Then something hit me again.
I staggered sideways, then caught my balance and swung around, sweeping Amaya from left to right. Still nothing but air.
Another blow, this time to my right side. I twisted, lashed out. Caught nothing.
What the fuck were these things?
A growl rolled across the silence. I swallowed heavily. Damn if that didn't sound like a hellhound . . .
This time I felt the stir of air. I leapt up, twisted around, and stabbed downward. Hit something so hard my whole body shuddered with the impact. Amaya's flames fanned outward, encasing a hound-like shape.
Whether it was actually was from hell or just another product of Taylor's twisted mind, I had no idea—and right now it wasn't important. I pulled Amaya free and slashed at the hound's neck. It exploded, sending me tumbling through the grayness.
They come! Amaya's shriek was so fierce and loud I could have sworn it echoed across the plane, not just in my head.
Oh, fuck! I had no time to think or do anything else, because they were on me. Invisible beasts that snarled and slashed and tore at skin that didn't exist on this plane. Pain burned through me on all levels and blood flowed, until I was slick with it. I fought, god how I fought, but there were too many of them. Far too many, even for Amaya.
Run! the voice that sounded so much like Azriel screamed.
Instantly, I reached for the level that pided earth and the astral plane from the gray fields. Imagined myself there, free from the teeth and claws that rent my skin. Felt the plane shift, and then blessed silence. I didn't immediately move. I just lay on my back, panting madly, desperate to regain equilibrium and strength.
Finally, I opened my eyes. The umbra was a place of shadows and darkness. I could see only a little of the beach on this level, but this was the piding line between earth and the fields, and that was to be expected.
Something moved. I tightened my grip on Amaya, then realized that this time the movement held no threat.
The Dušan had stirred to life.
She coiled up my flesh, then moved across my shoulders and down my right arm. Her eyes glinted in the distant, smoky surrounds of the umbra, and her teeth shone. She wanted out, wanted action.