The fire was still settling when I heard footsteps goming fast from the direction of the eastern street, and I recognized the cadence before I saw the faces. Milo's measured stride, the twins' synchronized rhythm, and what sounded like Cressida running.
I was standing in the middle of what used to be a courtyard.
Emphasis on "used to be."
Milo came around the corner first. He had his glasses pushed up and his coat folded over one arm, the picture of a man returning from a calm evening errand. His mouth was already open, mid-sentence to whoever was behind him, and then he saw the crater.
His mouth stayed open and killed the sentence in the process.
Ophelia and Odelia appeared behind him. Then Cressida, who nearly ran into Ophelia's back because she was looking at something on her hand and not at the wasteland that had replaced their headquarters' front yard.
She looked up.
"What the f…"
