Chapter 34 Reunited
~ MELEK ~
I made it to the caverns in record time—only to discover that unease travelled the tunnels. Two of the Neph, the unknown allies that we’d planted to patrol the city when Gall made his announcement, had flown back and warned them about the hunt.
Of course, they were low ranking Neph—only those viewed as lowborn possessed green eyes in Ebonreach.
They’d fled back to the caverns, rightly worried for their own skins, when Gall had given the Neph permission to kill anyone—or anything—they found outside.
Without our insight, while the groups were preparing to blockade themselves, instructions were vague, and there was vacillation.
They hadn’t wanted to block us out.
It took some time to unwind the mess—to form a strategy for which groups should hide in which area, and make sure everyone was on the same page. I’d had to show some leaders the best caves for hiding, with only one or two accessways to be blocked.
Of course, every movement left scent trails if the hounds did make it out here.
My worry was only slightly eased by the fact that there’d been no sign of Neph or hounds, traveling outside the city when I came out.
Still, there were too many groups, too many souls out here to simply warn them and walk.
Jann and I knew the tunnels better than anyone there—and Jann was stuck back at the palace, trying to get to Gall.
So, it was up to me to make the map about where to consolidate troops, break them into different portions of the maze of tunnels, and then appoint leaders for each.
It was hours before I could finally turn back, confident that, at worst, our allies were able to barricade themselves in. And at best, they were fortified to fight.
All I could think about was getting back to Yilan. I knew she’d be beside herself about Istral, and I prayed Jann had found a lead. A way to reach Gall—and that once again, Lucifer had brought Istral to him, since all the others held their women.
I was preoccupied, debating with myself whether Lucifer was on to us, and had learned about our allies. Was that what spawned this? Or was this just a scattershot attack to build fear, because he knew we had to be hiding somewhere, but didn’t know where?
I didn’t have the answer.
As I reached the mouth of the caves, the chill night air sweeping into the tunnel, bringing with it the scent of water in the air and possible snow, I heard a howl and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
I froze, one hand gripping a large rock above me, the other bracing my weight on the boulder below, as I climbed.
I entered and exited the caverns from a different tunnel every time, and I’d been saving this one for exactly this kind of emergency.
It was the closest to the city, but the most difficult to traverse, and most hidden from casual eyes.
Unless someone knew there was a cave entrance here, their eyes would brush right past the mossy stones, and the black space camouflaged by ancient ferns growing between the rocks.
I went still, listening.
Had I heard that hound’s call blown by the wind all the way from the city? Or did Lucifer know we were out here, and the hounds were already on their way out of the city limits?
Then it rose again—a chilling, exultant call.
They were on a trail.
Nothing muffled the sound. I could detect nothing between the source of that sound and my ear, except space.
The hounds were out of the city, and moving in this direction where we’d hidden thousands of souls.
Frantic, I scrambled the last twenty feet to the cave’s exit, then launched immediately into flight so there would be no trail on the ground.
Whether the hounds scented a soul on me or not, they could definitely smell my body scent. I wanted to offer no clues for how to find their way into the cave network.
I flapped frantically, scanning the earth, desperate to hear them again and identify the direction from which they approached. But all I could hear was the thudding in my skull of my heartbeat slamming harder. Faster.
‘Yilan?’ I reached for her, knowing it was futile.
She was all the way back in the city—and I should be glad of that.
She was safe. She’d given me her word, and I trusted her.
Jann would keep Diadre safe. I just had to pray that between them, they’d find Gall and Istral, and we could get them out.
If we could make them safe, we could unleash the army—and even if we didn’t defeat Lucifer, at least we removed many assets—
A scream pierced the night and cut straight through my skin, between my ribs, and into my heart.
‘Yilan?!’ I threw my mind wide and open, stretching for her, flying frantically. That scream, I knew that scream. And it was out here, in the night?
She was coming for me.
‘Yilan!’
‘Melek!’
‘What are you do—’
‘I had to find… the city is in tatters… Diadre warned me—Jann will—’ she cut off.
With a curse, I threw my mind wider, reaching, praying God would draw me in the right direction to find her. We were just out of reach, and she flickered in and out like a voice in a gusting wind.
