Page 25 of Falling for the Devil

“Oh, I’ll think of something. Later.”

DARKNESS SURROUNDED her. Not like the black hole, but even her remarkable eyesight could not discern any shapes around her now. For all Diana knew, she was walking around a desert, except for the couple of times she collided with what she hoped were just large, gnarly trees.

The eerie noises of nocturnal creatures spooked her. Despite having been on many hunts, both during the day and night, the truth was that she had no idea what lay in wait. The goosebumps racing up and down her limbs gave her the certainty that her eyes could not—in this space and time, she had morphed from the hunter into the hunted.

“Great job, Diana!” she mumbled to herself. In her anger, she had cast aside sensibility. She had no weapons. No strategy. Nothing.

A high-pitched trill to her right sent shockwaves of fear through her.

Now is not the time to panic. You’re a friggin’ goddess, after all! Show whatever is lurking that you’re no one to be trifled with.

Something emitted a low, menacing growl behind her.

Okay, yes, it is time to panic.

She was going to die on some forsaken place that had all the warmth of a planet farthest away from a sun or star. Actually, that could be the case here—on the edge of the known universe, butting up against a black hole. Yes, that explained the weather and why she couldn’t see a damned thing.

Psst.

What was that? Her legs were paralyzed, unable to move forward, backward, or sideways even if she wanted.

Psst.

This time it was louder. Perhaps it was a giant snake. Maybe it was the half woman, half serpent, Echidna. No one had ever spoken about what realm she’d been banished to, so it wasn’t outside the scope of reason.

Or it could be something far worse waiting to gobble her up.

Psst.

Closer now.

“Damn it, Diana! Get your sweet ass over here before you’re carried off to that monster’s lair and never seen from again!”

The shock unlocked her feet from the ground, and she ran toward the voice, toward her only true friend in the universe.

“Puck!”

“Run, girl, run! Swifter than that asshat, Hermes! Run!”

Chapter 13

The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

Diana ran. She ran the fastest she’d ever run before. So fast, her brain didn’t register her feet ever touching the ground until her toe snagged a rock or root or something else hard and she tumbled over a hidden ravine. Hidden, in that she still couldn’t see a damn thing.

But there was nothing wrong with her hearing. The low growling from before had changed to a nasal, snarling barking... and it was so close she blanched at its foul stench.

“Come on. Over here!” Puck screamed, his voice so high-pitched it reminded her of all the times he’d mimicked the eunuchs of her father’s court.

Her tracking instincts were so highly tuned, Diana was able to pick up his direction, and sensed where the monster stalking her was coming from. Scrambling up, her dress tangled around her legs, she aimed for Puck and sent up a prayer to Zeus that she made it to him in time.

Icy shards of air pierced her lungs. Fear crawled over her skin. The creature had picked up its momentum. Its feet pounded the rocky terrain in an ever-increasing paced rhythm, like an opera reaching its dramatic climax. The end was near. Either she’d escape by a hair’s breadth or be chewed up and digested in the stomach of the beast.

“Get a move on! Just a few more steps. When I say jump, jump as high as you can, with your arms over your head. Don’t slow down. Faster!” Puck had never sounded so terrorized in all the time she’d known him. He was a monster in his own right, after all. Whatever had him this frightened was nothing she ever wanted to face.

A howl from behind her let Diana know the monster was within striking distance. It was now or never.

“Jump, dammit! Jump!”

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