Page 40 of How to Trust a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls #4)

Josh

I had the distinct feeling shit had gone sideways.

I admitted to being worried when the creepy, sharp-toothed, winged, and horned woman had come onto the scene.

I might also have freaked out a bit when we’d been led into this weird underground stone room, although I’d also had the idea that Toby would have loved to have been in my place, because this would’ve given him so many ideas.

Then Corbin had gone all weirdly catatonic-like and was sitting on the floor staring at Sebbie, and Sebbie was sitting on the floor staring at the dying old man in his lap.

Then Thea had come in, and that was good, right?

The more the merrier! Which I knew was a slightly hysterical thought, but I’d still been mostly okay, because Wilder totally had things under control.

But when psycho lady pulled out the dagger, Wilder got really still beside me, and I knew something majorly fucked up was happening.

Wilder was scared . I could feel it, somehow, and if Wilder was scared, then I was fucking terrified, because it meant he could be hurt by that dagger.

I couldn’t let that happen.

The door behind us clanged shut, and I turned to look.

The room was empty, all the other robed psychos having shut us in, apparently.

There was just the psycho lady across the room, and her psycho friend holding Thea by the arm.

That should have made me feel better, but she was holding that dagger, and Wilder wasn’t moving. He was just staring at it.

Thea looked at him, then looked at Corbin, then looked at me and raised her eyebrows. I gave a little half shrug. I had no fucking clue what was going on.

“Um, would you mind filling in the mortals in the room, Lady Macbeth?” Thea said.

I resisted the urge to say, “Out, damned spot!” to Thea’s nickname for psycho lady. Not that I was sure that nickname fit, because from what I remembered of that play in high school, Lady Macbeth felt guilty, and the psycho lady in front of us didn’t look the teeniest bit remorseful.

“You are an insolent little beast,” she said to Thea, her attention turning toward the female hellhound.

“She’s going to keep us alive,” Corbin said, his voice low and melodic. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. His voice was like a song, weaving around us. Even Sebbie looked up from the dying old guy, gazing into Corbin’s eyes.

“She’s going to keep us alive, and she’s going to drain us with that dagger. There will be no peace, only pain. Never-ending pain.” Corbin was staring at Sebbie. “She is not death, little reaper. Do you know why?” Corbin asked

I saw Thea moving so fast she was almost a blur. The man holding her did nothing to stop her, and with one single move she grabbed the woman’s hand holding the dagger and plunged the blade into the woman’s chest.

The woman looked shocked, but she didn’t fall, and her hand still held the blade. Thea backed away, toward Wilder and I, muttering, “Fuck,” under her breath.

“There’s no blood,” I whispered. “There should be blood, right? That’s what happens when you kill evil people. Blood. Wilder, why isn’t there blood?”

“I will not let her harm you, Mei Ume,” Wilder promised, and I didn’t like the sound of his voice when he said it.

“Fuck that. I’m not gonna let her harm you, because obviously that dagger is some kind of weird… thing… or whatever,” I said, motioning toward where it was still embedded in the woman’s chest. The woman who was still not bleeding.

Shit.

“You are not mortal,” the woman said, her shock evident.

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Thea said, turning to look at us. “Well, this took an unexpected turn. A little guidance would be good right about now, Wilder.”

“It’s a blade created by and for afterlifers. It’s one of the few weapons which can cause their destruction,” Wilder said softly, gripping my hand tightly.

Throughout all of this, Corbin and Sebbie were still having their weird stare-off moment; I had no idea what was going on there.

“She is not death,” Corbin said again, still staring. “Why not, little reaper?”

Sebbie’s eyes were staring into Corbin’s, unblinking, and his one hand was gripping the old man.

“Why is he calling him that?” I whispered to Wilder, but he just shook his head at me, staring down at Corbin and holding onto me.

The woman was slowly drawing the blade from her chest, like it was a show she was putting on. She was smiling the whole time, and when it was withdrawn, she looked at her fellow Nephilim, who was staring at her, wide-eyed.

“Your betrayal will not be forgotten,” she said, and then she sliced his face with the dagger .

The man screamed and fell to the floor, writhing about, his hand covering his face. We all watched as his struggles slowed. He was facing away from us and toward Sebbie, and I heard my friend gasp. He didn’t sound shocked, though—he sounded angry.