‘Yilan! Yilan… where are you?!’
‘Thicket to the east…’
I turned as another howl went up, and this time the empty air below gave me clarity about the direction of the source.
Tearing through the night sky, north and east, I kept calling for her, reaching in my mind, throwing my defenses wider in an attempt to reach her sooner.
‘…they’re following me!’ Her voice was frantic with fear. ‘I don’t think I can outrun—’
I cursed again, swallowed a roar that would draw the enemy’s attention, and dove towards the trees so I could be lower to the ground, and shorten the distance between us.
I was nearly at the edge of the forest before she cut back in—suddenly clear as day in my head.
‘Melek—please! Help me, please!’
Images flickered in my head—the dark hounds, slavering, running like wolves, their claws leaving divots in the earth.
‘Have you tried shadow walking? Do they—’
‘I’m running out of strength. I need to save power for facing them if they catch me—’
‘Where are you? Show me a landmark—anything!’
She gave me a vision of the distant peaks through the trees so I could shift my line. ‘I’m coming!’
‘Please! HURRY!’
I whipped over the tree canopy, snarling, listening for anything—hound howls, footsteps, anything that might give me clarity on her whereabouts.
But my guts tangled as images appeared and disappeared, like she threw them out—no precision.
No defense in her mind. Just a frantic tossing of thoughts and pictures, in an attempt to reach me.
Then the howls rose ahead of me, close enough to make out a snarl.
‘YILAN!’
There was a flash of silver and black through the trees, the silky coat of the deadly hounds reflecting moonlight.
I snarled myself, and saw a body flinch. ‘How many of them are there? They’re still physical beings, Yilan, but supernaturally quick—’
‘They’re gaining, Melek! Following my trail! I can’t—’
She cut off and a growl and yelp broke through the trees just feet ahead of me. I snarled, aiming for a nearby opening in the tree canopy where I could drop through, praying I’d time it right and put myself between her and the beasts so they were distracted while she fled.
Then the trees flashed past, space opening—black shadows rippling across silver grass—and I dove, snarling to divert the hound’s attention with a dominance challenge, finally breaking through the canopy and—there!
The lithe figure of my mate sprinting towards the trees on the other side of the clearing.
I dropped like an eagle on prey, hands outstretched—if I could reach her before she made it under the trees, I could sweep her up and we’d both be—
My head rang like a gong had been struck.
My wings folded.
There was barely a moment to register that something was desperately wrong, before I dropped out of the sky like a stone thrown to earth, and planted, face-first, straight into the rocky soil of the small clearing, bounced bodily, then slammed into the dirt again, every last pocket of air shoved out of my lungs by the impact.
Instinctively, I tried to snarl, to growl, to warn the hounds away before they realized I was hurt—I could barely move. Couldn’t lift my head. My body sang with pain and my head was scrambled.
I couldn’t breathe.
My sight blurred, the edge of the tree canopy above became a black, fluttering line between me and the sky, where I should have been free.
I blinked and tried to roll, but something flat and heavy suddenly landed on my wrist, crushing it into the earth. I tried to pull free, to see what or who had come for me, then froze.
The tall, lean form of Lucifer was silhouetted against the indigo sky. But his eyes glowed with an unholy light to show me his smile.
“The prodigal son, finally returned,” he said softly. Joyfully.
“I am not your son,” I growled.
Lucifer smiled, then squatted slowly, letting his full weight come to rest on my wrist, smiling and propping one elbow on his knee as he reached for me with the other hand.
I snarled and tried to suck at the air, jerking my face from his grasp as he stroked my cheek.
“Why so surprised, Melek? Did you think you’d outwitted me?
Oh dear. No. I just needed to flush you both out—and look.
I did.” He leaned down to whisper in my ear.
“They call them hell hounds for a reason. Because they’re mine. ”
I fought a shudder. The hounds were a monstrosity that chilled the soul. There were several legends about how they’d come to be—though most believed Lucifer created them. Turns out, they were right.
“Now, don’t fight,” the Fallen went on in a tone like a good-natured mother to a disobedient child. “You should be pleased. I’m going to reunite you with Gall—that’s what you wanted all along, correct? Your so-called son is very eager to see you again, Melek.”