Page 75

I turn back to face The Hollow. We charge forward. I’m about to shift when Sarah grabs my arm. “There, Sam. Is that Ragnor?”

My eyes jolt toward the front of the house. Ragnor is running across the lawn, my mother slung over his shoulder. She is kicking and punching him. Her hair is wild, blowing in the wind.

I shift in an instant and race through the trees. When I reach The Split, I take it in one leap. The vicious heat surging beneath me scalds my belly. I reach the other side, paw slipping on the edge, scramble up, and keep running.

I dart into the shadow of the trees and slow my pace. I approach slowly, creeping through the undergrowth. My mother is on the ground. Ragnor kicks something, which lands with a splash in the river. Then he rounds on her. He towers above her and grabs her wrist.

I jump from the trees, eyes flashing. She sees me. My mother’s eyes catch mine. Her mouth hangs open. She stares at me, then my father turns. He is still holding her wrist.

I send my voice to splinter through his skull. Get your hands off my mother.

Ragnor drops her hand. She falls to the ground and scrambles back. He lunges but, before he can shift, I leap for his throat.

His flesh is between my teeth when he shifts. Skin becomes fur. I rip at it and tear a chunk free. He is bigger and stronger than me, but I am angrier.

Rolling over one another, claws and teeth clash, fur is yanked from its roots, and the metallic taste of my father’s blood fills my mouth. I am on my back, gnashing my teeth, fighting to keep him away from my throat. His teeth pierce my neck. My eyes roll back. Then the pressure is gone.

There’s a blast of light and he rolls away from me, howling with pain.

I scramble to my feet as Sarah strides into view. She holds her wand in one hand. Its tip glows silver. With her other, she reaches for my mother and helps her to her feet. “I’ll get her to safety,” she says, backing away as Ragnor and I square up to one another.

I scrape the ground with my front foot, gathering cold earth beneath my claws. As Sarah moves away, her arm around my mother, Ragnor howls and lunges for them.

I jump at him, aiming for his neck, but there’s a flash of gray and something barrels into his side. He falls to the ground, rolling over, bones cracking.

Back on all four feet, I stare at the Hellhound which now stands between me and my father. It backs up slowly, and meets my eyes,

Nico?

Brother, it replies. We will finish this together.

Ragnor is human again. He crawls back, feet slipping on the damp mud next to the river bank. His hands reach the edge and give way behind him. He tries to right himself.

At the same time, Nico and I each grab a foot and drag him toward us. “I am your father!” he screams. His voice is sick with fear. “I am your father….” Now it’s a whisper.

Nico licks his lips. He glances at me. Ready?

I growl deep in my throat, and then we rip the bastard apart. We tear his body in two separate directions and when he is nothing more than two halves of blood, and bone, and muscle, his head barely hanging onto his neck, we roll him into the river and leave him to sink.

47

NOVA

She looks so much like me; I feel as if I’m staring into a mirror. “Ava?”

She extends a shimmering hand. When she touches my cheek, heat surges beneath her palm. “You look like me,” she says.

“There isn’t much time to explain…”

Ava nods slowly. She looks past me, then up at The Hollow. Her eyes narrow as she takes in the flames. “I know this place.” She rubs her arms. “I’ve felt this place before. This is where…” She trails off and turns in a slow circle. “This is not my time,” she mutters. “And those are not humans.”

I take her hand and press my fingers to hers. They are solid but I feel like, if I pressed hard enough, I could pass right through them. “Ava, we need your help. We are your descendants.” I gesture to Tanner, then search for the others. They are fighting, desperately trying to look at Ava, but stuck behind the wall of flame I created. “We called you back because—”

“There is a great evil…” Ava raises her eyes to the sky. “I have felt it before. In the men who accused me, who burned me, who took my baby and my life.”

I nod, tears filling my eyes. “They call him The Shadow King. He has broken free from his realm, and we are the only ones who can stop him. He is not the one who harmed you. That was the doing of men, but…”

Ava frowns at me.