| - 17 - |
?The window,? gasped Celine, already feeling the effects of the fumes seeping under the crack of the door.
Raven opened the window and pushed the screen out. Already the women heard sirens rapidly approaching. She helped Celine
through the opening, then grabbed the quilt from the bed, as well as her cell phone and wallet from the nightstand. Then she
climbed through the window after Celine. She wrapped the quilt around the smaller woman?s shoulders. Celine still clutched
Galinthias. Raven noticed the creature was more docile than usual. She had half expected the cat to have already jumped from
Celine?s arms - probably leaving long gashes from her claws along the way - and run off. But no, Galinthias sat quite calmly in
Celine?s arms, moving only to rub her face along Celine?s tear-dampened cheeks, as if to comfort her.
A fireman approached the women.
?Hey,? he said, smiling sympathetically. ?What happened here??
?We don?t know,? said Raven, walking up to the man. ?We just tried to turn on the kitchen light and all hell broke loose.?
Literally, she thought grimly. It wasn?t exactly a lie, but Raven had no desire to try and explain that an evil ghost had come in
through a hole in their defences and attacked them for reasons they themselves still did not understand.
?These old buildings,? said the fireman, shaking his head in understanding. ?The wiring?s all screwed up most of the time -
probably a short in the system somewhere. Well, we?ll check it out and see that you get a report for your insurance company.
Must be a lot of damage - the neighbours called us and said that there were explosions.?
?Yeah,? said Raven. ?Whole refrigerator blew up.?
The fireman whistled. ?Wow - that bad?? he said. Raven got the impression that he was impressed to the point of glee. Must be
bored just covering calls from people with grease fires on the stove or rescuing cats from trees, she thought cynically. And
speaking of cats, that one is acting very strange ?
Celine was somewhere else. She gazed off into the distance, still clutching Galinthias tightly, but the cat did not fight her grip.
?Is she okay?? asked the fireman, gesturing to Celine.
?Yeah, I think she just breathed in too much stuff in there,? said Raven. ?She?ll be fine.?
?Well, we got an ambulance on the way anyway - standard procedure,? said the fireman. ?We should check her out, just in case.
Might be in shock.?
?Probably,? said Raven, sadly. ?She just lost everything she owns.?
?Yeah but at least she managed to save the cat,? said the fireman. ?You have no idea how many pets are lost each year - and how
many stupid people we lose running back into a fire to save Fluffy.? He shook his head.
?Galinthias is much more to her than a pet,? said Raven. She knew the significance of a witch?s familiar and was extremely
grateful that Celine had Galinthias, especially after all this.
?I understand,? said the fireman, nodding, though Raven doubted that he really did. ?Okay, I?m going to go and do my job - stick
around for a bit. We may need to ask a few more questions.? The fireman jogged off, leaving Raven and Celine. The other
tenants of the apartments were standing around, staring at the women resentfully. Raven merely shook her head, ignoring them.
She glanced over at Celine who was still staring at nothing, absently stroking Galinthias. The cat seemed to have fallen asleep in
her arms. An ambulance pulled up and two attendants hopped out and questioned the firemen, then came over to Celine and
Raven.
?Either of you hurt?? asked one of the attendants, a young woman with short blonde hair in a navy blue uniform.
?Nah, not really,? said Raven, with a shrug. ?A little glass flew around, but I think we?re alright.?
?What about her?? asked the male partner, gesturing to Celine. Raven frowned in concern.
?I don?t know - she may be in shock,? said Raven.
?We?ll take care of her,? said the woman, gently guiding Celine towards the ambulance. ?You want to hold the cat??
?No,? said Raven, shaking her head. ?Let her have her - I think she needs the contact right now.?
?Okay,? said the woman, again guiding Celine to the ambulance. Raven flipped open her cell phone, pulling a credit card from her
wallet and began dialling.
Several frustrating calls later, she closed the phone and walked to the ambulance.
?She alright?? asked Raven, noting with mixed relief and anguish that Celine was crying, quietly. At least she?s back with us,
thought Raven.
?Yeah, she?ll be fine,? said the blonde EMT, smiling and gently pushing Celine?s golden hair from her face. Raven raised an
eyebrow at that and quelled the jealousy that threatened to make her deck the woman. She?s only doing her job ? right? thought
Raven. Riiiight ?. Okay - get Celine out of here now. Tomorrow will be time enough to go over everything. Right now, I just
need to get her away from here. Someplace safe.
?Can I get her out of here now?? Raven asked. The EMT looked at her, then grinned, quickly dropping her hand.
?Sorry,? she said, understanding immediately.
?No problem,? said Raven through only slightly clenched teeth. Then she grinned. ?I do that all the time myself. Can we go??
