Lord of Chaos (The Dragon Demigods #7) - Charlene Hartnady Page 0,33

punch Trident in the face. The pervert is ogling her.

“Stop.” I grab the shirt. “Wait…don’t.” But she’s already shifting into her dog form. The back door leading to the patio is open. Taking long, graceful strides, she bounds outside past the huge-ass pool onto the lawn.

Trident is groaning. I hear him clamber to his feet. His nose trickles the tiniest bit of blood. I should have punched the fucker harder.

Nia – in her dog form – stops in her tracks. I see her hackles go up at the same time as I see him. Gaire. He appears seemingly out of thin air. “Shit!” I mutter.

“Is that him?” Tri asks, wiping blood off his top lip.

“Yes.”

Tri shrugs. “He doesn’t look like much.”

“Don’t be fooled. He’s the son of Hades and can make himself invisible.” I quickly fill Trident in on the most important areas of concern.

“Oh…shit!” Tri mutters.

Gaire says something to Nia. He is commanding her to go to him. I see her body stiffen. He commands her again, this time pointing at the ground in front of him. She lifts her head in clear defiance. The hairs on her back are standing straight up. She snarls at him. Then she falls onto the grass; her body is convulsing. Her eyes have rolled back. Her tongue is lolling from her mouth. She’s whimpering. The sound grates on my every nerve.

“Damn! This is bad,” Tri mutters. I can feel him bristle next to me.

My hands clench into fists as I walk outside. I’m trying to keep my cool. I need to stay in control. The lives of my friends are in my hands. Possibly, the lives of innocent humans, too. I can’t make the same mistake twice. I won’t!

Gaire is looking at Nia, even though I’m sure he can hear us approach. He laughs as she convulses harder. The sides of her mouth are now coated with bloody froth. “Leave her alone!” I shout.

“You were supposed to call me,” he says, eyes still on Nia.

“Let her go,” I say more forcefully.

“I told you that the hellhound is mine. She’s leaving with me. I would be happy to leave it at that if you don’t interfere.” His eyes lift. They are like cold shards of ice. He smiles. It’s chilling.

“Fuck that!” Trident snarls. “You heard Rage…let her go. Leave her alone. Get the fuck off my property.”

It happens so quickly, I barely register. Gaire closes the short distance and is on Tri in a split second. One hit. One hard motherfucker of a hit and Tri goes flying. He must fly back about eight or ten feet. He lands hard on his back and is out cold. I’ve never seen anything like it.

I try to shift, but I’m only halfway there when Gaire aims a punch at me. I’m expecting it, so I manage to move to the side just in time. I’m not sure how I make it. I feel the air displace right next to my skin. I don’t even see his fist. He’s that fast.

Fuck!

Then I’m moving backward. I do this on pure instinct because there’s no tell. Normally when a person throws a kick or a punch, they’ll give themselves away by dropping their left when they hit right. They might move slightly away before the hit. I don’t see him so much as flinch. I just miss getting nailed by his right knee.

I drive upwards with my fist, but Gaire is too quick. He ducks and strikes. I pull back, but I’m too late. He makes contact with my stomach, the strike glancing off me. I grunt loudly, in awe of how hard the impact is despite not taking the full brunt of the blow.

I stagger back, working hard to regain my footing. Gaire disappears. Fuck! No! Has he left or— I take a right hook and taste blood as I fall. I think two or three of my teeth loosen from the extreme power behind the blow.

I fall hard, seeing white flecks in my vision. I feel dizzy as I— Gaire appears. He’s grinning. For the first time, I see real humor etched in his features. He unsheathes a sword on his back. It’s long, gleaming, and I’ll bet it’s made from silver. “I’m going to enjoy carving you up,” he says as he disappears.

I jump up, looking around me. Trying to use my other senses to determine where he is. I hear a footfall to my right and jump away as I hear the blade sing