Akiko was running back towards the shrine before she could think about it. She heard Shiraishi’s shocked yell from behind her as she leapt up the steps and back through the doors.

The flames had taken over the right-hand side of the worship hall now, the soot-and-ember creatures fleeing in front of them to scuttle over the remaining area, scorching the floor and walls, making the seats smoulder, threatening to burst into flame at any moment. Akiko stopped in the middle of the room, looking around desperately. Why was she here? What was she looking for? She flinched from the heat, drawing back, starting back as something ran over her feet, burning pinpricks. She looked over at the flames, and saw birds of fire within them, calling to one another as they cavorted wildly in the inferno.

She looked around again, and caught sight of Tamao ahead of her, in the inner shrine. She tried to take a deep breath as she sprang forward, but it just left her coughing and spluttering as smoke seared the back of her throat. Dropping to the ground, she almost crawled up the steps, the floor hot under her hands, almost burning. Flames licked close to the edge of her yukata, and she yanked it back as she passed through the door.

As she entered the inner shrine, the flames reached the platform, and the curtains ignited as one, a box of flames driving her back, hurting her eyes. Tamao was not, however, within the flames; he was coiled against the wall, on the opposite side from the flames.

Akiko ran towards him, desperate to put some distance between herself and the flames, the heat already painful. Her eyes were filled with tears, sore from smoke and heat, and every breath rasped in her lungs.

As she reached the spot and reached out, the kami vanished from in front of her. Shocked, Akiko lost her balance and stumbled forward, crashing into the wall. She screamed as the hot wood, already charring, burned her skin, and fell to the floor.

A smouldering box fell from the wall, landing in front of her, cracking from the impact. Within it was a rotten bundle of cloth, the signs of insect damage clear. As the flames drew closer, Akiko reached out for it, pushing the folds of fabric away until her fingers touched something hard, smooth.

Cool.

The fire ceased to burn her. The air tasted cool and fresh in her mouth, and she coughed up black phlegm with the last of the ash. Around her, the fire still raged, drawing closer, but even its roar seemed somehow distant. Carefully, she brushed away the last of the cloth and lifted the object out.

It was a mask. Carved of wood, unpainted, apparently unstained, showing a calm human face, eyes open and empty. The mask was a whole face, but it had no hair, and Akiko could not tell whether it was supposed to be male or female. The calm expression spoke of knowledge, of secrets, of enlightenment.

With a groan and screech, one corner of the inner shrine collapsed, the flames leaping up into the gap as air rushed in. Knocked from her reverie, Akiko grabbed the mask to her chest and turned to run from the shrine.

The way ahead was blocked by a wall of fire, the floor itself burning, the flames spreading towards her. For a moment, Akiko panicked.

And then realised that the flames only felt pleasantly warm, even this close. She ran forwards, and it got no hotter, but the burning floor was slippery under foot with ash, and she stumbled, falling into the fire, sprawling forward, the mask slipping from her grasp.

The agony was unbearable as the heat of the flames came back, devouring her body. She stretched a hand out.

The pain vanished as if doused by cool water as her finger touched the mask again. She edged forward, drawing herself up, careful not to lose contact with the mask, gathering it into her arms as she stood up within the fire. She could see almost nothing through the light, but she knew which way to go. Slowly, testing her footing with every step, she walked towards the exit.

The worship hall was now filled with fire, the burning birds still flying through the flames, and when they came close Akiko could see the charred feathers and flesh from which the fires sprang. They dived close to her, but backed off, hissing and crackling their frustration, before they could touch her. Trying to keep her breathing calm, Akiko ignored them and continued walking forward, feeling the remains of the seats under her feet, feeling the very floor of the shrine weakening. She heard the protesting groans of another part of the structure, and risked picking the pace up a little more, not at all confident that she would be protected from parts of the shrine falling on her head.

The entrance to the shrine was just ahead of her, but her way was blocked. It looked like a giant lizard, its cracked and blackened flesh burning as she watched, burning away but never consumed, as smoke poured from its mouth between metal teeth that glowed red hot. It hissed at her, spraying glowing embers at her, but they bounced off her skin like a handful of gravel.

No heat, but solid.

Akiko edged towards it, as she heard the roar of part of the shrine collapsing behind her, and then tried to get round it. The creature, however, kept its eyes fixed on her, moving to block her escape route. Akiko tried shouting at it, but her voice was lost in the hungry clamour of the fire. And the creature was unimpressed.

Tamao sprang from behind her, crashing into the lizard in a great cloud of steam and a hiss like a myriad angry snakes. The kami’s mass was enough to knock the lizard through the wall, making the exit even wider and clearing Akiko’s way. She walked through as quickly as she dared, then leapt off the veranda onto the grass, running away from the shrine towards Shiraishi. As she drew away from the fire, she could hear the sirens of the approaching fire engines, and see the shock on Shiraishi’s face.

And she realised that she was naked, her clothes burned away from her, but her skin, illuminated by the destruction of the shrine, was completely unmarked.