Hellhound

“You’ll get that dagger from me when I stick it deep into your black heart.”



Before Pryce could reply, Mab spoke. “You are too sure of yourself, Pryce. Your arrogance has led you astray before.”



“Arrogance? I don’t think so. In the past, my eagerness to see the ancient prophecies fulfilled may have made me a tad hasty. But I am greater now than I was then, you see. Now I have Difethwr’s strength, plus my father’s skill and knowledge, to support my ambition. And soon, I will have her as well.” His long white finger pointed at me. “Not that I need her, mind you, but think of the blow to your side when your Last Great Hope abandons you.”



“You’re insane,” I said.



“Thank you for the psychological analysis, cousin. But you’re diagnosing the wrong subject. Auntie is the one who refuses to accept reality.” He jutted his chin toward Mab. “She thinks you’re the long-awaited Lady of the Cerddorion. But it can’t be you. Difethwr made sure of that, by putting its mark on you.”



I tried to ignore the slow burning that began in my forearm.



“You can feel it, can’t you? The rage, the urge to destroy. Ever since I resurrected Difethwr, those feelings have become stronger. They’re taking you over, from the inside. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”



I can fight it, I thought. Like I’ve always fought it.



Pryce’s voice was suddenly at my ear, whispering, insinuating. “You wanted to fight Mab, didn’t you? You wanted it, just like you wanted to wring your own father’s feathery neck. The anger . . . it feels good. It feels right. It’s your nature. And you want it.”



I whirled around to shove him away from me, but my hands pushed empty air. Pryce still sat in his chair, smirking.



“Already your loyalties are shifting, cousin. You know I speak the truth. Deep down inside, you know.” I couldn’t even deny his words as a parade of images passed through my mind. Boston burning. A dead woman at my feet. The itch from my demon mark turned into a fire, a raging need to destroy. “When it is time,” Pryce said, his voice low but oh, so sure, “you will come to me.”



There is another way.



I blinked. The inner voice fled, but it took the horrible images with it.



I glanced at Pryce. He didn’t recoil in fear, the way the Destroyer had in my dream. Either he hadn’t heard the words, or they didn’t scare him.



“Well, then.” Pryce rubbed his hands together. “I won’t say it’s been a pleasure, but I do believe I’ve made my point. Stay out of that graveyard, or Tina dies.”



Pryce winked at me. Then he disappeared, returning to the hell where he belonged.



30



“PRYCE HAS TINA.”



Yes, I was stating the obvious. But maybe I was hoping the words wouldn’t exit my mouth or, if they did, would be so ridiculous Mab would laugh and we could both go to bed.



Mab didn’t laugh.



Instead, she paced back and forth across my living room. “Most likely, he’s holding her with the others, those poor missing zombies. It is imperative that we find the Old Ones’ base.”



“Maybe Juliet located them last night.” I went down the hallway, but the door to Juliet’s room was closed. She must have climbed into her coffin as soon as she got home. There’d be no waking her until the sun dipped below the horizon.



Back in the living room, I picked up the phone. “I’ll ask Daniel what they found out.”



The odds were good that he was sleeping, too, after driving around Boston all night. And he’d be extra sleepy if he’d let Juliet—Not going there. I pushed that image from my mind.



Daniel answered on the second ring, and my first reaction was a wave of relief that my roommate hadn’t had her way with him. But we had more important things to worry about, so I got right to the point.



“Did you find the Old Ones’ base? Juliet was asleep when I got home.”



“We uncovered several possibilities, but nothing definite yet. We’re going out again tonight.” A yawn sounded through the phone. “How did things go at the cemetery?”



“We made some progress. But Pryce has already taken a lot of Morfran out of there. And he has Tina.”



“Tina?” Daniel was silent for a few moments as though trying to place the name. “Your zombie friend? But her name isn’t on the list of missing PDHs.”



“He snatched her from under our noses. And he says he’ll kill her if we go back to the cemetery.”



“Damn.”



“We have to find them, Daniel. Tina’s an innocent kid.” Pryce would take great pleasure in infecting her with the Morfran and sending her as a weapon against me. He’d laugh with glee watching me fight off my own apprentice, only to stand by helplessly when the Morfran blew her to pieces. And he’d do it even if we complied with his demands. Staying out of the Burying Ground would only buy Tina some time. It wouldn’t save her life.



“We’re following up on some leads today,” Daniel said. “Finding out who owns the buildings, getting search warrants. But Juliet admitted last night she never picked up anything more than a stray thought or a one-on-one conversation, nothing to indicate a group of Old Ones. Nothing about zombies or demons, either—the thoughts she overheard were mostly about where to hunt for dinner. We’ve mapped all the locations where she heard something, of course, and we’re checking everything out. But we have to move cautiously because we don’t want to tip them off. As far as Juliet could tell, they don’t know we’re looking for them. I’d like to keep it that way.”



