The Last Odyssey (Sigma Force #15) - James Rollins Page 0,142
forward—revealing a glimpse of the massive bulk of a black dog.
Ahmad tried to get away.
Less in fear of the monster than—
The grenade exploded behind him. The dog’s head blasted apart. Shrapnel from both the grenade and pieces of the dog peppered Ahmad’s back. But her second-in-command wore full-body armor. Though wounded and knocked to his hands and knees, he crawled out onto the gold stairs.
Nehir backed away in horror.
Ahmad read her face and twisted around.
Behind him, the rest of the huge dog revealed itself, lifting two more heads into view. Diamond eyes glowed with fire; it had flames for tongues. Here was Cerebos, the three-headed guardian of Hell. One snout lunged out and caught Ahmad by the leg and lifted his struggling body high off the ground. The other head snapped onto an arm and shoulder. Then they tossed their necks wide and ripped Ahmad in half.
By then, Nehir had retreated far into the shadows.
She turned away and stared up.
While the plan with the grenade had gone awry, the blast did its job. The mass of flaming forms flowed and clambered down the gold stairs, drawn by the explosion.
She circled wide, steering a path clear of that fiery parade.
Her goal hadn’t changed.
She headed toward the gold gate.
8:10 P.M.
Elena gasped as Kadir fired at Charlie.
Charlie cringed to the side, bumping into Elena. The cliff face on the far side shattered with a three-round burst. Shards peppered the two of them, stinging and sharp.
Elena grabbed Charlie’s hand. They pulled tighter together.
Across the way, Kadir held his smoking rifle, his head slightly cocked. He had purposely missed her. But there was no leer of sadistic glee at this teasing torture. The giant remained as emotionless as ever, a cat calmly playing with a trapped pair of mice. His actions read more curious than cruel.
Still, eventually the cat kills the mice.
Kadir lifted his rifle again—clearly done with his game.
A heavy scraping of metal on stone drew all their gazes up. Apparently, someone else had heard Kadir’s noisy, capricious play. From the cavern, a massive beast leaped out. It crashed heavily between Elena and Kadir with a booming clang of bronze and a blast of smoke and fire. The ground shook with its impact. It landed in a crouch, its front low, its haunches high. A long tail swept across the cliff overhead, raining debris over the two women.
Kadir fired at it, retreating toward the burning woods.
His barrage rang off the bronze.
Charlie and Elena dropped low.
The titanic dog—a huge mastiff of metal—lunged, snapped, and grabbed Kadir before he could escape. This was no cat come to play. The beast reared up and tossed its head high. It threw Kadir’s body into the air. The giant cartwheeled, spraying blood. The mastiff roared, casting flames from its jaws, roasting the flailing man in midair.
Finally, Kadir screamed.
The mastiff caught him again and flung his body into the fiery woods.
Panicked, Charlie started for the same forest. But Elena kept hold of her hand and kept her there. Elena lifted a finger to her own lips.
Joe had told her about Mac’s experience.
Stay silent . . . don’t move.
Charlie trusted her enough to obey.
Another person had never learned that lesson.
Off to the side, Monsignor Roe hobbled away in horror. The mastiff swung toward the motion, the pained gasps. It stalked after the cleric. Roe tried to walk faster on his wounded leg, glancing back, his face shining with terror.
The hunter was also compromised—whether from the leap off the cliff or perhaps injured earlier. Elena remembered the rocket attack on the cave, on the doors inside. Had this been some guardian in there?
The mastiff dragged a hind leg and struggled with a broken elbow.
Elena straightened, watching the slow pursuit. Who would win out? The answer came a few breaths later. The mastiff drained the last of its energy and crashed headlong across the tiny streambed with a jangle of bronze. It sprawled there, neck stretched, mouth open. Its bulk still smoked, remained fiery, but clearly fading.
Roe hopped back around, sagging in relief.
Then the mastiff’s body convulsed one final time. From deep in its gullet, it cast out a new horror. Through its gaping jaws, a river of scrabbling bronze-shelled crabs exploded forth. They set fire to the stream, to themselves.
Roe froze in terror.
Then the wave reached him and climbed his body. Sharp legs speared deep into his flesh. His clothes caught fire. He writhed and spun, quickly armored in fiery bronze.