“Why not, little reaper?” Corbin said again, urgency in his voice.

Sebbie looked over at him, and I saw the anger in his face. Sebbie was never angry, but he was now, and it was odd to see.

“Because death is not an ending,” Sebbie spat out, and it was like I could feel his anger.

Corbin nodded his head. “Give them a new beginning, little reaper,” he whispered.

The woman seemed to understand that something important was happening, because she focused her attention on Sebbie, the blade still in her hand.

I felt like I knew what was going to happen next, like everything was slowing down.

Wilder’s hand had a death grip on mine, and Thea looked pissed off and ready to kick some ass.

The woman was bringing her hand with the blade in it up, ready to slash at Sebbie, but Corbin’s voice interrupted everyone, that melodic tone making everything stop, like a pause button had been pressed.

“Do what must be done, ferryman,” Corbin said. He smiled, though it looked sad.

With that strange statement, the world went dark around me, all the air rushing out of my lungs. I could feel Wilder’s hand still in mine, but we were falling, and then there was nothing.

It was dark, but I still felt Wilder’s hand in mine. Something heavy was laying across my legs. “Am I dead?” I asked, shifting my feet and trying to dislodge the weight.

“Ow. What the fuck, Josh?” Thea’s voice said.

“Are you dead, too?” I asked, because I couldn’t see anything, but that was definitely Thea’s voice. The weight moved off my legs, and I heard rustling from that direction.

“Mei Ume,” Wilder’s voice said, and his hand squeezed mine, then I felt his other arm drag me in by the shoulder until we were touching, his hand releasing mine to feel along my body. “Are you hurt?”

“Um, no. I don’t think so. I think we’re all dead, though,” I answered, which made no sense, but also made perfect sense in this fucked up situation.

Thea snorted. “Typical fucking horror movie. Kill off all the heroes,” she muttered. “I did not sign up for this kind of ending.”

“We aren’t dead,” Wilder said, but his voice didn’t sound sure.

“Corbin?” Thea asked, and I heard a moan come from the other side of Wilder, where Corbin had been standing when we were in that room. He sounded hurt, but also alive. Or dead. Or whatever we currently were.

I was with Wilder, and although I couldn’t see him, I could feel him, so I figured it couldn’t be all bad. I could smell him, too—the scent of tree sap and evergreens, along with cold winter air and a match blown out.

It made me think of the first time he’d held me.

It seemed so long ago now, although it had only been about a month.

I looked back at the Josh who had cried into his shirt, who had found comfort in his smell, and I wanted to tell him that it would be okay.

That it would all turn out for the best in the end.

I had gone through something terrible, and I had thought parts of me were broken because of it, but that wasn’t true.

I had found myself again, and I appreciated things in a way I never had before.

I felt like everything that had happened after that moment in the apartment was like a dream. Maybe Rick had hit me on the head and I’d hallucinated it all. Maybe there were no hellhounds and angel-demon women and creepy cults. Maybe I really was dead.

But I was calm, despite that thought. Because I had Wilder. He was with me, and my time with him had been some of the best moments I’d had. He’d shown me what it meant to be cared for, and he let me care for him in return. He appreciated me. He saw me.

“Even if I’m dead, you’re worth it,” I whispered to Wilder, nuzzling into him.

“Oh, Mei Ume. You are worth more than you could ever imagine to me. I would risk death a million times to save you. But I’m selfish, too, because my heart is at ease that you’re here with me,” he murmured.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s lovely and all, you two,” Thea grumbled, “but where the fuck are we?”

I heard Corbin moan again, and then I heard the cawing of a crow.

“So, definitely not in that shitty underground room,” Thea muttered, and I could hear rustling, like she was feeling around.

“Thea!” I said, fear suddenly washing through me. “Stay here!”

Thea sighed dramatically, but the rustling stopped.

“Corbin?” Wilder asked, and one hand left me. I figured he was feeling around for Corbin, and I heard a sigh of relief, so he must have touched him.

“Sebbie?” I called out, because he had been in that room, too, and I hadn’t heard his voice. “Are you dead, too?” I asked stupidly.

I heard a caw again, and the flapping of wings. It sounded like more than one crow now, though. It sounded like a million of them.

