“Stay close to the vents,” called Nick. “I’m trying to create a gap in the oxygen so the fire stays out of here.”

Staying close to the vents wasn’t a problem. She practically had her face pressed against the cinder blocks, hyperventilating through the gaps. The air on the other side felt like it was coming out of a freezer. She was sweating through her clothes from the heat at her back.

She couldn’t worry about her brother now. He hadn’t been in the library, so he was probably in better shape than she was.

“How?” she gasped. “How are you doing that?”

“Maybe we can have that whole discussion another time.” Nick glanced over and she watched the firelight flicker across his features. He was sweating, too. “You all right?”

“Is that a trick question?” But his efforts appeared to be working. The fire hadn’t entered their little area yet. It gave her an idea. “Can you make a path through the fire that way?”

Nick grimaced. “I’d have to clear all the oxygen around us as we moved. It would take too much time.”

“How much time?” God, she couldn’t think with these fire alarms.

“Ten, twelve minutes maybe?”

Yeah, she couldn’t hold her breath that long. She probably couldn’t survive that long.

She was already starting to feel light-headed from whatever he was doing. She pressed her face to the gap again and inhaled. The air felt thin, and she took another deep breath. It felt like her lungs couldn’t inflate all the way. Smoke was collecting along the opening to the alcove as if a pane of glass kept it out.

“How long can you keep that up?” she said.

“We’re going to find out.” His jaw was tight. “I should have just taken that stupid test for him.”

“Gabriel was taking a test?”

“Yeah. The math teacher cornered him. He asked me to come tell you, but then Ryan Stacey showed up—”

He stopped talking. The fires went dark.

And all of a sudden, she was on the ground, looking up at Nick. His hand was patting her cheek, his eyes wide. “Layne? Layne.”

She sucked in a breath—a mistake, it was more smoke than oxygen. She coughed, hard. “What happened?”

“You passed out. You have to let me know if you feel light-headed again—”

Everything went dark.

This time, she came to with her face pressed against the narrow vent. The air was cool and rushed into her lungs. Fire still blazed at her back.

The fire alarms were silent.

She started to turn her head, but Nick held her there. “Don’t,” he said, and she heard strain in his voice. “I’m trying to keep the oxygen on that side of the wall, and it’s no easy trick.”

“How—” she gasped. The air was still thin. “How are you breathing?”

“The lack of oxygen won’t bother me.”