Erlik was a handsome man—demon—for all that his bottom half was snatched off an animal. He had a strong, scruffy jaw; a wicked grin; and bright, tantalizing ruby-red eyes. He had the face of every bad boy who told you straight to your face that your attempt to change him would only result in him ruining your life.
“Climb.”
I froze. “What? What are you talking about? Climb what?”
Without bothering to glance in my direction, Erlik pointed up. “This is your final trial. Climb to the top of the mountain. Anyone who reaches the pinnacle may consider themselves a new student of Abaddon Academy,” he stated. “Anyone who falls and dies may consider themselves dead.”
My nostrils flared at his uncaring delivery.
“Anyone who doesn’t try,” he continued, “may also consider themselves dead, because I will eviscerate all cowards.” Erlik blew sharply on his fingers. “Begin.”
“Wait,” I screeched as the men rushed the cliff face—knocking, shoving, and punching each other aside as they did so. “Don’t we get climbing gear, protection, something!”
Erlik raised one surprisingly thin and delicate brow. “No.”
“Of course not!” I burst out—fear, pain, and exhaustion bringing me to snapping point. “Could you have made these stupid trials any harder!”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Erlik breezed. “Thank you for reminding me.”
His reply didn’t have time to penetrate my brain before he snapped his fingers and howling lit the air.
Whipping around, I took one look, and screamed.
Wide, red, angry eyes. Foam and drool dripped from snarling maws. Grotesquely muscled bodies covered singed, black fur, and razor-tipped paws bigger than my head pounded the ground as not one, or two, or twenty, but dozens upon dozens of these horrible creatures appeared from nowhere and raced across the valley... straight toward me.
“Hellhoundssss,” she bellowed from below my collar. “Get up the fucking cliff, human! Now!”
She didn’t need to tell me twice.
Racing past a guffawing Erlik, I launched at the cliff face—desperately scrabbling for purchase. The cliff was rocky and jagged, boasting nothing but protrusions to grab on to. Thatshould’ve made things easier if it wasn’t for the fact the cliff wasn’t made of natural rock and dirt. My hands closed on smooth, slippery obsidian—just about the worst fucking thing you could try to climb freehand.
I jumped, grabbed, and scrabbled at the rock—hands slipping on the stone and opening seams in a dozen little places, but still I didn’t stop. “Come on,” I bellowed at myself, climbing a foot from the ground, and then two. “Come on!”
“Ahhh!”
Someone fell past me, nearly knocking me off smashing into my shoulder before crashing to the ground.
The hellhounds were on him in a blink. Terrifying, blood-chilling horror rocketed through my body as five of them pounced on him. He was still screaming when one ripped open his stomach and started eating.
Everything went white. I think I was screaming. I think the hidden passenger in my shirt was screaming too. I couldn’t comprehend of either as I climbed—climbed, climbed, and climbed with no more thought in my head but to get away from those horrifying monsters.
“No! No, no, no!” My bloody hand slipped on the rock. “You’re not dying here! Dora needs you! Keep going!” Tears cut tracks down my cheeks as someone else fell from the cliff, and their dying screams pummeled my eardrums. “Keep going! She needs—”
A tight grip closed on my wrist, snapping my head up. Blinking, swimming eyes latched on to a wide, gleeful grin, and just above it, the pinnacle.
I’m almost to the top.My eyes saw it was true, but my heart could scarcely believe it.Only a few more feet and I’m there. Oh my gosh, I’m going to do it. I’m going to get into the academy! Dora, I’m coming!“Th-thank you,” I rasped, tugging on mywrist. “But I think I can climb the rest of the way on my own. I don’t need hel—"
“Sorry, worm.” Impossibly, the smirk grew wide—curling in on itself like the Cheshire Cat. “This is as far as you go.”
“Wha—”
Yanking sharply on me, he broke my hold on the rocks... and let go.
Screams echoing through the valley, I plummeted through the air... into the eager, waiting maws of the hellhounds below.
Chapter One
One Month Earlier
