Free Eternal Bloom - Book 5 (The Ruby Ring Saga) by Chrissy Peebles Page B

over the roar of the fire.
    A shout pierced the air, and I spun around.
    “You’re all dead!” a tall, well-built Immortal announced. He had at least a dozen others with him. How could Liz fight against a small army of Immortals? Erica, Beth, and I would be of no help.
    I bit my lip hard, wondering if we could take so many on at once. Maybe we could distract or trick them somehow. Fire shot across the ceiling. Suddenly, bullets flew at us, and we ducked for cover behind an overturned table Liz had toppled over in milliseconds. “What the...? They’re shooting!” I said. The fire grew and everything was obscured by the leaping flames. I wasn’t sure how to get out of there alive. Letting out a long sigh, I squinted and swallowed hard as the flames flickered and smoke continued to swirl before me.
    “We’ve gotta get out of here,” Beth said, coughing as smoke engulfed the room.
    The bullets stopped and I wondered if they were out of ammo. When I peered over the table, I could see the Immortals fleeing the fire, only leaving a few to deal with us.
    “Kill them!” a man shouted.
    Liz stood and threw a couple of fire balls at them, followed by a few ice balls that knocked out at least three of them. I let out a tiny, silent breath. It was a small victory, but a good one nonetheless. Trying not to panic, I glanced around. All the exits were covered by Immortals waiting to kill us. My heart thundered. As I tried to scramble away, I was quickly surrounded by more dancing flames. I refused to believe that my life was going to end in a raging house fire. On the other hand, if I survived the day, it would be nothing short of a miracle.
    “This way!” Liz shouted. “To the den!”
    My body shivered as I bolted into the huge room. I slammed the door shut, locking it. 
    “You have powers too,” Erica shouted hysterically at my sister.
    “Don’t look so freaked,” Liz said. “These powers are going to save your sorry ass.”
    “Sorry ass?” she said.
    Liz rolled her eyes. “You threatened to expose the Immortals. How dumb is that?”
    “How dumb is it to come over and interview a dead woman walking?” she asked.
    My sister huffed. “You knew they were going to kill you, and yet, you didn’t care?”
    “I just wanted justice, even if it meant my death afterward,” she said. “I just planned on doing the television show, and then dealing with the consequences when everything was said and done.”
    “They have us cornered,” Beth said, voice trembling. “What are we going to do?”
    “I’m thinking,” I said. Wisps of smoke floated above me. I coughed between jagged breaths and covered my nose and mouth with my stretched dress.
    “I don’t want to die like this,” Beth whispered. “Back in Dornia, they were going to light me on fire, and now it’s happening again. This is my biggest nightmare.”
    Liz pulled us way over to the left. “Let’s create a defense of some sort.”
    We started making a barrier with a couch, a few love seats, and an overturned desk. I gasped as we crouched down to hide behind it. It wasn’t much, but it might help bullets from hitting Beth and Erica. Liz and I could take a hit from a bullet, but our human friends couldn’t.
    Erica gasped between breaths. “Like I said, they’re surrounded the whole house. There’s no way we’re getting past them. We’re as good as dead!” Her voice came thin and raspy.
    Those words stung me. I couldn’t even explain my situation to the Immortals. It was shoot on sight. They wanted all potential witnesses dead. I touched my stomach and whispered to my unborn son, “Mommy will get us out of this. Don’t you worry.”
    I screamed as the walls started to catch fire. Liz’s terrified expression mirrored my own. I knew fire wouldn’t kill Liz or I, but it’d hurt like crazy and I didn’t want to put my unborn child through that agony. Not to mention, the Immortals would just behead me the second the flames stopped anyway. I