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Then Meredith saw solimpse of a door frame - and a tiny breath of cool air
With this hope to sustain her, she scuttled straight for the door to the backyard, dragging Isobel behind her
As she passed the threshold, she felt blessedly cold water so down onto her body When she pul ed Isobel into the spray, the younger girlthe entire journey: a wordless sob of thanks
Matt’s hands were helping her along, were taking away the burden of Isobel Meredith got up to her feet and staggered in a circle, then dropped to her knees Her hair was on fire!
She was just recal ing her childhood rehearsal of stop, drop, and rol , when she felt the cold water turned on it The hose water went up and down her body and she turned around, basking in the feeling of coolness, until she heard Matt’s voice say, "The flaood now"
"Thank you, Matt Thank you"Her voice was hoarse
"Hey, you were the one who had to go al the way to the bedroo Mrs Saitou out was pretty easy - there was the kitchen sink ful of water, so as soon as I cut her free froot al wet and dashed outside"
Meredith smiled and looked around quickly Isobel had becoirl was being hugged by her mother
And al it had taken was the nonsense choice between a thing - however precious it was - and a life Meredith gazed at the lad She could have another stavecould replace Isobel
"Isobel said to give this to you,"Matt was saying
Meredith turned toward hi the world crazy, and for one hting stave out to her
"She ed it with her free hand - oh, Matt, and she was almost dead before we started"
Matt said, "She’s stubborn Like someone else I know"
Meredith wasn’t quite sure what he et to the front yard I doubt the volunteer fire depart to co You scout the gate side,"Matt said
Meredith plunged into the backyard, which was hideously il uulfed in flames
Fortunately, the side yard was not Meredith flicked the gate open with the stave Matt was right behind her, helping Mrs
Saitou and Isobel along
Meredith quickly ran by the flae and then stopped From behind her she heard a cry of horror There was no time to try to soothe whoever had cried, no ti women were too busy to notice her - and Theo was in need of help Inari was truly like a fiery Medusa, with her hair writhing around her in fla snakes
Only the cri like a whip, using one snake to wrest away the silver bul whip from Theo’s hand, and then another to wrap around Theo’s throat and choke her Theo was desperately trying to pul the blazing noose fro "Are you suffering, petty witch? It wil al be over in seconds - for you and for your entire little town! The Last Midnight has final y colanced back at Matt - and that was al it took He ran forward, passing her, al the way up to the space below the fighting wo his hands
And then Meredith sprinted, putting everything she had left into the short run, leaving her just enough energy to leap and place one foot into Matt’s cupped hands, and then she felt herself soaring aloft, just within distance for the stave to slice cleanly through the snake of hair that was choking Theo
After that Meredith was in free fal , with Matt trying to catch her from below She landed more or less on top of him and they both sahat happened next
Theo, as bruised and bleeding, slapped out a part of her gown that was s She held out a hand for the silver bul whip and it flew to ers
But Inari wasn’t attacking She aving her arms wildly, as if in terror, and then suddenly she shrieked: a sound so anguished that Meredith drew in her breath sharply It was a death-screa back into Obaasan, into the shrunken, helpless, dol -like woman Matt and Meredith knew But by the tiround it was already stiff and dead, her expression one of such unrepentant
It was Isobel and Mrs Saitou then who ca with relief Meredith looked at theround
"Thank you,"Theo said with the faintest of sain"
"But what do you think happened to her?"Matt asked "And why didn’t Shinichi or Misao come to help her?"
"I think they al must be dead, don’t you?"Theo’s voice was soft over the roar of the flames "As for Inari - I think that perhaps so enough to defeat her myself"