward;
her
head
struck
the
narrow
stair
rail,
but
then
tucked
down
to
her
chest,
and
she
tumbled
under
the
rail
and
off
the
side
of
the
step.

The
snap
when
she
hit
the
stone
floor
was
clearly
audible to
everyone
in
the
house,
and
Breaker
knew
where
to
go—he ran
to
the
little
girl.

Merrilin
was
screaming
and
hurrying
back
down
the
stairs;
Sezen,
seeing
how
matters
stood,
had
pressed
on
into
the
loft
to
find
the
baby.
The
Leader
was
standing
aside, taking
in
the
extent
of
the
fire,
the
fall
of
the
sparks
and burning
straw,
the
rising
wind
and
thickening
rain
outside the
open
door,
the
Seer
and
Speaker
standing
helplessly outside.

Then
Breaker
was
at
the
little
girl's
side,
where
the
first thing
he
did
was
to
quickly
stroke
her
long
hair
out
on
the wet
stone
and
splash
floodwater
on
it—her
hair
had
been
burning,
and
extinguishing
that
seemed
the
most
urgent
priority,
as
whatever
other
injuries
she
might
have
sustained had
already
happened
and
would
get
no
worse.

Then
he
looked
her
over.

She
had
landed
on
her
side,
and
her
eyes
and
mouth
were
open,
but
she
was
no
longer
saying
anything—the
ongoing screaming
came
from
her
mother
and
baby
brother.
She
was breathing
heavily—that
was
good,
that
meant
she
was
unquestionably
still
alive.