Chapter 3
Dante
Time seemed to move in slow motion as we moved through the Nexus.
We were a pack of five, and although I had no idea how long we gave chase, it quickly became apparent that we were the more powerful group here in the Nexus at the moment.
We easily overtook the two hellhounds, and it was Damien who stumbled when we caught up with the hellhounds.
It was such a small misstep, and I only caught it because I was running next to him.
We overtook the two hellhounds, and our focus became the demons that were running through, wreaking havoc for no reason that I could see or hear.
Atticus caught one, and when he leapt onto its back, his powerful jaws clamped down on the neck.
They tumbled, and we simply leapt over them, and I was able to catch the next demon.
I fell to the ground with his neck in my own jaws, and despite the desire to rush after the others, I held steady, my prize in my jaws.
“Great job, Dante. Bring him with me to the council. We need to ask some questions,” Atticus said through our pack link.
I stood, bringing the demon with me and dragging his limp body alongside.
“The rest of you, feel free to have fun with the demons, or bring them along if you catch them,” Atticus called out.
“Also, bring those other two hellhounds. I have questions for them.”
“I’m on it,” Damien said.
“I have one,” Augustus called out.
“I might have tackled mine a bit too hard,” Warwick told us. We all knew what that meant and chuckled. Warwick’s demon either wasn’t going to make it or had already died. Three out of the four wasn’t anything to be upset about.
“That’s great, Warwick. Maybe a little help here, then?
” Damien called out. I tried to glance back, but the demon I was tugging along decided that meant I was weak and tried to get away.
I ever so slightly tightened my bite, which caused him to scream.
I growled, and he quieted. I met up with Atticus, and Augustus wasn’t too far behind me.
We stood there waiting, but when Atticus opened the portal and we stepped back out of the Nexus, it was somewhere that none of us expected.
“Where are we?” Augustus asked through our link.
“I’m not sure,” Atticus replied. “I opened a portal, thinking it would take us back to New Mexico. It’s where we entered the Nexus.”
I glanced around, trying to take in the landscape, and wondered where we’d landed. “Can you use your magic to get us back to the council? Or even just yourself?” I had to ask. “Maybe if we all try to get there on our own, it’ll work out?”
The landscape looked…drastically different from where I’d ever been before.
It was flat and sandy, and there was absolutely nothing that I could see except a few hills far off in the distance.
I was certain they were much larger if I were to get closer, but from my current vantage point, they looked like little hills.
Atticus dropped his demon, and when he tried to move away, a quick growl had the demon freezing in place. Atticus shifted, then looked around the area before his gaze landed on us.
“What the fuck?” he asked, but I was just as clueless as he was.
“We didn’t chase them that far.” Atticus pulled out his phone and stared at it, confusion on his face.
“I did not expect to be here, nor did I think we’d be without cell service.
” I dropped my own demon, who thankfully didn’t try to move.
I checked on him, found him still very much breathing, and then shifted.
“You still have your magic, right?” I asked. I felt mine coursing through my body, and when I heard Augustus shift, I spared him a quick look over my shoulder.
“Who are you? Why have you brought us here and not back to Master?”
Atticus narrowed his eyes. “How long have you four been in the Nexus? Are you in and out? Not that I expect you to care, but you’ve been terrorizing a town full of humans.”
“We do not know how long,” the demon said. “Days…weeks…there is no time where we come from.” The demon tilted his head. “You are a hellhound, but you have different magic.”
Atticus glared. “Where the fuck are we,” he said, looking around again.
“Who, if anyone, can figure out where we are?” Augustus said. “If we return to the council, will we be able to return back here?”
“I’m not sure. I have a lock on the council,” Atticus said. “Do you not?” he asked us.
I reached out, and my magic was certainly able to focus on the council. I nodded. We heard a familiar sound, one that was identical to what had just caused us to enter the Nexus. Was it Damien and Warwick and the other two hellhounds? Were they making such a noise when moving through the Nexus?
“What is that?” the chatty demon asked.
“Something or someone moving through the Nexus.” Atticus glared. “What are your names? Have you been given one yet?”
The demons all shook their heads. “None of us have. We were told to run. If we survived, we would be gifted names and the ability to have a mate.”
Atticus rolled his eyes. We’d all heard that many times, and we’d all spent countless hours chasing after demons who had been told those very words.
