by M. Leighton
Wordlessly, everyone else bent to pick up a bucket and scoop up as much rock salt as it would hold and then repeat the process with a second bucket. I had to smile at our like-mindedness.
When each of us had a pail in both hands, we made our way back out to the mine’s entrance. The hell hounds were no longer pacing, but standing perfectly still as they watched us, carefully peering between the slats of the boards covering the mouth.
We all stopped, forming a semicircle around the hole in the boards that my body had made when Bo threw me into the mine. After a few seconds, Lucius continued on, approaching one hell hound where he stood just on the other side of the break. He didn’t stop until less than a foot of space separated him from the dog.
Taking both pail handles in one hand, Lucius grabbed a single fat rock of salt and tossed it up in the air like a tiny baseball, catching it in his palm. The hound watched him, the hungry fury in his eyes leaping in tall flames that teased the darkness around him.
“Open up for me, big boy,” Lucius taunted, tossing the rock up again.
He lunged toward the hound, bringing himself up short before he passed the salt-rich soil of the interior of the mine. The hound reacted, bracing himself for attack and opening his mouth wide in a loud bark.
Lucius took full advantage of the dog’s open mouth. With perfect aim, he hurled the golf ball-sized mineral all the way into the back of its throat.
The hound made no move to react at first. He and Lucius simply stood staring at each other, as if waiting to see who would flinch first. But then, with great heaves of his body, he started to sputter and gag, attempting to spit the rock up. When after several seconds he could not, it became apparent that Lucius had thrown the salt in too deep and it was already dissolving.
The hound shook its head in discomfort and began to drool even more, his saliva liberally streaked with thick threads of blood. He closed his blazing eyes and made a strangling sound in the back of his throat.
We all watched from inside the mine, rapt, as smoke began to arise from the hound’s enormous head. A sickening sulfurous odor washed into the shaft, saturating the air with its stench. The wolf-like creature extended his neck and hacked, blood and spit flying out and splattering the ground with its acidic slime. Dirt and leaves hissed under the burn of the saliva then the dog’s front legs collapsed and he all but fell onto his face.
The second hell hound skirted his companion, rolling his eyes suspiciously toward the writhing form. When the first hound moaned in agony and began to shake violently, the second hound stepped back several paces and began to growl.
We all watched, partially stunned by disbelief, as the devilish canine on the ground began to bubble and swell. His tongue lolled to one side and his ears twitched as if he could hear the sound of his own demise. And then, with an anti-climactic pop, he burst.
Large pieces of his furry hell hound rocketed into the air, erupting into flame and then raining down in a fine spray of ash. The wind carried a gust of the powder into the mine and we all watched it skitter across the dirt floor, stunned into silent disbelief by what we’d just witnessed.
“I can’t believe that just happened.”
“What the—”
“You couldn’t do that again if you tried.”
“My God, I’m good!” Lucius exclaimed.
“And so humble,” Annika teased.
Lucius threw a cocky grin over his shoulder at her and she seemed to eat it up. I was a bit annoyed at their lighthearted flirtation considering the circumstances we were in, but I had little time to dwell on it. I just wanted to get out of the mine, out of the woods and away from evil creatures.
“Alright, tough guy, let’s see you do it again with that one,” Bo joked, pointing to the second, warier hound as he paced cautiously several feet from the mine entrance.
“That’s the smarter one. He’s already caught on to my plan. He won’t get close enough for me to get something into his mouth. Trust me.”
“Ok, so what now then? Are we just going to make a run for it?”
We all looked at each other, but it was Bo that answered.
“There’s only one of him and five of us. I think we should be alright until we can get out of his territory.”
As Bo outlined how he thought we could get away from the creature without being burned to a crisp, I listened with half an ear, the larger portion of my mind still marveling over his healing abilities.
