A terrible thought struck him. What if this was his fault? Had he taken his eye off the ball? Had he been distracted by love? He couldn’t think about that now. He had to make sure everyone was safe, including his sister. He knew what Karin was like. She would take her time no matter what the emergency. He was always telling her she would be late to her own funeral.

Declan made the mistake of attempting to get in through the front entrance and lost precious time caught up in the confusion inside the foyer. There was no sign of Karin, and no way he could get into the auditorium; people were climbing over each other to get through the exits, and the sweeping stairwell to the VIP area had been blocked off by a collapse. There were so many in need of help and only so much Declan could do. He scooped up one of two children a mother was trying to protect, and helped them outside.

After he had re-emerged onto the street, Declan tried a different tack and slipped down the alleyway. It was calmer here, which made it impossible to ignore the sobs of a little boy coming out through the fire doors. He was covered in dust and his wails chilled Declan to the bone.

‘Someone has to help Mrs Clarke! She’s trapped upstairs!’

Declan’s worst fears were being realised. Whatever the cause of the fire, not everyone was going to make it to safety. Whether it was a member of his family or someone else’s, he would never forgive himself if a single person died.

And while Declan was forcing his way inside, Karin Gallagher was very much concentrating on staying alive. It was a small miracle that she had escaped the crowd clogging up the main exit, and when Beth had yelled, ‘We have to go! Now!’ Karin hadn’t hesitated.

They had almost made it too, but she hadn’t been expecting to hear someone call her name.

‘Karin!’ Declan screamed. ‘Karin, are you there?’

She stopped in her tracks and looked up. Thick smoke churned in the roof space; dust and more smoke swirled on the ground; but in the space between, she could see clearly enough. A front section of the circle had been destroyed, but where the balcony remained intact, there was Declan. She waved to him, but he was already turning away.

Karin opened her mouth to call to him, but someone thumped into her back. She was blocking the aisle and was forced into one of the rows to let people past. ‘Declan!’ she called out, but it was too late. Her brother was gone.

When she looked back towards the side exit, Beth had disappeared too. She had made it out to safety and Karin ought to follow, but how could she leave now that she knew Declan was looking for her?

17