Page 4 of Before. Then. Now.
Chapter Twelve
I sprinted back to the car, not even checking to see if the pup was at my heels because somehow I knew she would be: like it or not, I had a shadow. And, inconvenient as it might be, I thought I might actually enjoy the company. It was someone to bounce ideas off, even if she didn’t bounce them back.
I reached into the car, grabbed my bag and emptied the contents onto the back seat. I’d only bought spray deodorant because it was on offer at the supermarket; sometimes luck was better than judgement.
‘Okay, I’ve got a lighter and an aerosol can,’ I said to the puppy. ‘That should give us a big flame. But it’s the ground we have to focus on. If the ice on the floor doesn’t melt, I won’t even be able to stand upright and I can’t be skating everywhere while I try and haul those guys out of that icy prison. And you – you need to be quiet. Stealthy. You got it?’
She barked, which was kind of the opposite of what I’d just asked, but that was on me for acting as though she understoodevery word I’d said. Or maybe she did, and she was just trying to warn me how monumentally stupid my idea was.
It wasn’t that I disagreed: melting the ice on the floor wasn’t the most comprehensive of plans because I still had to revive and untie eight elves, all of whom appeared to be on the brink of death. Then I needed to get them out of the house and away from danger before whoever or whatever had taken them awoke and decided to fight back.
It wasn’t going to be straightforward but straightforward was for pussies…
‘Anything you want to add to this conversation?’ I asked, glancing down at the pup.
Obviously she didn’t respond, but I saw she’d found a large stick and placed it by my feet. ‘Now isnotthe time to play fetch!’ I rolled my eyes. The eye-rolling reminded me of something and I tapped my lip. ‘Actually, that’s not a bad idea.’ I picked up the stick. ‘Go! Collect as many sticks as you can! Fetch!’
I raced to a nearby hedgerow to do the same as she trotted off and returned quickly with more sticks. At first I thought she was just enjoying the freedom of running around and grabbing random items for fun, perhaps emulating what I was doing, but as the pile grew it became clear that she understood exactly what the brief was. She picked only dry sticks that were perfect for kindling, and some of them were so large I was amazed she managed to carry them. I was impressed. Maybe having a canine partner wouldn’t be so bad after all.
I tested my planned aerosol-and-lighter technique briefly and was completely taken aback by the noise it made. ‘Shit,’ I muttered. ‘That won’t work. Too loud.’
The pup whined and looked cautiously at where the flame had been. I patted her. ‘Sorry, I forget you’re new to all of this. That was fire. It melts snow but it’s hot. Stay back from it or you could get hurt.’
As I was thinking, I tapped my fingers on Rosie’s boot – then grinned when a better idea presented itself. I opened her boot and looked at the can of petrol. Now we were talking.
‘Come on, Fido,’ I whispered. ‘Let’s move.’ A wave of annoyance rolled off the pup and I flashed her an impudent grin. Apparently my girl had standards and Fido wasn’t her preferred name either. Still, it would have to do for now; we had more important things to focus on.
When we reached the front door of the cottage, I peered through the windows again to ensure the captor hadn’t returned in our stick-gathering absence. There was no sign of anyone else and, as far as I could tell, none of the elves had moved so much as a hair’s breadth.
It was go time. ‘Ready for this, girl?’ I asked quietly, glancing at the dog. ‘You can stay in the car if you want to.’
Her ears flattened to her skull in a clearno.
‘Okay, well, just stay out of the way. I don’t want you getting burned.’ She barked softly as if she understood and I tightened my grip on the can of petrol.
‘Let’s rock and roll.’
Chapter Thirteen
Since we were doing a stealthy break in I was prepared to use my lockpicks, but the door opened as soon as I gently pressed the handle. Huh. That was useful and unnerving in equal measure. What kind of kidnapper didn’t lock up their captives? The kind that knew they were never getting away, that’s who. That didn’t bode well for the amateur hour that was about to follow.
As soon as we walked into the frost-filled home, I built a quick fire and used a little petrol to get it started. I flicked the lighter, lit the kindling and a small flame leapt into life.
I watched impatiently as the ice around us started to melt slowly, revealing an area of wet floor. Though that patch was substantially less slippery, the remaining ice was taking far too long to melt and most of the floor was still like an ice rink. I looked at my trainers and wondered dubiously whether I should risk a spot of skating.
The puppy suddenly moved towards our impromptu bonfire. ‘Careful!’ I hissed to her as she grabbed one of the flaming sticks. ‘Those are hot!’
I shouldn’t have worried. She’d taken it by the unlit end and was dragging it just above the ice, her little feet splaying outward for balance. It rapidly became clear that she’d agreed with my assessment that the fire was taking too long and she was trying to clear a path for me to walk on.
‘Good girl. Good girl!’ I murmured.
Her claws clicked on the ice as she went forward bravely, but a few steps later the flame went out and she was forced to go back for another stick. It was the slowest approach to save victims I’d ever seen as we inched forward and tried to remain silent. She was barely warming the ice.
‘Good idea,’ I murmured to her. ‘But I think we can improve on it.’
Skating it was. I unscrewed the top of the petrol can and crept across the ice, pouring a little petrol as I went. Before long, I’d done a painstakingly slow lap of the room.
‘Mind out of the way,’ I cautioned the pup, then flicked the lighter again and watched the flames leap along the trail of petrol. The fire didn’t burn for long but it left a melted path so I could reach the elves. And, most importantly, I hadn’t set the whole place on fire. Yay.
