Dave Carver (Book 1): Thicker Than Blood
Page 25
More blood fell into the fire. It let out a beastly scream was it Sage’s imagination, or did it sound like…barking?) and the fire brightened. Marigold smiled and handed the knife to Chyna, who repeated the process. And then it was Sage’s turn.
Her heart pounded in her chest. This was it. Her moment. She shot a look at the Professor. The older woman smiled, her mouth smoldering embers, a look that promised…something beyond a teacher. Sage nodded importantly, swallowed a mouthful of bile, and slashed her palm. The pain was intense: icy-cold and red-hot at once. It sent shivers of sensation all the way up her arm. Most amazing was the way she could feel her Sisters’ blood on the blade. Marigold and Chyna, somehow she could pick out each of their presences on the knife. But she felt the Professor most of all. Warmer and more powerful than the others, it filled her with strength. Sage examined the knife. It was fascinating, wasn’t it? The way her blood mixed with the rest. She couldn’t have picked out her own, even if she wanted to. Finally, she flipped the blood into the fire.
This reaction was the strongest yet. The fire roared into the air, scorching branches of the dead tree. Suddenly Sage realized that someone in town or on the highway might see the fire and come to investigate. Better hurry and finish the ritual, then. She handed the knife to Amy.
In one fluid motion, the blond girl took the knife, slashed her palm, and flicked the blood into the fire. Sage nodded, impressed. Amy had apparently done this sort of thing before.
Sage’s hometown had a great July 4th celebration. Some folks said the fireworks show was the best in Oklahoma. For hours every year, the entire night sky would be lit with brilliant lights and huge booms. The fire that rose into the air now made it look like a couple of kids with sparklers. There was a roar unlike anything Sage had ever heard, and the fire burst clean out of the pit. It rose high into the air, incinerating a chunk of the oak and sucking all of the moisture from the air. Sage looked at the Professor, wondering how the teacher was accepting her moment of triumph. She didn’t make eye contact. All Sage could see was the reflection of the fire, filling the Professor’s dark eyes.
For nearly a minute Sage wondered if the fire would ever die down. It didn’t seem like it. But then it shrank back to its original size and kept going, until there was nothing left but embers.
And then it appeared. Sage couldn’t explain it, but one minute there was nothing, and the next…there was it.
Sage’s father had once insisted on taking her hunting. They’d seen, from a distance, a grizzly bear. It had been the largest thing she’d ever seen: five hundred pounds of slow, lumbering power.
This thing was bigger.
It stood on four legs, each one as thick as a small tree trunk. Four paws, each with four dull claws scratched at the soot. Its body was long and barrel-shaped and it ended in a long tail. Midnight black fur covered the entire body, thick and shaggy like the bear’s.
But what really drew the attention were the heads.
Three of them. Growing out of three thick necks, each head was huge with a long snout. Each snout contained a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth and a lolling tongue. Red-hot eyes burned in each canine face.
The three heads moved independently of one another, each one looking at a different Sister.
“By the Art,” Marigold whispered. “What is it? Did we summon it?”
The Professor laughed, a harsh, angry sound. “Please. You could not have the skill to call forth such a magnificent creature. I summoned it.”
At that, the enormous three-headed dog whirled to face the Professor, all three heads lowered and teeth bared. She smiled, an evil expression and lifted the chain that was wrapped around her arm.
“Do you see this, dog?” she said. “It took me a long time to find it. It means you belong to me.”
One of the heads barked, a sound less like the dogs of Sage’s youth and more like the threat of a monster.
The Professor laughed again. “But I am not without mercy. You are my pet, but I do need your help. In exchange you may feast. These four are the appetizers.”
What? Sage’s head spun. Before she had time to work out what exactly the Professor meant, the giant monster pounced. Its front paws landed on Marigold’s chest and she fell to the ground, screaming. One mouth grabbed her by the top of the head, another around her ankles. The two heads pulled apart from each other until…
Marigold was ripped apart.
The contents of Sage’s stomach forced themselves violently free and she vomited all over the ground.
Chyna was running. The dog bounded after her, barking gleefully. The night shook with the sounds. With one massive bite, it tore Chyna apart. She fell to the ground in two separate pieces, ropy tendrils of intestines dangling free.
Amy stood her ground as the monstrous dog advanced on her. She raised her hand, fingers spread wide in a stop gesture. To Sage’s surprise, the dog came to a stop a few yards away from the blond girl. It snarled and snapped at empty air, but it didn’t seem to be able to get any closer. Amy’s blue eyes, full of tears fell on Sage.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. Then, in a flash of pink light, she vanished.
“That one is stronger than I anticipated,” the Professor mused. “We’ll have to deal with her. First you need to finish this one.” She pointed at Sage, still laying in a puddle of her own puke.
“Why are you doing this?” Sage cried as the dog approached.
“It’s like I said, child. Power. It’s all about power.”
All three heads converged on Sage, severing muscle, cracking bones, and puncturing organs. She was still alive when the dog began to eat her. She screamed as she died, the pain was so horrible.
But at least it didn’t last long.
About the Author
Andrew Dudek is the author of the Dave Carver series of urban fantasy novels. Currently he lives with his family in that most terrifying of places: New Jersey. He’s also really not as mentally disturbed as he may seem. Promise.
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Also By Andrew Dudek
Dave Carver Series:
Fist Kill: A Dave Carver Novella
Thicker Than Blood
To The Dogs (Coming Soon)