“How long were you running?”
The demons looked at one another before shaking their heads again. “We do not know. How long were you chasing? Who are the other hellhounds? They seem weaker than you. Are they not the same?”
“No,” Atticus growled. He looked at us, then shook his head. “I have no way of warning Master Edison that we are arriving with three demons. Not that they seem to be able to answer any questions if they don’t know how long they’ve been running in the Nexus.”
“What if it’s been years?” I asked.
“I have a thought,” Augustus said. We all turned to him, waiting for an answer. “If you’re unsure of bringing everyone back to the council, can you not reach your mate?” Augustus asked. “If you can, is Brice not able to figure out where you are with someone’s help?”
Atticus shook his head. “He is yammering in my mind and has been nonstop since we arrived here. It’s all just adding to the confusion.”
I blinked at Atticus. “If you can talk to Brice through your bond, then have him tell Master Edison that we’re lost and we’re coming home with three demons.”
Atticus stared at us, then closed his eyes and shook his head.
I glanced first at Augustus before looking down at the demons.
They all looked similar, and I had to wonder if our creator had created them all around the same time.
There were five of us hellhounds, and we all looked different.
Well, aside from all of us having dark hair and eyes.
“Brice says he’s not on Treasure Ridge.”
I looked at Atticus and shook my head. “What the fuck, man,” I said, getting more frustrated as we went. “You aren’t normally this dense.” Atticus’s eyes flamed.
“Of course he’s not on Treasure Ridge. You don’t live on the mountain. Tell him to call,” Augustus said with a bit of growl in his voice. “We would, if our phones worked.”
I understood Augustus’s frustration. Atticus wasn’t normally so clueless. Atticus shook his head and plopped down. “Is it me, or is it odd here?” he asked.
“Odd how?” I was suddenly concerned about our pack’s alpha. Was he all right?
“It’s just odd.” Atticus looked around, then focused on the demons and narrowed his eyes. “Have you seen any others in the Nexus?”
“Just the hellhounds that were chasing us. But those two weren’t the ones that were chasing us.”
“We need to come up with names for them,” I said.
“What? Why?” Atticus said. “Do you think we’re keeping them?”
The three demons suddenly looked concerned. I shrugged. Atticus stood and smiled.
“Master Edison has been contacted. He’s trying to locate us.”
I sighed. “Why? We can get to him. We just don’t know where we are. Which is an issue because we didn’t exit the Nexus where we went—” Master Edison and Alpha Sergei suddenly appeared in front of us. “—in,” I finished.
“What in the fates are the three of you doing in the Atacama Desert?” Master Edison asked.
“The what?” Augustus asked.
“The Atacama Desert. It’s in Chile. You’re in South America. Should I ask why?” Master Edison looked around. “Where are Damien and Warwick?”
“They were grabbing the hellhounds that were chasing these three, err, four,” Atticus said. “Warwick’s didn’t make it. It’s been a day. A very strange one.”
“I should be surprised, but I’m not.” Master Edison sighed. “But it’s not been a day. Your pack has been gone for three weeks now.”
We all froze. “Three weeks?” Augustus asked quietly.
“Yeah, I was going to mention that. That was one of the things Brice has been going off on me about.” Atticus came over and punched me in the shoulder.
“And I’m not dense. You try concentrating with the love of your life yelling at you absolute nonsense in your mind while you’re trying to get a word in, or carry on a conversation with your packmates. ”
“Where did you say Damien and Warwick were supposed to be?” Alpha Sergei asked.
We all glanced at each other and shrugged. “We entered the Nexus in New Mexico. It felt like we were in there for all of fifteen minutes at the most. We opened a portal, thinking we’d exit in New Mexico,” Atticus said. “We’re here instead.”
“Very well. Let’s get back to the council,” Master Edison said. “We’ll worry about our missing hellhounds once we get there.”
Master Edison, Alpha Sergei, and the three demons all disappeared, leaving the three of us here. We glanced at one another, shrugged, and followed. We arrived back at the council, just outside the front door, but Master Edison and Alpha Sergei were nowhere to be found.
“I guess we’re just to go inside,” Augustus said. “Should we try and find the others? We heard something moving through the Nexus in the Atacama Desert. Should we go back and enter there?”