Page 51 of Hounded: Ashes to Ashes

Looking back, I’d changed over the years. Become less phoenix and more human. The explosion of fire that had saved Loren in Ohio had been a one-off. I hadn’t tasted power like that in lifetimes. Not since I lost my wings. It seemed a bitter irony that the tears would dry up now, when they were needed most.

I looked at Gunnar, and I couldn’t tell him that.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to because Sully spoke up in my stead.

“We’re gonna table that, too.” She must have seen the realization settling over me because she offered a reassuring smile before addressing Gunnar and Dottie. “Again, so glad to have you both. I have to ask, though, are there others?” She cast her gaze wider to draw Whitney in. “This is a great start but, without knowing what we’re up against…”

Whitney nodded. “Plenty more, but none that I can get to. Like Dottie said, they’re imprisoned. It was a risk to free these two. I doubt a second attempt would go as smoothly.”

“You broke them out?” I asked.

He nodded again.

“By yourself?”

“Yes.”

How many times had I fantasized about that? On days and weeks when Loren was delayed coming home, and I worried for him. I waited and wished I could storm Hell’s gates and demand they give him back to me.

“What if we went with you?” I asked Whitney. “So you had help?”

“No,” Loren said. Simple as that.

“The point of all this is to keep you out of Hell, not lead you into it,” Whitney added.

At least they agreed on that.

I sighed.

“That’s okay,” Sully chimed in. “We can work with this.”

“Work how, though?” I asked. “What’s our plan? You said this was about strategy.”

Whitney cast a sweeping gaze around the circle. He’d told me he was a soldier in life. A commander, at that. He had that air about him. Confident. Composed.

“Presumably, we have time,” he began. “Nero is stranded on Earth until he finds another hound to take him back. When he gets there, he still has to contend with the issue of control. I hardly think he’ll let the beasts out of their cages without some guarantee they’ll heed his commands.”

His accent was melodious despite the severity of his words. And, while having time to prepare should have been a relief, it didn’t lessen the danger. The shoe still hovered over our heads, waiting to drop.

“So, for now, our strategy is to hunker down and strengthen our defenses,” Whitney concluded.

“You mean cower and wait,” Loren muttered.

The blond hound snapped his head toward Loren with a scowl. “If you have a better suggestion, I’d love to hear it.”

Sully cleared her throat. “I’ll be working on the witch problem. Getting to know her, feeling her essence. I’ll have wards for you two by the end of the evening.” She nodded to Dottie and Gunnar. “They’ll keep the other hounds off your scent, but I’m not sure how well they’ll hold up to magic.” A flicker of concern crossed her face before she concluded, “Again, working on it.”

The beep of the oven timer summoned Sully to the kitchen. I’d forgotten about the savory smell that had greeted us upon arrival but, as I watched her don mitts and open the oven door, my mouth began to water.

She bustled to the island with a large glass pan she set on the counter. Steam wafted from the bubbling top of what looked tobe a sheet of cheese. Layers of red sauce and noodles piled up beneath it, visible through the side of the dish. Lasagna.

Cooking Italian food was as good a bid as any to butter Loren up, and a strategy in and of itself. Hungry people were unhappy people. Feeding the masses would placate appetites and cool hot tempers.

“As far as hunkering down,” Sully said as she went for a stack of plates, “you’re all welcome to stay here. That includes you, lovebirds.” She gave me a wink. “Assuming you’re willing to leave your nest.”

I quirked a grin, feeling a bit of levity at the thought of having Loren to myself in the trailer for the first time in days.

My smile faltered when he pulled away from me and stood.

---