Page 70 of Shadow Weaver
Deana frowned. “What? No, I don’t think so, why? Wait.” Her brow cleared. “Do you have a hound?”
No, I didn’t, but Brady did. “I can get to the Academy.”
“If you leave the fortress grounds, you will die.”
“And if I don’t, countless others will.”
Her throat bobbed. “Archer is out there.”
My stomach felt queasy. “I know. I have to try, but I’m going to need your help.”
Her throat bobbed, and she nodded quickly. “Tell me what you need.”
* * *
I could ride a horse.I could ride a motorbike. But a hound was a different thing. I’d checked on Brady, still unconscious, and then Deana and I had slipped out of the fortress and down to the stables.
The plan was simple. Deana would distract Jemima while I stole Athos. If the beast allowed himself to be stolen. I mean, he could just decide he wanted to eat my face instead.
No. Positive thoughts only.
As we got closer to the stables, I veered off into the shadows while Deana stuck to the moonlit path.
“Deana? What are you doing here?” Jemima asked. “You shouldn’t be out. There’s an alert.”
“I needed some female company; the males are driving me crazy over this alert.”
“That’ll be men for you,” Jemima said with a smile in her voice.
It was obvious these two were familiar with each other. Good.
The voices drifted away.
I waited a few long seconds and then, keeping low to the ground, loped around the low building to the back of the stables and through the doors.
Laughter drifted on the wind.
Okay, they were busy. Good.
I slippedinto the gloomy confines of the stable. Which pen had it been? Shit. Ah, yes, the last one on the right. I sidled up to the aperture and peered in. Athos was a hulking shape at the back of the pen.
All right, here goes nothing. “Hey, Athos, remember me? Brady’s friend.”
Glowing eyes appeared in the darkness, fixed on me.
I gave him a little wave. “Look. I need your help.” Okay, so I was speaking to a beast, but Jemima had said how intelligent they were, right? “Brady and I were attacked by something.”
He blinked sharply at the mention of Brady’s name and slowly rose to his feet. Fuck, he was huge.
I tensed, ready to back up if he attacked. “It was a supernatural infection. Brady is still unconscious, but I managed to get the infection out of him. There are others in danger, though. I need to get through the mist and to the Academy. There could be raging cadets out there, and fuck knows what else. I need to be moving fast.”
He was watching me intensely, almost as if he understood every word coming out of my mouth.
I unlatched the door. “I need you, Athos. I need you to carry me through the mist. Please.” I locked gazes with him. “I’m going to open the door now. I’m going to enter the pen.”
Please, don’t hurt me. Please, don’t hurt me.
I slipped inside Athos’s pen and waited.
