Bound by Legend: A Bound Novel (27 page)

Hellhounds weren’t something a mere demon could command without permission from their creator. Because they weren’t truly a demon, it was almost impossible to banish them. It took a tremendous amount of power, far more than she had. It was one thing to know they had been here and might have a passing interest in her. It was another thing entirely to see them in the flesh and staring at her.

Morgan reached down and gripped Lucy’s collar, dragging the dog with her as she finally got her legs to work. She ran for the front door knowing it was useless. Lucy suddenly stopped a few steps from the heavy wooden door, bracing against forward movement with all four legs.

No way out then. Morgan’s breath came in short gasps as she tried not to panic. Not out, maybe up. Turning, she ran up the stairs pulling Lucy with her. Pausing at her bedroom, she pushed Lucy in and shut the door. The hellhounds were here for her, not the dog.

Morgan ran down to the end of the hall. She jumped and grabbed the short chain to the attic space door. The wooden stairs unfolded as it came down. Morgan climbed up them. Thankful to find a little bit of plywood laid around the top, she turned and reached for the stairs. Glass shattered on the main floor. Sweat ran down the sides of her face. The stairs started to pull up easily only to be yanked back by a heavy black paw.

More of the hounds moved down the hall, their rat-like tails trailing behind them. Red eyes gleamed at her. The hound at the bottom of the steps bared its teeth and Morgan nearly gagged on the fetid reek that wafted from its mouth.

She scrambled across the low attic space, careful to stay on the ceiling beams. The hellhound navigated the steep steps without issue. Smoke curled from its nostrils when it gained the attic and the stench of its breath filled the space.

Her phone! Morgan reached for her back pocket and found nothing. Shit. Where was it? She closed her eyes for a brief second as her last hope fell away. On Lucian’s nightstand. Where she’d left it. Of course.

She stared the stalking hellhound in the eye and raised a circle around herself. The hound howled with rage. The sound raised every hair on her body and sent a shiver of dread down her spine. The hound threw itself at the shimmering wall that surrounded her.

The impact against her power nearly knocked Morgan senseless. Her circle wouldn’t hold for long and when it gave out, she would die. Or perhaps be dragged to the Kalona with the same effect. Her wall, and power, shuddered under another heavy impact. Morgan lost her footing on the beam and fell into the space between.

The ceiling gave way and she fell through in a shower of sheetrock and insulation, landing with a crash in the garden bathtub in the bathroom off the hallway. Dazed, her power wavered. The hellhound tried to push between the ceiling beams from above, snapping its teeth and snarling when its shoulders were too wide to fit through. Morgan threw herself out of the tub and ran for the door. She slammed it shut and locked it. That wasn’t going to help.

The door splintered and burst inward under the weight of another hell hound. Morgan braced herself. A second later, the hound crashed into her and they hit the floor with the beast on top. Her hands scrabbled, latched onto, and shoved a wide piece of sheetrock into its open mouth as it came at her. The hound snapped through it and flung it aside. She grabbed the spiny hair at the sides of its face in both hands and tried to push it off, or maybe just hold it back.

An odd scuffling sound issued from its mouth. It was
laughing
at her. A thin stream of drool steamed as it dripped from the hound’s lip, burning her skin when it hit her chest. The teeth drew closer, pushing against her hands as if her human strength was nothing. Morgan closed her eyes.

Suddenly its weight left her as it was ripped away. She watched in horror as Lucian wrestled with the beast. The muscles in his arms bulged as he squeezed it and Latin rolled off his tongue. Its teeth flashed, ripping through the skin of his shoulder. More hounds pushed through the door.

More afraid for Lucian than herself now, Morgan scrambled to her feet and leapt at one. Her hands barely closed on it and she smashed into the floor. Her head swam and little black dots floated across her vision. The hound turned on her with a deep, gurgling snarl.

The one in Lucian’s grasp exploded in a shower of spiny fur. Morgan threw up a hand. Burning pain lanced her arm as several of the hairs pierced her arm. The hound she’d tried to grab lunged at her. Desperate, she kicked at it and landed a lucky blow on its nose. It backed off for a fraction of a second. Another hound burst into the now cramped room. They couldn’t take on the whole pack. They were going to die.

MORGAN SHOOK HER
head in an effort to clear it as another beast crashed into Lucian, then a third. The hound she’d tried to tackle sank its teeth into her forearm and started dragging her out the door. Her skin blistered and bubbled from the hound’s saliva.

Glass shattered behind her. Desperate, Morgan looked back. The wide mirror that had hung on the wall lay in pieces all over the floor and blood smeared across the counter. Lucian, awash in crimson, barely held off the three hounds that attacked him in unison.

Her view of the battle cut off as the hound dragged her into the hallway. Tears welled in Morgan’s eyes from the agony in her arm. She blinked them away and focused through it. This thing wasn’t taking her anywhere alive. Throwing her other hand out, she caught hold of the heavy post at the top of the stairs as it started to pull her down them. She twisted her body around so that she was sitting and braced her feet, one against the wall and one against the post.

The hound snarled and pulled on her arm. Its teeth slid a little, tearing deep grooves in her skin. Morgan blinked against the darkness that threatened to drag her under and smiled at the hound through gritted teeth. “Go ahead, rip it off. I’ve got another. You obviously want me alive or you would’ve killed me already.”

It bit deeper, its teeth scraping against the bones in her forearm. Sweat beaded on Morgan’s forehead and a wave of dizziness washed over her. Blinking rapidly, she pulled back, driving the teeth deeper. “Might as well take what you can, that’s the most of me you’re getting.”

