Betrayals (Cainsville 4)

"You can't reason with the Hunt. I have no excuse."

"Just calm down and we'll call them." I took out my cell.

Ciro started to laugh, his voice rising hysterically. "Call them? On your cell phone. Of course. Because you have their number. The cell phone number of the Cwn Annwn."

"Calm down," Ricky said. "They're not going to--"

A growl cut him off. We turned to see the hound--the broken Cwn--on the edge of the clearing, its gaze fixed on Ciro. When I looked over, the forest tilted for a moment, and I was in a ruined building, watching Ciro crouched over the body of a lamia. Watching him dip his hands into her blood. Watching her, dead eyes wide with terror, her glow fading as her spirit passed. Seeing that, I felt the hound's rage, one that echoed what Ciro had said--that there was no excuse, that he had murdered those fae girls and he should pay.

"No."

The word came quietly, calmly, but it jolted me out of the vision, and I saw Ricky, his gaze on the hound as he said, "Not this one."

The growl died in the hound's throat as it raised its gaze to him, ears drooping, head bowing in submission.

Ricky walked over and rubbed behind the hound's ruined ear, murmuring, "None of that," and it slowly, carefully, straightened, its gaze on him, waiting for a raised hand or other sign that it had misinterpreted. Finally, it pulled itself up straight, submission evaporating, and it watched Ciro, its gaze saying he still deserved death, but it would wait. For now, it would wait.

I turned to Ciro. "Okay, we're going to get you out of here. We'll--"

"No," he said, looking toward the baying hounds. He drew himself up straight and waved toward the unseen Hunt. "Isn't that what I deserve?"

"Just--"

"Lucy's gone. She's not coming back." He looked at the hound. "And you can take me to her, can't you?"

Ciro flew at Ricky.

The hound crouched for attack, but Ricky said, "No!" and dodged Ciro's clumsy charge, grabbing him by the jacket as the hound stood there, hackles raised, snarling.

"Yeah, sorry," Ricky said. "That's not going to work."

Ciro threw himself in the other direction, breaking Ricky's hold. He ran. And the hound went after him.

Ricky shouted, "No!" and lunged, but they were already out of his reach. Out of his reach and running my way.

Ciro veered at the last moment, and I caught one glimpse of his face, horror mixed with resolve. He tore past, and I went after him, and I could hear the hound on my heels and the pound of Ricky's boots as he shouted, "No! Damn it, no!" and then "Liv! Get out of the--"

The hound leapt. I felt it knock me aside, and heard the click of its fangs and I thought for one second those fangs were for me, that it was too consumed with its mission to realize it had the wrong person and I was going to--

Ciro screamed. My arms went up to ward off the hound, but it was already past me, taking down Ciro, who screamed again just as I heard another shout, a deep boom from the forest.

"Olivia!"

I threw myself on the beast, saying, "No!" even as Ricky shouted for the hound to stop, get the fuck off Ciro, don't you dare--

The hound's head slashed down. That's all I saw. That massive head go down. And then blood. Blood arcing everywhere. Blood spurting, the smell of it, the taste of it as it hit my open mouth. Someone hit my side. Tackled me, pushing me off the hound, arms pulling me up, fingers going to my face, swiping away the blood, a panicked voice saying my name. I looked up into pale blue eyes, clouded with worry.

"Is she hurt?" Ricky skidded up beside us, and Gabriel shot him a look.

"Not mine," I managed to say, the shock still thick. "Blood. Not mine. It's--Ciro!"

I scrambled up, pushing Gabriel aside. Or trying to, because he grabbed me back and let Ricky race past to the hound.

"Goddamn it!" Ricky said. "God-fucking-damn it!" and I knew Ciro was dead. Of course he was dead. That was the hound's job, and when Ciro bolted, nothing could hold it back. Ricky still cursed, and I knew he was cursing himself, his failure, but the hound whined and backed off Ciro's body, head lowered.

Ricky reached for the hound, and it tried to duck again, to avoid a blow, but Ricky only rubbed it behind the ears, murmuring, "It's okay. Just...damn it."

"Sit," Gabriel said to me.