“What do you call a group of crows?” Thea asked, her voice slightly hysterical. “A murder!” she answered before any of us could.

“I’m not dead,” Sebbie said, but I wasn’t sure where his voice was coming from. “You aren’t dead, either. We’re all fine.”

The flapping got louder, the sound overwhelming, and everything drifted away once more.

“Mei Ume?” Wilder’s voice was frantic, and I managed to blink my eyes open. He breathed out a sigh of relief, leaning down to kiss me.

“Fuuuuck,” I heard Thea mumble, and Wilder’s lips left mine as we both looked over at her.

Because we could see. It was dark, but not pitch black.

I sat up and looked around. I had been laying in Wilder’s lap, because we were all somehow on the floor in the creepy stone room.

Wilder was sitting up next to me, Corbin was sprawled out on his other side, and Thea was sitting on my other side, moaning.

The psycho woman was laying across the floor, her hand extended, the dagger a few inches away from her. Her psycho helper wasn’t moving—he was curled up on the floor where we’d last seen him, and Sebbie was still sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall.

His arms weren’t chained anymore, and the old guy was next to him as opposed to on his lap. I didn’t think the old guy was breathing, but Sebbie was awake and looking around. His gaze rested on me, and he looked confused, but not scared.

“You guys took care of them?” he asked, looking at the bodies. “I don’t think they were very good people, Josh,” he added, almost like he was reassuring me. “They hurt Rick, and they were hurting that old guy, although I don’t think he was a very good person either.”

I opened my mouth, and then I shut it, because I had absolutely no idea what to say.

Corbin groaned next to Wilder, and I saw Sebbie look at him and blush.

“Of course,” Thea muttered, using the wall to support herself as she stood up.

Wilder stood up next, putting his hand down to help me up. My legs were shaky, but I managed to keep my feet once I was standing. Wilder knelt down, rumbling softly, until Corbin blinked his eyes open .

Wilder put a hand out, cupping his face. “You always see so much. I’m so proud of you, and I love you, son.”

With that, he stood, reaching down to help Corbin do the same.

I looked over at Sebbie, but he’d managed to get up on his own.

“Do you think we need to, like, call the police or something?” he asked. “I mean there are three dead bodies in here. The old guy was just, well, old, and then the crazy lady stabbed the young guy and stabbed herself, so we’re obviously in the clear.”

As if his words had manifested it, I noticed that the woman did indeed have blood pooling underneath her, exactly where she’d been stabbed in the chest. The curled up guy also had a pool of blood seeping out from beneath where his head lay.

Sebbie stepped over the bloodstains, walking to the door behind us. We all just stared at him as he hauled it open. No one was behind it.

“What about all the others?” Thea asked, and I felt as confused as she sounded.

Sebbie looked back at us from the doorway, raising his eyebrows. “Others? Just the lady and her partner kidnapped me. I think she was part of that cult Josh told me about, but I never saw anyone else here.”

He walked up the stairs, and we all followed behind him silently. We made our way outside, and I could hear sirens in the distance.

“Oh, good, you guys called the police already. I hope they’re quick, because I’m starving. Anyone wanna go for some food after this?” Sebbie asked.

I started giggling. I couldn’t help it. It was probably more than a little hysterical, and everyone turned to stare at me, concern on their faces.

“Sure, Sebbie, I’d love to go for food. Maybe ice cream,” I answered, and some imperceptible tension that I’d barely noticed seemed to ease in him. His smile was bright and blinding, and I couldn’t help smiling back .

The sound of sirens drew closer. “It’s Jude.” Wilder sighed, adding, “And the sheriff.”

“I swear to god, if he stole the police car with the sheriff in it, we’re grounding him for like a year,” I muttered.

Thea barked a laugh next to me, and the crows cawed in the trees as the car came into sight.

Jude was not in the driver’s seat—the sheriff was. However, the frown on the sheriff’s face and Jude’s gleeful expression made me think that there was still going to be something to yell at Jude for.

I crossed my arms and put on my sternest expression, and Wilder stood next to me, his arm resting on my shoulder.

Whatever Jude had done, we’d deal with it together. Anything at all seemed manageable with Wilder by my side. Even death, apparently.

I stifled another hysterical giggle and made my face stern as the car doors on the police car opened, Jude and the sheriff stepping out.