Page 19 of A Dawn Of Blood

Then, after one long moment, I hear this deeply unsettling snarling coming from behind my back.

Dryden’s cloak still shielding us, I slowly turn around.

And there, at some distance, forming a strangely disciplined line and seemingly staring straight at us, I see a dozen creatures unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

Huge dogs, maws dripping with saliva, eyes burning with bloodthirst, flayed bodies trembling with tension as if caught only a split second before lunging.

The hounds of Nasgard.

Blood curdles in my veins. Because the presence of the hounds can only mean one thing.

Cain is here.

Blood pounding in my ears, I only register the fact that none of us are moving.

The way the hounds are positioned makes my eyes drag behind them and up the highest building across the drill yard.

There, I spot a figure standing on the very top, a distant silhouette barely visible against the night sky, high up in the air and above everyone else down here.

My wolf rears its head and sniffs wildly, but the figure is too far away. Just as she does that, the image of him flickers and the next thing I know, my heart is skipping a beat, watching him jump off the building.

It makes my eyes round, when I see the wings spring out of his back as he falls.

The next thing I know, there’s a soft flap of wings, then a forceful but steady hit of boots on the ground at the foot of the building.

The man I saw jump right now has deftly landed into a crouch in front of the line of soldiers, one knee and one fist connecting with the ground. Mesmerized, I drag my eyes from the boots up as he slowly lifts, as if he has all the time in the world and nothing to worry about whatsoever.

He’s all in black, the hem of his ankle-length leather coat swaying a little then settling down. When he straightens, he towers over everyone else, a black shirt with some insignia straining over his muscled chest and broad frame.

But what really knocks the air out of my lungs are the wings that are retreating and the black shadow helmet covering almost his entire face, allowing only a glimpse of the cold stare behind and the sharp cut of a jaw left uncovered.

Angel of death, that’s what he looks like.

But there’s not a trace of doubt in my mind about who he really is.

Blood pounding in my ears, I see him start scanning the yard with a slight tilt of his head. His eyes almost sweep over us…

Then stop.

He can see us?

He can see us.

I exchange a panicked look with Jaeger and she wordlessly reminds me of the plan. If push comes to shove, let Dryden try to defend us first.

But the next thing I know, the slightest gesture of Cain’s hand is propelling the hounds straight at us.

All the muscles in my body clenching, I watch Dryden use his tension magic to create a barrier around us.

The hounds slam into it, unable to push through, but the strain makes Dryden’s cloak fail and noweveryonecan see us.

Not a second goes by before the soldiers are moving to attack as well and all hell is breaking loose, Nuala making rocks shoot out of the ground, Jaeger ripping the vampire’s necks out, Dryden cutting them with his air blades. And since push really has come to shove, I myself summon a thunder whip and start hitting the soldiers with it.

It’s just as my hood almost slips that I sense the need to look to my right, where I see Cain tilting his head at me from the other side of the yard and then disappearing.

Fuck.

But then, as I keep defending myself, Dryden steps into my line of sight, an air blade flying from his hand, and blood spraying the air before him even before I see Cain come to a stop right next to him.

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