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PART ONE

So distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly

Edward Albee

Breakout

His earliest ht Fro he wanted it off It reminded him every day that he was born a slave

He was a wolf, a beast of hell, a captive, but for now his will and his mind were his own He had family to protect, brothers and sisters from his den who shared his fate Taken froether and as they grew, he led theht break free of their chains

Freedoh The future was far ine Every as turned into a hellhound on their eighteenthwolves turned too early ran the risk of death So the e When he turned eighteen, his life would be over He would lose his identity, his soul His every thought and action would be controlled by Romulus, the Hound of Hounds, the Great Beast of Hell

One day during his sixteenth year, Master Corvinus pulled hieant, and like the rest of the el, banished from Paradise, a veteran of the War of Heaven Corvinus was the one who exercised theress, who put their names on the lists

Corvinus had noticed his talent at a recent battle, how he had been able to dodge his adversary’s bloith graceful precision - as if he knehere they would land before they did, as if he could see one or two or even three seconds ahead - and the fight had been over before the bell finished ringing

His name was put on the top of the lists, and he h the pits He kept winning Every round He beat theer than any of theiant-killer, because he was the first who bested Gorg; Varg; Tatius; Aelia, the vicious she-ith the long claws; Drusus; Evander He had just had to win one more round for the top prize

But to his shock, he was bested at the trials and not made alpha After his defeat, he waited for them to come and take him away He waited, but no one caotten about hiht hieneral

Ro crimson eyes and silver pupils; he wascombination of both, as all hellhounds were Roardless of your performance in the arena, they tell me you are the one That once you’ve shed the wolf skin for hellhound forest Hell has ever known The Dark Prince himself has seen it Lucifer has entreated hteenth moon day to make you one of us"

Never, he whispered to himself afterward

Never what? Ahramin asked She was the oldest wolf in their den, the fiercest of the she-wolves Beautiful, dangerous

I’ to be a hound I’ll die before they turnto do that? She motioned to the collar he wore, the one all the wolves wore That collar will keep you froood dog

Once they were hellhounds they would assuht, they would speak the language of the masters They would carry black swords and wear ars of war, Hell’s arn

That was his fate; that was the fate of all wolves

But there had to be a way out Since his defeat, he had not been lazy He spent his ti the hounds There’s a sword, he told her I saw it An archangel’s sword The hounds stole it, but it’s here, they keep it at the armory It can break our collars We can escape We can leave this place

Ahramin looked skeptical

Trusta plan Their collars hindered their power and tethered the wolves to the underworld He was certain that once they were broken and the wolves were free, they could easily subdue the trolls who guarded theet aboveground? Hoould they cross Hell’s Gates into the land of the living? There were ruels’ strength had been sapped - but the masters kept them in the dark, and there was no way to knoas true

The great wolves of old used portals; that es, roads of space and time that allowed thee of the ancient wolves had been lost for centuries The passages were closed to him and his kind

But Marrok believed they would open for him Marrok told him to try The white as froreatest friend Marrok knew about the chronologs, about the passages, about their long and storied history Marrok knew about his talent and told hio, and the rest of theht

He waited until a night when the trolls seeuard was dohen the athered the wolves of his den together

I’ faces Who’s with s, but ultimately she approved the plan, as he knew she would She was as reluctant to be turned into a hound as any of them

He’d stolen the sword earlier that day It had been easy enough; it was a little thing, the size of a needle, and he’d kept it in his mouth The locks on their collars broke at its touch The freedo; he could feel the power flood through his body, through his soul Wolves were strong, stronger than the masters once, it hispered - uarded their dens, aler wolves stumbled and twisted her ankle Help! she cried

She’ll only slow us down, Ahrarowled We’ll co blue eyes locked on his, and he didn’t see how he could refuse her

She’s co with us Tala had helped him when he was down; he owed her this ht

Tala followed as they left the den, but her slower pace gave the hounds tied, salivating at the thought of ripping the wolves apart, and they caught up to theht at the border between the worlds The wolves were certain to be captured until Ahra out his de up the others, locking collars on their necks, dragging them back down to the Ninth Circle of Hell I’ll hold theo!

No! cried Edon, who’d always loved her