No Mercy (Dark-Hunter 18)

Chapter 15

Ethon passed a friendly grin to Scorpio. "Hey, cabron, they're not really dogs. You can kill these without guilt, I promise."

Scorpio pulled two swords out from the top of his boots and extended their blades. "Lo que son?"

Ethon unsheathed a sword of his own. "They're what happens when the gods get frisky with the wolves. Their offspring make all kinds of sickening things. Right, Fang?"

"Blow me, Greek."

"You're not my type."

Dev rolled his eyes. "The leucrotae were created as guardians to the gods. Their hide is supposed to be so thick it's impenetrable to just about everything."

Fang made a sound of utter annoyance. "I guess it's too much to ask if anyone happens to know a way to kill them?"

Ethon laughed evilly. "Yeah, I think so. Ever play the old arcade game Joust?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember the invincible dragons?"

Dev grimaced. "The ones you had to stab in the mouth when it was open to kill them?"

"Exactly." Ethon saluted them with his sword. "May your stab be straight, my friends. If not, I'll see you in Tartarus...remember to avoid the grapes."

The first hound to reach them went for Scorpio's throat. Hairless and bloodred, the hounds had small heads and a bony ridge that ran all the way down their spine to the tip of the burred tails that looked like a pointed mace--a mace they brandished with evil intent. With the teeth of a saber-toothed cat, the leucrotae were a force to be reckoned with.

Sam felt completely helpless as Fang and Dev turned into animals to fight. Scorpio and Ethon hacked at the leucrotae and tried to drive them back into the dark abyss. One of the dogs came at her. Instinctively she tensed in expectation of the fight. But the hound went right up to her, sat on his haunches, then barked twice and returned to the fight.

Two more hounds repeated the gesture, before they went on to ignore her while they attacked the others.

How weird...

"Lucky you." Ethon growled as he tried to pound the one off his forearm where its teeth were shredding his flesh.

"Are they made of armor?" Scorpio asked in Spanish.

Ethon cursed. "Not supposed to be. I think their flesh is just that strong. Remember, their weakness is their eyes and the soft tissue of their mouths."

Sam felt completely helpless as she watched them fighting the hounds. What could she do? She kept trying to hit them, but her arms were worthless.

Wait...

An idea struck her. She summoned her telekinesis. Throwing her hand out, she mentally grabbed a nearby rock and held her breath, hoping this would work. She concentrated and tried to lift it.

It did!

Her heart pounding, she threw it at the hound that was on Dev's leg. The rock hit it hard enough to knock the hound sideways. It yelped and growled, then returned to the fight as if nothing had happened.

Now that she had a way to fight against the hounds, she joined the fray. She was even able to pry the jaws open on the one that had Ethon.

"Bless you," he breathed, wringing his arm out of its bloodied razor-sharp jaws. But as soon as he threw that one off, three more latched on. "Gah, whoever heard of piranha Cujo? I am never going to own a dog again or anything that even remotely resembles one."

Scorpio laughed. "They're not dogs, amigo. Is that not what you said to me?"

"I lied and now the gods are punishing me for it." Ethon would be funny if they weren't all in the process of getting maimed.

Sam used her powers to pull one off Dev. "You should have brought Chi for this."

Ethon scoffed. "Oh, now why would I want to bring a demon expert into a demon realm to fight demons? Where would the challenge be in that?"

Sam glared at him. "Bite him, Cujo. Right there in the fleshy part of his thigh where it'll really hurt."

"Aigh!" Ethon cried as the dog did just what she told him to. He curled his lip at her. "That was wrong. Another inch and I'd be falsetto."

She ignored his anger as she realized something...had that been a coincidence?

Or did the dogs actually understand her?

"Leucrotae, heel!"

It did nothing to stop them. They kept gnawing, biting, and attacking her friends.

Maybe they don't understand the command.

So she tried something that should make sense to them. "Leucrotae, stamata!"

The hounds let go of their victims and stopped just like she'd ordered.

Holy Zeus...it actually worked. "Ela!" She snapped her fingers to emphasize the "come here" command.

Like clockwork the hounds withdrew to her side. Several of them jumped up as if trying to reach her. "Kato!" True to the word, they settled down.

Incredible...

Ethan's jaw hung wide open. "I can't believe it. Sam's queen of the Damned."

Neither could she. It was a miracle.

Dev shifted back into human form. Her stomach clenched at the sight of the bleeding wounds on his body. Still, he was gorgeous with his cheeks flushed from the fight and his muscles rigid from the blood pumping through them. "What else can you tell them to do?"

Before she could answer, the ground under their feet began shaking again. The hounds howled, then bolted.

Fang gave a low whistle as he manifested back into a human. "Anyone else think it might be a good idea to follow them?"

Dev nodded.

Fang returned to his wolf body to chase after the hounds.

In human form, Dev started after him, then slipped as the dirt under his feet parted and sent him sliding sideways. A sharp, pointed boulder shot up from the ground, gouging his side while the black soil under him literally evaporated. There was nothing to hold on to. No way to catch his fall. He was going down.

He knew it.

Sorry, Sam...

Suddenly something wrapped around his wrist. Something that stung like a scorpion strike and jerked his arm so hard, he was amazed it was still attached. He dangled precariously over a deep cavern where flames danced, licking at his boots.

Looking up, he saw Scorpio's determined grimace as he held tight to the whip he'd used to catch Dev before he'd fallen too deep to be saved. "Hold tight, Bear."

Even though his wrist and forearm were bleeding and burning, Dev wrapped one hand around the coarse, braided leather and grabbed tight with the other. He wasn't about to let go.

Sam came running. He saw the panic in her eyes that warmed him. Until the ground started shifting under Scorpio's feet. Gasping, Sam jumped back out of habit.

Ah, shit...

He heard the sound of the hounds screaming after they fell into the pits and were consumed.

Sam wanted to cry as fear ripped through her. She had to do something. Closing her eyes, she reached deep into her powers to pull Dev up. Because he had his own powers and he was a living organism, it wasn't as easy to lift him as it had been with the rock. It took a lot more power and she wasn't used to it.

"Ay Dios," Scorpio breathed as his feet started slipping. "I can't hold him."

The ground under Scorpio crumbled, sending dirt all over Dev. Sam wanted to scream as she saw images of Dev dying in the flames.

There was nothing she could do.

Out of nowhere, Fang shot forward. He knocked Scorpio sideways so hard that it cleared the shattering ground. But the jolt caused Scorpio to let loose the whip.

"Dev!" she screamed.

Ethon dove at the pit.

Sam couldn't breathe as she closed her eyes. But she couldn't be blind to Dev's suffering. He was in this because of her.

I've killed him.

Her premonition came back tenfold as bile rose in her throat. Tears scalded her eyes.

"Damn, Bear...what did you eat? How much do you weigh? Ever heard of Weight Watchers? Dude, diet is not a four-letter word for someone who weighs in at a solid freakin' ton."