She smirked. “You never asked.” Then her smile faded. “Never mind that. I want to hear all about this supposedly banished hellhound demon. Now spill.”
“Stars above, I feel ill now.” I whimpered pathetically, hoping for additional sympathy, but she remained unmoved. “Ugh, okay,fine, but we need snacks, so be a good friend and go teleport into the dining hall for me. I’d like some pizza and hot chocolate with cream and sprinkles.”
18
Raven
Moonlight shone down on me as I plucked devil’s wort. Adam would be furious if he knew I’d crept out this late, but I couldn’t sleep. Besides, everyone always told me we were safe here. No humans would stray onto our property thanks to the strong repelling wards Adam and Nova had cast around the perimeter.
As I examined a mushroom growing in the shadow of a gnarled tree, I heard a low growl. Coyotes and mountain lions were common out here, but never this close. I crouched low and listened.
Another growl. Louder this time.
The barn loomed behind me, only a few hundred feet away, but I knew I’d never reach it in time if a mountain lion attacked.
Two red eyes glowed like burning embers in the dark, and as my heart pounded in my chest, a bulky shadow creature moved forward. I frowned as the sheer size of it became apparent.
This was no mountain lion.
The moon slid behind a cloud, leaving me in semidarkness. Vicious spikes rippled along the creature’s back with each step it took. Giant pawstipped with razor-sharp claws padded closer until the creature had cornered me against a tree. Rough bark scraped my back. The dog-like creature opened its maw and roared in my face, revealing teeth dripping with saliva.
My stomach heaved at the stench of rotten meat and sulfur.
The thing sniffed me.
I whimpered.
Would being eaten by a devil dog hurt? I pictured Willow stumbling across my corpse when she released the chickens from the coop in the morning, and I sobbed. But to my surprise, the creature stepped back and its tongue lolled out, although it still towered over me. Two intelligent eyes bored into mine.
My terror receded as I realized the devil dog didn’t seem interested in gobbling me up like a tasty snack. But before I could try touching its leathery skin, a blast of blue magic hit it square in the face. It flew several feet back with an inhuman shriek. Two hands grabbed me and hurled me aside.
A blade flashed through the air, and then I heard a dull thud as the creature’s head hit the dirt. The stench of burning filled my lungs. The fire burned so brightly I felt sure it would burn me too, but Adam scooped me up and carried me indoors.
Tears ran down my cheeks. Not from relief at being saved, even though Adam had come running the second he sensed the wards had been breached. No, I cried because something deep inside me knew the creature hadn’t meant me any harm.
Glynda chewed her lip and frowned, wholly unconvinced by my terrifying story. “So you think this demon was friendly? I have to say, this goes against literally everything I’ve ever read about demons.”
I sat back in my chair and traced a circle on the table. A stack of books sat in the middle, reminding me I had a paper to write. While I loved reading, I hated writing, so this promised to be a massive chore. Was there a spell I could use?
Glynda rolled her eyes when I asked her. “No. Using magic to do your assignments is cheating, Raven.”Ugh. Somewhat annoyed that I’d have to write the stupid paper, I picked up the last of the pastries Glynda had collected from the dining hall and shoved it in my mouth.
“Did you see any more demons after your guardian killed that one?”
I shook my head. “No. Adam reinforced the wards. A few days later, we moved to a new property several hundred miles away.”
“Maybe it was a one-off.”
“I guess… but if one demon escaped the hell realm, surely others can too, right?”
“True, but if demons could come and go relatively easily, why don’t we hear about it? Lesser demonic creatures lack intelligence and will attack any living creature. Higher demons might not go on a murder spree, but humans would definitely notice them.”
“Ugh, I don’t know. Can we talk about something else, please?” It had been ages since I had thought about the dog creature, but it still upset me that Adam had killed it. A normal witch would have been grateful, which meant I wasn’t normal.
“You’re right. No more talking about demons. Let’s talk about the new PT coach instead,” Glynda smirked. “You still owe me an explanation for why you came back to the dorm several hours after he sent me and the other two packing.” She glanced around to check nobody was within earshot. “Doyou know him?”
I scrambled for an explanation that didn’t involve me confessing to breaking several rules in the student handbook. We’d missed each other this morning because I’d overslept and skipped breakfast, so this was the first time Glynda had had a chance to grill me about my meltdown in gym class.
“Um, we sort of met before I arrived here.” Stars above, how to explain it all without sounding insane? “He was there when the mages showed up after I set a table of candles on fire at a market.”
