Page 53 of Olivia

“There’s a little girl in there,” one of them told her. “Maybe three or four years old. She won’t let us rescue her. She’s hiding from us.”

Olivia looked the men up and down. They were wearing full gear and helmets, as well as chest armor and paint. No wonder the girl was scared.

“I’ll get her,” she said, realizing that would be much faster than asking the men to strip down. “I’m a woman, and I don’t have equipment on.”

“You’re not wearing any gear,” the soldier protested.

The roof above caught fire, flaring against the darkening sky. The man at the window cursed.

“Let me up there,now,” Olivia insisted.

“Come on down, El,” one of the men called to the soldier above.

“What’s her name?” she asked the older lady.

“Breelyx,” the woman replied weakly.

The minute he was off the ladder, Olivia was climbing it herself. The heat from the fire was like an open oven, but she didn’t let herself think about it. When she reached the window she looked inside, but there was no sign of a child.

“Hello, Breelyx,” Olivia called softly as she climbed into the room.

It was a child’s room, and thankfully the fire didn’tseem to have reached it yet, though smoke was pouring in under the door.

“Your grandma is outside,” Olivia said softly. “She sent me to come find you and bring you to her. She can’t wait to see you.”

There was no reply, but she caught movement inside the closet. The door was slightly ajar.

“I’m going to come find you in the closet,” she told the girl. “That was such a good place to hide. You’re one smart kid.”

She opened the door, and sure enough, a tiny Maltaffian girl with a pair of small horns cowered in the corner, clutching a stuffed animal.

“Is that a hearth beast?” Olivia asked her gently.

The girl nodded, her eyes still wide with fear.

“I’m Terran,” Olivia told her. “And Hearth Day is a tradition Terrans love to celebrate. Should we bring your hearth beast with us when we go find your grandma?”

The girl nodded again.

“Okay, Breelyx,” Olivia told her. “I’m going to pick you up now. You’re going to hold me tight, like you’re giving me a big hug. And you aren’t going to let go until I tell you.”

The girl didn’t reply but she let herself be scooped up.

Before she could take a single step, there was a horrible crash and a flare of flames. Olivia moved into the threshold of the closet and covered the girl’s small body with her own.

Turning back, she saw that the roof had collapsed into the room, cutting off their exit completely. Flameswere licking under the bedroom door now, so any hope of escaping by staircase was now gone.

Olivia mourned her own life for a moment, and the tiny flicker of life inside her. Then she focused on the child in her arms.

“We’re going to stay in here after all,” she told Breelyx. “I think those soldiers just might figure out a way to get us out of here, and while we wait, we can sing a Hearth Day carol.”

She settled herself into the back of the closet, with the little one still in her arms, clinging to her for all she was worth.

“You can just close your eyes, Breelyx,” Olivia told the child as the curtains caught fire and the wind blew them into the bedding. “I’ll sing to you.”

But she found she was so terrified that she couldn’t remember the words. So, she hummed a sweet tune into the child’s ear to drown out the sound of the ravenous flames making their way to the closet.

It was over now. If they were lucky, the smoke would overcome them before the fire did. She’d read somewhere that was usually how it worked.