The Hellhound

Ch. Forty-Four

"He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight."

- Sun Tzu

                                                                                         ***

Sirius lunged blindly forward, hands grabbing at air. A scream of rage from Galloway ripped through him, tearing the wolf clean from his human skin. His fur bristled along his spine, his claws slipping on the smooth stone beneath him. Blurry shapes and smears of color moved around him, his vision finally starting to return.

He snarled, snapping his teeth as he stumbled forward, following his nose toward his heart.

"Sirius." Hades' voice was annoyed. "Sit."

His ears snapped flat, a deep growl shaking his chest as his hindquarters were pressed to the ground. The darkness swirled around him, chittering in his ear. It sounded angry, but he couldn't tell who it was mad at.

Give her back, he roared, throwing the words at Hades as hard as he could. Give her back! She's mine! His claws squealed against the rock as he heaved against the order keeping him pinned. Something between a howl and a scream erupted from his throat. 

"Be silent!" Hades snapped, waving a blurry hand.

Sirius' throat closed off, making him gag. His entire body shook as Hades' magic held him in place. His vision continued to clear with every passing second, and what he saw made his heart pound.

The Hell-gate was before them, a twisting snarl of blackened metal and bone. Blue flames danced in the curves of the gate, letting off a pungent smell of sulfur and the acrid scent of burning bone. Before it, the black stone was scored by curving white lines. They joined and crossed together into a massive pentagram that seemed to glow despite the gloom shrouding the gate.

Sirius rubbed the clotted blood away from his eyes with shaking hands, squinting against the light coming from the gates. What he saw curdled his blood with fear and rage.

Hades stood staring up at the gate, a hateful, hungry expression on his face. He held Galloway's wrist with one hand, the other holding Alex by her hair. The girl was staring at the lines of the pentagram beneath her, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Galloway had twisted around to look at Sirius, but wasn't making any effort to fight against Hades. Her gaze was the only thing keeping him sane as he realized there was nothing he could do to stop what he'd started.

"Sirius," a voice whispered. "Sirius, please."

He turned his head with difficulty to realize the other two Hunters, Logan and the other Alex were sprawled on the stone beside him. The only one missing was the faerie prince. Hades had apparently thought his presence unnecessary at the gate.

Caleb was staring at him, eyes huge and dark in his bloodless face. Rick was looking back and forth between the Alex beside him and the one held by Hades. The free Alex sat in silence, staring blankly up at the gate.

A small wash of doubt swept through Sirius, but he held his silence. He'd made a decision. Right or wrong, perhaps it was time to face up to the consequences—to stop trying to bargain his way out.

That course of action hadn't really worked anyway.

"Don't let him do this." Caleb pushed up to a sitting position, his entire body shaking. He was bloody and bruised, his hair in lank strands around his face. Even as he spoke, his eyes strayed back to the Alex held by Hades.

Beside him, Rick seemed to have decided Sirius had told the truth. He was fighting against the magic pinning him down, his muscles twitching spastically as he tried to reach his sister. His eyes blazed bright gold, Sekhmet's magic keeping a steady influence, though every now and then it would slip. His canine teeth would lengthen to jagged fangs, fingernails curving into vicious claws. The monster inside was slowly gaining traction as terror and rage got the better of him.