CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY – CHARRED RUINS

"Kayla, move your worthless arse!" The scream cut through the roaring cacophony like a physical blow, sharp and biting enough to jolt Kayla's fluttering consciousness back into full focus. Through a shimmering haze, she saw the towering, nightmarish silhouette staggering towards her - Beatrice, disheveled and streaked with grime, dragging some sort of bristling canvas bundle. Beatrice barreled forward, coughing violently, to skid to her knees at Kayla's side. Her free hand whipped the heavy smothering shroud aside to reveal...Julian and Sophie clinging to her skirts, expressions twisted in naked terror. "Get up," Beatrice barked, not even sparing a glance for the deepening glow of heat and fury building behind them. "Kayla, can you hear me? We need to move!" Numbly, Kayla nodded, allowing the other woman to hook an arm beneath her shoulders and haul her bodily back to her feet. Her lungs were ragged bellows, the smoke seeming to sear her airways with each desperate inhalation. L