“Yes, I closed it to stop the smoke but it’s still coming in real fast.” Danny gulped down a sob. “I tried to open the window but it’s stuck. Please, please, come get me.”
Griff had to grab at the desk, bracing himself as a seizure shook his body. His beasts were single-minded with the need to reach their cub. His muscles writhed against each other, trying to twist into wings and paws. Every fiber of his being cried out to run to the boy’s aid.
But Danny needed his human mind now, not his animals’ instincts.
“Help is coming, Danny.” Griff’s hand shook on the control board as he frantically re-prioritized tasks, dispatching every fire engine he could to Reiner’s house. “Just stay down low, out of the smoke.”
His fingers cracked and bent halfway through dialing Ash’s emergency contact number. He scrabbled futilely at the keys, his paw-hands unable to press single buttons. His control board flung up a dozen errors as the system tried to process the gibberish commands.
*ASH!* he tried to send telepathically—but he could feel the mental shout just bounce off the inside of his own skull. He’d never been able to contact other shifters that way.
He just had enough dexterity left to jab the mute button on his headset. “KEVIN!” he roared. “GET IN HERE!”
“Jesus Christ! Can’t a guy even take a piss around-” Kevin stopped dead in the doorway.
“Take over!” Griff fell out of his chair, forced to all fours as his spine twisted. “Call Ash!”
Kevin shook his head in mute incomprehension. Face white with shock, he started backing away.
Griff didn’t have time to explain, or to cajole. He locked eyes with the other dispatcher, unleashing his full alpha dominance. “Stop.”
Kevin froze like a deer caught in car headlights.
“Go to the control board.” Griff fought to keep his throat and tongue human. “Call Fire Commander Ash.”
Moving as stiffly as a robot, Kevin did so.
A rush of relief shot through Griff as he heard Ash pick up the call. “Ash, get the team to Danny,” Griff ordered, not waiting for Ash to speak. “He’s trapped in a fire. Go!”
The phone line instantly went dead, Ash not wasting even a second to respond. Nonetheless, Griff could feel the Phoenix’s acknowledgement in his mind, a brief, blazing telepathic communication like a rescue beacon flaring in the night.
*I can sense him,* Chase’s mental voice crashed through his head, as swift and unstoppable as the pegasus himself. *We’re on our way, Griff.*
*I’m already in the air,* Dai sent too, a second later. *I’m bringing John and Hugh.*
*We will not fail you, oath-brother.* John’s telepathic tone was fierce and focused. Griff could feel him calling clouds across the sky, shaping them into a torrent strong enough to drown any inferno. *Tell your son that we come!*
Griff let out his breath. He relaxed his alpha hold over the shaking Kevin. “Sorry. Now, I need you to-”
Kevin bolted like a rabbit. Griff didn’t have a chance to reestablish his dominance before the other dispatcher had fled out of sight.
Griff snarled, cursing himself, but it was too late to do anything about it now. His erratic heartbeat lurched as he realized he hadn’t heard anything from Danny for at least a minute. His headset was still on, askew over his lengthening skull. He managed to get his talons round the microphone, unmuting it again. “Danny? Can you hear me?”
“Please come, Mr. Griff, please!”
The panic in Danny’s voice hurt worse than his twisting bones. “My friends are on their way now. I’m going to stay right here with you until they arrive. It won’t be long. Chase can find anyone, remember?”
Got to keep him calm. Give him something to focus on. Just a little longer…
“Danny, I’ve got a very important job for you,” Griff managed to get out through gritted fangs. He closed his eyes, focusing on the sound of Danny’s scratchy, labored breathing in his ear. “I need you to check the door for me. Crawl over on your belly, like a snake. Don’t open the door, just touch it and see if it’s hot. Can you do that for me? Now?”
He heard shuffling, then a yelp of pain. “It burned me!”
That meant there was no escape that way—and if Danny opened the door, the fire would be sucked into the room. “Danny, do not open the door. Can you see any blankets or pillows?”
Danny went into a long coughing fit. When he finally answered, his voice was hoarse and raspy. “Yes. There’s lots.”
“I want you to stuff as many as you can under the door. Block it up so the smoke can’t get in. Make sure you stay down low, understand?”