Page 23 of The Hellbeast's Betrayal

“Not a word.”

I couldn’t help but smirk, despite our current situation. But hey, at least we had managed to outrun the HellHounds for the time being.

Asher shook himself and patted himself free of as much flour as he could as we continued to run through walls, with Tyr clearing the path. The stream of flour falling from Asher looked like he was running in slow motion, leaving behind silhouettes of his shape.

Like I said, it would have been more comical and left me laughing my ass off had we not been running for our lives. The next building was another home, but one that was thankfully empty. However, the second Tyr hammered his axe through that wall, I naturally took steps to run, when his strong arm stopped me. This was just before I could run myself right out to my death, as he said,

“Looks like it’s the end of the road.” And he was right.

We had come to the end of the row of buildings until we were now facing the town square again. Only this time, from two stories up.

“What do we do?!” I asked in panic, making him actually wink at me.

“Time to jump,” he said, making me back up a step.

“I can’t jump,” I told him, hoping he hadn’t momentarily forgotten that I was human.

“Sure you can, and I will catch you,” he said with a cocky grin, and before I could protest further, he jumped straight out the hole like this was nothing. Although he certainly landed like a pro, it had to be said, he didn’t even lose his axe. One he now reached around and hooked at his back before holding out his arms for me to jump.

“Oh no, I can’t,” I protested, making Asher grab me by the waist and say,

“You can hate me later.” Then he tossed me out the window, making me scream all the way down until landing with a distinct,

“Umph!”

“Gotcha,” Tyr said, holding me against his chest, smirking down at me. I panted, trying to catch my breath and still my pounding heart that, for a second, was convinced it wouldn’t need to beat any longer.

“You can let me go,” I pointed out, now we were street level, and my brain had caught up with the fact I wasn’t an Ella-shaped pancake.

“Do I have to?” he teased before Asher followed, a cloud of white left in his wake as the remains of the flour finally left him.

“Shall we?” he said to Tyr, who let me find my feet, now taking my hand and pulling me with him as we started to run through the square. One that was now completely abandoned.

However, just before we could make it back to the gated entrance of the village, a black fog rose up in front of us. We all jerked to a stop just before the gates slammed shut. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to now turn around to find the cause. And there it was, one of the robed followers of Garmr was now controlling this shadowed entity. Doing so with his hands raised, and black smoke rising from his palms.

“Shit!” I shouted as I saw Garmr’s army of HellHounds now making their way down to cobbled paths from each side. Which meant that we had no place left to run to because every street that branched off the square was full of HellHounds. Then after they reached the marketplace, they started circling the village square we were trapped in. Each one snarled at us, some leaping to gain more distance and landing with a crunch on crates of produce. Fruits and vegetables burst under their black paws, and bloody red drool dripped down between rows of deadly yellow teeth. Their fangs were long and sharp enough to tear through flesh and bone.

Their sleek black bodies looked like they had been skinned before being dipped in crude oil, their joints cracking and showing glowing crimson flesh beneath. Eyes burning bloodshot and glowing with eager anticipation for the kill and fight ahead. And they weren’t the only ones, because Tyr and Asher readied themselves.

Tyr pulled his axe from his back before pulling his sword from its sheath so he could toss it to Asher.

“I hope you know how to use it,” Tyr commented, making Asher grin before spinning it around with speed.

“I think I can handle it,” he said as his hand turned demonic before he ran it down the length and ignited the steel in flames. At the same time, he lost his mortal shell, giving way to his true form. The form I remembered seeing that day at the arena. The one with four twisted horns on his head, decorated with hoops and gold bands. Dark hair flowing freely between them and his pointed ears. His face now showcased black lips, pointed teeth, a strong ridged nose, and a pair of eyes in reverse. The whites of his irises glowed in the darkness that surrounded them.

As for his body, this was an abundance of bare muscle, decorated with patterned lines of raised white dots that varied only slightly in size to create the elaborate designs. And it was clearly a form that Tyr had already seen because he uttered a word I hadn’t heard before.

“Asuras… by the Gods.”

I obviously had no idea what this meant, and it wasn’t like now was the time to explain. So, with a nod of acknowledgement, Asher took a fighting stance, prompting Tyr to do the same.

“Stay behind us,” Tyr commanded, pushing me back with a hand to my belly. And damn it, if only I had my powers, then I could have evened the odds with my own army of souls. But I had let fear get the better of me once, and it had cost me the opportunity to have ended this. Because if I had only fought Garmr when I had the chance at the Gates of the Underworld, I might have beaten him.

“Ah, I see you found yourself an upgrade for protection,” Garmr commented, sounding amused by my army of two.

“Yeah, she did,” Tyr said, now spinning his axe and looking up to the sky as his eyes started to glow blue. And like Thor, instead of lightening transforming him, a beam of light came down and enveloped him in a heavenly glow. His tattoos all glowed with a blue power, as if feeding his veins, traveling straight to his axe, making it spark. And oh yeah,now he looked Godly.

“And you, Princess, where is your power, for as you can see, you are severely outnumbered,” Garmr remarked making my mouth drop a little. Because this told me that he didn’t know, meaning he hadn’t sent that bird creature after all, just like Lerna predicted. But then again, he wanted me for my power, didn’t he? So, did that mean I was now useless to him?

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