When he concluded, I felt satisfied that I’d still managed to get the gist of what he’d said. We all run, each taking turns throwing salt back at the dog to fend him off. That would serve two purposes. One, it would slow him down and hopefully keep him from lunging at any one of us. Two, it would pepper the ground with rock salt, possibly making his chase more painful and difficult.
With everyone in agreement and standing at the ready at the mine’s entrance, Bo took me aside for a pep talk.
“Don’t forget that you can run as fast as the wind, you’re strong and capable and you heal extraordinarily fast,” he said, cupping my cheek with his palm. I could see in his eyes how hard he was trying to convince me, trying to allay my fears. I smiled, injecting all the confidence and assurance I could into the gesture. He returned my smile, seemingly more at ease.
Taking my hand, Bo led me back to the mouth, back to the group, where we decided that Lucius would exit first, pelting the hound with rock salt as the rest of us emerged from the mine and then we’d make our way southwest.
As far as plans go, that one went off without a hitch, thank God. The hound retreated, albeit unhappily, as Lucius hurled well-aimed chunks of rock salt at him, giving the rest of us plenty of time and space to get away from the mine. As discussed, we started running southwest, each of us taking turns throwing handfuls of rock salt at the hound as he carefully pursued.
I noticed after only a couple of minutes that his feet were smoking, presumably where he was treading on the intolerable substance. That was fortuitous, but decidedly unnecessary in the end.
As we continued our efforts to escape, we ran up a small incline and topped a hill. When we began our descent on the other side, it was my turn to lob pieces of rock salt, but the hound never appeared at the top of the hill.
“Wait!” I called to the others.
We slowed, looking back the way we’d come, but still there was no sign of the devilish dog.
“I guess he reached the end of his leash,” Lucius cackled.
“So it would appear,” Bo agreed, though he didn’t look completely convinced. “Alright, let’s get out of here.”
Dropping our buckets of salt, we all turned in unison and struck out at a more relaxed pace across the uneven forest floor. We’d traveled a couple hundred yards from the hill and were rounding a rock formation when the beast leapt out in front of us.
Although Annika squealed in alarm, I was somehow able to stifle my reaction. I imagined that, more than self-control, it was the fact that no sound could make its way past the knot of fear that had leapt up into my throat.
We all pulled to a hasty stop, tightening our group to make a united front against the hound. He seemed not to notice, however, as his attention was riveted on Lucius.
Lucius was to my right, Bo to my left. As the animal focused his burning gaze on Lucius, I could feel the heat of it washing over my face like rays of black sun. The sickening smell of Lucius’s skin melting permeated the air and we all stood helplessly by as the hell hound began to cook him alive.
“Push him down, Ridley,” Bo whispered, the sound so faint I could barely hear it.
I looked to Bo to make sure he’d actually spoke to me. He confirmed he had by nodding meaningfully at me. At his side, Bo waved his hand slightly, holding up three fingers and then lowering one.
He was counting down to a plan that began with me pushing Lucius to the ground.
Understanding what Bo wanted, I nodded and felt my muscles bunch in preparation for Bo’s signal. When Bo lowered his third
finger, I turned my body and pushed out with my arms in one smooth motion, connecting with Lucius’s fiery chest and knocking him to the ground.
Motion stirred the air to my left and I turned to see Bo launch himself at the hell hound. He hit the dog in the side and, with a grunt, the dog succumbed to the force and the two of them went skidding across the ground.
For several heart-pounding seconds, they wrestled in the leaves for the upper hand before the dog made his way to his feet. When he did, Bo wrapped his arms around the canine’s mighty head, but the hound was too strong. Easily, he turned his head enough to sink his enormous teeth into Bo’s upper arm.
Bo cried out but didn’t let go. Instead, he seemed to tighten his grip, making it more difficult for the hound to move his head and get his deadly jaws anywhere near Bo’s flesh. Once Bo had managed to secure the dog’s head in the crook of one arm, he reached around and grabbed the dog’s muzzle. With one sharp crank, Bo snapped the hound’s neck. I heard the wet crack from where I was standing.
