Page 20 of The Hellhound's Mate
“Oh, sorry, notyou. We’ve been trying to talk to the hellhound.”
“Oh.” That actually made more sense. “What about?”
“The necromancer who escaped from Hell and is enslaving my people to make himself an army.”
I blinked at him, my mouth hanging open. Of all the things he could’ve said… “Well, alright. Um, let me just go get Saph.”
The ghoul reached out and swept a section of willow branches out of the way, creating an opening for me to leavethrough. It was possible he wasn’t a threat to me at all, but I still skirted by him, and then took off running toward the house.
“Saph!” I hollered as soon as I was through the back door into the kitchen. “Saph, where are you?”
I heard the click of his claws on the floorboards a moment before he called back to me. “Ambrose? What’s wrong?”
I sprinted out of the kitchen and into the hall only to immediately collide with him. He grabbed at me, I clung to his fur, and the only thing that stopped us from falling over was his hand bracing against the doorframe.
“There’s a necromancer making an army!” I blurted up at his chin.
Saph stood us both upright and held my shoulders as he looked me in the eyes. “A what doing what?”
I nodded and took a few deep breaths, feeling shaky all over again. “I was outside under the willow?—”
“Ambrose,” he growled.
“I know! And a ghoul did approach me?—”
He bared his teeth and moved around me, heading for the kitchen.
“No, Saph, wait!” I ran around in front of him at the door, both hands on his chest to stop him. “He just wanted to talk. To tell me that there’s a necromancer who broke out of Hell and is enslaving ghouls to make an army. He wants to talk toyouabout it all.”
Saph’s eyes went wide for a second, like he was alarmed, and I did not like knowing this unshakable beast was worried. Then he stepped around me and went out the door, throwing over his shoulder, “Stay here.”
I nodded at first, but then realized there was no way I was staying behind for this. I trotted out the door in time to see Bozboq backing up with his hands raised as Saph stalked towardhim. I picked up my pace, wanting to make sure this was the talk as requested and not a fight.
“We’re just talking, Saph! Nothing else!”
He stopped and looked back at me, his annoyance clear.
“I wouldn’t dream of tellingyouto sit and stay,” I said once I caught up to him, “so don’t say it to me.”
Saph made a grumbling noise, but then turned his attention back to the ghoul. “A necromancer?”
Bozboq nodded and sidled a little closer. “That’s right. Crawled out of the Ravensgate Cemetery and enslaved half of us before he fully solidified. The hellhound over there had to fight his way through us before he could get to the necromancer. But by the time Oisian got to him, the fucker had enslaved him, too.”
Ravensgate was the town’s main cemetery about three miles behind my property. The space between us was part of a state park. And I literally leaned to look beyond Bozboq to see if there was an army of ghouls heading this way. “Are you sure they’re coming here?”
At the same time, Saph asked, “When did this happen?”
“About a week ago?” Bozboq scratched at his head only to have a clump of scalp come off on his finger. He shoved it back into place as I repressed my gag reflex.
“Um, if it’s been a week,” I had to ask, “why isn’t he here to enslave Saph yet? Three miles isn’t that long of a walk.”
“The caretakers?” Saph asked Bozboq, who nodded. To me, Saph said, “A damned soul needs to feed immediately after emerging.”
“What does that have to do?—”
“Ate them,” Bozboq said. “Whole family.”
I covered my mouth and winced.
