Page 22 of Dead Heat

I crossed the bridge for a better look. Their wings weren’t feathered like birds; instead, they were jagged and batlike. Their bodies were covered in short, coarse hair. In contrast to their hideousness, their movements were effortlessly graceful. They swooped and undulated, hypnotically rhythmic.

One head turned toward me, quickly followed by two more. Their eyes shone like the wicks of flickering candles in the night. Mesmerizing. Terrifying.

And achingly familiar.

My heart lodged in my throat. These weren’t random monsters that flew through the crossroads. They were the Hounds of Hades. The Erinyes. The less knowledgeable referred to them as the Furies.

“Lorelei?” Ray said softly. “What’s happening?”

I was so wrapped up in the revelation, I’d forgotten the ghost was nearby. “Don’t worry. You’ll be safe but do me a favor and stay away. I can’t handle distractions.”

Ray disappeared.

My unwelcome visitors landed in the cemetery. I carried no weapons, nor was there time to retrieve any. I considered barricading myself inside the house, but I knew it was useless. Like a determined burglar, if the Erinyes wanted in, they’d get in.

I glanced over my shoulder at the police car. Without the Sight, he wouldn’t be able to see the Erinyes. I hoped it was dark enough to shield me from his vision too. Gods forbid if anything terrible happened to me, I didn’t want the image burned into Leo’s retinas until he died. Although I was the goddess of nightmares, I had no desire to inflict them on others unintentionally.

I crossed the yard and stopped at the edge of the cemetery. The visitors were sniffing the dirt along the headstones. They were either tracking a scent or theyreally enjoyed the smell of rotting corpses. Probably both.

“Good evening, ladies,” I said. “Welcome to the Castle.”

Their heads jerked up to look at me. Three sets of eyes blazed with righteous indignation, which seemed appropriate for the Furies.

They were my father’s creatures. Melinoe must have known them once upon a time, not that I recalled the specifics. Any memories I had of the trio were whispers in the dark. The tickle of a feather trailing down my cheek, just on the edge of my line of sight.

The middle one folded her batlike wings against her back and stepped toward me, scenting the air. Her upper lip lifted in a snarl—or was that a smile?

The other two stopped sniffing, not because I’d interrupted them, but because they seemed to havelocated their target.

Me.

The creatures edged closer. Their guttural noises rumbled through my body as though I was making them myself.

Hounds and dogs usually deferred to me, but these creatures belonged to Hades. There was no telling how they’d respond to Melinoe reborn in human form.

I wondered why they retained their canine forms. I knew from my lessons with Pops that the Erinyes could take human form if they chose. It would certainly make communication easier.

“Why are you here?” I asked in a gentle voice. No reason to agitate them when I was outnumbered.

They crept closer.

I held up my hands like I was under arrest. “Let’s make a deal. Don’t try to hurt me, and I won’t hurt you. Got it?”

The middle one lunged.

I fell backward and the back of my head slammed against the ground. My saving grace was the pile of weeds that Nana Pratt hadn’t yet disposed of—they made for a softer landing.

The other two creatures flanked us as we rolled around in the dirt. Each time I gained the upper hand, the creature reclaimed hers. Thankfully, she opted not to bite my face when she had the chance, yet she continued to wrestle for dominance. Whatever her intentions were, they didn’t appear to involve disfiguring me.

Despite the tumult, I managed to shield my mind from hers. Their main job involved torture and vengeance. A vision of the Fury’s nightmare would likely incapacitate me more than her.

With a startling yelp, the creature released me. I spotted a five-fingered friend straddling her snout. Claude had poked her in the eyes.

“There you are!” I hadn’t seen the revenant all day.

The hound’s jaws snapped at Claude as he ran up her forehead to grip her head. The other two creatures seemed uncertain how to respond. Claude flattened himself like a starfish, still clinging to the creature’s coarse fur. Her companions tried to bite the revenant off her head, but it was clear they were concerned about hurting her in the process.

From what I recalled about the trio, some of their powers were similar to mine, such as the ability to inflict madness, possibly because they were also creatures of Hades. Historically, they were so feared that people addressed them by euphemistic names like the Kindly Ones rather than speak the name Erinyes.

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