That was one piece of luck, however small. If the Old Ones thought their hiding place was secure, they wouldn’t be moving the zombies any time soon. Of course, that didn’t mean a thing if we couldn’t find them.



Daniel promised to keep me informed, and we hung up. I shook my head at Mab, who watched me, worry lines etched around her eyes.



“‘Possibilities,’ he said, but nothing definite. They’re following up on all leads, blah blah blah. The upshot is they don’t know.”



“Would he tell you if they did?”



I considered. Daniel was all cop. He’d warned me to stay away from his investigations in the past. Even though he’d hired me as a consultant, would he hold back information to keep me out of his way? Probably. Yet, this case was different.



“I think he’d tell me. He’d want me there to handle any Morfran that emerged.” Daniel had seen the effects of Morfran possession with his own eyes. “Anyway, Juliet would tell us.” No norm could make Juliet do anything she didn’t want to do. Even if she swore herself to secrecy, she’d do it with two perfectly manicured fingers crossed behind her back.



“She can’t tell us anything now,” Mab pointed out. “Not until nightfall.”



My confidence sagged. If the police did know where Old Ones were hiding, the smartest time to raid the place would be during the day, when the creatures were sluggish and the Morfran couldn’t materialize. Daniel might think he wouldn’t need me during a daytime raid. He could be preparing such a raid right now.



And what if Tina got caught in the middle? What if she got hit by an exploding zombie dropper or hauled off to that top-secret holding facility? What if Pryce had already infected her with the Morfran and it was ticking away inside her, waiting for nightfall to turn her into a killer and then destroy her?



Without knowing where to find the Old Ones, there was nothing I could do. And I hated feeling helpless. I wanted to charge in somewhere, lop off some Old One heads, and skewer Pryce like shish kebab. I wanted to slash Difethwr with my flaming sword until the Hellion was a steaming mass of melted goo. Most of all, I wanted to open Tina’s cell door and lead her to safety. But without the location, I couldn’t do a thing. I looked at my weapons cabinet and thought about the tools of my trade. I could be loaded with pistols, bristling with blades, and it wouldn’t do a bit of good. All weaponed up and no place to go.



Mab said we might as well try to sleep, so we could recharge for whatever was coming next. I knew she was right, but how could I sleep haunted by the image of Tina, crouched in a pitch-dark cell, waiting for me to rescue her? “Vicky, help,” she’d cried out, fear clouding her eyes.



And I was going to bed.



While Mab was in the bathroom washing up, I called Kane.



“I’m at the office,” he said when he answered.



“Still?” An all-nighter was extreme, even for Kane.



“I couldn’t afford to miss another day of work, so I’ve been here trying to clear my desk before the full moon.” He yawned.



I managed to get out about three words of my reply before he sensed something was wrong and insisted I fill him in. I told him everything—how we’d killed a significant amount of Morfran, how the Night Hag had captured Dad and almost made off with him, how Tina had rescued him only to be abducted herself. “We don’t know where Pryce is holding her.” My voice broke.



“Vicky.” Kane’s voice was soothing. “It’s okay. I understand how much you hate not being able to act right now. I feel that way all the time, like when a judge issues a biased decision or a just cause gets choked by red tape. Our methods are different, but we both feel that impulse to help very strongly.”



I was afraid anything I said would turn into a sob, so I didn’t answer.



“Right now, the best thing you can do for Tina is get some rest. When the time comes to move forward, you need to be strong and clearheaded, not trembling with fatigue.”



“You’re right,” I managed to squeak out. Mab had said the same thing.



“I need to take my own advice. I’ve been awake for more than twenty-four hours, and now’s not the time to exhaust myself.” In his pause, I knew we were both thinking about the strength he’d need to withstand the Night Hag. “I knew she rode through town last night, Vicky. The Mistress of Hounds. Ever since the moon started waxing, I feel her pull. It tugs at me more strongly each night. Last night, while I was trying to work, it nearly knocked me out of my chair, and I mean that literally. I felt that . . . that burning in my veins, and my body ached to change.” Horror thickened his voice. “It couldn’t, of course. Not until the first night of the full moon. But the pull felt so intense. I shouldn’t have gotten sidetracked into organizing that rally. It was a good show of unity, but my focus should have been on resting, getting strong, and building up my resistance. I can’t control the shape she forces on me, but whatever remains of me inside will fight her with everything I’ve got.”