“He’s my familiar,” I say, eyes wide.
Ethan slowly looks from Hunter to me and back again. “Fuck.”
“Right?”
I hold my hand out and Hunter presses his nose into my palm. “He’s not actually a dog.” He snaps his head to the side, and somehow, I know that he can hear other Pricolici closing in on us. “He says there’s more. A lot more. Does that mean—”
“The demon sending them must be close,” Ethan finishes for me. “Yes.” He takes my hand. “We need to run, Anora.”
“Run? What about fighting?”
“We have no idea what we are fighting. The Pricolici are nothing compared to their master.”
A single howl causes my skin to break out in goosebumps. The sound echoes off the tall trees. Rain loudly patters on the leaves. Another clap of thunder rolls above us. Dozens of howls answer the call, floating through the air, and Hunter nudges me, agreeing with Ethan. I’m not ready to face whatever is commanding the Pricolici. Not yet, at least.
“Where should we go?” I ask, not sure where we are. “The barn?”
“We’re closer to the trails that lead to the neighborhood. We’re not too far,” he says, trying to reassure me. “We’ll make it.”
We only make it a few steps when another demon dog leaps from the darkness. I hold up the dagger, flames surrounding my hand for a few seconds before the magic is channeled through it, and the blade grows red hot in my hands, only to fade. Shit. I’m running out of energy. Ethan steps in front of me and raises his gun.
Then another growl comes from behind us. Ethan twitches but doesn’t take his eyes off the Pricolici advancing on him.
I slowly turn, putting my back to Ethan’s. Come on…you can do it. I need to find energy somewhere. I have to do this. The Pricolici raises its head, sniffing deeply. It looks more human-like than the others, which means it’s younger, hasn’t killed as many people.
It will never kill again.
I rush forward and slip in the slick mud, tripping over my own feet. Ethan takes the dagger from me and sinks it into the Pricolici’s neck. Blood pours from the wound, and the Pricolici yelps and backs away, making it a few feet before slouching down.
“You okay?” Ethan asks, giving me the dagger.
“Yeah,” I tell him, inhaling deeply and feeling my energy come back. “You?”
“I’ll be better once we get out of here,” he says right as another Pricolici jumps from the shadows at us. Ethan fires the gun again, but only one bullet shoots out before I hear the gun make an empty clink. Shit. I know from movies what that sound means.
I turn my head to see a black mass barely moving on the ground. And another not far behind that.
Hunter.
He’s our only hope to get away right now, because it doesn’t matter how well I can channel my powers or how good of a demon-hunter Ethan is, we can’t take on an entire pack of Pricolici. Hunter circles us and then shifts into the black shadow again. He’s going to buy us time, killing as many Pricolici as he can while we try to make our escape.
I look up, my eyes meeting Ethan’s in the dark. He puts his gun in its holster and nods. He tilts his head in the direction we need to go. I blink away raindrops and take off, falling in step behind Ethan. Cold mud splatters under my feet. We push forward, struggling over the natural obstacles of the forest.
I slip as I climb a ravine. Ethan turns and helps me scramble to my feet. Too out of breath to say thank you, I nod and push forward. My lungs burn. Please let us be close to Ethan’s house. I’m not sure how much longer I can last before I collapse onto the ground, gasping for air and exhausted. It already feels like we’ve been running for miles and miles.
Suddenly, Ethan stops and spins around. He puts his hands on my shoulders. “Catch your breath,” he pants.
How did he know I was dying back here? I look into his eyes and gasp for air. Once this is over, I need to up my workouts. Well…if I make it out of the woods alive.
A howl comes from the woods along with a crackle of thunder. My body tenses, and I suck in a breath only to quickly let it out, close to hyperventilating.
Ethan steps over closer and kisses me. Everything disappears for that small moment--the wind and the rain, the Pricolici, the fact that I’m always going to be in danger--it all melts away with the warmth of Ethan’s kiss.
He pulls back, eyes looking right into mine. “Better?”
I let out a slow breath. “Yes. Thanks.”
“Close your eyes and breathe,” he whispers.
I close my eyes, focusing on my breathing. A few seconds later, I’m ready to keep going. Ethan takes my hand and starts forward, going slower than before. Hunter leaps from the forest behind us, giving me an encouraging yip.