When the animal kept struggling, it became obvious that breaking its neck was not enough. Twisting his body, Bo threw the hound to the ground and laid his body across it to hold it in position. I saw him stretch his arm up over his head and I covered my mouth. I couldn’t help it. I knew what he was going to do—what he had to do—but I still couldn’t stop the lurching of my stomach in response to it.
For the space of one heartbeat, Bo glanced back at me, regret showing clearly in his eyes. In that moment, he communicated to me his sorrow that I had to see what was about to happen, that my life had been reduced to this.
Determined to show him my courage and to ease his always-troubled mind, I dropped my hands and straightened my spine. This was, after all, a demon creature from the depths of a hell we could only imagine. With that in mind, I nodded to him and, like the strike of a snake, Bo shoved his fist through the hound’s ribs and tore out its heart.
As dark life bled from the creature, Bo rose to his feet and stepped away from its twitching form. We all stood watching for several seconds, each lost in our own thoughts, each trapped in a different level of speechlessness, until finally the creature’s movement ceased entirely.
It was almost with a sigh of relief that its body caught fire. Flames quickly engulfed it, burning away all evidence of its existence before it disintegrated into a mound of ash that blew away like dust in the wind.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Without meeting my eyes, Bo took my hand.
“Let’s go,” he announced to the group.
I didn’t let him lead me away. Instead, I held him back until the others had moved a few paces ahead of us.
Bo still didn’t look at me right away. It wasn’t until I touched his cheek that he turned his face toward mine.
I smiled reassuringly up at him.
“I love you,” I said quietly.
Bo closed his eyes briefly, turning his face to brush his lips against my palm.
“I love you, too.”
“You had to do that. You had no choice and I know that.”
Bo opened his fathomless eyes and did what he did best with them—he took my breath away. For a fraction of a second, I was lost in them, lost in the moment. Even after all the fear and horror and unnatural events of the last few hours, Bo was able to transport me to another place. With one simple look, he could take me away, to a world all our own. I loved that about him, about us.
Finally, when the steps of the others had faded into the distance, he tugged my hand and we jogged off after them. As we ran, I began to notice the familiar burn of thirst, setting my throat on fire. The further we went, the more the icy heat of my new metabolism pulsed throughout my body.
When we arrived at the edge of the woods, Lucius, Annika and presumably Devon were standing there talking. We came to a stop beside them and when Lucius turned toward us, I noticed that he was fading, his eyes that odd milky green. I turned to Bo and he looked in a similar condition. I didn’t need to look down at my own body to know that I was fading as well. I imagined that my eyes looked much the same way, though I’d never observed the strange phenomenon for myself.
“So what’s the plan? We all going back to Sebastian’s or…?”
“I have an idea,” Annika piped up first thing. “Devon, since you don’t feed, why don’t you take Ridley back to the house while we hunt? She doesn’t like to feed on animals I’m told and this might be the quickest and easiest way.”
By tacking that on at the end, Annika ensured that I’d sound like a jealous ninny if I argued, primarily because it did make the most sense. That only made it rankle all the more, so I said nothing, leaving the decision in Bo’s hands.
“You two go ahead. I’ll hunt later,” Bo said without hesitation.
“But you’re already fading, Bo. You need to feed. Ridley will be fine for a little while. Besides, you can make sure you feed her when you get back if Cade’s not up to it,” Annika asserted quickly. “I’m sure she doesn’t want you to be uncomfortable just to babysit her, do you Ridley?”
This was a little more of what I expected from Annika. Her flirtation with Lucius may have been sincere, but it didn’t change the plans she had for Bo. That much was clear.
Smiling coyly, I turned to Bo and leaned into his side.
“That might work out even better. I’d much rather get what I need from you,” I said, injecting as much insinuation as I could without coming right out with a catty meow.
The black of Bo’s pupils enlarged at my intimation, nearly eclipsing the pale green of his irises.
