Bowen sank his teeth into Dillan’s shoulder and ripped at both sides of his ribs with unforgiving claws. He cried out and twisted his sword. I gagged at the sickening squelch of something exploding. Bowen’s body went limp and fell to the ground taking Dillan with him. He pried open the creature’s jaw and pushed himself to his feet. His shoulder was torn badly enough that I saw bone. He pulled the weapon out of Bowen’s chest with a grunt and flicked the blood off the blade with a twist of his wrist while watching the creature morph. In seconds, Bowen’s naked body lay motionless on the grass.
Blood spread from his shoulder and sides. He staggered toward me, his face a pale expressionless mask. Sweat gleamed on his forehead, intermingling with the blood spatter on his face. I let go of Kyle’s clammy hand and ran to him. I caught him just as he fell, his sword returning to its original form. I sank to my knees and cradled his limp body on my lap.
“Of all the stupid, moronic, idiotic—”
He coughed. Blood trickled from the corner of his lips to his chin. “Selena.”
“What?”
“Remember…” He swallowed. “Remember the not freaking out part?”
“What? Now?” My voice rose a couple octaves at the absurdity of his request.
“I’m going…” He coughed again, a horrible hacking of air and blood. I clutched at a ragged piece of his shirt. He bled in too many places for me to put pressure on anything, but he managed to continue. “I need you to whistle as loud as you can.”
“Whistle?”
He tried to nod and ended up wincing. “Like right now.”
I couldn’t react fast enough. Fear gripped me so hard. Even as my hands dripped with his blood, I lifted two fingers to the corners of my mouth, like Gramps taught me, and whistled, which resulted in a pathetic, breezy whimper. The metallic salty taste flooded my mouth. I spit to suppress the gag reflex.
“Selena.” He touched my cheek with an even bloodier hand. “You have to calm down,” he said as if he didn’t just kill a mythical creature. Then his eyes rolled into his head.
“Dillan?” I slapped at his cheek repeatedly. “Dillan? Oh, God. God. Please. Don’t do this to me.” Wiping my fingers on my jeans, I lifted them to my mouth again. Still no go. Wracking sobs left my body. I bit down hard, the pain centering me, and tried for a third time.
“Come on!” I screamed out. I spat again, took another deep breath, and puckered my lips.
This time, a high note came. Literally music to my ears.
The silence seemed to eat up the sound. Nothing happened. As I prepared myself to whistle again, a black shape appeared in the distance. It bounded toward us, sleek and swift, cutting through the prairie like an arrow flying to a target.
Panic churned in me.
A dog.
A German Shepherd. Bigger than a cow.
And it came straight for us.
It stopped about a couple yards away, studying me with its ruby-red eyes.
I hugged Dillan’s limp body closer and hissed. “Don’t come near us.”
You called me. I will not hurt you.
Another voice came from somewhere inside my head, stopping my heart for a second then causing the muscle to rev up again.
Please, you have to let me help him.
I looked around for the source of the second unfamiliar voice. “Where are you?”
Selena, please, Dillan is dying.
“Where are you?” Terror and confusion mixed with my question.
In front of you.
My eyes locked with ruby-reds. “You?”
The dog dipped its head. Yes. My name is Sebastian. I am here to help.
“Sebastian?”
We are running out of time. He came forward and touched the tip of his nose on Dillan’s forehead. A ripple of energy zinged through me, like the open current that sizzled from Dillan into me. It sent my skin tingling. I closed my eyes and sparks exploded behind my eyelids. The raw power a hundred times over, like what I imagined being struck by lightning would feel, knocked me out.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Dillan
Roll the Dice One Way
Dillan gulped a lungful of air, closely followed by coughing that sucked balls. He kept his eyes closed and groaned. His body hurt like a wrecking ball had just rammed through it. He rolled to his side and punched the ground several times, hoping to distract himself from some of the searing pain. No go. His breathing was ragged, sickening to his ears. It sounded like his lungs had holes in them. The burn on his shoulder pulsed and itched. He could still feel Bowen’s wicked teeth puncturing his skin. The coughs that wracked his body turned into gut wrenching puke. Acid climbed his throat and spilled out his mouth. At this point, staying dead seemed like the better option.
Dillan?
Sebastian’s concern rang in his head like a speaker at full volume. He covered his ears and flopped onto his back again. The pain ebbed and flowed with no sign of easing. Jesus H. Christ. Hellhounds had the ability to yank back a soul that had just left its body. As payment for the life returned, they ate a piece of the person’s life force. The pain came from ripping the fabric of the soul. Not the most pleasant of experiences. Since he was clearly alive again, it meant Selena had managed to whistle.
“Selena!” He sat up. Huge mistake. The world spun like he’d just chugged down ten shots of tequila. “Dammit, Sebastian. Remind me never to die again.”
The mutt laughed his barking laugh. I live to serve.
He shifted to his hands and knees and breathed in with his nose and out through his mouth. He had nothing left to puke out. He’d meant what he’d said about not dying again.
“Ah, shit!” Kyle gasped from somewhere. “Holy mother of hell.”
He laughed. And it cost him. The jarring motion of the laugh made his brain feel like a pinball in his head. Still, a part of him took perverse pleasure in hearing the other guy suffer.
“What the hell happened?” Kyle asked in gasps.
From the length of his pause, Dillan guessed Sebastian filled him in.
“Kiss my ass, hellhound.”
“My sentiments exactly,” he replied. As much as it grated on him, he had to agree with Kyle. Sebastian bringing someone back was a bitch to go through.
When the pain finally receded, his mind cleared enough to think. Still on his hands and knees, he looked around. When he spotted Selena unconscious a yard away, his heart could have drilled a hole through his chest. Crawling to her, he gathered her into his arms and checked for a pulse. When she breathed on his wrist, he heaved a great sigh of relief.
“What happened to her, Sebastian?” he asked, watching Kyle attempt to sit up and fail.
Sebastian trotted to where he sat with Selena across his lap. He touched his snout on her forehead and huffed, disturbing her curls.
I might have shocked her system when I revived you.
“Human speak please.” He gathered her closer.
She fainted. The hound turned toward Bowen’s body. I take it he was the Manticore in question.
“Bring him to Rainer. Tell him this was all the Maestro’s doing. He’ll know what to do.”
What about you and Kyle? Sebastian leveled his red eyes on him.
“Kyle? What? You two close now?”
You are still my favorite.