other side. They have their place in the Apocalypse, the real one and they need to be ready to be activated should the time come. I can’t waste time starting from scratch if they’ve all been razed to the ground. Not to mention, Annabelle will lose it if her pet didn’t make it through this clusterfuck.
I land in the courtyard and see that half of the kennel building has been destroyed, but the snarling and growling that rings through the air, tells me the Hounds are alive. I rush around the corner and see that Azra has Mouse protected in a corner, furthest from the smoldering rubble.
“Good boy,” I murmur and pass by to check on the rest. My heart lurches as I see that two of my best bitches have perished, seemingly hit directly by the fireballs that fell from the sky.
“Dammit,” I mutter and crouch down, stroking their heads and mourning their loss as their Master. I feel a gaping hole inside me that I only now realize was there before. I was too focused on getting Xavier to safety and worrying about Annabelle and the baby to notice it. “Fuck, I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” I stand up and check on the rest of the pack. A few casualties but no more deaths. Whatever fell from the sky when the Apocalypse started wasn’t ordinary Hellfire. They were a vicious twist, something borne precisely at the moment the Apocalypse was started specifically for the purpose of destroying everything in sight.
I grab a tarp from the back and throw it over the two dead beasts. I will need to dispose of them before the remaining Hounds turn on their own and devour them.
I spend the next half an hour building a pyre, cursing that this is taking time away from returning to Annabelle. She must be frantic, worried about where I am and if I got Xavier to the cabin in one piece. I push aside the pang of guilt that makes me think this is a timewaster. These are my beasts and I care about them.
I drag the two Hounds over to the pyre and throw them on, wishing that I had more time to mourn them properly. Regular Hellfire will burn a dead Hellhound to ash, so it is with a heavy heart that I set the pyre alight and watch briefly as it flickers to life and the flames consume the creatures. Then, I turn and transport myself back to Annabelle.
4
Annabelle
“Where is Elijah?” I bark out into the hushed silence. “He should’ve been back ages ago.”
“He probably checked in on the Hounds on his way back,” Aleister says.
It hits me in the gut. Of course he did. I’m being selfish and thinking only that I need him here, when they need him more. It makes me feel even worse that Aleister knew this about Elijah, because he is worried about his Gargoyles too. He came out of the fireshower in one piece, but did they?
“You can go and check on them…” I start quietly but he interrupts me.
“They’re fine,” he says. “I’ve already checked in. I’m here for you.”
I choke back the tears and turn from him. I wish that I could tell him, all of them, what I’m feeling but I’m so overwhelmed right now I can’t think straight, never mind form a coherent speech about my feelings. There is only one thing I can do in my current state and that is go and see if Sid is doing okay.
I walk over to him, still huddled in the corner and crouch down, taking his face in my hands. “Hey,” I whisper.
He gives me a soft smile. “I’m okay,” he says. “Honestly.”
I don’t believe him, but I give him a smile back and then I lean in to kiss him. It’s the first contact I’ve had with any of them since I kissed Xavi good-bye.
He returns it, clinging desperately to me which tells me how not okay he is, but then he lets me go and says, “Congratulations.”
I gulp.
My baby.
I can’t even look at her, never mind hold her. Hael is doing a bang-up job, so I feel happy to leave her to it.
“Thanks,” I mutter and move away from him.
Of course, that means that Hael steps in front of me and holds the baby out. I shake my head. I can sense the disapproval from my circle but I just…can’t. I have no idea what to do. Holding my brother was easy. If he