Page 44 of Legendary

I felt rough pads and claws hit my face as I flew backwards, hitting Axel’s body. Garrett and his children were still there, caught in the middle. I reached up and touched my cheek, placing my hand in front of my face and seeing blood. I looked directly at the children. “Go now, go to your mother,” I told them. There was only one hellhound now, they could be safe.

Garrett nodded at me, gratitude in his eyes as he huddled around his children as best he could and started heading towards Leah who was kneeling down with her hands outstretched waiting. They were halfway to their mother when I heard a low growl. And then another.

And another. And another.

The hellhound wasn’t simply asserting dominance before. He was calling on his pack.

Rustling sounds came from every direction and every single one of us was staring at a different part of the woods, trying to gauge where the first hound would come from. A deranged sound came from behind me as a black creature came out of nowhere and landed right on Axel, digging its claws into the side of Elise’s pet. Axel let out a loud cry and started bucking thecreature off of him, snapping his teeth in all directions.

Axel successfully got the creature off of him and turned his head, opening his mouth and letting fire erupt out. I shielded my face from the heat and smoke of it. The fire burnt the tail of the other hellhound which only made it more aggressive. It pounced onto Axel once again, who blew out more fire and swatted at the creature with his tail, slamming it to the ground.

More rustling grew as the black eyed, stocky, claw footed creatures gained numbers. I heard movement in front of me as the hellhound stalked over to me, tilting its head. I had no power to talk to animals, but there was something about this one. I almost felt frozen in place by it as if it was something else I was looking at when I stared directly into its eyes. Not something, but someone. I felt its hot breath against my skin as I tried to back up and get away from its menacing stare.

“NO!” I heard Leah shout. I flicked my eyes over the beast’s shoulder to see a creature grab Garrett by the shirt and fling him towards a row of trees. The children scrambled and tried to get their footing. Leah shot out her own stream of magic and she hit her target, but it wasn’t enough. The hellhounds growled and created so much bad energy that I felt a surge of strength. I wanted it, but I didn’t.

I watched as Axel ran over to the hellhound heading for the children and snatched the creature into his mouth, bearing down and a loud crunch surrounded us. It was enough of a distraction to bring me out of my own head. I lifted my leg back up, kicking the beast in front of me in its chest. The hellhound skidded across the ground but regained its footing, shaking its whole body before it charged for me again.

I heard the zip of an arrow threw the air and looked up to see Reese, basically sayingfuck itand extend his wings out. A hellhound got hit by three of his arrows and rolled over onto its side unmoving. His arrows pulsed with a glowing light and then snuffed out. A rattling growl filled my ears as one of the new hellhounds moved its shoulders in an unnatural way and wings began to form. Wings that looked broken and mangled but they worked enough for it to ascend from the ground.

“Oh fuck,” Reese exclaimed, flapping his wings and giving space between him and the creature that was circling him.

I blocked hit after hit from the hellhound I’d been fighting from the start. It had me wrapped up in its tail, but I manifested my dagger in my hand and sliced down its tail. When I got out of its grip, I whirled around and stabbed it in the chest with my weapon, hooking the tip into its skin. I pulled the dagger out and plunged it back in. Again, again and again. It felt good. The breaking of skin, the look like the end was coming…it felt really good.

I ripped my dagger out one more time and I could feel myself getting pulled under, pulled to that place that used to keep me warm at night. Shadows pooled at my feet and shaped themselves around my arms. I looked up from the dead hellhound and watched like a bystander as Nicholas dodged two hellhounds, jumping behind a tree when a large paw tried to rip at his skin. He twirled the sword in his hand as it started to glow and jumped out from behind the tree trunk. He took a quick step to the right, the fire that the hellhound dispersed from its mouth missing him. Nicholas sliced the creature deep into its neck, jumped over its falling body, and ducked under the second one, creating a smooth line down the other’s stomach. Both beasts were down for the count, and I couldn’t have found him any more attractive.

Arrows flew through the air, and I saw a hellhound go flying across the trees as Axel threw one of them and then Elise sent a flaming black smoke ball in its direction, setting it on fire. I pushed myself off of the hellhound underneath me and caught sight of another one coming on my right. I created a lasso of black shadow ribbon and circled it around its neck before it could even try to fight me. I tightened the ribbon hard while the hellhound choked and tried to get free.

Colorful magic was shooting out now and I knew it had to be coming from Leah, who had been trying to get her children inside, but there was a hellhound standing near the pathway back to their home. Another one sprung up and jumped on top of the large rock formation looking down on us.

“Leave them alone!” I heard Garrett yell as he staggered over to his family. There was blood coming from the side of his head and he looked like he was limping, but that didn’t stop him. He pushed out as much of his magic as he could, but the creatures just kept getting closer as if they wanted to bring terror just as much as they wanted to bring death. The children were sobbing, clasping their mother’s leg with all the strength they had.

Axel grabbed one of the hellhounds and chucked them up in the air before letting it fall to the ground with a rough thud and then incinerating it. Elise ran straight for the one near their magic front door and grabbed it by its jaw, throwing it off guard. She let her venom seep into its skin and the most ear-piercing cry came from the creature’s mouth. Reese shot his arrows down towards the tortured beast, putting it out of its misery. There was a part of me that wanted the painful cries. My hand was vibrating with that darkness that was within me. I wanted to hear those screams again, I wanted to see the pain as much as I wanted to feel it.

It only took a minute for the hellhound on the rock to jump down swatting Elise with its tail, and she landed against the rock with a disgruntled huff. It jumped high enough to scratch down the side of Axel’s face which causedhim to howl and blow out fire straight at Leah and her children. They jumped out of the way which was what the creature wanted when it grabbed one of Leah’s children by their arm and started dragging them away.

“Yuri!” Leah screamed right alongside her son. The hellhound jumped and dodged Garrett’s attack as he tried to retrieve his child. Hellhounds thought they were the scariest things around in these woods, but that was a mistake on their part, even ones with this much bloodlust. I placed my hand on the ground and watched as a stream of my dark magic slithered with great speed toward the hellhound. The hound didn’t make it far before the magic enveloped it and knocked both it and Yuri into a nearby tree. Reese descended from the sky and started running with Nicholas at his heels. I quickly made my way over, watching as the hellhound’s chest rose and fell as if it were in shock. I hooked my leg over its large body and grabbed it by the mouth. I lifted its face up to me, not even feeling its weight as I maneuvered the beast. I heard Garrett run past me to check on Yuri, but my concern was with what I currently held. I held my hand out and my dagger returned to me. I placed my dagger at the hellhound’s throat, looking into its eyes.

I could feel the flesh ripping even before my weapon touched it. I could taste it. I could…

Soul Seether.

That voice again. It wrapped itself around my head, my body.

Soul Seether.

Dani.

The shadows pulled and raged. They were trying to redirect me somehow. I sliced down the hellhound’s throat feeling a shiver go through my body from the pure enjoyment of it. I dropped the creature to the ground as if it was garbage.

Soul Seether.

More.

More.

I heard a heartbeat. It was thundering, but it was small. That blood that rushed through their veins gave me a sense of excitement.

Do it, Soul Seether.

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