Raven opened the window and pushed the screen out. Already the women heard sirens rapidly approaching. She helped Celine
through the opening, then grabbed the quilt from the bed, as well as her cell phone and wallet from the nightstand. Then she
climbed through the window after Celine. She wrapped the quilt around the smaller woman?s shoulders. Celine still clutched
Galinthias. Raven noticed the creature was more docile than usual. She had half expected the cat to have already jumped from
Celine?s arms - probably leaving long gashes from her claws along the way - and run off. But no, Galinthias sat quite calmly in
Celine?s arms, moving only to rub her face along Celine?s tear-dampened cheeks, as if to comfort her.
A fireman approached the women.
?Hey,? he said, smiling sympathetically. ?What happened here??
?We don?t know,? said Raven, walking up to the man. ?We just tried to turn on the kitchen light and all hell broke loose.?
Literally, she thought grimly. It wasn?t exactly a lie, but Raven had no desire to try and explain that an evil ghost had come in
through a hole in their defences and attacked them for reasons they themselves still did not understand.
?These old buildings,? said the fireman, shaking his head in understanding. ?The wiring?s all screwed up most of the time -
probably a short in the system somewhere. Well, we?ll check it out and see that you get a report for your insurance company.
Must be a lot of damage - the neighbours called us and said that there were explosions.?
?Yeah,? said Raven. ?Whole refrigerator blew up.?
The fireman whistled. ?Wow - that bad?? he said. Raven got the impression that he was impressed to the point of glee. Must be
bored just covering calls from people with grease fires on the stove or rescuing cats from trees, she thought cynically. And
speaking of cats, that one is acting very strange ?
Celine was somewhere else. She gazed off into the distance, still clutching Galinthias tightly, but the cat did not fight her grip.
?Is she okay?? asked the fireman, gesturing to Celine.
?Yeah, I think she just breathed in too much stuff in there,? said Raven. ?She?ll be fine.?
?Well, we got an ambulance on the way anyway - standard procedure,? said the fireman. ?We should check her out, just in case.
Might be in shock.?
?Probably,? said Raven, sadly. ?She just lost everything she owns.?
?Yeah but at least she managed to save the cat,? said the fireman. ?You have no idea how many pets are lost each year - and how
many stupid people we lose running back into a fire to save Fluffy.? He shook his head.
?Galinthias is much more to her than a pet,? said Raven. She knew the significance of a witch?s familiar and was extremely
grateful that Celine had Galinthias, especially after all this.
?I understand,? said the fireman, nodding, though Raven doubted that he really did. ?Okay, I?m going to go and do my job - stick
around for a bit. We may need to ask a few more questions.? The fireman jogged off, leaving Raven and Celine. The other
tenants of the apartments were standing around, staring at the women resentfully. Raven merely shook her head, ignoring them.
She glanced over at Celine who was still staring at nothing, absently stroking Galinthias. The cat seemed to have fallen asleep in
her arms. An ambulance pulled up and two attendants hopped out and questioned the firemen, then came over to Celine and
Raven.
?Either of you hurt?? asked one of the attendants, a young woman with short blonde hair in a navy blue uniform.
?Nah, not really,? said Raven, with a shrug. ?A little glass flew around, but I think we?re alright.?
?What about her?? asked the male partner, gesturing to Celine. Raven frowned in concern.
?I don?t know - she may be in shock,? said Raven.
?We?ll take care of her,? said the woman, gently guiding Celine towards the ambulance. ?You want to hold the cat??
?No,? said Raven, shaking her head. ?Let her have her - I think she needs the contact right now.?
?Okay,? said the woman, again guiding Celine to the ambulance. Raven flipped open her cell phone, pulling a credit card from her
wallet and began dialling.
Several frustrating calls later, she closed the phone and walked to the ambulance.
?She alright?? asked Raven, noting with mixed relief and anguish that Celine was crying, quietly. At least she?s back with us,
thought Raven.
?Yeah, she?ll be fine,? said the blonde EMT, smiling and gently pushing Celine?s golden hair from her face. Raven raised an
eyebrow at that and quelled the jealousy that threatened to make her deck the woman. She?s only doing her job ? right? thought
Raven. Riiiight ?. Okay - get Celine out of here now. Tomorrow will be time enough to go over everything. Right now, I just
need to get her away from here. Someplace safe.
?Can I get her out of here now?? Raven asked. The EMT looked at her, then grinned, quickly dropping her hand.
?Sorry,? she said, understanding immediately.
?No problem,? said Raven through only slightly clenched teeth. Then she grinned. ?I do that all the time myself. Can we go??
The Witch Warrior Chronicles, Ghost Writer