The heavy weight of another hound’s head pressed against her back, pushing her forward. Morgan strained to hold her position. Her muscles started to tremble of their own volition. The sweat on her brow turned icy and the darkness edged her vision. With no other way out, she did her best to ignore the signs of shock.

The front door burst open so fast the knob buried in the wall and the sheetrock cracked. Damien and Isobel ran into the living room at the base of the stairs. The hound dropped Morgan’s arm and turned to face its new adversaries. A wall of shimmering light sprang up around it.

With a howl of rage, the hound launched itself at Isobel. She didn’t even flinch when it slammed into the wall of her power. The pressure on Morgan’s back disappeared as Isobel raised a circle around that hound as well. Both hounds flung themselves at the golden wall several times before finally giving up.

Morgan would have laughed at the look of shock on the hound’s face if her mangled arm wasn’t about to send her over the edge into unconsciousness and the sounds of a savage battle weren’t coming from down the hall.

Isobel, eyes on the closest hound said, “Surprised? Watch this.”

Bone chilling howls filled the house as Isobel chanted. A second later the hounds disappeared in a swirl of black smoke.

Morgan blinked. “Did you just banish them?”

“Only for a while.” Isobel climbed the stairs and knelt next to her. “They can only be banished for a short time.”

“Better than I could do.” Morgan mumbled.

“You did what you could with the power granted to you.” Isobel straightened. “Wait here.”

Morgan cradled her arm and slumped against the railing post. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Isobel ran down the hall to where Damien, already taking injuries, fought alongside Lucian. She pulled on her power until it sang with sweet pain through her veins and raised three more circles around those waiting for a chance to squeeze into the bathroom. They turned on her with burning red eyes and flung themselves against her barrier. Though her power took heavy hits, it was nothing compared to the time she had Xapar in her circle.

She chanted the words of banishment, ignoring the howls that grated against her ears as they dissolved into smoke. The sharp spines of a hound’s fur peppered her arm and side as one exploded in Damien’s arms, followed by another held by Lucian.

Down to four hounds and confronted now by two dark angels and Isobel’s considerable strength, the last of the pack melted away into shadows on their own. Isobel pulled her power in and pushed it down until it was safe to release it.

The spines that had hit her arm and side burned like they were on fire. Isobel had barely reached for them when Damien’s hand stopped her. “They’re barbed. If you just pull them out, they will tear your skin.”

“How am I supposed to get them out then?”

Damien, his rich blue eyes full of love, began to speak in Latin, the words bringing forth his healing powers despite the fact the wounds weren’t life threatening. Isobel supposed the Higher Powers must make exceptions for hell hound spines.

Lucian stumbled past Damien and Isobel, barely seeing them and uncaring of his own injuries. His attention focused solely on Morgan’s injured form. Fear like he’d never known coiled in his gut. This wasn’t just his channel that was injured. This woman held his heart. He dropped to his knees next to where she slumped against the banister post. “Morgan?”

She opened her eyes and rolled her head a little to look at him briefly before her lids slid shut. “’S’up, Lucian?”

Her mangled arm lay limp in her lap, torn so badly he could see the bones of her forearm. The skin from her fingertips to well above her elbow was burned and blistered from the hound’s saliva, and the front of her jeans were soaked in blood. Lucian’s heart thudded painfully in his chest as he reached for her wrist. As soon as his fingers touched it, her eyes, clouded with pain, opened and she tried feebly to pull away.

“Don’t. Hurts too much.” Her words came out muddled and she shivered.

Maintaining his hold as gently as possible, he let the Latin roll off his tongue. He felt the warmth of healing move through his hands and into Morgan. In moments, her arm was healed and he moved on to the spines covering her other arm. When he was finished, Morgan slipped into a deep sleep. Lucian gathered her into his arms and sat down, leaning against the wall exhausted from the battle with the hounds, healing her, and his own numerous wounds.

Loud whining came from behind the door to Morgan’s room. Isobel opened it and Lucy burst through, running to Morgan. The dog whimpered softly and moved until she leaned against Lucian with her chin resting on Morgan’s shoulder.

Lucian looked down into the dog’s deep brown eyes. “It’s okay girl, Morgan will be fine.”

Lucy whined and scooted closer to him before nudging his arm, the one with deep lacerations across the shoulder and bicep that left bits of skin hanging. Lucian had been doing a good job of ignoring the fiery pain until the dog brought his attention to it. Adrenaline must be wearing off. Even with his arm feeling like it had been half-chewed off, he still managed to smile a little. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, too.”

It was the truth, he would heal. Even if it took longer to heal from the bite of a hellhound, it would still be mostly healed in a few days.

The dog inched a little closer and laid her chin on Lucian’s shoulder. Deep, penetrating warmth spread through the injuries to his arm. Lucian froze, his eyes going wide as he stared at the dog and all over his body the various wounds flashed hot and the warmth receded.

Lucy sank down until she lay on the floor beside Lucian. Her eyes closed, her mouth open and panting as if she had just ran for miles. Lucian looked up at the stunned expressions on the faces of Isobel and Damien.

Isobel was the first to speak. “What just happened?”

“It would seem that Lucy is more than just a dog,” Lucian said.

“Okay, but what?” Isobel asked. “And why didn’t you already know that?”

She looked turned to look at Damien. “Can’t you guys tell when something is other than it is?”

Damien shrugged. “It depends on what she is. There are number of guardian type angels we can’t sense. They have their job and we have ours.”