Page 405 of Once Upon a Fable

It happened so fast.

Too fast.

Terrifyingly fast.

Oh, God.

The roar and crackle amplified with every second. Black smoke began to curl, bringing with it the acrid, terrifying scent of danger. Baser instincts told me to run. To get away before it was too late.

“Motherfucker.” Kas kept fighting the fire, spreading the flames as it latched onto the blanket he was using to beat and smother.

“Do something!” I yelled at Jareth, pure fury pooling through me as he just backed up, taking a healthy pull of bourbon, his eyes glowing with flames as he watched his old bed burn. He didn’t answer me. His eyes were crowded with the past and demons. His face a twisted mask of vengeance.

Kas continued to hit, losing an unwinnable battle.

The smoke thickened, making my eyes sting and lungs cough. I dashed forward, only to dance away as his strikes became fast and desperate. “Kas...stop. You can’t—”

“Help me!” he bellowed at Jareth. “Help me put it out, for Christ’s sake!”

Jareth shook his head, taking another drink and moving to stand in the doorway. His lips twisted into a sick smirk. “I think I’ll just watch thanks.”

“It’ll burn the entire place down if we don’t stop it!” Kas continued to beat the disaster with a blanket now on fire, sending flames to the tatty curtains and other books just waiting to be eaten by the greedy flames.

Another book sparked, smoldered, ignited.

I coughed as the smoke turned black and thick on the ceiling.

“That’s true.” Jareth winked in my direction, utterly calm in the chaos he’d brought. “But would that be so bad? You said it yourself; you have no food.”

My heart galloped as I coughed again. “You can’t be serious.”

“Well...you want out, don’t you? Do you honestly want to spend an entire winter eating scraps and slowly dying beneath harsh frosts?” He drank straight from the bottle again, his throat working with a large swallow. “Because I sure as fuck don’t.”

“You don’t fucking live here!” Kas yelled, still trying to win. Not ready to accept defeat. The fire licked its way from Jareth’s bed to the one beside it, devouring another book, setting fire in a woosh of fresh fuel.

Kas spun to look at me, sweat poured down his face, and his eyes were afraid. More afraid than I’d ever seen. “Gem, go get some water!”

“Right!” I turned to fly down the stairs, but Jareth’s fingers latched around my wrist. “You have a choice here, Gemma.” His eyes narrowed with hate and historical hurt. “Let this place burn to ash. Erase the ghosts. Set the past free. Have an excuse to go home.”

I fought against his hold. “I’m not going anywhere without Kas.”

“He won’t have a choice but to go with you.” He leaned in, whispering into my ear, his breath rank with booze. “Let Fables burn, and he’s homeless. He’ll have to make another choice—seeing as he’s suddenly so fond of those. Either choose to die in a forest with nothing or go with you...the girl he’s in love with.”

I bared my teeth as I yanked my arm out of his tight grasp. His fingernails left track marks on my skin. “Unlike you,” I spat. “I don’t believe in getting my own way at the cost of other people’s happiness.”

He shrugged and drank again before giving me a lethal smile and tipping the rest on the floor, leaving a puddle of highly flammable fuel just ready to be found by the fire raging in front of us. “Suit yourself.”

“You’re an asshole.” I pushed past him.

I ran.

I bolted down the stairs and straight out the kitchen door. Racing to the hose I’d spotted the night Kas drew me an outdoor bath, I grabbed it and prayed the length would reach the dormitory.

Twisting on the tap, I ran back the way I came, spraying water everywhere, leaping over the threshold and drenching the kitchen as I moved as fast as possible.

I didn’t have time to think about Jareth’s intentions.

I couldn’t let myself think about what would happen if Fables burned tonight, if Kas shut down, if his mind went blank, if he died...