Page 79 of Horn in My Side
A strange feeling crept into her stomach as Jasmine pressedher palm to her chest, surprised at the loud thumping from her heart.Surely they wouldn’t call Mal to help with any fire.He was the new guy, had barely had two days of training.However, the pressure in her chest increased.
“Let’s get you back to your pen, Clawdia.It’s time for bed.”
After settling the hatchling back in her crate, Jasmine quickly closed up the shop and rushed outside.Another fire truck zoomed by, its sirens wailing like a banshee, the wordsBAYVIEWCITYFIREDEPARTMENTemblazoned on the side.If Bayview had sent their trucks, that meant there was a major fire somewhere.
Maybe it was over in Morristown and they cut through Main Street to get there faster.
Still, her chest contracted, and it was hard to breathe.Unsure what to do, she jogged down to Brew-tique.The sign in front proclaimed it as closed, but she ignored it and threw the door open.
“Minerva!”she called to the witch, who was behind the counter, head bent down as she scrolled on her phone.“Do you know what’s going on?”
Her head snapped up.“Aren’t you on the Main Street Business Association group chat?”
“Yeah.”She hurried inside and crossed the dining area, stopping right on the other side of the counter.“But I put it on mute a couple months ago.I couldn’t stand Martha’s passive-aggressive tirades.What’s happening?”
“Three-alarm fire.”Minerva slid her phone over to her.On the screen was a picture of a building with smoke billowing out the window.“Out by Maple Avenue.Blue Skies Vista.”
Jasmine knew exactly which area that was.That part of town was barely Dewberry Falls, a fancy new neighborhood with big townhouses and a modern apartment complex with complete amenities.The buildings popped up like mushrooms last year,and because of how quickly they finished construction, there were rumors that the developers had cut corners.
Oh no.
“Jasmine?”Minerva’s voice was filled with concern.“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, one sec.”With shaking hands, she slid her phone out of her purse and dialed Mal’s number.
Pickuppickuppickup.
“You’ve reached Mal of Urduk Horde at Terra Forma Builders.I can’t come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number, I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
While his low baritone would normally soothe her, Mal’s disembodied voice was like a portent of doom.
“What’s wrong, Jasmine?”Minerva came over to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s Mal.”She quickly explained to the witch about how he joined the volunteer fire department.“I know they’re all technically on call during emergencies, but you don’t think they’d send him out there?He’s only had one day at fire college and that was last Saturday.”
“It’s a major fire, though,” the witch pointed out.“They’re probably calling everyone in, even the ladders from the nearby towns.”
Jasmine’s throat turned dry as a desert.“Let me try Nick.”Despite her numb fingers, she managed to tap out a quick message to the satyr.After a few seconds, there was no reply, not even the bubbles indicating the receiver was typing a message popped up.So she called his number.
“Hey, this is Nick,”came the smooth voice from his voicemail.“You know the drill.”
“Argh!”She really was starting to hate Nick Amherst.
“Mal will be okay,” Minerva assured her.“There’re tons of trucks responding to the fire.He probably won’t even get nearthe blaze.They’ll likely keep him at the back, turning on the hydrants or something, or maybe putting blankets on people.Why don’t you sit down?Want a chamomile tea or something?”
“N-no, I’m fine.But thank you.”
Jasmine worried at her lip.If only she had a car, she could drive over to Blue Vista and see what was going on.“Minerva, does anyone on the group chat have any news?Like ...injuries or—” Her throat closed up before she could finish the sentence.
“No, no one knows anything.Emergency services and law enforcement are probably keeping things under wraps for now.”
“But—Oh, wait.”A thought struck her.Fumbling with her phone, she managed to dial a number from her contacts.
“Hello?”came Kap’s voice through the speaker.
“Kap!Sorry for the early call, but I just had to call someone.Please tell me you’re awake.”
“Yeah.What’s up?”
