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Not now. Please, not now. Imorean opened his eyes. For a change, couldn’t things just go right? Red eyes gleamed at him from out of the trees. Imorean stood, his weak knee trembling under his weight. He knew those eyes. He wished he didn’t. A Hellhound, no doubt attracted by the spike of supernatural energy, watched him from the woods.
Imorean swallowed. He felt calmer than he should have been. “Michael, Gabriel, I’ve got a Hellhound for company. If you could hurry, that would be great.”
There was a surge of horror, but Imorean blocked Michael out as best he could. He needed to think and think fast. He was injured, alone and unarmed. Perfect prey for the Hellhound. Imorean lowered his stance and braced his feet apart. If a Hellhound could find him, it was too likely that so could something much worse.
The night to its advantage, the Hellhound padded out of the woods. Imorean kept his eyes trained on the its red ones. His wings were still wet. Flight would be difficult, if not impossible. He bent down and picked up a loose stone. At the very least, he could throw something at it. The hound seemed to smile at him. He was trapped and the monster knew it. It lunged. Imorean leaped out of the way, throwing himself to the ground. The hound was behind him immediately. Huge canines opened as it moved to snap at him. Imorean hurled his stone, hearing it thwack off the hound’s muzzle. He scrambled to his feet. The demon dog shook its head and bared its teeth at him. Desperate now, Imorean turned and raced toward the woods. For once, his luck held. A sizeable tree branch had fallen close to the edge. He grabbed it just before the hound lunged. Turning and swinging hard, he beat the monster across the face. A few maggots flew from its skin. The hound turned its attention away. Imorean held steady. Hellhounds never got distracted from their targets. He scrambled backward as the hound swung in again. Its teeth splintered the branch in half as though it was nothing. The monster screamed and reared backward. Imorean launched away. Escape was his only defense. A great, rotting paw swiped in the darkness. He barely had time to raise his arm. The only weak defense he had. Claws tore straight through his shirt and slashed his forearm. A cry was torn from his throat with ease. He crashed to the solid rock. Glass shattered. Overhead, the stars spun. His shirt was sticky.
A low rumble brought Imorean to his senses. The hound circled him. He gathered himself, clawing his way back up to his knees. Did he have enough energy left? The hound grinned in the night. Teeth glinted under the moonlight. Imorean centered himself. He extended his senses as much as he could. The hound charged. Imorean raised his hands. White gathered at his palms, flashing up along his fingers. A single tongue of flame snapped across the hound’s muzzle. A cry unlike anything he had ever heard before split the night. He collapsed to his side against the ground. Vision darkened. Failing eyes saw the hound regroup. It stared at him, red eyes filled with a drive to hunt. It turned again. Imorean’s vision blurred. He couldn’t move. He had no strength left. The ground thundered as the hound charged in.
Rainbow color pierced the darkness. It landed just in front of the hound. Imorean thrashed as hands landed on him, lifting him. Confused, he stared at the fading patch of color. In the darkness, a figure. Two figures. Roxy and the hound. The dog was dead. Voices. They were muffled and far away. Someone said his name. Imorean allowed his vision to fold and turn black, the last of his energy draining away. He didn’t have the strength to respond.
