Soul Fire

bank, but all I can see is a pane of glass reflecting the explosions back at me. The air is foggy with smoke, and
firecrackers flash continuously as though press photographers are capturing a movie premiere.
    Or the scene of a disaster.
    I try not to panic, to think logically. I lost sight of Sahara when we surged forward, but that doesn’t mean she’s gone after Cara. We’ve just been separated by the crowd. In a
few seconds, there’ll be another wave of people and we’ll be washed up together again. Human flotsam and jetsam. That’s all.
    So why can’t I breathe? My dark thoughts are as relentless as the drum beats . . .
    Sahara argued with my sister just before they died.
    Sahara told everyone Tim killed her.
    Sahara is the one who keeps insisting she was closer to Meggie than anyone.
    Sahara would never let Ade go without a fight.
    The smell – no, it’s more the taste – of gunpowder fills my mouth. I look up at the phone box, try to shout out to Lewis, but he can’t hear me, even though
he’s only metres away. I wave, but he’s too busy focusing his stupid phone camera on the action below.
    If Sahara was my sister’s killer, then she knows she’s got away with it once. Maybe twice, if she killed Tim, too. What’s to stop her doing it a third time ?
There’s no stronger motive than betrayal.
    Thump , thump , thump . Twenty teenagers dressed in red costumes are marking the beat on drums and cymbals, the sound reverberating inside my head. It’s so loud it hurts,
but I know I must push closer, further forward. A curtain of sparks cascades in front of the drummers. More dragons and devils fill every space.
    But there’s no Cara. And no Sahara either.
    The paraders seem to have an instinctive understanding of how far to go with their torches and their firecrackers. But Sahara was scared of it all. So she can have gone into the parade for one
reason and one reason only.
    To harm Cara.
    Suddenly I am certain she saw my friend kissing her boyfriend. And I’m even more certain that the only reason Sahara has kept it to herself is to buy herself time to take
revenge.
    All it would take would be a blow from one of those tridents, or a firework thrown towards Cara on purpose, and . . .
    I’m the only one who can stop this.
    I push forward again. There’s a clear line between the runners and the spectators. I’m terrified of crossing that line. But Cara’s my best friend. She’s stuck by me
through the highs and lows. I have to do the same for her. I pull my jacket round me, turn the collar up to protect my neck, and launch myself towards the fire.
    People spin round as they sense me pushing through, their faces full of suspicion. Perhaps they think I’m trying to steal their wallets. I try to smile. ‘Sorry. Sorry.’
    Just one more row of people . . .
    Now I’m right in the thick of it.
    I freeze as everyone dances around me. It’s like being the only sober person at a party, except it’s not booze that’s intoxicating, it’s fire .
    The drummers pass by, but what’s approaching is scarier: an even bigger dragon is bearing down on us. On me . I turn away, as the catapults attached to its body send flames hurtling
into the air and then sizzling down on top of us.
    The dragon seems to be floating above the road, moving of its own accord, but then I notice that there are more devils, using handles to carry it along. They’re reloading the bangers as
soon as they run out.
    ‘ N o PASA! NO PASA! ’ the people alongside me have started to chant at the dragon. They sound so angry, though I see delight in their faces. Even as I back away, they sprint
towards the dragon, crouching down to attack it from below. But the creature keeps moving, and they keep shouting, and another shower of sparks heads towards me.
    It’s too fast. I have nowhere to run. I crouch over. Put my hands over my head. Close my eyes. Wait.
    The embers hiss as they hit me. I feel nothing for a split second, but then it stings like acid, not just on my hands, but also on my back, despite my clothes. I open my eyes, but the
dragon’s so close that the lights blind me temporarily. The crackers whizz over my head, louder than an aircraft engine, and I wonder if my eardrums will burst.
    ‘ N o PASA! ’
    There are loud screams and laughter as the bandits make a last attempt to stop the dragon in its tracks, but the beast is fearless, crashing past. I’m being swept along by the group in its
wake.
    But it’s