A Vigil in the Mourning (Soulbound #4) - Hailey Turner Page 0,82
snowstorm. The bitter scent of hell filled his nose, making him gag as they staggered to their feet. Patrick’s magic pushed past him in a flash of pale blue light, surrounding them in a shield. The reprieve bought them time, but not much.
Jono punched a hand through the rear passenger door and ripped it off, tossing it away, then held his hand out to Wade. “Come on, mate. Let’s go.”
The teenager grabbed his hand in a bruising grip and scrambled out of the SUV, gold eyes wide in his face, red scales pushing through his skin. “What the fuck was that?”
Garmr, Fenrir snarled, the syllables buried so deep in growls that it took a couple of seconds for Jono to parse the name out and repeat it. “Garmr.”
“That’s not a name, that’s a sound,” Wade complained.
“He’s Hel’s hound,” Patrick said, two mageglobes spinning close to his elbow. He clutched his dagger in his right hand, skin reddened over his temple from the hit he’d taken during the crash.
“You all right?” Jono asked.
Patrick didn’t even look at him, eyes on the hellhound coming back their way. “Fucking peachy.”
The hellhound gape-grinned at them, black saliva dripping off its fangs to hiss and bubble on the snow beneath its mouth. Jono shrugged out of his jacket and grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking it off.
“Tap a bloody ley line,” Jono growled right before he shifted forms.
Agony ripped through his nervous system before the pain receptors were turned off. The pressure of his body ripping itself apart over breaking bones to reset in a new form was a distant sensation. Thick fur sprouted through his skin as muscles reformed over new bones. His sight shifted from purely human to that of a wolf, the sharpness throwing the world into high relief.
When his nerves realigned, snapping on in his brain, Jono shook his wolf head to get rid of some of the blood from the shift and snarled a warning at the hellhounds closing in outside Patrick’s shield. The pull of the soulbond steadied before breaking open in a familiar way. The rush of magic was easier to ignore these days, the feel of it like fire in his chest.
“We need to lead them deeper into the park,” Patrick said. “We’re too close to civilians here.”
The snow coming down was enough of a deterrent to keep people inside, but it hindered a fast escape from the area. Cars had already skidded badly in the street to dodge theirs when it had crashed. Jono growled and stepped forward, putting himself in front of the other two.
“What do we do?” Wade asked.
“We run. You don’t shift.”
“But—”
“No, Wade. It’s too public here, and it’s the middle of the day. You can’t risk it.”
Wade didn’t argue, but Jono could smell his frustration. Jono never took his eyes off the hellhound that came to a stop outside the barrier of Patrick’s shield. Black lips pulled away from gray gums, revealing tarnished fangs.
“Be ready to run,” Patrick said.
Jono felt magic surge through his soul, spiraling down the soulbond into Patrick. A mageglobe streaked through the shield and slammed into Garmr again, sending the hellhound skidding backward, far enough to give them room to run.
Patrick took point and Jono took up the rear, keeping Wade between them. They left the wreck behind them for the snow-covered depths of Lincoln Park. Patrick’s magic cleared them a way through the circle of hellhounds, but that wouldn’t be enough to stop them.
My sister’s favored companion will not be evaded so easily, Fenrir said.
Then I’ll tear out his throat.
Garmr is not so easily killed.
Jono could feel the god seeping into his consciousness, clawing for control. He growled a warning, snapping in the direction of a hellhound that threw itself at Patrick’s shield as they ran. No. Let me have this fight.
Fenrir retreated in his mind, but not far, and Jono knew it was only a reprieve for however long the god granted him.
Lincoln Park was a sea of leafless trees and snowy ground. Patrick set off another mageglobe with a blast of magic that sent the hellhounds flying away from them. It gave them enough time to get over the first stretch of land before hitting asphalt again.
The street running through the park was empty. Up ahead were structures and a sign indicating the location of a Nature Boardwalk. No one was around, but continuing onward felt like a bottleneck.
“Is that a zoo?” Wade asked. “What if they eat the animals for snacks?”