Andy’s war cry was so loud it conquered the howl of the fire. He’d picked up the poker and was at a run. Jeremy’s eyes widened. Andy pulled back his arm to swing – a long, wide arc, in a loose-hipped stance like he was teeing off the golf balls he’d never got to hit from the roof – and unleashed. The poker slammed into

MY UNCLE

the side of Jeremy’s face with a crack. It hit him under the ear, across the cheek. His jaw seemed to dislodge from his face, giving him a wide-open look of surprise. Then the blood started pouring from his mouth. He dropped Katherine, who scrambled to Andy’s outstretched arm. Jeremy took two steps (pendulum jaw swinging) towards me.

He never reached me. He might have been surprised when the floor gave way beneath him, but his jaw couldn’t drop any further. He was gone, into the now fierce flames on the first floor.

Andy, Katherine and I literally hot-footed it out of the room. Katherine was between us, her legs pinwheeling the ground as we hauled her down the stairs. Erin stood by the entrance, waving for us to hurry up. Spot fires danced across the foyer, not yet an obstacle, but the paint on the ceiling was bubbling, fire crawling across the beams. The chandelier came down with an almighty crash just as we reached the door.

I collapsed at the bottom of the front steps. Crawling in the snow without gloves is like dashing across hot sand – it sears and bites the skin. Then I was lifted, and realised it was Erin holding me up, dragging me through the snow until eventually we plopped down in watery divots and watched the inferno, eyes glazed, coughing, astounded we were alive. There was my crackling fire from the brochure, at last.

The storm hadn’t ebbed. The wind was bracing and snowflakes still stung our eyelids and cheeks and for once I didn’t mind at all.

CHAPTER 40

It didn’t take long for the roof to collapse. The walls quickly followed, imploding inwards and sending a shower of sparks into the night with a hiss that, if this was a different hotel and this book a different genre, could have been a freeing of spirits.

Juliette turned to Gavin and said, ‘I think I’m ready to sell. Seeing as I’ve done the demolition for you.’

Some of us, those with energy left, laughed. People put arms around each other. Andy, for all my pithy remarks to this point, held Katherine like she was the only thing in the world. Marcelo and Audrey tucked Sofia between them. Juliette patted Gavin on the back in camaraderie. Erin and I didn’t do anything so clichéd, but we were near each other. I knew the fire was too far away to stand in for our flint, to reignite us, and that was okay.