I swooped for the knife and ran down the hall to the stairs, taking them two at a time. When I hit the first floor, I shouted, “Mathi, we have to get out—now!”

He looked up but didn’t question the order. He simply followed me across the room and down the short hallway.

We were at the external door when there was a soft whoomp. A heartbeat later, a huge wave of hot air lifted us up, flinging us past the concrete walkway and over the old metal railings down to the wet cobblestones below.

Chapter Six

I hit the stones hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs, then skidded along for several meters, only stopping when I crashed sideways into a dumpster. Pain flooded my body and for several minutes, I struggled to breathe, let alone think.

“Bethany?” came Mathi’s croaky question. “You okay?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Winded, lumps of skin missing, but otherwise alive.”

I forced my eyes open. Saw him, pushing upright. His pants were torn and there was a bloody scrape on his chin, but nothing appeared to be broken and he could move, even if he winced as he hobbled toward me.

My gaze went past him and widened in shock. The roof and the top floor of the building had disappeared. Only a few rafters remained, their blackened bones reaching for the sky as if desperate to escape the fire that burned below them. The shops either side appeared untouched by the explosion—blue dust gave spells a high degree of accuracy—but it was unlikely they’d remain that way if the fire brigade didn’t get here quickly enough to get the flames under control.

“So much for them not getting a third shot at me,” he grumbled.

My laugh caught somewhere in my throat and sat there like a lump that briefly made breathing difficult. I pushed into a sitting position but didn’t get any further as muscles I didn’t even know existed vehemently protested.

After several, somewhat useless, deep breaths that didn’t do a whole lot to ease the waves of pain, I said, “This explosion wasn’t aimed at either of us. It was set to get rid of evidence.”

“Meaning we might have found Aram’s body had we been able to get past that blue dust coated door?”

“I’m guessing there’ll be the remains of a body but only the coroner will be able to tell us if it’s Aram or not.”

“Then I’ll ask my father to keep me appraised of their findings.”

“And maybe ask him to find out more about Aram.”

He nodded and somewhat gingerly squatted in front of me. “The cobblestones might appear smooth, but it seems they hold plenty of hidden grit and other sharpish bits.”

“And we appear to have hit a whole slew of them.”

“Apparently so.” He reached out and gently thumbed moisture away from my cheek. It had a bloody hue. “That scrape is pretty nasty.”

“So’s your chin.”

“Yes, but your face will attract far more attention.” He reached behind me to grab the coat’s hood and tug it over my head. “That should conceal it from a casual glance, as long as you keep your head down.”