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That’s when the nitude of the situation hit me The entire dozen hellhounds had made an appearance, and the departed, Reyes’s spies, whoever they were, fought beside us with a ferocity I’d never expected I kicked at the hellhound dragging me into the brush, butout in pain and fear for Reyes, I arched et a better view of him I could now see the beast’s outline better because it was covered in Reyes’s blood Both of therunt in the darkness, but could no longer see Osh Like a raging inferno, fear engulfed ain and it released me that time only to crawl over me, its mammoth body like a small house as it placed a paw on

Unlike the departed, the Twelve were even more invisible in the darkness, almost completely transparent, but the silvery black dust of their coats shi me to make out a shoulder here An ear there I looked to either side My throat lay between two massive claws I could barely see past The beast bent its head until ere nose-to-nose His rowl aze off the amber eyes of the hellhound and looked up Another canine had ainst my captor

Artemis pushed her head overthe hellhound back Even if only inches, even if she bought me only seconds, I rejoiced at the borrowed ti her teeth in a vicious show of authority She didn’t give their inconceivable difference in size a second thought It reminded me of a scene outside , e pit bull The adorable pittie didn’t knohat to think about the miniscule assailant and see else as the Chihuahua danced around it, snarling and nipping But Arte Goliath back

Arteet to ht and found the hilt of the blade there In one quick move, I pulled Zeus out of my boot and slashed at the hound I felt resistance when the blade met flesh, when Zeus sliced into the hound’s side, but the beast whipped around and caught -quick speed Teeth sank to the bone Pain rocketed through me

With the beast’s attention averted, Arteed forward and sank her teeth into its neck, but did they bleed? Could she really do it any hares ofpain splintered my body in two The beast had cracked one ofback as nausea roiled up like an ocean wave to drown rew even harder as the beast fought Artelanced across the landscape Reyes fought as though unfazed by the beasts’ teeth and claws, by thealmost certain death His expression void of eled himself from the melee and sprinted toward me Before he made it, however, another creature dived for hiht two handfuls of its fur, then slaround It yelped as another of its kind tackled Reyes to the ground They rolled farther away frooal, in fact To keep Reyes as far frohting through the pain, I welded y, forced it to my core until the molecules compressed to the density of marble, until the pressure built like steaht burst fro into the atmosphere like the blast from a nuclear bomb

The beast that stood over me winced and jerked aith a startled whine It faltered and fell to its knees, but regained its footing just as quickly Then it shook its snout and snorted as though it had sniffed so about, I realized that was the extent of the dae

It didn’t work It had stunned the hounds momentarily, but they were back in full forh for Reyes to ain

I lay there hopeless

It didn’t work

It didn’t work

It didn’t work

The beast sank its teeth as another dived for his jugular Tiring, Reyes blocked its lethal jaws and hooked a leg around to break its neck Instead, they both soain, blood dripped from its snout as it watched hilances As though plotting As though planning their attack The second one crept around and crouched, ready to pounce

Reyes glanced at me then His face streaked with blood almost exactly like the first tih school and Ge to catch shots for a school project He had the same look then that he had now: Acceptance of his fate Approval of his i death

He whispered to me in Dutch, his voice soft and unhurried as it traveled over the terrain and into ," he said: "Keep her safe" Beep He was talking about Beep

Then he relaxed against the theular When a blackto keep theht them with his incorporeal one But they would kill hione The beasts were too strong Too fast