Chapter 34 - The Red Flare
The sudden, violent snap of my coat pocket tearing echoed sharply through the cavernous dining hall. Before Arthur Vance or his security detail could react, I pulled the heavy metal flare from my pocket, yanked off the protective cap, and struck the igniter with a sharp, frantic twist.
*Hiss.*
A blinding, violent plume of chemical red fire erupted from the tip, filling the grand room with thick, sulfurous smoke and an unnatural, arterial crimson glow that washed over the priceless oil paintings on the walls.
Arthur stumbled back, coughing sharply, his refined composure shattering instantly. "What is the meaning of this—seize her!"
"Move, and I burn this entire room down!" I screamed, sweeping the blazing red torch in a wide arc before me. The intense heat hit my face, searing the air, but I didn't care. The smoke detectors in the high timber ceiling instantly began to shriek, flashing an emergency strobe.
Liam didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. As the heavy mahogany doors began to push open from the outside, responding to the alarm, Liam lunged forward. He caught his father by the lapels of his bespoke suit, shoving the older man backward against the glass wall with a terrifying crash that shattered a decorative vase on a nearby side table.
"Liam! Have you lost your mind?!" Arthur choked out, his aristocratic face turning purple with rage as his son’s hands locked around him.
"You pushed too far, old man," Liam snarled, his voice echoing over the screaming fire alarms. He ripped a heavy brass keycard from his father’s inner breast pocket—the master override for the estate's subterranean exit grid. "Clara, run! To the service tunnel behind the west pillar!"
"I'm not leaving without you!" I yelled back over the deafening wail of the sirens.
"I'm right behind you! Go!" Liam shoved his father hard into the arms of the rushing security guards, who were stumbling blindly through the thick red smoke, coughing and waving their arms.
I didn't wait. Clutching the sputtering red flare like a weapon, I sprinted across the polished marble floor toward the west pillar. Behind me, shouts, the sound of breaking glass, and the heavy thud of bodies colliding filled the air. I reached the dark, recessed alcove behind the massive stone pillar, where a heavy steel maintenance door stood slightly ajar, its keypad flashing green thanks to the master override Liam had swiped.
I slammed my shoulder against the door, slipping through into the cool, dark concrete stairwell just as a hand grabbed blindly for the back of my jacket, missing by less than an inch.
The stairwell plunged downward into the subterranean bowels of the estate, smelling of damp earth and electrical wiring. Above me, the alarm continued its relentless shriek, but the sounds of the dining hall were quickly swallowed by the thick concrete walls.
May you like
I didn't stop running. My legs burned, my lungs felt like they were coated in hot ash, but I forced myself down the spiral steps, counting the levels as I descended into the dark.
***
