Her eyes flashed red when she rounded on me. “They can’tbe allowed to live!”
Afraid she’d take off into the fog, I didn’t release her arm as I spoke. “I understand, but you can’t run in there without a plan.”
“I have a plan.” When she lifted her other hand, fire danced across her palm. “I’m going to torch them.”
“You can’t go into the fog again.” I didn’t care how badly she wanted to kill those people; I wouldn’t let her back in there. They had too much of an advantage against us in there.
Caim strolled over to join us. “Might I suggest sending the hounds in after them.”
“And if something happens to one of them?” Aisling asked.
“Their senses and ability to hunt is far more attuned than any of ours. They’re far less likely to be caught by one of those people than we are,” Caim said. “If you start a ring of fire around the fog, we can stop them from retreating and send the hounds in to destroy them.”
“But the fire will hurt the hounds,” Aisling protested.
“The hounds were born from the fires of Hell,” I said. “They’ll be okay. The fire might flush the fog people out before the hounds go in.”
She turned to study the fog before giving a brisk nod. “It could work.”
Caim sniffed. “Itwillwork. Those puppies won’t leave anyone behind and can hunt down anything. I’ll get them.”
Caim walked away while the fog edged closer to us, and I pulled Aisling against my side. I wanted to beat the shit out of this mist and everyone in it, but I wouldn’t put her at risk by going back in there. She would follow me.
I gazed up the mountain toward where we left the others. Halfway up the hill, the wall of smoke obscured my view, but they were still up there. “Come with me,” I said and nudged Aisling toward the survivors.
She glanced at the fog as we walked, but she didn’t try to enter it again. I stopped in front of the survivors who were gazing nervously at the mist. “Shouldn’t we leave?” a woman asked.
“That’s exactly what you’re going to do,” I told her. “The rest of our group is further up the mountain. Keep going straight until you get above the smoke; once you do, you’ll see smoke coming from a cave further up the mountain. Head for that. When you find them, tell them Wrath is already out of the labyrinth and he’s gone. Also let them know the fog is here and we’re going to take care of it.”
One of the men frowned as he stared at the mist. “How can you take care of fog?”
“We have a plan.”
“But… it’s…fog,” he said slowly.
“It’s not just fog,” Aisling said. “And the others are aware of that.”
“Tell them we’re taking care of it,” I said impatiently. “But you have to go.” When they remained staring at the fog, I barked the word, “Now!”
They all jumped before bowing their heads and scurrying up the mountain. The screams issuing from the fog died away, and silence descended.
Chapter Forty-Five
Aisling
Hawk stayed by my side as I remained on the outskirts of the fog, setting fire to anything that would burn. A solid ring of flames rimmed most of the mist, but on the far side, the scorched earth left little for me to torch.
Hawk and Caim went into the woods and returned with some fallen logs, but they weren’t enough to keep the fog pinned in. Fire danced across the logs and sparks flew into the air as Caim arrived with more wood, but already the fog was shifting toward us.
Prowling restlessly around, the hounds raised their hackles as they growled at the fog. I kept expecting the mist to devour the land it traversed, but when the ground it covered was exposed again, it was the same as before the fog took it over. Still, I couldn’t help seeing this thing as a black hole consuming everything it encountered.
I jerked my hand back when a cold tendril of fog brushed against it. A sick, dirty feeling twisted in my stomach as I recalled the monsters with human faces and hideous souls who resided inside this mist.
When the fog shifted toward me, I felt the ravenous hunger emanating from it as more tendrils brushed against my cheek and neck. I stepped away from it and swore it made an eager chattering noise as fresh wisps searched for me.
It knew I was here, and it was not going to give up as more threads slid free. Hawk stepped in front of me, and some of the fog encompassed his bicep. I rested a hand on his shoulder, but he nudged me back as he edged away from the mist. It chattered again as more of the mist split off to search him out.
“It must sense our body heat,” Hawk said.
