Page 19 of Little Etheldreda Riding Hood

I guess if there are fire-breathing dragons on display tonight, they made sure to get minty fresh before hitting the stage.

Tonight the bar is packed with people trying to get the bartenders’ attention. In the middle of the room are three stunning topless dancers working three poles that weren’t there the last time I stopped by. The one in the very front–a young woman with skin so dark, it looks almost blue–slides around the pole as if the laws of gravity don’t apply to her.

I’d be totally lying if I said I wasn’t completely mesmerized by the woman. I stand stock-still, staring for far too long. Her body is amazing and shimmers in the lights as she swirls around the pole.

“Can I help you?” a woman’s voice asks me from behind. I turn and find a pretty dark-haired girl with a cooler strapped around her neck and shoulders staring at me. She can’t be more than nineteen or twenty.

“Yes, I’m looking for Randy. I’ve got his food.”

The girl clicks her tongue and smiles. “So you’re Red! Randy’s going to be sad it isn’t Soojin herself. He’s got a bit of a crush on her…but don’t tell anyone I told you that.” She laughs and points to the other side of the long bar. “Go around the bar, into the hall, and past the ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’ sign. His door will be on the right past the bathrooms.”

“Thanks,” I tell her as she wanders off. I follow her directions, doing my best to swerve between the mostly male crowd as everyone stares, completely transfixed by the show on stage.

Suddenly the dark-skinned woman in the middle steps away from the pole and a pair of iridescent wings unfurls from her back with a loud snap that seems to echo despite the dance music. Her wingspan easily stretches far past the tips of her fingers.

Without warning, she takes to the air with a grace I can’t imagine, skimming the crowd and returning to the stage as the audience goes wild. She holds up a wooden torch and the two other ladies move to her sides to join her in igniting the flame with their fiery breath. The cheers from the audience are loud and the energy chaotic.

A drunk from the crowd decides at that exact moment that he’s going to make it rain, even if this isn’t that type of show. He stumbles to the stage and bumps the dark-skinned dragon woman, causing her to drop the torch.

What happens next seems to occur in slow motion. All at once, each lady fumbles for the torch as it hits the stage, bounces off, and lands on the fabric that hides the internal workings of the underside of the stage. Whatever material was used must be highly flammable. It goes up in flames immediately. A piercing alarm begins to sound and people are up and moving before I have a chance to process it.

I glance to my left and spot the red metal of a fire extinguisher built into the wall right in front of me. All around me, people are yelling as they rush to the exits. The music has stopped and the deep voices of several wolves are trying to direct the crowd in a more orderly manner with little effect. With a calm that seems to come from out of nowhere, I set the food down, tug the extinguisher off the wall, and pull the pin.

The fire is fast though. It’s already spread across all of the material and laps at the edges of the now empty stage. The Dragon ladies may be familiar with fire, but they don’t stick around to deal with it. They’ve already disappeared from the stage. Behind me, the mostly male crowd is still frantically pushing their way out of the club, crowding every marked exit.

I start sweeping the base of the fire with the chemical in the extinguisher as the chaos continues around me. Even over the commotion, I hear a lone fire truck wailing in the distance.

“Are you insane?” growls a voice at my side. I keep my eyes on the fire, determined to keep sweeping. “Why aren’t you getting out? You’re not supposed to stick around and fight a fire on your own.”

Next to me, a second extinguisher joins my sweeping. In my peripheral, I see the owner of the grumpy voice–Zach Lamar in partial shift. His larger extinguisher is doing a lot more to put out the fire, but I’ve certainly done a lot on my own.

“That’s a strange way to say thank you,” I grumble right back.

“That’s because I’m not grateful. I’m not welcome. Get out of here before you end up in the hospital from smoke inhalation.”

“I could say the same to you,” I grump back.

“That’s different. This is my pack’s club.”

“I’m not getting trampled by a bunch of men when I can just put out the fire–”

“You mean risk your life?” he interrupts.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” I argue, as the foam in my extinguisher runs out. “Look, it’s almost out.”

Zach puts out the last of the flames and sets the extinguisher down as firefighters hurry in through the cleared exits. I don’t wait for any more grumpiness from Zach. I set my extinguisher down on a table, grab the bag of food, and escape before I have to deal with him anymore.

I push my way through the firemen and the last of the drunken customers out into the night air. A coughing fit hits me for a moment, and I cringe to think that Zach was right. A firefighter approaches me, but I wave him off. I start to head back across the parking lot, only to be stopped by a very large hand around my wrist pulling me back.

“Seriously, Red? You must have a fucking death wish. Why are you going to send the firefighters away when you’re out here coughing up a lung?”

Zach looks down at me, his dark eyes full of disapproval.

“I’m not coughing up a lung,” I argue, pulling at my wrist.

He doesn’t let go.

“Manuel!” he hollers over the noise and a paramedic comes over to us. “Can you check her breathing out? She was in there close to the fire.”

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