“Are you sure?” he asked softly, sliding one arm around my waist.
“I’m positive. It will be worth the wait.”
He grinned down at me and, despite my original impetus for being so blatantly suggestive, I melted just like I always did when we shared a moment. Immediately, I felt guilty for letting Annika get under my skin, for letting her trick me into using the incredible magic Bo and I shared for such a petty reason.
“Alright then,” Bo agreed, squeezing my side. “Devon, make sure Cade stays away from her, will you?”
Insulted, I started to object.
“I’m perfectly capable—”
“It’s not that you’re not capable, it’s just that you’re hungry. It’s so easy to get out of control, especially around humans. Cade might try to use that to his advantage. That’s all I’m saying.”
I nodded, appeased but still feeling a little rubbed by his dismissive attitude. Bo must have sensed my irritation because he bent and whispered into my ear.
“I don’t want anyone satisfying your hunger but me.”
A light dusting of chills arose on my arms and my stomach flipped over. I refrained from telling him that that was an impossibility. He was all I ever wanted, my thirst for him the only one that was truly insatiable.
He saved me from having to say anything when he brushed his lips across my cheek and told me he’d see me soon and to be careful.
Devon and I struck out in one direction, Bo’s trio in another. They were heading back into the woods. Devon and I were heading to Sebastian’s.
We hadn’t gone very far when a thought occurred to me.
“Maybe you should swing by Savannah’s before you come to Sebastian’s.”
“What about you?”
“I would come with you, but I’m afraid that, in this state, I might hurt her. I haven’t mastered the whole control thing yet.”
“But Bo wanted—”
My snort interrupted him.
“I’ll be fine. There’s nothing for you or Bo to worry about. He’s just a little jealous of the new guy. That’s all,” I assured him with a roll of my eyes. “Seriously, go by there and let her know you’re alright and then come to Sebastian’s. I gave you directions, right?”
“Yeah, you did, but I don’t know about this, Ridley.”
“Devon, it’ll be fine. Just tell Savannah I’ll see her tomorrow, after I…you know.”
/> Devon hesitated, but it didn’t take long for his desire to see Savannah to win out over any reservations he had. He soon agreed and we parted ways.
I let my mind wander the rest of the way to Sebastian’s house. I thought of Devon and Savannah, of Bo and of love. I kept my thoughts focused on anything other than the building thirst that was gathering like a vicious storm in my throat and chest.
As I approached the front door, the ever-so-slight smell of human blood—Cade’s blood—tickled my nose. It was just a hint of sweetness in the air, but it seemed that all my senses zeroed in on it instantly, ravenous as I was. I knew he was probably asleep in one of the bedrooms upstairs. All I had to do was make it inside and get behind the locked door of my bedroom.
With my hand on the knob, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, careful to pull it in through my mouth. I held it, counted to ten and then rushed through the front door. As quietly as I could, I closed it behind me and ran back to my room as fast as my legs would carry me.
Once I was in the sanctuary of my temporary bedroom, I turned the lock on the knob and leaned back against the cool wood of the door. I was still holding my breath, determined to resist the demands of my wayward body. I thought of Mr. Hearst and of Bo’s last words until I felt like the burning wasn’t going to consume my entire being. Only then did I feel it was safe to move away from the door.
With nothing but time on my hands, I wandered about the room, taking in the details of the furniture, the pictures on the walls, the draperies that covered no windows. I was in the back corner, the one furthest from the door, when a light knock brought my attention back to the present, back to my struggles.
I turned toward the sound and was immediately slapped with the scrumptious scent of blood, familiar blood—Cade’s blood. I shrank back into the corner and slid to the floor, pushing with my legs until my back was plastered into the V of the wall. If I could’ve melted into the wood paneling, I would have, anything to get further away from that tantalizing smell.
“Ridley, you need me,” Cade said quietly from the hallway. “I can feel it. Let me in.”