Hellhound (2 page)

My essence, in the form of dark fog, surged to the
surface and shimmied out of my pores. A part of my being left me, able to live
just outside my body. The particles fused in the air to create a screen and
replayed Antonio’s crimes. I looked down at Claudius’s golden hemmed robe,
which covered his sandals. 

“Deserving of death,” Father said.

“We will take his essence,” Claudius declared.

His essence made the Council more powerful. They took
the essences of all criminals and grew stronger. They fed on these powers like
vultures on a carcass.

“You’re dismissed,” Claudius said as he and the other
eleven surrounded the cot. The sub sentries backed away as the divine-looking
Elder body regressed to their dark ways.

I left before the fangs extended and headed upstairs
in a daze, seeing things that weren’t really there as Antonio’s memories
lingered in the aftermath. Mentally, I shoved them into a chest in the corner
of my mind. My mind had room for only one person, and it shouldn’t be
compilations of criminals.

Chapter Two

Later that night, Demetrius approached me on the
observation deck at the top of the eight-story west tower. Others observed the
night sky and soaked in the power from the moon.

A glass wall encased the deck. Mythian energy cloaked
us from human eyes.

I recognized the people around me, arrayed in flowing
dresses and pastel robes. Like me, they weren’t allowed to leave the premises,
as large as it was, which meant taking advantage of the observation deck to
absorb the moon’s gift less we go out into the woods. The room remained quiet.
No one socialized, only enjoyed reenergizing our strength, which waned during
daytime.

I crossed my arms and stared out into the woods. The
view was spectacular—doused in moonlight, enchanted by the east winds, and
surrounded by earth and sky.

Demetrius stood to my left, mimicking my stance.
Without looking at me, he commented, “Nice day.”

“Yeah.”

“Ever gone outside?”

“Of course, I have.”

“I mean have you ever left the premises, left the
territory?”

“Oh, no.”

“Do you want to?”

I looked at him. The man didn’t turn his chin toward
me, so I enjoyed the delicious sight. Low brows, a straight nose, thin lips,
and a strong jaw line made for a nice view.

“I don’t think that I’m allowed to go,” I replied.

“Always obey the Elders?” He glanced at me from his
superior height in a way that challenged my social limits.

I grinned and turned toward the window. He only added
to the first seeds of rebellion. I wanted to explore the world instead of
obeying the Elders to the last word. What right did they have over my every
move?

Demetrius bypassed social etiquette with this
suggestion of his, and I liked it. Anyone else would have asked my parents for
permission to escort me out into the mortal world. Apparently he didn’t care
for the old ways, which made me like him more.

I stepped closer to him. “Tonight, then? Will you take
me to the mortal city?”

“Anything for you, Selene.”

Anything? What else could a tracker, someone
accustomed to the ways of the world, do for me?

Moments later, I barely coiled my enthusiasm as I zipped
up my boots, donned a hooded coat, and left my apartment. Opening the doors to
the stairwell, I jogged down a few flights in order to avoid others and emerged
at a side corridor adjacent to a main hallway.

The sentries at the main doors nodded.

Angel grinned, opened the door, and said, “Don’t stay
out too late, Selene.”

I frowned and strolled through the pathway as the
appearance of the building swayed and distorted until it resembled forest. The
sentinels, the sentries who watched the land, prowled the territory in the form
of wild animals. They didn’t approach me, but watched from their perches in the
trees.

Demetrius and I met halfway down the main trail, which
led out of the woods. We didn’t speak, only walked a few paces from the other.
Since we didn’t show signs of being a threat, the sentinels didn’t bother us.
How could they know I didn’t have permission to leave?

The breeze chilled my flesh, but I loved being
outside. The moonlight couldn’t penetrate the thick canopy, but there was
enough to lighten the surroundings.

We stepped over fallen tree trunks and brushed against
ferns. We kicked up dirt, the scent of which filled my nostrils. I smiled.
Fragrant flowers, hardy trees, and pollen filled the woods. Little creatures
scurried across plants.

We kept a good pace along the mile long, secret path.
Once we reached the outskirts, a thick fog greeted us. It swirled up from the
ground, crawled around trunks, and dissipated amid the branches. The
gatekeepers surrounded our territory in toxic fog. They were the first line of
defense from invasions and intruders.

Demetrius didn’t pause, but I hesitated before
stepping through the fog. This was as far as I’d ever made it.

I couldn’t feel anything unusual. They didn’t enter my
body through pores or via respiration. They didn’t devour us from the inside
out.

I exhaled.

For a moment, I thought the keepers knew about my
prohibited visitation with the mortal world until the ring of fog parted. The
ring rushed behind us to meet again as soon as we walked through.

A few more feet of forest emptied into a large
graveled area. An enclosed garage, large enough for six cars, huddled against
the edge of the woods. Leaves and small branches littered the slanted roof.

“What is that?” I asked, jerking my chin at a single
room shed with a rustic window.

“A check in point for visiting Mythians or lost
humans.”

“Is someone in there?”

He unlocked a sleek, black Camaro from a distance with
a key, and we climbed in. He turned on the car, twisted in his seat, and backed
out before coasting away.

“No one is in there, but if a human wandered down this
road, one of the gatekeepers would change form into a human and give them
directions away from here. It keeps humans from heading toward the domicile,
not that your home is easy to find.”

