I wrenched myself free of him.

“You want Jesse to die,” I shrieked at him. “You want him to, don’t you?”

Paul looked at me like I was nuts. “Are you kidding? The whole reason I came back was to make sure he didn’t.”

“Then why aren’t you helping him?”

“I don’t need—” Jesse ducked as Diego took a swing at him. “—any help!”

“Who are those people?” Diego snarled, lunging at Jesse again.

“No one,” Jesse said. “Pay no attention to them. This is between you and me.”

“See?” Paul said to me, not without some self-righteousness. “Would you chill?”

But how could I, when I was standing there watching my boyfriend—okay, well, he wasn’t exactly my boyfriend, yet—in a struggle for his life? I stood there, my heart in my mouth, barely able to breathe, watching the flash of cold hard metal as the two men circled each other….

And then it happened. Diego suddenly reached behind him, and in a flash had grabbed hold of—

Me.

I was caught so off guard, I couldn’t think. All I knew was that one minute I was standing there next to Paul, barely able to watch what was happening, I was so scared……and the next, I was in the middle of it, an arm crushing my throat as Diego held me in front of him, the tip of his silver blade at my neck.

“Drop the knife,” he said to Jesse. He was standing so close to me, I could feel his voice reverberating through his body. “Or the girl dies.”

I saw Jesse blanch. But he never hesitated. He dropped his knife.

Paul screamed, “Suze! Shift!”

It took me a second to realize what he meant. Diego was touching me. Diego was touching me. All I had to do was picture that hallway I hated so much—that way station between existences—and he and I would both be transported there…

…and we’d be rid of him forever.

But before I could so much as close my eyes, Diego threw me away from him and lunged at Jesse. I tried to scream as I fell, but my throat was so sore from the force with which he’d held me, nothing came out.

I didn’t fall from the loft, however. Instead, I fell against something metal—and glass. Something that broke beneath my weight. Something that soaked the straw beneath me.

Something that burst into flames.

The lantern. I’d fallen on the lantern, and broken it. And set the hay on fire.

The flames broke out more quickly than I ever could have imagined they would. Suddenly, I was separated from the others by a wall of orange. I could see them standing on the other side, Paul staring at me in dumb horror, while Jesse and Diego—

Well, Jesse was trying to keep Diego from plunging a knife into his heart.

“Paul,” I shrieked. “Help him! Help Jesse!”

But Paul just stood there looking at me for some reason. It was Jesse who finally broke Diego’s grip on him. Jesse who twisted the arm that held the knife until Diego, with a cry of pain, let go of it. And Jesse who hauled off and struck Diego with a blow to the face that sent him reeling—

Right over the ledge.

I heard his body hit the barn floor, heard the unmistakable snap of breaking bones… breaking neck bones.

The horses heard it as well. They whinnied shrilly and kicked at the doors to their stalls. They could smell the smoke.

So, I realized, could the O’Neils. I heard shouts coming from outside the barn.

“You did it,” I cried, gazing at a panting Jesse through the smoke and fire. “You killed him!”

“Suze.” Paul was still staring at me. “Suze.”

“He did it, Paul!” I couldn’t believe it. “He’s going to live.” To Jesse, I said joyfully, “You’re going to live!”

Jesse didn’t look too happy about it, though. He said, “Susannah. Stay where you are.”

Then I saw what he meant. The fire had completely cut me off from the rest of the loft. Even from the ledge. I was cornered by flames. And smoke. Smoke that was getting so thick, I could barely see them.

No wonder Paul had been staring at me. I was caught in a firetrap.

“Suze,” Paul said. But his voice sounded faint. Then he cried, “Jesse, no—”

But it was too late. Because the next thing I knew, a large object hurtled at me through the smoke and flame— hit me, as a matter of fact, and knocked me to the ground. It took me a second to realize the object was Jesse and that he’d wrapped himself in the horse blanket I’d slept under the night before….

A horse blanket that was now smoldering.

“Come on,” Jesse said, throwing down the blanket, then grabbing my hand and pulling me back to my feet. “We haven’t much time.”

“Suze!” I heard Paul yelling. I could no longer see him, the smoke was so thick.

“Get down,” Jesse yelled to Paul. “Get down and help them with the horses.”

But Paul didn’t appear to be listening.

“Suze,” he yelled. “Shift! Do it now! It’s your only chance!”

Jesse had turned and was kicking at the planks that made up the closest wall. The boards shuddered under the assault.

Shift? My mind seemed to be working only murkily, maybe due to all the smoke. But it didn’t seem like I could shift just then. What about Jesse? I couldn’t leave Jesse. I hadn’t gone to all this trouble to save him from Diego just to have him die in a barn fire.

“Suze,” Paul yelled once more. “Shift! I’m doing it, too. I’ll meet you on the other side!”

Other side? What was he talking about? Was he insane?

Oh, right. He was Paul. Of course he was insane.

I heard a crash. Then Jesse was taking my hand.

“We’re going to have to jump,” he said, his face very close to mine.

I felt something cool lick my face. Air. Fresh air. I turned my head and saw that Jesse had kicked out enough boards in the barn wall for a person to squeeze through. It was dark through that hole. But lifting my face a little to better feel the deliciously cool breeze, I saw stars in the night sky.

“Do you understand me, Susannah?” Jesse’s face was very close to mine. Close enough to kiss me. Why didn’t he kiss me? “We’ll jump together, on the count of three.”

I felt him reach out and grab me by the waist, bringing me close to him. Well, that was better. Much better for kissing—