“No!”
A noise like thunder filled the air. Shadows moved across the barren courtyard, closing fast on me and heralding my death like trumpets. I snapped my head up and saw them—a growing, looming, murder of crows—each one of them one hundred times bigger than any earthside crow I’d ever seen.
“Ahhh!”
I ran.
Beating it across the courtyard, I ran for cover—my leather-soled feet clapping against the stone. Up ahead there was an arched, covered tunnel leading to nothing but inky blackness. Ididn’t know what was on the other side of that tunnel, but it had to be better than what was on the other side of this one.
“Sabrina? Sabrina!” The flapping, shifting shadow swallowed the burning firelight of hell, plunging me in darkness. “What do I— Ah!”
A vicious pain sliced through the back of my neck. I barely had time to register that one of the crows had pecked me, before three—five—ten more pecks bruised and broke my skin. Blood dripped down my back as claws gripped my shirt and ripped it clean off my body.
I lost it.
“Ahhhh!” Terror seized my mind—shoving out all sense of reason or control.
They were everywhere. Flapping, pecking, scratching, cawing, stamping out the dark. I ran blindly through the swarm—flinging my arms wildly, screaming my lungs raw.
“Ugh!” A sharp tug lifted me off the ground, then released me just as suddenly.
It was Sabrina being ripped off me, but which bird took her or where, I didn’t know—because she didn’t scream.
“Sabrina! Sabrina, no!” The pecking increased with vicious fervor. “No! Doooorrraaa—”
“In my name, girl,” a familiar voice barked. “Can you stay out of trouble for longer than an hour!”
I spun toward the voice—or tried to. “Help me! Hel—!”
A hard peck to the head knocked me sideways.
I was out before I hit the ground.
Chapter Four
“Get up.”
Wha... what’s... going on?
“Get up, boy!”
Pain exploded in my side, ripping me screaming into consciousness.
Everything hurt.
Biting hard on my lip, screams bled through my teeth—pushing through harder than the tears trying to fall. My whole body was one open, bleeding sore, and it wasn’t an exaggeration. One bleary, swimming eye showed me I was covered in blood.
It also fell on the muddy, hoof-shaped bruise forming on my side. Traveling down, I saw the academy patch clutched in my grip.
I didn’t know what happened and never would, but I could only assume the deal kicked in and Lucifer found a way to shove another badge on me while the crows were taking chunks out of my flesh.
Flipping over, I came eye to eye with the offending hoof.
“I said up!” Erlik grabbed my arm and hauled me roughly to my feet. “If you’ve got time to lie around in your underwear, you’ve got time to explain to me how you did it.”
My eyes crossed to suddenly find his face in mine.
“How’d you tame that hellhound, boy?” he hissed. “In nine hundred years, I’ve never seen anything like that. Hellhounds are born starving. They neverneverturn down a meal when oneis broken and mewling right in front of them, but that one did... to save you.” His green eyes narrowed to slits. “Why?”