The sports car shook as it crawled over a rough road.
We met a major road about two miles away.

“What do you mean
my
home?” I asked.

“I don’t live there.”

Once we turned right, he relaxed and drove with one loose
fist around the steering wheel with the other resting on the clutch.

“Where do you live?”

“In the city.”

“Why are you so special?”

“I’m a tracker, hardly near the clan. I spend most of
my time tracking criminals.”

“So you just live out there with
them
?”

He laughed. “Mortals aren’t so bad. Ignorant, maybe,
stupid sometimes, but they’re all right. Besides, I can’t stand living in a
place where someone is always watching me. It makes me wonder, you know?”

“About what?”

“If someone is up to no good, or keeping secrets.”

“Keeping secrets? What makes you think that?”

He shook his head. “You’re very trusting aren’t you?”

I scowled. Did he think I was naïve? I knew the Elders
kept tabs on us, and they knew who would likely cross the line at some point.
There wasn’t much I could do about that, but that didn’t mean I had to trust
them.

“You just came out here with me. We don’t know each
other well, and no one knows where you are.”

“I can also kick
your
ass and drag you back for
a death sentence,” I snarled.

Demetrius laughed. “You probably can!”

We made another turn. As the roads became larger and
closer to the human city, the smoother the pavement became.

“Nice car. How long have you had this?”

“Thanks. I’ve had it for a few years. The clans pay
nice for the more dangerous criminals.”

“You’re that good?”

“I’m not bad. So you never been out this far?”

“Nope. How often are you at the domicile?”

“Not often. Like I mentioned before, don’t really like
it much there.”

“I don’t understand this. You live among an inferior
species but dislike your own kind? What’s so nice about the mortal world?”

“The humans aren’t all bad. Some of them try hard to
be better. Some, just like Mythians, deserve death. Every human is different.
Some prize education, money, prestige, while others are criminals. Most just
try to get by.

“Every country and region has its own culture. The
humans are easily persuaded and bow down to the ones in power. In the east,
arranged marriages still prevail.”

I cringed, thinking of Nathanial, how adamant he and
his father had become about our future marriage.

Demetrius continued, “But here in the west, women are
equals. Some are more powerful than men, smarter, wealthier, stronger. The food
is amazing. Ever had sushi?”

“No, I’ve read about it.”

“Ever seen the ocean? A sky-scraper? The mountains?”

“No.”

“Well, if you allow me to escort you to those places,
I would take you.”

“With nothing to gain?”

He smiled.

“So tell me, tracker, what is life like working
outside the clan?”

“Harsh, violent.”

“Do you like it?”

“I enjoy it. It keeps me away. I see it as freedom.”

I leaned my head against the headrest and watched the
green and brown blurs of the tree line. As we neared the city, the trees became
sparse, replaced by large fields and leveled areas with isolated homes and
small herds of animals.

“What are those?” I asked as we passed buildings with
parking lots and large neon signs.

“Restaurants.”

“And those?”

“Houses. Humans don’t live in clans in one, large
domicile. They own individual houses and plots of land.”

Children played in front yards, traffic thickened, and
the lone road from the woods branched out into dozens of streets. In the near
distance, tall buildings scraped the sky.

“What are those?”

“Most are store and office buildings, and a few are
apartment buildings.”

They looked like domiciles.

Demetrius slowed down. Cars surrounded us, and I
couldn’t help but look at the humans in the vehicles next to us. The guy next
to me wagged his brows. A dog in the backseat licked the window.

“Have you tracked anyone from our clan?”

“Not many. Our clan has a very low crime rate.”

Our clan maintained security through high levels of
organization. When we saw something against the rules, we told the Elders. Thanks
to the cerebral chamber, criminals were not common in our clan.

“That’s why you’re not around often.”

“Yeah, my work comes from other clans.”

“So you are one of the best trackers, even if you
won’t say it. Why are you here, then?”

“I only come to see my sister, or when summoned. I
think you know her. Damares?”

I nodded. We were acquaintances meandering toward
friendship.

Demetrius parked on a street by an apartment complex I
assumed was his. I looked up at the building incredulously. What exactly did he
expect us to do in his domicile?

I followed him to a deserted alley behind the
building. Most windows were dark, while curtains and blinds covered the rest.

“So I heard you could climb walls,” he said.

“Sure, common knowledge.”

He looked up at the towering twelve-story building.
“Meet you on the roof then?”

“Okay.”

Large wings made of black smoke erupted from his
shoulder blades. For a moment, he looked like a gothic piece of art, manly, and
deadly. The wings curved around his body. He transformed into a cloud of smoke
beneath the wings, moved upward, and disappeared past the ridge of the roof.

I glanced up and chose a path near dark windows.
Grabbing onto the brick and cement wall, I crawled up. When reaching the top, I
curled my fingers over the lip, kicked my feet against the side, and jumped up
to a squat with a wobbly balance.

Demetrius grinned. I stood beside him near the corner
of the broad rooftop. A cement jungle went on as far as I could see and drowned
in darkness in the horizon, muddled by the skyline. Lights kept the city out of
total blackness, creating twinkles everywhere.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“It’s beautiful.” I caught my breath. I never climbed
such a tall building.

I inhaled and glanced up at the night sky, absorbing
everything I could from the moon. It felt so good. My entire body tingled and
chilled.