Page 135 of Dead Heat

Garm’s head snapped in my direction. I flattened myself against the cave wall, hoping to blend into the shadows. No such luck.

Blood streaked the creature’s fur.

Garm’s head retreated, along with the rest of him, yanked backward by an unseen force. The creature squealed and yelped, his claws carving ragged lines into the earth.

If Alessandro couldn’t run faster, Max and I would have to carry him because I did not want to encounter whatever was strong enough to drag a giant hellbeast by the tail.

“Lorelei, over here!”

I whipped to my left to see Max at his full height. Thank the gods. The incubus stumbled across the finish line like his knees were about to give out.

“We need to help Alessandro.”

Max didn’t hesitate. The cherufe lumbered over, adjusted a few rocks to create a broad shoulder, and swung Alessandro over it.

“I’ll slow you down,” the incubus objected.

“You’d slow us down either way,” Max replied. “At least this way you’ll retain whatever energy you have left for the final push home.”

Alessandro went limp, resigned to his temporary fate.

“We need to head toward the river,” I said, shouting to be heard over a soul-piercing whine. I refused to look. My senses told me it was a brutal fight, and I wanted no part of it.

Max was a few steps ahead of me when Garm made another desperate bid to stop us. The giant hound launched a sneak attack, hurling his head into my side. I arced through the air like a rag doll and slammed into the trunk of a tree. My ears rang, followed by a pulsing sensation in my head. My vision blurred. I tried to climb to my feet, but dizziness overtook me, and I fell back to the ground. My senses weredulled as Garm prepared a final strike. It was a horrible feeling, knowing what was about to happen, yet I was unable to stop it. For a fleeting moment, I wondered whether my parents had experienced a similar sensation when they realized they’d been discovered by The Corporation’s minion. I prayed they’d been caught unawares, and that their deaths had been swift and merciful.

Somehow, I doubted it.

A deep-throated baying drowned out Garm’s growl, powerful enough to snap limbs off the nearby trees. It was a sound that haunted my nightmares—but only because I didn’t recognize it then.

But I did now.

Cerberus.

The three-headed hellhound landed between us, his back to me. As far as Cerberus was concerned, he and Garm were the only two creatures in this world—and this world wasn’t big enough for the both of them.

I spotted bald spots on the hellhound’s backside where tufts of hair had been ripped out. Blood dripped from his left back leg. Both beasts were wounded but still standing.

I didn’t want them to fight to the death, even with Cerberus as the likely winner. He was only here because of me. Garm was doing his job, the same one the hellhound performed in the underworld.

And now I had a job to do.

I let loose what I expected to be a shrill whistle, but it came out softer than a whisper. The move was effortless, as though I’d done it a thousand times before. Because I had.

Both hounds froze in response.

I moved to stand between them and was stunned to see all four heads bowed. Garm whimpered. He wasn’t responding to a whistle; he was responding to a goddess.

Slowly and carefully, I reached forward to stroke hishead. “You’ve served your mistress well, Garm. Return to your post, and I will take Cerberus with me. We won’t disturb your peace again.”

Garm swung his body toward the cave and slunk into it.

I pivoted to face Cerberus. “How did you find us?” I asked, rubbing behind his ears. “You were tracking me again, weren’t you? You weren’t supposed to do that.”

A giant tongue lashed out and licked my face. Good thing I was immune to acidic saliva.

I pressed my face against his middle snout. “Who’s the best boy?”

“I am,” Max yelled.

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