I waited, praying this was a final gasp, then the thing would die—but even though it was clearly uneasy, it didn’t move away. And… it didn’t bleed.
What… the fuck?
“Yilan, get out of here!” I hissed, shoving her off my back to get her moving, and raising my bleeding arm—sure enough, its eyes followed the movement of that limb.It eats souls. That’s what fuels it—but the human blood… the taste of humanity, that’s how it finds us.
‘Melek—’
‘You have to go. I have the best chance of overpowering it.’That was bullshit. The hounds had to be handled by multipleNeph to keep them contained, and even then they often wreaked havoc when they got loose, until they’d devoured a soul or two.‘Now, go. Warn the others.’
‘I’m not leaving you!’
‘Yilan, youMUST!’
We both went still. I was caught in the gaze of death just feet away. The hound began to pace—but only two or three steps before it would return, barring any progress I could make unless I turned my back and ran into the cave.
I wouldn’t run though. As I kept my eyes locked on those deadly claws and fangs, my mate’s warmth appeared at my back. Her palm planted between my shoulder blades, her head resting on my spine.
‘I love you, Melek,’she whispered in the bond, and the same part of me that had screamed when the hound struck, now ached with grief.
‘I love you, too—and I will see you as soon as I’ve dispatched this… thing.’
She nodded against my back, but I felt the choking despair rising in her.‘I’ll warn them all. We’ll barricade everything but enough space for you to squeeze through—’
‘Absolutely not. You get in there with the rest of them and make sure every possible exit is closed. You don’t let asoulin after you.’
‘But—’
‘Yilan, I’m going to beat this thing, then I’m going to fly. I’m going to warn Jann and Diadre about the hounds and—’
Yilan gasped.‘Jann—Diadre told me—‘
‘I know. There isn’t time, but trust me… it’s all part of the plan.’
‘You weren’t there when—’
‘I mean it, Yilan. He’s settling down for another pounce. I have to fight. Go. I’ll fly to safety. Just make sure you’re behinda thick enough wall that this thing can’t reach, and warn the others. Lucifer is coming—’
I heard the snap of wings before I saw the shadow from a body in flight, passing overhead.
The hound, still pacing, cowered suddenly, whining as it shrank.
‘Yilan, GO!’
She didn’t argue. One moment she was there, the next she was gone. But an ocean of love and care washed through me as she disappeared. I prayed the cave’s shadows would be deep enough that she could find the strength to shroud in it. As the hound whimpered and backed away, I moved forward and aside, praying Lucifer didn’t know there was a cave behind me.
A moment later, Lucifer himself landed on the dirt, with a boom that made the forest shudder. He caught himself, then straightened, his head down. He gave a single, sharp command and the hound crept away, whimpering and cowering.
Lucifer raised his chin, his eyes—ablazewith fury—locked on mine. He took two steps to stand at my toes, meeting me almost eye-to-eye.
Then a shriek of pain in my head and everything went black.
37. Burn it All Down
SOUNDTRACK:Madhouseby Sleeping Wolf
~ MELEK ~
I came awake in a luxurious room that looked familiar. For a moment, I thought it had all been a dream. But when I lifted my arm, blood was smeared on my skin and had run in rivulets to spatter on my leathers.
