“Thank you, Jemson,” Raisa said, cheeks flaming. “We’ll talk later, Han, all right?”

“I’ll go find Captain Byrne,” Han said.

When Han told Captain Byrne what he knew about Hallie and the others, Byrne nodded brusquely, his tense face softening somewhat.

“What can I do?” Han asked.

The captain kept Han on the run for the next hour, driving back flames, barricading and protecting buildings that dated back to the Breaking. Once, he propped up a building that threatened to topple onto a handful of firefighters.

They were fighting a losing battle. Between the resistance of the wizard flame and the east wind, whenever they managed to quench the fire in one place, it gained ground somewhere else. Even with the two pumps going, they couldn’t pour enough water on the flames to put them out or stop their relentless advance.

Han envisioned Ragmarket after the fire, a burned-over wasteland dotted with a few stone heaps, like shrines to the vagaries of the gods.

He could put up a barrier, but he’d never be able to build one quickly enough to protect Southbridge, since the fire line was so long. If the wind kept up, they’d be lucky if they could stop the fire at the river. And if the bridge burned, there wouldn’t be an easy way to cross for a long way up or down the river. He racked his brain for a solution.

A shout went up among those on the front lines as Cat and Dancer emerged from the smoke like spirits, huddled tightly together, webbed over with a coverlet of magic.

Han jogged toward them. “Where did you come from?” he demanded. “How did you get through?”

“Cat came and got me,” Dancer said. “I guess she didn’t think I would find my way through Ragmarket on my own.”

“You wouldn’t,” Cat said, scrubbing a smudge from her nose and brushing at her arms like she had the itches. “Let me tell you, I don’t like being caged up with magic like that.”

“Ragmarket’s gone,” Dancer said. “Except—” He glanced at Cat, and she shook her head. “Well, with a few exceptions. I’m sorry.”

“We’re going to lose Southbridge, too,” Han said, allowing despair to creep into his voice. “If only this infernal wind would die down, we’d have a chance.” He pushed at it a bit with his magic, but it was like setting a fan against a gale.

Dancer stared at the Briar Rose banners rippling and snapping over Southbridge Temple. “Is there a green place here?” he asked abruptly, kicking at a broken paver. “Somewhere I can get at the ground?”

“There’s the temple gardens,” Cat said. “They run right down to the river, just on the other side.” She tugged at his arm. “I can show you.”

“What do you have in mind?” Han asked, his hopes rekindling.