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“Mmm. Cerberus has been particularly affected by your and the Master’s absence. Wouldn’t eat much for the first week. The connection he has with you, Miss. It’s uncanny to me.”
At her words, images flashed in my head.
Sitting in a clearing of the woods. Playing with three small, black, roly-poly puppies. Hearing a distant whistle, and the puppies running off into the woods.
Lustina’s memories, no doubt. Cerberus had met her,me, before.
“We go way back.”
Anya tipped her head and frowned.
“It’s just a saying where I’m from.”
“Ah. Well, I’ll let you get back to it.”
* * *
I stepped out of the back door of the cathedral to find Cerberus, Nero, and Fenrir off sniffing around in the yard. As soon as I stepped down the stone stairwell, all three enormous dogs ran toward me, and the sight of them tearing across the yard made me chuckle. As they neared, their steps slowed, and Cerberus took what appeared to be a cautious stance, hackles raised, body hunched. He sniffed the air, as if he was unsure of who I was all of a sudden.
Frowning, I patted my leg, urging him closer. “Hey, Cerberus, come here. It’s just me.”
The dog’s lips peeled back into a vicious looking snarl, and my spine snapped to attention. The collective growl of all three dogs sent a wild tremor through me.
Bigger than an English mastiff, they made an intimidating trio when calm, but when growling and snarling, they were downright terrifying.
“Cerberus? What is it?” I turned to see if there was someone standing behind me, and on finding no one there, I swung my gaze back toward the dogs, panicked to find they’d lurched closer.
Saliva dripped from their maws, their eyes burning with something that sent a shudder down my spine.
What the hell was wrong with them? They acted as if they’d never seen me before. As if I was a complete stranger to them.
A glance over my shoulder showed the door about fifteen feet behind me, and the gesture seemed to prompt Cerberus to lurch again. The other dogs followed suit.
“Shhhh,” I said, holding up a trembling hand. “Stay. Cerberus, stay.”
He barked back at me, the kind of barking I’d heard when the Alatum were attacking. The kind of barking meant as a warning before they would attack.
With urgency pounding against my ribs, I backed myself slowly away, keeping my eyes shifting between all three dogs.Every nerve in my body screamed for me to run, but I knew better. I’d watched how quickly these dogs sprang into action and mauled their victims without mercy.
Slow and easy, I inched toward the door, and I swallowed back a lump of horror in my throat when all three of them prowled toward me.
Attention zeroed on Cerberus, in particular, I stretched a shaky hand behind me, desperate to feel for the doorknob I’d yet to reach. A bloodthirsty fury burned in Cerberus’s eyes, and as if sensing my intent, he charged forward.
Breath held, I spun on my heel and dashed for the door. I swung it open just as Fenrir leaped for me, and on a gasped scream, I slammed the door behind me, hearing the dogs clawing and snarling on the other side.
Through panting breaths, I sagged with relief and blinked back the tears in my eyes.
Something was wrong. Something had changed.
They were no longer my protectors.
14
THE BARON
The Baron reached the manor, his thoughts lost in the old man’s words. Who was Solomon, if not merely the blind organist?
Human?
