Page 73 of How to Trust a Hellhound
It was not, however, simply a weapon. At least not a mortal one.
We were fucked.
Chapter 25
Josh
Ihad the distinct feeling shit had gone sideways.
I admitted to being worried when the creepy, sharp-toothed, winged, and horned woman had come onto the scene.
I might also have freaked out a bit when we’d been led into this weird underground stone room, although I’d also had the idea that Toby would have loved to have been in my place, because this would’ve given him so many ideas.
Then Corbin had gone all weirdly catatonic-like and was sitting on the floor staring at Sebbie, and Sebbie was sitting on the floor staring at the dying old man in his lap. Then Thea had come in, and that was good, right? The more the merrier! Which I knew was a slightly hysterical thought, but I’dstillbeen mostly okay, because Wilder totally had things under control.
But when psycho lady pulled out the dagger, Wilder got really still beside me, and I knew something majorly fucked up was happening.
Wilder wasscared. I could feel it, somehow, and if Wilder was scared, then I was fucking terrified, because it meant he could behurt by that dagger.
I couldn’t let that happen.
The door behind us clanged shut, and I turned to look. The room was empty, all the other robed psychos having shut us in, apparently. There was just the psycho lady across the room, and her psycho friend holding Thea by the arm. That should have made me feel better, but she was holding that dagger, and Wilder wasn’t moving. He was just staring at it.
Thea looked at him, then looked at Corbin, then looked at me and raised her eyebrows. I gave a little half shrug. I had no fucking clue what was going on.
“Um, would you mind filling in the mortals in the room, Lady Macbeth?” Thea said.
I resisted the urge to say, “Out, damned spot!” to Thea’s nickname for psycho lady. Not that I was sure that nickname fit, because from what I remembered of that play in high school, Lady Macbeth felt guilty, and the psycho lady in front of us didn’t look the teeniest bit remorseful.
“You are an insolent little beast,” she said to Thea, her attention turning toward the female hellhound.
“She’s going to keep us alive,” Corbin said, his voice low and melodic. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. His voice was like a song, weaving around us. Even Sebbie looked up from the dying old guy, gazing into Corbin’s eyes.
“She’s going to keep us alive, and she’s going to drain us with that dagger. There will be no peace, only pain. Never-ending pain.” Corbin was staring at Sebbie. “She is not death, little reaper. Do you know why?” Corbin asked
I saw Thea moving so fast she was almost a blur. The man holding her did nothing to stop her, and with one single move she grabbed the woman’s hand holding the dagger and plunged the blade into the woman’s chest.
The woman looked shocked, but she didn’t fall, and her handstill held the blade. Thea backed away, toward Wilder and I, muttering, “Fuck,” under her breath.
“There’s no blood,” I whispered. “There should be blood, right? That’s what happens when you kill evil people. Blood. Wilder, why isn’t there blood?”
“I will not let her harm you, Mei Ume,” Wilder promised, and I didn’t like the sound of his voice when he said it.
“Fuck that. I’m not gonna let her harm you, because obviously that dagger is some kind of weird… thing… or whatever,” I said, motioning toward where it was still embedded in the woman’s chest. The woman who was still not bleeding.
Shit.
“You are not mortal,” the woman said, her shock evident.
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Thea said, turning to look at us. “Well, this took an unexpected turn. A little guidance would be good right about now, Wilder.”
“It’s a blade created by and for afterlifers. It’s one of the few weapons which can cause their destruction,” Wilder said softly, gripping my hand tightly.
Throughout all of this, Corbin and Sebbie were still having their weird stare-off moment; I had no idea what was going on there.
“She is not death,” Corbin said again, still staring. “Why not, little reaper?”
Sebbie’s eyes were staring into Corbin’s, unblinking, and his one hand was gripping the old man.
